Meet Coach Street Page 2
Government Shutdown Page 3
Top Rom-Coms Page 5
The Echo BGA’s Student Newspaper
February 5, 2019
February Issue
2019 Chili Cook-Off by Sarah May
As many of you know, the annual Senior Chili Cook-off took place on February 1st. This is the 12th annual Chili Cook-off put on by the senior class, which took place prior to the girls and guys senior night basketball ball games against CPA. The goal of the Chili Cook-off is to help raise money for the Senior Project Graduation Party. For a little more background on the tradition of “PG,” or Project Graduation, I contacted Mrs. Candy Sullivan: “Project Graduation (PG) is an all-night lock-in for graduating seniors. It is held the night of graduation. It begins at 10:30 pm and goes until 6:00 am. This year’s event will take place at the Williamson County Enrichment Center (old BGA). PG was started in the 1950’s by a group of parents. At that time it was determined that grad-
uation night was the night in which there were the most student deaths due to drinking and driving after celebrating their graduation. The parents felt if an event was planned for the students to celebrate their success, it may cut down on the number of graduation drinking-related deaths. BGA started PG in 1996. The theme is a casino
Speech Update by Paige LaRock The Speech and Debate team has had an immense amount of success throughout last semester and in the past few weeks. The spring season started early with Natalie Watson ‘19, Marie Stengel ‘20, and Julianna Mills ‘21 all travelling to Nebraska before our second semester even started and all three members made it past preliminary rounds. Only a week later, the team travelled to the University of Alabama where Natalie Watson won Dramatic Interpretation and Original Oratory as well as placing in Poetry
and Prose Interpretation. Other finalists include Paul Lohmann ‘21 in Informative, Ben Boger ‘21 in Extemporaneous, and Paige LaRock ‘21 in Extemporaneous. Following that tournament, the team took 1st place at the Cookeville High School Invitational where Natalie Watson won Dramatic Interpretation and Original Oratory, Paul Lohmann won Informative, and Paige LaRock won Extemporaneous. Other finalists include Jimmy Shi ‘21, Julianna Mills ‘21, Alex Wasson ‘20, Mary Courtney Finn ‘22, and Grace Rook ‘24. The team also competed in Bartlett this past weekend and took
The Echo Staff Bailey Anderson Mitchell Morrison Ching Ching Zhang Sarah May Shea Kelly Drew Lamb Nick Semptimphelter Ally Newkirk
Sara Grace Harney Lindsay Phelps Jack Sauder Cooper Helm Jack Cheney Alex Pareigis Dalia Diab Jad Diab
night with lots of food and prizes. The seniors vote on the dealers from BGA faculty and staff. They also vote on what types of food and prizes they would like at their party. It is the last time for the entire class to be together until they begin their reunions.” Each year seniors decide their own teams. Every group has a theme
in which they decorate their tables and dress up in different costumes. Guests were able to vote on their favorite Chili, best costume, and best decorations. Some of the tables this year include Chilionaires, Chewbacca Chili, Hill-Chili, Chili Wanka and the Bean Factory, and Kevin’s Chili (The Office).
3rd as a team with all members breaking in all events. Natalie Watson won Dramatic Interpretation and Original Oratory, Paige LaRock won Extemporaneous and placed 2nd in Informative, Mary Courtney Finn placed 2nd in Extemporaneous and 5th in Informative, Ben Boger placed 4th in Poetry and 5th in Extemporaneous, and Paul Lohmann won Informative and placed 6th in Impromptu. The season is far from over with tournaments in the coming weeks
in Collierville, Gatlinburg, and then the team is heading to the NSDA National Qualifier and the Tennessee State Qualifier. If you are interested whatsoever in speech, it is not too late to try it out this year. We have plenty of spots still open on our State Qualifier entry and this would be an excellent first tournament to try speech for anyone who is thinking about becoming involved in Speech and Debate next season!
