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Contents
By: A r i el T.
S X SW S t a r s 6 - 7 A g i r l w i t h Rea l Ta l e n t 10 - 1 3 S t a rb uc k s G oi n g G r een 1 4 - 17 O de to Toy 1 8 - 1 9 Aus t i n A B C ’ s 2 0 - 21 Top 10 2 2 - 2 3 O b s es s ed 24 - 2 5 N o m o re M r. N a s t y 2 6 - 2 9 How to S c ree n P r i n t a T- S h i r t 3 0 - 31 B l a c k O ut Poem 3 2 - 3 4 An i m a t c h - O f f 3 5 - 3 5
Contents
About the Editors
C
e l e st e F. wa s b o r n i n A u st i n , Te xas, and has lived there for her
A
r i e l T. , a n av i d e l e p h a n t lov e r , wa s b o r n i n Co r a l S p r i n g s , F l . S h e l i k e s
e n t i r e l i f e , m i n u s t wo y e a r s s p e n t i n
to d o c o lo r g ua r d a n d h a n g o u t w i t h h e r
G e r m a n y. S h e e n j oy s d o o d l i n g , d o i n g
band buddies. Ariel can often be seen wear-
h e r “ H a p p y D a n c e ”, s i n g i n g , p r ac t i c -
i n g pa n t s , t h o u g h i f yo u ’ r e lu c k y e n o u g h
i n g A i k i d o, a n d w e a r i n g m u stac h e s .
yo u c a n c atc h a g l i m p s e o f h e r i n s h o r t s .
O n e o f h e r c o m m o n h a n g o u t s p ot s i s
S h e l i k e s to s p e n d h e r lu n c h i n t h e b a n d
Toy J oy, w h i c h s h e w r ot e a n a r t i c l e
h a l l h a n g i n ’ w i t h h e r c o lo r g ua r d p e e p s .
( O d e to Toy ) a b o u t. S h e a l s o r e a l ly
O t h e r ac t i v i t i e s s h e e n j oy s a r e t e n n i s , p l ay-
l i k e s l a r g e u n d e r wat e r c r e at u r e s ,
i n g t h e f lu t e , a n d a n n oy i n g h e r f r i e n d s a n d
s u c h a s N a r w h a l s , W h a l e s , O c to p i ,
b r ot h e r .
S q u i d s , a n d Wa l r u s e s .
M
e g a n W. wa s b o r n i n M o u n ta i n V i e w, C a l i f o r n i a . Sw i m m i n g i s h e r m a i n
s p o r t, b u t s h e t e n d s to s k i p p r ac t i c e w h e n e v e r s h e c a n . M e g a n p l ay s t h e v i o l i n , c e l lo, g u i ta r , a n d p i a n o, b u t h e r f o c u s i s o n t h e v i o l a , w h i c h s h e h a s p l ay e d f o r m o r e t h a n s i x y e a r s . H e r favo r i t e h o b b i e s i n c lu d e pa i n t i n g a n d s k e tc h i n g , b u t d e s i g n i n g t h i s m ag a z i n e wa s c o o l , to o .
E ditors’ Edito r s ’ NNot o te e D e a r Readers, T h e i dea for WINK came to be when the g ro u p go t to get h e r a n d d ec i d ed o n a t h e m e. C el e ste wa nted Austin culture, Megan wanted e nte r ta i n m ent , a n d A r i el co u l d n ’t d ec i d e b et wee n t h e t wo, so the magazine’s theme became a m i x o f b o t h , a n d i t wa s a go o d co m b i n at i o n . A u st i n c u l t u re has a lot to do with entertainment ; A u st i n i s k n ow n a s t h e l i ve m u s i c ca p i ta l o f A m e r i ca , af te r all. The entertainment and culture p a r t s o f t h e m a ga z i n e go to get h e r l i ke a p e a n u t b u tter a n d j elly sandwic h. When you mix theme s to get h e r, t h e p ro d u c t i s m o re e n j oya b l e t h a n j u st o n e f l avo r. We reall y just wa nted a magazine that wa s c re at i ve a n d wo u l d b e e n j oya b l e to re a d . A ri el w ro te a p i e ce on Taylor Swift, Megan wrote abo u t S i m o n C owe l l l e av i n g A m e r i ca n I d o l , a n d C e l e ste h a d a n d article explaining how Miyazaki movi e s a re b ette r t h a n D i s n ey. T h es e a l l f i t i n t h e enter ta i n m e nt categor y, but the nex t batch of art i c l e s we re m o re A u st i n - c u l t u re- b a s e d . A n a r t i c l e a b o u t a SXSW artist by Megan, a Toy Joy feature by C e l e ste , a n d A r i e l ’s p i e c e a b o u t a l o ca l fan g i r l . We a lso decided to make WINK t-shirts fo r t h e g ro u p . S o, C el e ste m a d e a s c re en to p r i nt t- s h i r t s a n d got some ink. She took pictures of th e p ro c es s s o t h at s h e co u l d w r i te a h ow- to l ate r o n . We t h o u ght that our readers would want to k n ow h ow to s c re en - p r i nt t- s h i r t s b e ca u s e i t ’s a u s ef u l a n d i mpressive skill. T h e i ntention of WINK was to share event s , sto r i e s a n d o p i n i o