SDA Mustang Dec. 2009

The Mustang

12.18.09 issue three volume fourteen

12.18.09

the

f O Mustang T S E B

BEST DEAD CELEB MICHAEL JACKSON? “HE’S SO AMAZING HE CAN WIN AWARDS EVEN AFTER HE’S DEAD.” MELEA MICHAEL, FRESHMAN OR BILLY MAYS? “HE WAS AN INSPIRATION TO US ALL AND I HOPE ONE DAY I CAN TALK ON TELEVISION AS LOUDLY AS HE DID.” SUKI BERRY, SOPHOMORE

BEST SONG STUCK IN HEAD “PARTY IN THE USA”? “I DON’T THINK ANYONE EXPECTED [IT]” ELIZABETH CHAPMAN, FRESHMAN. OR “WHATCHA SAY”? “IT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD BECAUSE IT’S CATCHY” KAELA KINNARE, SOPHOMORE

BEST TV DRAMA “HOUSE”? “[IT] IS BY FAR THE MOST CAPTIVATING TV SHOW I’VE SEEN THROUGH ITS ABLILITY TO CONVEY MEDICAL DRAMA AND ENCOMPASS BOTH HUMOR AND HUMILITY.” ERICA LEE, JUNIOR OR “WEEDS”? “[IT] TEACHES YOU THE WRONG IDEAS, BUT IS THE SICKEST SHOW EVER.” ERIC NIEMAN, SOPHOMORE

BEST MOVIE COMEDY “I LOVE YOU MAN”? “IT WAS RIDICULOUS AND THE SYDNEY CHARACTER WAS FUNNY.” COURTNEY SWAN, SENIOR OR “THE HANGOVER”? “I LIKED THE HANGOVER BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY FUNNY.” BEN GELMON, FRESHMAN

BEST POP CULTURE FAUX PAS BALLOON BOY? “THE PEOPLE WERE SO DESPERATE [FOR ATTENTION]. ” DANA SMITH FRESHMAN. OR KAYNE WEST AT THE VMA’S? “ [THAT] WAS THE BEST QUOTE SAID IN 2009.” NICO POALLILO, FRESHMAN

BEST NEW RESTAURANT WHICH WICH? “IT’S CHEAP FOOD, DELICIOUS, AND HAS A GREAT SET UP.” ERIN STONE, SOPHOMORE OR SWIRLS? “IT HAS A GOOD VIBE AND THE FOOD IS ACTUALLY GOOD.” AMANDA GILL, SOPHOMORE

Welcome to The Mustang--Best Of Edition! In this special issue, you’ll find announcements and reviews of the movies, shows, music, games, books, and moments that you voted as the very best of their kind. If you allow your eyes to drop as low as the bottom of the pages, you’ll be treated to the words of your schoolchums regarding their favorite things (e.g. raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, etc.). From the World Series to the Obama inauguration, 2009 has been a year for which to cheer. Staff writers for The Pony contributed to this issue-wide feature.

On the Cover Junior Kaiya Inouyeis has been involved in art her whole life.

She has always enjoyed drawing, and just started painting more this year. She enjoys creating abstract non-representational art work.

After a recent trip to the aquarium, Inouye took pictures of fish in hopes of artistic inspiration. In the end, a picture of a jellyfish enticed her the most. She says she “chose the picture because I really liked how the blue glowed through the darkness of the aquarium.“ She used oil paints on a wood board for this painting.

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Staff News Editors Ariel Chao Andrew Kasselmann

Managing Editor Kyle Shohfi

Opinions Editor Ana Reyes

Arts Editors Rieko Michelle Whitfield Thea Brown

Features Editor Nicole Fisher

Circus Animal Fun Editor Dimitri Fausch

Essay Editor Design Editor Danielle Gradisher

Sports Editors Pauline Disch Kaylin Greene

Ads Manager Alexa Shapiro

Photo Editor Nina Moussavi

Staff Writers Laura Avila, Hayley Baker, Taylor Chapin, Nina Comforti, Casey Dayan, Jocelyn Lee, Maddison Lyon, Erika Mazza, Shelby Meyers, Bailey Mezan, Sandra Morales, Kate Murphy, Dana Pede, Cara Reichard, Kerry Roberson, Jack Rushell, Henry Sweat Advisor Tim Roberts San Dieguito Academy Room 93 800 Santa Fe Drive Encinitas, CA 92024 (760) 753-1121 x5161

Notice The Mustang is the student newspaper of San Dieguito Academy. Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the newspaper.

The Mustang is an open forum which welcomes letters. Letters can be submitted to room 93, emailed to sdamustang@hotmail.com, or mailed to the above address.

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news 12.18.09

P.A.L.S. steer students towards driving safely

ariel chao

Busted After school, students found the windows of their cars shattered.

Breaking into the holiday season Hearts weren’t broken, just windows. jocelyn lee

Senior Ryan Healey pushes Josh Drilling, senior, through an obstacle course during lunch on Nov. 19 hosted

by SDA’s Peer Assistant Listeners. According to P.A.L. Emily Bartram, senior, the course was designed to show students how difficult it is to drive and text. Students pushed themselves or others on tricycles, shopping carts and scooters while texting, all the while dodging cones to experience the danger they put themselves and others in when texting and driving. Above, Drilling knows to just sit back and enjoy the ride phoneless.

ariel chao

The fates of candidates

The small number of candidates affect voter turnout on campus. ariel chao

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fter several weeks of campaigning, candidates for the 2010 ASB officer positions were finally announced on Dec. 16.

Among those who won are Luis Cervantes for president; Cassie Boyd for vice president; Connor Brownell for treasurer; Catherine Oswald for secretary; Julia Pederson, Kim Radley, and Jessie Valhalla for senior directors; Alex Goldstein, Oliver Martin and Sami Sonnich for junior directors; and Amanda Godfrey

and Kaitlin Kai for sophomore directors.

As usual, bouncy balls were bounced, sticky hands were stuck, candy was eaten, and ruffled pink heart pillows were hugged at ASB’s election assembly. However, in Dec. 11’s nominating convention one aspect that differed from previous years was the lack of competition. Out of the seven positions, five ran unopposed.

The only two positions that had more than one candidate running were for vice president and

jocelyn lee Running the Show As a candidate for Junior Director, Alex Goldstein runs her booth with the help of sophomores Rachel Weinfield and Sonja Gerber before the assembly.

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the three junior director positions.

Because there were only 14 candidates running for office this year compared to last year’s 23, the voter turnout this year barely matched half the number of votes from last year’s election.

Only 207 voters showed up at the polls versus 2008’s 400.

According to ASB teacher Rod Keillor, there were more students who signed up to run in this year’s election, however, due to conflicting class schedules and unfinished paperwork, only 14 could run for a position.

Junior Grant Thomas shared his frustration and reason as to why he didn’t vote. He said, “Most are running unopposed so there’s really no reason to vote.”

Other students shared their own opinions as to why they didn’t vote. Sophomore Tessa Lhota said, “I like elections; I just feel like it’s more of a popularity contest.” Other reasons included unfamiliarity with the candidates or just no interest in the election itself, sophomore Alyssa Espinoza said.

Current ASB President Kevin Brice said, “Even though there aren’t that many people running this year, I’m confident that they will do really well next year.”

ariel chao

O

nce a month, SDA students are let out of classes early for a minimum day to spend their time wisely whichever way they choose, from hanging out with friends to catching up on studies. For six students, however, it was a different story on Dec. 9. Instead of driving off with the satisfaction of three extra hours added to their day, they were confronted with shards of glass that littered their passenger seats and the asphalt surrounding their cars.

Around 11 a.m. Wednesday morning, SDA school secretary, Lois Delanty, received a phone call from the San Dieguito Adult Education secretary who reported that a car had been broken-into in the student parking lot. Delanty promptly notified Leslie England, campus supervisor, to check out the scene.

At first England only saw the one car whose passenger window had been smashed near the southern side of the lower lot.

However, when the bell rang for the end of school and students left the lot, other vandalized cars were discovered.

England said, “I saw one first, then saw another, then I noticed a third, and then a fourth. Once everyone pulled out, you could tell that there was more than one.”

A total of six cases were reported. Four cars were broken into in the lower lot, one in the upper lot, and one along the street. All but one had their passenger windows smashed; one suffered extensive damage to the

body.

Several trends among these vehicles included red and silver cars that were located along the perimeters of the lot. However, one dominant characteristic that they all shared was a hint of an mp3 player or iPod. In some cases, students left their iPods on the dashboard or had mp3 player adapters that led to a compartment, an attractive target for the robber, England said.

She said two water district workers were able to come up with a vague description of a young man they say who was attempting to break into a 7th car in the upper lot. After the workers yelled at the man, he ran off through the northern entrance of the upper lot.

Although the burglar escaped, England discovered a hammer handle by the second car in the parking lot that was broken into.

SDA resource officer Deputy Kathy Wayne has filed reports and is currently investigating the case. She said that if students’ cars were broken into, but were not reported, students may come forward later.

Some tips from Wayne to prevent car robberies in the future include hiding valuables in the trunk or covering them up with a blanket. Wayne also said that if students see something suspicious, they are always welcome to report anonymously.

“At the end of the day, you need to police your own parking lot. Keep an eye out and look out for each other,” England said.

“Don’t leave your stuff sitting out. Don’t make it attractive.”

I heard on the radio that two women are going to paddle naked across the Atlantic. — Kelly Heard, freshman The best thing about this year is that Sarah Palin went rogue in her new book. — Nolan Gallagher, sophomore Balloon Boy was the biggest faux paus because the people were so desperate that they put their son up to this scandal.

— Dana Smith, freshman

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news 12.18.09

UC increase ‘infeasible’

Rally Time

Next year’s UC students will see a fee increase of about 32 percent. ing to possibly have to turn to a public education system that seems to be infeasible,” he said. tudents attending a UniSDA principal Michael Grove versity of California school said that hopefully despite the next year will need to pay about fee increases, deserving stu$2,000 more in tuition fees bedents will still be able to work cause of a two-part fee increase hard and get financial aid. The enacted by the UC Board of University of California system Regents last month. A decline is also taking steps to make that in state support caused by the state-wide budget shortfall made happen, according to the UC statement. the increase necessary, accordThe system is working to ing to a statement from the UC minimize the impact of the Newsroom. increase on students and their For California residents, the families through expanded new fee levels include a midyear fee increase in January 2010 financial aid. As is customary for the UC’s, 33 percent of the of $585 for undergraduates and revenue generated from the apgraduate professional degree proved fee increases will be set students. For the 2010-11 acaaside to help mitigate the impact demic year, fees will rise again of higher by $1,334 fees and for both The UC’s are still going to other costs resident on underundergradube one of the best deals ates and out there, and students are graduate students graduate going to recognize that. with students -SDA counselor Candice Rolfsmeyer financial starting in need, acsummer cording to the UC statement.

2010, according to the UC stateThe University of California’s ment.

Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan Students at San Dieguito will also be expanded to provide Academy will feel the pressure financial aid to eligible resident from the new fee increases, but undergraduates with family will not necessarily turn away incomes of up to $70,000. Under from the UC’s, said SDA counthe higher income ceiling, Caliselor Candice Rolfsmeyer. “The fornia residents with financial UC’s are still going to be one need and family incomes of of the best deals out there, and $70,000 or less are guaranteed students are going to recognize assistance that will at least cover that,” she said. all of their mandatory systemSenior Misha Ponizil exwide fees, according to the UC pressed a similar sentiment. statement. The expansion is “The fee increases are not immediately affecting me, but they expected to cover an additional 800 undergraduates who would have made me more frustrated not have otherwise been eligible with the public education alterand may have had difficulty paynative. With fewer kids getting ing the increased fees. in private schools, it’s frustratandrew kasselmann

S

nina moussavi

Sophomore Steven Lee and freshman Joe Stefanki battle it out in a match during San Dieguito Academy’s annual ping pong tournament. The tournament began on Monday, Nov. 30, and ran throughout the week up to the finals on Dec. 4. Out of the 102 students and teachers who competed in the tournament, Stefanki went on to win the singles competition, and Lee won the doubles competition with his partner, sophomore Elijah Wu. andrew kasselmann

[“ ”]

photo courtesy of john sergio fisher and associates

Looking forward This computer rendering of the new performing arts center is waiting to be realized.

New theater put on hold SDA’s new perfroming arts center waits on funding from the state to be released before construction will start. andrew kasselmann

T

he curtains will remain closed on San Dieguito Academy’s new performing arts center for a little while longer.

State money allocated to help build SDA’s new performing arts center has been put on hold, and the construction will be delayed until the money is released,

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according to Principal Michael Grove.

The theater monies are generated through revenue gained when the state sells bonds. With the tough economy of the past year, the state has not been able to sell bonds and will not release the money until it is able to do so, Grove said.

Once the money is released

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by the state, work will be ready to begin right away on the new center. A construction manager has already been hired by the district to oversee the project, and the district will go to bid on the separate contracts needed for the center’s construction as soon as the money is released. “We are hoping to be able to break ground this spring,” Grove said.

Date change for ‘Wheel of Fortune’ airing In its last issue, The Mustang reported that the episode of ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in which SDA Band Director Jeremy Wuertz competed would air Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. on KNSD. The program will now air at the same time on Jan. 5 instead. There will be a pizza party held at Round Table Pizza on Encinitas Boulevard during the show. andrew kasselmann

The economy is starting to recover, which means the U.S. will be able to go back to where it was before we got into the war.

— Eli Asturnero, freshman Obama winning the presidential election [was the best]. — Kelsie Navis, freshman

I think the best thing that happened this year was Obama’s Inauguration. I think he is really helping the country.

— Emma Karp, freshman The best thing that happened was Sarah Palin losing. — Kelly Goehring, freshman

Mustang

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news 12.18.09

Drug policy T

nina moussavi

Relax it won’t hurt a bit. Students lay down while nurses draw their blood.

Given in vein. Well, sort of.

M

any SDA students participated once again this year in the annual American Red Cross blood drive held on campus. Students selflessly sacrificed valuable class time in order to contribute to the blood bank and save lives.

Upon entering the gym, rookie Sammy Bueche, junior, said, “I’m feeling good. I’m kind of nervous because my friend said it is super easy to pass out.”

Some participants had specific reasons for donating. A parent volunteer said, “I give blood a lot. I do it regularly because my two nephews have hemophilia and they need transfusions frequently.”

Before donating blood, students were screened in cubicles set up on the south side of the gym. Cut off from the outside world, each student answered questions in order to evaluate if his or her blood was safe for transfusions. 25 prospective donors were sent packing for being anemic, underweight or having been to Africa recently.

Senior Kim-Ashleigh Mostert said, “I was rejected because I was iron deficient at 12.1. You have to be at least 12.5. I was really disappointed because I know I’m healthy enough to give blood and I was actually looking forward to it. I’m going this weekend to try again after working to raise my iron levels.”

At the snack stand, where donors go after giving blood, participants had a look in their eyes as if they had done something great or didn’t feel well. Senior Jaime Yates said, “It was pretty cool. I am a little woozy. My brain isn’t really working.”

The staff worked quickly and effectively, considering the average wait time was 45 minutes. One nurse sang in a shrill mockingbird voice to ease the nervousness of a donor. Senior Kevin Shaw said, “The person who took the needle out had a good sense of humor.”

henry sweat

his year, seniors Cory Kintz and Jake Novack started a Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) club here at SDA. According to Novack, the vice president of the club, “SSDP is a national organization of students who are concerned about the impact that the current war on drugs and drug policies have on the individual and the community.”

Kintz, club president, learned about the organization through his brother who is an SSDP member at Berkeley and then asked Novack if he was interested in starting an SDA chapter.

“We started the club because it is really important to know about the way our government treats people who use drugs, especially in this area where we are part of a border community,” said Novack. “The drug policies around the country focus on criminalization as opposed to education and rehabilitation.

That needs to change.”

Because the club is new, students active in the club are thinking of which direction they want to lead it.

“We are currently in the process of advertising out club. Our goal, really, is education so that students can push for reformation to our government representatives,” said Novack.

Kintz says that the club will start campaigns during the second half of the school year.

SSDP describes itself as an international grassroots network of students that tries to empower youth to participate in the political realm. According to Novack, SSDP neither condemns nor encourages drug use. “We believe that it is an individual’s choice,” said Novack. SSDP club meets in room 72 every Tuesday during lunch.

ana reyes

jocelyn lee

Bin here long? Outside of Koda’s room, these bins wait patiently for waste.

Teenage wasteland D

uring the 2008-2009 school year, senior Sean Fogarty and junior Alexa Shapiro began working on a project to bring compost bins to SDA. Inspired by Kerri Leonard’s social justice class, Fogarty and Shapiro began by researching the effects of waste on the environment. “60 percent of our waste could be diverted from landfills if we took everything out of trashcans and into recycling and compost bins,” said Fogarty.

Working with the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, Fogarty and Shapiro applied for and received a grant of $2,750 from the city of Encinitas. The city also donated nine bio-stacks and Home Depot provided building materials for a worm bin at a reduced price; Rotary Club assisted in its construction. The worm bin creates exceptionally fertile soil that will be used in the SDA garden in the future.

According to Fogarty, there are currently compost bins set up near the garden by the 20’s building, but he and Shapiro hope to have bins distributed throughout campus sometime this year.

kyle shohfi

Numbers 25 families adopted by

SDA clubs and homerooms

who participated in ping pong tournament

6cars broken into in 207 students who voted in

ASB’s 2009 Elections

student parking lot

76 980 successful blood dona- dollars in revenue

tions to the American Red Cross

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102 students and teachers

earned from Battle of the Bands Finals

This year my French teacher introduced me to a French artist. Her name is Coeur de Pirate. That means pirate heart. She has an amazing voice and can play the piano very well. — Charlotte Orhbom, sophomore Comic-Con in San Diego

because it had lively people. It was extremely entertaining. Comic-Con is a place where anyone can go, dress up, and not be judged. — Monika Zbara, sophomore

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news 12.18.09

Smoke and tears SAT testing period fails to ACT according to PLAN. ariel chao

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tudents at SDA were scribbling furiously in their SAT test books on Dec. 12, which for many seniors was the last chance to finalize scores for college applications, when a fire alarm sounded and interrupted the testing period. This caused many students to worry for the possibility that their scores would be cancelled. The alarm was not set off as a prank or for a drill, but was set off from a fog

In Support of San Dieguito Academy Performing Arts

machine in the Mustang Center.

According to SDA testing coordinator Deb Abrahamson, 10 SDA students who had filed for facility use in the Mustang Center were using a fog machine to set up a scene for their film entry to a California state-wide film competition. When the smoke detectors triggered the fire alarm, it sent hundreds of students out of their test rooms for 15 minutes.

Soon after administrators targeted the location of the smoke,

San Dieguito

Cabaret Night

Come join the Theatre Arts and Music Program as they provide an evening of entertainment and enjoyment.

The event starts at 6 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 27, at the Encinitas Community Center.

Get your tickets now at sdafoundation.com!

Tickets are also available at the SDA Music Program Winter Concert on Thursday, Dec 17 at 7 p.m.

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the students in the Mustang Center were told to go home.

For some students, the fire alarm came as a surprise. Senior Katie Scardino said, “I jumped because it was very unexpected.”

For others, however, the excitement seemed to make them laugh. Senior Ariel Cherbowsky said, “Everyone just jumped. I giggled on the inside because even the proctor jumped.”

SDA English teacher Carolyn Lee who proctored that morning said, “We were about two to two

and a half hours into it when it went off. I was hoping that it would turn off immediately as it usually does.” When the alarm did not turn off, however, Lee followed normal procedures and evacuated her students.

For some students the unexpected evacuation was advantageous, allowing them time to think about problems or take a nice break as senior Derek Meyers said. However, for others it disrupted their thinking.

Scardino said, “It was hard to

get my focus back. I was in the middle of a section.”

When students and proctors were sent back to their testing rooms, students were told to resume their testing. “I just thought I’d have to come back early again next Saturday and take it over again,” Cherbowsky said.

Abrahamson said she filed a report when she sent the tests back to The College Board, and so far has not heard of any need to cancel the test scores.

the

Mustang

Adios and sayonara, 2009!

‘Tis the season for The Mustang’s annual tradition where staff writers share their personal bests and worsts of the year.

Best

Worst

Tiger Woods achieving the 70th victory of his career, closing in on Sam Snead (83) and Jack Nicklaus (73).

Finding out Tiger Woods is a jerk.

SDA getting compost bins and money for a recycling program.

Snuggies for dogs.

The invention of the “Bump-it.”

Actually wearing a “Bump-it.”

Going to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit my grandparents and spending two weeks there!

People dragging on the paranoia of Swine Flu for such a ridiculously large amount of time.

The new Transformers movie.

Realizing why I liked the Transformers movie.

Going to CLYLP! (Latino pride!)

