The Finest Arts by LASA Ezine

The

Finest Arts

Discover The tomb of truth

pg 4

A mythic journey: Would You Survive?

Rock out! pg. 17

pg.27

Top 6 Stories of All Time London - 38

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Contributors

Anna Pedersen

Anna loves animals, art, and browsing on tumblr. She’s a proud vegan and an ardent feminist. Apart from reading, she likes to do digital art and watch Sci-fi movies in her spare time. She loves Bicentennial Man, Amélie, Law and Order, and photography.

Leah Rowan

Leah’s your textbook definition of a bookworm. Her favorite books are the Legend trilogy and any book by John Flanagan. When she isn’t reading fiction, she’s writing fiction. Leah loves backpacking in Colorado and can’t wait to go to Italy soon!

London Roye

Watching Noragami anime is London’s favorite pastime. She loves little dogs, but is afraid of big ones. She wants a pug named Jeff, after her dad. She also likes green tea noodles. Above all, though, London wishes for more sleep and less homework! Arts | 4

Anushka Srivastava

Anushka is an avid music fan. She plays electric guitar and recently picked up the drums. She enjoys listening to and discovering new music and sending funny snapchats to her sister. Anushkaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all time favorite bands include Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Rush,and the Strokes.

Emma Moran

Apart from reading and doing DIY projects, Emma enjoys long hikes in the cold, snowy mountains of Colorado and Wyoming. She also loves her cat, Spots. Emma aspires to be a biomechanist and a writer when she grows up. When she was little she wanted to go to the Olympics for fencing!

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Letter from

the Editor

In this magazine, you will find a various number of topics that all fall under the fine arts category: music, stories, and camps based on stories. At the Finest Arts, we believe that there is more about stories than

6 | Arts

meets the eye. If you love music, literary Greek mythology magazine is for

books, rock analysis or then this you.

Safe reading!

BY: EMMA MORAN

n Xi’an, China, Mount Li loomed above Marina, its perfectly flat sides carpeted in a gorgeous rolling forest, and deep within Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s tomb, a dragon slumbered. Now Marina must complete her grandfather’s quest and free the dragon, but she must overcome countless troubles along the way and uncover a very dangerous family secret. Tomb of Truth is an incredible premiere book from Austin author, Courtney Anz. Courtney Anz lives in Austin with her husband and two daughters. Tomb of

the whole family that taught her a lot about herself as a writer. The idea for Tomb of Truth came from a trip to China that the family took in 2006, where they learned about how the tomb is sealed and has never been opened, which is explained in the “Dear Reader” section, all of which is true. “My daughter, who was 5 years old at the time, turned to me and said, ‘Mommy, what if there’s a dragon that’s locked inside?’ And that is what triggered the idea for the story,” Courtney Anz said. Courtney Anz’s daughter, Adelaide, says that Tomb of Truth

Truth is her very first novel, which she published last July. In writing her first novel, Mrs. Anz describes a great experience for

involved the whole family. “The book first started out as this thing we would talk about around the dinner

“‘Mommy, what if there’s a dragon that’s locked inside?’”

COURTNEY ANZ HOLDING HER FIRST BOOK, TOMB OF TRUTH. PHOTO BY COURTNEY ANZ.

table,” Adelaide Anz said, “After a few months my mom decided she would try to turn it into a book, I never thought I would see it at Book People or on Amazon, though” Although Mrs. Anz was the one to actually write the novel, it was really a family effort; combination of their ideas and experiences as a whole. “[My mom] bounced many of her ideas off of us and we helped her proof read all the rough drafts of the novel,” Adelaide said. However, when she actually tried to write her book, things didn’t Fall 2015 | 7

go as smoothly for Mrs. Anz. For four years she didn’t actually plan out her novel well, until she found Save the Cat. Save the Cat is a screenwriting book by Blake Snyder that Mrs. Anz used to plan out her novel. “Some people say ‘Oh, don’t use a formula! If you’re a real artist, write from your heart’, and I wrote from my heart for four years and it was still a mess, and I needed a formula. And I think that what I learned was that once you find a formula and you plot it out, then you can again draw in the creativity and go off on your chutes and your real,creative license. But having that formula brings you back to things that keep the audience tied to your story.” Mrs. Anz says that the hardest part of writing this book wasn’t actually the writing at all, it was the editing. She had to chop off half of the book. “There’s a saying for writers, ‘Kill your darlings’. Anyone who’s trying to do something entrepreneurially, they have a passion for what they see as how something would be done, and for a writer, 8 | Arts

MOUNT LI, IN XI’AN CHINA, WHICH CONTAINS THE TOMB OF EMPEROR QIN SHI HUANG. PHOTO BY COURTNEY ANZ.

they’ll write this scene, and it’s like ‘Oh, this is awesome!’ and you just know that it’s the best scene in the world. And you have your reader read it or you reread it,

