10/31/11

THE

San Jacinto Times

During Haloween, consumerism is a great thing.

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The voice of San Jacinto College since 1991

October 31, 2011

The Student Publication of the San Jacinto College District

Halloween Contest winner, Jacob Skeen is ready to blast off during Raven Rally. Page 6

Vol. 22, No. 7

Check out our staff blog at www.sanjactimesstaff@wordpress.com

This Texans season gives fans a reason to belive.

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El Día de los Muertos is great example of Mexican culture

By LESLY DELGADO San Jacinto Times

On the evening of Oct. 31st, kids dress up in scary outfits, or their favorite cartoon character and go door-to-door asking for candy. For adults, it is simply an opportunity to dress up as something outrageous like a sexy witch, or Lady Gaga. The meaning of Halloween in the United States is a time to indulge in candy, dress up, and have fun. Halloween has been popularized by American society as an excuse to party.

In other cultures the meaning and celebration of this night is completely different. There is no Trick or Treating" or Halloween parties. El Día de los Muertos is one of the most memorable and important holidays all over Mexico.

It all started more than 2,000 years ago with the Aztecs celebrating their ancestors and deceased relatives. To the indigenous culture death wasn’t the end of something, it was the beginning and continuation of life. Instead of fearing death they embraced it and saw it as a whole new chapter in their lives. It was when they died that they truly became ‘alive’.

When the Spaniards arrived to take over the Aztec culture, they thought their beliefs were barbaric and uncivilized. They attempted to guide and change their rituals into a more Christian way in hope this day would die. Unfortunately for the Spaniards, it refused to do so, and the Aztecs continued to exercise and

Shop for Halloween early Even gamers enjoy good spook Graphic by Chris Shelton/Maria Chavez

By TIFFANY SEXTON San Jacinto Times

Skulls, graveyards, blood, ghosts, and witches are all a part of one holiday season most people do not like to miss out on. Halloween comes once a year and the decorations can add up to be pretty costly, but between a budget and sales this holiday does not have to empty your wallet.

There are a lot of key elements when considering decorations for Halloween. It could be stressful not knowing where to begin. A good place to begin is to start deciding on a theme. Some people who are interested in decorating for Halloween generally like to take two different approaches, happy or scary. You are in luck if you are taking the happy approach because usually for Halloween the scary objects are more expensive.

When searching for great deals for your holiday décor it is best to wait until closer to Halloween to find the best deals. Stores like Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and Garden Ridge Pottery will start putting their clearance sales up at minimum two weeks before Halloween. Although if you are more interested in shopping at places like Walgreens, Party City, CVS, Target, or even Walmart you are going to want to pay the most attention to their weekly sales towards the end of September to catch their latest deals on their holiday décor. Once Halloween approaches and is over they will put their Halloween decorations on clearance but it is usually items no one wants.

Although the downfall for waiting so close to Halloween can usually mean a lot of the more expensive items are already bought. Stores start putting the cute or really scary objects out way

INSIDE

Column/Commentary...2 Around San Jacinto.....3 Front Page Jumps.......4 Entertainment...........5-6

By JACOB KESSINGER San Jacinto Times

A look at the top five scariest games, just in time for Halloween: 5. Demon’s Souls: Released in 2009 for the PlayStation 3, Demon’s Souls is a third person hack and slash role playing game of the sword and sorcery style. While the creepy atmosphere and ugly creatures make the game a bit unsettling, its not the graphics or sound that make Demon’s Souls scary; it’s the difficulty.

Demon’s Souls’ notoriously brutal difficulty transforms every combat encounter into a jaw-clenching, palm-sweating experience that leaves the player’s pulse pounding and nerves raw. Players gain strength by killing demon’s to release their souls, which they then invest into stats like health, stamina, etc. The catch is that if the player dies, all souls MCT campus are lost. Unlike most games in which death is little Finding Holiday decorations is a delicate more than a brief impedance that send the player back to a checkpoint, Demon’s Souls sends you process. back to the beginning of a level with weakened before most people have even thought about armor and a depleted stock of health items, with Halloween. Retailers want you as a customer to nothing to show for the effort. start buying their products as soon as possible Scary Moment: Every boss battle is a harrowing while everything is at regular price. trial of nerves and skill. The fear comes not from the Saving your decorations from year to year is also bosses themselves, but for the time invested into a nice trick to save money. You want to try to stick getting to the boss. Bosses are only found at the end to purchasing decorations that are long lasting. of the levels, and by the time the boss is reached, a Window or wall decorations are a fun way of player will have several levels worth of souls. To be showing your celebration for the upcoming holikilled by a boss is to lose all of the time it took to get day and will last for years to come. there, plus the levels of souls already attained, makCarving pumpkins is a family tradition that has a ing every encounter an exercise in fear control. tendency to be pricey.

4. Bioshock: Bioshock is a first person shooter with RPG elements released in 2007 for Xbox 360 PLEASE SEE DECOR on Page 4 and PC and in 2008 for PlayStation 3. The cerebral storyline is told primarily through the art direction in the dystopian undersea city of Rapture. Rapture’s tortured past is brought to light when protagonist Jack stumbles upon a bathysphere that takes him to the ravaged city where he must battle the deformed inhabitants in order to escape. Bioshock is both dark

PLEASE SEE DEAD on Page 4

and colorful, and the undersea setting really helps to establish a quiet, unsettling mood.

Scary Moment: Very early in the game, Jack happens upon a hideously deformed woman babbling a disturbing lullaby into a baby carriage. The woman turns and attacks Jack, leaving him no choice but to kill her. When Jack looks into the carriage, he sees that the insane woman was actually singing to a revolver.

