Publication: the Logic and Awareness By Ryan Fischer The 2017 at the Video Music Awards, the VMA’S, was one not to forget for the right reasons. From underdog winners to speeches with a big cause or stand. Logic, a rap artist, along with famous vocal artists including, Khalid, Kesha, and Alessia Cara, came together to promote suicide awareness. Khalid, Logic, and Alessia Cara made a powerful song called, 1-800-2738255. The song is about how people feel about being alone, feeling worthless, and wanting to commit suicide. The song transfers to saying that they are not alone, and that suicide is not the answer. The song was also made to promote the suicide hotline people at low points of their lives can use as help. Today one million people commit suicide worldwide every single year. This is sad to see happen and hear how alone or lost people can be and can feel. It is hard to really do something without a big voice to take a stand worldwide. Fortunately, huge names like Logic, Khalid, Kesha, and Alessia Cara all are taking a stand. The artist really started pushing to prevent suicide. At the Video Music Awards, the song, 1-800-273-8255, Tech Times Issue 00Month was performed, which Year I got to see in person. The song was performed with a lot of passion and such a
At the Video Music Awards, the song, 1-800-273-8255, was performed, which I got to see in person. The song was performed with a lot of passion and such a purpose. During the song, many people with white shirts with the hotline on it held hands around the stage. The people are not just people that work for the hotline, but suicide survivors. These people were at the lowest point of their life, but they all survived and found hope. Now these people today spend their time helping people at very low places of their lives. After the song was over, Logic did a speech most people will never forget if someone gets the chance to watch it. Logic did not care if the everyone was, white, black, gay, or transgender, we as people should join together to help stop and prevent suicide. Many people are affected even if they are the one not at the low point. It is sad to see and have happen that someone wants to take his or her own life. We as people need to not worry about or class or our race or gender, but saving lives. You never know who might be going through something, but just being nice and caring can save someone’s life.
Knowledge for the month
Why Country Music is the most Romantic One late evening at the Stagecoach Festival in Palms Springs many country singers made everyone’s hearts have the lovey dovey feel. Country music is by far the best way to get the romantic feeling inside your body. It is a warmth of hearts and roses sung with a country accent and an acoustic guitar. “You can feel it,” George Straight said. “From my heart.” The genre of Country music is its own feel to it. It has this soothing town that makes anyone have hearts circling around their head; making people have that feeling of love inside them so tenderly. People not only get that gooey feeling inside, but also can relate to it. Most rap or pop songs talk about ridiculously wealthy lives that most people can’t attain, unlike country which talks about love and more
Coco is Pixar’s modern classic By Manny Gonzalez Coco is Pixar’s new movie featuring a boy and his quest to find his great-great grandfather so he can pursue his dream of playing music for the world. It is colorful, emotional, purposeful. The movie is a fun romp through the land of the dead and has deep themes about family, passions and death. Pixar does a superb job of handling these topics, which are admittedly quite touch, but with genuine dialogue and explanation of the importance of these ideas, Pixar not only creates a fun and silly story, but one that hits close to home in a striking way. Without going too much into detail on what happens in the movie, there are some very real moments in the movie that usually would turn someone’s head if it wasn’t for Pixar, but since they have a great team of wtiters and story designers, it makes for these moments to shine and reall give a sense of realism in a very fictional world
Story
Consulting
Frozen Short was just…wow So honestly the new Frozen short that premiered before Coco was just not good. It tells of an honestly sweet tale of Olaf trying to find the haphazard Ana and Elsa traditions, as they have none. The premise is sweet and the execution isn’t even awful, but what the people who made this seemed to fail to understand is the means by which they delivered this short. They gave this short before a far superior and amazing movie that gave me more feels than a lot of modern movies that strive to accomplish this sort of emotion—and the Frozen short tried, and it fell short. The twenty minute short just leaves a sour taste in my mouth; one kid even exclaimed “Again?! Not again!” after one song started just right after the other. This short somehow fits three new songs into the short and oh boy does it show. The whole short feels crammed and I genuinely wanted to get to the main entrée. The short also poses a big problem for the philosophy with Pixar and Disney’s collaboration: The Demagogue. They knew people loved Frozen, so they decided to put a Frozen short (Disney Animation Studios) before Coco, which is made by Pixar. My final point to this is… Why?
