The Skyline View, Volume 24, Issue 3

The

Inside View

Get mad at Apple and their pompous advertising on page 5

Discover what Jon Huffman has to do with the Smithsonian on page 6

Find out if the Skyline Women’s Soccer team can keep their incredible run alive on page 11

www.theskylineview.com

October 1, 2009

Volume XXIV - Issue 3

Victim in Skyline shooting arrested, charged

by Kenny Martin

Rachel Leung/Skyline View

The Health Center, located in building two on the second level, is where the vaccines will be distributed to Skyline students and Staff

Swine Flu vaccine coming to Skyline College

H1N1 and seasonal Influenza vaccines coming to the Health Center

by Marc Arguello

Vaccination for the H1N1 flu (Swine Flu) and the seasonal flu will be made available this October at the Skyline Health Center.

Vaccinations for H1N1 will be available for students at the Skyline Health Center by mid October, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Skyline administration. Seasonal flu vaccinations will begin the first week in October.

The date which the healthcare center will receive its supply of the H1N1 vaccine is unknown. Healthcare Staff have yet to receive an exact date to when they will be supplied with the Swine Flu vaccines.

Jan Gersonde of the Skyline Health Center said that she had yet to be informed of when the center

would receive the H1N1 vaccine, and that the issue likely has to do with supply, although the San Mateo County Immunization Program has confirmed that Skyline College will be supplied with the Seasonal Influenza vaccine by the beginning of October.

Adults will only have to receive one vaccination to be protected from Swine Flu. Children under the age of 10, on the other hand, will have to receive two separate vaccinations of H1N1 vaccine. For scheduling purposes, planners should assume a separation of 3-4 weeks between the first and second vaccination.

The CDC reported that “The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) based on the 122 Cities Report was

low and within the bounds of what is expected at this time of year.” On the other hand, 49 pediatric deaths related to swine flu have been reported since April 2009, with three of these deaths occurring last week.

Visits to doctors for influenza like illnesses (ILI) are increasing nation wide. The amount of ILI related doctor visits are higher than is usual for this time of the year, and has been increasing for six consecutive weeks.

Twenty-six states are reporting widespread influenza activity at this time. They are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Caroli-

na, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Washington. Any reports of widespread influenza activity in September are very unusual.

Swine flu spreads the same way common seasonal influenza viruses spread, mainly through the coughs and sneezes of those infected with the virus. It may also be spread by touching infected objects and then touching your nose or mouth.

The CDC highly recommends that those exhibiting any influenza like symptoms to isolate themselves from other people and avoid going to work or school if possible. Sneezing into your arm instead of into your hands is considered the proper way to sneeze in order to prevent the spread of illness.

in 2004, the top current recreational preferences in the Bay Area are hiking and biking. From the 19 possible activities on the survey’s list, golf ranked near the bottom of the list in 16th place. This decline of interest in the sport of golf has lead to the closing of many well-known local courses. Sharp Park may be next in line but the real source of controversy is what will become of the land after its closure.

An organization called Restore Sharp Park, is fighting to turn the land into a biological preserve. They are asking that the land be restored to its natural wetlands environment.

Brent Plater, head of Restore Sharp Park, was part of a task force that conducted a study analyzing the land for its prospective usage but the study gave no clear conclusions.

Restore Sharp Park thinks that the current usage of the land as a golf course is impractical. They claim

that the golf course is violating a number of environmental laws while also draining money and cutting jobs from the City of Pacifica. They also assert that the conversion to a reserve would stimulate Pacifica’s economy. This proposal to restore the natural wetlands was brought to San Francisco by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi as legislative item 090329.

The land is currently managed by the City of San Francisco but Restore Sharp Park suggests that the city turn over the managerial responsibilities to the National Parks Service and enter into an operating agreement with GGNRA. They hope to build a visitor center for the National Parks Service, something that is lacking from the San Mateo County where the majority of land is open space. However, the actual use of this open space is still under debate with 55 in agreement and 45

Twenty-year-old Eric Brewer, who was shot at Skyline College on Wednesday, September 2, now faces four charges, according to Assistant District Attorney, Karen Guidotti.

The charges are as follows: Possession of a firearm on campus, possession of a loaded weapon in public, possession of a concealed weapon, and a commission of a felony by a gang member.

Brewer is not the only one who has court proceedings ahead of him. Germaine Benjamin, who is 18, shares the same charges as Brewer.

If either of these two men is convicted of these four crimes, they will face a maximum of three years in prison, says Guidotti.

Before their actual trials, both Brewer and Benjamin have to go through a preliminary hearing, which Guidotti describes as a “probable cause kind of hearing”.

Brewer’s date for this hearing has been postponed and will be re-determined tomorrow. Benjamin’s is scheduled for Oct. 6.

In the Pacifica Tribune, it is mentioned that witnesses said they heard anywhere from three to five shots, and it appears that the police have not ruled out the possibility that more than one person pulled the trigger of a gun.

According to the Tribune, the police are still looking for some suspects, including the people who they believe are responsible for shooting Brewer.

Also printed in the Tribune is that authorities think that the incident was gang related, and that Brewer and Benjamin both belong to the same gang.

The San Bruno Police Department would not return repeated phone calls.

Sharp Park’s fate in the balance What will become of Sharp Park?

Rachel Leung/Skyline View

The view of Sharp Park from Sweeny Ridge behind Skyline’s parking lot 8

by Kyle Chidester The land from just behind the west side of Skyline College all the way down to the beach is known as Sharp Park, including a golf course by the same name. Owned by the city of San Francisco, this

golf course in Pacifica has been a hot topic of debate between San Francisco’s Parks and Recreation Department, Golden Gate National Recreational Area (GGNRA) and environmentalists over how the land should be properly used.

According to a survey taken

in opposition against the proposal.

Pacifica resident Dyer Crouch began attending council meetings and spoke to the Board of Supervisors after local environmentalist Clark Natwick informed him of the threat to the San Francisco garter snake. Crouch said he felt “compelled” to get involved when he heard about the danger to the snake, which some argue to be the most beautiful serpent in North America. He also noted that among the animals that are native to the area are Caspian terns and other shorebirds. He said that 90 percent of the wetlands in California are gone and he feels that the habitat should be restored for the benefit of more wildlife.

There is a claim that the original deed to the land stated that it must be used for a “public park/

See PARK - Page 2

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

News

The Staff Editor-In-Chief

Andrew Lidwell

News Editor

Marc Arguello

Opinions Editor JJ Valdez

EDITORIAL EDITOR Luah Fontana

Features Editor Antoinette Estigoy

Entertainment Editor Joe Fogel

Sports Editor

Kenny Martin

ONLINE EDITORS

Alyssa Capili Jay Johnson

Chief Copy Editor Helen Tran

PHOTO EDITOR Sofia Mas

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Rachel Leung Frank Romero

GRAPHICS EDITOR

Alessandro Fillari

CARTOONIST JJ Valdez

Seinor Staff Writers Kyle Chidester

Faculty Adviser

Nancy Kaplan-Biegel

A Better Tomorrow Today Skyline improves both the campus and the environment

by Joe Fogel

The improvements around campus go well beyond adding new buildings and improving the landscape. Skyline has also been working to get L.E.E.D. certification for some of the newer buildings.

L.E.E.D. stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

It’s essentially a rating system supplied by the U.S. Green Building Council that determines how ecofriendly a building is.

Certification is broken into a point scale that measures a building’s performance in six central

areas: water efficiency, energy and atmosphere efficiency, material and resource selection, indoor environmental quality, innovation in the design process, and sustainable site development.

“Our district has actually been working on issues of sustainability for quite awhile,” said Skyline President Victoria Morrow.

There are four levels of certification a building can achieve. With a maximum of 69 points that can be earned, only 26 are needed to achieve basic certification. The next level would be silver certification at

33 points, then gold at 39 and finally platinum at 52 points or higher.

In order to achieve L.E.E.D. certification, the points scale must be factored into the design from the get go. All of the six areas must be considered when determining the location and general features of a new building. Things from the amount of energy and water saved, to the accessibility of bus terminals of the building in question all play a role in determining the certification.

“It’s very important to the district to make their buildings as energy efficient as possible,” said Glenn

Claycomb, project manager of the Design-Build Project.

Currently, two of the three new buildings on campus are aiming for certification. The new Facilities and Maintenance Center, which opens on Nov. 11, has already earned silver certification and is only a few points away from earning gold. The project team is currently working on minor changes and additions to achieve gold certification. Building Four is the other new building working towards certification. It’s reasonable to expect that it will achieve silver certification, but the team working on it is also trying to achieve gold.

“I think the campus does really well with everything that they do,” said Facilities Manager, Richard Inokuchi. “From recycling to being eco friendly, to being environmentally conscious.”

In addition to “green” buildings, Skyline has been leading by example to preserve the environment.

With the “One Stream” recycling program in place Skyline has successfully recycled over 80 percent of our waste.

This means that when disposing of recyclable waste, Skyline no longer has to separate recyclables.