Colby Davis Emma Shumaker Izzy Donoghue Parker Daniel
The Echo
Community
Meet Coach Jared Street by Berkeley Allison Q: What do you do here at BGA? I am the head boys basketball coach here, I teach micro and macroeconomics, and I also work in the admission’s office. I work a lot with alumni. So when you guys graduate, one of my jobs is to keep you in contact and get you back involved with the school. Q: What did you do before you came to BGA? I was an assistant boys basketball coach at Brentwood Academy, and I taught economics there. I have actually been a teacher all the way up until this year, my role kind of varies now. I’m not just a teacher. I’ve got a lot of different roles at the school now which is really exciting for me. Q: What do you enjoy most about coaching basketball? I love the fast-paced speed of the game. It’s not a game that you just sit and watch, it’s constantly changing. It’s a game full of momentum. It’s also a game that correlates a lot with life. Each game has its own highs and lows, just like our lives do. Our lives have highs and lows, so we get to use a game to teach our guys how to be better people, how to respond to adversity, and how to handle success. I have always loved the game. I’ve loved the
flow of the game and how fast-paced it is. Q: What is you favorite sport and why? (other than basketball) Yeah, basketball is my favorite sport, but I would say I have become an avid golf fan as far as playing golf. I can’t necessarily say I enjoy watching golf, but I do love playing golf. I’m not very good at it, but I do love playing golf. Q: What do you like to do outside of school? I love hanging with my family, just being with my wife and with my daughter, and then, of course, my parents and my brother, and even my in-laws. I just love being around my family. I cherish those moments that I get to be with them. They’re fun people to be around. Q: Do you enjoy traveling? If so, where is your favorite place to travel? I do love traveling. I haven’t traveled a whole lot in the last, probably year/ year and a half. But one of my all-time favorite places is Costa Rica. I’ve done a mission trip there for the last three years and it is such a beautiful country. The people are great people. They’re some of the most gracious people you will ever come in contact with. I love Costa Rica.
Q: What was your high school experience like? I actually had a great high school experience. I went to Harding Academy in Memphis, it is a private, Christian school. It’s actually in our division for all sports so I guess they are actually competitors of ours when you talk about state tournament stuff. But, I was involved in basketball, I was involved in baseball, I was involved in FCA. I have a group of friends that I have been friends with ever since high school and we have stayed in contact ever since. I actually had a really fun experience in high school and I know a lot of people don’t want to go back to their high school days, I’m not saying that I do, but I really enjoyed my experience as a high school student. Q: What do you like to bingewatch on Netflix? Well, the last thing I bingewatched was both parts of “Making a Murderer.” That crime series stuff, it is a docuseries, but just watching it enthralls me. The thing that I have probably binge-watched the most, which is not on Netflix, is “Gotham.” It covers Bruce Wayne after his parents have been murdered. So, it talks about the development that man. I love “Gotham.” It is in its last season. But that is kind of my show right now.
Club Feature: Bridge Club
Q: What inspired you to pursue a teaching career? I would say several of the coaches and teachers that I had when I was in high school. I had one teacher, Mr. Lashly, who was a history teacher. I just loved going to his class everyday. He made history interesting. I’m not a math person, but I had a statistics teacher, Mr. Dahlberg, who just made statistics come alive. He made it interesting. I just remember the impact they had on my life, outside of my parents. I thought that I had the personality to help influence young people and to help influence kids. I want to help make them positive influences among other people in our world. I would say teaching is way more than just learning, for me helping students learn about economics, but helping them learn how to be better people in our world. Q: What is the funniest thing that has happened to you while teaching? I mean, I can’t necessarily say that there is one story. Each day is so new and each day has its own story. As a teacher, each day you don’t know what you’re going to walk into. Most of the funny things that have happened are just impromptu, off-the-wall, had no idea it was going to happen, and you’re like “what in the world just took place?” I’ll be honest, I can’t think of just one thing.
by Shea Kelly and Sarah May
The Bridge club discusses current events, often controversial, in an organized and respectful manner. This club is student lead by Tiy Reed and Kennedy Rawls. Kennedy organizes the topics of the day and includes insightful questions and presentations. Tiy maintains order by leading the conversation and helps club members clarify their message when it seems unclear. Unlike many of the clubs that we have been to, this club truly feels like it is run completely by the students. Mrs. Lambert and Mr. Fleming sit in order to give their perspectives and to proctor the club, but it is apparent that they trust seniors, Tiy and Kennedy, to cultivate a civil conversation between disagreeing sides. Throughout these meetings, club members learn to understand and listen to people with other opinions and stances on controversial topics, and how to communicate. Bridge club is important to our BGA community because it features the conversations that need to be had and helps us understand one and other.
