The Word Is Out. “There are no regrets in life, just lessons.� Jennifer Aniston
Contents... Editorial
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How to become famous!
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15 minutes of fame
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Discursive : Is a life of a celebrity really that perfect?
8-9
Interview with Mr. McDevitt
10
A Celebrity Poem
11
Blinding Lights
12-13
Ask Dave
14-15
Becoming famous online
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Hot and Not
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Editorial This issue’s topic is about fame.
ridiculous hair is a must.
I will be talking about fame.
Girl that falls helplessly in love with supernatural force.
On the subject of fame… Concerning fame … This is due in about 16 hours and I have an enormous writer’s block, barring my way to a great editorial like a gigantic whale. But reflecting on that, with what I’ve got now I could probably whip up the next bestselling novel. A romantic saga involving sparkling undead? Check. Ever since Twilight, vampires have become the laughing stock of literature. If literature even exists now. Any romantic vampire turd could make its way to become the next bestseller. And here is my super quick fail safe recipe… Random supernatural beings, usually male and hot. Abs and 4
Add more of that.
Pathetic “Bad guys” who are powerless against the male protagonist. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. Girl finds out boy is not human. Vampire? Ok. Zombie? Ok. Alien? Ok. Obstacles in form of other being, human or not. Obstacle in form of resulting fight between protagonists leaving them hurt and heartbroken. Obstacle in form of stupidity of girl. Obstacle in form of stupidity of boy. Obstacle in form of something trying to kill the girl.
In which boy saves girl and make up. Epic battle at the end in which good triumphs evil. Happily ever after. Yay.
a million teenage girls. Bon appetite. Side dishes include bowls of flakey romance, and glitter kebab.
Warning: The cheese may react Cook like lasagna. Start with with brain cells to cause exfirst layer, generous help- treme vomiting. If you don’t ings of unnecessary fourhave any, dig in and ask for cheese in between, and also seconds. Haha. grated uber-level-cheese. I’ve also had time to put toRepeat. Since you’re going gether a quick recipe for a to be using a lot of song to top the charts… cheese, stick with low quality cheese. Super fast, 1) super cheap. 2) Once that is done, triple 3) coat it again with melted Yeah, unless you sound like a cheese. Bake in 3 million degrees to dying crippled tone deaf seal, auto-tune will take you miles evaporate any degree of logical sense, conversation and beyond. and character. So it’s not that I can’t become Compensate little sense with famous, fame just isn’t worth cheese, cheese, more it anymore. cheese. Serves unlimited helpings to
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Become famous! Be born naturally drop dead gorgeous! Have really, really rich parents who are famous and every body loves them! Be loved by everybody or loathed by everyone! Be talented (this step isn’t necessary but it helps)! Be magical! Or, date a celeb and then dump them in a very public way! Donate lots of money to charity (but keep a lot MORE for yourself) Have a dog that fits in your handbag/manbag. Have a Time Lord made handbag (bigger on the inside)! Spam other peoples’ You Tube pages asking “SUB4SUB” Audition for a reality TV show!
Go to third world countries a lot. It is compulsory to bring a camera crew!