2017 Movie Year: So? By Manny Gonzalez A new age of genre definition
2017 was a tough year to follow up—with movies such as La La Land, Moonlight, Despicable Me 3, Cars 3, Star Trek: Beyond, Zootopia, The Nice Guys, Singstreet, The Jungle Book the list just goes on and on. People perceived 2016 as a new awakening for movies having old genres be revived and having new ones being born. 2017 had big shoes to fill, now it is time to see did it really fill it? Yes? It is hard to say, though. While 2016 had a spur of creativity, 2017 did a real good job with taking current genres and making them more interesting. Logan, an outstanding example of redefining a rather stale genre Logan is an adaptation of the modern-classic graphic novel by the similar name, Old Man Logan. The comic explores a rougher side of the famous Wolverine and delves into deeper themes that weren’t prevalent in the X-Men movies. James Mangold, Logan’s director, takes themes from the graphic novel Old Man Logan and develops them into the movie. The rights of Wolverine and XMen are owned by 20th Century Fox and the graphic novel has characters from Disney’s property, so naturally things had to be changed. Mangold takes these themes of family and depression from the graphic novel and applies them to his movie. Without getting too much into the movie, the movie is a
into the movie, the movie is a Rated R Marvel movie, made due to the success of Deadpool performing very (very) well at the box office. Logan succeeds because it is Rated R, and Mangold uses his playing field to his advantage and uses mature and gritty topics to form the mythos and world of Wolverine. This is being written not to just toot Logan’s own horn, but rather to show the shift in genre that 2017 has brought. Another big surprise was Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Dunkirk is a film about the british soldiers at Dunkirk who feverously try to escape the captivity of the enemies while also being partially trapped on the land. As usual, Nolan conveys the story in a very different ‘Nolan-Esque’ way by showing the story from three different perspectives. It isn’t anything wild by any means, but Nolan uses The Air, The Land, and The Sea to tell three separate stories of what is occurring. But this isn’t what I came to talk about, rather using these elements as a device for genre-defying. Nolan, in my preconception of the war-drama and changes it to be less about ‘the war’ and more so about the people in it. Now, not to say that
, changes the preconception of the war-drama and changes it to be less about ‘the war’ and more so about the people in it. Now, not to say that war isn’t prevalent in the film, it is very much so and it often haunts the audience, but Nolan’s approach at the wardrama signifies a big change in how us as the audience sees war. In the mega-popular movie Saving Private Ryan, it starts off with an immersive and impressive war scene from the perspective of Tom Hanks character. Bloody, disturbing and chaotic are all words to describe this scene, and it works well with the movie, but Dunkirk doesn’t strive to accomplish what Saving Private Ryan sought to do. Dunkirk was made to tell a different story, a story of desperation in time of help and survival. The movie is less concerned with shocking the audience, but is more concerned with the soldiers involved and telling their stories and their struggles in Nolan’s own way without having over-the-top bombastic set pieces (although that is prevalent throughout the film, but is used to express a different the) which 2017 does a lot.
