Reeds Spring High School PULSE

October 2012

How Should you spend your money?

The Origin origin of halloween

Classroom Discipline: Mr. Davis style mr.

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We are...

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THE WOLVES! 3

Creative Ways to Spend Money Page 6 Cover Stories The Origin of Halloween Page 16

Embarrassing Stories page 12 Freshman Survival page 13

A New Health Code page 18 NCAA Footbal Kickoff page 20 NFL Kickoff page 21

Politics page 14 Game Reviews page 22

Stay Active in Fall page 28

Surviving the Haunting page 11 4

A Day In The Shoes Of The Sith Page 8

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FEATURE

Creative Ways To Spend Money

By Mackenzie Mattix

It is no secret that money is tight, especially if you’re a teenager with a minimum wage job. Most of our money, though, is used on things that aren’t necessities. Teens like to spend their money on clothes, food, and snacks. A lot of this spent money is on little things that don’t seem like much, but over time it all adds up to a big number. There are tons of simple ways to save an extra buck or two, though, and it will make a big difference in the long run.

Let’s tackle shopping first. This is for the ladies of the school, since it is hard for us to resist a shopping trip with a group of friends. Are there any local stores or thrift shops that you regularly visit? It might be a little embarrassing at first, but ask if the original price is the best they can offer you. You never know, you could score a nice discount for asking. Often times you can come across coupons that are a few days late. It never hurts to ask the cashier if they will still allow you to use the expired coupon, and most of the time, they will let you use it.

Have you ever bought anything just because it was cheap? You didn’t fall in love with it, but it was such great price that you just though “why not?” Or

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have you been drawn in by those great ‘buy one, get one half off’ sales? Sure, they may be a deal, but spent money is still lost money. You don’t have to give in to their tricks! Settle for the one and drop the half-off item. Ask yourself if you want to spend your hard earned money on the cheaper item. It all adds up in the end.

Just a rule of thumb, don’t shop hungry, especially if you’re making a quick trip to the grocery store. It is easy to grab a quick snack to satisfy your hunger, but there goes your money! Grab something before you leave the house. You’ll save a few dollars along the way and it is healthier than going for a candy bar or chips.

Here’s another little trick; try to put one item back every time you shop. Every bit counts and ditching that something extra to save twenty bucks is worth it! Let’s be honest, do you need to buy that game on the app store? Probably not. Skip it for now and ask for iTunes gift cards for special occasions. By that time, chances are you have forgotten about the app and kept the dollar.

Who said that you have to shop for new clothes? Instead of replacing damaged clothing, repair it! Sewing a ripped seam doesn’t take a lot of time at all. You don’t

have to know how to work a sewing machine either - use a closely colored thread and a regular needle. No one will be able to tell the difference. There are a lot of creative ways to reuse clothes, too. Cut those too-short jeans into shorts and turn that shirt into a scarf. Pinterest, people; it is a great place to look for that sort of thing. How about having a clothes swapping party? Gather some of your friends and have them bring their old clothes. Meet at someone’s house and throw all the clothes into a pile, then pick out the ones that you like. They may not be new, but they are new to you and it saves a ton of money. Take all the left over clothes that no one wants and donate them to a charity. Christian Associates or Goodwill always accepts unwanted clothes.

Now, time to address the issue of going out for entertainment. We all love to hit the movie theater for a new release or hang out at a restaurant on the weekends. However, movies are getting pricey and spending a hearty amount at a restaurant doesn’t take a second thought. A few smart changes can ease the entertainment bill without having to completely drop going out for the evening.

A lot of people use the excuse of going to a restaurant to get a soda or special drink. How about bringing a powdered drink mix to add to the free water instead of spending four dollars on fancy lemonade? Or just bring your own bottle of soda. I’m pretty sure you won’t get thrown out for bringing in a drink. It might just save a little bit of cash for you. Check and see if you can order the lunch portion at dinner instead of the full portion. The majority of the time the two portions are close to being the same size, but the dinner portion has a raised price. You could also agree on a meal with a friend and have the restaurant spilt the plate between the two of you. That way you pay half the price and won’t have any left overs crowding the refrigerator. Even though the dessert is the best part of any meal, skip it and eat the cookies that we all have stashed at home instead. With the right portion size it is healthier, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to treat yourself to dessert

FEATURE

every once in a while! On the run and have to zip through the drive through?

Order from the kid’s menu; it has a lower price and a free toy!

You don’t have to go out for dinner to still have a good time. Set up a night where everyone can come over, but have each of them bring a homemade dish! Dinner becomes a larger variety of food and a good time. You can also have friends over for coffee instead of going to an expensive chain coffee shop. You can make your favorite drinks and even create your own with a fraction of the cost.

Of course, no one can say no to a movie premiere! Now that there are a ton of movies coming out in 3D, movie tickets are getting a little outrageous. Instead of going to a midnight releases, go to the matinée the next day. There won’t be as much of a crowd (there’s nothing worse than sitting next to that old guy who coughs every three seconds) and matinée prices are at least two dollars cheaper, if not more. I know afternoon movies aren’t always as fun as evening movies, so if you have a large group of friends to go to an evening movie, buy your tickets in bulk and they might give you a discount! There’s always the option of staying home for the evening, too.

Have your friends come over for a movie that none of you have seen yet. It is kind of like seeing a new movie, but a heck of a lot cheaper.

Don’t buy popcorn, candy, and soda at the theater. There isn’t even that much in the popcorn bag and it is overpriced.

Most theaters let you bring in your own food, anyway, so why buy their expensive snacks? Pop a couple bags of popcorn at home and you’ll have enough popcorn to last you past the opening credits.

Wal-Mart always has that giant bin of one dollar boxes of candy that are great for movies and you can always bring your own soda; you just saved enough money to get a whole other movie ticket. If you frequent the Branson Meadows, consider buying their five dollar popcorn buckets.

On Tuesdays, they give out free popcorn to anyone who has a bucket. It will pay for itself really quickly and it is pretty great if you have a hankering for popcorn on a Tuesday evening.

Alright, this one is super easy and it adds

up quicker than you would think. The majority of people hate carrying around change with them. If that happens to be you, get a jar and put it in your room. At the end of each day empty your change into the jar and after a couple of months you can count it all up and change it in for paper money. You might surprise yourself with how much money you can have with just the coins. Everyone loves getting discounts on anything, so check out daily deal websites like groupon.com, socialbuy.com, and scoopst.com. They can offer deals on anything from food to hotels to beauty products. There are also websites where people who have gift cards, but don’t want them, sell the cards online for up to thirty percent of their face value. The websites are plasticjungle.com, giftcardrescue.com and giftcardsagain.com. If you fill up your car at Wal-Mart with a Wal-Mart gas gift card you can save three cents on each gallon.

Now through Christmas you can save ten cents as an extra bonus. I know it doesn’t seem like a lot, but as I have been saying, it all adds up!

Saving money doesn’t have to be only about saving some extra cash. If you make goals for the things that you want to save up for if really helps with making it easier. I know, we have all heard the setting goals thing before, but it actually works. Write your goals down and put it in a place that you see every day so you constantly are reminding yourself of those goals. Saving money can be quite the task and might take some lifestyle adjustments, but in the end it all adds up to be worth it.

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SIDE STORY

A Day In The Shoes Of The Sith

By Eden Branstetter

money. His second hour is his plan period. During that, he usually grades classwork, fixes computers around the school, or helps out teachers if they have any questions about technology. His third hour is Accounting; they normally meet up in the library to do that. He teaches them the action or process of keeping financial accounts. His fourth hour is Personal Finance again, and so is his fifth hour. His sixth hour is Computer Applications, a class that shows you how to use Microsoft Office properly. Last but not least, his seventh hour is Computer Art, which involves any art that computers play a role in production or display of the artwork.

