Children’s TV

Today’s

children’s

shows suck

Rahul D’Souza Front Cover Editorront Cover Editor

Before 2010, Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon were dropping some heat on their channels: “Tom and Jerry”, “Drake and Josh”, “Kim Possible” and “Danny Phantom”. Shows like these shaped our futures, from revealing subtle truths about life to giving us a few extra jokes to laugh at during school.

Recently, the quality of children’s TV shows has began to deteriorate. “Spongebob Squarepants” was once the prime example of children’s television. It may still be running, but the episodes lack the same humor, sarcasm and references that would only be funny to an older audience. ! e only reason to keep the show going is to preserve the memories of teenagers who grew up watching the show, and for the legacy of the late Stephen Hillenburg, the creator of the show. ! e list does not stop there, however. “Ben 10”, “Kim Possible” and “Teen Titans” have all been tainted by $ lth remakes. ! e absolute awesomeness of “Ben 10” that carried on for three di" erent series cannot be found in the childish reboot series. Disney Channel has a live-action remake of “Kim Possible” in the works. We already know that’s going to suck. But don’t forget possibly the biggest glo-down of all time: “Teen Titans Go”. Although the show might be funny, the original was the epitome of DC cinema and should not have been defaced by such garbage. ! e original series, even during its short run time, displayed incredible character development, and intense plot, and compelling villains. In contrast, Batman rides a Bat-Scooter in the “Teen Titans Go” movie.

Not all shows a# er 2010 were absolute rubbish, though. “Adventure Time” was a $ rst tier show with psychedelic

Devil’s Advocate: Androids are better than iPhones

Christina Borisoff Staff Writertaff Writer

One of the most common debates among tech users is the ageold Apple vs Android dispute. No one needs to know that they are talking about to have an opinion on this issue. In fact, people are so opinionated on the matter, that the debate has spawned millions of memes, countless forums and very angry basement dwellers that would be willing to $ ght about it at the drop of a fedora. So, which is truly the better phone?

Well for starters, a knowledge bomb: For many, Apple may appear to be the more popular choice among our generation, but is only true in America, according to an Android vs. IOS market share released October 2018 by DeviceAtlas. For the rest of the world, Android is the more dominant of the two. Not to say that popularity equates to quality, but it gives us an idea of how powerful Android is.

Android is an operating system, that much we know. But Android is also Samsung, Sony, Google Pixel, LG, HTC, and MOTO, but most importantly Android is Google, which is the global leader in technological innovation and creates new phones that are di" erent, unlike Apple.

In addition to variety, Android has a glaring advantage over

Gianna Spiro/Prowler

weirdness alongside an unbreakable friendship between the two beloved main characters. “Regular Show” was another top tier show of the 2010’s, along with “! e Amazing World of Gumball”. Gumball contained a very dry sense of humor that was surprisingly intelligent for the concept of the show with most of the jokes being subtle criticisms on human nature and society. ! ankfully, the de$ nitive god-tier number one best show of all time, “Avatar: ! e Last Airbender”, was not de$ led by a second-tier remake. Nickelodeon did make a follow up series focusing on the next Avatar, Korra, but it was actually quite a good continuation of the original. Not to say it was nearly as good as the original, though, Avatar Aang is the greatest of all time.

At this point, one may be asking themselves, “Why does this matter?” Attention must be drawn to the atrocities that are shown to millions of developing children worldwide. ! ese children are the future of our society.

I once watched as a child was brought to tears because there was syrup on his plate and he couldn’t clean it. Such behavior is no fault of the child himself, but rather because of the bitch ass shows he watches at home. At this point, it’s practically hopeless to do anything about it, the only solution would be to cancel all children’s TV shows that are still running, or only run past episodes. If we want real change, we may even have to boycott all television programs until they start airing more reruns of “Drake and Josh”, or at least put it on Net% ix.

Apple: pricing. Apple notoriously has overpriced products, whereas Androids are much cheaper. For example, Samsung’s newest phone, the Galaxy S8 priced at 654 dollars and Apple’s newest phone, the iPhone X, priced at one thousand dollars, which is a very common complaint of users on both sides of the debate. And it’s not just the phones. Apple gets a large portion of its revenue from “accessories,” which might as well be called “essentials,” like their iconic phone charges that they change with each new model to make a pro$ t. Or their required Bluetooth headphones, so you won’t be able to use those new headphones you bought unless you buy an adapter for twenty to forty dollars. But Apple has stooped to lower levels before. On December 22, 2017, Apple faced a lawsuit when it came out that the company purposely slowed down older models of phones to get people to buy newer, more expensive phones. Which is just cold and scummy of them.

Aside from the ethics of it all, Android also has some apparent technical advantages over IOS. One of them being that Android is more versatile, and developer friendly, while still being easy to use for the mainstream consumer. Certain Android phones feature micro SD slots, cheap adapters, a micro USB port, which is universal. You don’t need a particular charger for a certain model and you can buy wireless from a third source party. Meanwhile, the iPhone X only has only a singular shared port.

In addition to functionality, Android phones are more customizable than Apple phones. Android phones have custom widgets, skins, home screens, animations, and animated wallpapers. Apple’s interface features linear rows of apps.

Overall, Android has an abundance of advantages over Apple in terms of variety, technicality, functionality, ethics, and customization.

Sarah Lu/Prowler

You are exactly where you should be

Hannah Gross Staff Writertaff Writer

Ah the holiday season. ! is is usually my favorite time of year. A perfect trinity of holidays all crammed into three months -- the Harry Potter movie marathon of holidays (! anksgiving, Christmas, then my birthday, let’s not talk about new years) -- not to mention the colorful array of ca" einated holiday drinks. ! is year, however, is not quite as wonderful as the Andy Williams classic would lead one to believe. With college applications, my 18th birthday, which happens to fall on the day my applications are due, and grappling with the course of my future...it’s feeling a little more like “blue Christmas” right now.

It’s been one identity crisis a# er another this year. What do I have to show for myself ? It seems like as I get older, stars keep getting younger. All of the sudden preteens are singers, Youtubers, members of Mensa… it can be a little disheartening to say the least. It has lead me to constantly question myself, ‘am I past my prime?’ or ‘over the hill?’

No, because that’s ridiculous. But even if it’s not realistic, it’s about the principle, the underlying connotation in all the success of young people. It can feel like I always need to be doing something extraordinary or somehow one-upping my past self or peers. Social media places a glaring spotlight on those amazing accomplishments, priming us to compare ourselves. ! at sense of competition and comparison isn’t necessarily evil. It can drive us to strive for our own goals, give us something to aspire to and become a source of mutual inspiration.

However, it can also skew our perspective. It seems a little silly, but when I was younger I thought by now I would have accomplished so much more. While it’s great to have big plans and be doing big things, that’s not all there is to life. You don’t have to be a 14-year-old with charttopping songs to be admirable and successful. ! ere is success in the ordinary.

Doing well in school, being kind, drinking eight glasses of water everyday (maybe that’s not so ordinary)...these are all signs that you’re doing alright in life. I may not have written a novel yet, but I have years and years to do that. Everyone has a di" erent path in life. In the grand scheme of things, I can take comfort in knowing that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. And so are you.