brainSTORMING News Welcome
Issue no.5, December 2010 - ‘Anatol Ghermanschi’ School, Brasov
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ey everyone! ”Brain Storming News” is back with a brand-new issue! It has various topics so it will be at least one article that you’ll be interested in. You can find out about 7 topics: sports, travel, books , music, science , games and useful tips. We’ve made the magazine with Sabrina’s help ,who is a Project Abroad volunteer, from Austria. We worked a lot but we had a great time. Hope you’ll enjoy it!
GET ON THE- INSIDE The Time Machine by Bogdan Curta
Meet the Team Hi. My name is Daniel Georgescu and I really enjoy gaming... I joined this because I wanted to turn people's atention to games and their universe. Have fun reading our articles!
Hey yo! My name is Bogdan Grigoras or Grigo, as most people call me. I like to live my life on the edge.. but in the same time live quietly ... I Love Peace And Gaming <3 Cya!
Hi, I’m Bogdan Curta - you may remember me from the games section from last year (now I'm 14). This time I've decided to change topics so now I'm writing a book review. Enjoy!! Hey! My name is Camelia Costea and I’m 14. I like spending time with my friends and listening to music. I joined the journalism team because I thought it would be a challenge for the use of creativity and imagination. Helo there, I’m Andreea Fota and I am also 14. I looove helping people and listening to music because I feel I'm in MY happy place. see ya~
Hello! My name is Mihai Hrecinuc and I am 14 years old. I like sports and science very much. that's why I chose to write about these two subjects. Bye!
Weird Sports by Mihai Hrecinuc
World of Warcraft - Cataclysm by Bogdan Grigoras & Daniel Georgescu
La isLa de Las munecas by cameLia comsa
Eco Friendly Transport by Mihai Hreniciuc
Incendiary Times for Music by Andreea Fota
The Time Machine
Book Review
by Bogdan Curta
T
he main character, the time traveler, creates a time traveling machine and travels thousands years into the future. There is no human race, but two spin-offs, a race full of what seemed to me as a sort of elves. The book describes their lives on Earth in complete happiness, passing afterwards at the other race, of a spidery type of human, explained very vaguely. The book is just a guess of what the author thinks will happen in the future being incredibly good, seeing as if it was made in the 60's or so. " "The book tells the story of the Time Traveler's journey nearly a million years into the future and the very unexpected and disturbing society he finds there. The Time Traveler formulates various theories based on his observations of the society, which each, in turn, prove to be oh, so wrong! In the end, his realisation of the future is especially terrifying considering it is the result of our current social structure." "The Time Traveler" is certain he has created a device for moving forward and backward through the dimension of time. He proposes that his colleagues that they return next week for supper and they will be given proof. Filby returns to find that they are all at the house waiting in anticipation. Finally, the Time Traveler arrives in a disheveled state, covered in dirt and dust insisting on dining before he will recount his adventure to the group. He has built a time machine over the past two years and he launched himself through time just that morning. He said traveling through time feels like falling and produces a nauseous feeling. He traveled ahead in time to a period in time to eight hundred and two thousand into a hailstorm. He finds lovely but frail human-like creatures dressed in fine robes and sandals. They are simple-minded beings without depth, but absolutely harmless and they greet him with a garland of flowers around his neck. He notes their culture and customs, as they don't work but play, bathe, eat and sleep, are housed in pretty dwellings, and subsist on a diet of fruits. Gone are all traces of disease, fungi, gnats, weeds, pollutants, etc., from the earth. That night his time machine disappears. He is in a panic, trapped in the future. He carries on like a madman for a while then regains his nerve and sets in for a long period of learning and discovery. Eventually he rescues a woman named Weena from certain death by drowning and she becomes inseparable from him. He happens to notice pale white figures moving quickly through the night carrying off dark objects. They have grayish-red eyes and hair down their backs. He likens them to human spiders, with lanky arms and legs and cruel repulsive faces. He now realized that humankind had evolved into dual species. The well to do had ceased to labor and become mindless things of worthless beauty, the Eloi, while the worker class had become a subterranean and nocturnal dweller creating and maintaining gigantic machinery, the Morlocks, providing all the needs of the upper world beings. He climbs down a well and is confronted by hordes of them, escaping by lighting matches and swinging a metal club at them. He learns that the Morlocks surface at the new moon when it is darkest on the surface and they cull the herd of Eloi on whom they feed. Finally the Time Traveler retrieves his machine, but only after losing Weena in a forest fire of his own making during his flight from the Morlocks. He moves further ahead to in time to make his escape, stopping when the sun is huge on the horizon and there is a vast ocean where once there had been land. He is sickened to find giant crabs now seem to be the dominant life form and quickly moves ahead again. He travels in spurts of time, a thousand years or so each until the sun is a dull giant ball in the sky around a million years into the future. The beach is without life except for simple lichens plants. It is frighteningly cold and icy as he witnesses a spectacular solar eclipse. The Time Traveler comes back to the present but has only a flower or two to show for his journey through time. The crowd is skeptical of his claims and they depart after his tale that night. The next day Filby goes back, sees the machine in the lab and is convinced the story is true. He leaves the room only to return just as the Time Traveler has taken off on another journey."
