SELGAES

SELGAES 2020 A walk through Paris

BY JADAN FIX

Winter months are some of the longest, and most boring months of the year, and that is why Selgaes is the best way to get out and do something fun with your friends. Selgaes is the “girls ask guys” winter formal at Eden Prairie. This year selgaes is on February 22nd. Selgaes is a fun tradition that has been going on for awhile. Many students have different ways they celebrate selgaes. Most groups take pictures, go to dinner then either go to the dance or have their own party. It’s something fun for everyone to do in the winter. I asked some students how they felt about selgaes. Senior Randy Williams, says he really enjoys Selgaes. He likes how our school does a winter formal.

Student Counsil does a lot of planning leading up to Selgaes. Oumou Barry, senior on Student Council, said the Student Council talked a lot about the planning process. They have to do lots of advertising so students show up to the dance, and seem interested in going. They also ask input from students about the DJ. They have had to change the DJ before so more people come. They also have to plan the spirit week, which is the week leading up to the dance. It’s always a fun week for students and teachers to dress up during the week and show their school spirit. She talked about how planning the week takes a lot of time to make sure students will enjoy the week. They usually do lots of advertising through spirit week.

Selgaes is fun and all, but there is a lot of work that goes into it. Especially the outfit. Students feel that they have to find the perfect dress or suit, shoes, makeup, nails, hair, and accessories. There is lots of time and money that goes into these dances. Some students even shop months in advance for these things. Junior Michaela Goetz said she starts looking about a month in advance to order online. There are lots of factors to ordering online, especially if the dress does not fit. Sophomore Henry Husmann, says he finds his outfit about a week before Selgaes. There is a lot of planning that goes into Selgaes, but it is always worth it in the end, and the fun memories last forever.

Emma O’connell, Sophie Barbari, Abby Lawrence, Maddie Johnson PHOTOS SUBMITTED Selgaes usually shows lots of small trends through peoples styles. These girls all pretty much had the same hair style. Their hair is all curled, but styled differently with hair pulled back or just down and curled. This was just one hair trend for Selgaes last year.

They’ve got the look

Veronica Hansen talked about how her favorite Selgaes look was junior year. She said she went with a simple look. Her hair was her favorite part because she didn’t try that hard and she liked the way it looked. She also said her favorite color is pink and her dress was a “simple salmon color,” so it suited her. Overall, Hansen said her look was comfortable and that made everything feel very easy and less stresful. PHOTOS SUBMITTED Veronica Hansen

Dylan Nduulu

Dylan Nduulu said his favorite Selgaes look was also his junior year. He said “it is versatile.” He talked about how he can be clean and comfortable. He said it was nice to be able to go out and hang with his friends later and have a good time without having to change clothes.Overall, Nduulu really emphasized having good style while being comfortable is the most important thing about your outfit.

Selgaes is always a time where people can show their own style and dress up. Most girls wear shorter, less formal dresses rather than maxi dresses. Girls also wear heels, but it has been a trend to wear lowtop shoes. Guys usually wear a shirt with a tie or bowtie with nice dress pants and dress shoes. Selagaes is always a fun night to dress up and show your style.

Festive Foods

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKAYLIE SOSNOWSKI

The Western Christmas and New Year’s festivities are now far behind us, and many weeks of cold, dark winter weather stretch ahead. It seems like once the hustle of the holiday season is over, there’s little to anticipate except for spring break and the rare day with a temperature above 10º. However, not everyone is willing to give in to the winter blues. When it comes to looking forward to spring and new life, there’s a grand celebration to be found in the Chinese observance of the lunar calendar New Year.

The Chinese New Year is typically observed over the course of 15 days, making itthe longest holiday of the Chinese year. This year it was celebrated from January 25th until February 8th. The start and end dates shift among late January to early February each year due to their reliance on the completion of the lunar cycle.

Celebrants - including many students here at EPHS - took part in a variety of traditions and activities during the New Year, such as spending time with loved ones, eating delicious food and celebrating a fresh start with the coming of the new year.

One such student was senior Claire Mitchell. For her, the New Year is “a time to gather with family to celebrate a good year”.

Claire has a unique perspective on the holiday due to her adoption from China at a young age. “Celebrating with adoptive non-Chinese parents does change the experience,’’ she said. “It’s a lot less traditional. Also the food is a lot less spicy!”

Some of her relatives also come to enjoy the food and quality time with family. “My grandma, uncle, and godmother attend,” she said. “We usually spend some time talking then the rest of the time eating. After we’re all stuffed we go back to the living room and talk about fun memories.”

Additionally, the act of giving money as a gift is common. “The children in the family who have not yet attended college

receive red envelopes full of money that get put toward college,” said Claire. The red envelopes are called hongbao in Mandarin or lai see in Cantonese, and they symbolize good luck.

A day long celebration requires hard work and preparation, so good food is really important to keep everyone energized. Claire’s family’s staple food for the Chinese New Year is monkey bread.

“It’s not actually traditional,” she said. “But it’s so tasty and we only ever make it for Chinese New Year. It’s like a bundt cake shape and it is made with soft pieces of dough sprinkled with caramel and cinnamon”.

This delectable dessert will keep you feeling warm and cozy inside until the cold, dark winter days are over. Enjoy with family and friends to complete the experience!

