The Bridge: Volume 51, Issue 13, 2/19/21

2/5/21 - Welcome back!

Welcome to The Bridge’s bi-weekly magazine, a collection of stories from thelcbridge.com. Check back every other week for early access to Bridge stories, games, photos and more. The Bridge is by and for Lewis and Clark Community College students, but we hope everyone can find something to enjoy at The Bridge.

Alex Johnson Editor-In-Chief

What’s on the cover?

Drawing inspiration in layout from the Bauhaus aesthetic, I aimed to create a piece which could be utilized as a visual celebration of Black History month. I hope to achieve a perceivable representation of harmony, unity and strength through my work, which will extend itself to commemorate such an important month of observance.

Cover art by Kaleigh Grace.

The Bridge is...

Alex Johnson

Dillon Neibel

amjohnson@lc.edu

dneibel@lc.edu

Editor-in-Chief

Lead Reporter

Ashtyn Britt abritt@lc.edu Associate Editor

Gary Chapman

Hannah Kahl

gchapman@lc.edu

Entertainment and Technology Reporter

hkahl@lc.edu

Moreena Hall

Copy Editor

mrhall@lc.edu

Nathan Tucker nrtucker@lc.edu Sports Editor Krystie Morrison

Illustrator and Cartoonist Kaleigh Grace kagrace@lc.edu

Photographer and Graphic Designer

Breanna Sak

Lakyn Gardner

bsak@lc.edu

lagardner@lc.edu

Photographer, Graphic Designer and Writer

Web editor, Graphic Designer, Photographer, Writer

Nickolas Brooks

Sophia Blagoue

nibrooks@lc.edu

Graphic designer, writer, podcaster Mary Curvey mcurvey@lc.edu

Illustrator and Cartoonist Caroline Hussey chussey@lc.edu

Writer

kmorrison@lc.edu

Web Editor and Social Media Manager Jenna Shelton jshelton@lc.edu

Ad Manager and Writer

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Megan Lanham mrlanham@lc.edu

Adrienne Lane amlane@lc.edu

Graphic Designer, Writer

Photographer

Anthony Brown

Ryan Pierce

antdbrown@lc.edu

rmpierce@lc.edu

Podcaster and Illustrator

Graphic Designer, Photographer

sblagoue@lc.edu

Graphic Designer Lynn McDonald lmmcdonald@lc.edu

Graphic Designer, Photographer Evelyn Smith evdsmith@lc.edu

Graphic Designer Craig Johnson crajohnson@lc.edu

Web Specialist, Illustrator, Photographer Louise Jett ljett@lc.edu Advisor

Table of Contents Campus News, Pg. 3-6 News, Pg. 7 Opinion, Pg. 8-11 Entertainment, Pg. 13-18 Sports, Pg. 19-20 Cartoons and Games, Pg. 21-24 Graphic by Evelyn Smith

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Welcome Back Welcome BackBack Welcome

Top: Students have experienced major changes in how they get a college education in the last year. For some this has been a relief, but for many students, they are finding themselves in the opposite position. For this reason, I wanted to curate an image that portrays what college has been right now for the students and faculty. My goal was to make people see that we may sit down alone, but we still learn together. Lewis and Clark isn’t as far away as you may be inclined to believe, we have the campus and its resources at the tip of our fingertips and just a click away.

Right: The Olin Science and Templin Nursing Buildings, located on the Godfrey campus of Lewis and Clark.

Photos by Breanna Sak Page 3

Campus News

Graphic by Lynn Mcdonald By: Megan Lanham mrlanham@lc.edu On the Feb. 11, 2021, The SA Psychic event took place at 2:30 p.m and ended at 4:30 p.m. The event was open to the public on the Lewis and Clark Student Activities Facebook page, free for any student, staff and faculty to join. Even though the event was open for people involved with L&C, friends and family were more than welcome to come; students, staff and faculty were given priority. Participants joined a Zoom meeting and were offered private tarot card readings via breakout rooms for three minutes each.