3. Resident Evil 2: While the first Resident Evil spawned the sequel, the sequel spawned the franchise that is still popular today in games and movies. RE 2 was released in 1998 for the PlayStation, and became the defining title for survival horror games of the time. RE 2 featured the series’ staples of limited ammo and health items, weird, unnecessary puzzles, and lots and lots of zombies.

Scary Moment: Survival horror games of the PlayStation era employed the “creature jumps out from nowhere at you” event to great effect. Possibly the most memorable instance of this occurs in Resident Evil 2 when protagonist Leon Kennedy walks past a window in a quiet room and a Licker jumps through it at him. The Licker is one of RE 2’s most difficult and terrifying enemies. With it’s fast, jittery animation, exposed brain, huge claws, and long deadly tongue, the Licker is capable of killing a player in seconds, and any encounter with one, especially an unexpected one, is a terror inducing event.

2. Dead Space: Dead Space is a third person survival horror shooter released in 2008 for consoles and PC. Its Sci-fi story unfolds aboard a mining spacecraft a la Alien, and it follows mining engineer Isaac Clarke as he battles an infestation of Necromorphs, human corpses that have been transformed into terrifying, The Thing-like creatures by a strange alien virus.

Dead Space is unique among many horror games in that it is a competent shooter at heart.

PLEASE SEE SPOOK on Page 4

Opinion/Commentary

Beware: Gluttony haunts Fall Holidays

By CHRIS SHELTON San Jacinto Times

For some, Halloween is all about the costume. Many remember dressing as a favored hero like Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman. Others noticeably glow while recanting their first goblin, ghoul or ghost cos-

tume.

For college students, it creates another opportunity to wear revealing costumes and visit provocative parties, of which our parents would not approve.

For me, as a child, Halloween was about the treats.

The memory of time spent trick or treating with my parents entices a nostalgic feeling of sacred prepubescent years, however I really cared about the candy.

I am not sure my mother and father would be proud of my last sentence but I am sure that I gobbled candy at an ardent pace. My nice sized pumpkin candy tote was filled with Jolly Ranchers, Snickers, candy corn, Twix, Kit Kat and M&Ms that were all devoured before the sun rose on November every year.

The problem is that copious amounts of children

October 31, 2011 San Jacinto Times • Page 2

and parents associate Halloween with candy, as I once did, and over time the statistics show that we have a problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.”

Childhood obesity, and obesity of the entire U.S. population, is an enormous problem that is leading to many health problems. A story on the Huffington post relayed this fact by stating “our annual obesity-related medical costs are up to $168 billion.

Nearly 17 percent of U.S. medical costs can be blamed on obesity, according to new research that suggests the nation's weight problem may be having close to twice the impact on medical spending as previously estimated.”

It is pretty simple actually, in American culture food ties familes together. But the bow that keeps us tied tightly together may also be our downfall as a nation.

The truth is that most holidays in America are tied to food consumption. Expanding belt sizes and waistslines during the holiday season is more of a truism than the legitimacy of the Freshman 15.

Christmas face stuffing just leads to several failed New Year’s resolution goals every January 1st.

The same point could be hammered home by

Top dollar makes the holidays

By HARRISON LEE San Jacinto Times

Promotion, some overly enthusiastic Swedes taught us in the 1970s, is the name of the game.

I love Capitalism in all its gloriously exaggerated foibles. You know when stores put Halloween candy on sale in August? I find that awesome? I bask in the glory of Turkey fryers and flammable peanut oil being sold in October, often times adjacent to even more on-sale candy.

And who does not love the sight of pumpkins arriving in late September? It’s such a wonderful sight to see pumpkin carving kits stacked in boxes by the unending dozen. It would not be an American holiday without all of us pitching in to make sure it can be as glammed up as possible. As a culture, we are scary judges of pastiche.

It is all wonderfully roundabout. Some people actually think that a holiday [flexile term], devoted to outlandish costumes and insanely high consumption of candy could possibly be over promoted. See, I know what those words mean, but that sentence/thought does not make any sense.

It is probably due to the fact that we Americans like to be shallow and consumer-oriented, then profess that material goods are not the most important things. That is one of those fun little ironies akin to big-time corporate lawyers in $5,000 suits who defend Occupy Wall Street protesters free of charge. As Americans, we love materialistic irony more than we are willing to admit.

Where would we be if we did not go over the top with even the seemingly most mundane of days?

Imagine all those friendly, Hobbit-looking people who live in the Northeast, you know; the one’s who grow pumpkins the size of Kia’s. Where would they be without cable news soft-stories? Imagine the woe we would feel if there were not giant mutant pumpkins in the world. Then what would we have our local Police Department Bomb Squads blow up on the nearest beach/open field as a perverse

fundraising tool? I shudder to think.

Envision, if you will, a late October evening with row after row of homes that did not look like they would been showered in orange and red lights. A sight like that would be positively Un-American in all aspects. We would not know how to react if we did not dedicate a whole week to thinking up Jacko’-Lantern ideas, then another week to actually carving them.

It is madness in a very zeroed-in and focused form. We all know that going all out in the noble pursuit of one-upping neighbors we rarely interact with outside of the Holidays. It is that beautiful sense of twisted competition with strangers that have given our Nation such wonders as The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, or, on a slightly darker note, the admissions process in top-tier Graduate Schools.

Of course, I would not be doing my Corporatocracy-laced blood any justice if I did not mention the wonderful people who make chocolate.

Do you know what makes those pumpkin shaped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups any different from regular Reese’s? Nothing. But guess what, people will still pay a dollar more just because of the fun shape.

Let it never be said that we as a people have good impulse control.