“There’s a saying for writers, ‘Kill your darlings’”

and you go off down this rat-hole and it no longer means anything in your story, and you don’t realize it because you’re the writer and you are so devoted to this string of consciousness. And someone reads it and they’re like, ‘But I don’t know why you’re

doing this, that means nothing to me. Go back to the dragon or whatever’. And that’s the darling. You’re so devoted to this thing, this idea that you’ve been writing, and you have to kill it because it means nothing. It contributes nothing to your story. It’s hard, it’s hard to do, and you have to do it all the time. I have volumes of darlings.” All of the “darlings” that Mrs. Anz had to cut off now make up the sequel to the first book, which she has already started working on. “I hope that with the sequel I’m going to snag an agent because right now I’m doing it all by myself,”Anz said, “And I like self-publishing; self-publishing is an

exciting thing...but I would love to get an agent.” Many of Mrs. Anz’s friends, such as William Moran, read her first novel. “I think she did great,” William Moran said, “It had intrigue and excitement.” The actual characters and elements inside her book were heavily influenced by the world around her and Mrs. Anz’s own life. “They say write what you know, and I have two daughters so I toyed with whether or not I should have a brother and a sister,

but I don’t have a son, and I felt like I would misrepresent as really primary character, so I went ahead and went with two girls because I know girls

“I wanted them to know that side of China” very well,” Mrs. Anz said, “So those are the sources; my two girls do inspire loosely Marina and Iris but I really tried to exaggerate them a great deal so that people

don’t feel like they’re exactly my girls.” On their vacation in 2006, the family went to Xi’an, China, where they saw the Terracotta Warriors and the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. This is where her story takes place, but many of the characters were also directly inspired by Mrs. Anz’s experiences during their vacation. “We did see and encounter a number of kids who were homeless and obviously had terrible health care, if any, really; missing limbs, illness that needed to be

THE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR MUSEUM IN XI’AN CHINA, A SITE THAT MRS. ANZ USED IN HER BOOK. PHOTO BY COURTNEY ANZ.

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treated and probably could’ve been treated if they were in a Western country with better health care or health care for the impoverished,” Mrs. Anz said, “And I felt like [for] a reader who doesn’t get much exposure to China, I wanted them to know that side of China” However, Cuki, one of the “bad” characters in the story, and Marina’s enemy, wasn’t inspired by anyone particular that Mrs. Anz knows. “She’s more inspired by a conglomeration of bullies and stories of bullies that I’ve heard through the years from various kids and various friends, and I took those stories, and I pushed them; I exaggerated them,” Mrs.

COURTNEY ANZ’S DAUGHTERS, ADELAIDE (LEFT) AND CATALINA (RIGHT), LOOK OUT AT THE TOP OF MOUNT LI FROM THE BOTTOM. THIS IS WHEN ADELAIDE SIAD “MOMMY, WHAT IF THERE’S A DRAGON INSIDE?”. PHOTO BY COURTNEY ANZ.

for a bully.” After reflecting on the process of writing her book, Mrs. Anz says that there are two things that helped her the most.

Daily or every-other-day writing is critical to developing your craft. Anz said, “You always want the villain to be really bad, so I tried to make her really bad and unlikeable. But I also tried to find some source of way to make her, some source of sympathy for her too. And there’s always some reason to also feel bad 10 | Arts

“If they have the story then they should just start writing it and take the time to write it,” Mrs. Anz said, “If they don’t have the story yet, write anyway...Daily or every-other-day writing is critical to

developing your craft. It’s just like anything you want to do in life; it doesn’t happen overnight.” “Practice makes perfect”, as the saying goes, but Mrs. Anz also believes that you need the help of others’ to create the perfect book. “One of the most beneficial things I got was a really good critique group,” Mrs. Anz said, “When you find a group of people that you trust, that are constructive, respect you as a writer, and they’re probably writers themselves, and they have advice to

give you; that is one of the most invaluable gifts you can have.” However, Mrs. Anz says that not all critique groups are good for you, some are just terrible. Some people in those critique groups just can’t give constructive criticism, so don’t stay in a critique group like that. “Don’t let them kill your dream.” Mrs.

Anz said. Mrs. Anz also believes that a theme that she tried to represent in her book can be applied to writing as well. “One of the themes...of the book is to believe in the dreams no matter how outlandish they are. So for Marina her outlandish dream is the dragon, but there are a lot of people who get

told ‘Oh that’s crazy!’ and they have a lot of naysayers who say to them ‘Yeah, nah, that’s not going to happen’. You just need to not listen to them. You just need to go for what your dream is and continue to believe in it.”

THE AUTHOR, COURTNEY ANZ (SECOND FROM LEFT), AND HER FAMILY, JIM HER HUSBAND (RIGHT), AND TWO DAUGHTERS ADELAIDE (SECOND FROM RIGHT) AND CATALINA (LEFT) STAND NEXT A REAL-LIFE TERRACOTTA WARRIOR. PHOTO BY COURTNEY ANZ.

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DIY Book Crafts

THE EXTRAORDINARY NATIONAL BESTSELLER

By Emma Moran

Some of the mosty popular young adult books are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, and The Hunger Games. Now you can make your own crafts from your favorite books! Learn how to make your own Harry Potter wand, Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, and Hunger games Hunger Games Arrow Hairclip.

Harry Potter Wands Materials

• A 8½x11 sheet of paper • hot glue gun and hot glue

• gluestick • Acrylic paint

Roll your paper into skinny cylinder with one end thicker than the other (about 1/2 in. and 1 in.) and glue in place with the gluestick. Make sure that it is firmly glued into place and has no wrinkles or bubbles

Use your hot glue gun to seal up the end of the wand. Start at the edges, circling the outer edges and move towards the center. Make sure to continually invert the wand so that the hot glue does not fall through either way. When it is dried, the hot glue should be a small lump, which represents the wand’s core.