“Hats off to the campus because we couldn’t achieve this if people, not just staff, but staff and students weren’t making a conscious effort,” Inokuchi said.

PARK - from Page 1 Want more news? www.theskylineview.com Or maybe you have news for us?

(650) 738-4377 Want to yell at us? theskylineview@gmail.com Or use snail mail: The Skyline View c/o Language Arts Room 8-8110 Skyline College 3300 College Drive San Bruno CA 94066

The Skyline View is a First Amendment Publication. The Skyline View is published bi-weekly during the spring and fall semesters by the journalism students at Skyline College. The Skyline View is member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of the writers and should not be interpreted as the views of Skyline College, SMCCCD, the faculty, administrators or the newspaper adviser. Additionally, the paper does not endorse any of the products or services advertised.

The Skyline View welcomes Letters to the Editors; letters must include full name, address, and phone number for verification. The Skyline View reserves the right to edit letters for length, libel, clarity, and taste.

the golf course is actually a misuse of the land. There are three main options which have been presented, with hopes that one will be chosen by the end of the year. The options are: keep the golf course with very little restoration, cut the course down to nine holes with more restoration, or major and complete restoration.

This last option would mean closure of the golf course, something Sharp Park Golf Club general manager Mark Duane hopes not to see happen despite his neutral official statement on the issue.

In an article for The San Francisco Examiner, journalist Bruce Balshone said that San Mateo County is not interested in keeping the golf course but ultimately the decision of how the land will be used is left up to the City of Pacifica.

Though San Francisco owns the land in question, the County of San Mateo and the city of Pacifica must be consulted before any decisions are made or plans put into action.

Balshone also noted that a biological preserve is not necessarily the only option the city has. He suggested that since Pacifica is in a low tax base, they could consider looking into more commercial interests.

However, all plans are still subject to review. Other holdups he mentioned were related to questions of where the money to fund projects is coming from, the sense that the San Francisco legislature has less power to intimidate smaller communities’ decisions and that the Parks and Recreation Department currently has no chairperson.

Currently the debate has reached a standstill and though some believe the issue will be resolved by the end of 2009, the end seems hardly within sight. It is probably inevitable that the golf course will be closed down at some point but what will take its place is yet to be determined.

Skyline View

The

October, 1 2009

Opinion

Changes worth the wait?

When will Skyline see greeen again?

There’s something magical about the scenery that surrounds our humble learning institute. When students first arrive on the scene, our campus greets them with a fortress like feeling, with our campus in the center surrounded by a multitude of majestic trees as if protecting us. On certain days this euphoria is intensified with fog rolling over from the coast engulfing our campus like a blanket. And once you enter the premises you are greeted by the sudden and instantaneous view of a rather dirty construction site.

Yes, we’ve made it through the first month of school and construction is still going on. Although it isn’t as bad as the first day of school, when students had to carefully walk across planks laid out next to chain link fences, it’s nonetheless given the campus a feeling that you can’t pass through to class unless you’re wearing a hard hat.

What bothered us the most about the construction isn’t the construction itself but rather the immediate changes that construction has had on our campus. We don’t mind the new additions to our campus which the construction will give birth to - a little change in scenery never hurts anybody- and like most others we were worried about how long this will take and we’re still surprised at how fast it’s going. But our main concern is this: when will Skyline start seeing green again?

The construction could end tomorrow but it won’t be as satisfying if it doesn’t look like the way it used to: trees, bushes and grass. From what we could gather from the construction workers, the people in charge of replanting our campus are another company who will be supervised by the current company. When this will happen, we don’t know. Some people might not even care about how green our school is, or should be, as long as it’s done soon.

But this is not an attitude to be proud of.

The new scenario is not very convenient for the daily life of a student either. As students, we find the construction site to be a huge eye sore; it is definitely not what we want to see after a stressful class. And honestly, we just want to go to our next class without the wind blowing dirt in our eyes.

Video Games: Art in the making or mindless entertainment?

by Alessandro Fillari As a medium, video games are still a relatively new form of entertainment. From its origins with the earliest development of computers to its eventual move to the public space, it has become a multibillion dollar industry and has become a part of pop culture. But would you ever consider them to be a form of art?

While many may scoff at the idea of video games being a form of art and expression, this kind of question has been circulating around the electronic entertainment industry for a long time. By definition, art is the arrangement of different skills and experiences to create an aesthetic product. As a medium, video games bring the audio and visual aspects of film and combine it with the interaction of the user. Obviously, this is what sets video games apart from passive forms of entertainment such as movies, music and books, which are widely considered to have artistic value.

As games have matured throughout several decades on the market, more developers are starting to take risks and develop new games that are sophisticated in scope as well as attempting to innovate methods of play. Instead of offering shallow and forgetful experiences, several development studios are creating

Thumbs Thumbs up: up: Lucia Lachmayr Lucia Lachmayr For being the most intellectual English Professor to ever grace an institute of higher learning. With her unparalleled teaching skill and endless amount of forgiveness for someone who missed her class four times, she is definitely the most valuable asset that skyline has to offer.

-JJ Valdez

For being the most intellectual English Professor to Thumbs down: ever People who use the Skyline news grace aing paper to kiss up to

school time but their teachers its disgraceful Teacher’s petsaare the worst kind when they use newspaper of bottom feeding scum ever imagintoable, do so. its one thing when they suck

up to the teacher during school time but its disgraceful when they use a - newspaper Luah Fontana to do so.

- Luah Fontana

Graphic by Rachel Leung/Skyline View

Which one do you think is Art? Left Image: “Fountain” - Marcel Duchamp / Right Image: “Little Big Planet” - Sony Computer Entertianment Europe

games that attempt to challenge the user’s expectations.

Belgian development studio Tale of Tales has created a series of artistic games that offer a unique take on interactive entertainment.

Several of their products feature strong emphasis on characters and setting, which they see as a way for players to be able to relate more to the game. One particular game titled the “The Graveyard” has the player guide an elderly woman around a cemetery while also taking in the scenery and ambiance.

Despite these intentions from

Cookies For Rookies W.O.W meeting

game creators who want to do more things with video games, there are many who remain steadfast in their assertion that this form of entertainment can never be art.

One critic in particular is famous film reviewer Roger Ebert. He argues that the interactivity needed in video games is what prevents it from being an art from, making them inherently inferior to films and music. “Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control,” said Ebert, after

responding to a question regarding video games on his blog.

Though he is absolutely correct about the author’s vision having influence in the work, it needs to be said that the player’s interactivity is within the author’s, or in the case of video games, the developer’s vision. For example, the game “Little Big Planet” provides tools to the player that allows them to create environments, write their own stories and customize their own “sack people” (the characters that populate the game) as they see fit.

SEE GAMES - Page 4

By: JJ Valdez

nt of forgiveness for someone who Thumbs up: Harry Potter missed Series her class I am re-reading the series and I four times, she am about half-way through the sevbook. The plots are phenomisenth definitely the enal and the character development is top-notch.

I can’t wait for the most valuable final movie.

-Kenny Martin asset that skyline has to offer.

Thumbs up: - Cocaine JJ Drink Energy Valdez The size of a Redbull can with Thumbs three and a half times the energy.

This little red can will keep you full up: of B12s for hours and hours. But beware this intense energy drink is not Lucia Lachmayr for pregnant women or children.

- Jay Johnson

For being the most Thumbs Down: Cooking Home-cooked meals should intellectual magically appear in front of me instead of me having to get up and English make them. All this “cooking” Professor business seriously cutsto into my sitaround-doing-nothing time. ever grace - Andrew Lidwell an institute of higher learning.

With her unparalleled teaching skill

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

Opinion

Get your fix of Celebrity Gossip The Benefits of We’re obsessed with the wrong people

Body Piercings

by Kyle Chidester What’s in the news today? Well, one of the top stories on MSN.com is focused on some extortion case, involving John Travolta. Yeah, I remember him doing that, wasn’t it called Pulp Fiction? Oh, we’re concerned about his personal life. Let’s paste his testimony about the death of his son on the Internet so that an obviously deeply personal moment can be viewed by millions of people all around the world.

What is it about these people that make us so interested in their lives, but the lives of our neighbors are less than important? Yes, I understand that these people knew that becoming a “star” would include mass exposure of their personal lives. But do we really need to get so worked up about it?

I mean, how many weeks has it been Michael Jackson been dead, and we still are so concerned what will happen to his kids and other “property.” Then there is was the incident at the Grammys. So Kanye West is a total jerk, did you really need to replay his moment of stupidity to get it? Everyone had an opinion about that, even President Obama said that he was a jackass.

The point is, we get so intrigued by the lives of the stars, that we forget that they’re real people also.

That when a family member dies, they want to grieve over their loss, often in a private setting. And that sometimes they do something rude and uncalled for, so what happened to the sentiment of forgive and forget?

And for the all we invest in be-

coming intimate with these distant figures, what do we have left to share with our families, our neighbors, our communities? We were so angry about Kanye making young Taylor Swift cry, but when we are unconcerned if we see this kind of thing happen on the street. There are so many people who need that comfort, that interest.

