Pulse Volume 10 Issue 2 by Annie Lu

Pulse Volume 10 Issue 1 CCA Eats

4-5

Moving Metal

6-7

Sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the Man

8-9

A New Session

10-11

Skyrocketing Space Adventures

12-13

Student Art

14-15

Bearing the Burden

16-17

Overheard at CCA

New Horizons

20-21

Meet the Staff

23-26

February Marvel Vs. DC

27 28-30

Editor-in-Chief

Brian Chekal

Letter From the Editor Settling down into a new semester—and a new year— many of us here at CCA are looking forward to familiarizing ourselves with fresh faces and personalities. Though second semester courses offer great opportunities for reinvention, most of us are content chugging along as the same people that stepped on campus in August, and though our classrooms may be filled with people who haven’t come up with crazy “new year, new me” resolutions, the diversity in all of our passions promises an interesting half-year ahead of us. This issue of Pulse focuses on just that: the wide variety and depth we have in our respective interests. Flipping through our glossy pages, you can expect to be guided by Patrick Lin and Cameron Chang as you witness the cold reaches of space and the heated discussions between DC and Marvel fans. You can watch robots whiz by, or grab a bite to eat with Ethan Rappaport at some of the best eateries in town. If you’re in the mood for something more serious, let Emily Abrishamkar describe some of the strong opinions surrounding feminism on campus, or Skylar Binney walk you through the tough choices Ravens face when dealing with overly-rigorous schedules. With all that we have to offer, we hope to not only pique your curiosity, but also expand it, to familiarize you with a fresh field or a novel idea. It is with great honor that we present Volume 10, Issue 2 of Pulse. Sincerely,

Brian Chekal

Creative Director

Ethan Rappaport Editorial Director

Joshua Dillen Online Editor

Joshua Bi

Staff Writers

Cameron Chang Skylar Binney Patrick Lin Emily Abrishamkar

Advisor

Christopher Black

Want more? Scan the QR code below or head to ccapulse.com to see what else we’ve been up to!

CCA Eats by Ethan Rappaport

Board n’ Brew. Now they make some tasty sandwiches. Their sauce is to die for, honestly. Souplantation. I don’t know what it is about that multicolored pasta at the salad bar, but they must put a little something extra in it to make it so satisfying. In-N-

Out. Burgers so thin, yet so delicious, and french fries like salty heaven. We all know these places, where San Diego residents–CCA students specifically–flock to when it’s time to chow. They have established themselves as San Diego staples, a frequent plan A

for dining, and a dependable plan B. My goal is to expand your list, broaden your eating horizons, and illuminate some lesser known, yet still quintessentially San Diego, eateries.

Rudy’s taco shop; home of the crispiest beef tacos and tastiest carne asada this side of the border. Located in Solana Beach, just north of the Del Mar Fairgrounds, Rudy’s is your archetypal out-of-the-way taco shop, complete with salsa bar, lottery ticket counter, and perpetual Mexican soccer game playing on a small worn out TV. Looking past the less-than-5-star facade, Rudy’s dishes out some of the best burritos in all of San Diego. After sampling nearly every burrito on the menu, my recommendation to you is the carne asada burrito, add beans and cheese. The standard carne asada burrito comes packed with thick, juicy chunks of carne asada, bursting with authentic Mexican flavor. The meat is then surrounded with creamy guacamole and chunky salsa fresca, complementing the savory flavors of the carne asada with the crisp acidity of the tomatoes. Adding on beans and

cheese as extras ties the whole thing together, and the fats in the cheese will help temper the spice of any salsa you choose to add (I recommend the green salsa. Spicy enough to kick, and with a mild taste that adds to the fresca). All this deliciousness wrapped up in a fresh made flour tortilla makes for quite the experience. If tacos are more your thing, I strongly suggest the lengua crispy tacos. Lengua is tongue, but don’t knock it until you try it. Lengua is surprisingly tender, and full of rich flavors, on account of how long it sits in spices while cooking. Besides the heavenly meat, each taco comes stacked high with fresh cut iceberg lettuce and homemade salsa fresca. The best part of every Rudy’s taco is their crispy taco shells. Normally, I’m not a crispy taco guy. The taco shells are thin, like parchment paper, lacking flavor and structure, and with the lightest gust

of wind, they fall to pieces, leaving you with a sad, crumbling excuse for a taco. The first time I tried a Rudy’s crispy taco, however, I was sold. Their taco shells are thick, like rigid, cornmeal, Mexican pancakes. They possess a dry, corny flavor that complements the juiciness of the meat, and the moist salsa fresca. The best part is biting into a Rudy’s taco and knowing it will hold its form. No longer do I fear turning a taco into a meat salad;Rudy’s taco shells are like fortresses of savory solitude, keeping their contents safe through the last bite.

Scan here to visity the Rudy’s Taco Shop website

Scan here to visity the Chin’s Szechwan website

Chin’s Szechwan If I say “Chinese food, San Diego!” and what runs through your mind? If it’s a panda, you need to eat better Chinese food. Not to be knocking Panda Express, but if you’re looking for some authentic, high quality, umami-invoking nom-noms, look past the Panda thrusting fortune cookies and grease, and lay your eyes upon Chin’s Szechwan, “San Diego’s favorite Chinese food since 1984” (This statement comes both from their website and myself). True to this claim, Chin’s is the real deal. The big kahuna. The genuine artifact. As you step into this welcoming restaurant, you will soon realize that the only things warmer than the atmospheric lighting are the smiling servers. Take a seat, drink some hot green tea, and order some food; you won’t be disappointed. If you’re like me, you’ll go with some friends and order a little of everything, but I don’t have nearly enough room to

design you a personal menu, so here’s a break-down of my favorite thing to get at Chin’s. If you want my full recommendation, hit up Pulse Online. If chicken is what you’re after, look no further than the sesame chicken. This lightly breaded, slightly sweet glazed chicken dish can only be described as ambrosia. It comes out straight from the kitchen, sizzling, steaming, and delicious, and paired with steamed white rice that sticks to the golden glaze, you can easily see why I would compare it to the food of the gods. Sweet, salty, crispy, tender, this chicken dish has got everything going for it, including a few of those nuclear spicy red peppers you should never touch unless you want a mouthful of dragon fire. A word about the rice as well: rice is tricky to get right. If you’ve been to Panda Express recently, you’ll know what I mean (sorry Panda). There’s a very slim goldilocks

zone that lies between, hard, undercooked, al-dente risotto textured rice and mushy, amorphous, mochi textured rice that is difficult to reach. Rice should be sticky enough to stay together, yet each grain should be firm enough to distinguish from another; taking a scoop of rice should be like cutting a piece of styrofoam, but with none of the infuriatingly hard to clean powdered mess. Nearly effortless and light as a cloud with a bit of rain still in it. Take it from me; Chin’s knows how to do rice. Their rice pairs so well with their chicken, it’s like putting wool on a sheep. You end up with something fluffy and warm on the outside, and tender and chewy on the inside. That delectable sesame chicken, washed down with some more earthy green tea is a fantastic way to begin broadening your Chinese food horizons.