And yet for all of our unhealthy desires for candy and large, orange gourds, nothing will ever rival the looseness of our wallets when it comes to our choices in costumes. It makes perfect sense to fork over sixty odd dollars for an ill-fitting replica of some murderous thug from A Clockwork Orange.

On some psychological level, I am sure it makes sense. But hey, who does not want to show up at a drunken one-off of a party surrounded by people in Charlie Sheen masks? That sure sounds like fun to me, especially if there is arsenic in the punch.

Grandly speaking, Halloween is a day that we should not actually feel bad about commercializing, considering it lends itself so perfectly to the occasion. It is not like this holiday would actually exist without Nestle anyways.

Halloween means big money and commercialization. So what?

MCT Campus

EDITORS

Michael Deats, Maria Chavez

MANAGING EDITOR

San Jacinto Times

Chris Shelton

WEB EDITOR Greg Starks

ASSISTANT EDITORS Jannette Marin, Ashley Cruz, Caty Christy CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

San Jacinto College Student Publications

Harrison Lee

CIRCULATION Cristal Calvillo

ADVERTISING Sara Quintana

ADVISER Fred Faour

examining other prominent holidays.

Take Thanksgiving for instance, would we really spend an entire day with our in-laws without the lure of Turducken?

Would an entire day with Aunt Mildred be as appealing if her dressing was not such a scrumptious endeavor?

No state in the entire union has an obesity rate lower than 20 percent. The Lone Star State has an obesity rate of over 30 percent and so do 11 other states. The national obesity rate is 33.8 percent according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This is the first generation of parents expected to outlive their children and this is first generation that needs to make a difference by cutting the excesses that cause these issues.

Sure, Halloween is only one day in a 360 day calendar but it lends itself to a culture of obesity and broken resolutions in America.

It pains me to suggest that my children should participate in Halloween and the holiday season in a different capacity than I grew up with, but the facts show that it must be done. There are many alternatives to chocolate and sugar filled treats that are still tasty.

It is easy to hand out a granola bar instead of

chocolate dipped in white chocolate. Also, fruit cups are a lovely change of pace to all of the tootsie rolls that are given to trick or treaters.

As a person who has been overweight most of his life, I understand how inherent the issue of obesity has become. It is lying in the woods waiting to jump up and take precious lives.

It is imperative that we move towards a healthy lifestyle... for the children.

First Lady Michelle Obama has initiated a project to encourage a better standard of life for the next generation of youth. Let’s Move! aims to remove obesity within a generation. We should dance to the beat of this crusade and win the battle with obesity while winning the future for those still unborn.

5 Best Healthy Alternatives

1. Pre packaged cheese and crackers 2. Granola bars 3. Fruit cups

4. Apple slices

5. Low sugar chocolate

Costume faux pas to avoid There are plenty of tasteful costumes out there that anyone can wear.

By CRIS RODRIGUEZ San Jacinto Times

Halloween comes around every year, and every year people get all excited, and run to the first Halloween express store and by their costumes. Which not to mention a million other people will be wearing the same thing if you bought it from one of the pop up stores.

Besides that, the real question is, which costume should you be wearing that is appropriate for your age?

We have all been to Halloween parties whether it be a company party, or a friends house party and seen people in costumes where you had to take a second look and question why they wore that. I am all for having fun and getting into character, but sometimes character costumes are not right for some adults even for young teens at times.

Let me explain, if you are a male over the age of 45 and your trying to wear a costume that your kid would wear, and I do not mean the timeless classic superheroes, those are expectable. No I mean like characters from Harry Potter or movies that have recently been released that people in there twenties are barely pulling off. I do not know how you feel but I do not want to see your dad drunk and sweaty trying to be Edward from Twilight and your mom trying to Bella. There is a time and place for all that.

The San Jacinto Times is published weekly by the journalism students at San Jacinto College Central, 8060 Spencer Highway, Pasadena, TX 77505.

Opinions expressed herein are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the staff, its adviser, the administration or the Board of Regents.

The Times encourages letters to the editor.

Letters must be in good taste, accurate, free from libel, malice or personal controversy.

Letters must be limited to 200 words in length. Letters submitted without the author’s signature will not be accepted.

MCT Campus

Unless you can be super funny while wearing it please do not.

That brings me to my next category stemming off of your mom or older lady’s trying to pull off Bella.

The worst thing to see is older lady’s, that in their own minds may be comfortable wearing skimpy outfits, but in our minds are killing us and every one else in the room. At some point in your life you should consider your age and maybe say I should not wear this. Again if you are doing it to make people laugh and your doing a great job at it, then please continue with the sideshow.

Older Ladies dressed in seductive costumes can have negative consequences. The younger audience will think it is right. Girls that are 15 will think it is funny to dress in reviling Snow-white outfits or a naughty Cops uniform, which I feel are not right. I do not really want to see that. I think if you are 16 or younger a normal traditional costumes will do just fine. When I was 15 and 16 I do not recall girls wanting to be naughty nurses for Halloween. The times have really changed.

All in all those are just some of the exceptions I have noticed out there that I feel most people would agree and say maybe you should wear a different costume. As you go out to the parties these coming weekends and out on Halloween have fun and be safe. Also for the sexy 45-50 year old couples out there going as Jacob and Bella or what ever you choose, remember people are watching.

The staff reserves the right to edit the letters for accuracy without altering the general meaning.

Letters can be e-mailed to fred.faour@sjcd.edu. Letters must include name and phone number for verification.

The online edition of the Times is available at www.sanjacintotimes.com.

Advertising space is available for $5.00 per column inch. Special rates are available. For news tips and information on advertising, contact the Times at 281-4782752.