Go next door and ask your neighbor if they would like to get something to eat. Take the time to get to know them. Lend a hand when they are in need. These are our communi-

ties, what have those celebrities contributed to us? So Oprah gives away a few cars a week, ever wonder how she can afford that kind of “charity?” Each time she does something humanitarian, she also gains about a hundred new viewers. She benefits just as much, if not more from her acts of kindness.

Our benefits could be: peaceful streets, cleaner neighborhoods, brotherhood and fellowship. The quality of life would skyrocket! But do you have the time?

You know, it seems like I should know better than to have hope. I’ve seen so many goals fall by the wayside, so many rules get ignored, that I don’t think anyone could blame me if I washed my hands of the whole deal and just took a business-asusual approach to everything.

Last production cycle, we almost achieved a goal that hasn’t been met for as long as I’ve been on staff, and probably before that. 16 is a big number, and as a page count it seemed to forever be just tantalizingly out of reach for such a small – and largely new – staff.

But last time we had it. We made 16 pages, give or take a little bit of filler. It was sitting there, looking all glorious in the layout, and all we had to do was export it to Adobe PDF and send it to the printer.

And right about there is where the nightmare began. InDesign, our layout software, apparently didn’t take kindly to any of this “progress” nonsense, and decided that two of our pages were corrupt and wouldn’t

export properly.

And try as we might over the course of the next hour, we could not figure out what was wrong.

So, we had to cut those two pages and two others to make a 12-page newspaper. It wasn’t the worst thing that could have happened by far, but it was still depressing to have worked so hard towards the goal only to have it shot down at the very last second.

The good news is that we still made 12 pages on our first real issue of the semester. The bad news is that it was riddled with errors.

Many are small, many are unnoticeable. Many are not. The biggest thing that’s wrong is that our staff box is from two semesters ago, mainly because I pulled it out of the wrong file at the last second and didn’t double-check it.

Most of it is stuff we could have fixed with more time to edit, which we unfortunately didn’t have. I knew that process would be sloppy the first time around, but apparently

I’d made a lot of unfounded assumptions about what people knew and what knowledge would get passed out around the newsroom.

This is a learning process for me too, and two weeks ago I learned not to simply assume that because some of the people in the newsroom know what they’re doing when it comes to layout or the editing process that everyone does.

So I made sure everything everyone needed to know about everything that happens in the newsroom got put down in a procedures outline – which I’m extremely proud of – and we went over it during class time.

We’ll see how well it took, but I still haven’t lost my faith in this staff. Far from it, in fact. Despite the setbacks we encountered last time, we learned quite a bit, and we’re gunning for another 16-page edition this cycle, as well as a few other changes you might notice.

An art form or just weird?

by Alyssa Capili This past Wednesday, Sept. 23 I decided to get two facial piercings.

Upon hearing about an extra credit book reading event my English professor mentioned would be at “The Booksmith” in the Haight, the close proximity was what made me decide to get my piercings.

I then “Yelped” several of the best user-rated and sanitary piercing shops in the Bay area. Conveniently, the top five shops were located on Haight Street.

I decided to go to “Braindrops” because they list all of their piercing prices online, accept credit cards, and have great reviews based on the quality of their work. I decided to get my eyebrow and lip pierced at the same time in order to take advantage of their five dollar off special upon getting any two piercings at once.

My piercer, Paul, made sure my jewelry fit properly, changed his gloves (for sanitation purposes) at least seven times, and maintained great casual banter to take my mind off of the three-inch needle about to go through my eyebrow/lip.

Braindrops was very professional and I am glad that I chose the shop that I did.

Piercings actually teach people responsibility and to keep faith in

their commitments. I say this because if the “pierce” does not wash their piercings at least twice daily and perform their weekly salt soaks to keep the open wound clean, the piercing will get infected.

This will cause a lot of unnecessary pain and discomfort for the piercee and the piercing will eventually have to be removed, anyway. This will result in an average $60 loss for every piercing they would lose (costing about $25 for the piercing and $35 for the jewelry).

Also, piercings provide for individual expression. Different people are offered the option to get a variety of different piercings where ever they want on their body. These piercings would thus help to define who/what the client is or wants to be seen as.

It took me over a year to muster up the courage to go to Braindrops.

But, in retrospect, a second’s worth of pain really did pay off in the end.

After looking for the best piercing shop in town, researching various piercings, and reading over several after care procedures, I love the two piercings that I have now.

Overall I think piercings are great and I advise anyone thinking of getting one to seriously consider getting one. Take the plunge.

Video Games: Art in the making or mindless entertainment?

Continued from page 3 While the game does have a small amount of story and stock levels available when you first start the game, the ultimate experience of the game is the content generated by the players. With users getting the chance to become authors of their own creations within the game, they’re able to express themselves and create their own experiences, all while staying true to the game developer’s vision and retaining the essence of the game.

Personally, I think video games are an exciting medium for people to use to express themselves. There were times when film was thought of as just a source of entertainment and

was not taken seriously as art. Now more than ever we’re seeing people experimenting with video games as an artistic form of expression. The rise in popularity of independent video games, made by people who grew up with games, are starting to turn heads in the industry and push the envelope on what can be done with them.

Art has always been subjective.

Personally, if Marcel Duchamp can put his own signature on a public urinal and call it art, then at the very least video games should get some form of recognition. In many ways, it’s the most advanced form of expression we currently have.

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

Opinion

Why Apple’s advertising makes me rage

Nothing against the computers, but the marketers can crawl into a hole and stay there

by Andrew Lidwell

I’m a Windows guy through and through. Nothing made my blood boil more then when those ignorant, thinly-disguised-as-subtext “I’m a Mac” commercials started airing.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against Macs themselves.

I even use them from time to time when all other options have been exhausted. Hell, I even own an iPhone.

But it infuriates me that Apple is trying to portray PCs as some sort of inferior system, scrabbling to figure it all out while the slick, cool Mac sits on its pedestal and laughs.

First of all, I submit that proprietary software aside, there is nothing—and I mean nothing—that a Mac can do that a PC can’t.

This sounds like a big claim, but really, it’s nothing new and it probably isn’t a new concept for a lot of people. Again, proprietary software aside, there is no major program that a Mac can run that a PC can’t.

This hits Apple right in the selling point, too, because they claim that Macs are better for design software. What? Why? I have Adobe Master Suite CS4, and it runs perfectly well on my PC. I’m a designer and I’ve used programs like Adobe on both PCs and Macs, and I never saw how the Mac made the program suddenly superior.

If anything, the so-called “simple” design of the Mac makes it actually harder to use any given program. Here’s the biggest flaw: no right-click. It sounds like a petty gripe, I know. But when your major marketing campaign is that design programs work better on your system, how do you justify making it that much harder to access the contextual menus that design programs rely on?

And to head off the criticism, yes, I know that there’s a button on the keyboard that lets you access the right-click menu by holding it down when you click. But nobody with two brain cells to rub together can argue that having two mouse buttons isn’t just more practical at this point.

The only reason to hang on to the single-button design is out of sheer stubbornness. Apple, the two-button design is better—just accept it and stop being petty. Your single-button mouse isn’t better, it’s not simpler and it’s not a brand identifier. It’s just stupid.

Speaking of stupid, Apple also claims that Macs are easier to use than PCs. They’re simple to use, they never crash, and they have no viruses, Apple says. Really?

First of all, “simple to use” is

relative. And while I’m sure that relativity was a simple concept for Einstein to wrap his head around, not all of us are Einstein. And while Macs may have a simpler interface (I’ve never noticed a major difference, aside from everything being backwards), it doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out how to use a PC either.

The only reason Macs might be simpler is if the user just isn’t willing to put forth the extra effort to figure out all this right-clicking and left-aligned business. And as far as I’m concerned, Apple can have those customers.

As far as “never crashing” goes, well, call in the MythBusters because we have ourselves an urban legend to crack.

While I’m sure Apple has come a long way from the days where all it took to kill a Mac was dragging the hard drive icon into the recycle bin, they don’t lock up any more or less than PCs do (which, for all of Mac’s smear campaigns against PCs, doesn’t happen all that often either).

Like I already mentioned, I have an iPhone and it’s locked up on me plenty of times. Macs have frozen on me before and so have PCs. It’s something you accept and resolve; it’s not supposed to be a major marketing campaign. Besides, you shouldn’t be allowed to market a product on an unmeasurable statistic. Saying that Macs crash less than PCs isn’t just false, it’s narrow minded.

If you’re looking for a statistic that is measurable, though, you can always look at Apple’s claim that there are almost no viruses for Macs.

And you know what? They’re right.

But this is for two reasons and neither of them are good.

First, everything that goes on a Mac has to go though Apple.

They’re obsessive about it. They don’t like third-party software and they don’t want you messing with the computer yourself, so you are severely limited with what you can do with it. The same is true for the iPhone—some people will even go as far as voiding their warranties to jailbreak their phones, going to all that trouble just to get at a few features that Apple foolishly left out of the design of an otherwise marvelous piece of hardware.