Once that hot glue is completely dried, you can use the hot glue to do a design on the handle. There are many different designs that you can do here and you can make your own. The the basic one is to start by circling the base of the wand and then putting another circle where you want the handle to stop. Once those are dried, you do a spiral between the two circles, and if you want, you can do two spirals.

Finally, once everything is totally dry, you paint the wand. Start with the body and paint that a shade of brown (usually). Then you paint the core (red for dragon heartstring, silver for unicorn hair, and gold for phoenix feather). Lastly, you can paint the design on the handle. This can be any color that you want.

Camp Half-Blood Shirts Materials

1 3

• Orange T-shirt • Black Fabric Paint

• Exacto Knife • Freezer Paper 1. Trace your words and picture (if you have one) onto the freezer paper. You can bring up a picture of the words (Camp Half-Blood) on the computer and either trace it straight from there or print it out and then trace.

2. Use the Exacto knife to carefully cut out the letters and possible picture.

3. Flatten out the T-shirt and place a piece of cardboard in the center to make sure that no paint bleeds through. Center your stencil on the shirt, iron it on, and paint it. When you are happy with the coverage, peel off the stencil and let it dry.

Hunger Games Arrow Hairclip Materials

• Large Bobby Pins(s) • Leather (amount depends on how many you want to make)

• Sharpie • Hot glue • Scissors

Draw/trace 1 (per hair pin) equilateral triangle with sides ¾ in., and 1 (per hair pin) square with sides of 1 in. onto the leather. Then cut the shapes out.

Next, take the square and starting halfway down the side, cut to the center (halfway) on the end. Do the same on the other side so that it looks like a house. Then cut from the bottom edges to the center halfway up the side.

Finally, outline the arrow tail, and hot glue the arrow head (the triangle) onto the front of the bobby pin and the tail on the end.

REHASH THIS: MODERNIZING CLASSICS BY: ANNA PEDERSEN

here are many ways to try to get kids to read nowadays. From reading circles, forced reading, or even book orders. Many authors, like Rick Riordan or Marissa Meyer, have caught onto the trend of reworking classic novels (or mythology, for Rick Riordan) to have new and interesting twists. Rick Riordan turned old greek mythology into a new and immensely popular series that centers around the key elements of the ancient myths, and Marissa Meyer turned Grimm fairy tales into Grimm sci-fi. Finding the novel they’re reading during class boring is not uncommon for most kids. Students typically find older books boring or unrelatable and have a hard time enjoying the novel. They sometimes feel overwhelmed or

confused about how this could relate to them. “The syntax makes it hard to enjoy,” or, when talking about Kafka’s Metamorphosis: “Why is it just about him turning into a cockroach?” students can be heard saying.

at Kirby Hall School, said. Kids crave the high paced action and suspense of the onlooker-style narration of newer action and adventure novels. The writing style resembles that of a movie; with no omniscient narrators, the psych is lost. In teen literature, romance is a central theme and one can’t go far without it. So when young readers encounter novels where the psych is key and the pacing is done differently, students may be a little confused. “[Students] who are used to reading high interest page turners novels, maybe novels like Percy Jackson series, can have a hard time,” Fickling said. “‘Reworking’ is a misleading term because what they are really doing is just knocking over the

“Canonical works

that share the same elements are

14 | Arts

universal.” “I think there are these sort of enduring human themes. I think that even if the value of the culture that this comes from has changed, or if the value of our culture has changed since the time since it was written, I think [that] it can still be a really interesting way to process a value,” Teri Fickling, a language arts and Literature teacher

extra information and using the base to build their own world.” Like Laurie Sheck’s A Monster’s Notes, based off of Frankenstein, authors weave worlds from just the important pieces of another novel. Some high school kids feel that teachers should start teaching the newer versions of the original novels in class. While contemporary novels can have their good points, the text often loses sight of its humanity. While novels all have some sort of message or theme built in, though it may be immensely hidden, finding the themes is part of the reason we read the novels. “In theory, canonical works share some element or theme that is more universal, a human experience

many, many people can identify with. Secondly, we study classics to be “in conversation with” themes, ideas, imagery, symbolism developed throughout a literary tradition that are present and relevant

information that is needed to read novels based off of classics, perhaps mythology or knowledge of customs and traditions. Some teachers already do teach present-day literature in their classes. “[When I taught] sixth grade, I taught The Lightning Thief. And I know that Harry Potter was taught at Kirby Hall in the past at the fourth grade levels [but I] believe those books are just a little young for the grades [I teaches].” Fickling Said. The newer novels may be more accessible but the problem then become the need to have novels that are appropriate for the reading level of the students involved. Instead of

“I really think we

should read and study books that are more relevant to our time period.” to understanding contemporary works,” Patterson Said. If modern day texts were taught in schools, teachers would have to find some way to show the human themes and lessons in a creative way that doesn’t let it slip through their fingers. And often there is some mandatory background

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teaching just the modern novels teachers could teach the novels with another text or in conjunction with a visual form of the novel. ”I mix and match now. [I] often pair them together,” answered Patterson. Many teachers like Ms. Fickling and a college professor named Susan Patterson has begun to mix and match the texts in their classes. Repeated in quote On another note, newer, reworked novels can inspire students to read making genres such as classical American Lit. or British Lit. more appealing and accessible to the younger generation. They may even get kids to read the classic versions, and pull them into the world of reading even further until they can’t get out. “I think contemporary creative literature can be more accessible on occasion,” Patterson said. Accessibility is a big problem with some of the most prolific classic novels; one of which is J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. This novel features the stream

of consciousness with the character Holden Caulfield, a character with an unknown and undiagnosed mental illness, while he spends a few days in New York after getting kicked out of school. Fickling taught his specific book in her eighth grade classes in the past and remembers the reaction