2017 is an interesting year for movies. With the ever-growing indie studio, A24, the audience is being introduced to so many ideas and creativity that wouldn’t have been accessible to people before the age of the internet. This then lets creators to tell stories that would’ve been otherwise been seen as taboo or not good enough for film. For example, Sean Baker (director behind the cult phenomenon, Tangerine) gives people The Florida Project is a new take on the perspective and innocence of childhood. This movies would’ve just gotten odd looks maybe forty years ago, but through a new spawn of creativity in the industry, we are introduced to new stories and themes that were otherwise not prevalent before. This opens up a plethora of options for premises and overall movies in general, and if 2017 has said anything about film, its that people are not scared of experimenting with creativity and challenging medium that is film
My First Concert By Ryan Fischer I was ten years old at the Honda Center because I was attending my first concert that happened to be Lady Gaga. Being the innocent 10 year old boy I was, I did not know a lot of cuss words, sex references, or drug references until that night. Let me tell you, that night was a very educational one. “Whatsup bleeping Honda Center,” Lady Gaga said. “How are you guys bleeping doing tonight?” That night we were in the club seats, they were nice seats for a first concert. I wasn’t getting trampled, but instead I got to really educate myself on what certain things meant and I was introduced to new things. The funny part of all was my mom was the one that took to this concert. Let’s just say, it is one major thing that she really, really regrets.
Soccer and Stuff By Benjamin Iverson The goalkeeper position has got to be one of the most misunderstood positions in soccer. While it is certainly common knowledge that the goalkeeper, often referred to incorrectly as the “goalie,” is responsible for making saves as the last line of defense, the keeper position is so much more. Legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon was asked to describe the evolution of his position in an interview with Copa 90 US. “…For about a dozen years, when the ball was passed back, keepers would usually just boot it forward, your only duty was to get the ball away” Buffon said. “In the last six or seven years keepers have been called to do much more. Now you have to play the ball, if you pass it long it has to be an accurate pass, sometimes you even have to dribble an opponent. This makes the job a lot more complicated.” Since the goalkeeper has much more jobs than what is still believed, the keeper often goes under appreciated and judged more harshly, when as Buffon later said, with more jobs, mistakes are much easier to make.
The European football market is facing a big problem with inflation. Football (soccer) clubs are spending ridiculous amounts of money for their players in the modern market, and it’s getting out of hand. What once bought your club the best player in the world cannot even purchase an up and coming youngster anymore. In 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo, at the time one of, if not the best player in the world, joined Real Madrid from Manchester United for a stunning fee of €94 million ($111 million in current rates), a then world record fee. Now, just eight years later, extremely talented, (but by no means as good as Ronaldo when he made his move) twenty-year old Ousmane Dembélé moved from Borussia Dortmund to FC Barcelona €105 million ($124 million in current rates). Neymar Jr, a player who’s skill and age is much more comparable to Ronaldo at the time of his move, moved from FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering €222 million ($263 million in current rates). Now, while it may seem to make sense to say that if clubs can pay these staggering fees, then who cares if they are so much more than the fees of just eight years ago? Well, the problem is that these high fees present a worrying future. The gap between the financial power of big clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, etc. and other clubs is already great. There is even a big gap between the television money that gets poured into British top flight clubs and top flight clubs of other countries. As player fees continue to inflate, fewer clubs will be able to make transfers for players who are even just ever so slightly above average, and thus the gap will grow even further. So what can be done? Unfortunately there is not much that can be done to fix the inflation problem. Every time a big transfer goes through, a club will change their valuation of a player to match how they feel that player matches up to the player with the large fee. This is how the Ousmane Dembélé fee grew so high, because Neymar was valued at €222 million, Borussia Dortmund felt that Dembélé was at least around half that valuation, so they refused to settle for any less. Barcelona, having just made €222 million on top of their already deep wallets, decided that Dembélé would be worth such an astronomical fee, despite the fact that he was not even as close as Cristiano Ronaldo was at the age of twenty-four when he made his €94 million move. The only hope for saving the smaller clubs and trying to maintain the competition of European football as a sport seems to be to poor more money everywhere so that teams do not fall behind and there is not a chasm in class between the big clubs and the other clubs.