n s w i t h o u r re a d e rs , a n d we t h i n k t h at with our theme, we’ll do just that. A r t i c l e s a b o u t p l a c es i n A u st i n e n co u ra ge p e o p l e to go t h e re. An article about the influences o f a m u s i c i a n o n h er l i ste n i n g co m m u n i t y m i g ht c h a n ge s o m eone’s opinion about that communit y. A p i ec e a b o u t a yo u n g a r t i st co u l d i n s p i re yo u to b e co m e an artist yourself. We wrote for the b e n ef i t o f t h e re a d e rs ! B u t i t wasn’t easy. Our editors have been wo r k i n g h a rd to b r i n g yo u t h e s e a r t i c l es i n t h i s m a ga z i n e . We met deadlines with our article sto r i e s a n d f i n i s h e d o u r l ayo u t s o n t i m e . T h i s a l l a d d e d st re s s to our lives, but this was necessar y i n o rd e r fo r u s to b r i n g yo u W I NK , a n d we d o n ’t t h i n k a nyo ne regrets the final product. S o, t hanks for reading the WINK magazin e!
Sincerely,
The Editors: Megan W., Ariel T., an d C el e ste F.
Laura A. practices on her cello, the instrument she has been playing for the past ten years of her life. Photo Credit: Laura Andrade
SXSW Stars
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One Band ’s Jo u r n ey t o V i c t o r y
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by Megan W.
he petite fifteen-year-old cellist Laura Andrade joined the spotlight with her fifteen-member band of musical diversity. Heat from the stage fueled the intense energy that permeated throughout the stage, and the talented “family” of instrumentalists waited for their time to shine. Laura embraced her dark-wooded cello in front of her and began melding her rich, fullbodied tone with the colorful sounds of the complimenting instruments. The crowd kept longing for more fresh, epic music, and at the end, all of the members stood up to receive the almost deafening praise they had waited for all night. Then, time froze. To Laura, this moment defined one of her most memorable and invigorating musical experiences at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. Laura is one of fifteen to sixteen members of the band, Mother Falcon, a group that in the past has been described as “a small symphony with an epic sound.” Mother Falcon is an orchestral band born in Austin, Texas who plays a combination of classical and folk with the aesthetics and mentality associated with indie music. Mother Falcon is recognized as one of the largest and most instrumentally diverse bands to perform at the SXSW music festival. The group performed at 10:50 PM on March 20, 2010 at the Austin Chronicle Awards Ceremony, featuring their specialized mix of orchestral sound and pop music.
“I’ve never experienced anything so glorifying and exciting. The show was so incredible.” said Laura. “We all had so much energy and enthusiasm, and it really got transferred into the crowd and everyone just got so into our music. It created this really intense bond, making the music better than ever. It was definitely one of the best performances we have had in a while.” Mother Falcon’s hit song, “Still Life” granted them praise from over one thousand members of the Austin Music Hall SXSW audience. “They loved it! Everyone was clapping, dancing and singing. It was great to be able to put a smile on so many faces.” said Laura enthusiastically. “We were the only band that night that got a standing ovation!” Mother Falcon consists of mostly high school and college students, so rehearsal time is hard to fit in with the students’ busy schedules. Yet, Mother Falcon still manages to pull off some of its most stunning and awe-inspiring performances. “Pulling everyone together always depends on where we rehearse. We will often rehearse at each others’ houses. For a few weeks we’ll rehearse at Tamir (accordionist/vocalist)’s house and others at my sister [Rita Andrade]’s house.” Laura has known most of the members of the band for quite some time. In fact, she has
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8 known most of them ever since middle school, so a strong, established connection is definitely felt amongst the musicians.