“Not all books are going to interest all students”

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she received very well. “The Catcher in the Rye is a book that’s very polarized thing,” Fickling said, “Students either really just love it or [they] dislike it.” The Catcher in the Rye is a book that doesn’t have much happening in it. The main character walks through New York and just tells you exactly what he is thinking; not necessarily action movie material. As with a lot of classic novels, the reaction to books akin to The Catcher in the Rye is varied. Yann Martel’s novel, Life of Pi, (also a stream of

consciousness novel) is about a man with an immense love for God getting stranded on a boat with several zoo animals, one being a tiger, and his journey home. This novel was especially polarizing for Fickling. “I’ve noticed [when I taught] Life of Pi, [at times] I had the same sort of polarized reaction [from] students,” Fickling said, “Where some students really [loved] them and other students thought it was the worst book they ever read you know so it’s really hard to generalize.” These type of novels can be slightly boring to kids who want highaction page-turners that let them look on to the action rather than just hear about it from a guy who may or may not be telling the truth, like Holden. By pairing two texts together, the teacher allows the student to understand the text and have a bit of background information. “[I assign] the graphic novel of Kafka’s ‘The Hunger Artist’ as an introductory work before I assign my students Kafka’s short story,” Patterson

said. To start with, some recommended novels based off of classic novels are: Railsea by China Mieville, Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (a musical), The His Dark Materials series (an accidental

homage to Paradise Lost) written by Philip Pullman. More recommendations can be found online, at bookstores, or even at your local library. And books aren’t the only things based off of classic novels there is a practically

limitless amount of options based off of the books you know and love. As a recommendation, “Start with Shakespearean tragedies and movies just because of the number to choose from. . .” said Patterson.

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Mainstream Copycats By Anna Pedersen

Avatar

A lot of people know about the film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. But the film has a lesser known history. Artist Roger William Dean sued Cameron for idea theft. He claimed that the film was inspired by 14 of his paintings. The movie had been the center of several idea theft lawsuits. Cameron eventurally won the case, but this would not be the only copyright case for the movie.

Star Wars George Lucas has been well known for his sueing capabilities. He has sued several costume makers just for making a replica of the stromtroper costume! He eventually won the lawsuit he filed. This would not be the last lawsuit he filed for copyroght.

Nosferatu

In the making of Nosferatu, the director thought they bought the copyright; however, it proved to be forged. Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula’s, wife refused to let him have the copyright after finding this out, although the plot was identical. So instead, he simply changed all of the names of the characters. This was proven to suffice.

Happy Birthday Happy Birthday is a beloved song. It can be heard at most birthday parties, schools, homes, even in pop culture. But the song is actually another version of the song “Good Morning to All” by Mildred and Patty Hill. The song was actually the soucre of a major copyright battle to bring the song into the public domain. The general public ended up winning, making the iconic song free for all use.

TommorrowLand Disney has held the copyright to the name Tomorrowland since 1970. But there is also music festival by the same name in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The use of the term was prohibited in the movie in those countries. The movie held a heavy budget, preventing any legal action, so the movie released an after movie video resolving the affair in a productive way.

THE STONE AGE TO TODAY

By: Anushka Srivastava

hen did it all begin? The very thing that serves as entertainment, employment, a source of happiness, joy and contentment and, arguably, the bane of some people’s existence: Where did it originate? Now this is not the origin of the mother, but the birth of one of her children. The birth of rock music. It all started in the 1950s, a time of prosperity for most of America. The dust of World War II had just begun to settle. With entertainment getting back on its feet, the 1950s, that many refer to as the golden age, was finally complete. Musical leaders such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Little Richard would ignite a revolution that would last for several decades and is still prevalent in modern day life. What is the state of rock music today?

How did it get there and what happened in between? Jamey Simms, a guitar teacher at the School of Rock gives his insight into the rock music scene. He had, and still has, hands on, immersive musical experience from the late 1980s to today. Simms began playing the guitar when he was 12 years

influential artists, albums, and songs from each decade that played a large role in the evolution of rock music, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The founding fathers of rock and roll affected all the musicians that were subsequent to them. “Chuck Berry’s first recordings, you know, in the ‘50s, were the blueprints for all rock and roll guitar that came after him,” Simms said. “And you hear Chuck Berry in Jimi Hendrix’s style and also in Eddie Van Halen’s style.” The segue between the end of the ‘50s and beginning of the ‘60s was interesting for several reasons. The leaders of the ‘50s had made many changes. “Chuck Berry went to jail, Little Richard became a preacher, Buddy Holly died, Elvis got drafted, so, that was really bad news for rock music,” Simms

“I would show the world that rock music is not the bad guy,”

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old and went on to play in several bands after that. Now, he’s the lead guitarist and frontman of the Jamey Simms Band. “In the ‘50s, you had Elvis that made rock music, like, that scared parents,” Simms said, “He brought black music to a white audience and that was very influential. And it was new to people.” There were many

Jamey Simms performing at the Mohawk with his former band, the Vitamins, as they open for Lightning Bolt. Photo by Jason Morales.

said. “[Luckily,] the Beatles saved it and the British Invasion saved it at the beginning of the ‘60s.” Then came the 1960s. The ‘60s was crucial because it essentially built the foundation of rock music. It was also important because the British Invasion occurred, and that was responsible for the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks. It was when heavy metal gained popularity with Black Sabbath, surf music arose with the Beach Boys, and psychedelic music was innovated by Pink Floyd.