Football by Cooper Kridle
There are many surprising things about this NFL season so far but one of the most surprising is the fact that the New Orlean Saints are 8-2; which is already more wins than they had gotten all last season. This is especially surprising given that they started the season 0-2 and it was looking like they were not going to do much this season. One of the major reasons why the Saints are doing so well is not because Drew Brees, but because of the backfield of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram. It all started a couple days after the Saints signed Adrian Peterson that they would draft Alvin Kamara, a move that was puzzling because the Saints already had Mark Ingram and Peterson on their roster. Obviously the Saints saw something in Kamara because they drafted him even though they had Ingram who had been with them for years and Peterson, who was a former MVP and multiple time pro bowler. This decision to draft Kamara was probably a better decision than they thought that it was going to be. Alvin Kamara did fairly well rushing for the first 4 weeks totalling 83 yards rushing on 15 attempts for 1 touchdown. It is the receiving where he really comes alive. In those same 4 weeks, Kamara totalled 147 yards on 20 receptions, not to mention the 1 receiving touchdown to go along with all that. The next week on October 10, the Saints traded Adrian Peterson to the Cardinals for a 2018
the receiving touchdown to go along with all that. The next week on October 10, the Saints traded Adrian Peterson to the Cardinals for a 2018 draft pick. This move came after he was lackluster in the Saints offense whereas the other two running backs were producing much more than he was. After the Peterson trade is when the Saints two sided running backs really came out. Mark Ingram had been solid all year in the rush game before this trade came but the trade solidified him as the main rushing running back on the team. Ingram as of right now has over 800 yards and 8 touchdowns rushing in 10 weeks. On the other side of the backfield there is Alvin Kamara who has over 400 yards rushing and 4 rushing touchdowns along with over 400 yards receiving and 3 receiving touchdowns. The 8-2 Saints have surprised many people in multiple ways this season. The thing that is most surprising is that one of the main reasons why the Saints have the record that they have is not because of Drew Brees and his talent, but because of the running backs, including their new rookie running back Alvin Kamara and not Adrian Peterson. In fact, he is not even on the team anymore! This dynamic duo of running backs is a surprise to many Saints fans, but a welcomed one for sure.
Vikings and Cowboys By Cooper Kridle The Minnesota Vikings are off to an amazing start and it’s not because of the quarterback that you would think. Case Keenum, not Sam Bradford, is leading the Vikings to a surprising 8-2 start to the season. The reason why this is surprising is because when Case Keenum was on the Rams last year, he went 4-5 in the 9 games that he started. In the 10 games that Keenum has started this year so far, he already has double the amount of wins that he had gotten last year. “I thought it was a good team win today,” Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said during the postgame conference, “Case Keenum played outstanding”. This is not something that is usually said about Case Keenum and if you would have told someone that he would lead the Vikings to the top of the NFC North this season they would not have believed you for a minute. Case Keenum does not like he is going to play poorly in the future as their most recent win, a win against the 7-2 Rams, was won in part by Case Keenum and his performance. Against the Rams, he put up 280 yards, one touchdown, and no interceptions. Even though this performance was not that amazing on paper, the Rams defense is fairly good and Case Keenum did not seem to struggle against them as much as most people would have expected he would. Ezekiel Elliott is seen as one, if not the, best player on the Cowboys team as a whole and his suspension is affecting the Cowboys more than anyone had thought was possible. In the three games that the Cowboys have played without Ezekiel Elliott, they are 0-3. Not only that, but they have scared less than 10 points in each of those games. Without Zeke, the Cowboys offense had become very one dimensional and were forced to rely on their Sophomore quarterback, Dak Prescott. Dak Prescott during this time has been terrible as well throwing 0 touchdowns, 5 interceptions, not to mention fumbling the ball 3 times. “Dak Prescott leads the NFL’s new worst offense without running back Ezekiel Elliott,” 247 sports writer Kevin Boliard said,” since Zeke’s suspension kicked in, the Cowboys are 0-3.” Ezekiel Elliott being suspended showed how much he meant to the team as a whole because with him being gone the entire team has crumbed. The Cowboys as a team have fallen apart and have gone from a team in the hunt for the playoffs, to a team that is probably not going to make them at all. The reason why the team has crumbled is because the opposing defenses have not had to worry about the run game of the Cowboys because without Zeke, the Cowboys have used Alfred Morris and Rod Smith, who are not nearly as talented as Ezekiel Elliott