Around campus Espanol Norte

Lunes, Octubre 31

• Club de Panero Artesano presenta concurso de disfraces, 11 a.m., Lobby del centro estudiantil

Martes, Noviembre 1 • Junta del club rotaract, 1 p.m., Slovacek S215 • Junta de la sociedad Webb, 1:15 p.m., Burleson C1035

Miercoles, Noviembre 2 • No hay actividades

Jueves, Noviembre 3 • Junta del club de Anime, 2 p.m., Brightwell A1025

Viernes, Noviembre 4 • Mensual comida de la asociacion de Rotaract, 6 p.m., Osaka Steakhouse

Central Lunes, Octubre 31 • Junta del club Catolico, 10:30 a.m., CADM E202

Martes, Noviembre 1 • Junta de escritores creativos, 11:30 a.m., C3.257 • Mago Brando Styles, 12 p.m., Centro estudiantil, Raven Cafe

Miercoles, Noviembre 2 • Evento de Get Lit, 8 a.m., CADM/CILC area del mural • Junta de los republicanos del cole gio, 10:30 a.m., & 1 p.m., CADM W218A • Reclutamiento de VYNE, 11 a.m., CADM area del mural • Junta del VYNE, 1:30 p.m., C3.222 • Junta de la sociedad de Anime, 2 p.m., CADM W112

Jueves, Noviembre 3 • Junta del club filosofia, 2:30 p.m., CADM W106

Viernes, Noviembre 4 • Junta de Phi Theta Kappa, 10:30 a.m., CILC 230 • Junta de SGA, 11:30 a.m., CILC 155 • Junta de LASO, 12:30 p.m., C3.204

Sabado, Noviembre 5 • No hay actividades

Domingo, Noviembre 6 • No hay actividades

Lunes, Noviembre 7 • Junta del club catolico, 10:30 a.m.,

Sur

Lunes, Octubre 31 • Mago Brandon Styles, 11:30 a.m., Atrio • Junta del gremio de juegos, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • Junta del club de tenis, 3:30 p.m., Cancha de tenis • Junta del club de aptitud e MMA, 6:30 p.m., GYM 6120

Martes, Noviembre 1 • Asociacion de la biblia estudiantil, 11:30 a.m., cuarto de juegos • Junta de TIES, 1 p.m., cuarto de juegos • Junta de SGA, 1:30 p.m., S11.228 • Noche del club de pintar, 2:30 p.m., FAB 213 • Junta del gremio de juegos, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • Junta del club de drama, 6 p.m., Cuarto verde, Bldg 15

Miercoles, Noviembre 2 • Junta del club Newman, 2 p.m., SADM 2215 • Junta del club de ciencias, 4 p.m., 2235

Jueves, Noviembre 3 • Junta del club Pre-medicina, 4:15 p.m., S7.106

Viernes, Noviembre 4 • Junta de Phi Theta Kappa, 1 p.m., 2208

Sabado, Noviembre 5 • No hay actividades

Top 10 Scary must-see movies

BY KRISTINA TAYLOR San Jacinto Times

On Halloween night people will see kids roaming through the neighborhood dressed up in costumes, getting candy and some may be at parties. For those who are staying in, renting a bunch of scary films is another great option. Last year I went to a friend’s house and a lot of us had a good time watching some good scary movies. From movies I have seen and opinions from others, here is a good list of top 10 scary movies to see.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Insidious The Amityville Horror (remake) The Grudge Paranormal Activity 1 and 2 Nightmare on Elm Street (original) The Exorcist The Ring House on Haunted Hill (remake) The Shining The Omen

Need survival tips? Read here

BY MARIA CHAVEZ San Jacinto Times

Halloween comes with tricks and treats, and some horror movies that never make it out to the big screen. Some are actually good; some are actually the complete opposite. Most of the one’s that aren’t as good, usually don’t follow the traditional rules of a horror story when trying to be creative in their own ways. This only works rarely. If you find yourself in that type of situation, what are the rules to survive that you should follow when in a horror story or movie?

1. When the “monster” is dead, you may want to check if he’s dead. Don’t. He’ll probably regain consciousness and, in return, will kill you.

2. Don’t ever, ever, say “I’ll be right back.” You’ll just jinx yourself.

3. Don’t go into a car before checking the backseat. Chances are, the killer is in the backseat waiting to kill you and the car probably won’t start.

4. If it’s still nighttime, don’t even think of the possibility it’s over. It’s usually not until dawn breaks.

5. Don’t fall asleep and don’t run off into the woods to have sex, those are instant kills.

6. Clowns: Whether they are “fake” or real, stay away from them.

7. When running away from the killer, don’t look back. Usually, they find a magical way to show up in front of you when you turn back around.

8. If you find a body, don’t take the time out to scream and freak out. Just run the opposite way.

9. Don’t pick up hitchhikers. You don’t know who they are, how deranged they may be, or what they’re carrying in their baggage.

10. If in a group, stay in a group.

11. If someone gives you a sign, or tells you to look out for a omen, listen to them. They’re usually

right.

12. Don’t hide in a closet or under the bed. The killer will find you.

13. When hiding, don’t breathe hard, cry, or make any noise for that matter.

14. Never, and we mean never, run upstairs. You’ll just get stuck and make it easier for the killer.

15. Don’t ask “Who’s there?” The killer won’t stop to tell you his background story. Also, don’t ask “Where are you?” He’s not going to come out and say “Here I am!”

These are just some rules. There are more than just these and are easily found online.

From Halloween to Halloween over the years bad or worse candy has made it into my bucket. Here are the five worst I have come across.

1.Candy Corn: Halloween’s staple candy is also the most hated.