“The Brits really dominated the ‘60s, in my opinion,” Simms said, “but the Detroit rock scene at the end of the ‘60s really spawned the most powerful music of the

hands down, I’d have to say, is the 1960s.” Drummer of Sweet Lemon and 8th grader at Kealing, Paulo Zambarano said his favorite decade is the 1970s. Jason McMaster, ex-frontman of a popular late ‘80s band, Dangerous Toys, agrees with Paulo. “Glam Rock, and early heavy metal, started new trends in rock music… Personally, I think with Elton John, David Bowie, and then the American versions of that: Alice Cooper, and Kiss really made rock music from the ‘70s become very

“When I was a kid back in the 70s... [music] was either the real deal or it was fake,” late ‘70s, which was punk rock,” Simms said. “The most important decade is the ‘50s because that’s when it began... But the best decade for rock music

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influential of what we metal reached its peak “End of the 80s hear and call rock then. you had the Seattle music today,” McMaster “The 80s you had thing and that was said. really popular rock totally legit. And that The 1970s was when music in the ‘80s was was a real optimistic hard rock bands like horrible, we hated time for rock music. KISS, Led Zeppelin, it. I was a kid in It almost felt like Queen, and Deep Purple, the 80s,” Simms said, the 60s could happen and several talented “Eddie Van Halen again,” Simms said, guitarists emerged. influenced me. I was “But it got co-opted “But then Disco really attracted to and sold out and happened and commercialized commercial radio and killed. Just happened in the like it always ‘70s and that does.” was kind of the There were, beginning of the however, some end. And then, at other unfortunate the end of the things that 70s, though, you happened. had punk rock “Metal and that was a gotfull of itself reaction against and dishonest and that,” Simms said. phony sounding... According to and then Kurt Simms, there are Cobain and the three guitarists whole Seattle in rock music that scene happened really matter and and got the rest fall marketed,” Simms Jamey Simms in the gear room at Emo’s right after into one of their finishing a show with his former band, Hot Crush. said. Photo by Jason Morales, Edited by Dan McCann. categories. Another important “The first one the virtuosity and the aspect of the late is Chuck Berry [in great metal players of 1980s and early ‘90s the ‘50s], second one the ‘80s. And Eddie was the birth of rap. is Jimi Hendrix [in Van Halen and Yngwie “Personally, I don’t the ‘60s], and the Malmsteen- really like it, it doesn’t third one is Eddie impressed by that.” move me, there’s no Van Halen [in the The 1990s was a melody in it... I ‘70s],” Simms said, when rock music started don’t hear the soul “They influenced all to evolve into what is in it, man,” Simms the guitar players fairly popular today. said. “I’m not saying that came after Grunge and alternative that it isn’t a valid them. And they were were introduced with art form and I’m not groundbreaking, Nirvana, several saying there aren’t innovative musicians.” Seattle artists, the intelligent artists Despite the popRed Hot Chili Peppers, doing good things with rock scene, the 1980s Radiohead, and Pearl it, but... it’s taken was important because Jam. the place of rock 22 | Arts

music.” He goes on to explain that rock music isn’t dangerous anymore. That’s why rap appeals to the youth of this generation. “The culture has changed.” Just like when rock replaced jazz in the 1950s, now rap is replacing rock. “And rock’s still around, you know, and there’s some great rock bands, but it’s not mainstream anymore. It’s not the dominant style of popular culture.” Simms said as he leaned back in his chair and sighed. Today, the majority of popular rock music is poppunk, indie, and alternative. “I know that nothing stays the same and things change and, I mean, I’m still playing it and I always will and there are some great rock bands out there… Jack White is probably one of the most important rock artists now... Queens of the Stone Age, they’re legit. Great musicians, they write great, honest music.” Simms said. “Dave Grohl and Jack White are contemporary leaders right now that are doing really good things for the style of

music called rock and roll.” Simms also has some thoughts about why present day rock and roll does not appeal to him. “People need definitions too much, people need to, like,

I don’t see as many free thinkers.” Jason McMaster has some thoughts on how he would alter the future of rock and roll if it was under his control. “I would show the world that rock music is not the bad guy,” McMaster said, “I like to believe that most of us know that by now.” Jamey Simms believes rock music has been treading water since the 1990s. “It really hasn’t ever been as big as it used to be so I want to see a big rockstar again. Some of my peers, like Sam, are real optimistic about that. I don’t know if I am,” He said, “Sam is confident that all this nonsense out there is gonna run its course and people are gonna come around again to the real deal and how could they not?” Rock music has evolved leaps and bounds and the future seems undeterminable. Jamey Simms hopefully said, “I don’t know where we’re at right now, [but] I want to see. And I’m gonna keep practicing so I can be there for it.”

“And rock’s still around, you know, and there’s some great rock bands, but it’s not mainstream anymore. It’s not the dominant style of popular culture.” classify music to death... When I was a kid back in the 70s and I was a teenager in the 80s, [music] was either the real deal or it was fake,” Simms said, “And there wasn’t 500 kinds of metal and there wasn’t 500 kinds of like punk rock… I don’t think people [today] are using their imagination to think for themselves, I think they follow the herd...