The McLaren 720s is a game changer By Spencer Leonardi After a history of legendary race cars for the track, McLaren is a brand that has come a long way in less than a decade of building cars for the road. A major landmark for the brand has been hit with their first ever replacement to any one of their cars. As a replacement to the 650s, a car that rocketed the brand into the forefront of the world of supercars shared by reputable names like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, Aston Martin, and Pagani, the new 720s has potential to be the most important addition to the line up, and arguably the best. Once again, McLaren has for the first time, replaced one of their flagship models to lead the new generation of their “Super Series” cars. The new design is the first thing to be noticed, with its radical curves, sleek lights, wild doors, and intakes where one wouldn’t think to look. Many, including myself, seem off-put by the new shape of this luxury super sports car at first, but over time I grew to love its uniqueness to all other cars on the road. Not to mention the expansive amount of glass that encloses the cockpit, allowing for visibility beyond any other competitor in its field. The interior of the car is also lovely in my opinion, with expansive amounts of leather, as well as a display in the center console which seems to be quite useable and intuitive. Now, time for the main event. How does this new beast of an automobile compare to its rivals? I have compared aspects such as the performance, usability and price the 720s against the Ferrari 488 GTB, the Lamborghini Aventador S, and Aston Martin DB11. In the preformance specs category, the McLaren 720s incredibly outperforms all three of its comparators, in the subcategories of
specs category, the McLaren 720s incredibly outperforms all three of its comparators, in the subcategories of horsepower, torque, acceleration, and top speed. It also, admittedly, also champions as the most expensive of the four, following Ferrari’s recent drop in price with their 488. At $288,000, you can be sure you are getting what you pay for. But there’s more. A factor that’s impossible to define using numbers is the usability of a car. What makes the usability of a car special is how wide its capability is. With the McLaren 720s, one has the ability to drive it like a Porsche along windy roads, with no struggle along curving, winding mountain roads. If you want, the suspension can soften to allow for the absorption of bumps and imperfections in the road. It can be driven every day with ease, as the glass in the cabin allows for visibility beyond that of its competitors. Similarly, this car has performance capability that was meant to be used on the track. The steering suspension firm up to near race car standards, allowing for a car with capability of others with double the price tag. It’s quiet enough inside to enjoy a relaxing cruise on a Sunday afternoon, but loud enough to hear the engine roar as you race it down the track. The capability of this car adds to its value, making it far more special of a car than its competitors. In short, this car is amazing. 10/10. McLaren has checked all of the boxes. Unrivaled capability puts this car ahead of Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Aston Martin racing on the drag strip, and easily wins out in the comfort and usability categories when driving for fun, or on a daily basis. The McLaren 720s is a brilliant car that is meant to be driven anytime, anywhere, by anyone.
Autonomous Vehicles. Yay or Nay By Spencer Leonardi Self-Driving capabilities are making their way into cars little by little. We’re not quite to full autonomy yet, but many predictions are being made that it could start happening in the next few years. Many are excited for the switch to autonomous cars, but many are skeptical, when seeing those news stories of people killed by autonomous cars, or the thought of both autonomous cars mixed with person- driven cars. Here’s why autonomous cars will better our future. First of all, those scary news stories regarding autonomous cars are few and far between, and it should be known that almost 94% of car crashes in the US are the fault of a driver. Imagine a world of cars run by machines that would make no driver error. Thousands of lives would be saved every year. In a few years, how would driven and autonomous cars safely
In a few years, how would driven and autonomous cars safely drive together on the road? This one is a bit tougher, as the nature of driven cars and persondriven cars are very different. A great answer could be to have different lanes for self-driving cars. Just like a carpool lane, have lanes for autonomous cars. In the future when we have almost all autonomous cars, their will be far less traffic. The speed limit could be 90 miles per hour. Maybe 120, who knows? If its all autonomous, why not go really fast? We could have the same amount of cars on the road that would cause crawling traffic today, but instead be going 100 miles an hour. Who wouldn’t want that?