Issue 4

VOLUME 35 • ISSUE 4• January 21, 2011 • KAMIAKIN HIGH SCHOOL • 600 N. ARTHUR ST. • KENNEWICK, WA 99336

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Page 6

Page 11-14

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

2 Achieve your New Year’s Resolution

World’s Most Dangerous Sports

People at Kamiakin High School

Adviser: Laurie Bender Editor-In-Chiefs: Natalie Elliott & Joey Flores News Feature Editor: Kaelyn Cole Sports Editor: Joey Flores In-Depth Editor: Bond Henderson Opinion Editor: Natalie Elliott Entertainment Editor: Evan Ramsey Shenanigans Editor: Nicole Goemmel Cover and Back Editor: Brittney Habel Photography Editor: Victoria DeMers Social Chairman: Cindy Gonzalez Staff Reporters: Tanner Curtis, Kyle Davis, Marissa Lindholm, Tara Halverson, Mason Hanson, Dorothy Heavilin, Mark Ingalls, Wynteria Lyons, Dalis McKenzie, Melissa Osar, Tony Pereyda, Oscar Perez, Makenzie McKinnis, Marissa Rodriguez, Dylan Wilson, Christina Woodard, Kylee Schwartz, Zach Cook, Melissa Coppinger, Garrett Doublin, Daniel Elliot, Brianna Harrod, Mckenzie Kennedy, Amanda Lampton, Amanda Ling, Sadie Machart, Amber Maiden, Ashley May, Danielle Openshaw, Hailey Paine, Alex Peterson, Devin Schell, Jose Tapia, Ernhel Tatunay, Benjamin Yaden

MISSION STATEMENT:

The purpose of the Tomatalk is to inform, entertain, and further educate the students at Kamiakin High School and the surrounding community.

PUBLICATION POLICY:

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E-Books

2010: Year in Review

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Content is determined by the staff. Students are protected and bound by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and other protections and limitations afforded by the Constitution and the various court decisions relative to student publications. The Tomatalk would like to be a forum for student expression and a voice for the free and open discussion of issues. However, currently, we have prior review, and sometimes prior restraint.

The staff of the Tomatalk is expected to be professional, objective, truthful, and accurate. The staff will adhere to the Washington State Law (WAC 180-40-215) which prohibits the following material to be published: 1.

Potentially libelous material 2.

Malicious attacks on an individual’s character 3.

Material which is excessively vulgar or obscene 4.

Material which encourages illegal activity

EDITORIAL POLICY

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Narwal Maze!

Editorials are the opinions of the individual members of the Tomatalk staff and are not intended to express the opinions of the administration, staff, nor students of Kamiakin High School, nor the advertisers in this newspaper.

As a forum for student expression, the Tomatalk will publish letters to the editor. All letters are due one week before the next publication date. The staff reserves the right to edit or omit submissions as necessary. All letters must be signed by the student submitting them. However, if a student prefers his/her name not appear in the publication, his/her name may be withheld. All letters to the editor must be 300 words or less.

In cases involving political or controversial issues, staff members are encouraged to solicit all points of view.

Around theNEWS Campfire & FEATURE

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

3 Student Spotlight: Benny Zarate K

By CINDY GONZALEZ SOCIAL CHAIR-PERSON

amiakin is a school full of many talented students, many who are athletes and are willing to put their talents out there and show everyone who they are and what they do. For senior Benny Zarate, it’s a whole different story. He may seem quiet and shy, and a lot of people may not even notice him roaming the halls of the school, but he is full of hidden talents.

Zarate is really into music and very good when it comes to art. “I started drawing at a younger age, and my techniques were just tracing using coloring books and other random things I saw.”

Zarate continued his drawing for awhile. One of his first greatest achievements in art was a drawing of Spider Man encountering arch rival Venom.

Zarate enjoyed drawing but gave it up his sophomore year leaving his advanced art class after discovering his passion for music. “I discovered music, the epicenter of my inspiration. I practiced this all throughout, now playing all sorts of music. This year I am in string ensemble playing the violin.

Benny not only enjoys orchestra music. He also likes to listen to thrash death black metal and classical music. Music like this is what inspires him to move on in life and discover new things. “I really enjoy music, It takes you somewhere nothing else would, “said Zarate.

Zarate has a promising future with music. “I see myself in a band in L.A.—producing four albums of my own with my lyrics and playing in festivals for people in 10 years.”

Benny Zarate plays his guitar at home when he has free time “which sometimes ends up being an entire day.” He owns a custom B.C. Rich Ironbird guitar that he plays whenever he’s feeling inspired. “Death/black metal is a feeling, not just sound. It’s a way rhythm attacks and moves. It’s what matters,” said Zarate. This is one of the many mottos he goes by to feel more inspired.