Mother Falcon performs in a church. Photo Credit: Hayden Zezula
“I absolutely love having my sister in Mother Falcon. It’s really nice to have someone I’m really close with to play together in a band.” said Laura. “I have also known the lead singer, Nick Gregg, even before that because we have been family friends. So when he started up his band, he had my sister [Rita Andrade] join. And then a year later, he asked me to start playing with them. Thank goodness I have good connections with people like him.” While the musicians in Mother Falcon play instruments ranging anywhere from the saxophone to the guitar, Laura sticks with her cello, the instrument that she has stuck to for the past ten years of her life.
Lead singers of Mother Falcon: Nick Gregg and Clair Puckett. Photo Credit: Teresa Chong
Laura Andrade playing with Mother Falcon at the SXSW Music Festival. Photo Credit: Sam Grenadier.
“I wasn’t old enough to really know what the cello was or what classical music was, so I of course just went with what my parents told me to do.” said the young cellist. “I realized that the cello is so much fun to play, and it really is something I never want to lose.” Laura’s perseverance and love for music is the same deep passion that drives Mother Falcon and its members to success and popularity. The SXSW performance on a Saturday night is one of many amazing performances that the music group will experience in the future. “It was such a great thrill being on stage and performing amazing music for so many people.” said Laura. “It was such an awesome experience and it is something that I hope to do again.”
(Above ) M o t h e r Falcon r e c e i v e s a standing o v a t i o n from th e S o u t h by Sou t h w e s t Audi e n c e .
(R i g h t ) L a u r a Andrad e p e r f o r m s alo n g s i d e h e r band m e m b e r s o n the S X S W s t a g e .
Photo Copywrite: Big Machine Record
“To me, fearless isn’t not having fears; it’s not that you’re not afraid of anything. I think that being fearless is having a lot of fears, but you jump anyway.”
A Girl with Real Talent! By Ariel T.
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10-year-old girl walks up to the karaoke microphone to sing to everyone in the room. “She’s so cute,” is whispered around the room. She starts singing and everyone is in a silent shock. No one expected a 10-year-old to be so good. The whispering starts up again: “She’s really good,” “She definitely has a future.” And everyone who heard Taylor Swift sing karaoke was right. Not only was she the youngest songwriter for Sony/ATV Tree publishing house at the age of 14, but by the time she was 16, she debut her first album, Taylor Swift. Now in 2010, she has won Grammies for album of the year, Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and Best Country song. Swift has gone from a 10-year-old karaoke singer to a professional singer, and not only did she need talent to get that far; she also had a dream that she tried and achieved. Swift has worked hard to get where she is now, by having talent, and knowing how to portray the right image. Many people who oppose Taylor Swift say that her songs are cheesy and cliché, like her song “Love Story.” Opposer of Swift, Jim Malec, says “[it’s] muddled by its prominent and clunky Romeo and Juliet references, completely misses the point of one of the English language’s seminal literary works–thereby undermining its own effectiveness.” The song wasn’t meant to give a literal representation of Romeo and Juliet but more of a modern spin on the play. The song is honest and full of truth and emotion telling about her real experiences. Her audience understands this, which is why it extends all around the globe. No a 50-year-old man probably won’t like her music, but she is a teenage girl writing for teenagers. Not only does Taylor Swift have talent in her songwriting, but in her voice as well. I got to go to one of her concerts on March 10. To be honest, I was skeptical as to whether she’d sound as good life as she does on her album, before the concert. But after the concert I was easily convinced that she had a good voice. Her voice
P h o to B y : A r i el T.
is in a weird stage because, “[she’s] not a little girl anymore and not yet a woman,” says Michael Gallucci from Cleveland Scene. However, it is obvious she has a lot of talent and her voice is going to get even better when it gets out of the teenage stage. “Maybe she’s not the best technical singer, but she’s probably the best emotional singer.” Says Scott Borchette. Taylor Swift’s second album Fearless, has sold more than 4 million copies since it was released in 2008. Swift didn’t enjoy the lugury of riding into the music buissness without really trying because a family member was able to get her in. Swift was found by her record company after sending her demo CD to every record company in the area.. Swift was a normal girl, who went to a Nashville high school, and one day her luck changed, when she signed a deal with Big Machine Records. Taylor Swift has worked hard for every award that she has won, and she has won a lot. She has been nominated 86 times and has won 59 awards. Not
13 only is that an amazing achievement, but people need to think you have talent to win so many awards. But for so many people to think she has talent, then she must. Swift got to where she is in the music business because of her hard work and dedication to a dream, which makes her an amazing role model for girls. Taylor Swift, unlike other actresses and singers, doesn’t have the bad publicity, other actors and actresses do. According to Dr. Medoff, a child psychologist, it’s important to have a role model whether it’s a parent, inspirational figure, or even an imaginary people (from books or movies). So who do girls have as role models? Miley Cyrus and her scandalous photos, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton doing drugs and going to jail, and let’s not forget about Jamie Lynn Spears getting pregnant at age 16 or Lindsey Lohan and her eating disorder. Is this really who we want girls to be looking up to? We’ll end up with many more girls thinking that doing drugs is ok, being pregnant is cool, and
P h o to By: Ariel T.