Moving Metal by Brian Chekal photography by Ethan Rappaport The robots of Team 3513 Domo Arigato all have their own individual quirks. Whether it be tall, crane arms jutting out to the sky, circular cardboard cutouts for trapping objects, or spring-wrapped pulleys, each one is unique in its own way. Yet standing around a short, knee-high arena while these robots “battle”, I can’t help but notice something that they all have in common. Sliding down brightly painted ramps, charging forward, and trying to knock down a basket full of whiffle balls, there’s a palpable buzz of energy, one that’s shared between these silver combatants and their designers. CCA has, for a while now, been respected for its arts, academics, and sports, yet Robotics doesn’t fit neatly into any of those categories. Like CCA, it combines all of these worlds, and computer science/Robotics teacher Mr. Remington likes to describe it as, “a sport for the mind,” a phrase that comes from the FIRST organization. FIRST runs the various leagues and competitions our robotics teams compete in. Founded in 1989 by inventor-turned-advocate Dean Kamen, this non-profit organization works to pique students’ interests in science and technology. Their open competitions in robotics are divided into 3 categories, each for different ages. The FIRST Lego League is meant for students between the ages of 9-14 while the other two, the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) and FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC), are for an older crowd, ages 14-18 respectively. Our four CCA teams are split between the two latter competitions: three (including Team Domo Arigato) work under the FTC banner while one, the Aluminum Narwhals, competes under the FRC. The FTC and FRC com-

petitions are structured like traditional sports, with local, regional, and national competitions. Maya Ziv is a junior here on campus, and by the time the second bell signals the start of first period robotics, she’s already heading towards the “arena”. As VP of the Aluminum Narwhals, she knows a thing or two about competitions. “At [the FTC] level there are two different teams per ‘alliance,’ [as well as] two different alliances, the red and blue.” Each team’s robot works with its alliance member to fulfill a series of pre-determined tasks for points. Maya points out, “There are three different rounds for each game: the ‘autonomous’ period, where you program the robot to do something and you can’t control it, the ‘tele-op’ period, which is when you actually get to drive the robot, and then the ‘end game,’ where there is some other sort of goal that you have to do.”

and regulations. For starters, the robot itself must fit inside a specific Robot Sizing Box which is a cube of 5832 in3 or 18x18x18, and after a certain building period has passed, competitionbound robots are no longer allowed to be modified, except on the day of. At the competition, any changes outside of those required for minor glitch corrections need to be pre-approved by the judges; last year, the Narwhals found themselves in hot water after replacing a polycarbonate tube with a wheel-attached bar. Though the issue was appropriately resolved, it could have seriously hindered their chances competing. Overall, competitions play a major role in robotics. However, the class itself is more comparable to our QUEST program, which participates in large science fairs, including those run by Intel and Siemens. According to Mr. Remington, “[There is] a basic curriculum for Robotics that we go through while at the same time I have [the students] working on projects to compete.” “It puts the curriculum to work...like taking a school project and testing it in different places.” In this class, those projects are group robots. Most groups range from two to five members and in this classroom setting they’re given the freedom to choose whichever aspect of the robot they want to work on - whether that be in programming, 3D modeling, or hands-on building. I talked to one of these groups, “Diddles,” whose members comprised of David Heller Jarvis goes for a spin (11), Garret Riche (11), Ben Lu (11), and David Mosse (11). Garret states, It seems simple at first, especially since “We try not to cut out specific roles programming the robots is said to be for each person to fulfill, but it kind of easy on RobotC, the dedicated comturns out that way...Of course, we all puter language built specifically for ro- contributed a little bit [to everything].” botics. However, there are many rules This is when David H. pipes in, “We

just kinda found what we were good much of a problem as many of the at.” parts are reusable and those that aren’t, The class model builds off are cheap. As for the FRC Narwhals, these miniature groups. Though the the more expensive overhead costs (it entire class is technically a single costs somewhere in the neighborhood unified team, of $5000 merely creating small, to register), coucreatively named pled with bigger, sub-teams like more expensive “Diddles” allows robots requires them to test out that they focus multiple ideas more heavily without arguon fundraising. ments or conYou’ve probably flicts, all while dealready seen the veloping crucial colorful posters programming on campus adverand modeling tising Chipotle skills. So far fundraisers on the model has behalf of the Narbeen doing whals, but there is well; after all, a lot that goes on Robot 2 and its extendable spring behind the scenes. it seems like every year the AlumiThis past sumnum Narwhals come home with some mer, for instance, while the rest of us new trophy or title. However, besides were sleeping, working, or relaxing, the the official recognition there are more Narwhals ran four weeks of robotics important rewards from participating camp on campus for 9-12 year olds. At in this program. these camps, kids were not only able Rob Levine is a junior that has to learn how to program Lego robots just gotten involved with Robotics and but also help fund the upcoming year, talking to him, he tells me about his helping raise over $21,000 and netting past classes, many of which focused the Narwhals a cool nine grand. These on the fine arts. By immersing himself efforts, coupled with corporate sponin this new field he cites a complete sorships from ViaSat, Nordson, and change in attitude towards technology Semtech, have afforded our Alumiand its role in our society. He states, “I think [programming] is the future. I think a lot of kids see people like Mark Zuckerberg and wonder, ‘how can I ever get near to what he’s done?’ almost like something that’s way out there, something they can’t reach. Taking this class – Robotics – shows you that you can do simple things...and work your way up.” Robotics is definitely a worthwhile endeavor yet questions still remain: where does the funding come from and how can interested students get involved? Funding is a tricky beast, one that often goes unnoticed until The robot Diddles it causes a problem. Here in the FTC teams, however, it doesn’t seem to be

num Narwhals a lot of leeway when it comes to operations. As for joining, Maya states, “Anyone can come and just join the team.” “I know I came in with no experience whatsoever but the whole point is giving people the experience; it’s just opening opportunities for people to learn.” The Aluminum Narwhals meet for two hours on Wednesdays and Fridays afterschool in the small textbook room next to the Nest.

She’s the Man by Emily Abrishamkar

Almost every history class will go over the Women’s Rights Movement in the United States, in which you will learn about the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 and the uphill battle early feminists fought for suffrage. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott truly had reason to argue that females were treated as second-class citizens, but over a century later, what work could really be left for feminists to do? Now females can vote, home-girl Hilary ran for President (granted, she didn’t win,) and new studies revealed that girls are outnumbering guys at most public and private universities. Despite the obvious surge in girl power, Feminists