Watching my sister gain the power to unlimited free burritos and only use it once a week.

Starting a blog this summer and getting 110 hits in one day.

Never having time to update my blog since the start of school causing it to die.

My AP European history video. We did a parody of Back to the Future starring Brian Moffatt as Marty McFly. We got 15 out of 15.

All the time we spent on our AP European history video and it was only worth 15 points.

Realizing exactly how bad “Glee” is—and watching it anyway.

Softball being rejected from future Olympic games.

Spending my summer in Nicaragua and falling in love with my host community.

Trying to figure out what colleges I wanted to apply to or what majors I wanted to pursue.

The success of the Invisible Children’s event, “The Rescue,” in May.

No more OxiClean commercials. RIP Billy Mays...

AHHHHH!!

“Where the Wild Things Are” finally coming out (after five years of production).

opinions 12.18.09

What’s up with...

So many kids dying from car accidents and drunk driving incidents at the start of school.

Can’t UC we hate you?

“...sex ed videos?” dhyana buckley, freshman

“...the separatist movement?” kent oman, sophomore

“...cars getting broken into?” amy dushkin, junior

The economy is down, tuition prices are up, and I am PISSED.

emily bartram

Thank you, bartrame91 Your application for undergraduate admission and scholarships for fall quarter/semester 2010 has been received.

Clicking the “Submit” button was like finally reaching the pot of gold at the end of a frickin long rainbow. Weights were lifted off my shoulders, “how to: CSU & UC” notes tossed, parents off my case. Hallelujah. After changing my Facebook status to show off my success of finishing my college applications, I decide that I needed to catch up on all television that I missed from working so hard on my apps. *Click* “Coming up on Fox 5 news:

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The University of California votes to increase undergraduate tuition by 32%.”

F*&^!

Thirty-two percent. That would make the new undergraduate tuition $10,302, and that doesn’t even include campus fees, housing, and books.

The decision was made by the University of California’s Board of Regents, who met at UCLA’s campus on Nov. 19. Basically, it’s a bunch of old losers trying to stomp on the dreams of innocent prospective students.

Okay that was harsh, but seriously.

Since the increase, many UC students are skeptical about their future. Some are considering getting a job to help pay tuition,

some are getting a second or third job, and some are even thinking about dropping out because they can’t afford the new rates. As much as I would like to say that the increase won’t affect me, I can’t lie. After hearing the news, I thought twice about my excitement of sending in my applications.

President of the UC system Mark Yudof said, “I know this is a painful day for university students and their families, but as I stand here today, I can assure you this is our one best shot at preventing this recession from pulling down a great system toward mediocrity.”

Ok, moron, let’s make sense of your argument. This “prevention” will do two things: raise

the tuition and put families thousands and thousands of dollars more in debt. And, more students will be forced to drop out, which will ultimately make you lose money.

The UC system isn’t looking at the bigger picture. By increasing the tuition, they are excluding the lower economic classes.

Yes, student loans are still available, but at the end of the day, that money is still coming directly from the family’s pockets. Even higher income families are beginning to stress over the increase, especially in these difficult economic times.

Therefore, this is why you, Mark Yudof, suck. Thanks for stomping your dirty overpaid shoes on my academic dreams.

“...green-painted asphalt?” kevin sanchez, senior

“...substitutes subbing for substitutes?” lonnie safarik and max gordon, sophomores

David Tennent said he loves me too. He’s a crazy Scotish actor. — Ariel Jones, junior A bunch of new technology came out that makes animal testing obsolete. — Megan Gaffney Getting proposed to by a crazy British actor. — Jaden Pratt, senior Certain regions in the Middle East are more stable so that troops can get pulled out. — Marc Lococo, senior Obama getting elected. — Savonnah Turner, senior

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opinions 05.10.10 hay baybay hay

I like to moo it, moo it

hayley baker

You can have your wheat grass and rabbit food, but be like a bunny and keep quiet about it.

I

suppose it makes sense that every well-to-do, 15-year-old, high school girl should decide to be a vegetarian for at least for six months of her life, but it’s not effective at all. High school vegetarianism is probably one of the least effective things in aiding animals’ rights.

I would first like to counter the common answer as to why high schoolers become vegetarians: “I just love animals so much that I can’t bring myself to eat them!” From the best of my knowledge, you folks are a lousy bunch of hypocrites. Let me ask you this before you go up in arms: you’re perfectly alright eating the eggs and drinking the milk that is squeezed from the millions of cloacas and udders everyday from animals kept in terrible conditions and kept alive for as long as they are profitable? How is this not cruel?

How is this not worse than eating meat? Isn’t it even more cruel in a way?At least chickens intended to be killed for meat are raised up to a certain point and then slaughtered. They are not made to live as long as they possibly can with beaks seared off their faces and nesting in their own excrement. Eggs and dairy products are tainted with as much cruelty as meat products.

So, if you really intend to eliminate cruelty, don’t consume ANY animal products. Excluding flesh from

your diet in the name of righteousness does nothing if you partake in another aspect of the food industry that markets another form of animal cruelty. Oh well, I guess it’s just too hard for you to give up your grilled cheese sandwiches and veggie omelets.

I would now like to counter the goal I assume is behind vegetarianism: stopping animal cruelty. I appreciate young and rash ambitions, but how do you live each day of your life convinced you are singlehandedly destroying the meat industry just because instead of ordering a hamburger at In - N - Out with your friends during hour lunch, you get french fries and a shake?

I’m pretty sure that your money is still going to a corporation that partakes in the meat industry.

The

money is still going to purchasing more burger patties and continuing the business of animal cruelty.

hayley baker

Instead of being the little lambs that you are, always following your friends wherever they may go for lunch, why don’t you do some research and find a couple of places that, even they if aren’t completely vegetarian, claim to

partake in organic, free-ranged raised meat products?

I’m going to assume that you’ve finally convinced your parents of your noble decision to halt your meat consumption.

Now you just eat the potatoes and broccoli when dad barbecues a big juicy steak dinner.

I’d like to recognize the fact that if you are an only child, then I’ll admit vegetarianism probably lowers your family’s overall expenses on meat products. If you’re not an only child and you have at least one other

sibling, then your abstinence does absolutely nothing. Mom still buys the same amount of frozen chicken fingers and turkey meatballs, now she just has to grudgingly spend extra money on your soy sausage shit or whatever it is you eat.

If you still feel obligated to do as much as you can in the name of animal rights, why don’t you adopt some practices that are actually practical and effective? Convince your parents to try to make one vegetarian meal a week. Maybe do some father-daughter/son bonding and round up wood at a local Home Depot and build a chicken coop. Raise your own chickens and collect your own eggs.

Contact local farmers and seek another animal friendly source for cruelty-free animal products. Buy organic food. Research supermarkets and companies that carry free-range animal products.

By being an altruistic douchebag who refrains from consuming flesh to support a bigger cause, nothing really gets done besides pissing other people off. Stop being so idealistic. Find something that works.

Play with arguments that make sense.

Instead of telling your friends that they are heartless sonofabitches, teach them how to make a really tasty vegetarian dish. I don’t know. Just do something else, because until you’ve moved out and have your own income, being a vegetarian is largely not effective.

kazuki tomokawa

Needed: one dank prank

josh drilling

O

The 2010 senior prank is getting here later than a second semester senior to first period.

ur Senior Prank this year was so wild! Whoa! Remember it? …No? Oh yeah, that’s right, there hasn’t been a senior prank.

If you haven’t noticed, San Dieguito Oh-Tenners have yet to churn out something spectacular in our senior year. No poignant irie graffiti. No cleverly numbered livestock. No pizzas ordered to be delivered to “Leah in the Administrative Office.”

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As we’ve changed from boyz to men over the past four years, I’ve gotten more and more excited every time one of us does something rad or wins an award or gets a job that doesn’t require a food handler’s license.

But this year, our culminating opportunity to kick ass and take names and not get in that-bad-of-trouble on account of we’re still just goofy high schoolers, we have all totally

failed. Besides fading into forgettable oblivion, the implications of our year’s lame inactivity freak me out.

Are we going to bounce out of our cushy upper-middle-class adolescence and continue to do merely what is expected of us?

I don’t mean we should all drop out and organize food co-ops and wear those little Tom’s shoes and all that coool business that teens end up on the Today Show

for, but we’re definitely one of the more promising graduating classes from one of the more promising high schools in the universe, so shouldn’t something neat be expected of us?

Yes. It’s our duty to seize every opportunity because I don’t want to come back in ten years and see everyone be regretful and jaded and all that.

We’re building memories here people; I don’t wanna waste

them on anxieties and “would that even be cool?”

Getting all “ohh senioritis” is really lame and way too boring, but while our teachers are busy with AP test-stress and expecting nothing of us, why not focus on making something really amazing happen? Like “High School Musical,” or “The Outsiders,” or “The Bucket List” or something. Why doesn’t one of us make it onto True Life?

Mustang

take me with you!

the

opinions 05.10.10

The wheels on the bus

amy dushkin

Why can’t we be more like the East Coast? Well, at least in the public transportation department.

A

Mustangs on 3

s a kindergartener, I had my first experience with public transportation in Encinitas when my kindergarten class took the bus from my school to the Carlsbad library. I remember we still needed parent drivers, since the nearest bus station was about a mile away from my school.

Even as a five-year-old, I could tell that taking the bus was a hassle.

My first experience of east coast transportation, however, was very different. It began about three minutes after I had stepped off the plane. My sister and I ran with my luggage in order to catch the RIPTA (Rhode Island Public Transportation Association).

This train was lit and crowded, so it didn’t even seem sketchy. This bus runs all over Rhode Island, taking you virtually anywhere in the entire state: residential areas, stores, towns, the water, etc.

The next day, my sister, Laura, and I wanted to go to Boston, so we simply took the RIPTA (which had a station right on her campus, Roger Williams University) to the train station, which had a commuter rail to Boston for only seven dollars.

The commuter rail brought us directly to the heart of Boston, simple as that.

At South Station (where the commuter rail took us), there was a stop for the “T” train, which had three different routes

dimitri fautsch

T

hayley baker

Route 101 Public transportation opens the door for an energy-efficient way to get to your favorite locations.

that go to basically every part of Boston imaginable, making stops about every two blocks. The “green line” route was a train en

route to Boston College, with 3 stops alone in Boston University.

But here, in Encinitas, it is almost impossible to get around

without a car. If I wanted to take the train anywhere, first of all I would have to travel about a mile or so to get to the nearest

bus stop. Furthermore, I have always been suspicious of buses here because they are usually pretty empty, except for the seemingly ubiquitous person sitting on the back of the bus mumbling to him or herself.

Public transportation through the North County Transit District includes the Breeze bus, the sprinter train, and the coaster. There are only 4 routes for the Breeze bus within Encinitas, none of which go into residential areas. The sprinter train makes 7 stops in Oceanside stations, but not one in Encinitas.

The coaster train has 8 stops all running from Oceanside to San Diego, with one stop on D Street, and it’s not cheap either.

The cost for one person to take the coaster from Encinitas to Old Town and back would total to 13 dollars.

On the East Coast, public transportation is an actual service, since it is so easy to use.

If public transportation were more widespread in Encinitas, teenagers without cars would have an opportunity to take the bus to their favorite places, and not worry about getting a ride home. Or if the schedules were altered, SDA students could take the bus home from school. In all, with more availability and a route more accommodating to a more widespread crowd, buses in Encinitas could be a convenient way to get around.

Frivolity now; dystopia later Nuclear apocalypses be damned, the temptation of useless information is our biggest threat.

he picture that’s been painted for our society’s eventual decline into lethargic submission is one featuring a singular authority controlling our thoughts, actions, and everything else from above.

“1984,” “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Giver,” and most dystopian novels present a society where information is restricted, emotional depth controlled, and thoughts suffocated.

Hell, even Hollywood and those Asian brothers who directed “The Matrix” thought

that this was our future.

But hold off on buying those pesky to maintain M-16s, and holing yourself up in that musty basement.

With the “deliberate and careful” approach our founding fathers took in crafting our government, a takeover of our nation by one dominant party or person is unlikely.

It took a little over a year to pass a basic healthcare plan.

Passing a sweeping ‘Big Brother’ bill would take some shady ‘toss him in the East River if he dis-

agrees’ politicking.

A more realistic situation is the one described by Aldous Huxley in his novel “Brave New World.” I know, I know, referencing BNW is a major douchebag maneuver, but a point needs to be made.

What Huxley feared was that the trivialities and constant stream of information in our lives would simply overwhelm us to the point of passivity. At this point, he’s kind of right.

He feared man’s desire for ho-hum distractions would

drown the truth in a sea of unimportance. “Brangelina,” is much more interesting (and hotter) than anything shown on CNN. He feared that there would be no reason to ban books, because nobody would want to read them.

The advancement of technology has made gigatrons (just made that up) of free data available at our fingertips. Books require time and money. Who wants to spend that?

Information is drug (d-bag

maneuver number two), and like any other drug, we have built up a tolerance to it.

Corporations, activist groups, politicians. It seems that almost everyone is fighting what seems like a losing battle for your dwindling amounts of time and attention.

If we want to prove Mr. Huxley wrong, we should focus on the important stuff, and not become enveloped by million dollar ad campaigns and, ultimately, the culture of laziness that modern tech has given us.

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2nd amendment

anna sheridan

the

opinions 05.10.10

Guns and poses

From coast to coast, you can find some sort of patriotism. But on the East Coast, it’s a little ridiculous.

S

TOGA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

an Diego, being a military town, has its fair share of patriotism. Many fathers, brothers, and friends serve for our country. We celebrate Fourth of July with a backyard barbeque, and if the skies are clear enough, some fireworks as well.

But patriotism is so much more on the East Coast, the birthplace of our country.

Patriot’s Day begins at the crack of dawn every April 19, earlier for some liberty enthusiasts who arrive at the Lexington Green at two or three in the morning to get front row seats.

Others, like me, dally in around 5:15 a.m., tired, grumpy, and incredibly cold. I had a reason to be cold. It was 28 degrees Fahrenheit outside. All the seats on the grass were taken, and by seats, I mean standing room and ladders of course. Yes, hundreds of ladders scattered the back end of the crowds with small bundled up children sitting atop them. I found myself a spot in someone’s driveway, on just enough of a hill to just see over the some 5,000 Bostonians gathered on either side of the green.

I waited with my half-asleep family for the “battle” to begin.

By battle, I am referring to

anna sheridan The ants go marching two by two. Hurrah! Hurrah! British riflemen get into their Redcoat roles at this reenactment.

middle-aged men dressed up in 17th century clothes with fake muskets pointing at each other and screaming. We all know the type. Paul Revere rode in

on horseback screaming at the top of his lungs, “The British are coming, the British are coming!”

Yes, we all knew this was coming, but the militia on the grass

gawked at each other and faked nervous laughter.

When the British marched in they lined up across the militia pointing toy guns and making

intimidating faces. Then they started the screaming again, and the firing of the toy guns that were, at best, unnecessarily loud.

Poor neighbors. The man watching in the crowd in front of me raised one hand slowly to his forehead and then gave our men a salute. What a patriot.

While I am pretty sure the extra day off for Patriot’s Day is appreciated by students and adults alike, I thought the whole shebang was a bit overdone, if not unnecessary. With roads closed all around Lexington, Newton, and Concord, it is hard to go anywhere but to the Green.

Sure, the little kids might enjoy the parade with 50-year-old men playing dress up and pretty floats driving by. But in reality, these are not real soldiers, so why on earth do we have to celebrate at the actual time of day?

I’m sure nobody would complain if Paul Revere decided to ride in around eleven a.m. next year.

But as for me, I prefer celebrating our nation the way the San Diegans do: with a burger and some fireworks. Dressing up in 17th century costumes, and sitting outside in below freezing weather is too much for me.

I like to eat, eat, eat only bananas

nicole greene

Peeling bananas always seems to be a difficult task. Here’s a guide to solve this potassium problem.

Y

ou know how whenever you eat bananas, you can’t get the banana peel to look like the ones in Mario Kart—the ones that have been discarded and thrown into the middle of the road? Do you want to know why you can’t ever get your banana peel to look like that?

It’s because you’re opening your banana the wrong way, and you don’t even know it.

But don’t worry. Most people don’t know how to properly eat bananas either.

Before I saw the light of how a true banana eater opens his or her bananas, I was another one of those ignorant people.

I always had trouble opening the banana at the “top.” I could never split the peel into even pieces. And every time, I would

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hayley baker

disregard the last inch of the banana in fear and disgust of the little blackish thing at the “bottom” of the banana.

But now, as an educated banana consumer, I know the true

beauty of a correctly opened bananas.

All that really needs to be done is simple: turn the banana upside-down.

Pinch off the previously

disregarded black bit at the end, and the banana will open with ease.

From there, it is no feat to divide the peel into equal pieces, devour the banana fruit, and

dispose of the humble remnants that were once a whole banana.

I write this article in hope of enlightening you to spread the true way—the only way—to open a banana.

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the

essays

12.18.09

nina moussavi

nina moussavi

Jack Rushall

Cara Reichard

J: He was really mean.

C:Anyways, so— J:You know, I casually asked him, I was like, you know, I mean David Sedaris is a pretty funny guy, he understands comedy, for the most part. We thought, you know, it’d be normal, or at least I thought it’d be normal, Cara and I were debating what to ask him in line— C:Yeah, Jack had been sweating over this, he was so stressed out, trying desperately to think of something clever to stay, because this is his idol— J:Yeah...

C: And he’s like I have to think of something really clever and witty, but he’s suffering from exhaustion so he would freak out about it, and then collapse into, like, you know…

J: Okay anyways, so we get to David Sedaris and I say, “Uhm , how do you feel about orgies?” And he was just like— C: Okay that’s not what happened first, Jack. We got the condoms first.

J: No, no, I swear— C: Yes we did.

J: All right, get yourself together. All right, so anyway— C: He definitely—I’m gonna tell this part. As much as you argue, I’m telling you this is exactly how the condom thing happened.

J: Fine.

C: So, he said how do you guys know each other? And Jack jumped in with some dumb thing, “Oh, we’re best friends, we hang out every day!” in this little fake voice Jack uses sometimes. And because I always like to make Jack feel bad about himself, I said “No, not really we have journalism together,” and he said— J: As if we’re not actually friends outside of journalism.

“I only know him through class!”

C: He made some sort of comment about journalism, I don’t actually remember what it was, and Jack jumps in again and says, “We were actually thinking of asking you some questions for the paper, but we couldn’t decide if we should make them raunchy or not.” And at this he says, he laughs or something, and he says “I have something for you guys.” And he leans down and pulls up a bag. And I was really confused— J: Don’t hurt me.

C: I—I beg your pardon? I was confused, I thought maybe he was giving us candy or something. He pulls out

the condoms, and at this Jack and I crack up, because actually we had been hoping to get condoms because— J: Because we’re so horny!

C: No. Actually, because a friend of mine had gone to see David Sedaris and he had given him a condom. So he whips out this condom and Jack and I are falling over ourselves laughing, we’re so excited, and Jack is like “It happened! It happened! We actually got condoms!”

J: Skip to the orgy part.

C: Well we had to finish the condom part. That part’s important. Anyways…this is your part.You tell it.

J: Oh, okay. So I decided that I wanted to be remembered. So I was talking to David Sedaris, and he’s a pretty respectable guy in the humor department, I figured he would understand if I asked him a weird question, maybe one that’s not so normal, as you might like to call it. So, you know, I randomly threw out there, “What do you think of orgies?” Okay so anyways, from there it stems into like— C: No, from there he said, because he’s pretty well known for not really having boundaries in terms of his writing, he said, “You know, people say I don’t have any boundaries, but this is where I draw the line. I won’t talk about my own sex life. I’m happy to talk about other people’s but not my own.” So Jack just says, “Well let’s talk about orgies in general. What are your thoughts on that?”

J: What did he say to that?

C: Something along the lines of, “Well, I don’t think you should have one.”

J: Oh yeah, he said, “You should cancel the one you were planning.” Not that I was planning one. He said, “You shouldn’t—“ C:Yeah, well basically he just said, “I don’t advise having an orgy.” And Jack asked why not? And he said— J: He was like…what did he say again?

C: He said it would be very hard for you to have a relationship after the orgy— J: I don’t remember any of that.

C:You don’t remember anything.

J: I don’t remember him saying that C: He said that.

J: I remember him saying things that are…

C: What do you remember him saying then? Because you don’t seem to remember any of the things he actually said.

J: Uhm, you know, I was just too busy checking out the

animals he was drawing in my book.

C: Anyways, so Jack said, well, something along the lines of, “But there’s so many options. Wouldn’t it be a good thing?” But Sedaris said, “No, no, no, you shouldn’t go to one, you should go to a Build-A-Bear workshop instead.