if you’re not stick-thin, there is no point to life. So why not give girls a role model that would actually be good to look up to? Taylor Swift isn’t only a good role model for what she doesn’t do, drugs, go to jail, leak pictures, but also for what she does do. Her most recent album was Fearless, and when she was asked her definition of fearless she said, “To me, fearless isn’t not having fears, it’s not that you’re not afraid of anything. I think that being fearless is having a lot of fears, but you jump anyway.” This is the type of person you would want girls looking up to, not someone who’s broadcasting the wrong image. Taylor Swift has showed people that if you want something, and you work for it, you can achieve it. She has also showed that she is a good role model and won’t broadcast the wrong images. Taylor Swift has showed that songwriting can be full of honesty and emotion. One mistake doesn’t make someone a terrible person, so you must look at her as a whole before you start to judge.
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Starbucks going
Green by Megan W.
By 2015, Starbucks plans to have recycling available in all of its stores where Starbucks can control waste collection and serve 25% of beverages in reusable cups. Photo Courtesy of DevianArt
Photo by Celeste F.
Last year, Starbucks engaged 29 coffee-growing communities in Sumatra, Indonesia, and Chiapas, Mexico – regions with distinctly sensitive environments and differing coffee-growing traditions – in the pilot programs. They are now working to engage at least 20 additional communities in these areas.
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Starbucks, one of the major coffee companies in the US and a large part of Austin culture now uses recyclable material in their paper cups. Starbucks also gives a 10-cent discount in the U.S. and Canada to encourage customers to use their own reusable mugs or tumblers for their beverages. Customers staying in a store can also request that their beverages be served in a ceramic mug. Starbucks has partnered up with Conservation International to further restore the environment.
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Ode to Toy By C el es t e F.
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oy Joy is a continuing dose of cool, quirky, spunkiness. Every few minutes you’ll hear them set off some noise balloons, then blow them up again and let them soar and whine another time. If that seems weird to you, then take a gander at the walls and ceiling, or the floor for that matter. Tinsel and plastic icicles drape on the walls wherever there’s room, streamers and wind chimes hang from the ceiling, and a step-by-stepdancing-patterned rug covers most of the floor. “[I like] how the atmosphere is totally Austin,” says Alexa Etheredge, “everyone who goes there or works there is completely immersed in the Austin culture” Toy Joy is a weird store, full of strange and cool decorations. But it also has a mission: to bring weirdness to the youth of Austin. The store buys products that are not usually found in toy stores and doesn’t carry some of the highly manufactured toys as a way of being different. The customers shop there for that reason; they know that Toy Joy carries things they won’t find anywhere else. “I’ve lived in Austin for my whole life. It’s always just kind of been there,” said one Toy Joy patron. A little doorway takes you to Toy Joy’s tiny café, Dhaba Joy. It’s about the size of a normal bedroom, but somehow they’ve managed to fit a counter, shelves of candy, toy bins, and customers into this small space. The café is relatively new. Toy Joy bought the subway next door, giving them more space, and, for the first time, a bathroom. There are two more main areas of Toy Joy, one big space where the counter sits and slightly smaller room, where they keep smaller toys in what seems like a million little see-through cubbies. If you’re lucky during your visit there will be employees sitting outside, mostly on rubber “Rodies” (plastic, bouncy horses), playing songs with kazoos, toy accordions, slide whistles, or pipe pianos. “I shop at Toy Joy because it has unique, bizarre, and cool toys you can’t find anywhere else,” says middle-schooler, Lillian Allen, “[I love] the variety, they have everything from enormous stuffed animals