Have you ever wondered what teachers do beyond school? Like what activities they are involved in or what they do after school every day. Well, you are about to find out about one of them: Mr. Davis.

Here at Reeds Spring High School, he teaches Personal Finance, Accounting, and Computer Applications. He’s also the assistant girls’ basketball coach for the High School.

Mr. Davis starts his day off by waking up and taking a shower. After he does that, he fixes his hair. This takes up about half a bottle of gel, by the way.

Then he gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and eats some cereal. Finally, he grabs a Diet Mountain Dew and hits the road to go to the High School.

When he gets to school, he goes to his classroom and either checks his e-mail or finishes up some grading from the previous school day. Basically, he prepares himself for the rest of the day. If it is a Monday morning, he attends the Breakfast Club shooting in the High School gym at 7 am. After that, his first hour is Personal Finance, where he teaches how to make financial decisions and help with budgeting and saving

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After school, if there is a home game, he loves to go and support the Reeds Spring Softball team. He helps set up, plays music for their warm-up, announces everything, and keeps score. If not, he will stay after school and finish up grading for the day. If the weather is nice, he and his family might go out on the boat or his wife and he may go kayaking. They eat dinner at some point after that, and then they go to bed.

If you know Mr. Davis, you know well that he is obsessed with Star Wars. He has always liked Star Wars since he was a kid. He has a mural in his basement of his family as different Star Wars characters. Mr. Davis has a wife; her name is Rhonda. She is a counselor at the Elementary school. He has two kids named Aubrey and Brooke.

Aubrey is 6 years old and she’s a first grader in Mrs. Moler’s class. She’s very shy, if she doesn’t know you. Brooke is 10 years old and she’s a fifth grader in Mrs. Meadow’s class. She plays softball, volleyball, and basketball, and she is very outgoing, just like her dad.

Sydney Mason is her best friend. She is a very loud child.

She’s a pitcher on

the softball team and she’s a lefty.

Mr. Davis coaches the Reeds Spring JV girls basketball team. Mr. Davis likes to scrimmage against the team in practice, and picks on them to make them better. His bald head gets very sweaty when he does this. During games, he sits on the bench and talks to the players about what they did wrong while they were in the game. He is also in charge of discipline, so if someone is late to practice or skips, then he decides how much conditioning they have to do.

During the summer, Mr. Davis coaches his daughter Brooke’s softball team. They play at the Rec Plex Center in Branson. They start practices in April and have two practices a week. They have a game or two each week. Next year, they plan on going to a couple of tournaments.

If you ever need brownie points, bring Mr. Davis some yummy goodies like cupcakes, brownies, cookies, or even Butter Fingers and Twix. If you ever go down C hallway on a Friday and you’re wondering who is blasting Friday

by Rebecca Black, it’s Mr. Davis. He loves to play music during class, as well.

Mr. Davis is one of the most well-known teachers in this school. He’s very loud and outgoing, but an awesome teacher. If you ever need any help with a computer or something involving technology, he’s the one to go to. Even if you don’t have anything he can help you with, he is definitely a teacher you want to get to know!

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SIDE STORY

Do It Yourself

By Autumn Ward

In the last DIY article, the crafts were just fun, easy projects that could be for anything. This article is dedicated to Halloween crafts! I mean, it IS October! The first one is a personal favorite. You can place it virtually anywhere or even hang it!

Ghost Craft

Materials: Paper cups Balloons Cheesecloth Fabric stiffener Tacky glue Procedure: First off you’ll want to stack 2 paper cups and set them aside. Then inflate a small balloon and lay it atop the cups. Depending on how large you want to make your balloon, you may want to adjust the size of the cheesecloth, but for the purpose of this article I stuck with a smaller balloon. If this is the case for you, cut the cheesecloth into pieces that measure about 8 square inches. This will give you enough to cover the small balloon. After you’ve done this you’ll need to fill a bowl with the fabric softener. Soak the cheesecloth squares you just cut into this bowl. After they have soaked for a little bit, quickly – one by one – lay the cheesecloth square over the balloon. Let them dry for about 10 minutes or until stiff. While you’re waiting for them to dry, you can go ahead and cut small circles out of your black felt for the eyes. Going back to the cheesecloth and balloon, pop the balloon with a needle or anything else that will do the job. Finally you’ll want to glue the felt eyes onto the cheesecloth with the tacky glue. To add some extra flair, I suggest pulling on the edges of the cheesecloth to give your craft a more “ghostly” appearance.

The next craft is a lot of fun and allows you to add your own personal flair. It can even be modified to accommodate other holidays, they just won’t be “haunting” if you do.

Haunting Terrariums Materials:

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Jars Hot glue Halloween trinkets (creepy plastic bugs) A sturdy twig Spray paint (black or white for Halloween) Floral moss ($2.99 @ jamaligarden.com) Procedure: First, make sure you clean the jars you use so there isn’t any leftover residue. Next, glue the twig you got in your backyard to the lid of the jar. Make sure it is sturdy enough to hold the trinkets. Now glue the spooky Halloween trinkets to the twig. Spray paint the twig and trinkets with your chosen color of spray paint. Let it all dry before you try to touch it. (Common sense!)

This next step is optional, but I feel like it adds to the overall appearance. You can fill the jar with water and even food coloring; skip this step if the water will ruin your trinkets. That’s all there is to it!

Flip it upside down so your trinkets are in the right direction.

This project may cost a little more, but if you have a little brother you can make these for daily use.

Bug Soaps

Materials: Candy thermometer Soap mold ($3.29 for 4 – createforless. com) Extra-clear soap base ($8.15 for 2 lbs – wholesalesupplies.com) Plastic bug toys Procedure: First follow the soap base instructions to make the base. Next using the candy thermometer melt the soap base on the stove until it reaches 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Now place one plastic bug, belly up, into each soap mold. After you’ve done this and the soap base has reached 140 degrees, slowly pour the soap base into each mold until it reaches the top.

Wait a little bit for the bubbles to rise and then scrape them off with a knife. Let the molds cool overnight on a flat surface

and then you’ve got bug soaps!

“Welcome” Sign Materials: Paper letters Old picture frame Small tacks Yarn (orange, black, purple) Stretchy cotton Fake spiders Procedure: Start off by taking the glass out of the old picture frame; it won’t be used. Then fasten the small tacks onto the back of the frame. Take your colored yarn and stretchy cotton and zigzag them across the tacks to create a spider web effect.

To add to the project, you can stick creepy plastic bugs and spiders throughout the cotton and yarn. All that’s left to do is place the letters into the yarn and cotton and you’ve made your welcomesign!

This next craft may take a little more work, a few more hands and an ideal spot to place it.

Yarn Spiderweb

Materials: Yarn Scissors Procedure: First off you’ll need to choose a place that is visible but you don’t need to walk through. Once you’ve finished you won’t be able to walk through it. You might measure the place you plan on constructing the web so you can cut the right size strands. Start with a horizontal and a vertical strand. These will be the start of your supports. Cut a really long strand to weave through the vertical and horizontal strands. Depending on the size of your web you might not need much. Weave this strand until you’ve created the spider web pattern. You’ll notice that the web looks a little flimsy. This is why you’ll want to add more supports! Add more supports by cutting strands that you’ll attach to the original crossroads of the horizontal and vertical support. These supporting strands will create a snowflake effect. To add some personal flair to your web, you can cut out paper spiders and other Halloween theme characters to glue to the yarn! Have fun with it!