Bird Scooters
comic by Jack Cheney
by Ally Newkirk Bird Scooters are the new ways of transportation in Nashville Tennessee. The scooters act as a another way of traveling to and from places for the residents in Nashville. However, ever since the scooters have made their debut in the city, there has been much controversy among the people. After just a month of being launched in May of 2018, two Bird Scooter riders got into a dangerous crash being followed by the company seizing all the scooters in the area. The Bird Scooters then made their second debut again in September of 2018 making a huge comeback with new and improved rules to follow. The main cause of the scooters being brought to Nashville was to relieve traffic and congestion within the city. To add, it is said that the scooters are environmental friendly. Now the Bird Scooters seem to have some rivals coming into town as well as the new scooter company, Lime, brought their scooters to Nashville just a little while ago. Even though you have to be eighteen to use the fun rides, if you are younger you can still see them everywhere when you visit Nashville anytime of the year.
The Echo
EPL at a Glance by Cooper Helm
Cooper Helm continues his profile of English Premier League soccer teams and why you should follow them Manchester City: Manchester City is in 1st place (at the time of writing), and have finished 1st, 3rd, and 4th in the past three seasons. Manchester City, much like Chelsea, aren’t a historically successful club. After being bought by Sheikh Mansour, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, millions of dollars were funneled into the club, bringing almost instant success. Manchester City has won three Premier League titles, one with Manuel Pellegrini, one with Roberto Mancini, and one most recently with Pep Guardiola. Pep Guardiola is considered by most football “purists” to be the best manager of all time. Under Pep, Manchester City has become arguably the best team in the world, and play some of the best-to-watch football in the league. Their past greats are essentially non-existent. Their star player is hard to pick because their roster is filled to the brim with superstars. However, in my opinion, it would be Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne helped Belgium reach a 3rd place finish at last summer’s World Cup, and has the potential to be the best central midfielder of all time. Additionally, City boasts established talents such as Sergio Agüero (their all-time top goal scorer) and David Silva, and young rising stars such as Leroy Sane and Benjamin Mendy. If you want to watch your team play amazing soccer, win trophies, and sport an unspeakably cool skyblue jersey, Manchester City is an obvious choice. Liverpool: Liverpool is in 2nd place (at the time of writing), and have finished 4th, 4th, and 8th in the past three seasons. Liverpool is historically a very successful club. Despite never winning a Premier League title, they ran riot in the days of the First Division. They have managed to win the Europa League and the Champions League once apiece in the Premier League era and made it all the way to the Champions League final last season. Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, is one of the best managers in the world and gets the most out of a squad that is not nearly as deep as the likes of City and United. Boasting the best front-three in the world and an aggressive defensive mentality, Klopp has Liverpool firing on all cylinders. Liverpool greats include the likes of Steven Gerrard, Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher, and Ian Rush, and always seem to have the best home-grown talent in the league. Liverpool doesn’t have a star player as much as a beloved attacking trident of (from left to right) Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah. These players on their own are world class, but put together they become the best they can possibly be. Watching them play makes you wonder if they’re telepathic, and Mohamed Salah’s 32 Premier League goals last season broke the record for goals scored by an individual player in a single season. If you’re looking to watch exciting soccer, root for a team on a comeback, and support the same team the Beatles (and Wilson Parker) do, Liverpool is your team. Tottenham: Tottenham is in 3rd place (at the time of writing), and have finished 3rd, 2nd, and 3rd in the past three seasons. Despite never winning a Premier League or FA Cup in the Premier
Sports
(continued from December Issue) League era, and with their last piece of silverware coming in 2008 when winning the EFL Cup (essentially the FA Cup’s lamer younger brother), Spurs have recently become one of the best sides in England. Running on a combination of exciting young talents, and established players, Tottenham have been threatening to become a world-class team for about half a decade thanks to Argentinian manager Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino turned a mid-table team into a top-four side, mostly with his ability to get the best out of any given team and his keen eye for young talent. Dele Alli, Harry Kane, and Son Heung-min are all examples of players purchased for pennies by Spurs that were turned into stars by Pochettino. Spurs greats, much like Manchester City, are slim pickings. However, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Sol Campbell, and Clint Dempsey are all former Spurs players, and the club has a knack for churning out talented players that they can’t seem to keep. Spurs star player is easily Harry Kane. Kane is a serial goalscorer, and (as much as it pains me to say this) is the best traditional striker