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to tiny plastic babies. It adds an element of wonder to the shop that you don’t get in any other store.” Amidst the toys sold at Toy Joy, you’ll find products from Japan, local toys, and a variety of other toys, but you will never find a “Tickle Me Elmo” on the shelves. The store prides itself in being different than big retail toy stores, and so do the customers. They know that Toy Joy carries things that they won’t find anywhere else. “I really like their selection of band aids,” says Luisa Venegoni. Along with assorted games, trinkets, music-makers, and stuffed animals, Toy Joy sells candy. They have vegan candy, gum, flavored wax moustaches, a variety of Japanese candies, and other sweets. The sweets are sold in the café, next to the counter and all around the room are rows of sweetened treasures. At the counter of Dhaba Joy you can purchase Ramune, a fruity, carbonated beverage sold in a marble bottle, vegan softserve, bubble tea, and some locally sold soft drinks. “I love Dhaba Joy; the vegan food is really good,” says Selin Kutanoglu. Toy Joy is very popular in Austin. Kids who go there tell their friends about the experiences they had there and things that they saw, because their visit to Toy Joy made an impression. Teens that go to Toy Joy sometimes bring their friends so that they can hang out there. They know the employees don’t mind. Parents shop there, too. Although most of them are there with children or shopping for children, adults like Toy Joy. Even Alan Frye, a dad in his fifties likes Toy Joy. “I have always enjoyed stores that are unique and not part of a huge chain,” Frye says. Over the years Toy Joy has been putting smiles on the faces of children of all ages. With its amazing softserve and incredible variety of toys, it’s fun for the whole family. Whether it means keeping track of the latest toy trends, or keeping a selection of nostalgic favorites, Toy Joy has always managed to stay in the hearts of its patrons. “Toy Joy really brings out the love in people,” Selin Kutanoglu reminisces.
Aust i n ABC ’ s
i s fo r Bar ton Springs
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i s fo r C apitol
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i s fo r Deep Eddy
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i s fo r Emo’s
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i s fo r F ork in the r oad
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i s fo r Graffiti
i s fo r Half-Price Bo o k s
photo by Custom Glass Doors
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g h
i s fo r I c e cr eam
i s fo r Kerbey Lane C a fé
i s fo r L adybir d Lake
photo by Chad Hanna
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i k
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photo by Ronnie Bredahl
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photo by Juan in a Million
i s fo r Juan in A Million
photo by Sheila
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b photo by AustinTex
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photo by Molly Greaves
A i s fo r Auditorium S h o r es
photo by KUT
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photo by Kinzey Patton
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p photo by Paul Stamatiou
o q r
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photo by SXSW
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is for Nor thcr os s M a l l
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i s fo r O m el ettr y
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is for P. Ter r y ’s
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is for Quack’s Ba ker y
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is for Rudy ’s
is for SXSW
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is for T hunder cl o u d Subs
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is for Upper Cr u s t baker y
t photo by Google Maps
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x photo by Donna Harris
is for Magnoli a C a fé
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is for Vulcan v i d e o
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is for Waterlo o Recor ds
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is for 101.X
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is for “T he Y”
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is for Zilker Pa r k
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By : A r i el T.
1 2 3 4 5
Top 10
F ood T een s j u s t h appen to always be h u ng r y. W h ether they ’r e eating j u n k fo o d o r fr uit they ’r e always ea ti ng.
Comp u ter s T een s ten d to be on the computer a l l th e ti m e, whether at school d o i ng wo r k or at home having fun.
Phon es M a ny p eo p le when they think of teen ager s they think of people on th e i r p h o n es, which is just so tr ue.
F aceb o o k T een ager s ar e addicted to fa c eb o o k . I t ’s an easy way to chat w i th t h ei r friends and stay up to d a t e o n a l l the social gossip.
iPod T een ager s ar e always listening to th e i r i P o d s. T hey dr own out noise, i n cl u d i ng teacher s and par ents.
Things Normal Teenagers Can’t Live Without
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6 7 8 9 10
Im ag i n a ti o n
T een s tend to live in their own h ead oblivious to the entir e wo r l d outside them. T hey only h ave their imagination so they c a n believe what they want.
Yo u T u b e
I f a ny teen wants to watch funny v ideos of cats or even their fr i en d s they just head straight to YouTube.
Go ogl e T eens can come up with the s trangest questions and they wa nt to know the answer s. No wor ries, Google knows all.
Hu l u
M i s s your favorite TV show one d ay ? N o wor ries, teens know they j u s t n eed to get on Hulu and they can watch it for fr ee.