J: So he was like I want you to cancel your orgy, I want you to go to a Build-A-Bear workshop. And I was like “What orgy?” Actually, no, that didn’t happen. But I was like “A Build-A-Bear?” And he drew a Build-A-Bear actually in one of my books.

C:Yeah and he wrote “Get thee to a Build-A-Bear workshop,” in the book.

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12.18.09

I just finished the last of my college applications. After the initial excitement of getting out of here, and the reward of putting a big fat red line through one more item on my ever growing To Do List (can I get a hallelujah?), I’ve started to notice all the little things I’m going to miss about this school. And they’re not at all the kinds of things I would have expected.

It was a conversation between a friend and I that did it, that started this weird off-beat sort of appreciation. I was deciding whether or not to send an application to San Francisco State University. I told her I was leaning towards a no. Her face bent into that “really?” shape.

“Yeah” I said. “The campus is pretty, but the classrooms themselves are just sort of…dingy.”

“Exactly!” She said. “It’s like a home away from home.”

I imagined Roberts’ eclectic doodle-and-floppy-disc-covered wall with a window nicely framing a foggy Golden Gate bridge. I applied.

That opened this flood gate of classic, almost nostolgic, memories. What kind of AP US history class names a rat infesting the classroom? God, what kind of AP US history class thinks to call it “Zinn”?

Things like the “homey” classrooms. The LCC hand-me-down portables with buzzing ceiling lights. Classrooms that, until recently, I had never really appreciated.

So, I think of San Dieguito like an ugly puppy.1 The kind that’s so ugly it’s cute. Can you see it? Its obvious imperfections from a practical standpoint make it something genuinely unique. 2 They are these things that pull such a strange, diverse, mush-pot of a population together to “aww” about. Things that we can all agree to complain about. The Originally White But Now Almost Manila Walls. The Bathrooms From Hell3. The Grass With Dirt Patches, or maybe more precisely named, The Dirt With Grass Patches.

A particular scene from “Good Will Hunting” comes to mind.

Williams: My wife used to fart when she was nervous. She had all sorts of wonderful little idiosyncrasies.

She used to fart in her sleep. I thought I’d share that with you. One night it was so loud it woke the dog up.

She woke up and went ‘ah was that you?’ And I didn’t have the heart to tell her. Oh!

Matt Damon [laughing]: She woke herself up?

Williams: Ah...! But Will, she’s been dead for 2 years, and that’s the shit I remember: wonderful stuff you know? Little things like that. Those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I know about: that’s what made her my wife. Oh she had the goods on me too, she knew all my little peccadilloes.

People call these things imperfections, but they’re not. Ah, that’s the good stuff.

It’s the little quirks, good and bad, that make our school what it is. Keep it that way.

Your soon-to-be alumnus,

Casey Dayan

1 A pug maybe.

2 The little wrinkled nose would be the staircase by the front parking lot, its left legs the buildings on the hill, and its right the science classrooms? And some-teacher-who’s-name-shall-not-be-mentioned-but-might-start-with-a-G’s room would be the…oh. Maybe I should’ve stopped while I was ahead. You get the idea.

3 I always imagined the original designers of these bathrooms as these sick, evil geniuses. One would be named McEvil. The other, clearly highlighting my lack of creativity, Bill. They would sit around a white laboratory cackling maniacally to each other shooting sick, but simultaneously hilarious, ideas back and forth. Like the writers of Saturday Night Live.

McEvil: How about, instead of a mirror, we’ll put a slab of grubby poorly polished sheet metal!

Bill: Bahahaha! It’ll have a film of Who Knows What on it that could be easily wiped away, but we’ll make sure to leave the bathrooms (the men’s bathroom, at least) completely devoid of paper towels!

McEvil: Brilliant! We could also hire some “plant” students to make things even worse. We’ll have a few idiots scratch gang signs into the sheet metal!

Bill: Yeah! And some other students to “forget” to flush. Oh the smell! It can’t get much worse than that, right?

McEvil: Wrong! We’ll hire one kid to miss the toilet altogether, and crap straight onto the floor! doodles by jeremy wright

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“Adopt a family was huge success! A big thank you to the following clubs and homerooms for adopting families.”- ASB ASB Blaze Bode Brice Broemmelsiek

Butler Chaker Cooper Dargan Davidson

Etheridge Glasgow Hauck McCluskey Moore

Neubauer PALS Ramos Robotics SHS

Shayegan Snowboarding Club Teisher West Youmans

Winter Formal Feb. 19 on the Midway Air Craft Carrier Tickets on sale now!

Oh, what’s in a name?

The age and era of the Archetype is over.

The time of the Writers’ Block has come.

B

udding authors and aspiring artists have been able to go to The Archetype to put their work on paper and between covers for years. But now that SDA’s literary magazine’s name has been changed to Writer’s Block some things are going to change.

Under the watchful eye of English and AVID teacher Rob Ross, students continue to write furiously while visions of Pulitzers dance in their heads. Okay, not quite. Many of the students who write for the magazine are not actually would-be authors, just kids with ideas and a yen for seeing their names in print. Now, though, there will be regular club meetings in room 94 where students will share their writing and there will be after-school writing workshops.

Students’ writing can be found at sdawritersblock.wordpress. com. Your own creations can be submitted at sda.archetype@gmail. com. Any type of writing will be considered and the top three will be published in the yearbook. Below is a creative essay titled “The Fall of Creation” by senior Andrea Reyes located on the website. danielle gradisher

A

nd he appeared to be in the universe. His bare feet crossed the cold collisions of rocks, smooth stars, and flaming flares. It was all familiar to him, yet, he had never been there before.

The overwhelming darkness made him feel calm. It enveloped him like a blanket, almost trapping him. Though, the boy did not notice this.

He lived each moment of his life always looking down, watching his toes make ripples upon the atmospheres of the surrounding planets.

His eyes would squint when he encountered the many moons of Jupiter. Such a bright light, he thought, wasn’t his calling.

This boy never really understood his surroundings, purpose, or even who he was. He just didn’t know.

He easily lost track of time. His sense of measuring time was warped by the fact that he was always traveling. He just never stopped: one foot after another, across the radiant rings, spinning through swirls of dust and dwarfs. Of course he was alone. But he didn’t have to be.

He never questioned what had happened, never thought up of a friend.

He never dared to speak.

That was no surprise though. Being in his position, location, was like being at a desert: one assumed to be stuck forever. He never truly thought of it though, leaving, believing, or truly seeing.

The boy kept gliding through, until he noticed he was on his last floating rock. No other one seemed around for him to jump on. He then felt something inside of himself. Something he had never felt before. It was telling him to keep going.

He looked side to side, as if crossing a busy intersection. Though no sound echoed or movement was there to distract him. The boy knelt down and reached out his hand. Underneath him, he felt a floor.

Extending his leg, having it still, he leaned in a little. His feet then stumbled. The floor he felt was made out of puzzles. He struggled and struggled. The glitter beneath him cracked apart.

Down he went. His arms spread out. He drew his head back, resting. The boy began to spin slowly. His eyes closed, for the first time.

He saw colors, flashes of light, listened to laughter, saw trees of green, felt hands caressing his skin. All of this was new to him.

The minute he smiled, a bright orange explosion burst through across the sky of his mind and reached from the start of his soul, and created a finish.

This boy never opened his eyes again, for he saw within himself the power and potential that was always possessed inside him. He wandered around, without thinking before of wandering inside himself.

His imagination grew. His ideas and wishes gave birth to a solid ground: a place for all creatures like him, for those who felt purposeless and alone, to have a place to stand. He then whispered, “Earth.”

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Wrath of the raptors Every day students try to slip by Kerry Koda’s homeroom without being threatened by roars of toy dinosaurs. Behind the scenes are seniors Sean Holcomb and Hunter McKay with their theme that is so chill, it may cause another ice age. Story by Shelby Meyers and Kate Murphy.

nina moussavi

G

o back to the prehistoric ages where dinosaurs roamed the earth. Simply place SDA in the middle and it becomes SD²A, or San Dieguito Dino Academy.

The whole population of the school would make terrifying noises and sometimes dino-fights would break out, but have no fear because seniors Sean Holcomb and Hunter McKay have got this under control.

These two dino-lovers have recently formed a dinosaur-themed homeroom where students walking by truly believe that they are living in 200 BC. This phenomenon began in Kerry Koda’s class way, way back in September 2009. The idea erupted when Holcomb, the Grand Tyrant Lord, roared “Dinosaur Homeroom,” in a discussion to create a theme.

To prepare for the transformation into prehistoric ages, Holcomb and treasurer Hunter McKay, watched the cartoon television series, “Dino Riders,” from the late 80’s. After gaining insight, they brought in the first dinosaur action figures, Tino the Stegosaurus, Orange Julius, and Melvin. The collection of dinosaur figures gradually began to fill Koda’s entire room when the other class members contributed their plastic dinosaurs.

Class member, Mike Hursa says that “The dinosaurs really give the homeroom a sense of unity because we all rally around scaring innocent bystanders.”

Along with the mammoth-sized collection of figurines, Koda’s herd also entertains themselves by acting like dinosaurs. The most involved members roar out of the side window while sticking out one of their dinosaur friends.

They cherish the varied reactions that they usually receive. “They smile and act really awkward or they try to take [the dinosaur]. And then we say ‘Dino thief!’ and then we chase after them with a lot of dinosaurs. If they steal them, we hunt them down with a bunch of dinosaurs and people,” McKay said.

The most historic event was when one student got really offended and wanted to have a fight outside with the dinosaurs. “The boy exclaimed ‘You think I’m going to forget this, but I’m not!” McKay claims that the predator forgot and that, “If he ever comes back here stomping on our dinos, we’re going to tramp him.”

The leaders hope to see Dino Headquaters expand to four new homerooms next year. They believe that this will make the school a lot more fun. McKay also adds that he and Holcomb have plans to form a Straight Edge Dinocore band, Gallimimus X. The band will feature songs about dinosaurs and will include their practiced dinosaur noises.

Each of the various dinosaur-related activities that Dino HQ takes part in truly adds to the vibe of SD²A. McKay hopes to leave his footprint on the school by cautioning the student body, “Don’t steal dinos! RAPTOR PRIDE!”

nina moussavi

Peak-a-boo (Above) Senior Sean Holomb threatens passerby with his dinosaur and a terrifying roar. (Below) Seniors Sean Holcomb, Josh Drilling, and Hunter McKay show off their dinosaurs through the window of Koda’s classroom during homeroom.

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features 12.18.09

photo courtesy of Lindsey Mizock

A new kind of ‘Veggie Tale’ SDA student transforms her car to run on vegetable oil to help the environment.

Story by Alexa Shapiro

Top him off Senior Lindsey Mizock fills up the gas tank of her Mercedes using an alternative fuel source found commonly in the cooking aisle of most grocery stores. This increasing trend has saved environmental activists untold dollars all across the world.

A

s senior Lindsey Mizock pulls into the student lot, she overhears students say they smell French fries.

That’s Mizock’s Mercedes, which she calls William.

William wasn’t always an oasis for the aroma of greasy fast food. Mizock originally never wanted to get her license because of the amount of pollution cars emit.

“I didn’t want to drive unless it was better for the environment,” said Mizock.

She felt there was no practical way to avoid the damage done by vehicles on the environment and her contribution would only make things worse. Due to this, Mizock postponed getting her license until early November. However, she bought William a few months before receiving her license.

When she bought her car, the previous owner told Mizock of a way she could eliminate 70 percent of its CO2 emissions. This development would allow Mizock to drive without contributing to the pollution emitted by millions of other drivers.

For about forty dollars, Mizock received orange silicon tape and heat tubing that made up the kit. With help from her dad and the previous owner of William, Mizock installed the kit on the fuel injectors, found inside the engine. “All I did was put heater tape on the injectors that go into the engine. The oil heats up when you start the car,” said Mizock.

Mizock modified the kit by adding heat lines that were placed where the vegetable oil runs. Vegetable oil is naturally thick oil, so the heat lines warm up the oil causing it to be thinner, said Mizock.

While it might be easy to install, running her car is more maintenance then before. In the morning, Mizock turns on her car a few minutes early to allow the vegetable oil to heat up. “I just need to heat up the injectors [where the vegetable oil is], especially since it is getting colder,” said Mizock. “I just turn it on then go inside and wait a little bit until it warms up.”

Running on Vegetables

Southern California’s weather makes Mizock’s car a good candidate for an alternative fuel source. Since it is rarely cold here, it is fairly easy to run her car on vegetable oil.

It takes less time to heat up the fuel then it would in a snowy climate.

Running a car on vegetable oil does more than eliminate a large amount of CO2. According to the website Mizock got the kit from, it also has been proven to eliminate contributions to acid rain by emitting no sulfur. In addition, it released 50-70 percent less black smoke then that of a standard car. CO and HC are also

More than happy with this concept, Mizock converted her car to run on an alternative fuel source: vegetable oil. She receives her vegetable oil from a local Asian restaurant.

“It was really easy; I just got this kit off the internet,” said Mizock. The kit, with seven easy directions and step-by-step pictures how to install the heat injectors, came from a website called fattywagon.com. It also stresses the importance that this is only for diesel engines.

Cleaner Air

eliminated by 30-50 percent.

Yet there are many implications that running a car on vegetable oil is illegal in the United States. Currently, the EPA has not approved the use of vegetable oil to power a car. According to the EPA, vegetable oil has not been around long enough for them to study the impacts it has on the environment.

A Cheaper Resource

A few cases have developed where hefty fines have been given for running a car on vegetable oil, and even some practitioners who have obtained licenses to run their car with this method are now paying road taxes. In some parts of the country it is looked down on by the government, and in others the federal government gives tax credit to convert a car to run electrically.

Despite the confusion on its lawfulness, running a car on vegetable oil significantly reduces the amount of money spent per year on gasoline. A representative from http://fattywagons.com stated that he averaged 1,100 miles a week, equating it to over 50,000 miles a year.

Since he has converted his car to run on vegetable oil, he has saved himself $20.00 a day, which averages out to $4,800.00 per year. It’s no wonder that this environmentally conscious act has been slowing inclining to a world-renown trend.

Mizock is happy about her contribution to the environment, and it has saved her a lot of money. “It’s free.

I just go and pick [the vegetable oil] up,” said Mizock.

“They pay others to pick it up, but I do it for free. It’s recycling.”

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ometimes it has to do with weight, or maybe acne, or even a bad hair day. All of these cases are known to make students self-conscious. In fact, it’s pretty safe to say that, during some point in the middle and high school years, everyone ends up feeling self-conscious, especially since these years are characterized by change and self-identity.

But for some students, this harsh road towards selfidentity becomes a bit more complicated when they raise serious questions about their own sexual identity.

“You don’t realize [your sexual preference] overnight; it develops from a young age. There wasn’t a light bulb or anything, it just progresses over time,” said a male sophomore who describes himself as a “closeted bisexual leaning towards guys.”

Becoming aware

Some students sense a difference in their sexuality compared to that of others during their elementary school years. A gay, male senior said he had known he wasn’t straight since fourth grade. “I felt like I was different from everyone else, but I tried to ignore it,” he said.

During middle school, he tried to convince himself that his feelings for guys was a temporary stage. “I had a girlfriend in eighth grade to make myself think that I wasn’t gay,” he said. “I thought maybe by having a girlfriend I could end the phase faster.”

A bisexual, female senior said, “[In middle school] I did feel separated but I never really discussed it with anyone. I figured it was probably something that every person goes through. But I was kind of scared because none of my friends ever mentioned or thought about things like I did,” she said.

“My friend once made a joke asking if I was gay. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but I knew at that point that something was, in fact, different from the majority of my friends,” she added.

When entering her first high school, she wanted to talk about her struggle with her sexual identity, but when she tried to mention something to her friends, they would laugh at her. She considered talking to her parents, but she was afraid of how they would respond.

Parents

The male senior said, “At the end of ninth grade, I told my mom that I was bi[sexual] because I thought it would make my mom feel better. Like, by telling her I was bi[sexual], I would give my mom some hope that maybe I could be straight,” he said.

The student’s mother, however, was still shocked by what her son had told her and had fears that, by being bisexual, his chances of being infected with HIV would increase. “She took me to a psychologist so that I could talk it out more, but one day, I had to tell her. I just said, ‘You know what, Mom? I’m gay.’” It took his mother a couple of months to accept his sexuality, but their relationship is now back to being strong.

During her freshman year, the parents of the female senior found out she had a girlfriend. “[My mother] was horrified that I had a girlfriend.” She described the relationship with her mother as close, but the topic of her sexual preference does get them into arguments. “I am extremely frustrated by not only [my mother’s] dislike and disbelief of my sexuality, but her lack of support for gays, lesbians, and bisexuals in general,” she said.

photo illustration by ana reyes Holding hands In this photo illustration a same-sex couple walks down the street, not afraid of showing their sexuality in public.

But when she and her girlfriend decided to spend lunch holding hands, other students threw food at them and cursed them. “I lost friends because, apparently, liking the same sex was ‘sinful’ and ‘disgusting,’” she said.

Acceptance

“Being different is not a bad thing, and there is always someone out there who is going through something confusing and hard,” said the female senior. “I made the mistake of thinking I was [alone].” She recommended talking to counselors or teachers if one is too nervous to tell his or her parents.

All three students agreed that students who are struggling in any way should not lie to themselves and should do only what makes them comfortable, despite what others say. The male sophomore said, “Getting over the fact that, ‘yes, this is who I am’ can be difficult, but we have to remember that we all are always trying to re-understand ourselves.”

Out of the closet

Students tell their stories about accepting their own sexuality. Story by Ana Reyes.

School

Meeting her first girlfriend at her old high school, however, was a relief for the female senior. “It was good to finally have someone to discuss it,” she said.

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Transfering to SDA was refreshing to the female senior. “A lot of guys turn out to prefer guys, and it’s accepted,” she said.

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Fight to the finish The boys basketball team battles Mt. Miguel and struggles to keep their momentum. pauline disch

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t was an intimidating start for the varsity boys basketball team on Dec. 7 because the JV team had previously lost to their opponent, Mt. Miguel, by 21 points.

The boys were struggling at first because Mt. Miguel was scoring multiple 3-pointers and it seemed as though they couldn’t be stopped. The Mustangs were staying open and making passes, but they were having a hard time making the baskets necessary to pull ahead.

Varsity Coach Luke Stuckey pulled the boys aside often to get their spirits up and build momentum, but he wasn’t the only one rooting for the Mustangs.

A group of students was at the game and supported their friendsfor every play on the court. They also tried to mess with the referee saying things like, “why aren’t you listening?

Travel, travel! You’re shaking your head so I know you can hear me.”

They also made fun of Mt. Miguel when one player made a shot and didn’t even hit the

backboard so they all yelled, “air ball!”

However, the tides were changing during the third quarter as the Mustangs began to make more rebounds and score more points. Senior Brian Peck helped turn things around with numerous 3-pointers causing the crowd to fill the gym with applause.

Senior Tom Tumosa almost lost a rebound, but recovered and tried again, but the ball didn’t go in so he reached over players for a third try. The ball finally went in despite a Mt. Miguel player fouling Tumosa.

The boys were catching up and only down by two points in the third quarter. But they couldn’t slow down Mt. Miguel and lost 46-63.

“We did well enough to win, but we had a few mental lapses in the fourth quarter and gave them too many opportunities,” said Peck.

Despite this loss, the team has a record of 6-3 as of Dec. 16 and finished last year 5-20 overall and 2-6 in the North Coastal League according to the North County Times and maxpreps.

nina moussavi

Keep it up Junior Tor Syvrud battles with a player from Mt. Miguel to compete for the ball and pass to a Mustang.

com. The boys want to finish in the top half of their league and make it to the Division III playoffs according to Stuckey. The varsity coach also said the team has a huge advantage due to the

height and size of the players.

Also, they have the advantage of playing together all summer.

This wasn’t hard to notice in the game against Mt. Miguel because, even though they lost,

the boys were organized in their plays and communication.

“We played hard, but they ended up making a few shots in the end, but we are improving,” said junior Tor Syvrud.

Mustangs are wild and kicking The varsity boys soccer team isn’t letting one loss bring them down and are staying alive with an impressive start. kaylin greene

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t’s halftime, and the score was still 0-0 after 40 exhausting minutes of play. The Academy’s Varsity boys soccer team had been battling “powerhouse” Cathedral Catholic in a heated game, as SDA put up a strong defense and also came unbearably close to scoring some goals.

“We played a good, hard game through the first half because we came into the game knowing what to expect,” senior midfielder Eric Holakiewicz said.

Anticipations were running high, so when the second half

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started Cathedral began to keep the ball centered in SDA territory and Academy spectators were definitely getting nervous.

“We knew we held them first half and went in thinking we could hold them no problem, but one defensive breakdown lead to a Cathedral goal. After that the flood gates opened and they were able to get three more goals in,” Holakiewicz said.