in the world. Harry Kane has won the Golden Boot (the award given to the player that scores the most goals in a season) in two out of the past three years and won the Golden Boot at last summer’s World Cup. Spurs also play amazing soccer and have a classic white home jersey that’s hard to beat. If you’re looking for an underdog story, a team looking to capitalize on years of hard work, and wanna support the most popular English team in Tennessee, Spurs is the choice for you. Honorable Mentions: If you wanna support a more “niche” or even “hipster” team, here are some additional options. Everton: Another team based out of Liverpool, Everton is always knocking on the door of the top six with 8th and 7th place finishes in the past two years. After being bought by new cash-rich owners a couple season ago, Everton has begun to make more exciting signings and are attempting to establish a clear style of play to build off of. They are nicknamed “the toffees” and have an excellent blue home jersey, so what’s not to love? Wolverhampton Wanderers: Wolves are a newly promoted side that has been making waves in the Premier League. Wolves are currently 11th and have achieved a string of impressive 1-1 results against Manchester City, Manchester United, and Arsenal. They play an exciting brand of soccer, have exciting young players, and wear a shirt so disgustingly orange that it’s almost cool. Leicester City: Leicester City has won more Premier League titles than Liverpool and Tottenham put together. In 2016, Leicester defied all odds to win the Premier League in what was the best sports story of our generation. They, much like Everton, are seemingly always on the brink of breaking into the top six. However, unlike Everton, they have a good crop of exciting young players. Whether it’s exciting left-back prospect Ben Chilwell or dynamic Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, there’s always a new under-22 player for Leicester fans to root for. Hopefully, you’ve learned something new, chosen a team, and will be tuning in to the Premier League this weekend to see if soccer is a sport for you.
2019 Figure Skating Championships by Ching Ching Zhang
The 2019 Figure Skating Championships was February 18th - February 27th. The Championship Ladies short program was on Thursday night. Thirteen year old Alysa Liu became the third U.S. and youngest lady to land a triple axel at nationals, which is a three and a half rotation jump, and she headed into the free skate on Friday night in second place. Reigning U.S. champion, Bradie Tennell, headed into the free skate with a three point lead. The free skate on Friday took a twist in events, as Alysa Liu landed two triple axels and became the youngest U.S. Ladies Champion in history. In the men’s event, Nathan Chen, reigning U.S. and World champion headed into the freeskate on Sunday afternoon with a new season’s best of 113.42, overtaking his previous score of 92.99. He topped the event with a score of 342.22 with a program of four clean quads, 58.21 points higher than silver medalist Vincent Zhou who moved up one spot after the freeskate to take him silver, and Jason Brown finished in third place. As for the Pair’s event, Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc jumped from a second place finish after the short program to win the overall event. In the Ice Dance event, Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue held onto their first place finish after short program to take home gold medals after the free dance.
Politics and Opinion The Echo
Government Shutdown by Shea Kelly Editor’s Note: This article was written a few days before the Government Shutdown ended. Per tradition, the White House hosted the national champions of college football to celebrate their achievements in the recent bowl. Surprisingly, they were treated to a feast from several fast food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King. In the past, the White House kitchen has provided meals for the winning football teams however Sarah Huckabee Sanders, President Trump’s press secretary, claims that “because the Democrats refuse to negotiate on border security, much of the residence staff at the White House is furloughed — so the president is personally paying for the event to be catered with some of everyone’s favorite fast foods,”. Due to the government shutdown, President Trump, with a net worth of 3.1 billion dollars, generously treated the Clemson football team to an array of fast foods in place of the lavish meal that has been previously supplied by White House staff, on his dollar. However, this payment is trivial to that of which 800,000 Americans are being forced to sacrifice due to the shutdown. 800,000 federal employees, including but not limited to FDA officers, FBI agents, and TSA employees, have been furloughed, or having to work without pay. This impacts Americans who are not federally employed as well, in their travel, the quality of the food being consumed and national security. On January 12th, the Miami airport was forced to close one of their concourses due to the “sick days” that TSA agents called in protest to having to work on furlough. During the holiday season, this impacted thousands of travelers planning on going through those concourses. The FDA no longer has funding to inspect and approve food for Americans as they used to. Instead, employees are working without pay, and may become distracted with how they will feed their own family causing employee morale to go down, which ultimately impacts their accuracy and efficiency. FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb states that “It’s not business as usual, and we are not doing all the things we would do under normal circumstances. There are important things we are not doing,”. Approximately 41 percent of the FDA’s employees are furloughed. These are the people who inspect and approve most of the country’s food supply, looking out for common food borne bacteria such as salmonella, E. coli, and listeria. Tom O’Connor, a special agent and president of the FBI Agents Association, claims that he feels “that the