Soda T een s drink soda like ther e’s no to m o r r ow. Not only is ther e a lot o f s u gar, b ut it also has tons of c a ffei ne so that you stay awake during the day.
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P hotos fr om Har r y P ot ter
d e ss
e s Ob
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By : Ariel T.
figure looms in 15-year-old Lily C.’s room. Slowly she’s getting used to the fact that someone else lives here, though it still gives her a shock when she sees him when she’s not expecting it. Luckily the figure in question is just a piece of cardboard that lives in her room, and is a cutout of harry potter. Lily C. is a student at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy who is majorly obsessed with Harry Potter. People who know Lily describe her as, “obsessed”, “crazy”, “weird”, “different”, and
Going into the life of a fangirl; Lily C. tells all.
“strange”. Lily isn’t like normal fans because she always brings Harry Potter into her life. Whether it’s quoting the book or being decked out in Harry Potter clothes. Lily’s obsession started when she was a young girl. Her dad started reading Harry Potter to Lily when she was in the first grade. After her dad read it to her she watched the movie and thought it was pretty cool, so she read it on her own. “I didn’t know I was obsessed until I wanted to buy wands off the internet,” Lily says recently. Lily goes around her everyday life carrying a bit of Harry Potter with her everyday. Whether it’s quoting
Ph o to c or tes y o f L i ly C.
In this pictur e Lily C. pr etends to cast a spell. In the image on the next page Lily poses with her new favorite calendar.
P ho to c o r tes y o f L i ly C.
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Harry Potter while she’s talking or wearing one of her four Harry Potter t-shirts, Harry Potter is always with her. “I have to refrain from wearing them to school sometimes,” Lily says. People find it weird if Lily wears the same shirt everyday, or a shirt with the same theme. Lily’s dad has bought her most of the Harry Potter items she has. One reason for it is because her dad just loves buying her Harry Potter related gifts. Last Christmas Lily went up to her room and there was a figure outside her door. At first she thought it was her cousin, but her cousin wasn’t visiting for this Christmas. She dropped to the floor, had a mini heart attack, and screamed. Turns out it was just a cutout of Harry Potter her dad got her. According to Lily, she had been joking when she asked her dad for a cutout of Harry Potter for Christmas. Lily feels that her cutout makes people uncomfortable sometimes, even herself.
want an obsessed friend you know to steer clear, friend of Shreya K. mentions. “[It] brings up the weirdest conversations.” Shreya continues. Lily understands that her obsession is weird. “It kind of creeps out some people when I quote the book. But they laugh so I think they find it kind of entertaining.” Lily says. Lily says that her friends understand her obsession but even she goes to far sometimes. There are a couple things she has learned just to tell to a friend because it’s to much. The big one she mentioned was that, “[during] Dumbledore’s death, I had my wand, I participated; I was there when Dumbledore died. I was there I put myself in the character book,” says Lily.
Maybe Lily is weird and says some really creepy “I don’t think the cutout is normal because the cutout things but friends of Lily feel that she is an amazing is really creepy. I had to put my brother’s underwear friend and that you just need to get used to who she is. Some people who are obsessed have cutouts of their over it’s face,” Lily says. favorite character and some just know everything Just one conversation with Lily and anyone would about them, but it is all just a part of who they are. know she’s obsessed with Harry Potter. If you don’t
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oM
Mr .
ore
asty by Megan W.
What American Idol Fans Fail to See
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All three American Idol judges (left) sit at the judging table waiting for the next audition to take place. At the right, the infamous Simon makes a face, humorously mocking his fellow judges.
ext season of American Idol. No Simon Cowell. Those two fragments shouldn’t even have to show up in the same paragraph. In fact, they should be on separate pages, chapters, or maybe even separate magazines. Unfortunately, these two fragments combined form a true sentence. There will be no trace of Simon Cowell starting next season of American Idol.