After the win against the Titans, the Texans reached the head of the AFC south. With the return of Andre Johnson, the future looks bright. With many roster shuffles the Texans are now looking

OPINION

like a different team. The newest addition is veteran Derrick Mason at receiver, who is a reliable pair of hands and can bring a veteran presence even when Andre returns to action.

With a critical loss in Mario Williams, the Texans defense finds itself trying to re-identify the strong part of their pass rush. With rookie second round pick Brooks Reed stepping in to fill that gap, the defense still looks to be providing excellent pressure. Connor Barwin has also stepped in and provided some much needed heat on opposing quarterbacks.

Though the offense has been our weak part the last few weeks, the win against the Titans is what sparked the resurgence of the offense. The Texans dominated every aspect of the game against the Titans. The offensive line dominated at the point of attack. This allowed Arian Foster to reach the century mark, and Ben Tate reached it as well. This was all done without Pro-Bowl wide receiver Andre Johnson. The Jaguars fell victim to a team playing with confidence and a revamped offense to match a greedy defense.

The biggest improvement by far has to be the defense. Since Wade Phillips has taken over, the defense has been a strong point all season. The Houston Texans had the worst defensive against the pass last year. The secondary has improved with averaging at least one interception per game.

The Texans had two interceptions, and Brice McCain returned one for a touchdown. After last

Monday, October 31

• Artisan Baker’s Club Halloween Costume Contest, 11 a.m., Student Center Lobby

Tuesday, November 1 • Rotaract Club Meeting, 1 p.m., Slovacek S215 • Webb Society Meeting, 1:15 p.m., Burleson C1035

Wednesday, November 2 • No Scheduled Activities

Thursday, November 3 • Anime Club Meeting, 2 p.m., Brightwell A1025

Friday, November 4 • Rotaract Monthly Fellowship Meal, 6 p.m., Osaka Steakhouse

Saturday, November 5 • No Scheduled Activities

Sunday, November 6 • No Scheduled Activities

Monday, November 7

Central

• Catholic Club Meeting, 10:30 a.m., CADM E202

Tuesday, November 1 • Creative Writers Meeting, 11:30 a.m., C3.257 • Brandon Styles-Impressionist/Magician, 12 p.m., Student Center, Raven Cafe

Wednesday, November 2 • Get Lit Event, 8 a.m., CADM/CILC Mural Area • College Republicans Meeting, 10:30 a.m. & 1 p.m., CADM W218A • The VYNE Recruitment, 11 a.m., CADM Mural Area • The VYNE Meeting, 1:30 p.m., C3.222 • Anime Society Meeting, 2 p.m., CADM W112

Thursday, November 3 • Philosophy Club Meeting, 2:30 p.m., CADM W106 MCT Campus

4.Jawbreakers: No one wants a candy that causes physical pain.

5.Generic Candy: No name candy wrapped in plastic that is only eaten after the chocolate and Willy Wonka candies are gone.

Friday, November 4 • Phi Theta Kappa Meeting, 10:30 a.m., CILC 230 • SGA Meeting, 11:30 a.m., CILC 155 • LASO Meeting, 12:30 p.m., C3.204

Saturday, November 5 • No Scheduled Activities

Sunday, November 6 • No Scheduled Activities

Monday, November 7 • Catholic Club Meeting, 10:30 a.m., CADM E202 • Psychology Club Meeting, 2:30 p.m., CADM 209 • Coed Kickball (w/Student ID), 3 p.m., Track

South

Texans tricks a real treat

By MIKE VASQUEZ San Jacinto Times

North

Monday, October 31

2.Tootsie Rolls: They often melt in your bag and stick to all your other candies that actually taste yummy.

3.Licorice: Licorice is always made into impromptu straws and is never actually eaten.

8 DAYS A WEEK

• No Scheduled Activities

Torturing treats to dodge

By MIRANDA JENKINS San Jacinto Times

October 31, 2011 San Jacinto Times • Page 3

Google images

year’s slump, Brian Cushing is back to the beast he was his rookie year. He has been a force in the middle and now is the only linebacker who doesn’t leave the field. With the injury to safety Danieal Manning, young players MCT Campus have been stepArian Foster and the Texans ping up in that secare doing OK. ondary.

Looking at the upcoming schedule, the Texans’ toughest road game looks to be in Tampa Bay. Cleveland is the next game coming up, and if they keep their wins coming in, this would set them up to be almost guaranteed the division title. It is nice to see our team go from worst to first in one offseason.

Perhaps this is the time to believe. Maybe this is finally the year we break the barrier and taste the Playoffs. This city is hungry for a winner, and perhaps the wait is over. All the constant let-downs and broken hearts, the angry moments in which your gut proved to be right after all; maybe these nightmares are behind us. They say good things come to those who wait. It is time for the Texans to take that next step.

This isn’t the same guaranteed win on opposing team’s schedule. The only problem Houston has now is staying focused. The talent is finally being steered in the right direction and the results are very clear.

This team wants to win, and the fans can’t wait to see their team in the playoffs.