SIDE STORY

Surviving The Haunting

By Marrissa Peebles

Halloween is just around the corner and if you’re looking for something fun, then here’s an idea; go to haunted place! Now, you shouldn’t go alone, and if you’re a girl, bring a guy. It makes it less scary and you’ll feel safer. I went with a car full of girls and couldn’t finish it without going back to get a guy. You need at least one with you. He’ll try to act all tough and it won’t be so scary. If you do end up going, but you’re not looking forward to it, sit in the back. It’s easier to distract yourself and pretend that it’s just a normal drive. Unless it’s a place that involves getting out of your car; then you may want to sit that one out.

If you prefer to stay in the area, there are several legends of haunted places; even the middle school is listed as one.

Legend has it that at night, you can hear a basketball dribbling in the gym.

Scary, right? Freshmen, be glad you don’t go there anymore! There’s no way to test this one out unless you’re there at night, though. Shepard of the Hills outdoor theater reports have the ghost of a Confederate soldier who appears during some night time productions; he is usually seen running away from the actors. Another haunted place is called Nolan Road. To get there, take US 65 N of Branson to US 465 Ozark Mountain highroad and take a left, then turn left again on US 248. Take the first road on the right; it’s the Ralstin Rd/ Sycamore Church Road exit. Keep going south on Sycamore Church Road for several miles and past the RR tracks. Just over a mile past the tracks the road splits, and Nolan Road is on your left. If you feel like wandering up to Springfield, then Google “Haunted Places in Springfield, Missouri” and you’ll find many haunted places.

One night, Pulse writer Callie Thomas, senior Keesha Maynard, a family member, and I went to one of the haunted places listed above - Nolan Road. Legend has it that hand prints will show up on your car. Sadly, I never made it to the other locations because of time issues, and I was too scared. I drove that night, and let me emphasis; don’t go with a car full of girls. We were at the beginning of Sycamore Church Road, and there was a gravel clearing so I pulled over to get directions. The girls in

the back started freaking out, thinking we had to get out of the car. It was a rough start. We finally put it in drive and started driving. It’s a curvy road and I had driven it before, but the other girls had never been down it before, except one who had only been there during the day. I was a little creeped out when I got past the point I had been to before, but I stayed calm. The road got narrower and narrower, to the point where if a car came from the other direction, one would have to pull over. However, there’s no room to pull over without going off the ditch and into the river. By this point, the girls in the back were telling me to turn around, but I kept driving, even though I did want to leave. I was determined to keep going.

We passed an area with a clearing and a picnic table; but this is in the middle of nowhere, and it’s not a park. I started to ignore my surroundings and continued driving for at least another mile. The road started getting creepier, and then you see the railroad tracks. It looked like a bridge, and the road looked like it was a dead end. You can’t see past the railroad at night. I stopped the car and put it in park. I refused to go on. None of our phones were working, including our GPS, and it was impossible to turn around.

Keesha noticed the remains of a house in the woods. I moved to the backseat, declaring that I wouldn’t drive any further.

My cousin was with us and she moved to

the front, and although she was scared, she put the car in reverse and found a place where she could turn around. We booked it out of there, and called her husband. We begged him to go with us; he refused Finally, after much begging, we got our friend Austin to go with us, along with my mom. Austin drove and my mom sat passenger seat, while Callie, Keesha, and I piled in the back. I distracted myself with my phone until we got back to the railroad crossing. Austin, of course, played it off like it was no big deal and sped through. This time, I had service. I used my GPS to make sure we took the right turns. For some reason, the blue dot on the GPS kept swerving all over the path we were on, yet we were going in a straight line. Creepy, right? Austin convinced us that the scariest thing we would see going back would be a sheriff questioning us. We drove so fast that we didn’t go down the right road, though, and nothing happened. We did see a police car, though! Thank goodness we weren’t questioned.

Could the legend be true? Perhaps, but I refuse to go back; you’re on your own.

Good luck, and be safe!

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SIDE STORY

Embarrassing Stories

By Callie Thomas

When I was in grade school, I wore a skirt to school. I went to the bathroom, and then came back for recess, and all through recess I was being laughed at and couldn’t understand why. After recess my friend told me why they were laughing - the back of my skirt was tucked into my underwear.

A few years ago, I was at my friend’s house and it was really early in the morning and I woke up to go the bathroom.

While in there, I accidentally knocked the whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet and my friend’s dad had to come down and get it out. It was really embarrassing.

When I was 5, I stuck a Runt up my nose and had to get it surgically removed.

One day in 5th grade, we had a substitute that didn’t know the rules of the class because my teacher never left lesson plans. My science teacher would freak out if you ever raised your hand during class, and I had to wait 4 hours to go the bathroom, so at the end of class I went up to the teacher and asked if I could go to the bathroom and I peed my pants on the way there.

When I was little, I was over at a friend’s house with my family, and I walked into the kitchen. All of the parents were in there and there was a dog treat on the table, so they told me that it was chocolate. I ate it and then got made fun of.

While drop boxing my embarrassing story to the person who writes this, I accidentally put it in a random person’s drop box.

One time I was walking to the bathroom at a friend’s house and I tripped and fell and slid face first into the carpet, getting rug burn on my chin. It was there for a couple of weeks, and I had to explain why I had it; not to mention that I still get made fun of for that one.

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One time, my cousin and I thought that we could make a show like the Amanda Show. My brother was recording and I was wearing a really tight skirt and we were dancing. I was getting into it and decided to kick up really high, and when I did that, my other leg went out from under me, and I fell, completely disappearing from the camera’s view. My brother then said, “Well where did she go?” and held the camera up and scanned the room until he saw me lying on the ground. The camera was recording the whole time.

My teacher made me sing “Wheels on the Bus” for juice. He turned off all of the lights, and lit up the smart board to act as a spotlight. There were 5 people recording me. I was pretty embarrassed.

One time I was sitting, watching a baseball game with my girlfriend and all of the guys were down there in their jerseys. I leaned over to my girlfriend and said “88, that’s my favorite number.” She didn’t say anything for a second then she said, “That’s the bat boy….” I felt pretty dumb after that.

SIDE STORY

Freshman Survival

By Joey Longstreet

Walking through the hallways of a high school being a freshman can be tough.

Are there big, strong seniors who scare you? Does work from classes have you feeling frustrated? Have a big project due and running behind? My tips and guides for a freshman will help you with the struggles of high school.

Do not worry about the big seniors in our school; they are actually pretty nice and cool to talk to. Have you ever been walking down the hallway and accidently bumped into a kid twice your size? Well, if you do accidently bump into one of those kids, just say “sorry, did not mean to do that.” The kid you accidently bumped into will probably say “it’s cool bro” and keep walking. If a kid smaller than you bumps into you, do not get into his or her face and start yelling at them.

Be polite and tell them not to worry about it. If they end up dropping some items, help them pick it up and do not kick it all over the floor down the hallway. Who knows, maybe a teacher is watching. The teacher will probably give you a Sooter Silver, which is a great accomplishment.

A Sooter Silver is a prize that can give you rewards. You can get into a school dance for free - not including prom. You can get a free soda or candy bar from either one of the vending machines.

You have the ability to get out of out-ofschool detention - not including in school detention. You may go up to the front of the line during lunch, but I would not rec-

ommend that. If you have a dollar or less library fine, you could use a Sooter Silver and have it disappear like nothing. Also, at the end of the school year you could put your Sooter Silver into a drawing for an awesome prize.

Are you scared about the loads of homework that you might get during a typical high school day? What happens if you play sports and you have a lot of homework? First, not all teachers give homework every day, so don’t worry about having six assignments every night. Whenever the teacher is done with the lesson, do not talk with your friends the whole time. Do some of the assignment so you have less of it to do later. If you just let the homework go until the day it is due, your grade will suffer.

During freshman mentoring program – FMP – don’t goof off. Spend your time wisely during that period and you might finish an assignment. The mentors during that time can help you if you get stuck on a problem. That is why they are there; to help you get more accustomed to high school life. If you are an athlete and you do not have as much time as the students who get to go home early every day, you have to learn how to spend your time doing homework.