This is one of Apple’s biggest flaws and it’s one of the two main reasons there are so few viruses—almost everything has to go through them. This is great for security but terrible for any sort of third–party design or innovation.

What’s the other reason? Simple—market share. Mac computers

do not dominate the market like PCs do. If you’re a hacker or programmer or whatever, do you write your program to be compatible with 80 percent of the potential targets or a mere 20 percent?

Those numbers are arbitrary but you certainly get the idea. There are significantly less viruses for the Mac. Why? Because why bother?

While it’s undoubtedly a good thing that Macs don’t have many problems with viruses, it’s really for all the wrong reasons and it’s not something you should flaunt. Besides, PCs don’t get that many viruses either, as long as you’re not doing stupid things Andrew Lidwell/Skyline View like visiting quesI’m a PC, so clearly I have to be the old guy looking awkward in a suit as I try to fit in. And I’m a Mac, so I tionable websites guess that makes me the young, relaxed, hip kid showing the old man how we do it. Yep. No thinly-disguised and downloading propaganda here. or running everyupgrade a Mac? Well, you take it out although most modern games still thing you see.

So you can see that Apple’s four back and shoot it then buy an entirely don’t support Apple’s operating major selling points for the Mac— new system. Macs, being the polar systems so technically they have to simple to use, crashes less often, opposite of PCs in this respect, are become PCs first.

When you have to literally bedoesn’t have viruses and are better not cheap and easy to upgrade and come your competition in order to for designers—are circumstantial at they are a nightmare to fix.

If a component on a PC breaks, compete, don’t you think that you best and at worst, downright false. you replace the component. If a might have lost the high ground Now that we’re done with that, let’s talk about what PCs can do that Mac breaks? Send the whole thing somewhere along the way?

This, more than anything, tells back to the repair center and if they Macs can’t. Besides right-click.

If the Mac’s greatest flaw is that accidentally erase your hard drive, me that for all its elitist advertising, smear campaigns and smug supeyou can do so little, the PC counters oops, sign here.

As far as software is concerned, riority, Apple is the one scrabbling this by giving you an environment PCs can still do everything Macs can around trying to get it all right and where there’s very little you can’t the PC is the one looking over its do, and then some. do.

As an experiment, I googled “PC shoulder, wondering when the Mac You could argue that this is the PC’s biggest weakness as well as its games.” There were about 51 million is going to catch up.

So what’s the point in owning a greatest strength, and you’d prob- results. A Google search for “Mac ably be right. But for almost every games” on the other hand, turned up Mac if a PC can do everything they can and then some? To be perfectly function you can imagine, the PC is only about 4.2 million results. honest, I don’t know. As I said, I This should be no surprise.

Macs and always will be the best and most simply aren’t gaming machines; it’s don’t hate Macs. I simply don’t see versatile system.

Yes, I said versatile. What hap- not what they are for although I’m any appeal or any practical reason to pens if you need to upgrade your having a hard time figuring out what own one. I do hate the advertising campaigns they’ve engaged in over PC? Well, lucky thing you have a they are for.

But wait, I hear you say, because the last couple of years as they attack PC. PC components are cheap and incredibly easy to install yourself. I have excellent hearing. Macs can every ounce of common sense I have The most it takes is you opening play all the games PCs can, now that in my body.

The only thing I can conclude your case, sticking the new part in Macs are using Intel processors!

Of course you’re right. Good job from this is that the people who are wherever it goes, maybe install some drivers and then you’re good to go. to Apple for edging in on the gaming educated on all of these points and It’s simple, it’s cheap and it takes market and let’s give them a warm still choose to own a Mac over a PC are elitist snobs riding on the “rewelcome to 1990! maybe 20 minutes. fined” advertising campaign Apple Yes, Macs can play games now, has established, or people who don’t What do you do if you need to actually like computers.

Chris Morring/Skyline View

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

Features

Film freeze flowers will blossom in Smithsonian garden

courtesy of the skyline gallery theatre

A handshake seals the deal - the Smithsonian acquired two of Huffman’s works.

by Sofia Mas Students don’t have to travel to the city to find great art. Great art can be found here on campus at the Skyline art gallery. On Sept. 25, Elizabeth Broun, Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, visited and acquired two artworks by one of the featured artists in the show Technopia, Jon Huffman.

The Skyline gallery has been

showing Technopia, an exhibition that mixes the idea of technology and the Twenty-first century.

Huffman, one of the five artists featured in the show, works by comprising large- scale photograph transparencies known as Cibachrome. Huffman and Paul Bridenbaugh, Director of the Skyline art gallery, gave Broun and guests a one hour walk through of the show.

“It was so awesome and such an honor to have an esteemed visitor of one of the top museums of contemporary art take a trip across the country to see the work,” said Bridenbaugh. “I enjoyed watching her see the art-work. She had the delight of a child”.

Art has been significant to Huffman since a very young age, where he grew up in Claremont, California.

“Most of my childhood friends’ parents were Art professors at the university, so I was around Art making, going to openings, etc.,” he said.

Huffman became aware of the different ways artists execute art work and was completely intrigued.

His visceral joy is in the process, which keeps Huffman afloat by keeping an inquisitive nature.

“My work changes over time but Art making is a kind of searching and sorting out of issues.”

His Cibachromes and C-prints are photographic images from a frozen screen on a video monitor focuses on reversing the traditional technological image trajectory. His works are vivid images of the fusion

of thousands of lights that illuminate color.

Broun was introduced to Huffman’s work through an email on the internet. When Broun saw the images she said, “I just had to see the Huffman’s in person.”

Two of Jon Huffman’s art works will be part of the Smithsonian Art Collection. The Smithsonian Archives of America is one of the world’s largest American collections documenting various art movements in the visual arts.

“To have the Smithsonian American Art Museum acquire two of my works is a big surprise,” Huffman said. “I could not be more pleased.”

Broun expressed that exhibits like Technopia are proof that it’s in a college gallery where important cultural moves are presented by artists. Perhaps it’s why Broun signed the gallery book, “Fresh and exciting work in the best ‘techno’ tradition.”

For more information on the Smithsonian Museum visit http:// americanart.si.edu/.

What is the Smithsonian institution?

It’s the world’s Largest Museum and research organization.

It is composed of: 19 museums 9 research centers And the National Zoo. Last year in 2008, the museums were visited by over 25.2 million visitors.

The collection holds over 136 million objects, art objects, and specimens.

Skyline theatre chamber music concert

by Alyssa Capili This past Wednesday, Sept. 23, the Skyline Theater was graced by its own professional chamber music concert.

Barbara Daley recruited two of the three concert performers by a truly interesting chain of events.

Approximately two weeks before the concert, Skyline Librarian Daley met cellist Rebecca Rust and her bassoon-playing husband Friedrich Edelmann in the Skyline library.

The duo, Rust and Edelmann, were ready to perform several pieces in their own paid chamber music tour until they realized that the lyrics to one of their pieces were in German.

kenny martin/Skyline

View

Rebecca Rust and Friedrich Edelmann

Renowned Czech composer Otmar Mácha actually composed a song entitled “Apollon & Marsyas”

specifically for the couple to play along with its accompaniment with lyrics in 1994. The song and its lyrics were made based off of Mácha’s analysis of an old Apollo and Marsyas painting. Here the Greek god Apollo literally fought the timid sadir, Marsyas, in a musical concert where the loser, Marsyas, would be skinned alive.

Thus, the couple set out to check every San Francisco public library for the translation. Because no other county library had the specific Greek mythology book that they needed, the couple finally found their catch in the Skyline College library.

Upon assisting and casually asking why the couple was at Skyline, Daley serendipitously discovered two seriously talented musicians.

Daley next inquired if the couple

would play a selection of classical music pieces at Skyline. Then, in accompaniment with Skyline’s own staff member/pianist Elizabeth Ingber, the rest is history.

Students offered the artists a “warm welcome and response …[after which] may have been the first exposure to classical music [these] students [have had],” according to Daley. The concert was a great success.

Many “liked the variety of classical music in the program ... [and] the casual [teaching] format of the concert,” music instructor Jude Navari said.

It was especially helpful how Edelmann would break before each piece to shed light upon various aspects of the performance. At one time he stopped to describe how the

cello and bassoon produced their sound. And, at another interval he showed how high and low the bassoon was capable of going.

In response to the concert, student Terrence Chin remarked that “it was interesting getting to see a bassoon. It was my first time at a music concert so I never realized how hard it was to play classical instruments. I really enjoyed the concert.”

We can only hope there will be more wonderfully entertaining and free classical music concerts like this one to grace Skyline College in the future.

Three big festivals continuing to showcase their successes Celebrating a decade of successful representation in the San Francisco Bay Area

by Antoinette Estigoy Oktoberfest Celebrating 10 years in San Francisco, Oktoberfest by the Bay will take place Oct. 2-4 at its new location, Pier 48. An event that originated in Germany, Oktoberfest was originally held to celebrate the marriage of King Ludwig I and Princess Therese of Saxony. In latter years, this celebration has been held in many other cities around the world, including our very own San Francisco. However, the original reason for Oktoberfest has evolved and today it has become a fete to honor German culture and heritage.

