Supercede by LASA Ezine

You Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Share Matthew C. Alien Tourism Hot Spots Daniel C. How To Write An Unpublishable Feature Story

Elaine H.

DIY: Life Jason P.

JUNE 2009

Table Of Contents OU CAN’T SHARE - Ever hear about the Pirate Bay? They were prosecuted by the MPAA and RIAA because they were associated with “gross copyright infringment” and “sharing of copyrighted files”. Under American Law. In Sweden.

TRAINING WHEELS NOT INCLUDED Ignominous behavior. Sophomoric Attitudes. Half-Educated Nimwits. Life does not come with training wheels - here’s why.

VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES Do parents have the right to control game distribution to their children?

LEGALIZING MARIJUANA - Recreational. Medicines. Boosting the economy. All of which can make the world a better place if marijuana were to be legalized.

72 HOURS IN A BAMBOO CAGE - Retired Vietnam Veteran details

captivity as a Prisoner Of War, opinions on the relation between war and politics, and what he thinks about those who serve today.

LARRY SHIH, REGISTERED NURSE - When people hear the word

nurse, they almost instantly think the words “white” and “female”. How stereotypical, yeah? This is the story that disproves the stereotypes, and goes one better - he’s my cousin.

CANADIAN DILEMMA - A

Canadian struggles with sexual persecution and going public with his preferences.

June 2009

ELAINE H

JASON P

DANIEL C

diy: LIFE

16 40

HOW TO WRITE AN UNPUBLISHABLE FEATURE STORY

42 48

TOP 5 LAMEST ALIEN ENCOUNTERS

WHAT YOU LOOKIN’ FOR

MENSWEAR

TOP 10: THINGS YOU SHOULD GROW OUT OF

AFTER THE TOILET IS FLUSHED

ALIEN TOURISM HOTSPOTS

MATTHEW C

72 Hours in a Bamboo Cage By Matthew C.

“Vietnam was like all the wars before and all the wars since.” says Carl Borgh on the topic of his tours during the Vietnam War. “Ninety percent boredom, and ten percent terror.” Borgh was part of a generation of children whose parents had lived through the war to end all wars. Raised on war stories, John Wayne movies, and the belief that the government had their best interests in mind. Borgh toured Vietnam in the war against the Viet Cong and

Photo courtesy of Cocco, G.

Cambodians, multiple times. He lived to tell the tale. “Most of what happened to me was by accident or ignorance, ”Borgh said. One of the many conflicts he was involved in, he was given incorrect

information by a comrade. He asked for the location of their radio communications team, but instead walked in on an overwhelmingly large enemy force. He armed and threw his two grenades, and ran. A superior watching from a helicopter awarded him a medal for his apparently heroic actions. “War brings out the worst and the best in men,” says Borgh. “Which one it is largely depends on the type of man you would have been without the experience.” Borgh’s experience in the war dealt with smallerscale conflicts and lighter engagements. “Ours was mostly jungle guerilla warfare which is a particularly nasty variant on war in general.” W h i l e fighting, Borgh was

captured by the enemy and held in a bamboo cage. Borgh’s captors assumed that he would be immobile after being stuck in a cramped cage for such a long period of time. He managed to escape to jungle cover after they dumped him out of his cage in their major camp, and eventually returned to his unit. “I was a POW for 72 hours,” Borgh said. “I was paraded through villages in a cage and spit on and had guns shoved in my face. Beaten with sticks and in general abused as a vilified person would be.” Most people would probably find this detestable treatment of a prisoner of war, but in that country, on that soil, our forces were the enemy. Even when dealing with such opposition and overwhelming odds, Borgh returned to Vietnam multiple times. “I was single with no children and very good at what I did,” Borgh said. “I didn’t want some married guy with kids coming over and getting himself killed because he was green or unlucky.” Military service in the United States hasn’t been required of its citizens since the draft ended in 1973,

ever since the military became an all-volunteer outfit. “I don’t necessarily think that military service should be required of its citizens,” Borgh said on the draft and Selective Service System. “But I do think

to do it.” Borgh regularly comes to Austin for physical therapy to help with wounds suffered while serving. Borgh is one veteran out of many who have served and are serving to this day; he stands victorious, in a manner of speaking, amongst the men who served our country. The very same men who took up arms to defend our country’s interests. φ

”

Most of what happened to me was by accident or ignorance.

“

that in order to vote and/ or hold public office, you should have had to serve in the military.” If you don’t have the love for and trust in your country, you are unfit to rule or elect a ruler, according to Borgh. One might hearken back to the pamphlets of Thomas Paine- “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” It’s not talking the talk; it’s walking the walk, Borgh believes. “Every vet has stories of the urge to move that saved him and the luck involved in exploits,” Borgh said. “Mostly dumb luck because you wouldn’t do on purpose what happened by accident even if ordered June 2009

Nursing In Canada Larry Shih

The nurse carefully wrapped and changed the dressings on his patient’s recently amputated limb. The patient’s doctor walked in just as the nurse was finishing, and stated that he wanted to take a peek at the wounds. Anguished, the nurse turned and began unwrapping the patient’s leg... again. Yu-Hsien Larry Shih works as a 26-year-old Registered Nurse, currently tending to patients in Halifax, Canada. His life consists of short meals, working 12-hour day shifts, coming home, eating, showering, maybe a movie, and then sleep. He wakes up early the next day to the same cold city. However, he thinks things are okay as they are. “Most people are really nice here in Nova Scotia, and it’s really easy to get along them. My school is huge… so lots of students and classes,” Larry said. Larry actually didn’t come to Canada with the goal of becoming a nurse. It “just happened”. But now that he’s here, he believes he should stay. Since he’s lived and worked in Canada for so long, he doesn’t want to move away and start over. He has no reason to. In fact, Larry got his Green Card recently, so it’s official. He’s Canadian. “I am a permanent resident of Canada now,” he said.By“So can stay JasonI Pan and live here as long as I want. So I guess... nursing is a good career, lots

June 2009

career, lots you can do with it, lots of different areas. You can always go back to school and take more specialty stuff. And you will get paid more.” Nursing is and always has been an in-demand profession, not just in Canada, but also in the United States. The Bureau of Health Professions

other areas, e.g. surgery. To train for this sort of thing, Larry went to clinicals, similar to internships, where the students go to the hospital and work as part of the class. As part of the clinical, the nurses are given a few patients as an assignment. A Registered Nurse must have a

“We will not be out of a job for a long time, because there’s a shortage of nurses everywhere. And the money’s not bad.” predicts that the demand for registered nurses across the country will out pace supply through 2020. Already, Texas is a state with shortages of Registered Nurses. Ask anyone who has lost their job or is in danger of losing their job due to the current economic crisis – job security is very highly prized. “We will not be out of a job for a long, long time because there’s a shortage of nurses everywhere,” he said. So we will also have a job, and the money’s not bad.” Larry’s time in college exposed him to a lot of what nursing entails. Doctors usually specialize in a certain area of expertise, and focus mainly on diagnosis and treatment of the patient. Nurses, however, are the people who are trained to take care of the patients on a daily basis, in addition to directly assisting doctors in 10