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I never wanted to be famous. You wouldn’t really expect it from someone like me. I was just a normal school girl; I don’t know how it came to this. You see, I don’t really think I am cut out for it. So, I will tell you a story, just about, me. It started about a year ago. I…wasn’t really known in school. Oh, by the way. This is limited to school fame. I was walking along the main corridor of school. When I bumped into someone and dropped my books, nobody batted an eyelash. I miss those times, but then, I wanted it gone. I wanted to be noticed, me, Alicia Aragio. I was sort of stupid in my eyes. One day, as I was pondering to myself about how to be known, I heard a squeal that sounded like one of those popular girls in school. She had pretty long, blonde hair and was wearing a purple turtleneck (I don’t know what it’s called, go with it, I think I am right) and a blue, bit too high skirt. I saw a guy (OMG he was HOT!) who was about to punch her, break up I’m guessing. I don’t know why, but I called insults at him, distracting him so the girl could escape. Let’s just say I came out with a few bad bruises and a cut on my cheek. The girl introduced herself as Kelly. She was really thankful of how I saved her and asked me to join her group. I said yes of course. Soon, I was famous. Well, popular, not everybody knew me. I didn’t understand the circumstances though, people would talk to me, and I would try and help them with their needs. That meant people would keep on asking me to do things, and I couldn’t ruin my reputation. Then, I got busy; everybody wanted me to do their dirty work for them. When I said no they started to dislike me, I thought it wouldn’t go too far but…they started to make and ‘I Hate Alicia Club’. Why take it so far? Then I realized my so called ‘friends’ started spreading fake rumors about me. Everybody joined this hate club and tried to make my life miserable. Here I am now, I try to hide every day, and the more famous outlook got to me here. I didn’t want this to happen. I wish I could go back and reverse this. 7
Discursive : Is a life of a celebrity really that perfect? We always feel depressed when we flip through glossy magazines filled with these flawless pictures of celebrities with their perfect bodies and the unnecessary expenses they buy just for the fun of it. Even though they make us quite envious of their picture-perfect life, we can’t help but to go with the urge to pry about their private lives and talk about them. They say that the ones with the most practiced smiles hide the darkest secrets. So is the life of a celebrity really that glamorous? Word is Out investigates. Snow: Firstly, history proves celebrities who shine the brightest burn out just as fast. Lindsay Lohan, for example, started off as a young and talented actress. She had so much potential but drugs and bad influence makes her now a popular celebrity drug-addict example parents use to scare their children from giving up their dreams of becoming a star. Sarah: On the other hand, think of all the money a star earns per movie? If shooting just one TV show episode earns a person $200,000 per episode, wouldn’t anyone jump into the opportunity of being a celebrity? After all, you would barely have to do anything, and become a thousandaire in minutes!
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Snow: Drugs in the celebrity circle, can be compared to as the common cold in our world. What was going on in the heads of icons like Michael Jackson, Marilyn Monroe, etc. when they were taking in these massive amounts of drugs? This will stay a blurry mystery forever. But these people all used drugs for various reasons. Whether it’s the massive pressure their under, etc.
Sarah: Conversely, becoming famous doesn’t have to be that hard. Rebecca Black did one music video, which was considered poorly made, and she is now so famous, she got invited to the Grammys, along with all the other stars that actually make good music. Snow: Not only is drug abuse a huge issue in why celebrities spin out of control, the pressure from fans and the paparazzi can be just too much to handle. Being loved by so many fans can be flattering but many celebrities have no privacy at all. Many celebrities can’t live a normal life without being stalked by paparazzi or fans. If a single picture goes viral, everyone will be taking about it and rumors will spread faster than any other deadly epidemic. These stars are made of plastic, but that doesn’t mean that they won’t feel anything or be devastated when people send them death threats and repeatedly call them gay or slutty. Sarah: When you’re a celebrity, you can beat up a car, go commando in public in a mini skirt, drink all you want to while driving and still stay a celebrity like Britney Spears. Of course, and you won’t be charged for drinking and driving, nothing for assaulting a car, and no charges of public indecency, whereas if you were a normal everyday person, you'd be arrested immediately. Though this is naturally against most people’s morals, wouldn’t it be great to live life without any worries? Snow: In conclusion, being a celebrity is pretty grandeur as you get all the fame and money but with all the benefits comes a lot of consequences as well. They have to stay grounded and be around the right people to not spin out of control. Demi Lovato went to rehab and now she’s back more famous than ever. Being a real celebrity takes lots of devotion, passion in your career and strength.
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with Mr. McDevitt
No! I used to be a musician, and I knew some famous people then. I met Justin Bieber once. It was in Toronto. He was working in a Tim Horton’s coffee shop, which was above his station in life. Irvine Welsh-He is an author and could tell me stories. Sean Penn, he did a lot of charity work. I have no interest in being famous. Having to answer questions in interviews. I still wouldn’t want to be famous. (BythewayMr.Tighemademedothis) Elvis and Priscilla. My favorite celebrity is Nelson Mandela, because he epitomizes everything that is good about the world.
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Vibrant lights Roused clamor Flickers of light Extreme glamour.
Papers after paper Tired, sore arms Just keep on smiling
Bags under eyes
Continue to charm.
Another long day To sit and pretend Waste your life away.
Cameras are everywhere You cannot hide All the rumors that subside
Unseen by the public
Hurts deep inside.
Of internal pains Unnoticeable feint act
Glamour so evident
The façade remains.
Media preordained Deem forlorn
Accomplishments surpassed
Everything unexplained.