Monday, October 31 • Brandon Styles-Impressionist/Magician, 11:30 a.m., Atrium • Gaming Guild Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • Tennis Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Tennis Courts • MMA & Fitness Meeting, 6:30 p.m., GYM 6120

Tuesday, November 1 • Student Bible Fellowship, 11:30 a.m., Game Room • TIES Meeting, 1 p.m., Game Room • SGA Meeting, 1:30 p.m., S11.228 • Paint Club Night, 2:30 p.m., FAB 213 • Gaming Guild Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • 17 & Under Tennis Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Tennis Courts • Drama Club Meeting, 6 p.m., Green Room, Bldg 15 • Writer’s Block Meeting, 6 p.m., 3200

Wednesday, November 2 • Newman Club Meeting, 2 p.m., SADM 2215 • Gaming Guild Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • Science Club Meeting, 4 p.m., 2235

Thursday, November 3 • Gaming Guild Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • 17 & Under Tennis Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Tennis Courts • Pre-Med Meeting, 4:15 p.m., S7.106 • Writer’s Block Party, 6:30 p.m., Atrium

Friday, November 4 • MMA Meeting, 9 a.m., GYM • Phi Theta Kappa Meeting, 1 p.m., 2208

Saturday, November 5 • No Scheduled Activities

Sunday, November 6 • No Scheduled Activities

Monday, November 7 • Gaming Guild Meeting, 3:30 p.m., 2141 • Tennis Club Meeting, 3:30 p.m., Tennis Courts • MMA & Fitness, 6:30 p.m., GYM 6120

Jumps/Etc.

October 31, 2011 San Jacinto Times • Page 4

Wacky costume choices can cause peers to ridicule

By MIRANDA JENKINS San Jacinto Times

Sexy Watermelon: Remember those hot summer days, when you are picnicking with a loved one, but cannot help but notice the watermelon on your plate is clearly eclipsing the beauty of your significant other? Well now you can hold onto those special summer days because yandy.com is now offering a Sexy Watermelon costume for your girlfriend this Halloween. Thanks to this innovative costume idea women all over the world can now fulfill every

DEAD

man’s fantasy of dressing as a sexy slice of fruit.

Finding Nemo: You can now destroy a child’s innocence one stroke of your fin at a time, for a mere $59.95, in this sexy Finding Nemo Costume. Or as the website calls it the “sexy Finding Clownfish” costume. Unsurprisingly Pixar has not given their approval for this childhood shattering costume, which explains the name change to “Finding Clownfish.”

Sharks: Finally a costume has arrived that pays tribute to the ocean’s sexiest sea creature. In this grey and white shark costume you can now re-create the

Continued from Page 1 celebrate their way,The Day Of The Dead.

Therefore, the tradition has been kept alive reaching all the way back to its roots. Festivities do not actually fall on Oct 31, but on the 1st and 2nd of Nov. Mexican celebration of El Dia de los Muertos included building altars filled with personalized items and favorite foods of the deceased. These gifts and items brought are called “ofrendas” Most of the time toys are also brought as ofrendas for kids who have passed. Toys are brought to commemorate the childhood left behind.

Since food is a very traditional part in the Mexican culture, this will be one of the main things found on an altar. A family will cook the favorite dish of the person and put it on the altar. Sugar skulls are also very common. A sugar skull is a pastry made of sugar and decorated with icing. Most of the time the name of the person you are honoring will be at the top of the skull.

The whole point of the altar is to gather all the favorite foods and beverages of the person for whom it is honoring, in belief that its soul will come back to enjoy the gifts and offerings from their loved ones.

Obviously a dead person will not physically eat the food. It is said that the rich smells will bring the soul to the altar and they will leave the actual food but take its smells and nutrients with them to the other side.

On top of the food and sweets there was also poems written for the dead called “Calaveras”. They are small verses usually very satiric and mock the dead.

They are meant to make you smile and laugh that day.

Calaveras are often very political and make fun of the world we live in today.

Most of the time family, friends and relatives will get together on El Dia de los Muertos and eat the food at the end of the night. They also share stories and exchange pictures. This is how the dead person will always be remembered. Instead of mourning death, El

seductive glimmer that appears in a shark’s eye as it smells blood, or re-enact the flirtatious shake of a sharks head as it rips into it’s preys flesh. The sexy possibilities are endless!

Dolphin: Pay $70.00 for a cheaply made, blue dress with a dorsal fin attached to it.

Monkey: I know when I see a monkey, I think sexy. What is sexier than a mammal dressed as another mammal? Do you want to look like you have large amounts of body hair while also vaguely resembling a lion? Of course you do! That’s why you should expect all of your

Dia de los Muertos brings a positive energy to remember each and everyone’s loved ones.

Other things that people do to celebrate this day is to dress up in colorful outfits. Faces are painted to resemble skulls and traditional Mexican attire is worn like the mariachi charro outfit and sombreros. The dressing up as skulls and skeletons is to make fun of death in a funny way instead of approaching it as dark and scary. The women’s dresses are adorned with big bright flowers while the mens clothes resemble the typical Mexican macho man. The Mexican Day Of The Dead becomes a very colorful day. The art and history involved with it is something that has kept the spirit alive.

Growing up in Mexico, the school I attended as a child was very proactive (just like the rest of the schools in Mexico) during this holiday. Memories include, building the altar with all of the traditional items it includes. I have memories of bringing my grandmas typical Mexican dish of mole de pollo to give and offer to the dead spirits placing it on the altar.

One of the most vivid mental pictures I have of this day is all the colorful “Ofrendas.” Even though I was a small child I can remember clearly the meaning of El Dia de los Muertos. I remember the bright colors on the Calaveras, the piles of fruit drizzled in caramel, and the authentic spicy Mexican dishes on the altars.

This ritual has nothing to do with evil or anything of that sort, it is simply to honor and remember the person that is dead. It is the way that most people mourn their losses to enjoy and rejoice the time they had with their loved ones. It is how precious life is cherished and how a new one on the other side will be embraced. Instead of feeling bad they intend to bring one’s spirit up and remember the good times they had.

It is also a part of the rich Mexican culture that is in our blood from our Aztec ancestors.

So to all my fellow Mexican comrades get your aprons out and let’s start with making some food and Calaveras for El Dia de los Muertos because the celebration is just around the corner.

friends to go bananas over this $199.95 sexy monkey costume complete with coiled tail.