Bachelor’s degree of Science in Nursing, a 4-year program. After graduation, the RN exam is taken. And of course, finding a job is no problem. One of Larry’s favorite places during his study was the Operating Room (OR). “OR is fun. I saw [a] surgery in the OR... a young boy had his scoliosis fixed, so his back was cut open. The doctor had tied some wires to his spine to make it straight. It was a long surgery.” Now that Larry has become a Registered Nurse, he can also reminisce plenty of interesting experiences, including the patient with the amputated leg, an amputated toe, as well as various surgeries. One of his favorite experiences was seeing a real brain. An old man was having brain surgery, and Larry was shadowing that day. So then the doctor cut open the man’s scalp and cut a piece of his skull off,

then the doctor put a drain in the patient’s brain to relieve some pressure, and he remembers seeing the brain “pumping”. “If you want to be in a medical related field, you have to see stuff like that,” he said. “Otherwise, you should be in pharmacy!” Every day, he’s usually out on the floor, doing routine work like checking vital signs, doing patient reports, etc. Each floor is for a specific purpose, so the orders vary somewhat, the basic routine is the same on each floor. While the work sounds monotonous, Larry finds it to be okay. He works a 7 AM to 7 PM, waking up around 5:30 AM, getting to work at around 6:50 AM, and then starts his day. He’s “super tired” after a 12 hour shift, and if he’s not working the next day, he goes shopping, goes out to eat, or goes to the movies. He says there’s not much to do in Halifax. “I might move to Toronto in a few years,” Larry said. “There’s more fun stuff to do there.” Now, Larry looks towards the future. He’s considering joining an airline as an occupational nurse. An is the person employees go to if they have a problem, don’t feel well, or just need to be checked out. Again, his reasons express a great matter-of-fact-ness. “I think working for the airlines would be fun. You

get all the benefits, travel for cheap.â&#x20AC;? Having built a life for himself in Canada, Larry wishes to be a permanent resident of Canada. He got his green card recently, and takes his entire experience quite lightheartedly. Through all of his experiences, first as a college student, then as a Registered Nurse, and in the future, an occupational nurse, Larry continues making his way through the

Right: Larry smiles for the camera during a break. Notice his hair, which looks quite impeccable. Bottom: Larry poses with coworkers, many of whom are his closest friends. Pictures by Jason Pan

June 2009

TRAINING WHEELS NOT INCLUDED by Jason Pan

“The face is like the penis!” Silvan Tompkins, a leading expert in facial expressions and author of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), once began a lecture by bellowing this remarkable phrase. Of course, what he meant was that it’s readily apparent what someone is thinking, if you know what to look for. Of course, our average high schooler wouldn’t consciously think about communicating on all the sub levels past vocalizations. Perhaps the average high schooler would stare, but never really understand the expressiveness that people show through their bodies and faces, not just the language. People’s level of skill in social situations is at a horrid level. Social ability is a skill, something to be developed. In these modern times, texting, Instant Messaging, and online social networks have destroyed young children’s incentive to learn social skills in the same way they learn to ride a bike -- through experience. Children, and even teens and adults all need experience in the social situations that the world will present. Job interviews are not done over a few texts, and parties are not held over the internet (at least, they shouldn’t be). This new “World of Connection” has enabled anyone to be in touch with everyone, anywhere, anytime, all with the touch of a few buttons. It’s become too easy for children, teens, and adults to simply reach for a keyboard rather than meeting people in person, almost as if the modern era has kept the training wheels on the

bicycle. As a result, our modern era has spawned a generation of self-righteous pseudo-intellectual social degenerates virtually incapable of carrying on a conversation in person with people other than close friends and family. People just don’t take the time to learn the skills. There are people who believe that this new world of connection puts people right where they want to be, and they believe they’re fine with their lives. Being connected to everyone, everything, all the time, like I have been since I was a toddler; does that mean that I’m in control and in touch with my life? Does it mean that I’m

thanks to Facebook. Just having a Facebook and commenting on everything to pass through your news feed does not mean you have social skills, contrary to the average high schooler’s actions and beliefs, which I have observed for quite some time now. You can’t control other people and their actions as much as you can control your own self and your own actions. People aren’t going to want to be around you just because you’re “connected” to them. Connection on its own is not enough. Connecting through the ease and constraints of the modern world is not enough. Interactions must have substance,

to persuade. For some people, this comes naturally, but unfortunately, many others are quite lost. The most easily accessible and most abundant example of a rapidly deteriorating interaction is the classic “boy meets girl.” If you’re looking for a date, you need to be able to keep the other person interested and attracted to you, AND you have to be able to decide if you like the other person or not. But, I do have to give some credit to the children of this generation. A large emphasis has been placed on honesty, all the way from early childhood. It’s very easy to be honest -- children

Our modern era has spawned a generation of self-righteous pseudo-intellectual social degenerates virtually incapable of carrying on a conversation in person with people other than close friends and family. fine with my life, then? What if I say, “Social degenerates don’t matter to me, because since I’m always interacting with everyone, I must be better,” and what if I simply act that way? Does that mean I’m really fine with my life? No, it doesn’t. For example, Facebook prominently displays its motto, “Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.” Facebook has now evolved into a social utility which people use as a substitute for real-world interaction. People without true social skills believe they do and that they’re making real friends, 14

a person to talk to face-to-face. Your actions and interactions with other people is what governs your life. Having social skills greatly increases the chances of having positive interactions with other people. One of the most basic of interactions is the conversation. The population’s inability to initiate and carry on a proper conversation with someone they don’t know is absolutely atrocious. Not just teens and children, but adults as well. The definition of a proper conversation depends on what you want out of the conversation or interaction, whether that’ll be to just pass time, get some information, or

speak their minds all the time. But it’s quite obvious nobody’s getting anywhere when a teenager walks up and says, “Hi, I really want to get in your pants.” Complete, literal, honesty shouldn’t be used here. Communication has to take place on another level apart from vocalizations, and that applies any communication medium not restricted to words (like texting). What I see in high school is that when somebody’s looking for a relationship, a guy tries to communicate on a “personal” level. He would use compliments, ask to make sure she wants to go out, buy gifts, general “nice guy” stuff like that to

communicate that he’s “relationship material”. Sounds logical, except it simply doesn’t work, simply isn’t interesting, simply isn’t attractive. Reasons for that are a little deep for the story form, but the point is, most people are unable to do what works. Anyone is able to find out what works, but both teens and adults do not have the skills to do what works. As a result of this, there are now people who literally live through Instant Messaging and texting, sacrificing substance for ease. Sometimes, things work anyways, even though they shouldn’t. Prime example: the awkward relationships that you can’t go a day without seeing. The couple who obviously don’t match, are totally awkward around each other, obviously have a hard time talking with each other, and obviously shouldn’t have gotten together in the first place. Is it the strength of pure cute love? Hardly. It’s the inability of people to interact properly and foment real relationships. Maybe this is part of the reason why 50% of marriages in the US end in divorce. What would really lubricate the social experience is a dose of mind-reading. Many people are worse at reading minds than babies are. When you hold a baby’s hands in yours, the baby looks at your face to see why, and it sees that you’re happy. An infant, it knows to look at a face to search for meaning. Many teens and adults look at each other’s faces all the time, and can tell when someone’s clearly angry, when someone’s

clearly sad, but what about when it isn’t so clear? Thanks to Silvan Tompkins and Dr. Paul Ekman, we have a handy thing called microexpressions. Microexpressions were first massively publicized in the international bestseller by Malcolm Gladwell, Blink. In Blink, Gladwell discusses the power of the mind to make decisions in a split second - in the blink of an eye. The public recently recieved more exposure to microexpressions, with the release of the new TV series, Lie To Me, starring Tim Roth. The series visibly show microexpressions, emotions behind them, and demonstrates using that knowledge in a real-world situation. A microexpression is a brief, involuntary expression of emotion on the face. Learning the skill of reading microexpressions, when coupled with the skill of reading body language, could translate literally into reading minds, which Gladwell goes in depth with in his book. Add the ability to react to these

microexpressions, and many people could quite possibly get along much better. The real icing on the cake is manners. People no longer have the focus that they do on manners, same as social skills. Manners are no longer at the core of people’s personalities - instead, from a young age, people have clothing, electronics, junk food, and contempt. This results in many social conflicts - the jock and the nerd, the rich and the poor, the life of the party and the loner. If people would learn basic manners - the skeleton of being social, a core protocol or underlying formula, if you will they would be much happier. Everyone, from infancy through adolescence to adulthood, needs to start working on their social skills - and fast. Sure, different things work for different people, but those people need to figure out what works for them. All of us need to end the social recession, and bring back real, personal communication. φ

June 2009

DIY: life by JPAN

4) Financial Crash Course -Debt: Take care of your debts through a technique called debt snowballing. Many people pay a little more than the minimum payments on their debts, slowly chipping away at each one. Instead of spreading out the extra money on all of the debts, pick your smallest debt and spend all of the extra money on that payment, and pay the minimum for the others. This way, you will pay the same amount, but your money is focused on the smallest debt. When that debt has paid off, use the money that was paying for that debt and use it to pay for your next debt. As you pay off your debts one by one, the amount of money you’re able to pay towards one debt increases drastically over time. -Credit Cards: Use them only when it is necessary - twice a year is a good amount of usage. Pay off your balances as soon as you get them, and don’t spend more than you can pay for. Instead of using credit, use cash or a debit card. -Want Versus Need: This may seem like a simple concept, and almost everyone knows it, but many still don’t follow it. So instead of not following it, FOLLOW IT! Spend your hardearned money on what you need, before you start worrying about what you want. Unless you want loads of debt and financial suicide, take care of what you need first. Don’t let your hard-earned cash go to the latest gaming console instead of the bread on your table.