Yet feeling incomplete Life is such Full of Deceit
Oblivious out in the open Hide your pain Just keep on smiling.
Nobody knows
Cover up the Feign.
What it’s like to be them. Many unknown facts All condemned.
Media fakes Public makes buzz Having fame makes life
The industry may seem glamorous
Nothing like it was.
But it is far from glam Every action you make May be looked upon as a scam.
Nobody knows the truth Behind the screen From the public view’s eye
All we see is
Much is unseen.
The orthodox of show biz. Vibrant lights Roused clamor Flickers of light Extreme glamour.
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Dear Dave, When it comes to the social aspect of school, I am at the bottom of the pecking order, the lowest of the low. Even though I work hard at school, it doesn’t seem to matter when we are out of the classroom. People just don’t seem to see me. My lack of popularity really gets me down; is there ANY way that I can instantly boost my popularity? Thank you very much, Hopeless
Dear Hopeless, People can get very focused on the idea of "being popular". There are whole TV shows (such as Glee) largely based on this very issue. Many young people think at some point, "I wish I was the cool kid that everyone wants to hang out with". But let's be realistic: not everyone can be that person. However, it's sometimes easy to think that if you're not that person then you're not good enough. Don't believe this! You don't have to popular to be a worthwhile person. However, nobody likes to feel they're at the bottom of the pecking order. It's not a fun place to be, so if you would like to improve your social life a bit, then that's fine and there are some things you could do about that. But be warned: there are no magic ways to instantly make yourself more popular; these things always take a bit of time, so please don't expect instant results because you're likely to just be disappointed. Be a bit patient and maybe try out some of these suggestions. 1. Improve your friendships. If you feel unhappy socially then improving your friendships should certainly help. Think about the friends you have and look for ways to spend some extra time with them and do things together, either at school or outside school. If there are other people you only know a little bit but would like to become friends with them, then find something you have in common so you can talk with them about it. Be nice and friendly to them, compliment them when you can (people tend to like this as long as it's genuine) and try to build up a friendship with them slowly. 15
2. Get more involved in activities. One of the benefits of being at Patana is there are heaps of ECA's, events and other projects to get involved in. So try something new, either something that one of your friends is already doing, or convince a friend to sign up with you for something new and interesting, such as an ECA next term, one of the House events, one of the community activities or even a drama production. Not only will people get to see you in a different way, but you will increase your selfconfidence by pushing yourself to do something different, you'll get the chance to meet some new people and develop some new friendships, and hopefully have some fun along the way! 3. Focus on your strengths. Everyone has things that they are good at and other things they are not so good at. Whatever it is you are good at, whether it be music, maths, helping others, being organised, swimming, debating or whatever, find an opportunity to increase your strengths and use them in a meaningful way. Everyone likes to feel recognised and appreciated a bit and focusing on our strengths is one way this can happen. 4. Keep up your schoolwork. Don't let these other things start getting in the way of your schoolwork, because that will just create other problems for you. You will get respect from others if you can maintain your schoolwork while also improving your friendships and getting involved in activities. I hope these suggestions help you a bit. Good luck! Cheers, Dave daog@patana.ac.th
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http://www.youtube.com/, a site not only for watching videos but maybe also a source of fame. Only five years ago one of the loved pop star Justin Bieber’s videos was clicked by accident on YouTube by a singing expert who was impressed and made JB big with a little help from Usher. But all credit of course goes to YouTube, the source of fame. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, My Video, Skype: All these are social networks which are browsed through every single day by millions of people, there is no account on those sites which has never been viewed. This also can lead to clicks, which can lead to liking, and that news can be spread. This is all bad grammar but might still make sense. Let’s think I (amazing me ;)) make a video of myself singing… let’s say… Titanium. Ok seriously, I would never be able to get those high tones from Sia out of my mouth, but anyway, this is only an example. Video viewers who spend hours watching videos on YouTube accidently (I know this is copied off JB), or maybe not clicks on my video and looks at it. There is a 50% of chance that that person likes what he hears/ sees. On YouTube there is this Like/Dislike button which counts all the people who liked what they saw/ heard, and if more and more people click it, more and more people watch the video, some people will then spread news of the channel. Some people may know the channel thecomputernerd01. It is known in every country in the world and is a channel that started small. Maybe you could get famous one day, on YouTube and then in the whole world. The key to fame might be any social media website.
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