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Which DO YOU really BELONG IN? By: Anushka Srivastava

A) Leather jacket (4) B) Flared Jeans (2) A) Throw a party (4) B) Invite a few friends for a couple of hours (2)

C) Flannel (3) D) Tie Dye bag (1)

C) Listen to music on your vinyl player as usual (3) D) Eat in your bedroom instead of the kitchen; something your parents wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t usually allow (1)

4) A) Red (3) B) Green (2) C) Black (4) D) Blue (1)

A) Chill in front of the TV/ read a book (1) B) something youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d otherwise regret (4) C) Eat a bunch of junk food (3) D) Spend that time with friends and family (2)

24| Arts

A) Comedy (1) B) Indie/ Drama (3) C) Horror/ Thriller (4) D) Romance (2)

A) video games/ T.V (2) A) Drums (2) B) Bass (3) C) Guitar (1)

B) Homework (1) C) Shopping (4) D) Parties and concerts (3)

D) Vocals (4)

You belong in the

...

You are super nonchalant, laid-back, and cool. You’re not easily annoyed and a good friend. You’d love the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Kinks, the Who, the Beach Boys, and Jimi Hendrix.

you’re all rounded, funny, and passionate. Whenever someone’s in trouble, you’ve got their back. Iconic bands from your decade include The Doors, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, Rush, and the Ramones.

You’re the life of the party and everyone loves being around you. Your electric personality and bold attitude make you so awesome! Def Leppard, Metallica, Van Halen, Motley crue, and AC/DC would be on your playlist.

You’re a very fun person. WHether it’s at school or at home, you are very hardworking and determined. Integral bands from your decade are Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Weezer, Green Day, Nine inch nails, and Soundgarden.

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Pictured Pictured above, above, Zeus Zeus cabin cabin sword sword champion, champion, Sky Sky Autumn Autumn faces faces off off against against the the two two Iris Iris sword sword champions. champions. To To the the left, left, aa Zeus Zeus camper camper practices practices his his dropkick dropkick against against General General Krone. Krone. Photos Photoscourtesy courtesyof ofCamp CampHalf HalfBlood BloodAustin. Austin.

26 |Arts

Creating

Camp Half Blood

From A Fictional Read to A By Leah Rowan Real Life Camp

or most similar camps created, “We’d start at five serious but Camp Half-Blood or so in the evening, readers, (CH-B) Austin was the we’d finish about one reading isn’t first of its kind. o’clock or so in the just reading. Topher opens up about morning, just read You’re not just the process of making all night through, sitting, curled up on the camp, the current I’d have my little a couch with a book happenings in the camp, coffee pot set up two inches from your and the future hopes. next to me, and just face. You’re with consume coffee.” “‘Wouldn’t it be cool the characters, Bradfield said. going through their “After we were if Camp Half Blood adventures with done with our them, joining them reading, I turned it was real?’ in everything they to everybody and do. Books are often they looked at me and said, ‘Wouldn’t not books; they’re it be cool if another world said, ‘Well, yeah, Camp Half Blood that can only be was a real duh.’ that got me accessed through place?’ And they words. all looked at me thinking, let’s try to and said, ‘Well, But thanks to Topher Bradfield, yeah, duh.’ And you don’t have to make it a real place.” that got me to just imagine it. Bradfield got the thinking, let’s try Topher Bradfield, the idea from the readers to make it a real Children’s Outreach themselves. In 2005, place.” Coordinator at Bradfield began reading In the book series, BookPeople, helped an Advanced Reader’s written by Rick to create Camp HalfCopy (an ARC) of the Riordan, it describes Blood Austin, a camp Sea of Monsters to a a camp for demigods, based on a book series, group of kids willing or half-bloods, who Percy Jackson and to listen - they would are children of the the Olympians. There read the entire book in Ancient Greek gods. have since been other one sitting. The main protagonist Fall 2015 | 27

of the story, a story to be a part of all of the work is character named Percy everything that you definitely worth the Jackson, is a son of folks did out there, payoff. As long as I Poseidon, the god of even if it didn’t seem can draw breath, we’ll the sea. Camp Halflike it. It needed be doing it.” Bradfield Blood is a camp for to be woven into all said. children of the gods. of the activities,” John Satberry, known “[I]t was really Bradfield said. “What we to the campers as important that I set out to do was set General Krone, their gave you a space up a branch, which Rick Roman Battlemaster, where you could show [Riordan] helped us also has fun at camp. up as yourself, but do, that runs parallel He does stunts and yourself as a demigod to Rick’s books, that staged fights. characters. And I think could plug in anywhere, “I love [Camp Halfthat your experience that didn’t interfere, Blood]! It allows me there became a lot more but existed in that to entertain and be potent and powerful world.” spontaneously creative. because of that.” Many campers attend I get to work with Bradfield said. and hang out “It’s pretty horrifying for “So we save the with great, world every imaginative people to be out for a nice week, and there kids.” [is] a story Satberry walk and have screaming that advance[s] said. “My kids, monsters, fights, and co-workers from week to week.” trust me to battles going on when they The Lightning help create Thief, the magic and just came to the park to the first book in give life to the Percy the story. have a nice walk.” Jackson and the I love the Olympians series, hit CHB annually. The camp kids.” the markets in 2005. is every summer, with Among the campers Between the release eight sessions per to reap the benefit is of the next book (The summer, each session Riley Church, camper of Sea of Monsters) and five days long, each two years. The Lightning Thief, day running from 8 “Yes, [I have enjoyed BookPeople, a local a.m. until 5 p.m. camp]. It’s like living bookstore, had already But for counsellors in a book.” Church created a Camp Halfand counsellors-insaid. “It’s so much Blood, based on the one training(CITs), hours fun, and I want to stay described in the books. extend far past those there for as long as “[T]he first thing times. possible.” I wanted to do was “It’s absolutely Camp Half-Blood to make sure we had exhausting. But at Austin takes place in as much action and the same time it’s McKinney Falls State adventure for you thrilling and fun, and Park. This is a public all that we could do we just love the hell park, and there are safely. We wanted the out of it. So, yeah, regular guests around 28 | Arts