Congress is ideally supposed to be an accurate representation of the United States’ population, feminists use the disproportionate male presence in legislation as proof of female discrimination on a larger scale. Possibly the most controversial aspect of feminism are the ways in which gender inequality plays out in social standards. Senior Sasha Ballard insists, “there is such a double standard amongst guys and girls when it comes to love/sex life, health, and beauty expectations.” Moreover, many feminists argue that girls are conditioned from a young age to associate “doll” features as the epitome of beauty, ideas which are now under harsh scrutiny. For example, feminist criticisms of Victoria’s Secret for objectifying women and promoting unhealthy body image gained massive popularity in the

fem·i·nism noun : the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities : organized activity in support of women’s rights and interests insist gender inequality still prevails in many aspects of American society, economy, and politics. The gender gap in the United States economy is perhaps the most blatant example of existing gender inequality, as pointed to by many feminists. While women have accomplished a great deal in the workforce within the last few decades, the reality is on average in 2010, women are only earning 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. In addition, women account for merely 4.8% of Fortune 500 CEO as of 2014, a historic high for the list. Senior Laurel Posakony agrees, “in the U.S., it really comes down to wages and jobs.” Government jobs, as an extension, are also dominated by males. In 2014, the 113th US Congress consisted of 18.7% female representatives, with females making up a slightly higher 24.3% of state legislatures. Since

public after the brand’s “The Perfect Body” campaign. According to a 2010 study, “63 percent of girls think the body image represented by the fashion industry is unrealistic… yet 60 percent say that they compare their bodies to

fashion models.” The word feminism itself, however, has amassed considerable negative connotations nowadays. While feminism actually argues for the equality of all sexes, many misinterpret feminism

as being anti-male. The word itself pertains to only females because, “women are the ones lacking equal treatment,” Senior answers. Laurel further explains, “a lot of people view feminism as man-hating because some [feminists] will say, ‘I hate men.’ I feel like when women say they hate men, it’s because of bad experiences, like they’ve been abused or they constantly see men treated better in payment and getting jobs.” Several Men’s Rights organizations developed in response to the feminist movement, the National Coalition for Men (NCFM) being the most active and well-known. The NCFM contends that men’s rights are a casualty of growing feminism, as men are nowadays wrongfully demonized. A recent, highly publicized feminist campaign is the YouTube video called 10 Hours of Walking in NYC as a Woman. Created by an ad agency for the nonprofit organization Hollaback!, the two-minute PSA offers a glimpse at a woman experiencing allegedly 100 acts of verbal street harassment over a ten hour period. The video was met with serious backlash, however, because it “edited out the white men.” In addition, controversy arose over whether or not catcalling is even a significant issue at all. Laurel describes, “People say, ‘oh it’s just a compliment,’ but it gets aggressive really quickly.” On the other hand, male viewers including CCA Senior Alex Archibald thought the issue of catcalling was, “blown way out of proportion.” What’s more, women today also reject modern feminism, not because they do not support equal rights, but because they consider many feminists overly-zealous in spreading their message. Serena Van Der Pump, a

Senior at CCA, expresses, “the reason I think people can get so adamant about being extreme [anti-feminists] is because when people get in your face about something… you’re not going to respond positively.” Many women agree that they should have the same rights as men, but differ in ideas of what should be socially acceptable. For instance, Serena clarifies, “I have a guy friend and [he told] one of his female friends ‘oh you look really nice today’ just to be nice, and a group of girls nearby came up and said, ‘how dare you objectivity her!’” Furthermore, the rise of social media has functioned as somewhat of a double-edged sword for the feminist movement. While the internet has obviously made access to information about feminism easier, some feminist organizations use websites such as Tumblr often perpetuate the dangerous misconceptions about the cause. Tumblr users are known to propagate more radical versions of feminism, including generalizations about straight males, which educates young girls an inaccurate picture of feminism. Serena further relates, “You can’t say that all men are a part of rape culture because that’s just not [true.]” At Canyon Crest Academy, some students conclude gender inequality is almost nonexistent in comparison to the “real world,” or even how they imagine other high schools. Even without typical gender norms, chivalry still exists; Senior Jed Garfield proclaims, “I’d hold the door open for anyone, guy or girl!” Laurel determines the only time gender inequality surfaces is occasionally during classroom discus-

sions. “In classrooms there’s definitely a push for boys to be more vocal, and girls don’t really get to speak up as much… [During class discussions] girls don’t talk [very much] because I feel like [girls] feel like they’re asserting too much when they speak up.” The Canyon Crest Academy, or even Carmel Valley “bubble,” however, sometimes causes others to forget what it is like for other women who live in

places where they regularly experience sexism. “Saying that you don’t need feminism is like saying that girls in third world countries also probably don’t need feminism,” Laurel reasons. In countries such as Saudi Arabia, where women are not permitted to drive or simply leave the house without a chaperone, the problems in America seem practically obsolete. Whether or not girls choose to identify themselves as feminists, it is a very personal choice, and attending an open-minded school like CCA means respecting students of all opinions.

A New Session by Joshua Bi

On January 3rd, 2015, the 114th United States Congress will be sworn in based on the results of the 2014 Elections. Gubernatorial elections were also held in 36 of the 50 states. The election saw sweeping gains by Republicans in both chambers of Congress and in many gubernatorial elections. $3.7 billion dollars was spent trying to influence the election, making it the most expensive midterm election in American history. The 113th Congress saw a Democratic incumbent Barack Obama in the Executive branch while the House of Representatives were controlled by Republicans and the Senate by Democrats. Republicans now control both the House of Representative and the Senate, leading many political spectators to watch closely as President Obama completes his final 2 years in office and secures his legacy. The election of senators is split so only 33 of the 50 seats were up for election. No Democratic challengers

An Analysis of Election Results & the 114th United States Congress

were able to win any of their respective elections and GOP challengers were able to take 8 seats in the Senate. The Republican Party now controls the Senate 53 to 44. The loss of the majority in the Senate also means that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) will effectively trade roles. Sen. McConnell will become the majority leader while Sen. Reid will become the minority leader. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will also lose his position as President pro tempore to Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT). Alaska turned red as Democratic incumbent Mark Begich was defeated by Republican challenger Dan Sullivan. In Colorado, Senior Senator Mark Udall (D) was defeated by Republican chal-

tions. Republicans now effectively control Congress. Though they do not have the supermajority needed to override a veto from President Obama, control of Congress puts substantially more pressure on the executive branch to compromise with its counterparts in the legislature. The loss of the Senate also means that President Obama will have to fight harder to get Cabinet nominees confirmed. One of the most pressing of is the office of Attorney General. On September 25, 2014, Incumbent Eric Holder announced plans to resign once a new Attorney General was confirmed by the Senate. On November 8th, 2014 President Barack Obama nominated Attorney Loretta Elizabeth Lynch to the position. “Ms. Lynch is a strong, independent prosecutor who has twice led one of the most important U.S. attorney’s offices in the country,” announced White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest in a statement. It would be advantageous

The Democratic Party lost control of its narrow 53 to 45 majority in the Senate. lenger Tom Cotton in a hotly contested race. Democrats saw similar losses in other districts across the country. The loss of the Senate for Democrats has many significant implica-

for President Obama to rush his nominee through the Senate confirmation process before the session of the 113th Congress ends as a Democratic majority is more likely to confirm his nominee than a Republican majority. Other issues such as the Keystone Pipeline System and a potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act also linger as control of both Houses of Congress tips the bargaining chip in the GOP’s favor. The entire House of Representatives was also elected. The Republican Party held on to its firm hold of the House of Representatives. The GOP gained 12 new seats to pad their hold on the House to a respectable 244 seats to the Democratic Party’s 186. Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is likely to be voted as Speaker of the House, keeping his position as the head Republican in the House. House Democrats will remain under the leadership of House Minority Leader, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).

Locally, in the 52nd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Scott Peters kept his seat after defeating Republican challenger Carl DeMaio in a closely watched race. Early results showed DeMaio having a slender lead but by the

in 2002. The fact that the president’s party loses seats in Congress in 90% of midterm elections suggests that not even the most brilliant service in the White House can change the outcome. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s party lost seats mere months after the Battle of Midway, one of the United States’ most overwhelming military victories. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s party twice lost seats in the midst of the greatest economic boom in American history. John F. Kennedy’s party lost seats only a week after he successfully negotiated the Cuban missile crisis…” However, history has shown that many two-term Presidents will often compromise with the opposing party in the last leg of their presidencies in order to improve their party’s chances in coming elections and to cement their legacies. Only time will be able to tell how President Obama will act.