Rose Fullhorst — a second generation psychic medium, a Reiki Master Practitioner, a certified Tarot Master with 30+ years in tarot card reading and palm reading and an ordained minister — offered the private readings between herself and the participants. About 10 people arrived to have a private reading, all of which reported they had good turnouts. While others stayed in the lobby and conversed amongst themselves, telling stories and making general conversation. Afterwards, the session opened up for the remainder of the time.

Campus News

During this time, Rose called into play her medium abilities for the group; this is the practice of mediating communication between spirits and living human beings. One of which was a young girl that was able to connect to a relative that she had wanted to hear from for quite a while.

She was so happy to hear from the spirit that she cried. A couple more readings were done as well before the event ended.

Fullhorst has been an active participant in prior Student Activities events. This means potential for her further participation in the future, so keep an eye out for more events involving her services. For more events like this one, you can find information on the Lewis and Clark Student Activities Facebook page or on Blackboard under the ‘My Organizations’ tab on the main page.

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Introducing Active Minds

By Jenna Shelton jshelton@lc.edu Cover image by Megan Lanham

In Aug. 2019, Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C) joined the ranks of more than 800 other campuses nationwide when the student organization, Active Minds, joined the multitude of other clubs and organizations offered at L&C. Active Minds is an organization that is run by students and for students, it encourages members to open up about mental health issues and change the conversation and viewpoint for years to come. Active Minds at L&C would like students to know that, “It is okay to not be okay”, and that there is help available should anyone need it; that no one should ever have to struggle alone.

By empowering young adults and encouraging them to speak openly and freely about mental health, the stigma and rate of suicide can be reduce, helping individuals seek help before it’s too late.

When Active Minds at L&C first began in Aug. of 2019, it was an extremely successful club. The meetings were alPage 5

ways packed, there were a large number of students that were running for elected positions and ideas on how to help students open dialogue about and de-stigmatize mental health were always overflowing. Unfortunately, COVID-19 struck and the world-wide pandemic caused this club to be put on pause, just as they had gotten traction, essentially causing the club to start over.

“It is hard enough getting any new club or organization started at a college, but at L&C, it is required that a club declaration form must be filled out stating between 7-10 members. You also have to name officers and their positions, and you must get a faculty member to agree to become your advisor and take on the responsibility for the group.

“But when you’re dealing with something like mental health issues, it may be even harder to get people to come forward and interact. Because mental health is something that has been so

historically kept quiet and not talked about. That is why it’s so critical that an organization like this exists at L&C and what’s so great about Active Minds, there’s so much peer-to-peer support that it doesn’t feel like you are alone,” said Student Government President, Marenike Moyegun.

Normally, at L&C when the semester or term ends and the elected officials in an organization move on, there is some kind of preparation for the newly elected body taking over. Regrettably, when campus went virtual in 2020, Active Minds had no idea if and when they might be allowed back on campus.

Preparation for transfer of power was not made, making things challenging for the new president of Active Minds when the time came to start holding meetings virtually.

“To understand what Active Minds stands for one should understand how the group came to be,” Active Minds President, Damion Posey, said.

Campus News

The group was originally formed by Alison Malmon when she was a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. Malmon was inspired to start Active Minds after her only sibling and older brother, Brian Marlon, was lost to suicide during his senior year at Columbia University.

After being described as a smart, popular and fun student throughout high school, Brian Marlon struggled with depression and psychosis shortly after arriving at Columbia University. Hiding his symptoms from everyone for three years, Marlon started treatment for schizoaffective disorder during a home visit in his senior year, but his underlying depression was not addressed.

Continuing to hide his symptoms and disorders from friends, Brian’s depression was left untreated and he returned to school. A year and a half later, on Mar. 24, 2000, Brian Marlon ended his life.

Alison realized that there were many people that had stories similar to Brian’s and they too were suffering in silence, thinking they were totally alone. In reality, a majority of mental illnesses strike for the first time between the ages of 14 to 24 years old, when youths are still in school or college. It has also been found that suicide is the second leading cause of death for college students, so Alison recognized that continuing to be silent about mental illness and suicide was no longer an option.

Malmon saw at Penn that no one was talking about mental illness; the stigma and shame was preventing students from speaking out and letting those one of every five college students who are living in silence continue to do so, without the support of their peers.