If you are struggling with a certain subject, don’t be afraid to ask the teacher for help. The teacher will probably have you come in and talk about the assignment one on one with you.

Is there a big test coming up or a big research paper due? Here are some tips to help you with getting it done on time and receiving a good grade.

First, pick a topic for your research paper that you would enjoy to write about.

Writing a decent length paper about a topic that does not interest you is hard to begin with. Second, write down some ideas that you could use in your research paper and see if you could add on to your ideas to make the paper longer.

Third, research your topic to figure out if there is enough information to do a nice research paper. While researching your topic, try to find information that you did not know already. That will make the paper seem a less boring to you. Fourth, I would advise writing down an outline of your paper so you can have an idea how your paper will look. You can do this all without a computer, so you could spend more time at home or at school prepping your paper. Finally, once you finish your outline, you can start on your research paper. Writing it down on paper first might be a good idea so all you have to is type up your paper.

I hope these little tips can help the freshman of Reeds Spring High School not be so scared of high school work, students, or teachers. Be looking to help people so you can get a Sooter Silver and reap the benefits of it.

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POLITICS

What’s Going On Now In Politics

By Lacey Curtis

During high school, the last thing on our minds is politics. However, with the 2012 Presidential Election drawing nearer, it is important for future voters to be educated on politics. We’ve all seen commercials promoting the two main parties, but do we really know what’s going on? I’m here to explain the basics of the two parties and their lead candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

First, I will go over the differences between Democrats and Republicans, the two head parties in America. The main thing that sets them apart is their views on issues such as health care and national defense. Democrats are largely liberal (founded on the ideas of liberty and equality) while Republicans are mainly conservative (promotes keeping traditional social institutions.) Democrats tend to support a large federal government and believe that the government should help the people. Republicans believe that the economy is the most important. They support less government interference. While a Democrat would support programs such as healthcare, a Republican wants these decisions to be made at state level. Democrats wish that equality was legislative and Republicans want equality to be earned. The term “left” on the political spectrum is used to describe Democrats, while Republicans are said to be “right.”

The two leading candidates in these parties are President Barack Obama (Democrat) and Mitt Romney (Republican.) There are several issues that concern the American public for this

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election, and both runners have different views on them. When it comes to jobs, and the economy, both candidates say that they’re going to build up the economy on the foundation of hard work.

Obama claims that in his last term, they added enough jobs to see 30 straight months of job growth. Obama’s website (www.barackobama.com) says that at the beginning of Obama’s term, he addressed the economic crisis and ‘laid the foundation for the economy,’ but it does not say that he followed through with it.

Romney, on the other hand, says that he will change how the government creates jobs and views economic growth. How he plans to do this, it doesn’t say. The rest of Obama’s website goes over the various forms and acts that he has signed or put into action in his previous term, but it doesn’t go much into what he plans to fix. Romney’s website (www.mittromney. com) tells us the plans that he has for the economy – taxes, regulation, trade, labor, human capitol, and spending – and they each go over ‘Obama’s failure’ and ‘Mitt’s plan.’

The other big issues that Romney tackles are foreign policy and simpler government. Obama doesn’t seem to have a stance on either of these, according to the list of issues on his website.

The gist of both of Romney’s plans is, respectively, to strengthen America’s military and to reduce the size of the federal government. To compare that to what Obama has said about the issues, I went to the White House’s website (www. whitehouse.gov.) It reiterates that Obama ended the war in Iraq and stopped al Qaeda leadership. There’s nothing about simpler government, though.

Another important issue is education. Obama’s goal is to give everyone a chance at education by doubling his funding towards Pell Grants and making a college tax credit, giving states the opportunity to break away from No Child Left Behind, and investing in community colleges. Romney promotes access to public charter-schools and he strongly supports that students should take a rigorous test before they’re allowed to graduate. His website emphasizes that he was the governor of Massachusetts when both the state’s fourth and eighth

grade students ranked first in the nation for reading and math, but it doesn’t say what he had done to make that happen, so it could be easily speculated that it had nothing to do with him.

Everybody knows the word ‘Obamacare,’ but do they know what it means? Health care is a big issue, and Obama’s stance on it is well known. True to the Democratic ideals, he believes that everyone should have access to health care, no matter what kind of insurance they have. His site promotes that by 2014 (that is, if Obama gets elected again) even people who have no insurance will get coverage. The Affordable Health Care Act he passed is stopping insurances from dropping coverage, as well as helping those with Medicare save money to stay healthy. He even says that he will put an end to insurance companies charging women more than men. On the downside, Obamacare raised taxes.

Mitt Romney has already promised to end Obamacare if he is elected. His approach is to let each state create their own health care plan.

There are many more issues that concern the American public, and to see the candidates’ views on them, visit their websites listed previously. Everybody has their own thoughts and beliefs, so it’s unlikely that the nation will agree on politics. However, I urge you to be educated on both candidates before you go out to vote on November 6th. Whether you’re Democratic, Republican, or somewhere in between, a little research never hurt.

SIDE STORY

Pumpkins, For More Than Carving?

By Sabrina Duran

History of Pumpkins

The word for this giant orange squash went through many changes before becoming “pumpkin.” Originally, the name pumpkin came from the Greek word “pepon,” which translates into “large melon.” From there, the English explorers changed it to “pumpion.” The word developed into “pumpkin” and was used

by American colonists.

The pumpkin was unknown in European countries until Columbus arrived in America. The Native Americans called pumpkins “isquotersquash.” They introduced pumpkins to the pilgrims, and it soon became an important food source for the winter months. Pilgrims would use pumpkins as a cavity to fill with ingredients for custard. They would bury it under hot ashes of a fire until it was cooked. In addition to the custard, they used pumpkins to make beer and even as templates for haircuts.

History of Pumpkin Carving and Jack o’ Lanterns

Early carvings began in Ireland and Scotland, but instead of pumpkins, they used turnips and potatoes. The English would hollow out and carve beets, light coals on fire, and put them inside. When European settlers came to America, they found that pumpkins were more plentiful and cheaper, so they started carving them.

The word Jack o’ Lantern came from an Irish myth about a man named Stingy Jack. In the story, Stingy Jack was having a drink with the Devil. Stingy Jack refused to pay for his drink and convinced the Devil to change himself into a coin so they could pay for their drinks. Instead, Jack put the coin into his pocket, right next to a cross. This prevented the Devil from changing back. Then, Stingy Jack made a deal with the Devil that when

he died, he wouldn’t take his soul. After Stingy Jack died, God refused to allow him into heaven because he was a sinner. The Devil kept his word and sent Jack away with a burning coal. Stingy Jack put this coal into a carved turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. He is now known as Jack of the Lantern, or Jack o’ Lantern. It is said that people began carving scary faces into turnips to frighten Stingy Jack away.

The Many Uses of Pumpkins

In addition to the many ways Native Americans and early settlers used them, the uses for pumpkins today are endless. Pumpkins can be used for cooking, beauty secrets, décor, and even entertainment.

Cooking with Pumpkin Pumpkin Pancakes Add half a can of Pumpkin Pie Filling into your pancake batter for every four servings, then cook on the griddle as usual.

Make it special by adding a spooky jack o’ lantern face with whipped cream.

Pumpkin Pie The quickest way to make a pumpkin pie is to use a premade pie crust, found in the frozen isle, and a can of Pumpkin Pie Filling. Add them together and bake.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds After scraping out the innards of your pumpkin, wash the seeds in a colander.

Sprinkle with oil, salt, pepper, and chili powder before baking the seeds at 325 degrees for about 25 minutes. Make sure to stir them every five minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Pumpkin seeds are very healthy, as well as delicious.