Only five times in American history has the president’s party avoided losing seats in Congress during a midterm election 7th of November, Peters edged ahead and by the 9th, DeMaio conceded. Looking back, the results of the 2014 elections weren’t surprising to many political spectators. The Democratic Party was bracing for the loss of the Senate even before early projections began to come back. said Christopher Bates of the Los Angeles Times. “And each of these instances involved extraordinary circumstances, among them the turmoil over Reconstruction in 1866, the Depression in 1934 and the 9/11 attacks and the early months of the war on terror

Skyrocketing Space Ventures by Patrick Lin

On October 4th, 1957, a tiny metallic, circular sphere with antennas attached to it was launched into the Russian night sky. Radio receivers around the globe could hear the rhythmic beeps transmitted from its antennas. Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union, escalated the Space Race to new proportions, spurring the rapid development of space technology in not only the US and USSR, but in many satellite countries as well. One month later, the first dog was in orbit; 4 years later, the first human. The Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s successful orbital spaceflight was rivaled by famous NASA pilots such as Alan Shepherd and John Glenn soon after. Small satellites were sporadically launched by national space authorities to gather meteorological and interplanetary data for further research, with the hope of one day traversing out of our orbit or even our solar system. Unmanned flybys of NASA probes, orbital landers, and rovers were employed to go where humans have never gone, to gather current conditions and better understand our universe. The familiar space rover that landed on Mars was sent towards other planets that did not have a hostile environment, to gather direct surface data and map the topography. Other planets have all been visited briefly or analyzed in depth, and even asteroids and comets have been targets of flybys and direct-impact probes, which smash into the bodies to take photographs and measurements. The most distinctive goal had been Earthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Moon, the first celestial object to be flown by, landed

upon, and orbited around. As one of the closest celestial bodies to Earth, the U.S. progressed from impactors and landers to manned orbits around the moon. Finally, in 1969, the first humans set foot on another world by the Apollo 11 mission. As robotics missions are still being pursued, actual manned missions to other celestial bodies have become more frequent. In the public sector, the federal agency NASA receives funding from the federal budget passed by Congress every year. Because of the perceived Cold War threat in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;60s, political and public support of space exploration appropriation skyrocketed, resulted in funding of more than 4% the federal budget. Contrary to public perceptions of NASA funding, which assumes that it takes up to 20% of the federal budget, recently the annual budgets have been dropping. In the fiscal year of 2013, the NASA only took up 0.49% of the federal budget. Although the government continues to propose cuts to planetary sciences, NASA states that commercial space programs and research will continue to be funded. However, commercial space programs specializing in transportation and supply received a setback a few months ago, when a Virgin Galactic space plane exploded during a test flight over the Mojave Desert on October 31. One of the pilots reportedly died and another was injured in the crash impact. On October 28, an unmanned Orbital Sciences rocket, Antares, that was destined to fly supplies up to the International Space station, also exploded seconds after leaving the launchpad, resulting in millions

of dollars in damages but no casualties. In the grueling race to discover another world, accidents are unavoidable. When the space shuttles Challenger and Columbia exploded in 1968 and 2003, respectively, it’s clear that even with the advancement of technology, unanticipated failures still—and will— occur. With these incidents, public perception of contacted space endeavors partly fell. With tighter budgets, NASA is encouraging private companies to develop commercial space technology while trying to minimize its cost. Fortunately, other contracted companies like SpaceX and Boeing are now laying much of the heavy groundwork that will be necessary with their series of successful space planes and rockets. Like the futuristic predictions of space travel in novels and movies, we are nearing the beginning of regular manned space travel. Various space companies, whether they are researchers or manufacturers, aim to achieve more in their respective disciplines, including finding new life forms on other planets, building sustainable environments for possible human settlement, or simply exploring beyond our solar system. As general technology improves, those everyday instruments such as weather sensing, GPS, satellite TV, and communication that are vital to the construction and functioning of rockets improves as well. Fortunately, the most recent evidence that NASA’s space

Delta IV rocket. The capsule traveled for two orbits around Earth at 3600 miles altitude, farther than any spacecraft designed for astronauts have gone in four decades. Hundreds of onboard sensors recorded critical data for later evaluation. Parachutes, attitude controls, and jettisoning components were tested. During the 20,000mph reentry, heat shields were also tested in anticipation of astronauts’ safety. The capsule splashed down 600 miles southwest of San Diego, and the USS Anchorage recovered it, bringing it to Naval Base for later transport back to NASA. This successful test signals a continuation in space exploration. Meant to transport astronauts mainly to Mars, the first manned mission is expected to take place in 7 years. Hundreds more of experiments and tests related to crewed transport have yet to occur, and US Congressional subcommittees currently debate on the sequence of Orion missions, but this record setting flight set a solid foundation for manned travel to Mars.

The world has learned much about the Red Planet after decades of exploration with rovers and orbiters, but the time has come for human exploration, and we intend to meet the challenge. The Orion test flight is the first step. exploration master plan is progressing well is the first successful test flight of a spacecraft in development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Announced more than a decade ago, the Orion MPCV is intended to carry multiple crew members beyond Low Earth Orbit, where manned spaceflights usually take place. Meant to catalyze manned space exploration in Mars, the Moon, and other bodies, the spacecraft components are split up in production, with the command module built by Lockheed Martin and the service propulsion module built by Airbus. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden stated, “The world has learned much about the Red Planet after decades of exploration with rovers and orbiters, but the time has come for human exploration, and we intend to meet the challenge. The Orion test flight is the first step.” The debut unmanned test flight launched on December 5th at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, with the Orion Capsule atop a high capacity 3 booster

Meanwhile, both investors and the public look expectantly at private space companies dedicated to opening the space frontier. Many criticize space exploration efforts, citing existing problems on Earth that need to be solved before starting new journeys or saving the money for other uses, but capital investors are still dashing out money to the companies. For instance, before the Virgin Galactic space plane’s accident, about 700 people had reserved seats on it, with tickets costing $250,000 each, clearly indicating the enthusiastic customers who are willing to experience the new world, consequently contributing financially to further research and test efforts. One day, the space devotees of the human race hope to approach and traverse the limits of

our solar system, our galaxy, and our own capabilities.

Student Art Layout by Jakob Saloner

“Popeye” by Zak Collin

I not only like tattoos, I also appreciate the history behind them. I am most fascinated with the so called “American Traditional” style pieces that were done on sailors in the 1940’s and 1950’s. That is why I chose to use the famous tattoos of an iconic sailor in this piece. The Pupula Duplex Illuminati Pyramid and the background rose were just fun to draw.

“Untitled”

by Claire Tipler

I didn’t necessarily have a conventional inspiration for this piece. At the time, I had just bought some colorful chalk pastels, and was thinking of interesting things that I could draw with them, when smoke came to mind. However, the smoke didn’t turn out very bright or dynamic on white paper, so I had to do it on black. The white charcoal was really the only option for the figure because it was the only thing that would also show up on black paper. The piece was really just the result of a random experiment, but I actually quite like the final product.