Malmon felt if people started talking about it, maybe things would get bet-

Campus News

ter. She wanted to encourage students who need help to seek it; she wanted to prevent tragedies like her brothers and combat the stigma of mental illness. Finding nothing like that already in existence on her campus, Alison created her own, naming it “Open Minds” at the time. Their number one goal was to spread the word that seeking help is nothing to be ashamed of; it is actually a sign of strength.

Within two years, Malmon had graduated, but the group had continued and word had spread. Other colleges had reached out and opened their own chapters. Soon, a national office was opened in Washington, D.C. and the group was made into a nonprofit. The name was changed to “Active Minds” to reflect the groups focus on student advocacy and action in mental health.

In the 16 years that Active Minds has been in schools and on campuses throughout the country, they have been able to reach out to over 600,000 students every year with the different events, campaigns, programs, advocacy, outreach and other awareness activities they host. Their goal to change the conversation about mental health is an important factor when trying to de-stigmatize the image of those with mental health issues.

Posey said, “Active Minds at L&C is a club that promotes mental health awareness. We are here to end the stigma surrounding mental health on our campus. From details for hotlines on flyers around campus, to the Active Minds Send Silence Packing, to planning events and speakers that promote others to support each other and know that they aren’t alone; through education, research and advocacy we are determined to help others and be there when there’s no one else to be there, we’ll show you that you matter; that

there is help and we can help you find that help, whether it’s here on campus with Renee Bauer in the counseling services or if they need to direct you to outside services.”

L&C Active Minds advisors Alice Bunjan and Chrissie Chapman believe, like the National Chapter of Active Minds, that the students will be the drive of change and would like to see the club’s direction be motivated by its members vision and voice.

The students and advisors hope, and main goal, for Active Minds at L&C is to open up a healthy dialogue about mental health and help students understand that at some point in everyone’s lives, they are most likely going to be affected by mental health, either personal or through a loved one. People, not just students, need to know how to handle mental health topics and where to turn for assistance in a time of need; no one should ever have to face these issues alone.

Posey wants students to understand that while the club is meeting virtually for now, there is still support available for all students at any time. The L&C Active Minds Facebook page is currently up and running and will be adding new material about the organization and what services are available or what is online on a weekly basis. The next Active Minds meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2021 at 3 p.m.

The link to join the zoom meeting will be posted on their club Facebook page, along with any other important information pertaining to the organization.

For more information on the club, you can check out the national webpage at www.activeminds.org or reach out to Active Minds at L&C President, Damion Posey at dposey@lc.edu or Alice Bunjan at abunjan@lc.edu.

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By Lynn McDonald lmmcdonald@lc.edu

This past year has been difficult, to say the least. Families and friends have been separated, some for long periods of time.

As the winter drags on, many are faced with cabin fever and melancholy from the ongoing isolation. Every day we are faced with an obstacle course of challenges that we must navigate with great care, all while striving to maintain a positive outlook and mental well-being.

So, what exactly does the Phase Four: Revitalization tier entail?

According to the State of Illinois Coronavirus Response website, the new guidelines are as follows:

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Of course, no one can yet tell when the pandemic will come to an end, but we can celebrate the small things along the way.

Here in Illinois, Coronavirus cases have gone down to such an extent that we have recently been upgraded to Phase Four metrics. The strict restrictions under which we have lived for the past few months have been lifted, allowing a collective sigh of relief as we tentatively venture out into society once again.

•All healthcare providers are allowed to open.

After living so long in solitude, these measures will bring a much-needed ray of sunshine into our lives. Once again, we can have lunch with a friend, catch the latest movie release, or get that crazy quarantine hair snipped. Venture forth, my friends, and enjoy a very well-deserved respite!

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•Gatherings of up to 50 people are allowed.

•All travel is allowed, subject to IDPH and CDC guidelines.

•Education can commence in person.

“P-12 schools, higher education, all summer programs and childcare open with IDPH approved safety guidance.”

•All outdoor recreational activity can resume.

•All manufacturing and “non-essential” business can resume operation with employees returning to work, subject to IDPH guidance.