Sports
WEIRD TEAM SPORTS In our days, if you open the TV and watch a Romanian sports channel, you will only see a lot of soccer, some tennis, volleyball and handball. If you switch to an American sports channel, you will stumble upon basketball, football, baseball and ice hockey; nothing more. Seeing the “huge” variety of sports that are aired on TV, I decided to research about less known sports. Some of them caught my attention, being interesting and weird at the same time. Here’s a list:
•
Sepak takraw
A very spectacular game, similar to volleyball. In this one, two teams consisting of 3 players have to kick a rattan ball over a net (the translation of the sport’s name is “kick ball”). The players can only use their feet, knees, chests and heads to touch the ball. A result of this rule is the use of very spectacular movements and tricks, making this game one of my favorites.
•
Field hockey
This one represents the contact-free version of hockey. It is played on outdoor or indoor fields made of grass or artificial turf. The goal is the same as in ice hockey: a team of players attempt to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking the ball (the equivalent of the ice hockey puck) with
T
his Island of dolls is situated in Mexico and as the name suggests, one expects to see a beautiful world which will leave an everlasting impression. But the reality is exactly opposite and very harsh when one discovers the thousands of mutilated ugly dolls hanging from every tree on the island. The isand Of The Dolls – located in the vast, bewildering network of canals that lies to the south of Mexico City, between the urban sprawl and the more traditional farmland region called Xochimilco (pronounced so-chee-meel-koh and meaning ‘place of flowers’) – is rich in history and superstition. This is a ghostly sight that serves as a dark tourist attraction especially for the young generation who is fascinated by gore and death. Many visitors are
•
Segway polo
In my opinion, Segway polo is, by far, the weirdest sport from this list, being an example of how bored people can create a game using only a stick on two wheels, a ball and a hockey stick. Obviously, the goal and the rules are about the same with those used in horse polo. But, this one is funnier because I think every average American citizen would ride a Segway instead of a horse. There you go. A list of three interesting team sports that aren’t so popular worldwide. Too bad that our school doesn’t have Segways.
By Mihai Hrecinuc
overwhelmed by the dead childish faces of dolls that never lived but appear to haunt this place, always looking at everyone as though we were responsible for their deaths. A world renowned tourist destination is “La Isla de las Munecas”- a Spanish name which means the Island of the dolls. This Island of dolls is situated in Mexico and, as the name suggests, one expects to see a beautiful world which will leave an everlasting impression. But the reality is exactly opposite and very harsh when one discovers the thousands of mutilated ugly dolls hanging from every tree on the island. Created by the hermit Don Julián Santana who, despite having a wife and family, chose to live alone on the island for over 50 years before his death in 2001, the Island Of The Dolls is a shrine to a dead girl who was said to haunt him, and in whose honour he collected dolls, to calm her restless spirit.
by Camelia Costea
Dark Tourism
La Isla De Las Munecas
hockey sticks into the opposing team's goal. This game is popular worldwide, even if it’s not a large spectator team, being considered the team sport with the third largest number of worldwide participants (after association football and cricket).