financial insecurities we are facing right now equate to a national-security issue,”. Despite the clear concern, President Trump shows little sign of giving up until the funding for the wall, a whopping 5.7 billion dollars, is met. President Trump warns Democrats that this shutdown could continue for “months or even years,”. This means that during this time period, the 800,000 federal employees on furlough will continue to go without pay. These are Americans with families to feed, mortgages to pay, and lives that are being completely altered. January 11th, 800,000 federal employees received a check for $0.00. These are the people who make America great. Those who will continue to go without pay for “months or even years.” It is unclear as to how much longer this shutdown, which as of Saturday, January 12 is the longest shutdown in American history, could continue. On January 14th, President Trump denied a proposal from Senator Lindsey Graham to temporarily reopen the government to begin the conversation with Democratic lawmakers on funding for the wall. President Trump refused to compromise on the 5.7 billion dollars in border wall funding and was displeased with the Democrats’ 1.3 billion dollar offer for border security. 800,000 federal employees and their families’ financial security is being sacrificed in order to build a wall on the southern border. Even as the government begins to reboot after the longest shutdown in history, hundreds of thousands of families will continue to face the repercussions of being on furlough.
usatoday.com
Gillette: “The Best a Man Can Get” by Mitchell Morrison
Recently, Gillette released a controversial advertisement that was playing off of Gillette’s slogan, “The best a man can get.” The advertisement’s message was opposing toxic masculinity. In a less subtle manner, it also condemned men’s harmful role in the #MeToo movement. The video had a few flaws, but mainly the message was not political or offensive. It was simply one that stated men should treat women with respect, as well as each other with respect. However, the video was not well received among the target audience: men. The advertisement reached top 50 most disliked videos on youtube, started a boycott calling for men to switch to Dollar Shave Club, and was railed on nearly every commentary or article available. With every available opinion on the topic, social media commentators were far more radical and amusing. In one strand of instagram comments, many men were aggressive in their attack of the “sexist” advertisement. One commentator, @wearebreitbart, claimed Gillette was pushing the leftist agenda. Another stated that the advertisement shows it is evil to be a man. Finally, one person argued that there is nothing wrong with the original idea of masculinity, citing the 1960s. Each of these comments are riddled with irony. First, if Gillette was pushing a leftist agenda, does that mean the conservative agenda encourages men groping unsuspecting women as the video depicts? Second, the advertisement depicts some of the men as “evil,” but the same video shows men solving the issues created by the other men. The video even ends calling on men to be the overwhelming good to fix the issues occuring. Finally, the golden era of the mid 1900s so often har-
kened on by conservatives was not a golden era. Specifically, the 1960s was a time of social revolts, wife beating labeled as “therapeutic” (Time Magazine), and of course the Vietnam War. The message of the video was not political, not attacking men, or attempting to redefine masculinity. The video simply wanted to state a pervasive issue and call for a resolution. On the flip side, it would be remiss not to address some of the hypocrisy and issues with the video. One noticeably obvious bias of the video creators was the hidden color narrative. The advertisements seemed to specifically target one specific group of men, white men. In each of the scenes where a man was being innapropriate, that man was white. Though men of color were in the video, not once was one of them shown committing an atrocity that the video was addressing. Coinciding with this, was the heroism the placed on black men. In two scenes, it was a black man stopping a white man and defending the women. Typically this
would not be an issue, but amid the Trump era it would not go unnoticed by man of the white middle and lower class who constantly feel attacked by advertisements just like this one. Because in fairness, while 57% of sexual assault cases are by white men, 27% are by black men (Rainn.org). While the Gillette advertisement was well intentioned as it chose to address real time issues, and many of the hate it received was foolish and immature, it is still fair to criticize many of the aspects of the advertisement. Not only did the video itself have issues, but it gave another example of the media failing to address more prevalent problems that might derail their agenda. Toxic masculinity, at some extremes, is an issue. The #MeToo movement shows problems with systematic harassment and assault. But if a company such as Gillette chooses to address these issues, they have to accurately represent the entirety issue despite how ugly it may seem.