Pumpkin Soup Puree 2 cups of canned pumpkin, 4 cups vegetable stock, ½ cup of milk, 1 tablespoon of butter 1 tablespoon of tamari, and ¼ cup of dry milk. Heat it all up until it boils.

To make bowls to put your pumpkin soup in, simply cut the off the top, scrape the seeds out, and sprinkle oil, salt and pepper on them. Bake the pumpkins and their lids, right side up, for 25 minutes at 350 degrees on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Then, turn the pumpkins upside down and bake another 25 minutes. Let it cool and fill with soup.

Reapply the lid and enjoy!

Pumpkin Beauty Secret Not only is pumpkin healthy to eat, it’s great for your skin. Pumpkin is high in vitamin A and C, so it’s soothing for sun damaged, dry, or sensitive faces. Use equal amounts of cooked or canned pumpkin, honey and milk. You’ll only need about 6 tablespoons of the final product. Apply it to your face for fifteen minutes, and then wash it off. You’ll be surprised at how soft your face becomes.

Carving the Perfect Jack o’ Lantern First, decide on what you want to draw.

Use a sturdy knife to remove the top of the pumpkin, creating a lid. Scrape out the innards until it is completely hollow on the inside. Tape the picture you chose to your pumpkin and use a long, thin bladed knife to trace an outline. Remove the picture and begin carving. To light your creation, use a candle or glow stick. Add this masterpiece to your garden or use it to decorate your porch. When you decide you no longer want your jack o’ lantern, you can do any number of things with it.

Some have their own personal burial for it, some smash it into the ground, and others just throw it in the trash.

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COVER STORY

The Orgin Of Halloween

By Glenna Dement

Every year, many of us dress up and go trick-or-treating, but what do we know about Halloween? Traditionally known as All Hallows’ Eve, the evening of October 31 was celebrated as a precursor to All Saints’ Day. All Saints’ Day falls on November 1 and was originally allocated to honor saints and martyrs. Oddly enough, some of the traditions of All Saints’ Day were in fact reminiscent of the Celtic festival, Samhain (pronounced sah-win.)

Samhain itself was a day allocated by the Celts to celebrate the beginning of winter; it literally translates to mean “summer’s end” in Gaelic. Samhain celebrates the beginning of the Celts’ new dark-light cycle. The celebration begins at dusk on October 31. On the Eve of Samhain, villagers would cast the bones of cattle in a fire. This was originally known as a bone fire, which is where we got the term bonfire. All other fires in the village were extinguished, and each family lit their hearth fire from the bonfire, which symbolized the time of beginnings.

Other ways of celebration revolved around remembering the dead, since the Celtics believed that on Samhain, the veil between the realm of the dead and the realm of the living was extremely thin. Rituals included putting out food and drink for the dead, leaving windows, doors, and gates open to give the dead passage into their homes, and bobbing for apples. Bobbing for apples was actually a reference to the “Celtic Emhain Abhlach,” which translates to “Paradise of Apples,” since the dead were thought to eat sacred fruit and enjoy a happy immortality. Though the spirits of the dead were considered to be generally pleasant, this was not always the case. To ward off unfriendly spirits, the Celts carved talismans out of turnips and jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins, and then set them before the doorways of their homes to keep out any unwelcome spirits. On Samhain, people wore disguises to pretend that they were people that had returned from the “Otherworld” and come through the ether. This tradition is responsible for the costume craze each year at Halloween.

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On the topic of Halloween costumes, this year’s selection includes not only a variety of modernized costumes, but the classics as well. According to halloweenexpress.com, the top ten teen costumes for 2012 include costumes such as “Frankie Monster,” “Seal Team,” a fairy, the Annoying Orange from Youtube.com, a monster bride outfit, a Green M&M Dress, Spiderman, and a Mad Hatter costume for women.

However, the classics are always popular. Whether you prefer to be the Wicked Witch or Dracula, one thing is for certain

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are organized in an acronym to make it easier to remember. All you need to do is remember the acronym “Safe Halloween.”

•S - Swords, knives, and similar costume accessories should be short, soft, and flexible.

•A - Avoid Trick-Or-Treating alone. Walk in groups or with a trusted adult.

•F - Fasten reflective tape to costumes and bags to help drivers see you.

•E - Examine all treats for choking hazards and tampering before eating them. Limit the amount of treats you eat.

•H - Hold a flashlight while trick-ortreating to help you see and others see you. Always WALK and don’t run from house to house.

•A - Always test make-up in a small area first. Remove it before bedtime to prevent possible skin and eye irritation.

•L - Look both ways before crossing the street. Use established crosswalks wherever possible.

- people of all ages will continue to express creativity with their costumes each year. Buying a creative costume doesn’t have to be expensive. Even with the rising prices in today’s economy, websites like Costumediscounters.com, O.co, and Amazon.com offer classic costumes for an even classier price. By ordering costumes online your purchase will incur a shipping fee, which could make it more expensive than buying in store.

Either way, buying a costume in today’s economy can still be cheaper than making your own. Costume buying depends not only on your personal preference, but how much you’re willing to spend.

Other than wearing costumes, there are still several issues involving Halloween that we need to remember. The first and most important subject to cover is safe trick-or-treating. Helpful hints from the

•L - Lower your risk for serious eye injury by not wearing decorative contact lenses.

•O - Only walk on sidewalks whenever possible, or on the far edge of the road facing traffic to stay here.

•W - Wear well-fitting masks, costumes, and shoes to avoid blocked vision, trips, and falls.

•E - Eat only factory-wrapped treats.

Avoid eating homemade treats made by strangers.

•E - Enter homes only if you’re with a trusted adult.

•N - Never walk near lit candles or luminaries. Be sure to wear flame-resistant costumes.

Other tips from the CDC include offering healthy treats, and creating a safe environment for trick-or-treaters. We can all afford to be a little bit healthier, so instead of offering candy, have trays of fruits, vegetables, or cheese and crackers. If you have small children running around everywhere at a party, let them get plenty of exercise. If children are running around outside, make sure that their play area is well lit and safe.

Lastly, remind everyone to watch out for trick-or-treaters and to drive with caution.

It’s always important to be safe when participating in holiday fun.

Whether you plan to throw your own party, go trick-or-treating, or hit the local haunted houses, there is something available for everyone this year. Located in Branson West behind the Mule Express, Branson’s Haunted Screampark is the closest attraction for most people.

(See their ad on the next page!) The haunted house itself contains four different attractions: Bitten, Clinically Dead, Terror Tales, and the Branson Haunted Adventure Park. With different themes available, there’s something for everyone. Their first days open are Friday, September 28 and Saturday, September 29 from 7 p.m. to midnight.

During the month of October, they are open on the 5th, 6th, 12th, 13th, and from October 18 through October 31. On Fridays and Saturdays, the Screampark is open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., and during the week, it is open from 7 pm to 11 pm.

The price is $15.00, tax included. For $15, you gain entrance to the main portion of the haunted house, the 3D mirror maze, the haunted zoo and aquarium, the outdoor mazes, a graveyard, and their newest addition, “The Trap.” There is another haunted house located in Branson on highway 76 between Wal-Mart and the old TCBY. You will recognize it by the giant dinosaurs that are painted on the side of the building.

They are open 9 am to 9 pm on Sunday through Thursday, and from 9 am to 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

If haunted houses aren’t quite your speed, then maybe something more cross cultural would be more appealing.

In Austria, some people leave a lit lamp, bread, and water on a table. It was once believed that such items would be welcoming to the spirits of the dead.