5)Relationships -What works: Be a man! Make her laugh, tease your woman, make fun of her, and in fact, most of the time I just mess around with her for my own entertainment. Remember, she’s in your reality, so have fun with it! This kind of self-control, confidence, and exuberance of comfort generates attraction. Attraction = good. One of the best things you can do for yourself is to find guys who seem to be always surrounded by women, and become friends with them. Watch what they do and what happens until you get it. -What Doesn’t: First and foremost, wussy. When they meet really good-looking women, guys usually try and impress her, buy her gifts, compliments, and just general “nice guy” stuff like that. The thing is, guess how many girls get exactly that kind of treatment. Guess what else that communicates to the woman? It communicates, “Hi, I’m really uncomfortable, insecure, and nervous so I’m going to try and manipulate you with constant gifts and compliments.” Right. So what can you do? Be a man! 3) Cleanliness -Keeping Clean: Keeping your body clean should be about as important as eating. In fact, it almost is - just as eating keeps you alive, staying clean keeps your body running the way it should be, as well as keeping your appearance up. Don’t deny that Hugh Jackson is more attractive than the hobo downtown. -Fragrance: How you look says a lot - how you smell says even more. Any woman will probably say that the smell of clean is just about the most attractive scent a man can have. Just take your showers, wear your deodorant, and pick a quality cologne or perfume that matches your skin and appearance. It’s not that complicated to pick a good scent, just bring a friend of the opposite sex along to help you decide what smells the best. -Skin Care: Taking care of your skin keeps it healthy, and therefore keeps your appearance healthy. Take care of acne, remember to exfoliate your skin, use moisturizer designed for your skin type, and slather on that sunscreen! For the guys out there, there’s no shame in wearing a little makeup - just make sure you know what you’re doing.

1) Foods & Nutrition -Health: The first consideration in picking foods should always be health. Look for food at your local farmer’s market - the food will be healthier, fresher, and the farmers really appreciate their loyal regulars. When picking foods, don’t worry about any one food in specific, but rather make sure the foods that you pick all work together to meet nutritional requirements - grains, fruits, vegetables, vitamins, proteins, etc. -Yummyness: While picking healthy foods will detox you and make you feel better after a while, picking foods that are yummy as well will bring up your mood the instant they hit your taste buds. The only rule here is to be open - the search for yummy healthy foods may land you with some that you’ve never tried. Go ahead and do what works.

2) Home -Environment: Your mood at home depends entirely on the environment you’re in. With the environment being everything around you, including the air, make sure all of it is clean. Make sure there is proper ventilation for fresh air, and make sure that there is proper lighting in the rooms. Don’t let that weird smell proliferate, either. -Organization: Your home is where you live - it needs to be under your control, not the home’s. In other words, take the time to organize your belongings in the way that makes your home easy to live in -- organized messiness does not count! -Appearance: As part of the environment, the appearance and design of the home plays a major role in your mood. Unless you like living in a shack that resembles the inside of a tool shed, get some work done! Buy an interior design book at a used book store, move some furniture around, and create themes, flow, focal points, and moods.

Recipe: Tuna and Bell Pepper Pocket * 3 (6-ounce) cans drained, solid white tuna (in water) * ½ cup chopped bell peppers * ¼ cup chopped celery * ¼ cup sliced onions * 8-12 lettuce leaves (preferably green) * 2 medium-size sliced tomatoes (8-12 slices total) * 3 tbsp. fat-free Italian dressing * 1 tbsp. dried oregano * 1 tbsp. black pepper * 4 (6-inch) pita loaves Mix tuna, green peppers, celery and onions in a bowl. Take a second bowl, and mix together the dressing, black pepper and oregano. Pour it over the tuna mix and stir, then refrigerate for a few hours. When serving, put 2-3 tomato slices and 2-3 lettuce leaves in each pita bread. Add tuna mix to pitas. Serves 4. Nutrition Facts per Serving: Protein: 28g Fat: 6g Carbohydrates: 36g

Pictures by Jason Pan

June 2009

Top 10:

Things You’re Supposed To Grow Out Of

These days, you just can’t go through the day without having to interact with a large amount of people. And where there are people, there are people who need a little adjustment. There’s no reason to stop improving yourself, and in fact, it’s its own incentive. Yet there are still people who refuse their ability the better themselves, and instead revel in their own meaningless existence. The scum of the earth. by Jason Pan 18

Laughs

Now, i’m not against laughing, i actually advocate it, but there are some people who just take it too far. I’m sure almost everyone knows about these people the one who have no awareness of their laughs. I’m not talking about people who have weird hyena laughs - although, they should probably work on that too - i’m talking about the ones who laugh at... well, pretty much everything. For example, lame jokes that aren’t funny, like, especially during movies. When someone brings this up to these people, they stubbornly deny it and get offended. This should have ended in middle school, and not surprisingly, I see full-grown adults exhibiting this child-like behavior.

Little Girl Voices

This goes hand in hand with growing out of laughs - people should’ve grown out of it before high school. Whenever one of these aforementioned lame jokes are cracked, sometimes an entire chain reaction of lameness is released, and throughout the entire conversation, people’s voices just get higher. And higher. And higher. Some people do this in normal conversation, and I think everybody would agree these people need to be he-man slapped out of their immature meaningless shells of existence.

Pictures by Jason Pan

June 2009

Not Caring About School Again, this is one of those things where everyone knows someone who has it. The person who acts cool because he’s failing all his classes and wants to grow up to be a professional “chiller”. Not only is it really friggin’ immature, it’s a trait that is steadily growing through America’s schools. Smart is sexy, and without a college degree, these people are going to be stuck in a Burger King for the rest of their lives, hoping to be promoted someday to “Sanitation Engineer”.

I’m Cool Because I Play (sport)

These guys are the ones who are just so stupid and childish I couldn’t care less about them, except they’re just that annoying. When you meet one of these guys, no matter what the words that they’re saying are, if you read into their communciation, they’re really trying to say “I’m better than you because I play football,” or whatever their sport is. They try to assert themselves physically, which is exactly where they go wrong. If you try to impress, you’ll fail, not only because the guys who try are just completely transparent, but also because (successful) humans are naturally good at seeing through facades. What’s your best exploit for their insecurity? Play some rugby -- it’s the sport of real men.

I’m Cool Because I Have Money These guys are even more of sore losers than the last guys. I’d bet my own hard-earned cash that the ones who base their entire outward appearance on a facade of power from their cash really just rely on their parents to give them money, or they forgo school to work at Wal-Mart so they have money to buy a whole wardrobe from American Eagle. It seems like this sort of thing would happen in high school, but it doesn’t. These guys have earned the rating of “Extreme Sore Loser”. It might be the first thing that they can say they’ve earned.