cnbc.com
The Echo
Calendar February 4 Spring Sports Parent Meeting - 5:30pm - 7:30pm February 5 Global Scientists 3:00pm - 4:00pm Basketball: Girls Varsity - Game (TBD) VS District Tournament February 6 NCAA National Signing Day Parent Teacher Conferences (No Classes) Basketball: Boys Varsity - Game (TBD) VS District Tournament February 7 MS Talent Show - 9:30am - 10:30am Junior Resumes Part I - 10:00am - 10:30am Carol Lea-Mord A Legacy of Creativity 5:00pm 6:30pm Basketball: Boys JV - Game (Away) VS JPII - 6:00pm Baseball: Varsity - Game (Home) VS Pre-Season Parents Meeting - 6:00pm Softball: US - Game (Home) VS Pre-Season Parents Meeting -6:00pm Tennis Pre-Season Parents Meeting - 6:00pm Track & Field Pre-Season Parents Meeting - 6:00pm LS Talent Show - 6:30pm - 8:30pm February 8 100 Days Until Graduation Celebration for Seniors 10:00am - 10:30am Basketball: Girls Varsity - Game (TBD) VS District Tournament Swimming: (Away) VS MTHSSA Championship 11:00am February 9 ISEE Test- 8:30pm - 12:00pm Basketball: Boys Varsity - Game (Away) VS District Tournament Swimming: (Away) VS TISCA State Swim Meet Wrestling: (Away) VS Middle/East Region Tournament
February 13 Artist Guild Assembly 10:00am Basketball: Girls Varsity - Game (TBD) VS Middle/East Region Tournament February 14 Junior Resumes Part 2 - 10:00am - 10:30am Basketball: Boys Varsity - Game (TBD) VS Middle/East Region Tournament February 15 Basketball: Boys Varsity - Game (TBD) VS Middle/East Region Tournament Wrestling: (Away) VS TSSAA State Tournament February 18 Winter Break February 19 Winter Break Basketball: Girls Varsity - Game (TBD) VS TSSAA Division II Quarterfinals February 20 Cafe College 1 - 4:00pm - 5:00pm Wrestling: (Home) VS Post Season Banquet February 21 Cafe College 1 - 8:00am - 9:00am Parent Perspectives: What Parents Need to Know About Vaping 6:00pm - 7:00pm February 22 Choir Trip to NYC Baseball: Varsity - Game (Home) VS Fairview High School Soccer: Varsity - Game (Home) VS Baylor School February 23 - February 25 Choir Trip to NYC
February 11 College Athletic Recruit Info Session - 6:30pm - 7:30 pm
February 26 Global Scientists - 3:00pm - 4:00pm Soccer: Varsity - Game (Home) VS Glencliff High School
February 12 Global Scientists - 3:00pm - 4:00pm First Year Framework - 6:00pm - 7:30pm
February 27 Baseball: Varsity - Game (Home) VS Franklin High School
The Echo
Rom-Com Ratings Advice Column by Mitchell and Jad
When we first met Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 8 Uniqueness : 8 How muchwa you like the characters: 9 How good is the actual plot: 7 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 3.8 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 7 Uniqueness: 4 How much you like the characters: 8 How good is the actual plot: 5 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 3.1 Mitchell’s Blurb: Alexandra Daddario is hot. Highly recommend for that reason as well as it being a good movie. Set It Up Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 7 Uniqueness : 6 How much you like the characters: 6 How good is the actual plot: 5 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 3.1 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 8 Uniqueness: 9 How much you like the characters: 6 How good is the actual plot: 7 How funny is it: 6 Stars: 3.6 Jad’s Blurb: Good movie, predictable, yet tastefully done. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 9 Uniqueness : 7 How much you like the characters: 9 How good is the actual plot: 8 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 4.0 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 5 Uniqueness: 8 How much you like the characters: 8 How good is the actual plot: 6 How funny is it: 6 Stars: 3.3 Jad’s Blurb: Interesting plot, better finish, blurs the lines between reality and imagination well, makes me want some of that yogurt from that one scene. Sleeping with other people Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 9 Uniqueness : 8 How much you like the characters: 8 How good is the actual plot: 8 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 4.0
Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 8 Uniqueness: 9 How much you like the characters: 9 How good is the actual plot: 8 How funny is it: 7 Stars: 4.1 Mitchell’s Blurb: It’s about sleeping with other people. The Spectacular Now Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 9 Uniqueness : 7 How much you like the characters: 8 How good is the actual plot: 6 How funny is it: 6 Stars: 3.6 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 5 Uniqueness: 8 How much you like the characters: 7 How good is the actual plot: 5 How funny is it: 4 Stars: 2.9 Jad’s Blurb: Who’s idea was it to put Miles Teller in a rom-com, fire him. Playing It Cool Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 6 Uniqueness: 7 How much you like the characters: 8 How good is the actually plot: 5 How Funny is it: 5 Stars: 3.1 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 7 Uniqueness: 8 How much you like the characters: 7 How good is the actual plot: 3 How funny is it: 3 Stars: 2.8 Mitchell’s Blurb: Anh Kissing Booth Mitchell’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 3 Uniqueness: 7 How much you like the characters: -3 How good is the actual plot: 3 How funny is it: 0 Stars: 1 Jad’s Rating: Feel Good Factor: 5 Uniqueness: 7 How much you like the characters: 6 How good is the actual plot: 6 How funny is it: 4 Stars: 2.8 Mitchell’s Blurb: This movie is absolutely terrible.
Anonymous Asked: Every year of my life I have been single on Valentine’s Day and have nothing to do. It’s boring and it’s depressing to see all of the happy couples. What should a single do on Valentine’s Day? Dear Anonymous, As I read this question, I found myself thinking of a quote written by George Lucas, as part of his screenplay for The Phantom Menace: “ Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” To me, this quote serves as a powerful reminder that we tend to find the things we are looking for, so it is important to make sure we are looking for the right things. Your question suggests that your thoughts about this holiday may not be healthy for you, so let’s see if we can help you see the holiday in a new way. There are 365 days in every year. On one of these days, our culture celebrates the joys of romantic love. On other days we celebrate other things, such as the responsibilities and rewards of motherhood, or the bravery and sacrifice of fallen soldiers, or the camaraderie and fun of Irish culture. When we approach each of these celebrations with an open and charitable heart, it is easy for us to affirm the unique experiences of those around us, without feeling that we are diminished by their achievements. Valentine’s Day does not need to be any different from any of these other celebration days, even though it sometimes seems that the entire entertainment and retail industries insist otherwise. In the age of Instagram and Snapchat and Facebook it is easy to get caught up in the notion that we are less than those around us because we don’t have the perfect, eye-catching photo to share on social media, or we can’t send public declarations of affection to a significant other. For some of us, this feeling intensifies each year as the 14th approaches. When we find ourselves spiraling down into sadness as the big day approaches, we should remember that happiness cannot be found in focusing on what we don’t have. Happiness is found in appreciating our unique blessings, and in striving to treat others with kindness, charity and respect. Envy is a dead end. It is trap that poisons us and turns us away from the things that are truly gratifying and meaningful. So on Valentines Day, send messages of kindness to friends who are experiencing romantic love, and take the time to recognize parents or other family members whose enduring relationships inspire us to seek out our own meaningful, loving connections. Have faith that each day is another opportunity to take control of our lives and to reach out to those around us with an open and giving heart. And if all else fails, a pair of comfortable jammies, a big tub of cookie dough ice cream and classic rom-com never did anyone any lasting harm. Happy Valentine’s Day! Sincerely, Wildcat Wisdom
Netflix Update by Parker Daniel
brand24.com
New releases on Netflix include SiFi, Horror, and Comedy. Taking a part of the SiFi theme, new release of IO is now out. The movie is about a young scientist trying to save the earth from its inevitable downfall. She finds a connection with a man in a shuttle, both trying to reach the same goal. But, if you want a good laugh, take a look at The Last Laugh. The movie is about two elderly men who pull each other back out of retirement and back into the comedy field. A good all around laugh and a great movie.