This event is mostly for the 21and-over crowd, featuring Spaten Munchen and Bavarian beers on tap.

Parking downtown can be hard to come by, even with public parking structures that offer hourly or daily parking incentives, so it is highly recommended that people utilize

10

years

in San Francisco

1999-2009 public transportation, especially those looking to have noch eine mass (i.e. planning to actively participate in the beer and wine tasting). The entrance fees are listed on the official Bay Area Oktoberfest website, along with special daily promotions such as $10 off general admission on Friday and two-for-one admission tickets on Sunday.

For additional information or to purchase your tickets in advance, visit the Oktoberfest by the Bay website at http://www.oktoberfestbythebay.com.

World Vegetarian Festival Commemorating World Vegetarian Day, the tenth annual World Vegetarian Festival will occur during Oct. 3-4 from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. This event will bring together a community of vegetarians as well as people who are interested in learning about vegetarianism. The festival will feature various presenters speaking out in support of the cause, such as New York Times bestselling author Rory Freedman. There will be live entertainment such as acrobatics performed by the Red Panda Acrobats and interactive cooking demos such as “Tips & Techniques for Easy, Healthy, Local Cooking” with Lisa Jervis. If you want to check it out, it is free to students, children and seniors (make sure to bring your ID) and free to the public

before 10:30am on both Saturday and Sunday. Otherwise, they respectfully suggest a donation of $6.

The festival will be held at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park.

For additional information, visit the San Francisco Vegetarian Society’s Web site at http://www.sfvs. org/wvd/ or call them directly at (415) 273-5481.

Litquake Litquake, San Francisco’s annual literary festival, is celebrating a decade as the “West Coast’s largest literary festival.” The week-long event will take place from Oct. 9-17.

Several locations throughout the city will be helping to host the event and the San Francisco Main Library’s

Koret Auditorium will be accommodating a majority of the free events. If you’re interested in taking a retrospective walk down literary lane, the festival will be offering a free “Literary North Beach Walking Tour” which will begin at 5 p.m. at the Beat Museum and will last for approximately one hour. There will some special events that will cost an additional entrance fee, such as the Barbary Coast ceremony honoring this year’s recipient, Amy Tan, with an award for her “contribution to the Bay Area literary community.”

For additional information, a schedule of events or to buy tickets in advance, visit the official website for San Francisco’s Litquake Festival at http://www.litquake.org or by calling (415) 750-1497.

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October 1, 2009

Features

Dear Zoe: Relationship Advice Send us your dilemmas and Zoe will offer up her advice Dear Zoe,

Dear Zoe,

My girlfriend always falls asleep when we’re on the phone but I don’t know if she has a health problem or is she just tired? How do I bring this concern up to her? It’s a bit irritating, especially when I’ve been trying to tell her how in love I am with her.

It was my girlfriend’s turn to plan date night. I was really excited until she took me to our local bookstore. She could tell I was disappointed and instead of picking a new place, she threw a fit and said I was “mean and stupid.” Am I so wrong for not being interested in going to read books on a date night with my girlfriend?

-N.J.

-D.H.

Dear N.J.,

Dear D.H.,

I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. I’ll start with the bad news first. Your girlfriend just might not be that into you.

When we care about someone and are interested in them, we like to listen, even if they are just chatting about nothing. The fact that she keeps dozing off while you’re talking is a bad sign that she might not like you that much. Does she look bored or distracted when you talk in person or does this problem only happen on the phone? Depending on your answer, I would take a closer look at where things are headed...things aren’t looking too hot.

However, there is good news too. She could really be into you but have a health issue or be chronically tired from lack of sleep, which is a very common problem for many people. You should just ask her directly about this to find out if she hasn’t been sleeping much or if she’s got something more serious like narcolepsy (when one cannot control when one falls asleep). Find out if she takes medication for anything, as some prescriptions do cause drowsiness. I’m going to assume this happens at the end of the day or at night before you go to sleep so the odds of her feeling fatigued are high.

However, if she dozes off when you talk on the phone in the morning or afternoon, unless you learn she does have some kind of illness, read paragraph one again.

Make sure when you do ask her about this issue that you are not on the phone. You don’t want her dozing off on the phone while you’re asking her about falling asleep! In addition to talking to her in person, be careful to not sound accusatory since you don’t know what her situation is yet. Just tell her in a neutral tone how you have noticed that she gets tired and eventually falls asleep when you are on the phone and you have been wondering if there’s something you are saying to cause this. That makes it less confrontational since you’re making it about what you are doing. She’ll probably tell you at this point what is wrong and then you can both figure out how to improve things.

If she insists that nothing is wrong or somehow starts to get upset, nicely tell her that you just want to make her happy and emphasize that if there’s anything you can say or do to engage her more, she should let you know. If you stay approachable, she should be completely fine with the conversation.

It’s so sweet that you’re ready to tell her how much you love her! You should definitely try and tell her this in person rather than on the phone just to make it more personal (and avoid any potential falling asleep issues). However, until you’re sure that she’s genuinely into you, I would hold off. Address the dozing off problem first because remember, sadly there is a chance she’s just not that into you. And if she’s not that into you, you don’t want to waste your time and emotions declaring your love for her. But if you find out she does really care and just needs to fix some health problems, then feel free to tell her those three little words.

Write to Zoe at dear.zoe.mailbox@gmail.com if you’d like advice on your relationship issues.

Yes, you are wrong, but so is she. While date night is about a couple spending quality time together, ideally both people should also enjoy the actual activities and locations involved. However, this isn’t always possible, especially if the two people involved have very different interests. If she hates sports (I’m assuming you love sports but this applies for whatever your interests are) and you hate books, then that makes it difficult for you two to have a date night where you both like the activity. Being in a relationship is about much more than having fun, though. You should both make efforts to learn about and appreciate things that your partner is into. I don’t know your girlfriend, but maybe she really loves books and reading and spending time in a bookstore makes her happy. If that’s true, you should have made more of an effort to enjoy the experience with her even if you personally thought the idea was kind of boring. What’s important to her should be important to you even if you don’t really agree.

I do think she overreacted though when she called you “mean and stupid.” While I’m sure she was disappointed that you weren’t more excited by the date, it’s obvious you weren’t trying to be malicious about your feelings. I’m guessing she was just really excited about going to the bookstore with you and was just very let down by your lack of enthusiasm. She was at fault as well, because as the date night planner, she should have factored in your preferences to hopefully come up with an activity that you could both enjoy together. If you never told her you didn’t like books, then I can see how she would be confused and hurt because she had no idea you wouldn’t like going to the bookstore with her. But, if you expressed your dislike before and she chose to ignore or forget that you’re not a fan of roaming between bookshelves, then that is rather inconsiderate of her to pick something she knows you’re not into.

There are a few ways you can approach date night in the future so that you both can fully enjoy it.

One way is to compromise by making sure that anything planned is something that you and she are interested in. If you’re total opposites, maybe that means you don’t get to do the things you really like but that also means you can explore new things together. I’m sure that checking out a new movie would be something you both can appreciate, sign up for a new class to take together, go to a concert of an artist you both enjoy, etc. If you can’t find anything in common, then taking turns is the other way to go. If she picks the bookstore again, try to just enjoy her company and look at sports books or magazines or whatever topic you are interested in. Then when you get tickets to go to a football game, she can’t complain because she knows it’s something you love (even if she hates it) and you already made the effort to go to the bookstore with her. If both of you take turns, then nobody can really get upset even if sometimes you are bored by the other person’s choices, because things are fair for both of you. If taking turns doesn’t work because you really just find books unbearable and she truly can’t stand going to sports games, then the last option is to just stick with really neutral activities that won’t offend anybody. Some things you can try to do instead are: have dinner together, take a walk somewhere scenic, cuddle on the couch, or just talk to each other.

I think you’ll find that if you both make an effort to factor in the other person’s feelings and interests, whether it be through compromising on date night activities or taking turns, you’ll both end up happier and feel closer to each other. It’s not so much what you do, it’s about the why and how. You do things to make her happy because you love her and she should do the same in return. So, good luck planning the next date night and don’t be so pessimistic about picking up a book or two!

Money Saving Tips

by Antoinette Estigoy Money Saving Tip: Deals and Steals

Guess who is giving away free cookies? In celebration of National Cookie month, Mrs. Fields cookies will be giving away one FREE chocolate chip cookie to each patron on Oct. 1, from 11am-1pm at the Serramonte Shopping Center in Daly City.

For additional information and a list of other participating locations, visit http://www.mrsfields.com.

Money Saving Tip: Activities

Have you ever heard of Sky High Sports? Just as its name suggests, this indoor activity takes the trampoline to a whole new level of sport.