The soccer ball didn’t travel down to Cathedral’s end of the field as much and the Mustang’s defense were outraced in several sprints. Sophomore Pablo Gomez was able to keep the ball pushed towards midfield and

SDA made repeated efforts to score on Cathedral. All attempts, unfortunately, were thwarted

by Cathedral’s goalie. All players from SDA were down at the south end of the field in order to protect their goal.

“By looking at the [4-0] score you wouldn’t think that the game was close at all, but in reality it was a good, close game up until the end,” Holakiewicz said.

Overall, including the loss to Cathedral, the boys soccer team is 4-2-0 this season as of Dec. 16 according to The North County Times, and promises to keep games aggressive.

“My expectation is that we

compete consistently with every team we face. I also expect us to win league and show well in playoffs,” Varsity Coach Craig Dean said. Of the 19 boys on the varsity team, nine are returning from previous seasons. Despite the fact that a couple of returning key players are recovering from knee surgery, the boys have an abundance of talent.

“Advantages this team has is experience, because we have seven or eight guys who play at the premier level for their club teams. The disadvantage this team has is depth on the roster, (which means that the team consists of players from all grade

levels) and definitely injuries,” Dean said.

“We are fortunate to have received a freshman goalie [Ryan Gust] after losing our senior goalie from last year,” Holakiewicz said.

The boys are currently playing in the Grossmount Tournament, which began Dec. 12 and continues this weekend. They have won their first two games.

“We need people to attend our games whether we are at home or away. We have a great team and, odds are, the more people we have supporting us the better we’ll play,” Holakiewicz said.

GO CHARGERS! They’re actually doing really good this year, so far! I’m so excited, my family and I always watch the games together. — Ashley Filler, freshman Steve Nash was dribbling the ball down the court and bounced it between a

defender’s legs and made a lay-up. — Haylee Bell, junior I think that the best football team of the world is the Colts. — Rebecca Tsai, freshmen The Yankees won the World Series; that was pretty cool. — Jamie Labree, senior

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Total domination

The varsity girls basketball team sweeps the floor with their opponent Preuss winning by over 50 points. pauline disch

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alking in the gym on Dec. 9 it was already apparent at first glance that the varsity girls basketball team was going to have a huge advantage: Almost all the Mustangs were four, maybe five inches taller than their opponents from Preuss High School.

It was a quick and dominant start for the girls because after the first quarter they were up 21-8. It was the coordination of sophomore twins Harper and Blaire Crickmore that earned the Mustangs numerous points because the sisters were making rebound after rebound.

Not only was SDA playing well, Preuss was being careless.

These players were taking reckless shots and practically giving the ball to the Mustangs by kicking it out of bounds or passing to an invisible person and the ball later going out of bounds. The girls used this to their advantage and had the opportunity to finally do what they’ve practiced during the week, according to

jocelyn lee

Watch yourself Junior Haylee Bell maneuvers around her opponent and protects the basketball from being stolen.

sophomore Megan Hatfield.

In the second quarter the girls had to stop because of Harper Crickmore’s cry of, “holy crap!” The sophomore came down hard and was forced to sit on the bench to rest her ankle

which she said had “popped” and was swollen red. The Mustangs didn’t let this slow them down, especially senior Kayln McMackin who was sinking 3-pointers from every angle on the court.

The Mustangs were consistently getting called on fouls by the referees, but both the players and the coaches didn’t agree with all these calls. In one instant, the referee claimed a Mustang was carrying and said,

“Hey coach, ask her if she’s hungry because it looks like she’s carrying a pizza.” Again, the girls ignored this insult and were in the lead 53-14.

The Mustangs trampled Preuss 67-14 and demonstrated that they were definitely more organized and athletic. With this victory, the team is 6-2-0 as of Dec. 16 according to maxpreps. com.

“Overall everyone got a lot of minutes to improve and we all played really well, but there is always room for improvement,” said McMackin.

“The team has eight returning players and four really good new players,” said Coach Jim Segovia. “We are young with only four seniors but experienced as a group.”

It wasn’t difficult to tell who the seniors were because, during the game, they all had a dominating presence on the court and communicated with their fellow players. Though the team is young, the girls have pulled it together and are on their way to a successful season.

Kicking it into high gear The varsity girls soccer team steps it up a notch and uses its agressive fury to compete with Valley Center. pauline disch

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t has definitely been cold these past few days, but none of those temperatures can compare to the frostbitten feeling of the varsity girls soccer game on Dec. 9. Both the opposing Valley Center players and parents were bundled up with fury in their eyes. The Mustangs were equally layered and warmed up beforehand with determination to beat the “valley girls.”

The girls had a tough start because Valley Center scored quickly in the first half and put a halt to the Mustangs momentum. The girls were fighting on both ends of the field with plenty of offensive passing and cheering from the bench, but it was almost half time and SDA was still down by a goal.

In a last attempt to tie it up before half-time junior Maddie Roberts was in position in front

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of the goal and scored, causing her team and fans to rise on their feet.

During the team’s discussion, after the first half, varsity coach Anna Gerber complimented the three girls playing defense in the back, but said that the rest need to help them.

“All the teams that have beaten us have been more aggressive, they push, they shove, we need to be aggressive,” said Gerber.

It was time to return to the game and it was as if a new team went out. The girls were talking more, pushing more, and making more plays. At one point the Valley Center goalie tried to kick the ball away, but senior Olivia Piriano was there to deflect it and score a goal.

The Mustangs now had somewhat of a cushion with a score of 2-1, and it seemed like only minutes later the girls

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scored again. Senior Chandler Bobin attempted to score, but the goalie blocked it, but then Roberts was in the right place at the right time and scored another point for the Mustangs.

SDA was up, but Valley Center was not out, for they scored a goal in response to the Mustangs’ deflected goal. The clock was running out and the victory was close, but at the last minute Valley Center scored and tied the game 3-3.

Gerber said that this game would only make the girls stronger because they can learn from their mistakes. However, in this particular game the loss of momentum in the end may have resulted in the final score.

“We played really well, but we lost it and got complacent in the second half so we need to play hard the whole time,” said senior Sydney Nauslar.

The team definitely stayed

pauline disch

Zombie nation time Before the game against Valley Center the varsity soccer girls huddle up for a pre-game cheer to the song, “Zombie Nation” by Kernkraft 400 while jumping and laughing to get their spirits up.

strong, but both players and Gerber commented on the lack of communication which may be due to new faces and positions.

The team has a record of 2-1-

3 as of Dec. 16 and, according to Gerber, the team hopes to claim the Nirth Coastal League title and a Division III CIF playoff seed to make semifinals.

Cara Reichard tripping into the other teams goal taking out the goalie during our last soccer game and scoring a goal. – Ariana Crow, junior The best thing about 2009 is that the Chargers are finally getting it together. It’s like a miracle. I love it. – Solana Michael, freshman This year’s Superbowl. There was a really old quarterback from the Arizona Cardinals. They were

supposed to be the underdogs last year and they almost won, but then at the last minute, they lost. – Rose Johnson, senior

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Throwdown Showdown

Mustang wrestling starts off this season with a strong stand against opposing schools despite having a small roster. kaylin greene

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restling has begun a successful season with a competitive but ultimately lost match against Army-Navy Academy on Dec. 1. “We dominated them,” Coach Eric Wilson said, “but, they beat us on the scorecard because we didn’t have a full roster. For those who did wrestle, we definitely won the majority of the matches.”

The match ended up being positive for the development of this year’s team. “It was a definite confidence booster! Everyone got the chance to wrestle in either the scored match or exhibition,” junior Sam Caras said. Even though San Dieguito Academy has the disadvantage of being a smaller team, the members have proven themselves as a strong team to watch for among Division III schools.

The wrestling team consists of 10 athletes; seven of which are returning wrestlers. this season. Junior Sam Housekeeper is the wrestling team captain.

Housekeeper broke his arm last year in a match and was put out of commission for the rest of the season. “Our disadvantage is that we do not have a full roster, but we kick butt with what we’ve got,” Wilson said.

Objectives for the wrestling team include team improvement and excelling in competition.

“We try and keep building,” Wilson said. “Our goals are to keep building on the knowledge and foundation from last year.

We hope to get a lot of guys in CIF this year, instead of just three.” Last year, three wrestlers from the team went to CIF. “We always have advantages; we’re San Dieguito Academy!”

Wilson said.

chandler carlson Fancy footwork Mustang wrestlers fight an uphill battle against Army-Navy Academy and lost due to their small size.

Fall sports wrap-up The fall sports season may be over, but many teams continued through the winter and succeeded in CIF games. pauline disch

Field Hockey

The varsity field hockey team ended the season with a 5-5 record in their Palomar League and an impressive 14-9-1 overall. The girls were able to make it to the CIF Semifinals, but walked away after a 0-3 loss to Scripps Ranch.

Several players made the county’s leader board with notable records. Junior Ariana Crow tied for 6th in scoring this season with 7 goals, 5 assists, and 19 points. Junior Kailie Pasko and senior Heather Scruggs tied for 13th in scoring with a total of 10 points. Young sophomore Teesa Lhota was 2nd overall as a goalie with 112 saves and a winning percentage of 0.896.

As far as the season goes, junior Jessica Bloom said, “The team pulled through and we did really well. This year was fun and we all bonded as a team which will also help us next year.”

Cross Country

Both the boys and girls varsity cross country teams came out on top this season by placing first

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in the North Coastal League. In the Coastal League overall the boys placed second and the girls placed third.

“We were a very strong team this year and had a lot of goals.

We met some, but didn’t quite get all of them,” said junior Lane Jackson.

Many runners were able to make it to the CIF Finals Nov. 21 at Morley Field, varsity girls: 61st Amy Lewis (junior), 66th Kaylin Greene (junior), 71st McKenna Taylor (senior), 72nd Emily Nathan (freshman), 75th Julia Pederson (junior), 89th Courtney Swan (senior), and 96th Alexa Shapiro (junior).

Varsity boys: 26th Nate Burns (senior), 32nd Brendon Junge (senior), 41st Lane Jackson (junior), 54th Steven Forsythe (junior), 57th Chase Brokaw (senior), 61st Conor Paris (junior), and 65th Evan Armstrong (sophomore) also placed in the top. No one made it to the state championships, but according to Jackson that is the goal for next year’s season.

Tennis

The varsity girls tennis team finished fourth in the Coastal

League with a record of 4-3-0 and 6-5-0 overall. Although the team did not advance in any CIF tournaments, several girls topped the list of statistics across the county.

Both sophomore Jenai Machhi and junior Kinsey Volkart placed in the top 50 in singles matches in San Diego, Machhi went 12-12 while Volkart went 11-13.

“We’re entering a new division next year so we had a lot of hard conditioning this season,” said senior Hannah Fortini.

“This year was a lot of fun, though, and I think the sophomores and juniors will be ready for next year’s season.

Volleyball

The girls varsity volleyball team walked away with third place in the North Coastal League with a record of 2-4-0 and 9-8-0 overall.

Although the girls did not make it to CIF, five players had success with their statistics.

Senior Anna Kobara was second in the county with an average of 7.31 digs. Senior Jourdyn Aiken placed 13th in aces while junior Sydney Crowe ended up

nina moussavi

The magic touch Junior Sydney Crowe tips the ball to defeat the other team.

10th in assists. Senior Katherine Merchat and junior Catherine Oswald placed fifth and 15th in blocks this season.

The Mustangs, however, were not able to post as many wins that they have earned this

season due to an illegitimate player.

“Despite the unfortunate events we had this season, we all pulled through and did really well,” said senior Jennifer Godfrey.

Nate Burns. – Sean Kirkpatrick, senior Each time the Lakers lost was the best moment. – Kyle Kintner and Willie Saake, sophomores The field

The men’s US Confederate soccer team made it to the CONCACAF Cup,” – Johnny Zolars, junior

hockey team beating Vista by 2 strokes was the best. – Tessa Lhota, sophomore Mark Buehrle’s game against Tampa and the catch

in the ninth inning. – Jack Walsh, junior Lakers winning the basketball championship. – Delaney Sztraicher, junior

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Cell phone drive

hosted by the Environmental Awareness Club Bring in your old cell phones so they can be recycled!

From Jan. 4 to March 31 Drop off location is located in the library near the College and Career Center

courtesy of tom english Shortboard skills Junior Ryan Harrah scores some points for the judges.

Not bored on this board The surf team begins an undefeated season beating Carlsbad, LCC, and Torrey Pines. kaylin greene

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ustang surf is making its way into another successful year by winning several ISF competitions and ripping up opponents like Torrey Pines and La Costa Canyon. At the first competition, SDA defeated rival Carlsbad by only one point. Surf coach Mark Brolaski said, “We hope to go to state this year and have a really solid team, but we will for sure win the San Diego section.”

The surf team this year is broken into two groups: Steve Lister coaches the B team, while Brolaski and his wife Liz coach the boys and girls A teams, respectively. “At practices we’re able to talk with surfers and teach them how to win. We’re seeing a lot of improvement, especially from the B team,” Mark Brolaski said.

At a surf competition Nov. 14 at Avalanche Beach in OB, it was clear from the start that SDA was dominating. The waves were peeling between the two stone jetties with two blue ISF tents set up on each end of the beach. This is where the judges were positioned to watch the surfers paddle out for the heats.

Each beach break provided powerful neck-high waves with a little bit of barreling down at

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one break. “I liked the waves, they were fun. I thought they were a little ‘eh’ earlier, but once I got in, it got better,” said longboarder junior Elise Courtois.

Despite the beach’s serene appearance, it was the bloody battle ground the Academy used to destroy teams from Torrey Pines 78 to 69 and Oceanside 78 to 40.

“Here’s an analogy to describe today’s competition: There are two mice in a bucket of milk, and they’re trying to turn the milk into butter by treading. One is like ‘I’m over this,’ and so he drowns. The other is like, ‘I’m going to keep trying,’ but now he’s trying so hard that by the time he turns the milk into butter, he’s dead.

So SDA is the bucket of milk, Oceanside is the first mouse and Torrey Pines is the second mouse,” described senior Ryan Russo.

“We’re always looking for new members. We practice at Seaside every Monday and anyone at SDA is welcome to join the surf team. You don’t have to be competitive—I know that there are a lot of people who go to SDA who surf but aren’t actually part of the team because they don’t want to compete, but you don’t have to,” Mark Brolaski said.

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Timeout with: kara kono

The Mustang naturally “flipped out” when Kono let us take a timeout with her on why she enjoys gymnastics. kaylin greene

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unior Kara Kono can stick it to the man, literally. A talented gymnast who has been involved in the sport for more than a decade of her life, Kono lives, breathes, and eats gymnastics. She has traveled all the way to grand old Oklahoma and has proved herself a successful competitor on a national level.

Mustang: What are some of your latest successes?

Kono: We made it to nationals at the Western Championships in Oklahoma last year. Our Regional team won overall, and I won the beam. I do cartwheels without hands, aerials, backhand springs, back flips, and so on.

M: Why do you enjoy gymnastics so much?

K: The friends. I’ve been doing gymnastics since the first grade, but earlier, a few of my

friends and I did a mini-class in preschool, but then I quit and joined a club because I became more interested.

M: Do you think gymnastics is difficult?

K: It has its ups and down.

Some things come naturally, but other things like front twisting take a long time and training to learn. I’m not afraid to try and learn new things. I’m generally good at learning dance stuff, such as back flips.

M: How much time do you devote to gymnastics?

K: I have ISPE and train about 20 hours a week for SeaWin at the YMCA Gymnastics Training Center in Carlsbad. We start off with stretches and then strength training, and then train at events, spending about an hour working on each.

M: What type of events do you do in competition?

K: I do the vault, bars, beam and floor, but my favorite event is probably the bars. I really like giants—rotating perpendicularly around the bar—those are fun.

M: What do people say when you tell them you’re a gymnast?

K: People usually think it’s cool and sometimes they’ll ask me to do a back flip. Some of my friends say they want to come watch me when I compete, but it’s kind of nerve-wracking.

M: What’s the funniest thing you did with your team?

K: One time, we went to our coach’s house and TP-ed her house. She laughed because she knew it was us. But, this other time, we TP-ed our other coach’s house, but he blamed it on his son’s friends and made him clean it up. It was really funny! We told him later of course, after we waited a while, and he just laughed.

M: Do you think you’ll be a gymnast as part of your career?

College sport? The Olympics?

K: I think I’m going to stop after high school. There’s lots of pressure in college and it gets really competitive. I may also be interested in doing a different sport, such as cheer, dance, or diving.

kaylin greene

Roll us a giant Kono swings herself around the bar in what is called a giant, and then holds herself in a gravity-defying vertical position at the top.

Pop culture: holiday edition What trends are filling the school with holiday cheer, the Mustang finds out.

Interviews and photos by Pauline Disch.

favorite holiday song:

kelsey daum rudolph the redsenior nosed reindeer surf

edgar rosales sophomore soccer

jingle bell rock

kelsey macau junior frosty the snowman basketball

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for the holidays I want...

favorite reindeer name

snowboarding trip to tahoe

an “A” in all my classes

cash

blitzen

weirdest holiday gift:

favorite holiday food:

velvet coloring book

cornbread stuffing

comet

crappy book

rudolph

bathing suits and a towel

tamales

roasted pork

When Kailie scoring the goal in the LCC field hockey game it was awesome. — Courtney Haller, junior The Chargers had

an amazing comeback this year. – Laura Goodballet, senior I begged my coach to put me in a singles tennis match and I won!

It was one of the best moments of my life. — Nicole Sinno, freshman Oudin, the

finals of the tennis US Open was amazing. – Elissa Gibb, junior

17-year-old who made it to the quarter

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Bass, beats & breakdowns

After three weeks of watching dozens of bands play during lunch, Battle of the Bands went into its final night. Five bands made it to finals, but only one could walk away with the grand prize. This year’s talented winner, The APE; Nate (seniors Kirby Lochner, Brian Moffatt, Jordan Gray, Bryan Hee, and Nate Burns), not only won the title of first place, but also won the chance to do a live performance at a local restaurant along with studio time to record and produce one of their songs. Coming in second to The APE; Nate was Astrologic, followed closely by Moosetrap. Photos and story by Nina Moussavi.

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4.

1. Brutal breakdowns Amun Ra gets the crowd head banging 2. Semicolon? The audience loved The APE; Nate, and so did the judges 3. Little Walter heir apparent Senior Jordan Gray jams out on his harmonica 4. Oh, the Pell Mell. Acoustic band Pell Mell incorporates a cappella into their set

This year I went to Samoa. It was definitely the best sponge trip ever. – Jensen Atwood, senior For metal CD, I’m gonna have to go with ‘Gabriel’ by Believer, because it’s such a great comeback and extremely creative with all the production experimentation with weird sounds and such. – Alex Fidel, senior ‘The Great Misdirect’ is some of the greatest music to ever grace

my ears. – Evan Angelico, junior

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12.18.09 OF

Kerry’s Cooking Corner Breakfasts that will warm you up on a cold winter day.

Cranberry Muffins 1 ½ cup flour 1 cup oats 1/3 cup brown sugar 1 tbsp. baking powder ½ tsp. baking soda 1 ½ cup chunky cranberry sauce ½ cup milk ½ cup vegetable oil 1 egg 1/2 cup nuts (optional) Heat the oven to 400˚.

Prepare muffin tin by spraying with cooking spray or lining with paper muffin cups. Stir together all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, blend together the cranberry sauce, milk, oil, and the egg. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir completely, then pour into muffin tin, filling each cup until it is about ¾ full.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal 1 medium apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces 3 cups apple juice or apple cider 1 1/3 cup oats ¼ cup raisins or cranberries ¼ tsp. cinnamon Milk and brown sugar to taste Heat a saucepan on the stove to medium-high heat.

Add the apple, the juice, raisins, oats, and cinnamon.

Cook until it bubbles. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Story and photos by Kerry Roberson

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thea brown

Pretty Kitty Sophomore Sophie Bandstra (left) and junior Matt Benedetti (right) discuss the improper usages of therapy in terms of cat visibility.

Delightful dysfunction Aliens have landed, but who has time for that? Your marriage is over, you are stuck with your ex-lover, and your daughter is missing, so naturally all you can do is laugh. thea brown Welcome to Willspeir, Pennsylvania. Here you may notice that the doors are bolted shut.

You may see that the citizens are all indoors with worried expressions plastered on their faces. You would think that this is due to the aliens who recently landed in their quiet town.

Of course, this is not the cause of their distress. Almost every person is stuck in a situation that they would probably prefer not to be in.

It’s all extremely uncomfortable at the very least. Welcome to “A Delightful Quarantine,” one of the best plays SDA has produced in our time.

Try to imagine a social situation that could change your life forever, like the daughter you gave up 20 years ago returning to your front doorstep, or

realizing that you no longer love your husband. Both seem to be heavy, serious issues, but there is no need to fret. Laughter is the reaction, no tears or distress.