•Restaurants and bars can open to inside dining, with capacity limits, per IDPH guidelines.

•Gyms, barber shops, spas and salons are allowed to open, with capacity limits.

•Movie theaters are allowed to open, with capacity limits, per IDPH guidelines.

News

Why Having Houseplants is Healthy Article & Layout By: Ryan Pierce rmpierce@lc.edu

Houseplants are not only great room decor, they also have many health benefits.

Everyone knows plants produce oxygen, but they also rid the air of toxins. In just 24hours, houseplants can remove up to 87% of air toxins, according to research done

by NASA. Other studies have proven that plants can improve your mood, reduce stress and increase concentration and productivity by up to 15%. They increase the humidity indoors, which during the winter is very important to combat dry skin and sinus issues. They’re also a great addition of life when everything outside is dead and/ or covered in snow or frost.

Houseplants give you some responsibility and structure, which has been great for me during the lockdown. While it doesn’t seem like much, having to open my window each morning and make sure they have enough water has helped me, one, get more Vitamin D and two, actually get out of bed.

If you’re scared to venture into the world of houseplants because you’ve killed every single one you’ve ever had or are scared that you will, just know that I was you only a short time ago.

Now, I have eight plants that are all thriving. It’s all about finding which ones will survive with the conditions you put them in and doing a bit of research to find out what each plant likes.

Some easy-care plants that would be great to start out your mini indoor jungle with include:

-Monstera Deliciosa aka Swiss Cheese Plant

Prefers medium to bright indirect light, but can tolerate low light. Water once a week.

Avoid direct sunlight & overwatering.

-Dracaena trifasciata aka Snake Plant

Prefers bright, indirect light, but can still grow in low-light or shade. Let the soil dry out completely before watering again.

-Ficus Elastica aka Rubber Plant

Opinion

Prefers bright, indirect sunlight. Allow the top couple inches to dry out in between watertings. Avoid direct sunlight.

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Celluloid Jolly Rogers: History of Film Bootlegging

By Gary Chapman gchapman@lc.edu Nowadays, if you want to “acquire” a new film to watch, you go find it on a streaming website, or use one of a bajillion streaming services to watch the newest releases. But, back when most theaters were open, you had to, you know, pay 10 bucks and your life savings on concessions. People are frugal, and they do not want to pay money.

So, they go down the realm of copyright infringement. In this article, we are going to discuss the history and methods of film bootlegging.

Back in the early days of film, people would make a “dupe” of a film and just release it under a different, but similar, title. For instance, Shut Up, a 1902 film by the Biograph Company was duped and released by Lubin Manufacturing Company as How to Shut Up a Quarrelsome Wife, according to the National Archives (see the comparison on TheLCBridge.com).

In the 1960s, the way to do it was buying and trading the film reels after the film had made it through its run. An example of this would be people like Woody Wise, who got charged after selling the 1968 print of the Barbra Streisand vehicle Funny Girl. The FBI had been on his tail for a while.

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Opinion

He said to Matt Novak that, “The FBI had a little bit of trouble getting at me number one because it wasn’t stolen, even though they technically got me on a stolen print. I purchased it. I never stole anything. But there’s a very fine line there from the copyrighted film to showing something that you don’t have a right to show or sell.”

Once camcorders got affordable and small enough, people would begin bringing camcorders (usually in a bag, or a backpack) and recording the film from their scene. This practice was looked at in the Seinfeld episode “The Little Kicks”.

How theaters would try to stop it is by making the ushers look, or by forbidding bags.

Another form that came along is Tele-Sync, and that is where the projectionist would put a camcorder in the booth and use the audio output of the projector to have the audio from the film. These are preferred because of superior audio and video quality. The cams were known to have “commentary,” from cinema patrons to babies. These cams came along really around the mid-90s, especially in areas like Malaysia and Southeast Asia where the VCD of the film would be out before the film released.