In Belgium, people light candles in memory of dead relatives. In China, they have a festival known as Teng Chieh. In this festival, food and water are placed in front of pictures of loved ones who had passed away. Fires are lit to light the way of the souls and spirits that are said to come through the ether on Halloween night. Buddhist temples remember the dead and free the spirits by making “boats of the law” from paper. These are then burned in the evening to free the spirits of “pretas.”

Pretas are the souls of people who were in an accident, drowned, or were never buried. Pretas are considered to be dangerous in Chinese culture. With the supervision of the Buddhist temples, groups of people carry out ceremonies for the pretas, and monks from the temples recite sacred text and offer fruit. Completely opposite from Chinese tradition, Halloween in England comes closer to resembling Halloween here in the United States. Recently, England has begun to adopt our American version of Halloween, including trick-or-treating and wearing costumes. Though English traditions have become somewhat more modern in the recent years, their older customs differ slightly. Like our tradition of carving jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins, children in England used to carve designs onto large beetroots, which were then called “punkies”. Afterward, the children would stroll through the streets singing the “Punkie Night Song” while knocking on doors and asking for money.

Perhaps the most recognizable practice is found in rural England, where people carve turnip lanterns and place them on gate posts to protect their homes from

rogue spirits. Other English customs include tossing fruits, nuts, stones, and vegetables into bonfires to tell fortunes.

It’s said that if the problem is not discernible by morning, then the person who put the pebble into the fire wouldn’t live another year. If a pair of young lovers threw nuts into the fire and they explode, then it symbolized an argumentative marriage.

Even with this assortment of traditions, England didn’t always celebrate Halloween. After the Reformation hit England, the new religious influences caused the celebration of Halloween to cease.

Though the celebration of Halloween differs across the world, one thing remains the same; people across the world have loved celebrating Halloween each and every year since the time of the Celts.

Despite the changes that have occurred across the years, the general concept and festivities surrounding Halloween have remained the same across the globe.

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SIDE STORY

A New Health Code?

By Emily GIlderson

“Students will now be required to have ½ cup of fruit or vegetable on their tray for it to count as a full meal.

Anything less than a full meal is charged at a la carte price. We plan to offer a variety of fruits and vegetables daily to give the students more to select from.”

–New School Lunch Requirements, Reeds Spring School District

Everybody returning to school was shocked by the changes at lunch.

Anyone can see the differences; from white bread to whole-wheat bread on sandwiches or bleached flour to wholewheat flour in the brownies. However, that isn’t all that’s changed.

Schools nationwide have until the 2014-2015 school year to meet the first set limits to the sodium levels. Many manufacturers have already lowered the amounts of sodium in their food products.

Also, Reeds Spring School District has been lowering the levels of sodium for the past few years, so our district foresees no issues meeting this.

The more noticeable changes, however, aren’t the amounts of sodium in the food. At any given lunch table, you’ll see smaller portions, or you’ll get a warning not to get the brownies that day because they taste funny. You may see more fruits and veggies, but not everyone gets those.

The school is required to offer

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food portions in moderation to calories and nutritional value according to age groups. For the high school, the portions are smaller than in the past, but the largest portions offered in the district.

The district is required to offer one cup of fruits to the students and equally one cup of vegetables.

There is also a new limit to how much meat or meat alternate (including items such as cheese, yogurt, and peanut butter) and grain can be offered and served to the student body. Previously, a student could ask for a larger serving, but now there is a limit that must be maintained. However, to make up for the lack of fatty foods, students can have more on their trays because more vegetables and fruits are being offered at lunch.

It is required that the following groups of vegetables must be offered each week: dark green, orange/red, beans, starchy, and a variety of others.

The ranch is now low-fat, the lettuce is all romaine, and beans/legumes are always offered. The fruits and veggies being offered won’t always be the same, though.

The school’s goal was never to make lunch boring, so they are doing all they can to keep the options different and creative. Nine times out of ten, students will have the option to get a banana, apple, and/or orange. Aside from the everyday choices, students can usually find diced pears, fruit cocktail, strawberry fruit cups,

and many other options.

As far as the grains go, at least half of the grains offered must be whole grain rich. Most of the breads offered for sandwiches and such were already up to standard. Now, the pizza crust and the breading on corndogs are also whole grain rich.

There is a small shadow of worry that the changes won’t set well with the students because of teenagers being scared of the word ‘healthy.’ The school encourages students to try new foods at home AND at school. Also, be open-minded about the changes. The more willing you are to adjust, the more you will enjoy your lunch and the healthy changes.

All of these changes are heart smart and many are excited for the changes to finally be made, but for every good part there’s a bad one, too. There has been a lack of information provided to the student body and their parents about the schools new requirements on their lunches. Although there are around three to four papers posted in the lunch area, the papers are full, top to bottom, and there isn’t enough time for students to read over them. This being said, most students don’t know that if they don’t have at least ½ cup to a whole cup of fruits and/or vegetables on their tray, they will be charged over the already $2.00 cost for lunch. Many students who are spending up to $6.00 on their lunch due to lack of fruits or veggies need to put a scoop or two on their tray to avoid these unnecessary costs.

Since the cost of lunch is through the roof, students should have some input on the choices they’re given.

The variety of fruits, vegetables, and alternatives is larger than last year, but there are still many more options that could be added. Many students would be interested in items such as kiwi, fresh strawberries, peaches, cooked broccoli, and a larger variety for the salad bar.

Yogurt, flavored applesauce, 100% juice, and grapes would be hot items with the student body and others purchasing their lunch through the school’s cafeteria.

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SPORTS

NCAA Football Kickoff

By Tyler Miller

Last year’s history, and this year will hopefully bring just as much talent, excitement, and unexpected drama.

With Alabama winning the Championship last year, a SEC has had a team take the trophy home six years in a row. That gives the SEC a total of nineteen national championships, with the Big 12 very close on their heels with sixteen.

Behind them are the Big 10 with thirteen, the ACC in fourth with nine, and finally the PAC 10 conference in fifth with four.

The SEC teams seem to be playing very strong over the years and staying high in the rankings, but at the start of the 2014 season, being the number one team in the nation isn’t going to get you a guaranteed trip to the big dance.

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Thanks to the approval of the NCAA president, the top four teams in the nation will go into a four team playoff with the number one and four team playing, and the number two and three team playing.

The winners of those two will showcase for the coaches trophy and a chance to call themselves number one. According to the research on the 2012/2013 season

by Mike Pickett, these are some odds that the teams have to win the dance: Odds are nothing but numbers on a computer; although some teams don’t have the best shots of getting into the championship game, they do have a chance to ruin the hopes and dreams of others.

University of Louisiana Monroe is already off to a great start to crush some contenders, beating U of A in overtime 34-31 but coming up just short vs University of Auburn in overtime 31-28.

Since USC has already fallen two ranks in the BCS standings, there isn’t really a so called power house anymore, throwing the odds up in the air for anyone to grab and shock the nation.

SPORTS

NFL Kickoff

By Tyler Miller

First it’s the NFL players holding out for more money than the NBA players hold out, and now the NFL Referees have decided it’s their turn to cause a little drama. As everyone who watches the NFL can tell, all the replacement referees just aren’t cutting it. Last year was a little sloppy due to the player lockout and if the refs don’t come back soon, it’s destined to turn out just as bad.

Players can see the impacts the lockout is making, but their job isn’t to complain, it’s to put on a show for all their fans and get to the Super Bowl. In the AFC division so far, there are only two teams remaining with an undefeated 2-0 record.

An overwhelming 9 out of 16 teams have split the two weeks starting 1-1 and five

teams have started off a little bumpy going 0-2. On the other side of the league, in the NFC, there are three teams with a 2-0 start to the season; eleven of the sixteen have a split 1-1 start, including all of the NFC North, and then the lone New Orleans Saints sit at 0-2. Even though the Saints aren’t the only 0-2 team in the league, they seem to be the big story of the year. After losing their head coach for the entire season due to charges pressed by the NFL, Drew Brees is finding that without Sean Payton calling his plays, this could be a very long year.