I’m Cool In General

Really? Guys go around telling people that they’re cooler than others? Really!?! Logically, many people would expect to see this behavior in elementary school. Except it happens, and the reasons behind this sophomoric argument are truly the work of anw IQ of 5. The actors who assume this identity always get their clothes from the mall, wear heavy cologne, and can also be identified by the large “L” tattooed on their forehead.

Pictures by Jason Pan

Crying For Attention

Truly the work of children. The little boys who used to cry for attention from everyone in pre-school when he finally managed to color inside the lines has finally grown up... if only in a physical manner. Mentally, these guys are stuck in in an endless cycle of begging for attention from everywhere around, resorting to tactics including, but not limited to: outbursts of anger, whining, actually crying, stubbornly sticking to beliefs that are obviously wrong, constantly putting out sensory information (waving arms, shouting, playing loud music after someone’s told them to turn it down, bullying, etc, and also calling out someone’s name for their attention. Subtle, aren’t they?

Oversharing The most common form of crying for attention - oversharing. These people can be identified by their constant need to say something about anything to others, as well as their persistent disregard for the other person’s level of interest. These people always have something to say, even if the other person doesn’t particularly care, and it would only communicate two things - insecurity and immaturity. Think about it - how many prepubescent males have you seen trying to impress girls (and sometimes, other guys) with their knowledge of video games? How many guys have you seen trying to constantly impose their views on other people? How many teens have you observed telling long-winded stories of computational odysses just because someone brought their laptop to school? And you know that guy who feels like he or she needs to announce everything they do? That’s oversharing. Way to go! You’ve reached level 86 - strange dry feeling between the legs. 22

Whining

This behavior starts at around the time children begin to speak. The sort of person who whines can be identified by their constant dissatisfaction with the world, high maintenance, and low tolerance for change. What’s really behind the rise of whining is the fall of manners and etiquette. One of the principles of basic etiquette, as well as life, is that there may be things that you don’t like, but you take it anyway, without complaint. This restraint and acceptance exudes self-confidence and maturity. It’s a shame that people who don’t mature can still live in this world. So much for natural selection.

SelfRighteousness “No, you’re wrong -- augh, no! you’re wrong!” Imagine that phrase being spoken by a person -- what does this person look like? Perhaps an overweight self-righteous culmination of oversharing, whining, intolerance, and lack of social etiquette? Well congratulations, you’re right! This person is intolerant of changes in the environment, such as stepping outside in the sun, or a lack of Cheeze Whiz with saltines and Mountain Dew. These people may or may not be athletically or academically talented, but no matter what, they will always whine and complain about not having the other. Pictures by Jason Pan

June 2009

You Can’t Share

by Matthew C.

It’s five in the morning. Some odd noise woke you up. You are getting out of bed to investigate, when suddenly, your front door is smashed in and a group of FBI spooks storm your house. You’re shouted at, forcibly arrested, and have all computers on the premises seized. That’s what some would have you believe happen if you were to share certain files with your “peers”. More likely to happen, though, is something along the lines of a subpoena for your computer(s), followed closely by a group of FBI spooks who will gladly move your equipment out, free of charge. Until the trial, anyway. A girl attending Princeton University was nailed with a $10,000+ fine for using the controversial peer-to-peer sharing technology known as “torrenting”. The MPAA and RIAA successfully pushed for legislation that allows them to shake any user caught sharing and thereby profiting from music that they’ve copyrighted. This is wrong. Alex Haldermann, a graduate of Princeton University, was sued by SunnComm for revealing their backdoor for bypassing the copyright protection that they had created. He ended up settling for $12,000 USD, and was considered lucky to have been able to do so. This is also wrong. The owners of a website and torrent host called The Pirate Bay (http:// thepiratebay.org) were recently put on trial for hosting the torrent files for large amounts of copyrighted music, movies, pornography, games, applications, pictures, comic books, and material otherwise 24

deemed illegal-to-share. The prosecution didn’t even understand the concept behind torrenting technology- all they understood was that the site was an (albeit legally innocent) organized part of a group that was sharing “their” copyrighted material. They were acquitted, based on their astute argument that (1) American law had no hold in Sweden, (2) they weren’t hosting the copyrighted material, but instead hosting files that directed others to and integrity-checked

aforementioned copyrighted material, and (3), the only user data trafficked through their servers were data used to find other peers. Nothing was illegal. Nothing wrong was done on the part of the s e r v e r. American law had no

hold in Sweden- and yet the American “I can sue, so I will sue” mentality persisted. The four owners were acquitted. This, fortunately, was right. Don’t misread me- I’m not against intellectual property; without it, we’d have to deal with everyone copying everyone else’s ideas, attempting to sell them to everyone else and the creation of knock-off products t h a t may (or may not) be a danger to the general

populace. I’m not a g a i n s t artists making money, either. I believe that credit should be given where credit is due. I do not, however, believe that m a k i n g millions of dollars in

royalties off of

donation-based (or even corporatebacked) radio stations is right. People would much rather have free things than items they pay for; this is the driving force behind “illegal” peer-to-peer (p2p) sharing. One person obtains the goods in question, makes it digitally available, and things run from there. If this were the legally supported case, each album might as well be released for free, online. But then we’d have starving artists who would produce music of lesser perceived quality, less often. Some might even (theatric gasp here) go broke! I might suggest a donation-based living for the artists. If people like what they hear, they donate to the artist, who then (hopefully) utilizes the donated funds to produce more music, which people obtain and then donate for. It’d mean that the artists who produce smash hits are encouraged by the masses of fans who donate to produce more smash hits. Quality goes up, good artists flourish, and the general populace is appeased. This is, however, not the case- instead, you have the artist who releases music on some sort of schedule or whenever they feel like it. Sometimes the music’s good. Sometimes, it’s great. More than sometimes, it’s subpar, in my opinion. The people who like the music need only go to Google to search for sources to obtain the tracks or albums that they want, and can simply get them as part of the price of their dial-up or broadband internet connection. The MPAA and RIAA obviously do not appreciate this activity- each time someone downloads one of the albums (that they can profit from) for free, they’ve lost the potential to get money from that specific purchase. They (the MPAA and RIAA) pushed for, and successfully got legislation that June 2009

that allows them to have the “LOL, I SUE YOU” mindset passed. They can seize the computers of anyone that they catch sharing music, movies, pictures, and other media through any method that is not defined as “for personal use”. The problem here is that the incredibly heavy iron fist that they wield is also bulky, unwieldy, and is incredibly hard to aim, metaphorically speaking. A method they’ve used to catch torrent users included putting someone on the “inside”- essentially, they let someone download it and share it. They also record the IP address and other relevant details so that they can arrest even the people who attempted to download it - even if they didn’t finish it and stopped the download before it finished. With the large number of people who illegally acquire material, apprehension and prosecution are typically not worth the monetary input relative to the monetary outputespecially since the fines usually go to paying royalties and not the prosecutors themselves, and the fact that there would still be so many left. The only thing keeping the pseudogovernmental corporate bodies from coming down on the unfortunate and likely unsuspecting victim is the sheer number of potential victims that would remain and continue to “steal”, as they define it. It is my belief that this entire system is wrong and flawed. People who download and share music shouldn’t be held liableif people truly like the artist and want to support them, then they’ll support them. If people like music, but don’t support them,

then either the artist will find another way to make the money - advertising industry (branding association), live concerts, or even expansion of the empire- Sean Combs (P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Diddy) style. Free sharing encourages more goodwill amongst the community towards the community. Attempting to stonewall freedoms and constrain the populace has been proven useless time and time again; the continued use of torrents for copyrighted content, the hacker scene for the gaming consoles, and the competent technological insurgents out there are proof of this. The further one attempts to restrain the rights, the more vigorously the oppressed will fight back, until one wins over the other and everything topples down. The MPAA and RIAA would have you believe that you’ll get in serious trouble for sharing anything that they don’t want you to be expressly allowed to. There is the chance that you will. They enforce their intent through legislation that gets passed by people who have a biased (or illinformed) position on the matter. People because WE CAN. There shouldn’t be legislation that forces upon the masses the idea that we cannot openly share or redistribute things as we see fit. If we want continued production, we’ll support it. The goodwill of the populace cannot coexist with the greed of the corporate. Support what you like. Try what you aren’t familiar with. Do not, however, play the corporate game, and encourage their wanton lust for money. φ

”

pseudogovernmental corporate bodies

“

”

This entire system is wrong and flawed.