Lim Audrey from ThingsAsian wrote in Feb. 2003 that “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon came out in the pirated stalls a few weeks before the movie hit the theatres. The same goes for many other titles. There is always a certain satisfaction of watching something first, no matter how bad the quality is.“ The last major form, other than just ripping the Blu-ray or DVD, is the Screener. A screener is a version of the film that is sent out to critics, video store owners, or award voters. The places would use DVDs that contained a slightly modified version of the film (certain scenes being black and white) and having the receiver’s name and email watermarked into the video.

People have gotten in trouble for selling screeners. In 2004, Academy member Carmine Caridi was expelled from the Academy of Arts and Sciences for trading screeners to Russel Sprauge and was forced to pay $30,000, according to Craig Hoffman of Warner Bros.

Starting in 2022, The Academy will be switching to a streaming-only model.

Now that films are currently being released to streaming only, with Disney releasing to Disney+ and Warner Bros. using HBO Max, most people do not have to worry about piracies (other than people cracking the encryption and ripping the video), but I guess it is 20 bucks to get access on Disney’s end. Film is adapting, but the pirates are a few steps ahead.

Opinion

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Demonic Possessions, Alien Abductions and Literal Waking Nightmares: A Look at Sleep Paralysis

By Alex Johnson amjohnson@lc.edu It’s 3 a.m. You suddenly snap awake, you hear rushing wind and see a dark cloud of smoke swirling around you. You can’t move anything other than your eyes; as you struggle to look around you, you notice you’re surrounded by tall, faceless figures. It feels like hours are passing as the looming figures slowly close in on you.

Then in a blink, it’s over.

You can move again; the rushing sound is gone; you’re alone, disoriented and wondering what happened. You just experienced sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon where you consciously wake-up but physically do not, leaving you frozen and, potentially, hallucinating.

To fully understand sleep paralysis, we need to understand the sleep cycle. There are four stages of sleep: N1, N2, N3 and REM sleep. The N1 stage is short, and something anyone who’s been in a hot classroom after a sleepless night studying will be familiar with; it’s your “dozing” phase, where you’re conscious that you’re falling asleep. N2 is your “passed out” phase, where your body starts relaxing your muscles and slows your breathing. N3 is like a more advanced N2, where you’re going into deeper sleep preparing for the REM stage.

REM sleep is considered the most important phase of the sleep cycle, it’s when dreams occur and, according to experts, “essential to cognitive functions like memory, learning and creativPage 11

ity” (Foley, 2020). During this phase, the body also experiences atonia, paralysis of the muscles with the exception of eyes and breathing. Atonia occurs to prevent you from acting out your dreams.

Normally, atonia ends as soon as you wake up and you’re never aware of the temporary paralysis. Sleep paralysis occurs when REM is interrupted and you wake before atonia ends, leaving you paralyzed but conscious, with fresh, dream imagery swirling around your thoughts.

The recent dreams along with the sudden realization that one is paralyzed often sends an individual into a panic mode and can cause hallucinations.

The “opposite” of sleep paralysis, and more commonly known condition, is sleep walking, which is when the body does not experience atonia and one is able to move around while asleep.

The causes of sleep paralysis aren’t fully understood but are often tied to sleep disorders or poor sleeping habits. Individuals with conditions such as sleep apnea or narcolepsy were found more likely to experience sleep paralysis. No genetic predisposition to sleep paralysis on its own has been found and it is generally viewed as a symptom rather than a condition. Sleep paralysis is not necessarily something that will be recurring (so if you’re unfortunate enough to experience it, you may not have to go through it multiple times).

At the top of this article, I gave a recounting of a personal sleep paralysis experience, although it should be noted that it was in no way unique to me. Hallucinations caused by sleep paralysis, interestingly, are heavily affected by an individual’s culture. In western cultures, where Judeo-Christian beliefs and teachings are common, sleep paralysis can often manifest as a “possession”, with individuals saying they felt heavy pressure on the chest and the sensation of something “entering” them through the lungs. For secular sleep paralysis suffers, the “man in black” and other, more alien-themed hallucinations may occur. Asian cultures tend to experience hallucinations revolving around ghostly hauntings, with vengeful spirits, often manifesting as elderly women known as the “night hag”, trying to suffocate or bind the individual in their sleep.