Featuring 360 degrees of trampoline

walls in the main jumping arena, separate areas that are specific for playing dodge ball as well as a “kid-friendly” foam pit, this place is a fun-filled experience waiting to happen. The first time I attempted this, I was apprehensive because I thought I’d look silly among the group of hyperactive teenagers jumping off the walls. But, once I got into the arena and experienced it for myself I’ll have to admit that I had a blast.

And, for anyone that wants to experience this sport at a fraction of the cost, you’re in luck! Sky High Sports in Santa Clara just re-introduced “Wild Wednesdays,” where it will only cost $10 per person for two

For College Students

hours of jumping time as opposed to the regular cost of $9 per person for one hour of jumping time, and $6 for each hour thereafter, Monday-Thursday. The price increases to $9 per person per hour on the weekends.

For additional information visit the ‘Sky High Sports’ website at http://sjc.jumpskyhigh.com.

by Rachel Leung Money Saving Tip: Fashion

Many of us are always scouring new issues of fashion savvy magazines looking for the latest designer trends, falling in love with fall coats, and floral dresses, and $400 dollar jackets, but in reality – we know it is wishful thinking. Although some designer items may be out of reach,

other designers empathize with us and have collaborated with major companies to design lines priced at “budget values.” In other words, we have been extended the olive branch - to settle the differences between designer and discount – and these designers are slowly starting to level the playing field.

Jimmy Choo, well known for fabulous footwear, will design a line for our very own H&M. With big name labels already under their belt, H&M is ready to put Jimmy Choo on their wall of fame. The worldwide launch of this collection will be on Nov. 14, so mark your calendars.

Tamara Mellon, president and founder of Jimmy Choo, highlighted the goals of this line saying, “Jimmy Choo will bring to H&M a sophisticated, fashion forward, accessible and glamorous collection -- the perfect party pieces to buy now and

then wear out that night!”

H&M has previously played host to such famous collections and collaborations by Madonna, Stella McCartney, Kylie Minogue, Matthew Williamson, Roberto Cavalli, Viktor & Rolf and Karl Lagerfeld.

www.chicintuition.com/Skyline

Skyline View

October 1, 2009

The

Entertainment

A Living Legend

Link Writes Yet Another Chapter in the Hyrule Mythology

by Kenny Martin The Legend of Zelda series has many great titles, making its namesake almost legendary. Twilight Princess keeps the series’ reputation alive, preserving the fundamental Zelda formula but at the same time adding new features.

What makes the Zelda games special for me is their uncanny ability to make you feel like the most powerful individual in the entire Kingdom of Hyrule.

When you first start your adventure, you are just like any other person, but you slowly gain more and more increasingly useful and powerful weapons until you finally have a sense of invincibility. This same approach is applied to the dungeons as well.

Upon first entering a dungeon, you get pounded by the enemies and you have to go the long way through rooms. Once you find the dungeon’s hidden item, however, the enemies become a piece of cake and you discover shortcuts all over the place.

It is immensely satisfying.

Another reason why I love the Zelda series is its ability to create several wondrous, tranquil moments where you just feel at peace with everything, and Twilight Princess is no exception.

One moment that stands out in my mind, in particular, is climbing up the tallest tower in Lake Hylia and gazing down at the vast, calm, serene waters that extend hundreds of feet below the depths as the sun sets on the horizon…and then diving in. To me, these instances are part of the charm and magic of Zelda.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Zelda game if it didn’t have combat, and the new weapons featured in Twilight Princess are among the most innovative the series has to offer.

The spinner lets you glide effortlessly along grooves in walls, the ball and chain gives you a terribly destructive weapon, and the double clawshots allow you to ascend a hundred plus foot cylindrical room in a matter of seconds.

curtosey of gamespot.com

Link returns in the latest installment of the Legend of Zelda series, exclusive to Nintendo systems.

Some items found in previous The most identifiable tunes from Zelda games return as well, but with the Zelda series remain present in new features. For example, you Twilight Princess, but there are can now combine bombs with your many more new ones as well. The bow and arrow to send an explosive Zelda music has a very distinct flaflying through the air, detonating on vor to it, which is why I think it is impact. Also, the iron boots can now so appealing. The music matches stick to magnetic surfaces, enabling the mood of the story and landscape you to walk on the ceiling. surrounding it perfectly.

The soundtrack does a wonderAnother classic Zelda element is the myriad side quests scattered ful job of getting you into a rhythm about the land of that suits the Hyrule, and this is “The new gameplay re- game play. I certainly present in have never heard Twilight Princess. ally succeeds at show- sounds that are You will be search- ing you Hyrule in two so melancholic ing far and wide and stunningly different lights.” beautiful at for golden bugs, Poe souls, pieces the same time. of heart and howling stones in the There are few games where you can hopes of being bestowed with magi- just sit and listen to the title screen cal gifts. music for minutes on end.

Also, the Kingdom of Hyrule To aid you in your quests, you have Epona (the horse from Ocarina has never looked so gorgeous. Esof Time) and the ability to warp to pecially within the Twilight Realm, several locations on demand. As every polygon seems to be saturated always, these diversions are addict- with detail. The different locales, ing and take up a lot of your time, including Zora’s River, Lake Hylia, begging you to explore every inch and Gerudo Desert all look stunningly beautiful. There will be of the vast region of Hyrule.

several times during your adventure that you will just want to stop and admire your surroundings.

Twilight Princess continues the tradition established with the Wind Waker, providing a stronger narrative and more memorable characters.

Despite the games more somber and heavy theme, the many wacky characters help to balance it out, keeping the dialogue mostly lighthearted and humorous, making it still a distinctly Zelda game.

While I felt that the characters were done well, I feel as though the story wasn’t what it should be.

There were several cut scenes that I just found weird, disturbing and confusing. The basic premise is still clear, thankfully, so the story doesn’t tarnish the game, but it is still clear that the writers were trying for something more, but what that something is I’m not quite sure.

The new gameplay hook, being able to transform into a wolf, was well designed. During the segments that you are a wolf, you have different abilities at your disposal, such as a heightened sense of smell and

sight. I am glad that both Link’s human and beast form were incorporated into dungeons and the story.

I like the change of pace the two forms bring to the game. When you are a wolf, the game seems to go by faster. In short, while I don’t think changing into a wolf beats time travel, I think the designers did the best job possible, and the finished product is immensely fun. It really succeeds in showing you Hyrule in two different lights.

There are really only two gripes I have about the game. First and foremost on my list is your inability to eventually change from day to night or vice versa on command.

This feature has appeared in the other recent Zelda games.

It is especially annoying that this is lacking because there are several times when you will need it to be day or night, and also the fact that it takes about ten minutes to change from day to night. I just don’t understand why the developers would leave something like that out.

My other complaint is that, while there are various move sets, oftentimes the motion sensor bar won’t recognize a certain movement.

This is never really a problem, as this isn’t a combat-heavy game and in most skirmishes the basic sword swings are effective, but it still isn’t good. For being one of the first Wii games ever, the motion controls are well executed.

Twilight Princess is a game that everyone should play and would enjoy. The setting is flushed with beauty, the story is rich with history, the music infused with emotion, and the gameplay and game design is top-notch. Even if you have never played a Zelda game before, the story stands on its own, and nothing is dependent on previous knowledge of the Zelda Universe (although there are some aspects of the game that Zelda veterans will recognize).

I would give this game a well-deserved nine out of ten.

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

Six years later and he’s still got it Dan Brown’s new novel is totally worth the wait

by JJ Valdez

Dan Brown has once again exploded into bookstores with his newest book ‘The Lost Symbol.’ After a long while, loyal fans are once again treated to another heart-pounding thriller accompanied by masterful storytelling. Even though it’s been six years since his last novel, Mr. Brown hasn’t missed a beat, demonstrating again that he is the world’s best novelist.

This marks Dan Brown’s third novel featuring Robert Langdon as the main character, indisputably his most popular character. And much like the last two installments, it begins with Langdon being called in for his expertise.

However, unlike the last two, he isn’t called in to help on a dangerous case involving a murder, or on suspicions that a bomb will destroy the Vatican but rather as a favor from Langdon’s dear friend and mentor Peter Solomon.

However, unbeknownst to Mr. Langdon, an unknown figure in the shadows is secretly scheming to use him and his expert knowledge of Symbology to get his ultimate prize. From the beginning of chapter one Langdon is in the palm of the

enemy’s hand.

The first major difference in this novel and what significantly sets it apart from his other two novels is the fact this takes place in Washington D.C. as opposed to some country in Europe. This sets the theme for the whole story; that hidden symbols, catacombs, ancient ruins, crypts, pyramids and temples all exist in our nations Capitol.

However, much like Dan Brown’s other novels (even the ones without Robert Langdon) the story line takes place in a short amount of time. What many - myself included - found most thrilling about ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘Da Vinci Code’ is both stories happen in the course of a day (usually within 24 hours), leaving Mr. Brown’s writing style without a dull moment.

So does this apply to ‘the Lost Symbol’ as it takes place with Robert Langdon racing against the clock to save those close to him?