Mikaylie Sosnowski writes a regular column for the Eyrie magazine. If you have any recipes you’d like to see featured, you can contact her at mikayliesosnowski@gmail.com.

INGREDIENTS ½ cup sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 (16.3 oz.) cans refrigerated biscuits ½ cup caramel (may not need all of it) 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ¾ cup unsalted butter, melted DIRECTIONS Preheat oven to 350° and grease your bundt pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl stir together the sugar and cinnamon.

Bake biscuits according to package directions, then cut them into 4 pieces. Add the biscuit pieces to the cinnamon sugar mixture. Make sure to toss together well so all the biscuits are coated.

In a separate bowl whisk together the brown sugar, vanilla extract and melted butter.

Add half of the butter mixture to the bottom of the Bundt pan then add the biscuit pieces to the top.

Pour the remaining half of the butter mixture on top of the biscuits.

Bake for 28-32 minutes or until it is cooked through. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Once done cooling, remove from pan and drizzle caramel over bread.

BY KATHERINE KREGNESS

Booksmart, released on the May 24th, 2019, follows two straight A students and best friends (played by Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Denver) who realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of recklessness, bad ideas and fun into the night before their graduation.

The film surprised many during the 2020 Golden Globes when Beanie Feldstein was nominated for Best Actress - Musical or Comedy.

Booksmart works to incorporate large-scale, world changing topics without centering the plot around an ideology or agenda. Both girls are clear liberals, with Warren 2020 bumper stickers and RBG posters. Director Olivia Wilde manages to convey their passion for social justice without preaching to the audience. One of the two main characters, Amy, is gay but has never kissed another girl. Her long-time crush becomes a major plot point without centering the movie around her sexuality. It is treated as any romantic subplot in a coming of age movie, regardless of the social implications. This comedic, fun loving movie made me laugh until I was crying. Sure, it lacked some of the depth of reality, but overall I would highly recommend. BY ADAM KHELAH

“Parasite” is breaking barriers for foreign films in the industry. It has been nominated for six Oscars including Best Picture. That’s rare. Only a few foreign language films have ever earned Best Picture nominations. The film’s director Bong Joon-Ho is an acclaimed director with credits such as “Okja” “Mother” and “Snowpiercer” to boot. He has a great track record, and “Parasite” solidifies this even more.

It’s best to go into this movie completely cold, as I did. You will get the best experience. I thought I knew where this movie was going, but it pulled the rug out from under my feet. It’s hard to get that experience from movies these days, so this movie stand out from the rest.

“Parasite” plays out like a dark comedy social satire. Yet, as the viewer descends further into the film, the tone shifts around quite a bit. This is one of my favorite aspects of the movie. The tonal shifts all feel so seamless and never take you out of the story. From my experience, this is extremely difficult, and I applaud the director and everyone else involved for pulling it off.

The movie also had some very powerful social commentary kneaded into it about the contrast between rich and poor and the struggles that ensue because of it. And while it doesn’t necessarily offer a solution, it does give great insight. One scene particularly stood out to me in this department. One character claims a family is “rich but still nice.” His wife responds, “They’re nice because they’re rich.” It goes to show how the rich and privileged don’t have to worry about certain things while the poor have to fight each other over what little is left. Audience and critics alike are calling this film a masterpiece. I’m not sure I’m quite there. I do have a problem with it toward the end, but I feel that may be simply because I was shocked by it. I think I’d have to see it again. What I can say is that it lingered in my mind for days after I watched it. “Parasite” is a must watch for cinema lovers. Casual moviegoers can also enjoy it. Don’t let the subtitles turn you away. This is a truly unique movie-going experience. Rating: 4/5 It’s not my fault! I’m a Virgo, and Mercury is in retrograde!! Bad ideas and best friends:

“Booksmart” Review BY VISHALLI ALAGAPPAN It’s not my fault! I’m a Virgo, and Mercury is in retrograde!!

Co—Star is an app that provides you with a “hyper-personalized” horoscope. The app claims its out-of-the-world singularity on its service being hyper-personalized. They assert that other astrology apps merely request the month of your birth to create the various predictions about your personality and future. Co—Star, however, takes your whole astrological chart into account. With the exact time and place of your birth and with NASA data to track the planets, the app creates a hyper-personalized astrological chart that reveals tidbits about each day. Co—Star also features an in-depth personality analysis based on your chart and the ability to add friends to keep track of their zodiac signs.

Skepticism aside, I have really enjoyed this app! I appreciate that the AI divines the readings of the planets because that eliminates human bias. The daily readings have become somewhat of a comfort to me. Knowing why or what is happening to me and basing it on an external source relieves some burden and reduces my anxiety dramatically. I simply let go and allow the stars to rule over my destiny. I do have to concede that I am a believer in astrology.

The readings may be cryptic at times, and often they are poignant pieces of poetry that are intimate and create the promised “hyper-personalized” journey through the realm of the planets. The accuracy, in my experience, has been spot on. And the personality analysis is always enlightening to read. Co-Star is available for iPhone and Android users.

If you believe in the stars, I highly reccommend this app! If you are a nonbeliever, I challenge you to try this app! Ten Jupiters/ ten Jupiters! CREATIVE COMMONS PHOTO