Healthy sleeping habits – going to bed at a consistent time, avoiding caffeine late in the day and providing a distraction-free “sleep zone” for example -- are the easiest ways to avoid sleep paralysis and ensure you wake up feeling rested each day. It should be noted, though, that the night hag could pay anyone a visit, even healthy sleepers. If you should wake one night and find yourself being “possessed”, remember, it was only a nightmare; just one you happened to be awake for.

Sources

Foley, L. (2020, August 14). Stages of sleep (1194621478 892647823 N. Vyas Dr., Ed.). Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/stages-of-sleep Suni, E. (2020, August 06). What you should know about sleep paralysis (1194624071 892649327 A. Dimitriu Dr., Ed.). Retrieved February 14, 2021, from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/parasomnias/sleep-paralysis

Opinion

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l o r t n o “C

un F t e Y , ge n a r t S ” is

By Nickolas Brooks nibrooks@lc.edu

(SPOILER WARNING! Do not read this review if you are interested in playing this game for yourself!)

Control is an action-adventure mystery game developed

by Remedy Entertainment Oyj, a Finnish studio that is best known for developing the first two Max Payne games for Rockstar, Alan Wake and Quantum Break. It was published by 505 Games, who have published games such as Terraria, PAYDAY 2, Sniper Elite 3, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and the PC version of Death Stranding. The game was released on Aug. 27, 2019 and went on to win numerous awards, including Best Art Direction in the 2019 Game Awards and having several Game of the Year nominations.

The premise

The gameplay The gameplay for Control is quite breathtaking, in my opinion. So much happens when Jesse is using the pistol she is equipped with, along with her psychic powers when she throws objects at enemies. The structures and atmosphere fits well within its gameplay too, although at times, it can feel like a bit of a maze when I need to go from point A to point B.

The story I’m having a hard time trying to figure out the story exactly. The main plot is Jesse trying to find her brother, but I completely forgot about it due to other characters being introduced, the missions I have to go through and the gameplay. If the plot was mainly about someone who wants to uncover the mysteries about the Hiss possessing people in the FBC, then it would make more sense.

The conclusion I’m going to give Control a 6.5/10. While its gameplay, voice acting, atmosphere, visuals and level designs are impressive, the story falls very flat and gets sidetracked quite a bit, almost making me forget about why Jesse is trying to find her missing brother. Control is currently available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4/5 and Xbox One/ Series X.

The plot is as simple as it can be. It is about a woman named Jesse Faden (voiced by Courtney Hope, who also voices Beth Wilder in Quantum Break), trying to find her kidnapped brother, Dylan. She does so by going to the Federal Bureau of Control building to find out anything that can lead her to him. While being appointed as the new director of the FBC, the building is put on lockdown due to an entity called “The Hiss”, possessing anybody in the place for an unknown reason.

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Entertainment

Graphic by Evelyn Smith

Retro Review The Retro Review “Spyro“Spyro The Dragon”

Dragon”

By Lakyn Gardner lagardner@lc.edu

Like Mario is for Nintendo, Sony was hoping that Spyro could be the official mascot for the PlayStation. Game footage captured via ePSXe by Alex Johnson.

“Spyro The Dragon” is a 3D platforming game made for the PlayStation and developed by Insomniac Games. Spyro released on Sept. 9, 1998, starting a trilogy of games. Spyro was the PlayStation’s first attempt at making a mascot.

“Spyro the Dragon” is a 3D platformer following the main character Spyro and his best friend Sparks the dragonfly on their journey to rescue all the Dragons in the village from a terrible incident that turned them into stone. Additionally, you have side quests to save eggs and collect gemstones which all help the main goal.

Entertainment

Spyro can defend himself with a flame breath or charging attack, though it may take players (especially modern players) some time to master the aging controls. Game footage captured via ePSXe

by Alex Johnson.

This game is an amazing platformer that did a lot of things right; however, it does have its fair share of flaws. When the game was first released they only had a control pad which was all that was available before the analog sticks were added. Without analog sticks, moving around in a 3D world was quite difficult and added quite some frustration for a young boy like myself. The story is lackluster; however, the gameplay and lovable characters make up for everything.