Top: Topher Bradfield wears his Ancient Greek helmet. Middle: Apollo sword champion, Morgan Kelly, faces off against Dionysus sword champion. Bottom: a camp staff member wears a mask and a costume to develop the story of camp. Photos courtesy of Camp Half Blood Austin.

the park as the camp is taking place. Bradfield commented on the experience for those in the park. “It’s pretty horrifying for those people to be out for a nice little walk and then have screaming kids and monsters and fights and battles going on when they just came to the park to have a nice peaceful walk.” Bradfield said. Far into the future, Camp Half-Blood may be looking for a location where they could hold battles without worries of traumatizing peaceful park-goers. “We’re also looking at trying to find someone that has land, like lakeside land, that would like a similar setup, where we’d build a million dollar facility on their land, they keep the land, they keep the facility, but we’d use it for eight weeks out of the summer, and then we’d move camp out there.” Bradfield said. But another change in the camp may be much closer. “[W]e hope that the next big, big huge change is when we redesign the dining hall. We redesigned the dining hall four years ago and submitted the blueprints to the

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state park system in the hopes that we could raise the funds, build the building and donate it to the park.” Bradfield said. Camp may be making some large changes into the future, but even a camper can see the increase in popularity of the camp. “I think it’s going to continue to grow and grow - it’s been getting super popular, and I think that’s just going to keep going up.” Church said. This year CHB will be celebrating its first decade - they’ve had the camp running since 2006. There are other Camp Half-Bloods across the world, but the Austin Branch was the very first of its kind. “It took ten years to get where we are now.” Bradfield said with a laugh. Camp Half-Blood has been a very positive experience for all those involved. According to Bradfield, it was designed with the interests of campers in mind, and continues to evolve to encompass more of those interests. “We set out trying to come up with a program I would have liked as a nine year old.” Bradfield said. “[I]t was never just a 30 | Arts

product of what I was doing, it was a product of what my staff and I were doing, and how we listened to you. And when we asked you ‘what do you think of this?’and we listened.” Each year, the storyline is different. As Bradfield said, the story can plug in anywhere - it’s an original idea, thought up by Bradfield and his staff. “It’s like a tiny little kernel of something, and then suddenly it’s like it has its own gravity, and it starts pulling to itself a lot of ideas and things and pretty quickly, the genesis of the camp’s story is there. We’ve been doing it long enough that I trust those initial instincts, and play with it. I have a lot of faith that it’ll end up okay.” Bradfield said. Camp Half-Blood Austin doesn’t only have local appeal though. Many people from many countries have come to camp. “We’ve had kids from China and Japan,Israel, Brazil, the Philippines, Canada, Germany, and France, from all over the place.” Bradfield said. “If that book

has been published in that language, it’s a really good chance that they’re wanting to come or [already] have.” Camp Half-Blood has some very large goals in mind, from a million dollar dining hall to assisting more and more underprivileged kids, who want to to come to the camp, but don’t have the ability to. “Our goal is just to remind you all how spectacular reading can really be, and to give you physical and emotional interactions with the story and the book series.” Bradfield said. Camp Half-Blood is the book fan’s paradise, where their book can come to life and create its own story in front of their eyes. It’s taken a very long time to get to where it is now, and a lot of effort to stay there, but it is very worth it. Camp HalfBlood is loved by many, and will continue to create adventures into the future.

Would You Survive Percy Jackson’s First Adventure?

Bull fight! Dodge?

By Leah Rowan

Do you have a lot of energy and good reflexes? No

Yes

You’re attacked by a flying demon teacher. Do you...

Fight back with what you have?

Hide?

Get mom back by any cost?

Accept help from a favorite teacher?

Your mother is taken by a bull monster. Do you...

Very dead! You would not survive!

Slightly dead! You probably wouldn’t survive!

Get your best friend out of there?

Fail epically. Face-plant?

GOOD JOB! YOU MIGHT SURVIVE!

Get help?

Percy Jackson Fun Facts:

You’re selected for a quest. Who do you take with you?

An older camper who’s been nice to you?

A smart girl who used you as bait in a game?

You’re caught by a monster in the top of a tall building. Do you...

Take your chances against the monster?

Jump off the building?

You are threatened by the god of war. Do you...

Give him what he wants?

You’re attacked by a “friend” with a scorpion. Do you..?

Fight him?