With such an edge-of-your-seat story structure, readers find themselves not being able to put down their book, often leading to them finishing the book in the course of a day as well.

For those who haven’t picked up

by Antoinette Estigoy

life’s little pleasures. One of her character’s unique facets is her love for things that are outside-of-thebox original, such as writing lesser known words in permanent marker behind paintings on the private property of one of the hotels that she provides flower arrangements for.

Eloise has a tendency to fall for guys who have “issues,” such as her most recent boyfriend-turned-ex, who lied to her face when she asked him about the lipstick stained wine glass she found lying around his studio.

It seems that by cosmic demand, her life has been occupied by artsy and offbeat types, such as her employee and friend, Marty, played

by Judy Greer. Marty is an uberfeminist who writes and performs exaggerated, sexually themed spoken word.

Burke invariably has his sights set on Eloise, who is the proprietor of her own boutique-style flower shop. Not until he realizes that he has to stop lying to himself and the rest of the world about “coping with death” does Burke allow himself to

Da Vinci Code: The Game?

by JJ Valdez

their very own copy, I highly recommend you do. Anyone can write a story but only Dan Brown can truly write a novel. If you’re a Dan Brown fan, Robert Langdon fan, or just looking for a next “good read” then ‘The Lost Symbol’ is the book for you.

Will Langdon be able to save his loved ones from harm?

Will he be able to solve the mystery deep within the heart of Washington D.C.?

Will the evil forces controlling Langdon like a puppet from the shadows have his way? Will Langdon once again save the day and get the girl?

Only by diving head first in this brilliant work of literary genius will these questions be answered.

With the release of Dan Brown’s new book, ‘The Lost Symbol,’ I start to get reminiscent of his past award winning books, especially his most famous to date ‘The Da Vinci Code.’

As a Da Vinci Code fanatic, I both read the book and saw the movie - but unlike most readers I took a step further and played the video game…yes there is a Da Vinci Code video game.

What I liked most about the video game, aside from the puzzles that were as challenging as they were interesting, was the fact the makers got the opportunity to add context Dan Brown didn’t put in the movie or book.

For example, on one level the Robert Langdon character went to the Catholic church that Silas went to while looking fore the Holy Grail.

Half the game involves solving puzzles and stealthy maneuvering, the other half involves Robert Langdon observing the surroundings of each level while giving brief history lessons depending on what you chose to observe.

Definitely a must play for anyone who loves puzzles and history.

Love Happens... to be fleeting Romantic comedies are either going to be classic movies that you’ll want to watch over and over again, so-so for it’s mildly entertaining actors and semi-decent story line, or just plain bad.

“Love Happens” is an example of one of those movies that would fall into the so-so category because of its over-exhausted love story and lack of chemistry between its leading actors, Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston.

Set in the city known for romantic comedies such as Sleepless in Seattle and 10 Things I Hate About You, “Love Happens” is about Burke Ryan, a widower who attempts to repair the loveless void in his heart by wooing the hip and confident flower aficionado, Eloise.

Struggling to make peace with death, Burke, played by Eckhart, writes a self-help book titled “AOk” during his process of learning to cope with and overcome the loss of his beloved wife. Ryan’s character fears having to consciously experience life after such an event, and deliberately wills himself to “die” in a sense, too.

Rather than acting to remedy these feelings, he accepts the fact that he continues to feel grief three years after his wife’s passing, and yet he chooses to be blind-sighted by the success of his book and it’s cult following.

Eloise, portrayed by Aniston, is a woman who takes life as it comes, stopping along the way to appreciate

Entertainment

9

by Alyssa Capili

feel love for Eloise and to learn to express his emotions freely again.

But, as their relationship blooms, Burke’s character encounters conflicts within his professional life with his personal assistant, Lane, played by Dan Fogler, and in his personal life with his father-in-law, played by Martin Sheen.

Long after the movie had ended, the romance between the characters Burke and Eloise had quickly eluded my memory. But, what really stuck with me was the ability of director Brandon Camp to highlight the realities and vulnerabilities of the people that the characters stood for.

Although the movie seemed like it would play-out like the archetypal romantic comedy that the trailer

proposed it to be, it kind of did - but with a delightfully surprising take on the diversity of the human condition, and how people ultimately deal with hardship.

It is a part of human nature for people to feel varying degrees of emotion when faced with things that we don’t want to have to deal with, especially in light of someone’s passing.

All in all, the movie exceeded my preconceived expectations only because I didn’t anticipate much going into the film in the first place. I don’t feel like it was a waste of my money, but I wouldn’t have been bummed if I had to wait a few more weeks to watch it when it comes out on DVD, either.

“If the last CGI animation film you saw was “Toy Story,” be prepared to be blown away by “9.”

“9” is the story of how nine uniquely-crafted ragdolls are all fighting to survive in a post-apocalyptic, barren world. All of the humans are gone and the only remaining intelligent “life” forms left on the planet are machines.

The story follows one main ragdoll, voiced by actor Elijah Wood, on his journey to discover the other eight ragdolls. Number 9 is making significant progress in reuniting the bunch until they inadvertently awaken a master machine capable of destroying all of the nine.

This story was a great actionpacked thriller with more lifelike animation than you would find in any other CGI film to date. “9” was also produced with 1/3 of the budget that Toy Story or Ratatoullie was given, which only added to director Shane Acker’s genius.

If you are looking to be blown away by a killer plot, see “9.” If you are looking to see the future of 100 percent CGI animation films, watch “9.” If you’re looking for a great action, drama, or sci-fi movie, watch “9.” I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.

10

The

Skyline View

Entertainment

October 1, 2004

WARNING: May Contain Spoilers

As far as I’m concerned, Dexter is one of the best dramas on television; and the series continues to impress with by far the best season premiere of the series. Surprisingly, this season picks up eight month after last season’s finale. Completely skipping over the birth of Dexter’s son, we immediately get to see the affect his newfound family life has on his life as a serial killer.

Added to that is the appearance of the “Trinity Killer”, played by John Lithgow. Even with the small amount of screen time he had in this episode, his character is bound to be the most twisted villain the show has ever had.

As a whole, the series has done a fantastic job with building tension and keeping the suspense going. With this season, the added distractions Dexter faces could lead to some incredible television. I look forward to seeing how things turn out for America’s favorite serial killer.

The Season premiere of House was arguably the most dynamic episode thus far. A rollercoaster ride of emotion, House finds himself in a psychiatric ward and by the end of the episodes; he leaves the institution a vastly different character. It’s going to be very interesting to see how this season plays out; now that House isn’t addicted to painkillers.

The first episode of Law & orders 20th season dealt with the issue of torture and how the American government permitted such acts during the war on terror. This shows how the producers of the show can take something as old as the Abu Ghraib scandal and construct it to a masterful episode for its two decade anniversary. Case in point: a shooting of a dope dealer in a parking lot leads to the District attorney of New York City pressing charges against the former bush administration.

This was a truly emotional rollercoaster of a season premiere, leaving many questions asked and answers to be given. One of the big bomb shells during this episode was Lieutenant Van Buren announcing she was diagnosed with cancer and would be “in and out” of the precinct. And from the legal point of view we saw an emotional side of D.A. Jack McCoy that hasn’t been seen in awhile its unknown weather the actions of McCoy will result in him loosing his position as District attorney or if the cancer of Van Buren will cause her to give up her job. All I know is that it’ll be tuning in next week to see the backlash of this monumental first episode back.

Last season Pam and Jim found out they were having a baby. In the premiere of NBC’s hit comedy, The Office, the rest of the crew finds out about Jim and Pam’s baby because of office gossip. When Michael spreads a rumor around the office that Stanley is having an affair, he too quickly learns that it’s not just a rumor. In response he makes up wild rumors about everyone, including that Pam is pregnant. You can guess where it goes from there. In any case, the Office returns as good, if not better, then when it ended last season. If the premiere is any indication, expect this season to be one of the best yet.

Fall Premiers

11

Skyline View

The

October 1, 2009

Sports

Women’s Soccer shuts out Cañada

Skyline’s determined offense leads to an overwhelming victory

Kenny Martin/Skyline View

Skyline races the ball down the side of the field.

by Kenny Martin “Go Skyline!” With spectators urging the team on, the Skyline Womens’ Soccer team swiftly swept the opposing Cañada College in their game on Friday, 3-0.

“This is a good building point for us” said Jennifer Alvarez (#7), team captain. “This win helps us realize the playoffs are something we can reach.”

This win over Cañada keeps the Trojans undefeated this season, moving them to a 6-0-1 record, but this game had more weight to it than a regular game. Cañada College is in the same conference as Skyline, and Skyline is now 2-0 in conference games.

“Winning conference games is great for recruiting” said Kevin Corsiglia, Head Women’s Soccer Coach.

Because all of the colleges in the same conference recruit out of the same pool of players, Coach Corsiglia can show players his record over the competing colleges.

Even though the Trojans dominated in the first half of the game,

with Laura Cremen (#6) scoring the only point of the half and controlling the ball for the majority of the time, both the players and Corsiglia thought they could have played better.