Be sure to check for hidden treasure s!

Spr yo will need to explore caves and glide to far off ledges in order to find all the treasures and trapped dragon s.

Game footage captured via ePSXe by Alex Johnson.

Considering this game was a pioneer of the 3D world, it gets a bonus for me. In conclusion, I believe this game deserves a 9 out of 10 rating, if only the controls had a bit more work for the control pad.

LCCC

RESET

Retro

LC

Review

Graphic by Lakyn Gardner Page 14

Willy’s Wonderland is a Bizarre, but

Kind of Fun Film

By Gary Chapman gchapman@lc.edu Nicolas Cage has had a good career, I would say, with cult classics like ”Vampire’s Kiss” and big films like the “National Treasure” franchise making him a lot of cash. After starring in a bunch of movies that are…interesting, he’s had a great last few years with him starring in critically acclaimed films like “Mandy” and Richard Stanley’s adaptation of “Color out of Space”.

One film that I was excited for was this bizarre film I heard about from a friend: “Willy’s Wonderland”. After watching it, I was confused.

The film centers around an unnamed character, played by Cage, who after getting his tires flattened by an inconspicuously placed spike strip, gets hired by the Doug Dimmadome impersonator Tex Mcadoo to work at the dilapidated and vandalized Willy’s Wonderland.

He soon discovers that the place was run by serial killers who killed themselves in an -- of course -- Satanic ritual, which causes them to inhabit the bodys of the animatronics; the town decides to sacrifice people to them. Cage’s character, named “The Janitor”, kills the animatronics in a brutal manner, while a group of kids, wanting to burn/explore the place, serve as kill fodder.

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The other characters, except for the female lead, are pretty much stereotypes; you got the gangsta guy with his valley girl, who decide to have sex in the room where the serial killers killed them, kinky.

Nicolas Cage’s character does not say a single word during the film, he does do decent action though. The film’s plot is very generic, with it seeming as the unwanted child of “Five Nights At Freddy’s” and “Child’s Play”.

The music, other than a synthwave theme by the filmmakers, is surrounded with horror cues and the “Birthday Song” by Willy the Weasel.

The film, while cheesy, is a very fun film to watch.

The kills are good, and Nicolas Cage does do good non-verbal acting. It does not last long, only 82 mins. It was not intended to be an Oscar winning masterpiece, and it does not have to be. I do believe that I would wait for the film to come out on home video, around April, to watch it though.

Like Owen Gleiberman said in his review, “We’re watching Nicolas Cage destroy a bunch of giant cuddly monsters with his bare hands! The scariest thing about the movie is that it almost pretends that it isn’t funny.”

Entertainment

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Page 16

The Abominable Snowman Krystie Morrison kemorrison@lc.edu

W

In the early ‘50s, there were numerous reports from mountain climbers on Mt. Everest claiming they witnessed large footprints while scaling the mountain. In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay also reported seeing these massive prints. Norgay even went on to later claim that he believed The abominable snowman, also referred to as the yeti was a large ape, even though he the yeti, has been talked about for centuries had never spotted anything himself. He also and is a common folklore in the Himalayas. The reported that his father had witnessed the mysteria surrounding the yeti began in 1832 mysterious beast twice! due to a journalist and his guides believing that they saw a massive creature lurking through the Going into the twenty-first century, the remountains. However, this sighting was proved ports of yeti sightings began to decline.

There were numerous descriptions of what to be just an orangutan passing through. the yeti looked like, the temperament and Over 60 years later, footprints began to appear even the size in the footprints that were disin the Himalaya region and guides would re- covered and studied for years; however, port that it was a bipedal, apelike creature with the phenomenon of the yeti was coming to shaggy hair. These claims were later found out a close. Although, there are still explorers, to be just a guide that passed on the sightings as researchers and even scientists who bea tall tale. After this, reported sightings of the Yeti lieve the yeti is out there, lurking through the mountains as we speak. disappeared altogether until the 1950s. e’ve all seen the episode of “Looney Tunes” where Bugs Bunny is adopted by the abominable snowman and renamed George, but do you really think the abominable snowman would be that cuddly and caring?