“Fox Skull”

by Zak Collin

This piece was part of a concentration entitled “Bones & Bugs”. I chose to do a fox skull because of its interesting shape and the size of the teeth. I included the Death’s Head Hawkmoth because I am a fan of the books and movies related to Dr. Hannibal Lecter, most notably The Silence of the Lambs.

“Rose”

by Zak Collin

I drew this flower as a gift for my mom because she likes roses and I like tattoos. I enjoy drawing tattoo related imagery, especially flowers, because tattoos are one of the few things in life that can be considered “permanent”.

Bearing the Burden by Skylar Binney photography by Ethan Rappaport

We, as the world’s future, have been taught from a young age to always do our best. Our youth has been constantly rewarded for succeeding whether it’s a cookie at the age of 3, a sticker for finishing chores, or an A in Calc BC. We are taught that no matter how we get there, the end result is all that matters. Here at Canyon Crest Academy the standards are set astronomically—and sometimes unachievably—high. Rigorous classes and dense schedules are reserved for the academically gifted in most environments; however, CCA has fostered a highachieving student body from the beginning. Because of these standards, students between the ages of 14-18 are sacrificing some of the most crucial necessities in maintaining a healthy and balanced life. Battling health issues, a lack of social interaction, and a deficiency of sleep are detrimental to one’s wellbeing and have become a regularity for CCA’s students. Those who are academically gifted and have a knack for book smarts make the criteria for success overwhelming and deal with such difficult courses in a less stressful manner. Senior Angelina Wang has maintained a GPA of 4.76, cranking out an A in every single class, including all seven of her AP classes last year, and all five this year. She is cautious not to let her overwhelming schedule dominate her life, as she still manages to hold her position as PB&J Club President, CCA Women’s Volleyball Team Manager, Science Olympiad Coach, and volunteer at her local hospital and Miracle League. Claiming that she “[does] not spend an excessive amount of time [on academics],” she is able to hang out with her friends every weekend, in addition to her works of community service. For students that are incapable of living up to these standards,

Canyon Crest Academy can be a difficult environment to succeed in due to the criteria for success set by surrounding students. For Brianna Jensen, the overbearing pressure to do well in school not only affected her life, but those around her. She states that irritability towards both her family and friends led her to become a burden on the lives of others. Constantly obsessing over every grade, she would stare at Aeries, refreshing the page every minute, only to see that she had “failed” yet another test. No matter the amount of time she spent studying, Brianna was never able to latch onto an A. Her drive to succeed, but constant “failure” was a slap in the face every time. Jensen’s family began to notice the change, and later her friends caught on as well. During her sophomore year in AP World, Brianna became distant and angry, urging Jenson to separate herself from the world around her. Ridden with anxiety, the fight against “failure” began to affect Brianna’s health in numerous ways, both physically and mentally. Due to family issues, playing a sport, and constantly battling against her grades, she undeniably fell into minor depression. Cracking under pressure nearly every night, she would fall to her knees, sobbing, in an effort to remember why she subjected herself to such mental and emotional exhaustion. Less than half a year later, she found physical pain in the battle to keep her grades up. Breathing and heart concerns arose, as she took on various tests to find the underlying cause of her discomfort and pain. It came as no surprise that stress due to school was the primary factor in her suffering. Brianna is not alone, as CCA fosters a population with similar issues. Likewise, Lea Dawson has taken drastic measures to ensure success in her first AP class: AP World. Developing a similar heart condition to Brianna’s, she was riddled by rapid heartbeats all

Separate herself from the world around her

throughout her day, beginning halfway through her first semester of her sophomore year. After receiving medical data in regards to her heart, the determinants were found: stress and dehydration. Lea says the source of her stress was an overwhelming combination of school and extracurricular activities, leaving little to no time for friends. Her grades remain a priority in her life as she spends endless hours crouched over an AP World textbook every night, attempting to finish yet another chapter. Being an only child, she “feel[s] like [she] has to make up for not having a brother or sister.” The pressure to shine above all and make her parents proud lies solely on her back as she struggles to be the perfect child. Corey Cartwright, a senior at Canyon Crest, has also experienced health detriments as a result of stress from school. Stomach aches and fatigue often plague him due to high stress levels approaching tests or projects at school. Accustomed to years of sleepless nights and hyper-focus, Corey has “learned to become content with [his] academic situation.” He also admits, “Taking these classes requires me to sacrifice time with friends and family and sometimes my wellbeing.” A common occurrence in Corey’s life is the peer pressure of CCA’s high academic standards. Although naturally academically gifted, Corey struggles to break past the stress of school, realizing that sometimes it is a little too much to bear. Subjecting himself to predicted anxiety as a result of taking on such a large amount of rigorous courses, he has come to accept that the end result will be worth his hard work. Diane Kang is often bombarded with assignments and tests throughout the week, carving away her free time in seconds. It has become a rare occasion that she is able to hang out with friends during the week or weekend due to the combination of her academics and extracurricular activities. She strongly believes that the environment in

which CCA students have adapted to has corrupted the education system, creating unrealistic and overly stressful standards. She says “I question the point of it all,” and claims the excess stress placed on students is “unnecessary” and education should “place less importance on APs.” As an example to the faulty American educational system, Kang mentions the British grading scale which defines an A as a 70%-100%. This puts less emphasis on the grade a student receives, unlike the high pressure system we have developed in the U.S. Every single student spoken to admits that they recognize the intense effects that the competitive nature of Canyon Crest Academy has on the courses they choose and their commitment to achieving maximum success. Peer pressure is a large factor in the selection of the courses, and Corey confesses: “We are trained to just get grades and not really become people who care about learning something over a lifetime.” Our community has earned a strong academic reputation, but is the pressure put on our students worth it? Is pushing students until they crack and inflicting health issues due to stress a sacrifice a school should make in order to achieve high amounts of success? It is a controversial topic when debating whether or not the stress required for an A at the end of the semester is worth it. It has become a known fact that Canyon Crest Academy students are some of the hardest working and dedicated students, but the sacrifices made to achieve academic success are too much for such young people to endure. When less academically gifted students are placed near the over-achievers, self-confidence is lowered and drastic measures are made to ensure a place next to the best of the best. In a highly successful school, one must identify how much they are capable of taking on in regards to not only their mental capacity, but more importantly what makes them happy.

I question the point of it all

*Some names have been changed to protect identies.

Overheard at CCA by Ethan Rappaport

This is a collection of anonymous quotes collected from around CCA in passing. We heard you say it, and here it is. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what we Overheard at CCA...