Game Review
World of Warcraft is one of the most popular Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games(MMORPG), developed by Blizzard Entertaminet with over 13 million players only on Retail servers. On the 7th of December, the Cataclysm will be unleashed.The Black Dragon aspect,Deathwing will unleash his fury from the depths of Deepholm,deep inside the Grim Batol mountain.Preceding the Cataclysm are a series of Earthquakes who already started to shatter the land, unealshing the elemental anger. Slowly but steady, the word is shattering culminating with Deathwing’s entrance in Azeroth.Also, 7th of December is not only the lauch of Cataclysm,but also a large amount of merchandise like: a new novel written by Christine Golden “The Shattering”,a new WoW mouse created by Steel Series and a line of choltes and accessories made by J!nx. Cataclysm brings a long list of changes.The biggest change is done to the gaming world.Yes, you got it. Azeroth gets a new shiny look.Most of the zones get resized, reshaped or even totally changed with elements being added or revored that unlike the other 2 expansions,The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King wich only added elements to the game. Also Cataclysm brings many changes into gameplay. The Talent System gets reshaped, level cap is increased to 85, some abilityes get revored other being added, old dungeons and raids get revamped and sometimes parts being removed or split into more dungeons/raids, some old dungeons get a Herioc mode, badge system is replaced by the new point system, same faith got the battleground honor system. New Races and Class-Race combinations are being added. Worgen to the Alliance, Goblin to the Horde. And also, from now on we will see some troll druids wardening around Orgrimmar and ofcoure Undead Hunters running with their pets around Tirisfal Glades. Of course, lets not forget that
stats are being changed, many of them being revored and mastery being added. Now, for the hardcore raiders, Cataclysm brings a new flexible lock system, a new difficulty system that is really accessible so everyone can get a pice of gear from raids and a bunch of raids that are ready for brave adventurers. They are ready to face new challenges or old revamped challenges from the day the expansion hits live servers. As we were lucky and got an invitation into the Cataclysm Beta from the first month it was launched, and after we played some time there, helped in fixing some bugs and made an opinion about how Blizzard respected players’ oppinions, we saw how the game evolved from one build to the other. What we can say is that it will be a great expansion wich will bring some old players back, while make others quitting WoW, but still keep this game alive.And, in our opinion Blizzard did a good job with Cataclysm, a lot better than WOTLK,and from our raider point of view we can say that Cataclysm raids will be a bigger challenge than WOTLK. That is ofcourse left to be seen after the 7th of December when world firsts and oppinions will start showing up. In the end, we think Blizzard did a great job with Cataclysm so far,except the stats change wich many people don’t agree,but I guess you got to keep the money machine working, even with the cost of loosing some old players. Pretty much that’s all of it,hope you enjoyed reading this article and we also hope you will enjoy Cataclysm as much as we do. See you ingame!!
by Bogdan Grigoras & Daniel Georgescu
those questions with a YES, don’t worry – there is still hope! It is true that finding Mr./Mrs. Right isn’t easy, noone ever said love was easy. However, here are a few ideas on how you can finally be successful, finding „the right one“. 1.) Firstly, you must know and love yourself. It will do you no good to meet someone and go through all the rituals of dating and mating unless you know who you are and what you want first. Once you have accomplished that, your love life will fall into place and you will find your true love. 2.) Loving yourself means to do what makes you happy and stop doing what makes you unhappy. It is easy to say, but more difficult to put it into action. I suggest writing a list of what you love to do and concentrate on doing those things. Doing things that make you happy will magnetize you: having the possibility to meet the person of your dreams at one of those venues. 3.) Be phylanthropic. To give is to receive. Volunteer at a local hospital or homeless shelter. You will be feeding your own heart, and you may also meet Mr./Mrs. Right while you are performing good works for the community. 4.) Try something completely different that you have always been curious about, but too scared to do. Now is the time. The past is gone, the future is not here yet – there is only now. If you have friends who are doing things you always wanted to try, ask them if you can join in. This offers you another opportunity to meet someone new and special.
love“ to have. Spend time and write down everything you can think of. Keep in mind that physical qualities are fleeting. It’s the beauty and spirituality beneath that will be important when you are holding hands and walking into the sunset in your waning years. When you meet somebody new, compare him or her attributes to the ones on your list. If it is the one, you’ll know. 6.) Music is an essential ingredient, wheter it is a band you enjoy or the songs of the birds in the morning, or simply the sound of a creek flowing over smoothed rocks. Music expresses happiness. When you are happy, you can make somebody else happy. 7.) When you know yourself, you become attuned to your inner voice. Learn how to let that inner voice guide you. It’s known as following your heart, knowing your bliss, mastering your path. When your inner voice speaks up don’t forget to listen.