• Percy Jackson was named for Perseus, from Ancient Greek mythology. The orginal Perseus was a son of Zeus. • In the book series, most demigods are dyslexic, ADHD, or both. • Contrary to the movie adaptation, in the Lightning Thief, the first book, Percy is 12. • Percy Jackson was inspired by Rick Riordan’s son, Haley. Haley is dyslexic and ADHD, like most demigods. Haley loved mythology, and they often helped to get him to read or learn. • Riordan has written more than twenty books in his time, eight adult books, and the rest young adult novels. • Many of Riordan’s characters were inspired by students he had when he was a teacher in San Antonio. He loved teaching Greek mythology in his English and Social Studies classes.

By: London Roye

What Makes a Good Story? 34 |Arts

“

Herman Melville gave me a lifetime; Toni Morrison gave me a lifetime,” said Sarah Roye, former English/ Theatre teacher. “The value of storytelling isn’t so much living foreverit’s living an infinite number of times.” Stories are not purely for entertainment. When you get down to the core of it, it’s really something much deeper. However, good stories run deeper than others. They give insight, and without that insight humanity would not be what it is today- we would be unforgiving, self centered people. That’s why it’s important to know what makes a story truly remarkable. The fact that the biggest books out right now are targeted towards young adults says something about them. Why are they the ones that seem to need stories the most? “Young adults are beginning to encounter

and consider the serious and often difficult aspects of life in ways they didn’t as children. Having literature that reflects the struggle and angst they experience daily is affirming in ways that are comforting and developmentally important,” said Roye. “The way that art (in this case, novels) can provide a reflection and catharsis for these emotions in a heightened form provides young adults with a valuable outlet.” There are also many ways in which these stories can be relatable. Whether it be oppressive parents or contentious friends, stories that allow us to sympathize/relate connect us. “(Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables) feature kids with tough childhoods and who overcome their challenges,” Roye said. “I appreciated and related to their struggle to determine for themselves what it means to be a good

“The fact that the biggest books out right now are targeted towards young adults says something.”

person. I particularly valued how they made mistakes and worked to atone for them.” Another very well appreciated story form includes much more serious issues by highlighting the darkest aspects of life; thus making for a very compelling, thought provoking read. “The Poisonwood Bible has compelling, relatable characters and it changed the way I thought about some aspects of family and religion,” said Roye. Diction can play a large role in the quality of a story as well.

“The author (of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) writes so beautifully that I would often stop and read sentences aloud

“The value of storytelling isn’t so much living foreverit’s living an infinite number of times.” to myself for the pleasure of hearing the way the words sounded together,” Roye said. Another important part of storytelling is how you watch it/ what you watch it on. In ancient times, it

didn’t usually matter who you heard it from. However, now we have things like Netflix, Hulu, cable television, and movie theatersthere are endless ways for us to watch. “I prefer Netflix,” said Roye. “I think Netflix has better variety. Some of their original series, like Orange is the New Black and House of Cards, are excellent.” Margi Rathod, a freshman at La Porte high school, tells a different story. “I like movies on theater best. There’s expensive snacks and some annoying (theater) goers but all in all you can’t replace the big dark room with the high volume and maybe

Movie theater in Girona, Spain. Photo from https://pixabay.com/en/cinema-entertainment-audience-314354/

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Sophie B. and her older cousin. Photo by London

even 3D view,” said Rathod. Besides the different movie platforms, stories also come in the form of books. Regarding movies and books, is there a better or more preferable way to tell a story? “Don’t get me wrong, I love movies, but books go deeper. They require more of an investment and therefore yield deeper, more meaningful benefits. Books allow me to enter into another person’s world in a way that is so complete,” said Roye. Nowadays, there is

Roye

a crazy amount of books being made into movies. Due to this, many new books have a trend that

“The heart of a story is someone’s heart; someone who’s willing to open that up.”

36 | Arts

may or may not explain why their popularity is increasing. “Reading these books, I get a distinct feeling that they were written with the express intention of

having the book made into a movie. As if I’m reading more of what a person might dictate about what’s happening in a movie and less of putting me into a character’s world,” said Roye. “However, there is some very cool stuff being done now that couldn’t have been conceived of hundreds of years ago. I appreciate that plots are no longer required to be only linear.” A growing trend in modern storytelling is the anti-hero. This character is not evil, but rather the protagonist of the story. One example that many high school freshman will recognize is Grendel by John Gardner, a story in the perspective of the human-monster-hybrid that is misunderstood by men, yet almost admirable of men. In the story, he is killed by Beowulf, the protagonist of the original story from thousands of years ago. In Beowulf, Grendel is depicted as a force that cannot be reckoned with; a creature of pure evil. Grendel, like many other anti-heroes, is usually preferred to Beowulf. “There is

something refreshing and challenging about caring very much for a deeply flawed character and seeing the world through his or her eyes. (It) widens my perception,” Roye said. The only trend that has stayed prevalent since ancient times is the way that everything we create is in our image. We entertain, because it is our nature. We use stories to explain the unknown, whether it be the rising of the sun or the reason we are here. Stories are a part of human nature, and without them, where would we be? “The heart of a story is someone’s heart; someone who’s willing to open that up,” Roye said. “Stories are what make us human.”

Student Poll

Favorite Book? Hunger Games Harry Potter Maze Runner Ender’s Game Other Favorite Movie? Neverending Story Spirited Away (or other Studio Ghibli movies) Mean Girls (Any Marvel movie) Guardians of the Galaxy Other Favorite Anime? Attack on Titan Noragami Don’t watch anime Other

1 1 11 4

Where do you watch? Netflix

Amazon Hulu HBO Other

3 4 2 3 6 1 2 3 3 2 7

1 1 1 2

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