“

June 2009

Legalizing Marijuana

hey’re pick-ups are loaded with marijuana worth a fortune. Security guards at the border have their guns ready speculating across the trees looking for anybody going over. The trade is increasing even though attempts from the U.S. and Mexico are increasing security at the border. According to researchers of the National Institute of Health, marijuana’s usage has been rising in the American population of since 1992. The National Drug Control Policy has invested $145 million for marijuana prevention commercials. For example, in 2007, there was an advertisement on television with a dog talking to a teen about them not being the same when she smokes

by Elaine H.

haven’t done much for the prevalence of using marijuana Marijuana should be legalized because with many of the drug rumors about marijuana, most of them are falseImage courtesy ly conveyed, attempting to scare a teen or of Elaine H. an adult to avoid using The M arijuana Polic y Project (MP it. Many studies say is P) an organizatio n devoted to marijuana is addiclegalizing ma rijuana since tive and has psycho1995. T h e o r g a n ization has be logical changes, but en making those studies are de- progress reforming A merican ceiving because ac- marijuana laws. They have be en cording to the Mari- encouraging t o allow for se verely juana Policy Project ill patient s for medical usage of (MPP), people who mariju ana with their doctor’s regularly use mari- rec ommendation s. juana don’t show any major changes and mentally and most users those that are depenof marijuana aren’t de- dent on marijuana, tend pendent on the drug. For to have a dependence on example, there are many the drug much less severe rumors saying than tobacco. According that marijuana “ and our current marijuana is addictive, to a question asked to Dr. Allen Battle, a psychology policies are doing more harm but it hasn’t professor at the Univerbeen proven sity of Tennessee, “the acthan good” to be. In a tive ingredient in it, THC, National Acad- does not become part of weed. Are the ads really emy of Sciences’ Institute the body chemistry”. THC doing anything? According of Medicine’s 1999 report, doesn’t replace cells or to the Drug Policy Alliance marijuana users rarely de- binds with them, so the Network, commercials velop a dependence on it, chemical is just like food or

Photo courtesy of Elaine H.

water; it’s not addicting, but its there. As opposed to alcohol, heavy drinkers replace endorphins with another chemical, which binds with the opiate receptors in the brain that causes a happy feeling. So I think it is okay for marijuana to be legal if tobacco is regularly used. Many studies, like the damage to the brain in the 1970s by Dr. Robert Heath, were extremely arbitrary and didn’t have sufficient data to report their findings like having only four monkeys when he tested for brain damage and misidentified the definition of “damaged” in normal monkeys. Dr. Heath identified the monkeys’ brains as damaged when they were actually normal. Some of the reported effects in the past include brain damage, memory loss, suppressing the immune system, and extreme addiction, all of

which were tested and had no real evidence suggesting any of those, according to the Indiana Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) Drug Task Force. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), marijuana causes the individual’s heart rate to increase, eyes to become bloodshot, mouth to become dry, and short-term memory to be loss. If marijuana were to be legal, adolescents would get into using marijuana, which is a downside, but there can be laws made preventing adolescents using marijuana for recreational uses. Marijuana users should be limited to people with a minimum age of 18, or some sort of law similar to that of tobacco smoking. Also, marijuana should be legalized so drug dealers wouldn’t be the ones to sell the drug, stores would. The government

would get money out of it because there should be a tax implemented on recreational marijuana so drug dealers would have to find another way to make a living. Right now, marijuana laws and policies are only damaging instead of helping the marijuana offenses. The increasing drug trade would be out of business for marijuana and would stop altogether if it were to be legalized. Its advertised marijuana increases crime rates, but there is no scientific proof showing that. Marijuana decreases aggression; meaning marijuana may help with crimes. Not only can marijuana possibly help with crime, but also it has medicinal uses. According to researchers at Harvard University, THC has proven to significantly reduce the size of tumors and the ability for cancerous cells to spread. In addition, a research center and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) did a survey where a majority of both physicians and the general public are fine with the usage of marijuana for chronic fatigue and pains in June 2005. The survey showed 73% of the 911 physicians approved of medicinal marijuana, while 78% of June 2009

1,192 of general public approved of it. Tobacco smoke is responsible for 435,000 deaths in 2000. Marijuana has never in its long history of usage caused an overdose, according to the MPP. For someone to overdose on marijuana, that person would have to use 40,000 times more marijuana than needed to get “stoned”, according to the ICLU Drug Task Force. So putting the two statistics together, it doesn’t make sense for tobacco smoke to be legal while recreational marijuana is illegal because it is the cause for about onethird of cancers, and increases the risk for heart disease, heart attacks, and strokes. The MPP “believes policy options for addressing marijuana needs to be judged according to whether the overall harm is reduced or increased-- and our current marijuana policies are doing more harm than good.” Hundreds of innocent civilians, setting aside that the civilian is a marijuana user, are in jail or are serving time because of using marijuana. Some of which didn’t have much choice besides turning to use marijuana because it was a life or death situation. Some patients with cancer

have tried multiple treatments, turning to marijuana for help. For example, the Journal of Oncology said that in 2007, where a 65-year old man with cancer started growing and using medical marijuana. The man started using the drug because he lost appetite that was caused by chemotherapy. He shrunk down 80 pounds in five months and the marijuana helped with his apetite. He got sentenced three years in prison because of the marijuana. Another example is, Stephen Scott Thornton, who was a cancer survivor using marijuana to ease his chronic pains and was later killed in a drug raid, according to The News and Observer, a major news company located in North Carolina. A sheriff was also shot in the leg during the raid, all of which could have been avoided if marijuana was legal. Those two events could have had better endings, but if marijuana were to be legal for medical purposes, seriously sick patients could have an alternative treatment that has worked for many. Although, many adolescents use marijuana, I think there should still be age restrictions similar to that of using tobacco. At a certain age, I think the

judgment between right and wrong starts to become more apparent I feel marijuana isn’t as bad as the general public thinks because I feel most people misinterpret ideas presented about the drug as something unacceptable to society. Even with the few cons of the drug, the benefits outweigh them; therefore, marijuana should be on its way to be legalized. φ

MENSWEAR

An Abridged Style Guide

by Matthew C.

General Advice Color Coordination Procuring the Goods June 2009

Small Steps to looking sharper, pulling it off

There’s no greater first impression than pulling it off. Getting it right, and demonstrating superior fashion sense is just one way you can make her look twice. You don’t get second chances at first impressions- so pull it off the first time.

Men’s Fashion Perspective - Matthew C. We have here some advice that will improve your wardrobe, manner of dress, and hopefully head off any serious faux pas at the pass. Take these with a grain of salt- not everyone has the same body type, or the same hair color, or the same “style”. If you’re going to try to pull it off. You’ll make mistakes; that’s guaranteed. Stop worrying about taking risks.

It takes a special eye for color, fit, proportion, and several other factors in order to figure out how something should be in a complete outfit. Here’s a shortcut that women use all the time -

model after the best. If they can do it, so can we. Make sure everything you wear fits. Not just your neck- not just your waist. Well-fitting clothing doesn’t balloon out around your torso and arms; it doesn’t have a hard time being buttoned. It should be close to skintight without being Wolverine’s spandex duds; Going to a tailor can get pieces you like shaped to your body. 32

It takes a special eye for color, fit, proportion, and several other factors in order to figure out how something should be in a complete outfit. Here’s a shortcut that women use all the time -

model after the best.