Tips and Tricks
Do you wonder what you should do to find your true love? Do you want to know where and how you can find him or her? If you can answer to all of
8.) Don’t have too many expectations, for you might be disappointed. But do concentrate on your hopes and dreams. 9.) Maintain a PMA – „Positive Mental Attitude“. Be curious and not desperate. Be open and not closed up. Respect others as you wish to be respected. Enjoy your own company ans someday soon your special someone will be basking in the sunshine of your love. 10.) Spend a lot of time on Facebook/Twitter,....Mr. or Mrs. Right might already waiting for you send a nice message ;)
So if you follow all this rules and keep your eyes open, soon you will have tyour true love walking next to you – trust me!! 5.) Make a list of all the qualities you would like your „true by Andreea Fota
by Mihai Hrecinuc Global warming. Two words that might change our planet. This one is a real issue because nature and human life, as we know can suffer a big hit. Rising sea levels because of melting glaciers, chaotic climate changes, mass extinction of wildlife species are just a few of the consequences of global warming. One of the main causes for this phenomena is the CO2 gas that is causing the so-called “greenhouse effect”. The biggest source of CO2? CARS! But we can’t just throw away all the cars in the world, they’re very important us. Some smart people found some solutions for this issue. The two most efficient of them are: •
Ethanol fuel
This substance it has a long history as a fuel for heat and light and more recently as a fuel for internal combustion engines. It’s more efficient than gasoline and it burns without emitting any dangerous gases. Today most of the cars can run on Flex Fuel, a combination of ethanol and gasoline. But ethanol requires a large amount of organic material to produce (for example corn) and it’s easily retaining water, damaging the engine’s carburetor. •
Electric cars
Electric cars have been around us since the beginning of the 20th century, but they’ve really invaded us from 1996, with the release of the GM EV1, a technical milestone. Today, a lot of companies develop electric cars that run only on electricity and can be charged from a household plug, making them 100 % green. The infrastructure needed for these cars is rapidly developing. Even if the range is a problem for these cars, electricity as fuel has a very bright future. These technologies are great for saving the planet, but they can’t be applied without sacrifices. In my opinion, the greenest means of transport are your feet and the bicycle. The first ones come for free.
Science
ECO-FRIENDLY TRANSPORT
Music
Incendiary times for music by Andreea Fota
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ello guys, and nice to see you again. I used to talk about Travel and Books in the last issues of this magazine, but oh well, now I’m going to tell you about music. This time, we’re going to talk about the MTV EMAs. The 2010 MTV EMAs was the world's biggest night in music as celebrities made a splash on the red carpet and on stage in Madrid, Spain on Sunday, November 7th. Pop sensation Lady Gaga topped the winners as she scooped up the awards for Best Pop, Best Female and Best Song. Hot on her platform heels was uber-phenomenon Justin Bieber, who won both the prestigious Best Male category as well as Best Push Artist. Linkin Park scored Best Live, while Thirty Seconds to Mars nabbed Best Rock. German rockers Tokio Hotel triumphed in the Best World Stage category. Eminem polished his hip-hop crown with a trophy for Best Hip-Hop, while hot new talent Ke$ha crowned a fantastic breakthrough year with a win for Best New Act. Newlywed Katy Perry got a late wedding present when she was announced as winner of Best Video for "California Gurls", while Paramore triumphed in the Best Alternative category. As previously announced, the inaugural MTV EMA Global Icon Award was won by rockers Bon Jovi. Latina lovely Shakira received the MTV Free Your Mind award from Jared Leto, alongside his band Thirty Seconds To Mars, in recognition of her commitment and dedication to making education accessible for children around the world. Best European Act was won by Italian star Marco Mengoni.
Kicking off the second act, Rihanna showed her sophisticated side with a classy performance of "Only Girl (In the World), complete with more than 40 dancers, wind machines and thousands of artificial flower petals. Kings of Leon stunned the audience with a spine-chilling rendition of "Radioactive", illuminating the auditorium. Miley Cyrus commanded the stage with her sophisticated performance of "Who Owns My Heart". Next, performances by Katy Perry and Linkin Park were featured live from the show's spectacular outdoor stage at Madrid's historic Puerta de Alcala. Performing in front of close to 100,000 fans, Perry performed an explosive performance of her hit single "Firework”. Linkin Park's performed a set which was shot in its entirety for MTV World Stage, to be broadcast on MTV platforms around the world on 10 December 2010. Just when fans thought they knew what would come next, Best New Act nominee B.o.B blew the roof off with his EMA debut, performing his smash hit "Airplanes" with Paramore's Hayley Williams. Ultimate rocker Kid Rock electrified the auditorium with an explosive performance of "Born Free", accompanied by a stunning display of pyrotechnics and projections of iconic images of freedom including Martin Luther King, the Chilean miners and the fall of the Berlin Wall. As a conclusion, the EMAs were an explosion of music and fun, every single artist enjoying themself as well as the other. It was totally a must see on TV.
Brainstorming News was created by the help of: Simona Buzea English Teacher Alexandra Ichim Projects Abroad Journalism Coordinator & Graphic Designer Sabrina Reidinger Projects Abroad Journalism Volunteer
www.projects-abroad.net
Editors’ Team Andreea Fota Camelia Costea Bogdan Curta Daniel Georgescu Bogdan Grigoras Mihai Hrecinuc