“We did a very good job of dictating where the ball was going to go and we were always putting pressure on Cañada’s defense and goalie,” said Corsiglia, “but we were… having a hard time finding good scoring opportunities.”

During the half-time talk, Corsiglia restated the team goals, which got the players more focused. He also brought in the forwards who he felt would give the team the greatest amount of scoring opportunities.

“We changed to a more aggressive formation in the second half to take advantage of the opposing team’s fatigue” said Corsiglia.

It was obvious early on in the second half that Corsiglia’s plan had worked, as Skyline quickly took the lead to two points and then, soon after that, three. Team spirit and confidence was high by this point, seeing as victory was within

Question Man

Skyline’s reach.

“I knew we had won once Nour [Abudamous (#11)] had scored the third goal,” said Alvarez. “The coach always says you haven’t won a game until you are up by three points.”

Looking back at the game after they had won, Alvarez felt proud that her team was able to keep their heads and confidence high after the first half, of which many players felt discouraged about.

The next couple of games will be against some tough opponents, including Ohlone, Cabrillo, and De Anza colleges. Alvarez believes that the keys to success will be the physical fitness of the players and how aggressive they are as a team.

All three of those games will be away games, so the Trojans won’t have the familiar Skyline wind to help them. Hopefully, they will be able to pull through with sheer skill and pure teamwork.

So be sure to follow the team who has not received a goal against them at home all season, and who has only allowed one goal all season.

By Kenny Martin and Sofia Mas

Football is

1) Who invented the sport of basketball?

2) Who was the first group of people inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame?

“Staying fit. Staying healthy. Sports keep you physically active.”

--Andrew Ramos

“Adrenaline rush.”

--Antonette Reus

Field of Knowledge So You Think You Know Your Sports?

By Kenny Martin

Question: What do you like about sports?

Responses: “I like the competition and the bets. my favorite.”

--Oscar Garcia

Kenny Martin/Skyline View

Taylor Hill gets ready to deliver a powerful kick past the defender.

“Competition. It’s just fun.”

--Eric Claybon

3) Who holds the record for rushing touchdowns in one game?

4) Who are the only three bowlers to have picked up the 7-10 split on national television?

5) What were the most goals scored by a

“It’s really good exercise. Fun because it is competitive. Keeps your heart pumping and adrenaline going.”

--Brittany Natali “It keeps me in shape. It’s competitive. fun. It’s healthy.”

--Denise Yeung

It’s

Skyline’s women’s soccer player in one season?

Be sure to come back in one week to find the answers and see how you did. We will also be posting the answers up online on Friday, for those of you who can’t wait. Good luck!

Thanks to Kevin Corsiglia for giving us the information necessary for us to run question 5.

Skyline Sports

Upcoming Games Men’s Soccer

Women’s Soccer 4 p.m.

10/2 vs Gavilan 10/9 vs Monterey Penninsula

2 p.m.

1 p.m.

3 p.m.

10/13 @ Mission College

4 p.m.

10/7

7 p.m.

10/2

@ Cabrillo College

7 p.m.

10/6

@ De Anza

10/9

vs Hartnell College

10/13 vs Las Positas College

2 p.m.

Men’s Wrestling

vs Chabot College

Match Box

Don’t Miss the Point Skyline should take a stab at fencing

by Joe Fogel

What kind of sports class does Skyline need? I’ll tell you what class we Trojans need: a fencing class.

Personally, I love the sport. A lot of people think it’s just waving around a thin rapier and trying to block you opponent’s attacks. In a sense it is, but there’s definitely a lot more to it and it requires a lot of skill.

If you ever watch two people fence, you will notice that they are watching each other’s every move, constantly assessing their opponent’s actions and waiting for an opening to attack. And as soon as they see that opening, they strike.

Fencing requires quick feet and an even quicker mind. It’s one of the many sports that teach self-discipline. Furthermore, it also helps to develop and heighten your senses.

The cool thing about sports that involves any type of sword fighting is that you really learn to pay attention to body language. You don’t truly

watch the sword itself but rather the hand that wields the blade.

I think fencing would make a great addition to our available sports classes. It’s very different from all the other physical education courses offered and I’m willing to bet that it would catch a lot of people’s eyes.

The equipment can get a little pricey but the school doesn’t necessarily need to pay for it. One solution would be to have students bring their own equipment.

The school could also try and put together an actual fencing team and look for sponsorship outside the district. I think if Skyline were to put together a team, then the other schools in the district might follow.

In any case, I think a fencing program in the district would be very popular with students .If there were ever a class I felt that Skyline was really lacking, I would definitely say that it would have to be fencing.

Men’s Soccer 9/22 Skyline Vs. Modesto Jr. College Loss 1-4

How cool would it be to be able to master the ancient art form of fencing right here at Skyline?

In Profile: Coach James Haddon

Wrestling program is in well-respected and experienced hands

by Helen Tran

tling that will make them successful,” said Haddon. “Wrestlers come in all shapes and sizes and levels of athletic ability. You will find different types of styles and because it’s an individual sport, there’s a lot of personal accountability.”

His belief in this individuality and personal responsibility is reflected in his style of coaching and his team definitely notices. “I think he’s an excellent coach because he’s not the ‘my way or the highway’ type,” said second year wrestler Kevin Reed. “He lets everyone on the team evolve in their own way When Coach Helen Tran/Skyline View with whatever is Haddon arrived at Wrestling Coach James Haddon best or works for Skyline, the wrestling program was fairly well-devel- them.”

This focus on personal developoped but there were some things he ment has clearly paid off for the Skywanted to improve.

“There are just so many things line wrestling team during Haddon’s that individuals can bring to wres- tenure. Last year they easily took second place in their conference.

This season he has set the aggressive goal of having wrestlers in all 10 weight classes go to state.

“I would like at least half of them to place,” said Haddon. “We’ve taken 10 wrestlers to state before but have never placed five, although our best finish was having four place.”

Coach Haddon is very focused on the upcoming season as this year is projected to be a challenging one.

“Fresno City is always tough as they are considered the conference powerhouse. Chabot has improved Helen Tran/Skyline View a lot and four of their guys are top Coach Haddon supervising students practicing single-leg takedowns. ranked, with one of them a returning A natural athlete from a young age, James Haddon grew up playing many sports. In sixth grade he discovered wrestling and as they say, the rest is history.

Born in Arizona and raised in Oregon, Haddon wrestled all through high school. He reinforced his love of the sport when he went on to wrestle for Southern Oregon University. After graduating with an undergraduate degree in physical education, he stayed for graduate school and received a master’s in education.

Aspiring to teach and coach, Haddon moved to California in 2001 to run the wrestling program here at Skyline College.

Although he splits his time between serving as head coach for the Trojans and teaching middle school at Alice Fong Yu Alternative School in San Francisco, Coach Haddon is completely dedicated to the wrestling program, its athletes and his staff.

His three assistant coaches are Ernesto Nunoz, Jason Moorehouse and Eric Sorensen. The latter two are former Skyline students previously coached by Haddon. It speaks

a lot to his reputation and respect among the wrestlers that they would return to work alongside him.

“He really knows his wrestling, which is something I really like about him,” said Moorehouse. “He is very willing to help you with anything, especially if you approach him as he likes his athletes to be selfmotivated and proactive.”

Nunoz echoed this admiration, saying “He’s a great guy to coach with and is very genuine.

An all around good person, he’s very knowledgeable and positive and is an asset for the sport and the kids.”

state champion.”

Despite the stiff competition, Haddon is extremely positive about his wrestlers and their prospects.

With a team of 20 athletes, the Trojans have a good distribution across all weight classes and he sees standouts in Reed as well as second year students Jario Rodriguez and Bryan Kelleher.

With an upcoming dual meet with Chabot next Wednesday, Oct. 7, Coach Haddon is hard at work preparing his team for the match.

His emphasis is to have each of his wrestlers continuously improve as much as possible. Challenging but fair, his coaching methods are admired by his wrestlers.

“He’s a good coach and I like him a lot,” said sophomore Joe Buttram.

“His coaching style is very different compared to other coaches. He breaks it down a lot more and is very analytical and smart about it. He is very supportive and doesn’t force anything. He encourages us to find our inner motivation.”

With an impressive wrestling resume, a supportive staff and an eager team, Haddon is poised to turn Skyline wrestling into a serious contender.

“I think our team has a lot of potential, especially with Coach Haddon,” said Reed. “We can be a force to be reckoned with.”

Although winning does matter to Haddon, he remains grounded and is truly motivated by his love of the sport as well as sharing his knowledge with his wrestlers and fellow coaches.

“I love seeing people progress,” said Coach Haddon.

“You help build their love for the sport and then they move on and want to continue wrestling or coaching. It’s very rewarding.”

9/25 Skyline Vs. Ohlone College Loss 1-2

Women’s Soccer 9/22 Skyline Vs. SF City College Win 2-0

9/25 Skyline Vs. Cañada College Win 3-0

9/29 Skyline Vs. Ohlone College Win 1-0