SDA’s theater students have outdone themselves this time around. The winter play is full of a new level of sophisticated humor, a humor almost unknown in high schools today.

Though it is safe to say that past plays have been extremely educated, “A Delightful Quarantine” has a level of dysfunctional absurdity to surprise those who haven’t attended plays before. It is also structured in a way unfamiliar to SDA. “It was different than most plays. There wasn’t really a main part so everyone’s part was pretty equal, which was cool,” said Logan McGinley, sophomore.

The play was organized into seven different sets, each with

their own experiences of how the residents of Willspeir were reacting to their recent predicament.

This presentation required expert blocking, timing, and set design. This seemed like a daunting task, especially with drama teacher, Sharon Dasho, gone on maternity leave. However, the class pulled through and performed top-notch.

“It was a bit weird to have a different director, for this time being, especially since a lot of us are so used to Dasho, having her be here for us, but over all Mr. [Brandon] Taylor did a great job in directing it. We are now able to perform 10 minute scene from our play at CETA (California educational theater association) which we haven’t won in 10 years or so,” said Natalie Karam, senior.

According to junior Kristen

Garrett, having an unfamiliar director caused the production to be mostly student run. She added, “Mr. Taylor did a great job directing and giving tips to help the actors perform better though. He was a pleasure to work with.”

Overall, both the audience and the cast seemed thoroughly pleased with the production.

Attendance seemed to be better than usual, though junior Matt Benedetti still felt as though it could be better.

He cited the high prices and unfamiliarity of the play as being the cause of nights of low attendance.

Karam still believes that the play was one of the more successful ones. “The play ran really well, we always have good crowds and bad ones, this time the audience has really been in our favor.”

The best YouTube video is ‘Goat Screams Like Man.’ Oliver [Martin] told me and Derek Meyers and Alex Haddad about it on our way to Spain, this is what he said: ‘So there’s a goat, and it’s standing there, then it yells AHHHHHHH like a person.’ – Karl Anders Olsen, senior ‘Dexter’ is actually the best show on television for the last 10 years. It’s on Showtime but all the episodes are online. If you aren’t watching it, go watch it. – Max Oltersdorf, senior

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Best of 2009 In 2009, swine flew (but Balloon Boy didn’t), Michael Jackson thrilled us for the last time, and Taylor Swift convinced every boy in America that he belongs with her. The decade is coming to a close, as did a number of leading banks, but life’s still a party in the USA. The Mustang surveyed 500 students on the best and worst movies, music, TV shows, videogames, and pop-culture phenomenons. The results are in. It’s sad to say goodbye to the decade that no one knows what to call, but all in all, the future is looking UP!

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Written by: Liz Avila, Hayley Baker, Thea Brown, Taylor Chapin, Dimitri Fautch, Nicole Fisher, Maddie Lyon, Shelby Meyers, Bailey Mezan, Sandra Morales, Kate Murphy, Dana Pede, Kerry Roberson, Kyle Shohfi, Henry Sweat, Rieko Michelle Whitfield. Art by Rieko Michelle Whitfield

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couple makes up and Sam saves the world from destruction with Mikaela doing all of the crucial things:stretching, running… you know, that kind of stuff.

The most disturbing thing about the movie is Megatron’s lack of power. He still is one of the most powerful Transformers, but has lost his dominance. In the first movie he is without a doubt the most powerful Transformer; he ripped apart one of the Autobots (the almost best of good robots) and almost killed OpInglorious Basterds...23% timus Prime (their Star Trek...23% leader).

Taken...18% In the sequel, Law Abiding Citizen...7% Prime almost battles Megatron and two other Decepticons at the same time and might have won had he not had to protect Sam. It is depressing that one so great lost much of his power, (though he used it for evil and tried to kill the human race).

A trequel is coming; Megatron survived and the movie made a lot of dough. Freshmen can rejoice and the rest of us will see another movie about giant robots and hot girls that blow stuff up.

-H.S.

Transformers 2

lights, camera

Best Action

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http://www.transformersmovie.com/

This is Love Even in extreme danger, these two clasp hands. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on true love.

I

n slow motion, four people run from an airstrike. The camera is centered on Megan Fox’s bosom. Coincidence? I think not. Filled with explosions, huge robots and the highly overrated Megan Fox, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is a freshman boy’s dream.

Starring Shia LaBeouf as Sam Witwicky and Fox as Mikaela Banes, the second

installment of the Transformers franchise has more action, laughs and drama than the original. Due to the high number of freshmen and people under the age of 17, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” was voted Best Action Film by SDA. The sequel picks up with Sam going to college on the East Coast. Mikaela is staying on the West Coast, so obvi-

ously there is an issue. The first night of college, he encounters another woman who has the hots for him. With Bumblebee’s help, he is able to repel her, but she eventually comes back and kisses him, right when Mikaela walks in. Of course, like in all love stories, she ends up being a Decepticon (the bad Transformers), who wanted to extract secrets out of Sam’s brain. The

Best Comedy

The Hangover

he Hangover” is definitely the best comedy of the year. You already recognize Bradley Cooper if you saw him in “Wedding Crashers”, as well as Ed Helms, who plays Andy on “The Office.” Then there is a weird guy who hasn’t been in much; Zach Galifianakis’s character is referred almost best of to as “Fat Jesus.”

Cooper, Helms, and I Love You Man...21% Men Who Stare at Goats...16%Galifianakis all go to Las Vegas with Bruno...8% their friend Doug Year One...5% (played by Justin Bartha) to celebrate his bachelor party.

They all stay in the best suite at Caeser’s Palace and go to the roof to toast the man of the hour, Bartha. However, Galifianakis secretly pours some

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roofies into the drinks to make sure his “wolf pack” has a good time. The next morning, they wake up to find their room completely trashed to find a crying baby in the closet, a tiger in the bathroom, and an overflowing bathtub. What they can’t find is Bartha and one of Helm’s front teeth.

The movie consists of three guys running around Las Vegas looking for Bartha and trying to figure out what they did last night. During their journey, they run into Mike Tyson and an Asian guy who is locked in the back of their trunk and claims they have stolen his purse. Its slap-stick comedy appeals to teenagers and adults of all ages.

Events like a classic Las Vegas wedding and going to the hospital were just a couple of the hilarious problems faced by

hangovermovie.warnerbros.com/

Waiting Everyone loves elevator music, especially these three; it’s in their eyes.

the three gentlemen. One scene of a chubby young boy tazing Galifianakis to get revenge for breaking his toy earlier was an irresistible moment of comedy.

All of these ingredients

created the perfect mixture of a suspenseful quest filled with inappropriate humor. That is why “The Hangover” is SDA’s best comedy of the year.

-P.D.

for kicks and giggles

“T

The movie [‘Star Trek’] was kind of funny and the actors were all really good. They portrayed the characters well.

— Jamila Michael, junior ‘Transformers 2’ is the ultimate guy movie. It’s got girls, guns, and giant fighting robots. — Tanner Shimkus, senior ‘I Love You Man’ was the best comedy movie of 2009. It was really ridiculous, and the Sydney character was really funny. — Courtney Swan, senior

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Best Artsy Movie

(500) Days of Summer

o the tune of an indie playlist, “(500) Days of Summer” is a refreshing take on the love story. The box office is inundated with wistfully unrealistic love stories and cookie-cutter romantic comedies. “(500) Days of Summer” is a remarkably honest take on love that is relatable, insightful and the winner for “Best Artsy Movie of 2009.”

Meet Tom almost best of Hansen (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), inSunshine Cleaning...18% nocent and charmPaperheart...14% ingly insecure as A Serious Man...9% he falls hopelessly Away We Go...8% in love with the doe-eyed office secretary, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel).

The two navigate the murky waters of young love. Tom, the hopeless romantic, thinks

51%

he has found his soul mate in Summer, whereas Summer desires neither commitment nor consistency as she floats in and out of relationships she deems meaningless. Although they seem like the perfectly compatible hipster duo, things come to an end as Summer fades herself out of heartbroken Tom’s life.

The story unravels as an honest introspection of love found and love lost and how it all came.

The ever-growing artistic crowd at SDA has taken note of this unique love story. Its attraction lies in the chemistry of two crush-worthy characters and well done soundtrack including The Pixies and The Smiths.

The end is surprisingly uplifting and inspiring for those who have heartbreak stories similar to Tom’s. It’s easy to leave the movie with that warm fuzzy

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foxsearchlight.com/500daysofsummer/

Sparks fly between Deschanel and Gordon-Levitt in a picturesque moment.

feeling a good love story rouses.

The imperfectly perfect characters embody the bitter-

in yo’ face

Best 3-D Movie

sweetness of melancholy optimism.

-T.C.

disney.go.com/disneyvideos/animatedfilms/up

Up, up, and away The odd duo pull the house miles and miles to Paradise Falls.

eating out “Coraline,” “Monsters vs Aliens,” “Final Destination,” and “A Christmas Carol” was Disney/Pixar’s “Up,” the delightful story of a man, a boy, and a flying house (and a robotically communicative dog, a chocophilic exotic bird, and a semi-psychotic highly eccentric has-been aviator).

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The story follows Carl Frederickson, an introverted widower, en route to South America via a thousands of balloons attached to his house, and Russell, the bumbling but optimistic young Wilderness Scout who accidentally goes along for the ride.

Despite their immediate incompatibility, the duo ends

up befriending Kevin, a female Technicolor ostrich-like creature, and Dug, a loyal, squirrel-chasing canine with adorably short legs and an even shorter attention span (squirrel?!

POINT!). Together, the posse eats chocolate, plays fetch, and drags the house around a ravine in South America before even-

I thought [‘Paranormal Activity’] was totally dank, but totally scary at the same time. I literally wanted to pee my pants. It was crazy! –Austin Stubbs, sophomore I loved ‘Away We Go.’ I miss Maya Rudolph on SNL and it was interesting to see her play a more serious role. And I’m in love with John Krasinski. — Taylor Lara, junior ‘New Moon’ was really slow in the beginning and really hard to get into. It was also way too cheesy. — Candace Erie, junior

Up

tually fighting for their lives aboard a high-flying zeppelin.

“Up” proved to be as imaginative and uplifting (pun intended) as predicted; though its opening sequence was certainly more bitter than sweet, the movie’s heartwarming story and touching conclusion were more than enough to make high school students tear up at least a little bit.

And if that wasn’t enough to float your house, “Up” also surprised audiences with an undeniable almost best of humor. Most The Final Destination...17% giggles are Monsters vs. Aliens...14% inspired by the Coraline...7% movie’s eccen- Christmas Carol...5% tric characters, like Kevin and Dug, and in the silly things they say. If you haven’t heard somebody say “I was hiding under your porch because I love you,” you probably haven’t left your house in a few months. Or checked Facebook.

Ultimately, the combination of pure ingenuity, a heartwarming storyline, breathtaking visuals and utterly quotable pieces of dialogue was more than enough to capture SDA students’ votes for Best 3D Animated Movie of 2009.

-D.P

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harrypotter.be.warnerbros.com

Suiting Up Ron looks ready to catch some Quaffles, if you know what I mean.

H

arry Potter mania is unavoidable. Available for sale are replica Hogwarts uniforms, wands, and broomsticks. Devotees take Sharpies to their faces, scribbling bolts of

lightning on their own foreheads in imitations of Harry’s famous scar. Children spend their eleventh birthdays waiting for the Hogwarts acceptance letter that sadly, will never come.

emember that one guy who you went out with the other night but hasn’t called you even though he said he would? You know, the guy who you have waited three days to hear back from? The one you created all these excuses as to why he hasn’t called? He lost your number, hasn’t had the time, or is just “unavailable” for a couple almost best of days. If you want the real The Proposal...33% reason why he Confessions of a Shopaholic...14% hasn’t called My Sister’s Keeper...12% back, I suggest Ghosts of Girlfriends Past...7% you curl up on the couch with a tub of ice cream and watch this year’s best chick flick, “He’s Just Not That Into You”.

With a star-studded cast including Drew Barrymore (actress and executive producer), Ben Affleck, Jennifer Aniston, and Scarlet Johanson, and a plot based on a novel written by “Sex and the City” series writers,

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Meanwhile, college students run around grassy fields holding brooms between their legs in newly-formed Quidditch teams.

The obsession is infectious.

Despite the story’s conclu-

Best Chick Flick there was no possible way this chick flick could go wrong.

The movie follows nine people whose lives intertwine while searching for love in Baltimore.

There are all types of relationships, and through the many different scenarios, this movie shows some of the realities of dating and relationships while assuring its viewers that there is hope in any situation.

The movie is relatable because the situations are so real.

In the opening scene, a young girl is playing on a playground when a boy comes and pushes her down. She then cries to her mom about the mean things the boy said when her mom smiles and tells the girl that it was because the boy likes her. Every girl has heard this some time or another from her mother or friends, and every girl believes this statement is true.

While every girl believes this is true, deep down they know it makes no sense, and this exactly what the movie is trying to say.

There are rules and exceptions

naptime for guys

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He’s Just Not That Into You

sion with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in 2007, the Potter pandemonium remains strong. The sixth movie, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” earned nearly $1 million and billions of hearts, including the majority of San Dieguito Academy, winning it “2009’s Best Book Adaptation.”

The students’ support is no surprise, almost best of since the Harry PotWhere the Wild Things ter franchise almost Are...27% perfectly coincided New Moon...22% with our own comWatchmen...15% ings-of-age.Harry, Angels and Demons...7% Ron, and Hermione were little when we were little; when they turned into angsty, awkward teenagers, so did we. Even far removed from the Muggle world, Harry Potter has always showed us who we are. The stories have always been cool, and the latest installment is no exception.

Filled with gripping character development and sprinkled with giggle-worthy innuendos, “Half-Blood Prince” left us with only one thing to say: accio seventh movie!

–D.P.

Harry Potter

book on the big screen

Best Book Adaption

hesjustnotthatintoyoumovie.com

Spoiler Alert! These two end up together. Like you didn’t see that coming.

when it comes to love. When you find that perfect person, you are the exception to the rule.

“He’s Just Not That Into You” is an exception though when it comes to a classic chick flick.

Like any good chick flick, it still

has love, lust, break-ups, hookups, rejections, miscommunications, and of course at the end, almost everyone lives happy ever after, but it’s the way it presents the material that makes it the exception to the rule.

-N.F.

I watched “I Love you, Man” on a plane ride to Brazil since I was going to play soccer there over the summer, and I met a lot of people from everywhere and we decided to start saying “slappin’ the bass,’ and we thought it was really funny and we said it the whole trip. — Eila Miller, junior I would have put “Confessions of a Shopaholic” in the category of biggest

letdown. That movie was horrible! I fell asleep during the movie! — Ali Sharp, freshman

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Cheesiest Horror

33%

The monstrous effect on her high school that is horny teenagers getting murdered ensues.

Within thirty minutes of the movie, the football captain is attempting some touchy relations with Megan Fox in a supposed forest near the school. Similar to the scene in Twilight when a vampire and human profess their undying love for each other. Sorry Twilight fans,but this is no love here. Instead, the sports star is disemboweled and half-eaten by nearly shirtless sex appeal. From then on, death by sex drive is maintained.

Although the plot was horrendous, the creamy collide of two genres, comedy and horror, created quite the sexy feel. In the end, the promiscuous teen is slayed by her nerdy best friend, ironically named Needy. At one moment the two are seen soaring through the air together, before Needy stabs the demonic flirt in the heart. The ending dialogue in the scene continues

jennifersbody.com

Foxy Lady After slaying one sex-craved teenage boy, Jennifer searches for her next victim.

with Jennifer saying, “Ow, my boob,” and Needy correcting her with “No, your heart.” Of course, soon after this, Needy is sent to an insane asylum for

Anti-Oscar

murder. Underdeveloped, puninfused dialogue and a crazy, disconnected plot is quite the win for cheesiest horror flick.

- E.L.M.

digest it. I guess I shouldn’t have expected better; Carr helped make the terrifically horrible “Are We Done Yet” which would have given “Mall Cop” a run for its money had they been made in 2009. The antagonist (played by Keir O’Donnell, who you won’t remember from “Bar Starz” which went straight to YouTube) is very forgettable.

The main draw of Mall Cop is James, but you can only see him fall one too many times before you start hoping for him to break a leg.

Great in almost best of its per-actor 17 Again...12% weight, but Hannah Montana...28% weak in its perFunny People...21% pound acting Invention of Lying...9% skills, “Mall Cop” overcame a literal pu pu platter of films to be awarded the “Anti-Oscar of 2009”—overcoming cinematic genius in “17 Again” and the “Hannah Montana” movie, among others. Ultimately Blart and his chubitude can’t save the movie from getting mauled by both me and others. I’m just crossing my fingers that Mr. Carr sends me my check soon.

-D.F.

30%

paulblartmallcop.com

Rockin’ Out Paul Blart seen here in his native habitat, honing his guitar hero skills, and flexing his mustache.

n China, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” was translated into “Fat man on Segway saves day, and gets out-of-his-league girl.”

Well, not really, but it should have been. It perfectly describes “Mall Cop” justifying its victory in SDA’s vote for the “Anti-Oscar of 2009.”

In the film, Kevin James stars as Paul Blart, the clumsy, mus-

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tached, hypoglycemic, downon-his-luck mall security guard living with his sweet-as-pie grandma and big-boned daughter. In atypical action-comedy fashion, organized criminals ruin the status-quo, and the main character, Blart, is the only one that can defeat the criminals, and save the day. Using a skill set that would make members of

the Biggest Loser feel proud, he stumbles and rumbles his way from the mall and into herodome. The movie ends with him defeating the criminals, landing the girl, and director Steve Carr owing me $10.50.

“Mall Cop” is like an old banana: it’s gross on the outside, even worse on the inside, and absolutely disgusting when you

‘Hannah Montana’ was definitely not a let down. Not only was it a box office hit, it exceeded my expectations and all of my friends’. We saw it twice! — Sean Harrison, senior ‘Up’ was by far the best movie of 2009. I’ve watched it four times to date. — Daniel Spiegel, freshman ‘New Moon’ was definitely better than ‘Twilight’. It wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen but it wasn’t horrible. — Sara Rodas, freshman

Mall Cop

does not come with breadsticks

Jennifer’s Body

n abandoned home, illuminated by candlelight, coated in rose petals and a generally steamy feel. The air is thick and the passion is sizzling. Purely scripted, unrealistic conversation begins between an overly dramatic virgin and a sex-craved high school student. Then, when some hardcore rated-R action almost best of is expected to ensue, Megan Paranormal Activity...27% Fox turns Sorority Row...17% from kinky to Drag Me to Hell...13% creepy. Next The Uninvited...10% thing you know, she’s not sucking face, she’s eating it.

“Jennifer’s Body”, a movie written by Diablo Cody (renowned for her work “Juno”), is an incredibly tasteless version of the phrase “sex sells.” Satan worshipping rock stars Lone Shoulder sacrifice a virgin, Jennifer, to the devil in order to gain fame.

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disney.go.com/disneypictures/ponyo

Kawaii Sakana Ponyo bids her sisters farewell, to enter a world of mystery, love, and most importanly, HAM.

T

he crazy Japanese have done it again. Hayao Miyazaki, the mastermind behind “Spirited Away” and “Howl’s Moving Castle,” has managed to create a bizarre tribute to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and make it… cute. Voted the “Best Foreign Film” of 2009, “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” can almost be called a Japanese spin-off of

“The Little Mermaid.” Almost.

Ponyo, a little fish living in a magical underwater kingdom, washes ashore and is rescued by a little boy named Sosuke. Ponyo consumes a drop of Sosuke’s blood, which then transforms her into a magical fish/bird/human-type thing.

Ponyo then savors all the wonders of being a human be-

The Office

46%

alike tickle the funny bone like a feather on your nose. And just when you think your lungs will get a respite from the relentless laughter induced by their various shenanigans, Dwight Schrute is sure to enter the scene with some devious plot to perturb Jim. The show’s masterful combination of one-liners, hilarious situations, and semi-serious side plots have catapulted “The Office” to the title of Best Comedy TV Show here at SDA. The plot is certainly solid enough to provide an intriguing story that carries the viewer from week to week, but make no mistake: it’s the show’s ability to make you roll over with laughter that makes it the best of the best.

The show is known for its silence, with little background noise (after all, it’s in an office),

parkour, parkour!

his isn’t the principal’s office.

Or the doctor’s office. Not even the finance office. It’s simply “The Office,” and it’s simply extraordinary.

NBC’s primetime hit has soared to new levels of hilarity this season as the dreamy, crafty, and alwaysclever Jim Halpert is almost best of promoted to Two and a Half Men...21% Co-Regional 30 Rock...12% Manager Monk...11% to run the Big Band Theory...10% workplace alongside the bumbling yet driven Michael Scott.