Not only is Brees and the New Orleans offense hurting, but four starting defensive stars are gone, making this journey even tougher. Vilma’s full year suspension has been cut down to a seemingly slim but very long eight games. With Vilma and the saints struggling, Payton and the Denver Broncos are looking to turn the tables on their season and make the playoffs for the first time since 2005.

Winning in week one over Pittsburg, the season looked to be starting on a high note, but unfortunately the Atlanta

ings. Denver fans so far have seen the good and bad side of Mr. Manning and their Denver Broncos, showing that this league is unpredictable and anything can happen. Who will prevail and hold that Lombardi trophy over their head in the end? No one knows, but it’s going to be a great race to the end when it’s all said and done

Falcons didn’t think it was Denver’s time to shine. Atlanta beat Denver in week two 27-21 thanks to a very strong showing from the Falcon defense, picking off Payton Manning on his first three out-

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GAME REVIEWS

October Game Reviews

By Kristen Minturn

If you’re anything like me, then you love being scared; and if you’re anything like me, then you love doing it from the safety of your own home. In my opinion, the perfect way to go about this is to watch a scary movie – which I’ve found to be lacking because I’ve never come across one that truly scared me - or you can play scary games. So, in the spirit of Halloween, I’ve compiled a list of games that are sure to scare you. Most of the games on this list are completely free, or can be found online for a decent price! These are also all computer games, so as long as you have a computer that runs fairly quickly, you should be able to play them.

Slender: Rating: 6/10

First up on the list is Slender.

This game is based on the Slenderman myths created by Something Awful forums. In this game, you (the protagonist) are placed in a forest and told to collect eight pages. There is really no rhyme or reason for this, because even after you collect all of the pages, Slenderman catches up to you and you still die. The game is, however, challenging in the fact that Slenderman can pop up behind you any time after you collect the first few pages. The game is also set on a timer, so you need to be quick after you collect the first page. I don’t find it all that scary, and the graphics aren’t all that fantastic, but it’s still pretty startling when Slenderman comes up behind you or appears right in front of you after collecting the pages.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent Rating: 9/10

Second on the list is Amnesia: The

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Dark Descent. In this game, you play as Daniel, the protagonist. You’re placed in the Prussian Brennenburg castle and forced to survive without a weapon, whilst being chased by a creature called ‘The Shadow.’ You can’t fight it; you can only escape it for short amounts of time, whilst being chased by other creatures in the dark. As well, the name of the game comes in two parts: Daniel has Amnesia from having drunk a potion that made him lose his memory. Throughout the game, Daniel comes across notes that he left himself about his past that leave you to piece everything together. Daniel also suffers from Achluophobia, or fear of the dark, so you can only spend so much time in the dark before slowly going insane. And the only way to prolong the loss of your sanity is to collect tender and oil for your lamp; however, there is only so much oil to be found throughout the game so you must use it in increments.

One of the harder parts of the game is trying to figure out where to use your oil and tender at. Completely losing your sanity results in Daniel dragging his face across the ground at an awkward angle.

It makes for truly difficult gameplay.

Amnesia lulls you into a false sense of security, and it’s what truly makes this game frightening. You’ll walk around solving whatever puzzle it is that you’re working on at the moment, and then out of the blue, you’re walking around in the dark once again, being teased by the shadows, or you’re being chased by a horde of monsters.

Price: The listing price on amazon for Amnesia is $19.99, the game also comes with the spinoff game created by the

same company called Justine, and an eBook that the whole game was based on.

Paranormal: Rating: 6/10

This is a free indie game that can be found online. In it, you play as a ghost hunter who is filming paranormal events happening in a haunted house.

The graphics on this game are fantastic, considering that it’s a game that’s free to download. However, the camera on it is awkward and the controls move around a lot. I would get a separate mouse to play this game rather than trying to use the track pad on a laptop; it makes it extremely difficult to control and move about with ease.

SCP-087 B: Rating: 5/10

This game is a lot like Slender.

In it, you walk through a maze of hallways, trying to avoid seeing the monster that is the antagonist. If you see the creature, and then look away from it, it will kill you. Once you restart the game, it’s different each time, because the levels are generated by a program in the game each time. So you may walk down ten or so levels of steps before anything really happens.

This game is free for download on its website.

SIDE STORY

Staying Active In Fall

By Emily Highfill

By the time October rolls around, it’s hard to exercise outdoors due to the cold weather. The good news is that you can easily stay active indoors. If you’re more adventurous and don’t mind the cooler temperatures, there are still things you can do outdoors. You can still enjoy your normal activities. For those who don’t enjoy the declining temperatures, there are some interesting things you can do inside without sacrificing any fun.

A popular way to exercise inside is yoga.

Yoga is stereotyped as being “only for flexible people” or “just stupid stretching.”

That’s not true. Yoga is great for strength training. It may not raise your heart rate, but by using your body weight, you will build lean muscle and tone up. The easiest way to start is by finding a certified yoga instructor to teach you the basics.

This will ensure that your form is correct so that you don’t injure yourself. If you can’t find an instructor or want to find a cheaper option, you can buy a beginner’s DVD. This will take you through the same basic series and the simplest forms of yoga while giving you a great workout.

Another way to get indoor exercise is by kickboxing. High-intensity kickboxing can burn off up to 600 calories in an hour. Again, the best way to do this is by finding an instructor, but there are videos as well. Aerobic kickboxing combines elements of martial arts, boxing, and aerobics for a total body workout that can be done indoors. Unlike actual boxing, aerobic kickboxing doesn’t involve striking other competitors, so you won’t be fighting anyone. Kickboxing includes knee strikes, punches and kicks, and punching bags.

The simplest things to do indoors are calisthenics. These are pushups, crunches, jumping jacks, lunges, and squats. They don’t involve free weights; you use your body weight to tone muscles. Another plus about calisthenics is that they’ll gradually increase your heart rate, causing more calorie burn. They increase your overall fitness and help you stay fit without needing special equipment. They are great for anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time.

If you have a treadmill, it’s easy for you to get workout inside. Running is one of the best cardio exercises you can do. Running on the treadmill is extremely effective because you can vary your exercise. Whether you do intervals, sprint, long distance or run for time, you can change it up every workout. You can change the incline on the treadmill and increase difficulty. Adding an incline is like running up a hill, which mimics an outdoor run and prepares you for a race.

If you like to run and are okay with the chillier temperatures, run outside.

Whether we like to admit it or not, everyone has blasted our radio, iPod, or a CD and danced around when no one was watching. This is actually a great form of exercise. If you go all out, you can burn up to 350 calories an hour.

It doesn’t have to be anything too hard or actual dance moves, just jumping around and moving counts as exercise. Whether you’re just moving your arms and legs or spinning in circles, as long as you don’t quit moving, you’re burning calories.

If you have a staircase, you have plenty of opportunities to exercise.

The obvious thing to do is run up and down the stairs for an extended period of time. Running stairs for thirty minutes can burn up to 250 calories and will build leg muscle. If you don’t like running or want to start out a little more basic, lunging up and down the stairs will build muscle as well, but won’t burn as many calories. Hopping up and down your stairs will get your heart rate up and burn the maximum amount of calories.

If you want to build arm muscles, tricep dips are simple to do. With your back to the step, place your palms on the edge behind you and extend your legs in a straight line in front of you. Slowly

bend your arms until they are at a ninety degree angle parallel to the floor. There are so many exercises you can do with a staircase; those are just a few. Get creative and come up with a whole new workout on your own.