Avoid graphic tees. There are times when it’s okay- when If they can do it, so can we. it’s part of a layering system you’ve got you wear fits. Not just your neck- not just Make sure everything going on, or if you’re clothing doesn’t balloon out around your your waist. Well-fitting aiming pull off a torso andtoarms; it doesn’t have a hard time being buttoned. It stereotype. Most of should be close to skintight without being Wolverine’s spandex the time, though, duds; Going to a tailor can get pieces you like shaped to your unaccompanied body. graphic tees label you aasratio the boring, Keep on what you’re wearing. You should only have so uncreative type. complemented by “supporting pieces”. An many “show pieces”,

outfit composed entirely of show pieces- that day-glo shirt you Stickupwith picked the classics other day, for instance- looks like it has too much gotmade a entirely of supporting pieces looks like it goinguntil on. you’ve An outfit “signature style” going on. In style terms, it “washes out”. doesn’t have enough down- one that isn’t a t-shirt jeans, Dump yourand shorts. Or at least make sure they extend past your mindWhile you. There’s thighs. they’re good for warm weather, you can be fairly reason they’re sureathat nobody wants to see your knobbly knees; it makes you classics. I’m talking look like a grade schooler- immature, at best. Creepy, at worst. about things like oxfords,your ties,khakis. suits, and Dump Any other similar pants, too. Wearing khakis isslacks. okay inSweatervests, the office or at formal events, but doing so elsewhere even. looks as if you can’t separate work from leisure. June 2009

Color-Coordinated by Matthew C.

Images derived from the flickr gallery, under creative commons licenses NC-SA, NC, and BY-NC-SA (schmeebis)

Triad Colors - Colors equidistant on the

color wheel. They look best in equal proportions, although they should all be of the same shade or tint.

Complementary Colors - Colors opposite of

one another on the color wheel. Wear the bright one as an accent, or the dark one as a backdrop.

Analagous Colors - Colors next to one

another on the color wheel. Also sometimes referred to as adjacent or harmonius colors. Use one as an anchor for the outfit, and the other two as accents or showpieces.

What you lookinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; for? JEANS http://www.nakedandfamousdenim.com http://www.apc.fr/ http://www.selfedge.com http://www.denimbaronline.com http://www.blueingreensoho.com NON-DENIM http://www.revolveclothing.com http://www.asos.com http://www.tobi.com http://www.karmaloop.com http://www.80spurple.com http://www.urbanoutfitters.com NON-DENIM (+Expensive) http://www.tresbienshop.net/ http://www.hejfina.com http://www.shopdetour.com http://www.blackbirdballard.com http://www.oaknyc.com http://www.oki-ni.com http://www.contextclothing.com http://www.sevennewyork.com http://www.barneys.com

THRIFT-SHOPPING (AKA LOW PRICES) http://www.etsy.com http://www.thethriftshopper.com Also, Goodwill, Salvation Army, and surplus stores of any kind. SHOES http://www.shoes.com http://www.endless.com http://www.zappos.com http://www.shoebuy.com STYLE INSPIRATION http://www.kinowear.com http://www.dropsnap.jp http://www.men.style.com http://www.stylesalvage.blogspot.com http://www.thesartorialist.com

GOOGLE SEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND.

June 2009

Canadian Dilemma t’s nearing the end I of the school day and

by Daniel Carpenter

home. is a burden, but being Paul had compe titive “I didn’t know Paul jokes around with always known t h a t a friend. Paul grins and he was a bit about bisexuality”b u r d e n murmurs something, different from becomes assuming it will be other kids. He seemed to a thrilling challenge to taken as a witty joke his always have an interest overcome. A thrilling friend stops in girls and challenge because he has “That’s gay, dude” laughing boys, and to fight more adversity and says three frightening couldn’t help it. and discrimination words, “I didn’t know about than even modern day “That’s gay, dude”. bisexuality… So when I homosexuals, which, on His friend said with first started struggling occasion, brightens up a slight frown on his with it, was because I the duller moments of face. Paul freezes for a thought that I might be his life. Many straight second, feels his muscles gay,” he said, “Yet I knew people do not like tighten in his lower body, that I liked women.” bisexuals because they wonders if his friend It took him awhile just lump them on with is going to pursue the to discover what “People who are matter, starts to panic bisexuality was. afraid to take a for an instant, subtle Though he already questions such as does had heard about the definite viewpoint,” he know and what now term bisexuality, he rushing through his mind immediately shrugged the rest of the gay even as he formulates his it off, thinking it only community”, he said, response all in that one applied to women. He “and many gay people second, and“His sexuality found out what do not like bisexuals then finally bisexuality meant because they see them is a burden” concludes from an Internet site as ‘fence sitters’, people the casual moment of while trying to discover who are afraid to take crisis by playing the whole what one calls a person a definite viewpoint, so thing off as another joke. who is attracted to both they sit on the fence Troubled, yet satisfied sexes. When he found it, between the two sides.” with his performance he almost instantly knew Paul is currently in under the stress imposed it applied to him. the process of coming upon him by the threat Paul feels that, out of the closet. He has of discovery, Paul heads in a way, his sexuality told his sister-in-law, his 36

end there. Paul is set to depart for an American university later this year, leaving behind all those trusted individuals he has already told into unknown “There are many fewer t e r r i t o r y , accepting people” where anyone he tells will be react favorably, but suspect. Despite this, he then again you never still feels he would still can tell, so he has keep going about it as he decided to play it is now, telling only the people he trusts safe. most. “I’m going to wait the until I at least have T h o u g h , the a self independence in from her,” he said. states, Canada has allowed w h e r e same-sex marriages s a m e since around July s e x 2005. So why is Paul so reluctant to share his sexuality with the marriage world? For a number is a hotly of reasons, one is d e b a t e d not the typical paranoia issue, of being alienated surprisingly he from his friends. would be more about “There are probably cautious some people in my coming out of school”, he said, the closet in “Who might take it America. upon themselves to “ T h e r e ‘teach that queer are many a lesson’, I also f e w e r haven’t accepted it for very long myself”. His dilemma doesn’t brother, his Internet friends, and some of his most trusted classmates, but has not told his mother yet. He thinks she will

accepting people in the states and many more people who would be inclined to take violent actions,” he said. Paul has something to say to the people of hetero and homosexual preferences. “If you know someone is bi, don’t see them as fence sitters or anything similar”, he said, “We’re a separate group of people who love people for who they are, gender really doesn’t enter the equation.” φ

June 2009

PARENTAL APPROVAL by Daniel Carpenter

n California, with Gov- a bill to limit the sale of to the games, which some ernor Schwarzenegger be- violent games to minors of the smaller businessing less conservative than under the age of 17 is not es do not do. It is really most, many new inventive within the strictures of a law of convenience for ideas tend happen. Some the constitution. Some the parents of California. b e - It is a law that is unnecare betDistinct Experimental Edge lieved essary since it basically ter than t h a t mocks the content rating others, and overall it lends a dis- it would be over at that system the Entertainment tinct experimental edge point. However, recently Software Rating Board has to the state’s government rumors of a push to drive used to judge games by for that other states lack. the debate to Federal years. Instead of requirThere are some bad ideas Courts have been circu- ing a sticker, it’s already there on the game to be that tend to get law status lating in the media. in the mixing pot of their So shouldn’t adults, be- judged by the caretaker if government, and one of ing normally the provider he or she wishes to judge the worse ideas, was in of virtually everything for it in the first place. The 2005 when Leland Yee, a Especially for games that law itself is a waste congressman at the time, involve sexual violence of time, introduced a bill to limit the sale of violent games their child, be allowed to however, parental control to minors under the age restrict them from buying over the games their chilsuch things that could be dren purchase is not. of 17. The bill was passed, detrimental to their de- Perhaps a more cost-efand the law was upheld velopment towards the fective law is in order. For until recently, when talk end product, a fully ca- example, in some states, has begun about the law, pable and responsible cit- only parental consent is and has been brought up izen of society. Yes, they required for games that in the California Court are allowed, but the point are rated M for Mature, System to debate over of this law is to clearly at least for those gamers whether to limit the sale show on the game that it who are below the age of of violent games to minors is “violent” and allow the 18. This is one cost effecunder the age of 17 is al- adult to make the deci- tive solution that might lowed under the constitu- sion based upon itself. be one worth having. tion. California’s Judicial The law requires for the According to http://www. Branch has declared that store to apply the stickers physorg.com/, a website 38