The pranks, the awkwardness, and the that’s-what-shesaid jokes that have endeared the show to teens and adults

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ing – young love, toy boats, and ham. However, Ponyo’s transformation has upset the balance of the universe, consequently flooding the coastal town where Sosuke resides. Ponyo’s father, the ruler of the underwater kingdom, is desperate to have his daughter back.

But wait… there’s more. Sosuke and Ponyo go on a candle-

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powered expedition to look for Sosuke’s mother, who they find in a field incased in a giant underwater bubble. On the way there, Ponyo sprouts bird feet, then regresses back into a fish.

Are you following this so far? If you don’t, I don’t blame you.

Ponyo’s sea-sickening story line is only secondary to the real reason why SDA loves this pelagic protagonist: Ponyo is just so almost best of fricking Coco Before Chanel...22% cute. Cute I Killed my Mother...17% enough for Broken Embraces...8% Ponyo and The White Ribbon...7% Sosuke to be voiced

by Miley Cyrus’ little sister and the JoBro’s Bonus Jonas. Cute enough to induce epileptic seizures in the anime enthusiasts taking Japanese. Cute enough that the initial “what the hell?” reactions are assuaged by the heavily auto-tuned – “Ponyo, Ponyo, Ponyo/tiny little fish!” theme song.

Sosuke loves “all the Ponyos,” and apparently, so does SDA.

– R. M.W.

Ponyo

fish out of water

Best Foreign Film

nbc.com/The_Office/

Dance party Two employees from The Office get down at a wedding.

no soundtrack, and certainly no laugh track – since your own chuckles, chortles, giggles, and

guffaws will drown out any other noise in room anyway.

– K.S.

‘30 Rock’ for sure [is my favorite TV show of 2009]. Alec Baldwin is hilarious! — Lane Jackson, junior I think that the

best TV show of 2009 was ‘Two and a Half Men.’ Even though it ruined my respect for men forever, the constant sarcasm makes me happy. — Paula Godoy, senior ‘Monk’ is interesting and funny in a not slap stick way — Julia Chiou, freshman ‘Cougar Town’ is sick because I like cougars. Rarrr! — Austin Burns, junior

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Steamiest TV Show

s it enters its third season of sex, lies, and gossip, the infamous TV series “Gossip Girl” has once again won our title of Steamiest TV series. This season, however, has steered in a different direction than the two before.

Seeing as five of the seven main characters no lonalmost best of ger roam the halls Degrassi...28% of Constance or Cougar Town...21% St. Jude’s, it seems 90210...11% that the writers Melrose Place...5% are trying to take a more mature approach with the characters.

Viewers should no longer expect to watch Blair and Serena go toe to toe in their matching Dolce boots on the Met steps, or Nate and Chuck light up a joint as they take a stroll through Central Park. Instead, we’ve

35%

been watching “Little J” start to fit into her crown, and Serena have an affair with a married congressman. But as the saying goes, some things never change.

Blair continues to round up her minions at NYU while Chuck remains the richest 18 year old in Manhattan. Regardless of whether or not things have changed for good, every episode is guaranteed to have at least one juicy hook up, a few big secrets, and loads of backstabbing.

Though IMDB has placed “Gossip Girl” in genres such as drama, romance, and comedy (which is a stretch), Gossip Girl will always fall into the category of full-blown guilty pleasure.

Even though not everyone finds joy in spending their Monday nights with these “Upper East Siders” there is no argument that this show has coined a phrase that is recognizable by an entire

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True Love Queen Bee Leighton Meester and bad boy Ed Westwick find everlasting love.

generation, “XOXO, Gossip Girl.”

No one knows the lifespan of this TV drama/comedy/teen soap, but we do know that week

no, it’s not lupus

Best TV Drama

after week, “Gossip Girl” succeeds at delivering a show so steamy it could fog up your car windows even on a hot day.

-N.M.

a crew of so many modelesque doctors would be enough to put off audiences. On closer examination, most doctor shows feature these gods and goddesses to exploitive extents, from Patrick Dempsey in “Grey’s Anatomy” to Zach Braff in “Scrubs.” Unlike other doctor shows, “House” is clever. And “House” has managed to give each of its cast members almost the ugliest personalities imaginable.

The writers have created a formula that is perfect and almost never grows old. First, there is the story almost best of Weeds...21% behind getting Law and Order SVU...12% sick. Then Dr. Lost...13% House plays Heroes...8% around with his staff diagnosing and prescribing, causing almost as much damage as the actual disease. Then the patient is virtually dead. Finally, Dr. House mans up to deal with his own problems and saves his patient in some freak chance epiphany.

America thinks it can “change” “House,” we can make it all better if we just keep watching and hoping. So as Dr. House gets once again distracted

by Cuddy’s much too low shirt, America just chuckles waits for the ending’s redemption.

-T.B.

House

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fox.com/house/

The Jerk Unreasonably beautiful and beautifully broke, House (Hugh Laurie) has America in his palms.

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s contemporary TV shows milk every last ounce of what they originally had, America is faced with the frightening and impending realization that television will soon be dead.

However, through the piles of dirt and decay, one show stands alone in continuously bringing something new to the table. It is here that SDA comes together to

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give this show its proper recognition of “Best Drama of 2009.”

Just don’t tell Dr. House – his ego might burst.

It is hard to pinpoint what exactly has lead to “House” being ahead of its game. The heart-pounding plots, brilliant cast, and haughty humor are just a few of the contributors to its everlasting success. “House” has

also employed the clever use of pruning to its cast, adding fresh characters in, swapping them out for old and so on and so forth. It all helps keep the audience hooked.

One would think that a show full of so many unrealistically beautiful doctors has remained successful. One would think that the impossibility of assembling

I like ‘90210’ because it’s just really catty and dramatic and makes me think, “you know, life could be worse” when you’re at a low point. It’s also entertaining. — Tiffany Lamken, freshman I’ve learned every-

thing I know from House. Oh yeah he’s really hot too. — Jessica Gray, sophomore ‘Weeds’ is a show that teaches you the wrong idea, but is the sickest show ever. — Eric Nieman, sophomore

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welcome to gleekdom

Best New Show

the show are the racy sub-plots.

Every episode of “Glee” handles heavy subject matter, including sex, teen pregnancy, and homosexuality. One of the greatest appeals of “Glee” that has turned us into shameless “Gleeks” (that would be Glee Geeks, for those of you who aren’t religious viewers yet) is how relatable the topics are on the show. “Glee” deals with high school problems, like trying to fit in, navigating the social hierarchy, and aspiring almost best of to be popular, which Modern Family...24% makes it all True Blood...15% the more Vampire Diaries...13% easy for high Bored to Death...6% schoolers to get caught up in this show.

A huge leap from the “High School Musical” standard and with a lot less painful acting than that in “The Secret Life of an American Teenager,” “Glee” provides a controversial yet endearing story line, much too attractive characters, and great songs downloadable off iTunes to keep you bopping from now until next Wednesday night.

-K.R.

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Bursting with Glee The students at McKinley High sing through adversity.

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hen “Don’t Stop Believin’” used to come on the radio, thoughts of awkward middle school dances would assault my mind. Thankfully, these painful memories have ceased to haunt me, thanks to 2009’s “Best New Show,” “Glee.” All that I thought of this summer as it played (over

and over again) on my iPod was this eccentric show and the great spin they had put on a classic song.

Just when we had all gotten sick of Beyoncé and her tireless whining about being a single lady, the cast of “Glee” spiced it up, making the cover song

American Idol page

or the second year in a row, “American Idol” was chosen to die. If SDA had one bullet, “American Idol” would collapse in a boneless heap in the cutting room floor. I guess the students here just don’t enjoy almost best of listening to Carlos Mencia...19% the deafenSurvivor...16% ing shriek The Apprentice...12% of the poor, CSI...9% deluded souls who think “they have what it takes to be the next American Idol.”

Crying shame.

When this rip-off of Pop Idol started in 2002 it was The Rage.

With every new vocalist that took that traveling stage there

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Show That Needs to Die was the chance that a new star could be born. Now, seven years later, the raging has subsided and all this scream fest gives birth to is drama queen antics and punctured eardrums.

The sense of control that voting gave us, the very thing that once attracted us all to this show, has been made common and everyday by the other “reality shows” such as “So You Think You Can Dance,” and “America’s Got Talent.”

No longer stars are being born. I looked through the winners of the past 5 American Idols. Fantasia Barrino? Taylor Hicks? David Cook? Where are these people? They’re not on my TV screen, on my radio, or in my iPod. The star making power that “American Idol” once had has dissipated in the light of day.

americanidol.com

Star Factor Who will be the next American Idol? Honestly, we don’t care.

Let it go. Let this sagging monstrosity go by the wayside with the “Guiding Light” and “Jon and Kate Plus 8” so that the

preteen girls who live next-door to me will stop screaming and let me watch Scrubs in peace.

-D.G.

simon says: time to go

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stuck-in-your-head-worthy again. They have doctored up quite a few other songs, including “Push It” by Salt-N-Pepa and “Gold Digger” by Kanye West, each rendition making you want to sing along.

More impressive than the flawless musical elements of

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‘Chuck’ definitely should’ve won something. — Ben Breidenthal, sophomore From its central location at

Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, ‘House’ is by far the most captivating TV show I’ve ever seen through its ability to convey medical drama and encompass both humor and humility. – Erica Lee, junior I think ‘Glee’ is one of the best TV

shows of 2009 because it’s really funny and the songs are pretty good too. — Katie Ehlers, freshman

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f you like that boom, boom, pow, then tonight’s going to be a good night for you. “The E.N.D.” (Energy Never Dies) by the Black Eyed Peas is a bass-pumped hip-hop album that 93.3 can’t seem to keep off the air.

Sure, Fergie’s high pitched, almost best of often Jay Z...22% whiny Beyonce...17% voice can Kanye West...14% be grating Mariah Carey...6% at times, but the robotic sounds from the future balance it out beautifully.

The key to The E.N.D.’s success is the catchiness of several songs. “I Gotta Feeling”

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hot tamale train

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participate. It has pushed the dancing community to kick it up a notch. It has become a channel for dancers who want their names heard and for dancers who have talent and want a chance to grow.

When a show can take a B-Boy and have almost best of him explore America’s Best Dance ballroom, or Crew...30% a ballerina Dancing with the Stars...15% and throw America’s Got Talent...11% her into a World of Dance...10% hip-hop routine, it has succeeded.

“So You Think You Can Dance” has sent a message that a dancer doesn’t have to be highly trained to have talent (though it wouldn’t hurt).

– N.F.

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blackeyedpeas.com

So You Think You Can Dance

the program hit its 100 episode.

This year, legs extended longer and leaps soared higher. The talent rose to a new level. It became more of a competition, yet a friendly competition.

The chemistry of this year’s “Top 20” is evident.

Every time a couple is on stage, viewers know they are having a good time. doing what they love: dancing. Each dancer fox.com/dance seems to perform as if it’s Dance your heart out Two dancers compete for America’s votes. their last time on stage every time. The dancers’ o You Think You energy radiates from the airing since July 2005 and Can Dance” allows television screen, making every season seems to get America to choose their viewer want to get up and better, making Season 5 favorite dancers and SDA groove. It is that passion and Season 6 in 2009 no let the students pick their and dedication that draws exception. favorite dance show. It in those who tune in every It was the first year to was no question. SDA week. have a fall season. It was picked “So You Think You the first year to have ballet, “So You Think You Can Dance” for 2009’s best tap, krump and street danc- Can Dance” might be dance show. reality television but it ing properly represented.

The show has been requires true talent to It was also the year that

“S

Best 93.3 Album

had students singing along out loud and incessantly in their heads for months after its release (and probably some now too) and “Meet Me Halfway” seems to have even gained popularity in recent weeks. The June release of the album made it the hit of the summer, and a trip to Moonlight wasn’t complete without blasting the Peas on the way there.

If you happened to miss this summer smash hit, cruise on over to iTunes next time you’re on the computer lurking Facebook and check it out. Actually, don’t even bother paying for it, just turn on 93.3, and become a part of the now generation.

Let the beat rock The B.E.P prepare for the E.N.D. in their futuristic album.

-K.S.

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‘The Fixer’ [was my favorite album]. I think there’s a good variety of songs and it shows a lot of depth.” — Ross Cooper, freshman Between the Buried and Me continues to prove their musicianship in their new album, The Great Mis-

direct. They mix progressive metal with metal core and this new album shows how well they can continue to produce their unique sound. — Anna Kobara, senior ‘Alice in Chains’ putting out a new album. — Eric Ward, senior

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about as indie as it gets. They don animals masks on stage as they hypnotize a crowd consisting mainly of girls with ripped tights and boys with glasses with the lenses punched out true to the cliché of the indie music scene.

Maybe the luring ideal of indie has brainwashed us to believe that over-the-top peculiarity sounds good, but, nevalmost best of ertheless, their magic seems to Matt & Kim...25% be working. Ani- Andrew Bird...19% mal Collective’s Devendra Banhart...14% odd sounds seems Dirty Projectors...14% to have a struck a chord with students considering SDA’s flair for the bizarre and unique. Many people may have just voted for Animal Collective because it was the only band they recognized among the names of even less mainstream artists.

Although this may be true, there were at least a few educated voters who recognized the commendable quality of this latest installment in Animal Collective’s admirable repertoire.

-T.C.

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Deep sea diving Going deep into the heart of diehard fans Animal Collective unearths a new realm of music.

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aking their way into the indie spotlight about a decade ago, Animal Collective has consistently delivered unexpected psychedelic drones and playful vocals earning themselves a consistently growing devoted following.

It’s no surprise that with

their deserved popularity they have earned the title of “Best Indie Album of 2009” with “Merriweather Post Pavilion.”

They’ve definitely stepped it up after receiving some criticism for their last album “Strawberry Jam” that seemed a little bit too much like an overly eccentric

here is no doubting my unconditional love for Alice in Chains. No matter how many eye rolls and snide remarks I have gotten over the years for being stuck in the nineties Grunge scene, there is just no resisting the auditory seduction of the haunting open string chording, the deeply introspective lyrics, and those beautifully crafted vocal harmonies between guitarist Jerry Cantrell and the late lead vocalist, Layne Staley.

So, like any AiC enthusiast, upon hearing that the band was goalmost best of ing to release a Porcupine Tree...25% new album with Whitechapel...19% the new singer Between the Buried William Duvall, and Me...15% suspicion enKatatonia...10% sued. Who was this Lenny Kravitz look-alike that dared to rise out of Staley’s imposing shadow?

Alice in Chains has released their first CD in thirteen years since the death of front man

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Staley. And consequently, SDA has hailed “Black Gives Way to Blue” as the best metal album of 2009.

The single off the album, “Check My Brain” has topped Billboard charts in recent months. Throughout the album, the songs not only carry out the theme of the band’s past emotional torment of losing Staley, but also of moving past these difficulties. The album consists of heavier numbers such as “All Secrets Known,” and “A Looking in View,” and sorrowful ballads such as “Your Decision,” which directly addresses Staley’s death.

The band still retains the seamless blend of gut-wrenching acoustic numbers with chugging heavy guitar riffs in odd time signatures, all tied together with the band’s signature vocal harmonies between Cantrell and newbie Duvall. But perhaps SDA has derived the most satisfaction from witnessing Alice in Chains rise above and beyond the blasphemous imposters of the recent “post-grunge” scene

Best Metal Album

aliceinchains.com

Resurrected Alice in Chains returns with a vengeance with their new vocalist.

that has infested the airways in the past decade.

By no means am I implying that Duvall can replace the legacy of the legendary Staley. I am a Staley loyalist through and through – a poster of dear old Layne is the first thing you see when entering my room. Yes, Staley’s death was a tragedy, but Alice in Chains was not just Staley.

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experiment.

The unique sound of Animal Collective is instantly recognizable in “Merriweather Post Pavilion” but is revamped with a perfect balance of the weirdness that fans love and undisputed musical talent.

Animal Collective is just

Animal Collective

so indie no one knows it

Best Indie Album

Cantrell, as back-up vocalist, lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-founder of the band, deserves more credit. If Cantrell and the rest of the members of Alice in Chains have made the decision to carry onward with their musical pursuits, then so be it. “Black Gives Way to Blue” truly is a new beginning, and apparently, SDA can’t get enough.

-R.M.W

Lame poll.The ‘Where the Wild Things Soundtrack’ wasn’t even in the indie music category. Not that I even support an indie music category. — Josh Drilling, senior It is really exciting that Porcupine Tree is on here because they never even

came to the US until this year so it is good that everyone likes them. — Kelsey Kelley, senior I appreciate Lady Gaga’s music, and when she won the VMA’s, it gave me tears of joy. I love her! — Cody Cuchna, senior

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Best Pop Rock Album

dam Young seemed to pull America into a trance with his single, “Fireflies,” this year, which found its way to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 soon after its release. Apparently he won the hearts of SDA students too as his album “Ocean Eyes” won The Mustang’s “Best Pop-Rock.” The catchy electronic beats and imaginative, often metaalmost best of phorical lyrics lend listeners to a fun Arctic Monkeys...20% and rhythmic tune Cobra Starship...18% to bob their heads Passion Pit...14% to while sitting in All Time Low...12% cars or running on the treadmill.

The name, Owl City, was inspired by Young’s sleepless nights writing lyrics to cheesy and basic yet honest events in his life (such as a visit to the dentist in his song “Dental

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Care”). Such songs are probably what attract SDA students to his eccentric music.

His usage of clever puns and irrelevant details of his life help create a unique and easily identifiable style of music only known to be his. On Young’s official Owl City website, he regularly posts statuses about the mundane occurrences in his life, just the same way as he does in his songs. He wrote, “This morning I woke up and lit big vanilla scented candles. Then I ran around the house in my socks singing ‘it’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas.’”

Perhaps the scent of the candles are getting Young into the Christmas spirit, but little does he know,he has much more coming his way as his songs continue to overwhelm radio stations and stereos all across the country.

Woe is me Adam Young looks the part.

-A.C.

we give a hoot

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please stand up

Best Rap Album character he has become.

It is no doubt that there are many other talented rap artists, yet what sets Eminem apart is the amount of feeling he puts into each one of his songs. Not only does this album’s track list reflect Eminem’s inner feelings, but labels itself controversial with references to Valium and other sleep-assistant drugs, subjects ranging from molestation at a young age, “Insane,” to his self-transformation into the drug-addicted mother that he almost best of hates most, “My Lil’ Wayne...22% Mom.” He takes Flo-Rida...16% risks and no Sean Kingston...16% doubt is looked Asher Roth...14% down on for it at times, but it is this that makes Eminem’s music so much more notable when compared to others in his genre.

It seems Eminem proves his highest level of talent when his songs are full of anger and passion. He never fails to awe any audience member with his mastered skill in both rebellion and comebacks. “Relapse” demonstrates the expertise of one of the world’s most recognizable rap figures to the highest extent, and I could not agree more with SDA in its selection.

-K.M.

That’s a rap Marshall Mathers always has his swag on.

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fter four and a half years in the shadows, Shady’s back again and ready for another curtain call.

In 2005, after the release of the album “Encore,” Marshall Mathers (Eminem) shied away from the spotlight and fell into

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the darkness of himself. He has pulled through and received approval while doing so, as demonstrated in his overpowering amount of votes from SDA for Best Rap Album of 2009.

“Relapse,” released in May 2009, is an overview of this

http://www.eminem.com/

period, and puts Eminem’s adversities in a more painfully honest light than ever. As always, Mathers tells a story through each track, but this album reveals his background and mistakes. Overall, it demonstrates the development of the

I think the best album this year was ‘Ursa Major’ by Third Eye Blind because the band took a new artistic direction with the addition of their lead guitarist. It has a unique sound, very creative and politically outspoken. — Spencer Roberson, senior I loved Cobra Starship’s new album. It was awesome! Also it was amazing and fun.They are my

favorite band ever so their new album was so exciting! — Alexandrya Young, sophomore

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gaga, oh la la

Best Pop Album

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ladygaga.com

Just dance Lady Gaga rockets to the top with her new album “The Fame Monster.”

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here can be no discussion of the pop culture of 2009 without Lady Gaga. For some she is a way of life, for others a complete joke. However, everyone knows her name. Her fame has won her the “Best Pop Album of 2009” for her extension album, “The Fame Monster.”

The key to listening to a

Lady Gaga song is to not pay attention to the lyrics. This may be hard for most, but it is not a necessity to understand her exact meanings of “disco stick” or “vertigo stick.” It does not matter that the songs seem to describe an alcoholic who just does not understand when it is time to stop partying. The songs

Muse page

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Best Alternative Album

hether Muse’s apocalyptic explosion that is “The Resistance” was voted “Best Alternative Album of 2009” due to masses of naive “Twilight” fans or by genuine public sincerity, it goes to say that their fifth effort is not an album that leaves listeners in fickle opinion.