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Entertainment

Graphic and background photo by Krystie Morrison.

Entertainment

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Blazer Beat: Getting Back In The Groove

By Nathan Tucker nrtucker@lc.edu A new year of Trailblazer sports is finally upon us, after a near-eleven month COVID-caused layoff. Nearly every L&C team is active this semester, and February has already been a busy month on the hardwood for Trailblazer basketball and volleyball.

It is a different time for Trailblazer sports, games are a bit quieter nowadays without passionate fans and the continuous soundtracks of rap music. More importantly, fresh faces and departing sophomores have given L&C teams a bit of a makeover since they last took the court.

The Trailblazer men’s basketball team, loaded with freshmen talent, have had to deal with a very tough schedule early. A big loss to open the season against an experienced SWIC Blue Storm got the season off on a wrong foot, a trend that has continued for coach Doug Stotler’s team.

Take the men’s basketball team for example, back in action with three games in the past week, with only two returning sophomores from the 2019-2020 team that qualified for regionals, the team’s best season at the Division I level of NJCAA basketball since their jump from Division II now eleven years ago.

Their last loss, a 21-point defeat, came at the hands of Olney Central College, who fell just short of the NJCAA Division I Top 25 Rankings for the week of Feb. 8. Like SWIC, Olney returned multiple sophomores that impacted the score sheet.

On the other hand, the women’s basketball and volleyball teams, that were loaded with freshman talent last season, return numerous sophomores and will lean on that experience as they navigate the early days of the 2021 season.

These early days have proven to be a bit of a struggle, unfortunately, for the Trailblazer teams that have been active thus far. No Lewis & Clark side has put a tally in the win column just yet, in nine games of combined season play.

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Game management is where the Trailblazer men could improve to change their early fortunes. Costly turnovers, poor shot clock management and sloppy play while trailing have sank L&C in early action.

For the women’s hoops team, contests have been closer, and there is reason to believe fortunes will change once some consistency can be found in an unusual season. Two returning lead scorers from last year’s team are back in, Mary Penland-Holmes and Miata Borders, the former making a big impact on the court for head coach Jaron Young’s basketball team.

Young will look for better execution offensively from his Trailblazers, who have shown the ability to shoot from all over but have not really looked cohesive offensively or defensively thus far. That cohesiveness as a unit can prove the difference between wins and losses, primarily late in games.

Consider the last L&C women’s home game as of this writing, a 74-59 loss to St. Louis Community College in their Feb. 9th game.

The Trailblazers were tied at half, 30-30, but let the game get away from them defensively in the second half, and could not match St. Louis CC’s pace on the other end of the floor.

Since that home game, the Trailblazers have struggled offensively, capped by a Valentine’s Day 43-23 loss to Danville. For the college basketball unfamiliar, that is 23 points scored in 40 minutes of game time.

The good news for the L&C women, I suppose, is that there is no way but up following a loss like that.

Coach Bron Wilkerson’s Trailblazer volleyball team returns sophomores with experience, but have run into a bit of a brick wall Sports

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Collage by Lynn McDonald, photos via L&C Flickr

so far this season, yet to tally a win in competitive play.

It is a smaller group this year with just eight on the roster, and coach Wilkerson has done a little tinkering so far to figure out the best alignment for the squad.

Their best performance came on the road at St. Louis Community College - Forest Park, where L&C grabbed their first set wins of the season, but ultimately fell in the final set and lost the match 3-2. Bron Wilkerson will look to capture what the Trailblazers found in those sets and get in the win column this season.

The first few weeks of Trailblazer sports after the layoff have laid bare the struggles and challenges for its teams, and all of them will be looking to right the ship before it is too late to turn around. Progress is being made game by game, and as coaches love to say, you can only take these situations one game at a time.

Fans and followers can keep up with Trailblazers by watching live streams for home games from all sports on the LCCC YouTube channel. Men’s basketball home games will also have live radio coverage on 89.9 FM, as Trailblazer sports return to the WLCA airwaves.

For schedules and further information, visit The L&C Athletics home page.

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