New Horizons by Josh Dillen

The lunch bell rings and CCA students utilize their finely practiced art. They rush to their theatres and studios, conceptualize, collaborate with their colleagues, and then finally establish what their composition will be. Satisfied with their perfect planning, they walk into third period, burritos in hand, with only seconds to spare until the bell rings. The art described here is not one that decorates canvas or takes place on stage. It is the art of the senior class: “going off.” For years finding lunch food on the cheap within range of our campus has been a challenge. However, one innocent plot of land is about to change everything. As any student with functioning ears and eyes and even the slightest amount of curiosity is aware, there is some serious construction going on across the street from our campus. For now, students have given it the name “the shopping center.” However, students would be hard pressed to give the names of individual stores and restaurants that will be in the behemoth of

a construction zone. Rumors abound, from wild speculation that our home street will be blessed by the In N Out gods to what seem like more reasonable and established guesses like the presence of a Trader Joe’s. Regardless of the contents, students seem excited to abandon their long range deep sea expeditions in search of sandwiches with magical orange sauce for a much more convenient option. Ask a senior where the best place to get food at lunch is, and you will probably also receive directions and a strict itinerary necessary to retrieve the spoils without receiving an attendance record shattering tardie. While seniors will go to great lengths in search of their midday meal, the prospect of having opportunities on the same block is an exciting one. Gone will be the days of daily bickering over who gets to drive and who will ride shotgun. Now the only mode of transportation required to seek food that was not prepared on campus is our own two feet. This prospect opens up an

interesting concept. Even students too young to even drive with their parents will have the power to break campus boundaries and experience the “outside world” between 11:12 and 11:52. While a shopping center in such close proximity will make the practice easier, it would be blind and misguided to believe that underclassmen don’t break the rules and seek extracurricular dietary nourishment. The evidence is surely there. A quick glance at cars leaving the student lot would reveal that not every vehicle is adorned with an orange senior permit. Students and faculty alike seem fully aware that it is not the official policy to allow students in any but their fourth year leave campus for lunch, but no one has a story about the time they got caught. A shopping center across the street seems to be a massive challenge to this already difficult to enforce policy. There is certainly no lack of support from students regarding a possible change in our off campus policy. Re-

cently, a group of students at Canyon Crest Academy approached Mr. Mueller with a proposal to expand the privilege of leaving school for lunch to both seniors and juniors. Not only has Mr. Mueller heard our request for change, but he has also taken action. “I have had discussions with our district office and [we are] in the process of creating a survey to take out to our community [that will] take a critical look at our existing off campus lunch policy,” said Mueller. He adds that “As an educator, it’s difficult to know that we have a policy in place that is difficult to enforce.” The survey Mr. Mueller is referencing should be distributed in mid to late January. After receiving data, Mr. Mueller intends to gather a group of interested students and teachers to take a critical look at the data. With the excitement of changes in lunch policy, reduced gas consumption, and the idea of new lunch spots, students have been speculating wildly about who the future tenants of this new shrine to consumerism may be.

The more optimistic members of our student body are sure to throw out big names like In N Out or other potential neighbors that we would all be glad to see move in next door, but most likely will not. The one thing we can be sure of is that there will be a Trader Joe’s. While most of our students most likely do not go shopping for groceries, adults across Carmel Valley will be delighted to shop at the chain’s first location in the area. We can also expect to see a drugstore like a Rite Aid conveniently located across the street from our campus. As for other tenants, we still cannot be sure about what us in store for our gastrointestinal tracts. Not only will teenagers have a new place to grab some food, but they could also land a new place to hang out. While we cannot be sure of all of the contents, one thing we can be sure of is increased traffic. With such a large amount of residential developments in the area, there seems to be an endless need for shopping centers that are not

always seemingly inundated by people like the perennially popular Del Mar Highlands shopping center. The new shopping center will also have a unique supermarket for the area which has the potential to draw crowds from even further than the Carmel Valley bubble in which we all seem to exist. As a senior who has been driving to school for almost two years, I can attest to the fact that one thing Village Center Loop does not need is more traffic. As Carmel Valley grows, not only do our freshman class sizes get bigger, but our shopping options also expand. Gone are the days when we are limited to the “Highlands,” the Torrey Hills Vons location, the Vons in Del Mar, the Vons at Piazza Carmel, The Albertson’s in Solana Beach, Flower Hill, and the Vons by Westview. Adding another shopping center to our limited collection may finally give us the freedom we deserve.

Meet the Staff

Brian Chekal Editor-in-Chief “Hi Canyon Crest, My name is Brian and I am the serious one in Pulse. Whenever our staffers seek to “relax”, “enjoy second semester”, or “have fun” (whatever that means), I make sure to assign extra coloring worksheets for homework in an effort to remind them of our grave duty to CCA as guardians of truth and beacons of knowledge. If you have any concerns about our magazine, or wish to join the “International Society of Sophisticated Gentlemen”, feel free to visit Mr. Gaughen’s room during first period - just look for the staffer furiously tipping his fedora and sipping fine 2015 Chateau de Vons grape juice (pressed from cage-free grapes of course). Alas, I have run out of space! Adieu my sweet river liliies, until the next issue brings us together once more~~~~

Ethan Rappaport Creative Director

Lines. Colors. “Pull-out quotes”. Font styles. I use all of these highly advanced tools (and a couple more) to design the layout for Pulse Magazine. I’m the Creative Director, but that’s probably not something you’ve encountered before, so let me describe my duties. I design the layout, take the photos, and design the cover art. So... I sit and do computer stuff most of the time. I use words like “margins” and “alignment” and “pictures” when I talk, and I have a computer bag, so one could say I’m uniquely qualified for my prestigious position. Photoshop and a rolling chair are my instruments, and design is my music. Some would describe me as “dedicated,” others as “knowledgable.” Josh Bi would describe me as “Ohmygahd Ethan turn in your online story!!!” All of these are spot on. Here’s the deal. I’m a nice guy, and I do my best to make everyone feel good about their designs. Don’t turn in your layout? I’ll photoshop you onto a fennec fox. Creative Director, signing off.

Josh Dillen Editorial Director

Some might say that twenty-two bro tanks is too many. They might say that ten pairs of Ray-Bans is excessive. These people have obviously never played baseball. I’m known as the jock on this staff and am proud to introduce a new Pulse tradition: leg day Thursday. That’s right bros and brehs you can find me barking at all the betas in first period every Thursday. I know you were wondering but too intimidated to ask so I’ll answer for you: Yes, I would be able to bench you if I wasn’t busy rebuilding my super human bone structure in my pinky finger. That’s right. I have more strength in my pinky finger than you do in your whole right bicep. I want to set another thing straight for all of you laxers who think you play the dominant spring sport. You might as well pack up your shafts and heads and go home because CCA Baseball is going all the way this year baby. Watch out for clash of the spring sports, scrubs.

Joshua Bi Online Editor

A majestic, carefree butterfly fluttering across a densely polluted sky. A starving artist peacefully protesting an oppressive regime with his gift in spoken word. A lone pure, innocent, unadulterated fawn traversing a sea of sin and degeneracy. There are a lot of ways that you could describe Joshua Bi and his role at Pulse Magazine but the simplest would be to say that he is the Online Editor-in-Chief of Pulse Magazine. He should also probably be the print Editor-in-Chief too but no one man should have all that power. He first seized power in a 1936 coup d’état that saw the ouster and permanent house arrest of former online editor, Brian Chekal. Since then, the online division of Pulse has only gotten harder, better, faster, and stronger. As a result of his controversial views, he is banned from many zones including (but not limited to) the North Frigi Zone, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Zones of Nepal, the no-fly zone, the temperate zone, the Solaris Zone, and the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is vital that he is not let in to any of the aforementioned zones. He hopes to study either computer science or computer engineering in college and one day achieve his dreams of becoming a corrections officer at a federal penitentiary.