Most either love the latest trajectory that Muse has chosen, almost best of or despise it in its entirety.

Green Day...28% Evolving Pearl Jam...18% from the early, Yeah Yeah Yeahs...16% tumultuous tenors Franz Ferdinand...9% heard in “Showbiz” and “Origin of Symmetry,” Muse has evolved into massive studio-varnished mastery since “Absolution”.

Every successive album demonstrates their desire to venture further and further

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beyond conventional limits of modern music. The result is The Resistance.

Listen closely and Muse carries tributes to the raw tracks from earlier productions, but still includes a polished, evolved sound consistent with the rest of the album.

“The Resistance” also dabbles in a few experiments that include a piano-powered jazzy track (half of which is sung in French), drum-machine R& B, and even a thirteen-minute, three-part galactic orchestral masterpiece. Songs are riddled with references of everything from government capitalism to modern media, space travel, George Orwell’s “1984,” and even the French opera, “Samson and Delilah,” and provide the album with an intricate backbone.

Regardless of which side of the line that you stand on with “The Resistance,” it just goes

muse.mu

Love is the resistance Muse sends a message to rise against oppresion.

to show that Muse, more often than not, elicits a strongly-opinionated audience that has only proves the band’s influential presence on the world’s stage.

I have no problem with people who have been introduced to Muse through popular media,

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are fun and upbeat, and the singer behind them has much more going for herself than previous pop icons.

Unlike the pop singers and boy bands of the early 2000s, Lady Gaga at least acts like she is interesting. Whether she is wearing a dress created of Kermit the frog heads or bleeding

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Lady Gaga

from her eyes, Lady Gaga puts on a show. Even her music videos, featuring odd plot lines that sometimes do not transcend, have reached new levels of fame.

Her latest, “Bad Romance” from “The Fame Monster,” features Lady Gaga getting auctioned off to a man who she eventually kills with her flamethrower bra. Who knows what really lies beneath the layers of leather and lace? All that can be said is she is a performer who has captured the attention of the almost best media.

Shakira...28% “The Fame Jordin Sparks...10% Monster” is Selena Gomez...10% Lady Gaga’s last Madonna...5% gift to the world in 2009. It is a reminder for the world to not let her shy out of the spotlight, which is almost impossible with Perez Hilton posting about his perezlicious Gagaloo every five minutes Her album as a whole may not have a consistent amount of popularity. It is easy to assume that many people have not even heard of her songs “Brown Eyes” or “Summerboy.”

It almost doesn’t matter though. What’s the name of this song? I can’t remember, but it’s alright, it’s alright! Just dance!

- T.B.

but if your favorite Muse song is still or has only ever been “Supermassive Black Hole,” please take this opportunity to delve a little further into their musical genius, and perhaps you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised.

– K.G.

This year I am glad that someone who actually has talent is famous. Lady Gaga can actually sing and play the piano. I am happy that she could perform on SNL. — Charlotte Orhbom, sophomore I was really happy when Green Day’s new album,

‘21st Century Breakdown’ came out. I went to the concert, and couldn’t really hear anything for the rest of the night! It was really fun. — Emmie Kanydes, sophomore ‘Party in the USA’ was just annoying. — Dana Smith, freshman

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Song Stuck in Your Head

Party in the U.S.A

ut my hands over my ears, they’re playing that song… again. For about the thousandth time. Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the U.S.A” reached the top of the Billboard pop 100 chart Oct. 30, and unsurprisingly maintained the top spot for 14 weeks, since no one could get the annoyingly catchy tune out of their heads.

The lyrics almost best of reflect the story of Miley’s rise Pokerface... 23% to fame, as she Whatcha Say... 18% hops off the Down...18% plane at LAX in Hotel Room Service... 11% her cute cardigan sweater and a dream.

While she worries if she will fit in or not, she jumps in a cab and comments about the Hollywood sign and at the absurdity at the high concentration of famous people in Hollywood. Her tummy starts hurting and poor Miley starts missing her home, but the radio comes on and the Jay-Z song comes to her rescue!

We all know the rest of the story from there. In fact, we know it

spawn of disney #1

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Smiley Miley looks over her hip-swinging, head nodding audience

all too well.

Little Miley has come a long way from Disney’s “Hannah Montana” to boast such an accomplishment of invading the minds of teenagers across the nation. As the Britney song comes on, everyone at the nation-wide

jonasbrothers.com

The Jo Bros sing to their masses of middle-school admirers

ust glancing at the title you can already tell that this group of songs is going to be a nightmare. “Lines, Vines, and Trying Times”? What the heck does that even mean? Lines could be any-

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thing, but vines; I didn’t know these guys wanted their image to be jungle-themed. And trying times? How is it that three of the richest boys in the world have trying times? It’s not like they

party is moving their hips like yeah in a desperate attempt to distract themselves from Miley’s voice.

Miley can’t abandon her dream now, not with all her favorite songs coming on in the various clubs she is partying in.

are having a rough childhood or anything because they can get whatever they want.

It’s hard to distinguish each particular song and say whether or not certain ones are better than others because they are all the same: three boys whining into the microphone about some girl breaking their heart or someone they have a crush on. Of course all the preteen age middle-schoolers are all over these three, but for the rest of us they are a complete waste of space on the radio. What really stunk was that this past summer in the movie “Night at the Museum 2,” the Jonas Brothers played three little cupid characters who floated around and sang their love songs. It completely ruined the entire film.

One song that really took the cake was “Fly With Me.” The entire time it sounds like a fouryear-old is banging on a Fisher Price piano. It also didn’t help

Let’s just hope that her dream isn’t to make herself comfortable in all of our minds, or to create a permanent loop of her charming lyrics to play over every intercom across the country.

-H.B.

that it sounds like their voices are cracking the whole time like Peter Brady from that musical episode of the “Brady Bunch.”

Plus, just as predicted, the boys were singing about a girl and how they want to go out with her. How unoriginal.

This whiny boy band sound must be what attracts young girls to their songs. Their musical talalmost best of ent clearly Mitchel Musso...22% sucks but U2...6% preteen Hoobastank...5% squealers Lily Allen...5% can’t keep their eyes off the hotties. This pretty much applies to a lot of bands, it’s not the music that matters so much, it’s if they’re hot or sexy and act like their singing about some mystery girl, which could be you!

-P.D.

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My friend always plays ‘Poker Face’ when I am in her car. I can never get it out of my head. — Victoria Ehlers, senior The best thing this year [was] the Killers concert in San Diego. The concert was full of energy and it was really entertaining. — Carly Feldman, sophomore I never really liked Shakira, but ‘She Wolf’ is one of my favorite albums of the year. — Maia Rosengarten, sophomore

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Best Spanish TV Show that keep students glued to the TV every night wanting more.

You’d think that a cheesy romance would want to make a teenage audience cringe; on the contrary it seems audiences are captivated by forbidden love plots now more than ever. “Más Sabe el Diablo,” like the bloodsucking vampires and mortal lovers of “Twilight,” is no excepalmost best of tion. It must Cuidado con el Angel..23% be some sort NRPP...21% of fantasy that Sortilegio...15% teenagers have Los Victorinos...9% these days about possibly being involved with a forbidden love of their own. Whatever it is, it’s gotten a hold of its audience, and it isn’t letting go anytime soon.

“Más Sabe el Diablo” is the love story people can’t stop watching because they know that the love will fall apart and crumble time and time again, only to be revived. It’s the essential factor that makes soap operas so popular and it is obvious that “Más Sabe el Diablo” has achieved this combination perfection.

-S.M.

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Martin, Manuela, and Angel make up the trio entangled in a love triangle

“M

ás Sabe el Diablo” proved to be the “Best Spanish TV Show,” and drew a victory over other well-liked contenders like “Cuidado con el Angel” and “Niños Ricos Pobres Padres.” Juicy gossip, dramatic predicaments, and jaw-dropping twists all contribute to the I can’t possibly look away for a second intensity that spectators care for.

“Más Sabe el Diablo” is not simply a soap opera, it’s an addiction. An obsession among Latin students and parents alike.

Manuela’s unexpected pregnancy and her resentful feelings towards her ex lover, Angel, keep viewers hoping that she’ll tell him that the baby she is expecting is his son. Its Angel’s gorgeous looks or their frustration with unanticipated twists

Best Spanish Song

Aventura

he SDA Spanish-speaking audience chose Aventura’s bilingual alliance with Akon and Wisin Y Yandel as the “Best Spanish Song” of 2009.The song “All Up to You” has become extremely popular because the catchy lyrics and beat create a perfect break-up song. Exclaiming— “Si mañana te vas, mañana te olvido,” is the perfect way to tell someone off.

In another almost best of way, the song is a Wisin y Yandel...21% great way to tell Shakira...15% someone that you Nelly Furtado...13% may easily fall for Luis Fonsi...9% them but have the capacity to easily get over them.

As the song states — “If you love me, I’ll leave with you,” but you only come to that conclusion after you realize that the song is saying that no one better will come into

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your life.

In this song the women may play the soul-less heartbreaker, but the men want to have the last word in the melodramatic, foottapping melody. The beat makes everyone stand up and start dancing, the words are easy enough to memorize and sing along to.

It’s a go-to song for a boost of confidence after a sour breakup.

Aventura said that the reason they looked for the collaboration with Wisin Y Yandel and Akon was because they did not like repeating beats or songs, and they believed that this collaboration would be a new experience for their audience.

It becomes the perfect song to listen to in a moment of crisis for any teenage relationship. It allows one person to feel control over the crisis and empowers them to direct where the relationship will go.

“

adventuraworldwide.com

Aventura makes an appearance on mtv and the crowd goes wild

The song may be a bit of a bitter way to tell someone that that you love them or you’re sort of over it. But oh well.

Like the song says, “Goodbye, touche the kid is gonna be ok!”

oh te quedas oh te vas

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Mas Sabe el Diablo

guerra sin fin

12.18.09

-L.A.

”

I saw the movie ‘Angels and Demons’ and thought it was very entertaining.

It was really well played. The actors such as Tom Hanks played very believable roles, trapping you into the plot.

— Brianna Kerins, sophomore ‘Hannah Montana’ was the biggest letdown because it was ‘Hannah Montana.’ — Kelsie Team Jacob for life. — Michael Yuan, senior

Navis, freshman ‘Paranormal Activity’ wasn’t really scary. — Eric Rumble, sophomore

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Best Serious Video Game

f all the video games released this year, there is one game with enough throwing knives and explosives in it to win the best of 2009: “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2”. “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” is the new sequel to “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” and continues along the same story line. Play as almost best of various characters in Campaign Halo 3 ODST ...30% Mode and experiLeft 4 Dead...15% ence the different Boderlands...6% perspectives of the Forza 3...2% same plot. But everyone knows that Campaign Mode is boring. Playing online is where it’s at.

Although I have not personally mastered the new fancy gizmos and gadgets, I understand that the new guns featured in Modern Warfare 2 pwn nubs.

47%

Weapons like the M1A1 and the riot shield allow players to easily achieve some of the new kill streak rewards, including receiving a supply drop after four kills in a row, ordering a Predator missile strike after five kills, calling in an AC-130 gunship strike after 11 kills.

My average kill is currently somewhere around -26 (every bullet I shot miraculously saved the life of member on the other team and ended up killing me somehow).

Another new feature is the in-game host migration. Now a game doesn’t end if the host’s mom finally gets him to take out the trash and turn off his Xbox or PS3. Instead, a new host is chosen, so the game can continue until the next angry mother rears her ugly head with another one of those “this is all you ever do” speeches.

“Call of Duty Modern War-

enemy uav online

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Ready for action 50 caliber time all the time. fare 2” is the epitome of what high school students love: blood, glory and destruction without moving from their couch. The game allows students to escape from their busy lifestyles and everyday worries and transport

Liverpool pub.

Even when you’re not playing, you’ll enjoy every minute of this game. Every venue change is followed by a cut scene, and each scene will have you cracking up with laughter as you eagerly anticipate the next stage.

Let’s face it—we all want to be The Beatles. Unfortunately, only those of us with actual musical talent can pick up a guitar, bass, or pair of drumsticks and pretend that we’re playing with Paul, John, almost best of George, and Ringo.

Wii Sports Resort...29% Luckily for the rest Scribbleknots...12% of us, this Rock Band Little Big Plantet 2...11% game lets us become Katamari Forever...8% a part of the Beatles experience. The game is certainly playable for even the most novice of beginners, and seasoned veterans should find a challenge by easily increasing the difficulty.

Rock Band: The Beatles is a must-have for any Beatles fan itching to grab a guitar and play along. A very varied set list may even introduce you to a previously undiscovered song or two!

– K.S.

41%

thebeatlesrockband.com

A day in the life The Beatles rock on like it’s 1964.

M

ore than twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper told the band to play. And so they all sang a song, and now you all can sing along! So let me introduce to you, SDA’s Best Casual Game, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Rock Band.

Rock band: The Beatles

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commences with a bang with a breathtaking video introduction that takes gamers on the mysterious magical adventure that was The Beatles.

This montage of their hit songs and photos of their tours from Shea Stadium to India will get you so amped to play that

you’re jumping up and down, twisting and shouting, by the time you get to play the game!

For those of you looking to major in Beatles History, the career mode allows you to follow the tours of the hit band in chronological order, even from their humble beginnings in a

‘Modern Warfare 2’ equals awesome because there are Brazilians. — Ryan Healey, senior I absolutely love the Rock Band: Beatles! I get so tripped out on it and I always get focused on the background instead of the game because its soooooo colorful! — Niki Plasse, freshman The best game ever? ‘Modern Warfare 2’ is even better than its predecessor. — Kevin Sanchez, senior

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Best Casual Videogame

themselves into a less stressful world of nuclear war. Beating out Facebook, Call of Duty has become the number one pass time for students looking to avoid their dreaded homework.

-H.B.

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Best New Internet Obsession

30%

fmylife.com

Popular website, F My Life, displays various anecdotes about unfortunate circumstances.

I

t all started back in 5th grade with Neopets. The charming little cyber animals played with us all day long, since our interests were limited to cute things.

As time progressed, AOL Instant Messenger took over and we 6th graders had to step it up.

Our reputation was on the line

with our decision to use pink or blue font or whether our screen name correctly embodied our personalities. In middle school, our typing became more rapid and taking the perfect “Myspace Picture” became our number one priority.

From here, other social net-

works like Facebook swarmed our teenage lives. Each of these baby steps on our ever-so-familiar internet are this generation’s way of taking trends to the next level.

This year, we have continued to step it up with FMyLife.com.

As the winner of the “Best New

F My Life

Internet Obsession,” F My Life, with the F left up for interpretation, is the current craze for tech savvy young adults. Since the YouTube videos of cats spinning on ceiling fans have become lackluster, we need to read hundreds of traumatizing anecdotes that range from embarrassing relationship troubles, to stories that would make your parents shriek.

Similar to how Neopets embodied our interests in 5th grade, FML is representative of what we enjoy these days. We almost best of simply love to lis- MLIA...25% ten to degrading Texts from Last Night...18% stories of other Twitter...15% people suffering Mystery Google...12% while we sit at out fancy, new Apple computer screens.

After all, what could be better than ending a Friday night with a few horror stories of fat people losing self-esteem and others barfing on their sweaters.

There is truly no better way to feel good about oneself.

Today, I realized that my generation only gets joy out of other’s misfortunes. FML.

–S.M.

Best YouTube Video

I’m on a Boat

DA students, get your towels ready—it’s about to go down.

Your votes have been tallied and your voices have been heard.

The title of “Best YouTube Video of 2009” goes to the Lonely Island’s smash debut single, “I’m On A Boat.”

The video details the crazy-fantastic escapades of Andy Samberg, Akiva almost best of Schaffer, David after the Dentist...27% and T-Pain Cat Massage...11% aboard a Party in the USA...10% swanky free Miranda Sings...4% boat ride for three.

Dressed in tuxedos or swim trunks and flippie floppies, they enjoy themselves while flipping burgers, riding dolphins, and seducing scantily-clad mermaids

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with their nautical-themed pashmina afghans.

The song quickly became a viral video, busting five knots until it reached every corner of the Internet; it hit #1 on both iTunes and YouTube within a month of its release.

“I’m On A Boat” has also inspired not only merchandise and apparel but Facebook quizzes (“Are you on a boat?”) and an online contest, endorsed by T-Pain himself, for fans to create their own videos expressing their enthusiasm for whatever situations they find themselves in; weekly winners include “I’m On The Phone,” “I’m On A Bus,” and “I’m On A Couch.” (A note to the Mustang Minds team: begin porductuion for “I’m On A Bridge” immediately) San Dieguito Academy has proved far from immune to the

this boat is real!

S

youtube.com

Andy Samberg and the Lonely Island are on a boat. You know you’re jealous.

Digital Short’s infectious appeal.

“I’m On A Boat” has become not only a frequently played hit on students’ iPods but a staple at mo­­­­­ st of the school dances.

And if they’re still playing

that one song from those sixth grade dances, you know that SDA students of the future will be just as excited about “free boat rides for three” as we were.

–D.P.

My favorite video of the year was ‘Potter Puppet Pals: Snape’s Diary.’ It was funny and cute and sad. Yay Snape!

— Yoshi LeaVesseur, junior ‘David After Dentist’ is the best YouTube video ever. — Heather Scruggs, senior I always can’t stop laughing when I watch the “California Cows” commercial. It seems so stupid but yet so funny! — Jade Robison, freshman

Farmville is the best thing invented in the universe! Thank you, Facebook. — Alina Revilla, junior

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hat do Rosie O’Donnell, Rush Limbaugh, and Kanye West all have in common?

None of these celebrities have any idea how to bite their tongues and just shut up. West’s tongue, however, is different from the rest; it’s sloppy, self-obsessed, and currently messing with America’s sweetheart.

This year at the almost best of Video Music Miss California...22% Awards, Balloon Boy...18% West inOcto-mom..13% famously John and Kate Plus forced his Eight...11% drunken body onto the stage, exuding a cocky confidence that made his face incredibly smackable, snatched the microphone from Taylor Swift’s dainty fingers, and had the worst

Kanye at VMA’s

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word vomit in MTV history. The rapper unleashed his wrath onto the country singer as she accepted her first “Best Female Video” award. “I’m sorry, but Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time,” he raved as the 19-year-old star stood there, completely stunned.

Kanye West may have three yachts, five mansions, and 700 pairs of shoes, but one thing his millions won’t buy is class and a little bit of heart.

It was first apparent that he was a conceited a-hole when he stormed out on the 2004 American Music Awards proclaiming that he “was robbed” of the “Best New Artist” award.

But even the devil would have a hard time stealing the spotlight from a teen accepting her first VMA, to support a woman who already has three.

Best Book

harpercollins.com

vma.mtv.com

I’mma let you finish... Kanye West rudely interrupts Taylor Swift onstage at the VMA’s.

Not only did Kanye prove himself the tackiest human in pop-culture history, but his idiocy was only accentuated when Beyonce won “Video of the Year” twenty minutes later, and graciously gave Swift her speech time.

dd this one to your book list, kids. It’s going to be a read for the ages. Now, I haven’t exactly read the book per se, but I have a pretty good idea of what we can be looking forward to in the “Best Book” called “Going Rogue” authored by America’s most famous hockey mom.

I assume it chronicles Mrs. Palin’s break with society’s expectations— when society told her to use complete sentences, she went with illogical fragments all the way!

When America asked her to wear longer dresses, she just kept hiking those things up! When conservative supporters called for a presidential run in 2012, she quit the job she already had!

Mrs. Palin has certainly characterized herself as a loveable rogue, much unlike that conformist “maverick” crap that Sen. McCain has been trying to pull for the last 100 years.

I would expect nothing less than complete social

After almost five outbursts (most of them drunken and one in Europe), it seems like an appropriate time to completely ban this alcoholic fool from all future award shows before he breaks the hearts of any more bud-

ding songstresses and their fans. The only award West deserves is for his contribution to 2009’s “Biggest Pop Culture Faux Pas.” Lastly I ask you, Kanye West, how could YOU be so heartless?

-B.M.

defiance in her book.

Now I’m sure the liberal elites that dominate the media are going to criticize Mrs. Palin’s memoirs because this book tells it like it is—100% truth (as Sarah Palin sees it) without any of that “reality” smokescreen that the liberal media is always trying to throw in the way.

After all, the woman is the former almost best of Republican Under the Dome...26% presidential The Girl with the Dragon candidate, Tattoo...23% the former Lost Symbol...17% governor of Have a Little Faith...4% Alaska, and the former mayor of Wasilla—let her say what she wants. So what if it’s not “factual?” This book provides her with the direct line to the American public that she needs to spread her message of, um, well, I’m sure she has a message…right?

-K.S.

50%

Going Rogue

grab a facemask

A

Book to nowhere Palin gives us a truthful take on her opinions.