Sexy Skunk: Were you hoping to get cozy this Halloween? Well then be sure to buy this adorable costume of a mammal specifically known for its horrible odor. It is guaranteed no one in their right mind will have the same costume as you at your next Halloween party.

Taco: There is no doubt about it everyone loves tacos. So everyone will also love a man dressed up as a taco, right?

No. No they will not.

SPOOK

Continued from Page 1 Unlike the slow tank controls that are employed by games like Resident Evil, Dead Space controls much more like Gears of War, except the slow pacing is much more appropriate for the scary atmosphere. Despite the heightened controls, the player will guide Isaac to death after gory death because of the relentless, hard-to-kill nature of the unpredictable Necromorphs.

Isaac has his mining tools at his disposal instead of traditional Sci-fi weapons. This is fortunate, because the cutting tools are far more effective at dismembering the undead creatures than, say, a plasma rifle might be. In fact, cutting off two or more limbs is the only way to incapacitate the crawling horrors, as a headshot will most likely just make them angry.

Scary Moment: After getting the hang of shooting the limbs off of the implacable Necromorphs, the player is lulled into a sense of false confidence. That is, until Isaac faces the Hunter. The Hunter regenerates lost limbs in seconds, meaning that all Isaac can do is delay the unstoppable creature temporarily as it stalks him throughout the ship.

1. Silent Hill: Playing the original Silent Hill for the first time is the creepiest experience that

Silent Hill entices feelings of terror.

DECOR

Continued from Page 1 Try to pick out a large pumpkin that drivers will see from the street. A neat way to be able to keep your pumpkins from year to year is to buy fake pumpkins that are carve-able. Hobby lobby is one of the stores that sell them, and you will be able to treasure that pumpkin for years to come. One year my dad carved a pumpkin into a spider web when I was younger. It took him forever to accomplish the pumpkin but it looked amazing. It would have been awesome if he had used a fake pumpkin, so that way all of his hard work would have been saved.

Halloween parties are an extremely popular way for people to be able to celebrate this holiday.

Between preparing the food and getting your costume together the decorations are usually the last part to be completed.

An inexpensive way to decorate the inside of your home is by using a dash of glitter or confet-

Sexy Monkey anyone?

Yandy.com

I have ever had. The psychological effects of nail-biting apprehension, battle induced adrenaline, and abject terror that this game was able to invoke in me was only bearable for around an hour or so, after which I would have to turn it off and do something else to calm down.

Silent Hill is a third person survival horror game that was released in 1999 for the original PlayStation. The style is in the vein of its main rival, Resident Evil, and focuses on protagonist Harry Mason as he searches for his missing daughter in the eponymous town. Harry must face the abominations that inhabit the alternate dimension of Silent Hill, the Otherworld, in his quest to find his daughter.

Looking back, all of the features that made Silent Hill scary were mere programming tricks that served to mitigate the hardware limitations of the first PlayStation. Ubiquitous fog, darkness, and low textures produced a claustrophobic, gritty, dirty feel to the game. In house Konami developers Team Silent crafted a moment-to-moment experience whose overall effect belied its limitations.

Scary Moment: Within the first ten minutes of the game, Harry Mason finds himself trapped in a blood-slick, dark, chain link fence maze with only a butane lighter as a source of illumination. He is then set upon and ostensibly killed by a swarm of small, gory, skinless, knife-wielding baby mutants.

Google Images

ti, some streamers, and a few balloons. You can buy Halloween styled glitter or confetti at places like Walmart to use to decorate your tablecloths and it is a non-sticky mess to clean up. Also the balloons can be used as a centerpiece for your tables with an added weight to the string to keep them in one position and above people’s heads.

Streamers are a fun way to decorate your ceiling by twisting two different colors together. Black and orange are typically the Halloween colors, but this year I have also seen a lot of green and purple being added in. Walmart also sells the streamers and the one decoration you cannot forget, the spider web. The cotton that sells as the spider web is a great idea to make your house seem old. If you are able to keep the cotton clean you should be able to save it for a few more years.

Halloween like any other holiday is an easy way to get out of control with the spending. There are so many different decorations out there that you can easily get carried away, but if you start early and finish right before Halloween you can hit all your stores without breaking the bank.

Entertainment/Reviews

October 31, 2011 San Jacinto Times • Page 5

Tom Waits’ Bad As Me is definitely the best record of this year

By GREG STARKS San Jacinto Times

First words: all new music by THE ONE AND ONLY Tom Waits. Need I say more?

Easily the last bastion of true great American singer/songwriters, Tom Waits has returned to us with all new material for the first time in seven years.

I stumbled upon Bad As Me, and was ecstatic. I have heard and own everything Tom Waits has recorded and released, and I never get tired of hearing his music.

Waits has the most iconic voice in the music industry, no one sounds like Tom Waits. His voice is something of legend. A coarse harshness that can

still be tender and soothing is something that can only be achieved through a lifetime waxing poetic like Waits has done over the past 46 years.

Tom Waits has worked with some of the greatest musicians in the world on his records, and Bad As Me is no exception.

The record features some of the most talented and influential musicians of the past several decades.

Charlie Musselwhite, the man who is said to be the basis of Dan Akroyd’s character Elwood Blues in The Blues Brothers, plays harmonica on more than a third of the record.

Los Lobos guitarist David Hildago plays on half the record while Waits plays guitar on the other half.

Keith Richards plays guitar on Chicago, Satisfied,

Hell Broke Luce and even sings while playing on the ballad Last Leaf. Who knew Keith Richards could sing, and sing well along side a colossus like Waits.