Patrick Lin Staff Writer

Patrick is an overweight, dimwitted pink starfish attempting to crawl through high school. Many call him a try-hard or variations of derogatory asian terms, but he is just a starfish. He loves to scribble words on his rock-house, and sometimes randomly these words become articles and essays. Although he has no common sense, he loves to play guitar, sing, and enjoy the great outdoors. Recently, he dropped his hobby of jellyfish-catching when he replaced the jellyfish inside the net with a white rubber ball. He likes this new hobby because the name “lax” really matches his slow personality. Sometime he also goes into the weight room to compete in strenuous exercises such as walking on the treadmill or doing 1 half rep of a crunch; this week, he moved up to a 2 lb dumbbell too! In his spare time, he also picked up a new computer game that he enjoys on his sand-computer, which involves killing characters and taking down turrets to reach an exploding nexus. Other than that, Patrick spends his time hanging out with his friends who live nearby and visiting his best friend’s workplace to annoy him. Swag.

Cameron Chang Staff Writer

As if the CCA Pulse staff needed another Asian-American, Canyon Crest Academy junior Cameron Chang joined the school magazine this year because his parents wanted him to get his head out of that AP Calculus BC textbook and do something meaningful with his life. He's been called by many of his friends and colleagues intrepid, good-looking from a distance and horribly offensive on a physical, emotional and psychological level, sometimes all at once! Mr. Chang has also been participating in musical theatre since the wee age of 7, and has been cast as the role of Tree #4 in all 27 of his productions. If this highly prestigious role didn't exist in the original script, no matter, it was and is always written in to provide for Mr. Chang's demanding and gratifying artistic needs. When not at school or wowing audiences as a plant, he lives a simple life, residing in a quaint cardboard box in the outskirts of Zion National Park with his 47 wives. A true American, he makes the 7 1/2 hour commute from Utah to San Diego everyday and never fails to converse in some simple, yet appealing small talk with his chauffeur Quinten, the poor poor man who has to drive him everyday. You can learn a lot about America, the universe, and much, much more by simply knowing Cameron Chang.

Emily Abrishamkar Staff Writer

What’s Gucci guys! It’s ya girl Emily Abrishamkar here and I’m going to share a little bit about myself ;). I’m the treasurer of Pulse cuz I like rolling in the money, lol. Like any proper trust fund brat, I’ve been thinking about what I’m going to do after high school that doesn’t involve learning (ew!) When I graduate the first thing I’m going to do is audition for MTV Real World and hopefully I will be discovered as an actress and then I can getting a singing career cuz YOLO. My inspirations are Rick Ross, French Montana, and Rascal Flatts (jk ew country kms!). LOL whenever I drive I crank up my bass so that everyone in a five mile radius can hear Thug Cry while I twerk in my Volkswagen Tiguan. My back up plan in life is to Catfish James or Dave Franco and then get a reality show and if that doesn’t work out I’ll just blackmail them, oops! My hobbies include writing to my prison pen pals and turning up. I don’t really have any female friends cuz they’re always too jealous of me, that’s why I always post 150 second-long Snapchat stories to show my haters. Xoxo.

Skylar Binney Staff Writer

Sup yo, its Sky Binney. My homies up in the Pulse Staff have got it goin’ on but I’m just the newbie here man. I’ve got it down though, ya feel. I’m talkin’ down town got it down to the ground farther down than my pants be hanging ya feel. When my mind be gettin fuzzy like dem clouds, know what I’m sayin’, I just start rappin’ and throwin’ out beats. Pulse just a class but I be gettin’ down with my homies every morning. Wake up, do my thang, rap a little bout em b****es and start countin my dolla dolla bills yo. Im cashin the real paper daily yo. We’re talkin’ straight up b franks man. I’m super into dem beats yo and my dawgs in the streets got me covered with the systems. They got some sick sh*t up in there, but we homies man. I got my way on the streets yo. Ain’t nobody gonna mess with Sky, ya feel. I be up in my pipped out ride yo and the fellas can’t resist this fine a** riding in a fine a** car man. We got it all day every day––it’s what I live yo. Sky Binney out fo real yo.

Christopher Black Advisor Zzzzzzzzzzz........

San Diego African American Film

San Diego Veg Festival 2015

Whale and Dolphin Watching Adventure

Late Start

Farmers Insurance Open (Golf)

Late Start Brian Chekal’s Birthday!

Back to School Night Varsity Water Polo v LCC

IM Conservatory Show

New York Standards Quartet (Athenaeum Music Arts Libary)

Skylar Binney’s Birthday!

State Street Farmer’s Market

Last day to drop a class without a “W”

Motion City Soundtrack (House of Blues) Don’t Drink the Water (Playing in the Black Box)

No school: President’s Day

Boy’s Varsity Soccer v TPHS

Varsity Water Polo v TPHS

Girls Varsity Basketball v TPHS Old-time Train Ride (Pacific Southwest Railway Museum) Color Fun Fest 5K (Sleep Train Amphitheatre)

Game Time (Malcolm X Library)

ACT Catfish & the Bottlemen (Merrow)

SAT

The Darrel Hamond Project (La Jolla Playhouse)

Valentine’s Day

Comedy Sportz (Black Box) State Street Farmer’s Market

Mod Son (Soma)

Run for Fun (Fashion Valley Mall)

No School

Comedy Sports (Black Box)

by Cameron Chang

Eons ago (the late 20th century to be exact) the comic book/superhero genre wasn’t taken seriously. Those who had never picked up a comic book just assumed that they were all as cheesy and stupid as say the old Adam West Batman serials or the first animated Spider-Man cartoons. The unknowing masses wrote this pocket of literature off as a myriad of overly-patriotic/optimistic heroes in colorful tights and flamboyant masks who were invincible and therefore possessed little depth or interest as characters. During the last 30 or so years of the 1900s, comic book films started to become a genre of their own, one that was surprisingly successful. However no one seemed to take it seriously. Movies like the original Superman with Christopher Reeve entertained and delighted the masses with its spectacle and unabashed sense of fun, but very few regarded them as true pieces of “artistic cinema”. It wasn’t until Bryan Singer’s X-Men when people started to realize that comic book movies could transcend the genre and become more than just popcorn flicks, but dramatic, human stories with vulnerable, three-dimensional characters. After this we had Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films that were able to combine the cheesy action film with emotional drama, followed by Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy(arguably the crowning achievement of the genre), which showed us that superhero films could be intense, pulse-pounding crime dramas that involve deeply tormented characters. However none of these film franchises have been able to replicate what Marvel studios has done. In 2008 they released Iron Man which was the first film the studio distributed. It was one of the best films that ever came out of the genre simultaneously exciting and action packed, but also smart, funny, and extremely clever. It also introduced something seldom seen in the moviemaking industry, some-