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Biggest Pop-Culture Faux Paus a swift appearance

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I like Mystery Google because everybody leaves their phone number on it and I prank call people all the time. — DJ Swan, sophomore I think Elizabeth Lambert being suspended from the New Mexico soccer team for yanking that girl’s hair from BYU was real intense. — Lindsey Valenzuela, sophomore The fact that they painted the concrete green to make it look like grass above Mr. Wright’s room is the best of SDA. — Wesley Chapman, sophomore

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Best Celebrity Death once a thrill, always a thrill

More Best Of ’s Most Oscar-Worthy

49%

District 9

almost best of

The Soloist...32% Precious...11% A Serious Man...5% The Hurt Locker...3%

MSTRKRFT

Best Electronic Album

27%

almost best of Shpongle...20% Air...19% David Guetta...18% Paul Oakenfold...16%

Best Facebook App

39%

Farmville

almost best of

Bumper Stickers...27% Social Interview...22% Top Fans...7% Restaurant City...5%

Which Wich

39% almost best of

Cotixan...18% Swirls...16% Garcia’s...11% Lotus...16%

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T

hrough the plethora of awards that Michael Jackson has won, the most recent is perhaps the most astonishing. This time last year, no one would believe that the “Best Celebrity Death of 2009” would have been awarded to the seemingly immortal King of Pop. But to the world’s dismay, on June 25, Jackson was placed into the running.

On this warm summer day, the media pushed all other mediocre news out of the programs and received enough juicy material to last for weeks.

If there was an astronaut listening in on earth, he or she would hear a constant frequency of “Did you hear that Michael Jackson died?” in all 8,000 languages. Overall, the whole world was completely

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shocked when they realized that the heart was no longer beating for the creator of “Beat it.”

When the population looks back on the extreme fame that Michael Jackson held in the palm of his hand, some may think highly of his celebrated work, while others look down upon the lawsuits and bizarre situations that this man put himself through. But in order to gain the fame that the paparazzi love, he had to of accomplished something very fantastic.

The unbelievable reputation that Jackson won was due to him being dubbed the most commercially successful musician of our time. For over four decades Jackson influenced dance, music, fashion, and helped to break a

racial barrier. He began his career at a time when the world of media was inching forward, and the pure talent of Jackson was the needed push in order to make drastic changes to society. Jackson was the first black person that aired on MTV and paved the way for hundreds of other African American artists. Truly, until the end of Michael Jackson’s life, he was always doing something, whether positive or negative, at the right time to stay in the spotlight.

Michael Jackson’s ability to capture the hearts of the people was what made his mourning process one that may never be forgotten. From the worldwide attendance of 1 million people watching his funeral and the film, “This Is It,” it is obvious that people

cared about the entertainer. The death may have brought out the sentimental side of people who had previously been disgusted by his recent problems, but in the end, Jackson has been placed in a positive light. This light has spread to the young and old, almost best of to people across the Billy Mays...35% Patrick Swayze...11% ocean, and to our DJ AM...6% own com- Farrah Fawcett...4% munity at SDA. After all, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white, or dead or alive. Either way Michael Jackson has transcended the barrier and left an imprint on the world forever.

–S.M.

44%

Michael Jackson

Best New Restaurant

Michaeljackson.com

King of Pop poses during the peak of his career in a steezy white suit.

Farmville is definitely addicting and really time consuming.You get obsessed. — Devon Nichols, junior Bumper Stickers are awesome. Amy The best dead celebrity is definitely Michael Jackson. — Amber DeLapine, freshman

and I are bumper sticker friends. — Eileen An, junior Which Wich always reminds me of the witch hunts, like, ‘which witch are you gonna put on your sandwich?’ They have good milkshakes there. — Kianna Eberle, sophomore

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Best of...

Girls fashion trend

Guys fashion trend

Zippers

36%

nina moussavi

However, once unique, zippers can now be found stuck on almost everything at Urban Outfitters and Forever 21, making them overbearingly trendy.

Don’t get the wrong idea, zippers can be an added bonus to any outfit, but when vomited in mass quantities onto apparel it can turn into a fashion nightmare.

Three cheers for this new innovative use for something that has been previously overlooked and underappreciated. -M.L.

O

nina moussavi

nce reserved for mountain men, lumberjacks, and pajamas, flannels have made a spot for themselves as a staple item in almost every guy’s closet and as this year’s Best Guys’ Trend.

Downtown Encinitas’s thrift shops are a wealth of $15 flannels galore. It’s quick, it’s easy, and the word on the street is any guys “hotness” factor is raised by at least 10 points when donning a flannel.

Walking around SDA, half of our male population can be seen wearing a flannel on any given day.

And even though flannel can be found around every corner, it doesn’t seem like it’s overdone yet.

Flannels don’t really come across as trendy, but more of a classic, comfortable design that never goes out of style and always looks good. More recently the flannel trend has taken on a whole new almost best of meaning, Leather jackets...21% transformCut-off pants...21% ing the baTank tops...9% sic buttonOxford shoes...5% up flannel into jackets and dress shirts.

Don’t think you have it in the bag completely, boys; it’s easy to be a flannel offender. It’s the consensus among the discerning female counterpart that a flannel unbuttoned with a shirt underneath is just a waste of flannel. So button up and plaid yourself, and you’ll be wearing the undisputed best guy’s trend of 2009. -T.C.

44%

Flannel

F

ormerly known as the golden gateway to the opposite sex’s pants, zippers have taken on a new form as a fashion statement, rather than a practical mechanism to keep on or take off almost best of clothes.

Floral print...30% Zippers Blazers...18% can now Rompers...10% be found Oxford shoes...6% on the outside of apparel and accessories of all types, adding edginess to otherwise plain outfits.

And for this reason, this year they have been voted Best Girls’ Trend of 2009.

Despite the immediate impracticality of having zippers placed every-which-way, they can be useful when, for example, positioned vertically down the front of a tight fitting dress, giving a little more room for forgiveness, which is something every girl can appreciate.

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Ultimate steeze Derek Kruger, senior, and Madi Fairchild, junior, rep their individual styles. By Maddie Lyon and Taylor Chapin Beanie: CRC Jacket: Lucky Brand Shirt: found it

Dress: Buffalo Exchange

Pants: Tilly’s

Shoes: Vans Outlet

Estimated cost: $60 Personal style: Trendy gear Style icons: undecided

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Tights: Urban Outfitters

Boots: a friend’s

Estimated cost: $150 Personal style: Grunge chic Style icons: Nicole Richie

Texturey/patterned tights! A subtle twist on something we’ve been wearing since childhood. — Bree Manley, senior I think blazers are the best ’09 fashion trend because they’re sensible and you can dress them up or down. — Mikayla Kwik, junior [in relation to best of guys fashion] I wish guys would stop wearing tank tops. It makes me, a girl, feel self conscious because they all have better curves than I do. — Suki Berry, sophomore

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the

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rieko michelle whitfield Metal. The members of Circle of Manias, (left to right) Seniors Eric Gudmundsson, Clinton Frerichs, Tory Bader, Felipe Pezzoli, and Lukas Weiss wrapped up the night’s performane.

rieko michelle whitfield Opening band Year of Glad drew a crowd of patrons to kick off the night of music, home-made pastries, and Rubio’s burritos.

Songs for a cause Seventy students attended and helped raise $736. By Amy Dushkin.

T rieko michelle whitfield Going solo Junior Nick McIntyre covered Dave Matthews.

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he evening of March 12, students, teachers, and parents gathered together to support a noble cause at the Polio Benefit Concert, which was put on by Interact and the Encinitas Rotary Club. The concert featured bands Year of Glad, Circle of Manias, and

Astrologic. Baked goods from Culinary Arts and Rubio’s food were for sale. Student artwork was sold as well.

Between sets, speakers came to talk about how polio still exists in the world, and how only one percent of polio in the world still has disastrous effects. Guest

speakers included Rotary President Tom Cozens and RYLA Chair Alfredo Gonzales. Interact members wore T-shirts reading “1%” to provoke questions and interest about the cause. Public relations officer of Interact McKenna Taylor said, “Overall it was a successful turnout.”

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jacket: DAV $3 Dress: Amvets $8

Dress: Goodwill $8 Purse: Goodwill $4

Shoes: Amvets $2

Boots: Buffalo Exchange $10

Total Cost: $20

maddie lyon

Penny Pinchers Rieko Michelle Whitfield (left) and Thea Brown (right) model two of their outfits purchased during their thrifting quest across San Diego County.

Total Cost: $13

We’re not cheap… we’re pennywise. Tips for being a fashion-forward consumer while essentially cheating the capitalist system - one really cute outfit at a time.

1

The art of thrifting is always a hit or miss situation. If you don’t find anything the first time, be resilient. Half the satisfaction comes from the thrill of the hunt.

2

Don’t convince yourself to buy something you don’t like solely because it is discounted. Only buy an item if you’re sure that you won’t have regrets later.

On the other hand, if you find a good investment piece, like a pair of vintage Italian leather boots or a wool winter coat, don’t pass up a good find because of the price.

3

Bargain, bargain, bargain. If an item is defective in any way, see if you can get a discount. Thrift stores tend to be more flexible than retail stores, but either way it never hurts to ask.

4

Some thrift stores lack dressing rooms. Wear something tight-fitted so you can try things on over your clothes. (We learned the hard way while we awkwardly attempted to try on clothes under our shirts without any incidents of indecent exposure. We caught a man standing in the corner watching us change while discretely taping us on his videophone. Beyoncé and Lady Gaga may make it look sexy, but really, it’s just creepy.)

5

In retail stores, clearance racks are generally located in the back of the store so that the consumer has to look through all the full price items first. Don’t give in to these dirty corporate tricks – the back of the store is where it’s at.

6

Learn to sew. If you can find an amazing dress for four bucks at AmVets, but spend $20 on getting it hemmed a few inches, then it’s not worth it.

Sewing machines are surprisingly easy to use. With a little practice, you can add your own touch to your wardrobe while saving money and a trip to the tailor.

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Your student ID card has more uses than just purchasing Prom tickets. As high school students, we are the financially underprivileged demographic of society, so take advantage of being disadvantaged. Whether it’s a free gelato at Bubby’s, student-priced movie admission, a free drink at Chipotle or 10 percent off at Goodwill, you never know when your ID card can come in handy for discounts. Additionally, you can turn in your report card for free cash at places like Hansens or K-5. An incentive to get good grades, plus a free swimsuit? Win-win situation.

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Perhaps it’s that damn Helvetica font, the soft-core pornographic advetising, or the fact that the textiles are 100 percent “Made in the USA,” American Apparel seems to trigger something in our hip teenage brains to fork over 22 dollars plus tax for a plain t-shirt. Before succumbing to the seduction of that overpriced double U-neck minidress, check out NYCblanks.com and trendyblanks.com for more budget-friendly AA. Same garb, half the price. There are also options for buying in bulk on Ameri canApparel.net that tend to be cheaper as well. is possibly the greatest well-kept secret on the inter- 9 Retailmenot.com net. Don’t EVER buy anything online without doing a quick

10

search on this site. It is an open forum chocked-full of insider codes for discounts or free shipping for a plethora of online retailers (Including the aforementioned AmericanApparel.net) For a no-cost fashion fix, sell the neglected clothing sitting in the back of your closet to places like Buffalo Exchange of Flashbacks for cash or store credit. However, some of the trendier thrift boutiques tend to be rather selective, so don’t feel discouraged if your clothes get rejected.

My favorite fashion trend of 2009 is flannels because they are so comfy. — Madeleine Holcomb, sophomore I like plaid, because I’m wearing plaid, he’s wearing plaid, everyone wears plaid. — Brandon Rowley, junior Pirates wear cut-off pants so that is why I wear them. —

Kirby Lochner, senior Oxford shoes make me think of when I was little. It feels like I’m wearing kindergarten on my

feet. — Sam Ahern, senior

I like a good pair of brown leather boots because you can wear them with anything. — Ashley Abercrombie, junior

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Mustang Messenger Real News for Real People

A man-child’s letter to Santa: a plea for world peace... and a Nintendo DS

By Kyle Shohfi

Wikimedia Commons

The Meadowlands The grass really is greener on the other side

Newly added lawn causes schoolwide panic

By Kirby Lochner and Bryan Hee For weeks now, landscaping experts have been attempting to exterminate the grass that has been added between the dinosaur sculpture and tech rooms.

Witnesses say they have been burning the grass and letting cows graze on the pasture but all have, up until this point, been ineffective.

“We think it’s a deadly mutation of the common Bermuda grass, very resistant to normal gardening techniques,” said Daniel Cradbury, Head Scientist of the SDUHSD Maintenance Committee. In an effort to weaken the grass’s immune system Cradbury has developed

a counter strand of the mutant DNA, which he plans to spread through the newly installed, state-of-the-art sprinkler system.

The system, Grassnet, uses nanotechnology to monitor the vital signs of the grassy expanse. Rick Ross, celebrated SDA skeptic, stated in a school assembly press conference that the nanotechnology holds the potential of becoming self-aware.

“The possibility of a living, breathing sprinkler system is something that cannot be overlooked,” said Ross. Since this address, the administration has begun taking the necessary precautions to prevent such a horrific event.

“We’ve been working day and night to try and find people

named John Connor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Christian Bale,” reported SDA Secretary of Press Julie Preston.

On a lighter note, horse enthusiasts Nina Comforti and Mia Mendola have been sighted with their horses in the grassy area, disregarding all warnings from authority.

“We’re simply taking advantage of an opportunity to exercise our horses without leaving the school campus,” said Comforti. So as the controversy surrounding the addition of this small, yet dangerous grass lot continues to grow, perhaps people should follow in the footsteps of the local equestrians and act on this unexpected opportunity.

Dear Santa Claus, The world is plumper than a Christmas goose with global disasters—uncontrollable unrest in the Middle East, formidable floods in southwest Asia, and rogue hockey moms publishing memoirs, to name a few. In this era of worldwide strife, I’m going to ask for something different this year. Something with meaning, with significance, with universal benefit.

Santa, I want a Nintendo DS Now, before you jump all over my case (I want a light blue one of those with plenty of room for games, too!) and say that I was misleading about my desires, give me just one minute to explain.

As an adolescent, I am extremely susceptible to what the media places into the forefront of my attention, and my malleable mind has been injected with images of disaster and conflict.

A Nintendo DS would divert my attention from these terrible things and redirect toward where it should be—on video games.

Why should I see newsflashes of the war in Iraq when I could be torching World War II Japanese soldiers with my flamethrower on my DS? My innocent mind must be preserved!

And why should I be exposed to local stories of teens dying in car crashes when I could focus my attention on driving my Lamborghini Diablo through the streets

of Beijing as intoxicated bikiniclad trophy girls cheer me on from the sidelines (at least until I run them over for 35 Kudos a pop)? Santa, I don’t know if you get the New York Times way up there in the North Pole, but if you do, you understand the vast amount of misinformation that the liberal media elite who killed JFK are spreading here.

The penetration of their lies has reached such an extent that the youth of America is utterly defenseless.

We have but one means to protect them: blinding their young eyes from the press and directing their focus to their dual screened fun factory. After all, the youth of America has no business reading articles about legislation on gun control; just buy them a copy of Grand Theft Auto and they’ll be set for hours!

Earlier I mentioned meaning, significance, and universal benefit that would accompany my present. The meaning, of course, being Nintendo Dual Screen.

The significance, there is more than one screen! The universal benefit, it runs on rechargeable batteries, so the Nintendo DS can be used literally anywhere in the universe.

Well Santa, I’d like to write more, but I’m afraid time is of the essence, as I’m afraid that any moment now I’ll suddenly grow up and cease to believe in you. Then I would never get my Nintendo DS! Wishing you and yours the jolliest holiday season (I don’t believe in sectarianism).

Budget cuts force San Dieguito School District to hire animals

By Dimitri Fautsch Due to the decline in taxes from the recent economic recession the school district has been forced to hire animals to teach their students beginning on the start of the second semester Jan. 21.

The school board, after hours of laborious debate, voted in a 5-4 decision that animals would be hired. The move, which has

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been praised by animal rights groups and blasted by teachers unions, is expected to save around $200,000.

The school board has specified that only mammals would be hired, a move that has prompted criticism from the Reptiles for Reptilian Rights group.

“It really boils my blood, I can’t believe they wouldn’t even have one reptile teach-

ing” said the spokesman for the RRR, Reptar. “We could teach anything involving outdoor activities but only in the 1st and 4th quarter.”

“You know, we considered reptiles, but we wouldn’t want a teacher to go outside every 15 minutes to shed their skin,” said School Board President Bernard Kirk.

The decline in tax revenue has forced the school district to

reconsider the ways it spends money and the hiring of humans was the first subject to be discussed.

Financial experts from Lehman Brothers and other financial institutions have questioned the fiscal benefits of the decision, saying that the money saved would be spent on revamping the school’s direly needed pooper-scooper system as well as the litterbox infra-

structure.

The animals would be mostly dogs and cats due to their size and intelligence. Dolphins are to teach marine biology, and lions, because of their penchant for self-cleaning, are planned to teach health.

Though the district has acknowledged the potential of teacher-teacher combat, the board has promised to take preventive action.

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circus animal12.18.09 fun

Skier vs. Snowboarder

Sophomore snowboarder Nolan Gallagher insults over half the population with extremely chauvinisitic comments, but junior skier Sam Houskeeper rises to the occasion, avenging women everywhere. By Henry Sweat 1. Why is a boxing ring square?

Skier: Um… *giggles*… so that people can get beat up in the corners and that coaches can coach in the corners. You know how they sit in the corners.

Snowboarder: The boxing ring has corners so that wimpy skiers like Sam can hide in them.

Me: Skier, are you laughing at people getting beat up as they try to escape pain and suffering?

I’m making you an appointment with a PAL so you can learn to empathize with others’ pain.

Minus six points. Snowboarder, if you are going to insult someone at least make it funny. Also, Google Bode Miller. He is six foot two and pure muscle. You can ride roller coasters, as of last year. Minus 12 points for the bad insult.

2. If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all of those Acme products, why didn’t he just buy dinner?

Skier: What’s Acme? (after

an explanation) Oh, because he knew the satisfaction of catching the roadrunner would outweigh the hardships he had to go through to catch him.

Snowboarder: The thing is he was obviously in need of a playful situation because his mom told him never to play with his food. He needed to fulfill his desire of play and hunger. He must play with it and then kill it.

Me: Skier, I can’t believe you don’t remember what Acme is. Retake childhood. Minus 16 points for every year you need to redo. Snowboarder, it appears there is a budding philosopher on our hands, I kant believe it, but that is okay as long as everyone else can be one too. Plus 5 points for being philosophical.

3. Why can’t women put on mascara with their mouth closed?

Skier: I have no idea. Girls are weird and ick.

Snowboarder: I don’t know.

Why are they out of the kitchen

in the first place? Oh actually, um… I believe that women should not have to bother with makeup, because it is what is on the inside that counts.

Me: Skier, as a self-appointed representative of the female sex, I am offended. Minus 10 points for being closed-minded.

Snowboarder, I pity you. Try getting a date after saying that.

I thought it was a joke, but now I am not so sure, especially with the insincere apology at the end.

Minus 89 points in memorial of each year since the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment.

4. Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Skier: Because it has to bond with the air to harden and stick.

Snowboarder: The same reason why water doesn’t stick to the inside of the bottle.

Me: Skier, there is air inside of the bottle. Minus 5 points for not thinking things through.

Snowboarder that better be a joke. No points.

henry sweat

Cowabunga! Skier Sam Houskeeper and snowboarder Nolan Gallagher prepare to lay some gnarly tracks down double blacks, all day, everyday.

5. Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?

Skier: Why do they? Same reason that they banned snowboarders from Snow Valley, they have dignity.

Snowboarder: Similar to the mindset of skiers, the practice of sterilizing a needle is enacted in order to de-diversify the world, both viral and real, so obviously this practice was made by one of those fascist skiers.

Me: Skier, it appears you are well schooled in the art of verbal warfare. That was a funny insult. Pop culture combined with a witty punch line; Skier gets 10 points for the zinger.

Snowboarder, learn from your nemesis. If I could understand your answer, I’d make fun of it more. Minus 7 points for your nonsensical response.

Skier: -32 Snowboarder: -120

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Backpage 12.18.09

Holiday Parade SDA students from various clubs marched down the 101 for Encinitas’ annual Holiday Parade to usher in the holiday season on Dec. 5th. Students in colorful kimonos brightened the streets, school bands filled the air with catchy tunes, and SDA U.S. History teacher Oly Norris sported his fashionforward, aquamarine beanie while parading with the surf team.

Students and the community came together to fulfill one of our city’s most beloved traditions and express their vibrant spirits. Photos by Ana Reyes and Kellie MacPhee.

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