Michael Balzary, better known as Flea, Larry Taylor, the bassist of Canned Heat and the studio bassist for the Monkees and Jerry Lee Lewis, Les Claypool of Primus and James Whiton all play bass on Bad As Me, lending their own individual flavor to the blues and rockabilly stew that is Bad As Me Waits also has some help form his immediate family on his records, a little more so on this album than usual.

His son Casey plays drums on all the tracks that actually have drums and not just percussion filling out the background. He has even Dj’ed on previous

Zombie Heaven has it all from 60’s greats

By GABRIEL OSBURN San Jacinto Times

The Zombies were some of the most pioneering and influential voices of 60's rock back in their day, and it is no surprise that songs like “Time of the Season” and “She's Not There” still remain popular today.

However a lot of people don't know how prolific this band was, especially given their short run. The Zombie Heaven collection is a great way to explore all their forgotten hits in high quality, and with nearly five hours of music there's plenty to thumb through.

The set comes in a four-disc pack that contains every song they ever recorded, including all their b-sides and alternate versions of songs.

The first two discs contain all their original albums and singles, with the last two composed mainly of rarities and live performances for the

BBC. The first disc is definitely the standout of the set, since it has all of their hit songs and The Zombies still retain their recognizable style of jazzy keyboards and vocals, rolling drum rhythms and classic rock and roll. The second disc is still good but is a bit of a departure and kind of loses momentum halfway through, and I could take or leave the last two, since they are mainly just live or alternate versions of their other songs (the live version of “Going Out of My Head” is worth mentioning though.)

Zombie Heaven is the most complete compilation you can get of all the original songs by The Zombies, unfortunately that also means it is the most expensive, ranging around 50 to 60 dollars. This is kind of expected since the amount of material your getting is monstrous, but for most people downloading the first two albums is usually enough.

If you have the chance and you’re a Zombies fan though, definitely check it out. A solid B.

records of Waits’.

His wife Kathleen Brennan produced Bad As Me, as well as Waits’ 16 other studio albums.

Bad As Me is an amazing record, and commands an A+(infinite +’s).

Waits keeps showing us that he is a lone and longstanding monolith of greatness in the sea of ever setting and sinking musical ships.

This record, along with the 19 tribute albums to him, the 31 record he has released, the 52 collaborations he has done with other artists, and the 58 movies and plays he or his music have appeared in, should all be acquired as soon as possible, and have a sound that is perfect for Halloween.

Because you do not just listen to a Tom Waits album, you experience it.

Is Is is a must have

By GABRIEL OSBURN San Jacinto Times

This Ep should have come with a smoke machine. If you didn’t have a chance to pick this up in 2007, Is Is by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs is going to drive you up the walls, in a good way.

Even though it is less than 20 minutes of material they wrote on their Fever To Tell tour, Is Is delivers a raw feel that I never feel completely comfortable putting down. “Rockers To Swallow” starts everything off with a tribal voodoo rhythm that

commands your attention like a zombie curse, while front lady Karen O pounds you with sledgehammer screams that ride to the gallop of their lone guitarist. Somewhat slower crooners like “Down Boy” and “ISIS” that remind you that K.O. can actually sing and break up similar punkish romps such as “Kiss Kiss”. Ending beautifully with “10x10”, Is Is, is dark, spooky, and a bit sexy, just like Halloween.

They make scary good music and earn a definite A.

Tyler The Creator creates Odd Future for listeners with Goblin

By GREG STARKS San Jacinto Times

This has to be the most vulgar and offensive record I have ever listened to.

Since that is out of the way, I can actually say that I really like Goblin.

Tyler the Creator is the leader and producer of Indie-rap crew Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All, often just referred to as Odd Future, or Wolf Gang.

The Los Angeles based rap consortium consists of several rappers and producers, but Tyler the Creator is the most commercially successful and skilled in my opinion.

So Odd Future has dismissed the descriptor Horror-core, but I think it is very appropriate to describe the stylings of Odd Future and Tyler the Creator. He literally says every line in the most graphic and profane manner imaginable.

Murder, misogyny, masturbation and drug abuse are the most common themes used by Tyler on Goblin.

I suppose an argument can be made for the artistic use of vulgarities,

I suppose Halloween is the perfect time for it, considering there are songs called Goblin, Transylvania and Nightmare. It will definitely be a lot more brutal this year with this record playing at your party.

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Tyler The Creator’s Goblin is his second studio release to date

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in that it is just the personification of the Freudian Id that resides in everyone. Tyler the Creator is just allowing it to come to the forefront and narrate his skewed and sometimes fictional reality on Goblin I can jam this record, but I can see why this could be simply the worst record ever released. The production is minimal; the subject matter is offensive and juvenile as well as the fact that it is a 20-yearold skateboarding rapper from L.A. Not really the most relatable artist out there.

I still think Goblin should be given a chance. I have been listening to the record for a while now, waiting to review it.

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Tyler the Creator has a delivery and style that is light years away from most other MC’s and he has a lot of potential to keep releasing good music like Goblin, which garners an A for sheer origionality.

Around campus

October 31, 2011 San Jacinto Times â&#x20AC;˘ Page 6

Raven Rally fills Central Campus with joy, jubilation

Raven Rally was full of thrills and unabashed fun.

Smashing an old car has almost become a San Jac rite of passage. The price to channel your inner Hulk was only two dollars. Which is a bargain basement price when you consider the stress that is relieved.

Our beautiful cheerleaders excited the crowd with an exciting performance.

Even the San Jac Raven made an apperance by dancing with receptive students.

James Skeen headlined the highly contested costume contest. His half-dragon half-warrior costume impressed the judges enough to award him the winner.

Photos by Harrison Lee and Maria Chavez