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Photo Credit: American Idol
Brit on Idol and it’s hardly about the singers showcasing their talent? People like to see other people get creamed on American Idol. It’s the truth. The show will be infinitely worse without Simon. “If you would be singing like this two thousand years ago, people would have stoned you.” Simon pulls zingers like these every day on the show, and I have to say, I find them brutally amusing. Just for the heck of the man, here’s another one: “If your lifeguard duties were as good as your singing, a lot of people would be drowning.” I’m sorry, but if these quotes don’t make up the entire show, I have no idea what does. Regardless of whether American Idol viewers choose to accept it or not, they love Simon on the show. They love his cruel sense of humor and his will to express his opinions freely. Imagine, if you will that you are the smoker, the show is the cigarette, and Simon is the lighter. Without Simon, all you’re doing is smoking a random piece of nothing. He is the excitement and the spark that the audience craves. Just admit it now, and you will be spared of any future
If you would be singing like this two thousand years ago,
Simon’s withdrawal from American Idol is a tragedy. Face it: the show needs Simon more than a plane needs its engine. Without him, the show might as well just crash into the ocean and sink to the bottom. The people who think the show will still be popular without him will be disappointed, but they won’t necessarily show it: “Simon verbally slaughters singers year after year. He’s too cruel; we wouldn’t miss him if he left American Idol. Besides, it’s all about the singers showcasing their talent.” I beg to differ. In fact, why don’t I just start by saying that everyone needs an old-fashioned
people would have stoned you.
”
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Photo Credit: American Idol
metaphors. Simon makes American Idol amusing, witty, comical... everything that an average person in the audience would want to see in a show that critiques peoples’ singing. With his professional perspective, he was able to give some of the most talented singers advice on stage performance, such as David Cook and Jordan Sparks. Believe it or not, he actually turns the contestants into better singers despite his mean demeanor and brutal comments.
always rouse an audience, but without it, I seriously doubt American Idol will be able to sustain itself. Simon is the guy we all love to hate. Or is it the other way around? Watching American Idol without “Mr. Nasty” (or “Judge Dread”) is like chewing on a piece of gum without its artificial flavoring. It’s bland. Continue to keep up with American Idol if you wish. I just hope you won’t be watching the show when it comes crashing to the ground.
An online poll was cast by The Blender, asking a population of three hundred and sixty-eight people whether American Idol can survive without Simon Cowell. Seventeen percent (sixty-four votes) said that Idol would be able to survive without him; seven percent (twenty-three votes) said that they were unsure whether it would or not; the remaining total of seventy-six percent (two hundred and eighty-one votes) said that American Idol would not survive. Simon is the barrier between the singers and their victory. This barrier delights the audience, making them want more of Simon’s hard-headed, savage comments. Without Simon, a singer could easily become the next American Idol without even trying. A challenge will
Photo Credit: American Idol
How to... s creen-print a t-shir t
1 . F ind a design you'd like to s cr een print (it should be simple) Trace the design in pencil on the paper side of a sheet of transparency paper.
2. then cut along the lines with the X-acto knife (remember that you will be using the sheet itself, not what you cut out of it)
3. Pull the transparency sheet off and put it on your screen.
4. Make sure there are no places where the ink can get through and check for bubbles (you might get weird blobs on the print).
5. First you need to test it on a piece of thicker paper first, so that you know what it will look like on the shirt and you don’t waste a shirt.
6. Position your screen where you want it the image. To make it align correctly try putting dots on the screen and tape on the shirt and matching them up.
You will need•a design •an X-acto knife •contact paper •screen-printing ink •a screen-printing screen •a squeegee •a t-shirt •cardboard •tape •a heat gun •extra paper, or newspaper •gloves (optional) If burned•Q-tips •Bleach
If yo u n eed a way to fi n d su p p l i es, yo u ca n get i n k , a s c r ee n , a n d a s q u eegee a t yo u r l o c a l a r t for a s em i - expen s ive p r i c e, b u t th ey w i l l be n ew. Yo u mig h t ch eck cra igl i s t, b u t they ’ r e o ften sol d i n s c r een pr i n ti ng s ets, or yo u c o u l d ask th e a r t dep a r tm en t a t yo u r s ch o o l i f they w i l l l en d yo u s u p p l i es. Yo u c a n get sh i r ts a t T a r get o r Wa l m a r t for a d ec en t pr i c e, b u t I su g ges t getti ng a p a ck age o f sh i r ts i f yo u ’ r e pla n n i ng o n pr i n ti ng a l o t. Yo u c a n a l s o fin c o n ta c t pa p er at T a r get. C a r d b o a r d ca n b e go tten a t m o s t du m p s ter s.
7. Put ink on the squeegee and put it on the screen in front of the image (make sure the squeegee is big enough for your image).
8. Hold your screen down firmly, and starting on one side, pull the squeegee at a 45 angle
9. On the last pull you should push a little harder on the squeegee.
10. Put your shirt on a piece of cardboard, this way the ink won’t get through to the other side. Now screen-print your t-shirt.