1 2

L REQUIRED that collects and writes articles from various news sites to create a variety of all aspects of science, one benefit to having the children play violent video games is that video games have been proven to give children heightened contrast sensitivity. The The Child children who do gain increased contrast sensitivity, a skill that helps the eyes discern text, helping them read and see better in fog or at night. This skill declines with age and if they have any eye disorders or diseases. But still that is a very risky trade off, since there is that chance that the child might become obsessed with violence, or just not be able to react to it properly. In the end, it’s still the caretaker’s choice, whether to allow them the thrills of violent games, or deny them. Dr.. Anderson’s, from http://www.psychologymatters.org/ a website where psychologists talk about problems and how to fix them, research on the effects of video games on

a child show that violence can change a young mind for the worst, even more so in video games where the player is most likely to be causing the violence. For some, it can cause them to think violence is okay. Children have been into Can’t Choose spired do crazy things in the past, for example, in 2003, 2 brothers shot a rifle on a highway at cars, wounding civilians, in their defense they said that they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto III according to gamespot.com, a website that discusses upcoming games and past games along with events in the real world involving video games. According to an article by Michael Santo of realtechnews.com, a website whose mission is to bridge the gap between amateur tech blogs and sophisticated advertiser sponsored tech portals, a child shot his parents in the head after they took away his copy of Halo 3. He had apparently stolen the key to the lock box Halo 3 was kept in, along with his fa-

ther’s pistol. According to the only survivor, his father, the child came into the living room saying, “Would you guys close your eyes? I have a surprise for you.” He then shot them both in the head. The parents or guardians of a child are responsible for his or her wellbeing, and the choice of whether or not their child can play violent video games is something that can change your child for good or bad. The child obviously can’t choose since children are going to want to play a game for the fun of it not worrying about how the game might change them. φ

June 2009

how to...

WRITE AN UNPUBLISHABLE FEATURE STORY

by Elaine H.

Find a minor and ensure that he/she has not yet asked their parents for an approval for a story being written about them.

Write about things the subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents may (or are guaranteed) to disapprove of.

Have a section in talking about the future of the subjectâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans, specifically, something that is a saddening subject and the general public would be awed by. 40 21

Traumatizing experiences that would stand out to the teacher or editors would ensure a big controversial debate on whether or not the article is able to be published.

5 6

Images courtesy of Elaine H.

Be sure to mention any kind of medical condition. Mental medical conditions work quite well.

Write a quality feature story anyway, one of which editors and teachers would be proud of.

Repeat the process, however many times you wish, or until you feel your editor or teacher has had enough. Notice the expression each time an editor or teacher breaks the news to you that your feature story is unable to be published. *This method has been tested. It is not a full guarantee the steps will ensure an unpublishable feature story, but if used effectively, these steps can guarantee your story will cause a controversy.

June 2009

After the Toilet is Flushed The Force of Gravity

by Elaine H.

Round and Round wastewater from sinks, showers, and toilets go down the drain

wastewater drains into sewage systems which are built by the natural slope of the land so energy isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t required

Grit Basins Screening

objects like rocks, rags, wood, and other larger objects are removed from the waste warer so the equipment for later processes arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t damaged using a bar scream 42

the wastewater flows into a few large tanks where it is held so heavier inorganic materials (sand, small stones, etc.) sink to the bottom the trash from the screening process and grit are dumped into a container

Fish Are Okay With it

the cleaned water flows to into a body of water like a river or an ocean or is reused by the city

Disinfection

the water, now has about 95% of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s waste removed, is sent through another clarifier or filter to reduce suspended solids chlorine is added to disinfect the water; to counteract the chlorine, sodium bisulfate or sulfur dioxide is added so fish and other organisms wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t die off because of the chemicals

Secondary Treatment

the partially clarified wastewater is flows into secondary clarifiers where microorganisms settle out and some of which are sent back to aeration tanks for later uses

Primary Treatment

gravity allows the wastewater to flow into aeration tanks where activated sludge is added, which contains microorganisms, some of which is already in the wastewater, consume most of the organic matter the information is resourced from the Austin City Connection located in Austin, TX for more information, go to this website http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/wastewaterplant.htm June 2009

Hot Spots: Alien Tourism

by Daniel C.

1. THE ROSWELL INCIDENT occurred on a Ranch in Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. An unidentified mass fell from the sky near the area where a ranch hand was working. The ranch hand alerted the authorities, where promptly, military personnel arrived to retrieve the wreckage. A reporter who had acquired an interview from the ranch hand was warned against airing it on TV before the government officials left. It was only later when conspiracy theories about the crash started circulating about the government actually obtaining an extraterrestrial vessel along with alien specimens. The government maintains, however, that the crash was a top secret defence project testing whether it was practical to mount nuclear detection devices on weather balloons. This encounter is arguably the most famous due to the huge alien fan base that spawned from this event. 2. THE CARSON SINK INCIDENT occurred inn July of 1952, 5 years after the Roswell Incident. This was an inexplicable incident that was witnessed by two very reliable sources: two veteran combat pilots of the U.S. Airforce. The pilots were flying over the Carson Sink landform in Nevada. They noticed three aircraft that were highly unusual. The crafts had no tail section and flew in a perfect V formation, which was peculiar in jets. They also seemed to be capable of speeds three times that of jets of that time period. 3. THE AURORA INCIDENT occurred after many people across the US reported seeing a cigar shaped flying object. A resident of Aurora, wrote an article on this, telling his readers that one of the flying machines crash landed on a windmill in Aurora, Texas. They through the debris in a nearby well, and buried the dead pilot who they reported did not have human features with some of the wreckage. Some believe this incident to be a hoax due to the fact that Aurora was, at that time, in danger of dieing out. 4. THE RENDELSHAM FOREST INCIDENT occurred in Rendelsham Forest region in Britain near two United States Air Force bases that have since been abandoned. There has been confusion on exactly when the sighting occurred, but they believe it happened in late December of 1980. There was a disturbance in the forest around the bases. Teams were sent out to investigate. Some of the people sent out claim to have seen a flying object shrouded in mist. They said it kept moving away from them, and that it landed at one point, leaving three large indentions in the ground that were there the following day. Some reported actually touching the 44

4,6 5

1 2 3

9 8

10 7

craft before it reportedly flew away. 5. THE “EUROPE” INCIDENT occurred during the confusion and turmoil of the cold war versus the Soviet Union. In February 1961 Several NATO Radar Stations detected 50 objects flying from the Soviet Union into Europe at a high velocity. The NATO forces started to panic and mobilize, fearing the outbreak of World War III. However, before they could respond, the objects disappeared from radar 9 minutes later. An Astronomer in Potsdam that was studying the sun at the time of the panic claimed to have witnessed the objects transit across the sun’s disc. 6. THE BERWYN MOUNTAIN INCIDENT occurred in the United Kingdom around the time of January 1974. Scientific evidence from that time indicates that the alleged crash that happen at this time was just a conveniently timed comet that happened to streak across the sky above the UK right around the time that an Earthquake occurred in the Berwyn Mountain Area. Despite this, some alien conspirators claim that the entire thing was a cover-up of a captured UFO by the British Government. 7. THE ROSMEAD INCIDENT occurred in the African Eastern Cape town of Rosmead during November 1972. A headmaster arrived on the campus of Rosmead Junior School to see a glowing light hovering nearby over the tennis court. Curious about what might be happening on his campus, he went to June 2009