thing comic books had been doing for ages: the concept of a “shared universe.” A series of films that all took place in the same world, where the repercussions of each individual movie were reflected on and readdressed in the others to come. When Samuel L. Jackson, as the iconic S.H.I.E.L.D director Nick Fury, showed up at Tony Stark’s door-step in the after credits scene of Iron Man, and said “I want to talk to you about the Avengers initiative,” comic book fans everywhere lost their s**t. And now, it’s safe to say that Marvel’s plan worked. In fact, that’s a grueling understatement. What Marvel did wasn’t just unique, or different, but it single-handedly change franchise filmmaking forever. Now, DC is trying desperately to play catch-up. In 2016, the movie-going public will become entrenched in a battle of epicly monumental proportions. All. Out. War. For a while, D.C. comics (and Warner Bros.) made it very apparent that they didn’t have a clue what they were doing with their comic book properties. With the exception of Nolan’s Batman films, D.C. was always the inferior step child of Marvel. Like Green Lantern…wtf was that?! They had no plan, unlike Marvel, and were essentially just releasing any random DC property to see if it would work. It didn’t. Green Lantern is one of the worst comic book films ever made. This changed with 2013’s Man of Steel, which was rumored to be the start of a potential DC cinematic universe, and the trailers made the film look like an enthralling and emotional superhero experience. Unfortunately, the movie was a crushing disappointment, even though it was indeed a financial success. It wasn’t terrible by any means, just a bounty of untapped potential. Furthermore, the film shed no light on whether this was the start of a shared DC universe or not. Comic Con 2013 rolled around a month later where Zach Snyder, the film’s director, announced that the sequel to Man of Steel would actually be a Batman/Superman team-up film, and of course the fanboy community squealed like 5 year old school children. Was this confirmation of the justice league and a shared universe?? Not officially. It did confirm, though, that these wouldn’t be isolated films for DC anymore. In the months to follow, we found out that Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Cyborg would all be in Batman V. Superman, leading to one simple request: JUST ANNOUNCE FRICKIN JUSTICE LEAGUE STOP TOYING WITH OUR EMOTIONS. Now, I’ll get back to this in a minute, but let’s divert our attention to Marvel for a hot second. In October 2014 (still basking in the insane financial/critical/public success that was “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Marvel announced that Robert Downey Jr. had signed on to reprise his role as Tony Stark/Iron Man in Captain America 3. Also, Avengers 3 would not include Cap or Thor, but would instead focus on Stark training new Marvel Characters to fight on his side. HIS SIDE. This was an indicator of the Marvel “Civil War” storyline, where Captain America and Iron Man go into direct conflict with

each other, and force certain Avengers to pick sides. This is an incredibly exciting prospect, and it will allow Marvel Studios to go into incredibly interesting directions both narratively and dramatically. We in the film fan community all assumed that DC was off in a corner crying somewhere, still up in arms about exactly what the frick to do with their various properties.

Two days after the civil war announcement, Warner Bros CEO Kevin Tsujiahara announced the entirety of their slate of DC films until 2020. The announcement read as follows: “Batman v Superman,” directed by Zach Snyder (2016) “Suicide Squad,” directed by David Ayer (2016) “Wonder Woman,” starring Gal Gadot (2017) “Justice League Part One,” directed by Zach Snyder, with Ben Affleck, (Batman) Henry Cavill (Superman) and Amy Adams (Lois Lane) reprising their roles (2017) “The Flash,” starring Ezra Miller (2018) “Aquaman,” starring Jason Momoa (2018) “Shazam” (2019) “Justice League Part Two,” directed by Zach Snyder (2019) “Cyborg,” starring Ray Fisher (2020) “Green Lantern” (2020) This serves as confirmation for a number of various rumors. The biggest take-away from this announcement is that a Justice League movie is actually happening. No more speculation, this is an exact, set in stone confirmation that the film will be released in 2017. Also, this is indeed a shared universe of films and is very much in the vein of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), which at this point was unavoidable. Also, Wonder Woman in 2017 will be the first major superhero film led by a female protagonist AND with a female director, and Cyborg in 2020 will be the first major superhero film led by a black male protagonist. Also The Flash will be the first comic book flick with an openly gay actor (Ezra Miller) at the forefront. Following this announcement, many people (myself included) developed some faith for the DCCU, and were excited to see how they compete with King Marvel come 2016. Marvel’s Civil War announcement was exciting, but DC definitely won the

week when it came to news. But of course, Marvel had to completely overshadow DC approximately one week later. Marvel isn’t just the reigning champion of modern day tent pole filmmaking for nothing. The morning of October 28th, 2014, Marvel sent out a message to various movie news sites/fan sites, etc., calling in a secret press conference at the El Capitan Theater in Los Angeles. This came right off the heels of not only the civil war rumor, but also speculation that British actor and fangirl dream-boat Benedict Cumberbatch was closing in a deal to play Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the upcoming 2016 film. There was also fan speculation of a Black Panther film, since there was an Easter egg related to the superhero in the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer. The attendees were expecting big things, but few were prepared for what they got. President of Marvel Studios Kevin Feige, began the conference by saying they had been sent here today to receive information regarding Marvel Phase 3, and what followed were announcements of every Marvel film from now to 2019. Yup. Every Marvel film from now to 2019. The list read as follows: 2016: May 6: Captain America 3 November 4: Doctor Strange 2017: May 5: Guardians of the Galaxy 2 July 28: Thor: Ragnarok November 3: Black Panther 2018: May 4: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part One July 6: Captain Marvel November 2: Inhumans 2019: May 3: The Avengers: Infinity War, Part Two How ‘bout them apples DC? We already knew about Cap 3, Doctor Strange, Guardians 2 and Avengers 3, but the rest are completely new announcements that had received little, or no, speculation whatsoever. Since Black Panther is being released in 2017, Marvel will have the first major superhero film led by a black male protagonist, NOT DC, and even though Wonder Woman is still being released before Captain Marvel, it’s great to see the studio also releasing a female led superhero flick, one that will hopefully be helmed by a female director. Avengers 3 being split into two parts also confirms the much talked about notion that this could be the biggest superhero film of all time, combining the current Avengers team with new ones, and probably the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they FINALLY battle Thanos (who was in the end credits scene of the first Avengers film as well as a small portion of Guardians of the Galaxy), in an intergalactic war. AHHHHH THE EXCITEMENT. You can look at this battle between studios two differ-

ent ways. You could write it off as corporate execs trying to cash in on mindless popcorn entertainment that the public will eat up. I don’t see it that way, though. Are they trying to make a crap-ton of money? Of course they are! It is their job so of course the studios want to make money. To me though, this is revolutionizing the way we see films. These aren’t movies anymore. These are events. Massive gatherings to celebrate icons of the film/literature world. Seeing these two rivals of the comic book world transition to full-on rivals of the film world…I don’t think any of us are prepared for what’s coming 2016. When the real civil war begins. Do we have to pick sides? Do film fans/comic book fans/ fanboys/fangirls/film geeks/film nerds/regular nerds have to choose just one comic book titan that they must righteously campaign for from now until the end of all time? I really don’t think so. All I want is this: For both studios to release good, quality films. That’s what any regular moviegoer wants right? No matter if they’re seeing a superhero film or

an Oscar contender. We just want good cinema. As it stands right now, Marvel is certainly winning the battle and is taking its company in more interesting directions because they have the “necessary properties” (Iron Man, Thor, Cap, etc.) out of the way, allowing them to make films like Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Captain Marvel and Inhumans: the more “unique” comics. Also, Zach Snyder, who directed Man of Steel, is looking poised to be the Joss Whedon (director of “The Avengers”) of the DC world, as he is directing Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Justice League films. Snyder is a good visual director, but his resume is hit or miss, one of those misses being Man of Steel, so I am very cautiously optimistic for the future of the DC universe, whereas Marvel I’m confident will continue to distribute quality content. So mark your calendars for spring of 2016 when the Marvel/DC cinematic war commences. The film industry will never be the same again.

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