11. Get the heat gun and heat-set the shirt, so that it doesn’t smear. Hold the heat gun about and inch away from the shirt, make sure you don’t hold it in the same place for too long, otherwise you’ll burn it.
happy printing !
Handy tip! If you do burn it, you can use bleach and a q-tip to get it out. Rub the q-tip fast, it will activate the bleach and the brown spot will slowly disappear. Then you will want to wash the shirt as soon as possible to get the bleach out, otherwise the bleach will damage the shirt.
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Adding C r e a t i v i t y t o a Bo r i n g A r t i c l e
T h i s i s th e Or ig i n a l A r ti ca l ta ken fr o m : http : / / w w w. sta tes m a n . c o m / new s / l o c a l / ca p i t a l - m etr o weeken d - tr a i n s dr ew - c r owd s b u t- n o - 6 6 6 1 6 7 . htm l
Bla cko u t p o etr y is a fo r m o f “fo u n d � p o etr y tha t i s d o n e by s el ec tively ch o o s i ng wo r d s tha t r el a te to ea ch other. Meanwhile, the r est is blacked out. T his new for m of po et r y all ow s fo r a s i m p l er appr oach to discovering a cr eative work of ar t. Megan W. an d Ar i el T. b o th ea ch cr eated a blackout poem on the same ar ticle, r esulting in two ver y differ en t p o em s.
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Bl a cko u t p o em by A r i el T. Ru n w i th m e a n d c el eb r a te r ea l i ty. D o n o t u s e a n um b r el l a a n d r i d e th e b u s.
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Bl a cko u t p o em by M ega n W. r u n n i ng fo r th e fi r s t ti m e c a n o n ly o ffer l ig h t a n d h o p e. T h e m a i n o b s ta cl e i s t o p er s ever e s o get i n p o s i ti o n a n d r u n . C h a r ge w i th t h e s p eed o f yo u r h ea r t.
Photo by Disney Studios
Animatch-off
Y
ou chose a movie to see, put it in, and sit down on the couch to watch it. It is the ever-popular princess fairy tale, the classic, “Oh no! The princess is in trouble, I hope a strapping young prince comes and saves her”, accompanied by simple animation. Or, another scenario: instead of simplicity, there is a magical adventure to another land where the creatures amaze you and the human characters learn good lessons together in a stunningly drawn landscape, which lets no small detail slide. The difference between these two films is big. The stereotypical, facile one is a Disney movie and the other, a Miyazaki film. Disney is very simplistic; they are all stolen fairy tales about princesses: The Little Mermaid, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and there is even one based off a Rudyard Kipling book ( Jungle Book) and something is to be desired of the animation style. Yes, it makes the characters look pretty and cute, but it would be nice, for once, to see a tree that doesn’t look as is you had gotten a green cloud and jammed it onto a stick. And another thing; why hasn’t there been a black princess until so recently? What took them so long? There was once a Disney movie portraying African-Americans as slaves. To this day it is absolutely and completely impossible to get a copy of the movie, “Song of the South”, which was deemed racist by many people. The only thing Disney has going for it is the classic tunes in all of stories that make them so appealing to kids. I will always remember singing along with “The Lion King” when I was five, but then again, I didn’t even know about Miyazaki then. Miyazaki’s films have magnificent air of suspenseful magic to them. In “My neighbor Totoro” characters, Mei and Satsuki, fly over the countryside in the catbus. In “Nausicaä of the valley of the wind”, Nausicaä calms an Ohmu (a giant roly-poly-like creature which gets as big as a house) with a bug whistle, while riding her glider craft. The adventures never cease to get better and better with each new film. Even though there are hardly as many Miyazaki films as there are Disney, Miyazaki makes up for it in quality. His animation captures every little detail of every tree, rock, and small pattern. This is quite hard, considering that he has only used digital paint on one movie. After using digital paint he changed back to hand-drawn saying that, “hand drawing on paper is the fundamental of animation.”
By Celeste F.
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“My Neighbor, Totoro” is one of Miyazaki’s most famous films, along with “Spirited Away”, which won and Oscar award for Best Animated Feature in 2002. The only awards Disney films have won were for music and other musicrelated things. So, for example, if anyone ever gives you the option of watching “Castle in the Sky” or “Beauty and the Beast” I hope you know which one to choose. Nausicaa (prinSo, if anyone ever cess of the valgives you the ley of the wind) option of stands next to an watching Ohmu “Castle in the Sky” or “Beauty and the Beast” I hope you know which one to choose.
P i c tu r e by Haya o M i ya z a k i
Blink