take a look. The light had already disappeared to elsewhere. The tennis court, however, was destroyed. Huge “prints” indicating that something had landed in the tennis court. 8. THE HOPEH INCIDENT occurred in Hopeh, China in 1942. A street photographer had taken a picture of it, believing it to be a hat. A Chinese man found the picture in the albums of his father, who had bought the picture from the photographer that had taken the picture. Some claim the photographer was an American man on duty. 9. THE DYATLOV PASS INCIDENT occurred at night in the month of February of 1959 in the area of Dyatlov Pass. A group of hikers were found dead near their campsite. At the campsite, there was no signs of a struggle. The tent looked to be forced open from within, then heavy footprints were found leading away from the sight. Each hiker had a variety of injuries, including one victim with their tongue cut out. Also, later it was reported that their clothing showed a high level of radiation. The authorities report that they believe a compulsory force was involved. This mystery has been speculated upon countless times. One of the popular beliefs is that aliens attacked the hikers. 10. THE ANTONIO VILLAS BOAS INCIDENT occurred to Antonio Villas Boas in 1957 at a field he was plowing in Brazil. He claimed to see bright lights and tried to flee the field on his tractor. He was grabbed by a humanoid creature, who barked and yelped, summoning others that were like it. He was then taken upon a flying craft. A variety of things happened to him here, such as getting his blood drawn from his chin, being subject to a gas that made him ill, and having sex with one of their females whom he claimed made gestures towards above and her belly that he interpreted as: “she would raise their baby in space,.” This incident got popular enough for Antonio Villas Boas to get a biography written about him. 11. THE FREDERICK VALENTICH DISAPPEARANCE INCIDENT occurred on October 21, 1978 to an Australian pilot named Frederick Valentich. He was flying his aircraft when he saw a strange craft flying near him. He reported the UFO to Air Traffic Control. According to what he said, it was hovering over his craft. After this message no word ever came from Valentich again. He and the mysterious craft he had sighted disappeared with out a trace.

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Serenity

by Jason Pan Stress, anxiety, pressure, sleep issues, and a sense of a deteriorating pathetic existence. Everybody knows that everybody goes through this, but it’s still hard to get through the rough patch. When everything that happens turns into another issue, it’s time to turn down the sensitivity on your world perception.

signments done will make you feel better, trust me. Finishing the more immediate and easier assignments will also help you focus when you’ve got a harder task, like a test. It almost doesn’t make sense how it works, but it works. Get comfortable with offloading tasks in groups. Work on your leadership skills a little (read the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C.

in classes, or lunch. Commit to working hard during these times, because chances are that there won’t be much of it. However, the point here is that every little bit counts, and you could very well end up with an extra hour or more of work completed. That translates to more sleep, also a good thing. Learning how to manage external issues, such as school or sports and whatnot, can really be a linear process. Dealing with personal issues can get a lot more complicated, so I suggest going in little baby steps. Never stop finding ar-

“Never stop finding areas to improve yourself - work on your sense of humor, your confidence, and most importantly, your own identity, whatever that may be to you.” If you feel simply overwhelmed with the amount of duties to be performed, organization and prioritization is an absolute must. For example, the easier homework that’s due first thing in the morning should be done before studying for that hard test at the end of the day. There’s a fine line between priority and importance here - the test is significantly more important in terms of grade, but the homework carries a higher priority. The homework carries a higher priority because it’s easier, and due at the beginning of the day. Getting all the easy as-

Maxwell), and surround yourself with dependable people. It might feel kind of wrong to ask someone else to do a part of your work, but if you’re a nice enough person and a good enough leader, its often worth a shot. That being said, only try offloading when you really have too much to juggle. What do you think sounds more convincing, “Hi, can you do my work because I’m lazy,” or “I really need some help handling my workload, do you think you could help out?” Look for more time to do your work. On the bus, in the morning, during downtime

eas to improve yourself - work on your sense of humor, your confidence, and most importantly, your own identity, whatever that may be to you. Making that conscious effort to improve yourself will produce great payoffs in the long run, even if it doesn’t seem like it right now. When you wake up one day, and all of a sudden you’re having great success with the girls (or guys), you’re psyched about the progress you’re making at work/school, and you’re eager for the crap life throws your way, you’ll know what I mean. Good luck. June 2009

TOP 5:

Lamest Alien

Encounters

Coming in as the least lame of encounters, is an incident in the U.S. where an entire investigation followed after witnessing “green fireballs” in the sky. Now, of course, it is weird, but I don’t think an investigation was needed.

Picture of memorial by ShwSie from wikipedia.org

by Daniel C.

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Nearly the least of the lame of the alien encounters, but still lame happened in Sweden in the town of Angelholm, now they say they saw a UFO land there, but to go as far as erecting a monument at the exact location is a bit much, isn’t it?

This mildly lame encounter was discussed in my article: “Hotspots: Alien Tourism”, the Aurora Incident itself was a bizarre chain of events that seemed to get more unlikely as it went.

The second to lamest is an incident that took place in Bismark, North Dakota. 45 people witnessed a glowing red light that occurred over a 2 night period. The explanations for this can be numerous, for example it could have been a plane.

The #1 lamest encounter is Antonio Villas Boas Incident, also previously discussed. I found that it most likely was not true when he had had sex with one of their females, when the likelyhood that interspecies breeding between beings not from earth and humans is very slim.

June 2009

50 1

Matthew C

Tapp 3OH!3 Better Off Alone Alice Deejay Speechless Lys Deadly on a Mission Alex Metric As Above, So Below Justice Electric Feel MGMT / Remix by Justice Le Disko Shiny Toy Guns Flesh Vector Domestic Terrorist/Newgrounds Audio Dewy Embers Mo-Tech (Mo-Tech Remix)/Newgrounds Audio Call On Me Eric Prydz Something Good â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;08 Utah Saints Dance With The Devil Breaking Benjamin Phantoms DarkOnyx/Newgrounds Audio Altronic nal1200/Newgrounds Audio

Austin, Texas… Home Sweet Home Mexico… A Place I’ve Never Been 1994… The Year the Soviet Union Collapsed, and I was born Reading, the Drug of my Life Brown Hair, Brown Eyes 1.4, my life in decades. Somewhere Else is Where I Want to Be. I Wear Glasses Fear Me. Quiet When I Want to Be Sleeping, a Favorite Necessity The Sofa, where I like to Sit…and Sleep I Prefer “Cautious” rather than “Paranoid”

Daniel C

June 2009

They Said It Wasn’t Enough Why the Act Sucked in a Black Hole It’ll Be a Yes Duplicity Burning in Ice Paranoia Perfection Isn’t What It Means One Sweet as Pie Blood Like Acid Kryptonite Put a Smile On

52 1

Elaine H

Hello, How Are You? (Single) I Feel Like The Biggest Nerd In The World... (Bonus Track) The Sport of Real Men... (Bonus Track) I was born into an Asian family, so pretty much anyone can take a stab at how that went. I pursued musical interests in the violin and piano, and later, the guitar. My parents believed in having regular exercise - even if that meant doing nothing for a month and then expecting me to pull off 50 push ups, then a 4 mile warm-up, and a tennis match. I was 6 years old at that time. In elementary school, I pursued an interest in traditional martial arts, and then in middle school, (real) tennis and kick boxing. My parents always pushed me to do well in school, and I really did, but every year my grades kept deteriorating. The reason for that was because of my increasing dedication to Science Olympiad, one of my nerdiest experiences ever, and one that I intend on continuing as I have for the past 4 years. In the middle of my freshman year in high school, I decided that school was more important to me than anything else, and my grades picked up. I also picked up an interest in Rugby and competitive swimming. All of this is my inspiration for the new single, “Hello, How Are You?” and the two Bonus Tracks, “I Feel Like The Biggest Nerd In The World,” and “The Sport of Real Men,” both taking the listener into detailed personal experiences. The collection is called, “Don’t Worry, I Bite”.

JPan June 2009