The most common way to workout inside is exercise videos. Popping in a DVD is simple and you have many options to choose from. You can do yoga, kickboxing, tae-bo, or a “cardio boot camp” that includes a combination of calisthenics and plyometrics. They won’t break your pocketbook, considering that you can find some of them for $10 or less.

Cooler temperatures don’t mean that you have to be lazy or unhealthy. There are plenty of ways to stay active and exercise. Working out doesn’t have to be expensive or hard to do. By combining all of these indoor exercises into your own personalized workout, you can ensure that you don’t get bored and you stay healthy.

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FEATURE

Recipes

by Emily Gilderson

Frozen Yogurt & Fruit Popsicles Emily Gilderson Why buy sugary, sticky popsicles when you can make your own healthy ones?

Just go to the store and buy a container of vanilla yogurt (or any flavor you prefer!) and a bag of frozen fruit of your choice! The only other things you’ll need at home would be an ice tray, toothpicks, and, of course, a freezer.

This snack is a good source of calcium and vitamins, and it’s also a way to bring the “FroYo” into your own home instead of going out! You can make all kinds of flavors by using different flavors of yogurt and different fruits, so you have almost endless possibilities with your popsicles.

The popsicles are certain to be a hit with your family and friends!

Directions: Get a small to medium mixing bowl (Depending on how much frozen yogurt you would like to make.)

Pour the desired amount of yogurt into the bowl.

Next, pour in the frozen fruit. (Remember, you don’t want too much fruit in with your yogurt, just enough to add a tasty bite to your popsicles.)

Stir your yogurt and fruit until the fruit seems to be pretty evenly contributed in the yogurt.

Pour the yogurt into the ice cube tray and stick the toothpicks into the center of the

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yogurt. (For extra stability, you can put foil or saran wrap over the top of the tray and put the toothpicks through that.)

Put the yogurt-filled trays in the freezer for 30-45 minutes, or until solid. …ENJOY! Nutritional Facts: *Per 8 oz. serving Calories 137 Calories from Fat 4 Total Fat 0g Cholesterol 5mg Sodium 189mg Total Carbs 19g Sugars 19g Protein 14g Calcium 49% DV Vitamin C 4% DV

Iron 1% DV *Adding small amounts of fruit may increase certain nutritional values. To avoid over indulging in one or more area, use fruit AND yogurt in moderation, along with any and everything else you consume throughout the day!

Apple Cinnamon Pancakes

It’s fall and that means Grandma’s homemade apple pie, right? I don’t know about you, but I don’t always get to see my grandma and she for sure isn’t always waiting for me with an apple pie.

Well you’re in luck; I have the recipe for the next best thing… Apple cinnamon pancakes!

In the morning, instead of fixing your normal, plain Jane, boring pancakes, add a little kick to your batter! It’s quick, easy, AND healthy! Here’s exactly how!

Ingredients: 4 c. diced and peeled apples 2 tsp. cinnamon (heaping) 4 c. dry complete pancake mix 3 1/2 to 4 c. water Directions: Mix pancake mix with water.

Add water slowly; alternate with apples and cinnamon as the apples will make mix more watery. *Only add enough water to make a pourable mix - not watery.

Heat griddle to 400 degrees or when

drop of water sizzles in pan.

Pour 1/4 cup of batter per pancake; flip when batter bubbles and rises.

Serves 4 to 6.

Alternate!

If you don’t have whole apples at home to add into the pancake batter, don’t fret!

There is always an easier way to make a recipe work for you. Instead of using apples, you can always use applesauce as a substitute. By switching out the 4 c. of diced and peeled apples with 2-3 c. of applesauce, you can have the same great taste without making a special trip to the store. Either of the options - the apples or applesauce - are healthy ways to put a nice “spin” on your normal, everyday pancakes!

Now, for all of you syrup and butter lovers, here’s a suggestion to your toppings of choice on this delightful fall breakfast! I don’t know about you, but I usually won’t even think about touching my pancakes unless they’re practically swimming in syrup, and I know some people that are the same way with butter, but that is the absolute farthest thing from being healthy. Instead of your usual butter and syrup on these pancakes, try a light apple pie filling or apple butter. These alternatives will actually give you more of a flavor punch, especially since it’s something that would be new to your taste buds! The key to any toping, however, is to use in moderation to avoid unnecessary calorie and/or sugar intake.

Muy Bueno Bean Dip It’s finally fall and everybody wants to hang out with their friends! But what do you feed everyone when you have a spur of the moment get-together? Chips and dip! Don’t be that boring friend that busts out the chips and salsa though, be that awesome friend that casually brings out a fantastic bean dip that’s not only easy to make, but also healthy! They’ll never know how easy it was and you’ll be the go-to friend for get-togethers and snacks.

Ingredients: 1 (16 oz) can fat-free or vegetarian refried beans ½ cup of your favorite salsa 2 TBSP taco seasoning mix ½ cup “light” sour cream ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded

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Serving: To add flavor, top the bean dip with extras, such as chopped tomatoes, lettuce & onions, black olive slices and/ or jalapeno pepper rings.

Serve with baked tortilla chips or raw veggies (such as bell pepper slices, celery, or baby carrots) OR spread on a whole wheat tortilla or pita bread half for a tasty “sandwich” filling.

Double Strawberry Shake The popsicles are great for a nice snack after lunch, but what about breakfast? A nutritious, fruity shake will definitely get you going! This recipe makes one serving, but by all means if you want to make two shakes, just double the ingredients.

Ingredients: ¾ cup low-fat strawberry frozen yogurt ¾ cup chopped fresh or frozen strawberries ¼ cup vanilla or plain soy milk Alternatives: ¾ low-fat strawberry ice cream can be used in place of frozen yogurt ¼ cup low-fat or nonfat milk in place of vanilla or plain soy milk *To make your shake smoother increase the amount of milk to 1/3 or ½ cup, or as desired.

Directions: In a medium bowl, mix together refried beans, salsa, and taco seasoning mix.

Spread bean mixture evenly over the bottom of an 8-in. x 8-in. dish or a 9-in. pie pan.

Spread sour cream over the bean mixture.

Sprinkle cheese evenly over the sour cream.

Cover and chill in the refrigerator until serving time. *If you are worried about your “picky” friends, you can always spread the sour cream on half of the bean dip and leave the other half plain.

Nutritional Facts:

*Per ½ c. or 8 tbsp serving 140 calories 5g total fat 3g saturated fat 15 mg cholesterol 710mg sodium 16g carbohydrate 4g fiber 7g protein * Good source of calcium!

Nutrition Note: An easy way to limit your intake of saturated fat is to substitute fat-free and low-fat cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, sour cream and milk for regular whole fat dairy products. You will maintain flavor while cutting total fat and calories.

Preparation: Combine all of the ingredients into the blender.

Blend the mixture until thick and smooth.

Pour shake into serving glass and serve with a spoon or a straw, depending on the desired thickness. *When you’re on the go, put your shake in a re-sealable cup to take it anywhere!

Nutritional Facts: 210 Calories 6 g Protein 36 g Carbs 5 g Fat 2.2 g Saturated Fat 15 mg Cholesterol 2.5 g Fiber 65 mg Sodium *21% Calories from fat *Excellent source of calcium and vitamin D

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movie monsters Ronald Fuller

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ACROSS

DOWN

2. Giant iguana that terrorizes Tokyo 3. A terrible creature only to be released in dire need 5. Indestructable mass that consumes at will 9. Masked murderer who killed his sister

1. Real name: Vlad the Impaler 4. A sophisticated man with a bestial side 5. Thousand year old pharaoh 6. An alien that is beyond our understanding 7. Burn-scarred man who invades your dreams 8. Masked maniac who wields a machete

FindLook10 Differences for answers in next month’s issue!

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