Teacher spotlight: Mrs. Whitney

By CINDY GONZALEZ SOCIAL CHAIR-PERSON

This teacher’s motto is “treat others the way you want to be t treated.” She teaches science and anatomy to sophomores, juniors and seniors. That’s right-- it’s Mrs. Jaimie Whitney.

Students think very highly of her and really enjoy taking her classes. Mrs. Whitney was born and raised in Richland She spent her childhood with her parents and her only brother who is younger than her. Growing up, Mrs. Whitney attended Kennewick High School and graduated in 1986. “I attended many high school parades which we had a lot of. It was a lot of fun,” said Whitney.

Like many people, Mrs. Whitney played sports. “I played tennis and made JV team because I didn’t want to practice Saturdays.”

Mrs. Whitney was also a cheerleader at her school during the winter while basketball was going on. She enjoyed high school as much as anyone else would. After graduating, she attended WSU in Pullman. “It took me a while to finish school because I didn’t know what I wanted to major in, so I took up a lot of things like Spanish, science and English.”

After a good few years in school, she taught English at a regular middle school. English was a little too easy for Mrs. Whitney, so she came to Kamiakin in 2004 and taught first year Spanish. She studied in Mexico for a period of time. When Kamiakin needed a sciBy NATALIE ELLIOTT ence teacher, she decided to move EDITOR-IN-CHIEF School is supposed to be a full time job for students, and for most students, it really does and do that instead. “It was more take up that amount of time. We spend about six hours and thirty five minutes in school of a challenge for me,” she said.

Since then, Mrs. Whitney has each day, which is about 33 hours in a week. A full time job is classified as 40 hours a week, been teaching science and anatso students should be studying 7 hours or more each week, but for a lot of students, once they leave school they are done with it, no matter if they have homework or not. Right omy and enjoys what she does. about now these students may be regretting their poor studying techniques, with finals With the support of her husband, finally being here. You may think it is too late to fix your habits, but we still have next se- Jared and three year old daughmester, and hey, we still have finals on Monday even. Follow these tips, and you might do ter, Katie, she’s been able to make it through. Some of her hobbies better than you think next time.

First off, make a goal. Even if you just want to get better grades than last semester, it’s a during her free time are to knit and kayak and hang with family goal and will help motivate your studying.

Second, get organized! Writing down homework assignments on random scraps of paper and friends. “I love to knit. It’s is not going to help you figure out what you have to do that night; so get a planner or a something I can do all day if I notebook where you can write down all of your assignments and future tests. And don’t could,” she said.

Mrs. Whitney will continue to just get the planner or notebook; write in it! So many times students have a planner sitting in their backpack that goes untouched, but motivating yourself to write in it will really pay teach at Kamiakin until it is time for her to go, but that won’t be for off in the end.

Third, take notes when it is required, or even when it’s not. Many teachers do require a long time. “I just hope that stunotes to be taken, but some just say it’s up to you. If you take notes no matter what during dents learn to use their power for lectures or even just while reading through your book, it will help summarize the main good and to use their time wisesections for you and give you something to help direct you during your studying for tests. ly,” she said.

Fourth, review your material. This can be the hardest step often times because it is really It’s teachers like Mrs. Whitney who help students succeed in school no matter the situdifficult to make yourself review notes or vocabulary when it is not required by teachers. ation.

The Finals Crunch: Studying tips to make it easier for now and the future

We often times put reviewing to the back of our minds because we have “better” things we could be doing.

So right now you may be thinking, “Well if I had been doing this all semester then I would be fine, but what do I do for my U.S. History final on Monday?” So this may create a conundrum for you, but really you just need to start studying. Many teachers give students guidelines for what is on the finals, so ask your teacher if s/he has any tips for what you should be studying. Also, you just need to hit the books. Gather up all of your assignments, vocabulary, notes, and quizzes from throughout the semester and read through them all.

Often times it helps to take notes on important information again. Writing down information helps the brain to remember it.

Finally, whether you are just studying for a math quiz or your AP Psychology final, study the night before, get a good night’s rest, and don’t stress out because soon enough, it will all be over.

Around the Campfire NEWS & FEATURE

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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S t r a n g e m a s s a n i m a l DECA student leads d e a t h s p l a g u e w o r l d school Mcfundraiser

By MARK INGALLS STAFF REPORTER

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rom penguins in New Zealand to thousands of blackbirds in Arkansas and even crabs and doves in Europe, millions of sea and air creatures have died around the world in the past few weeks. Some of these events, like penguins in New Zealand and the over two million fish that washed ashore in Maryland, have been attributed to our abnormal weather pattern this winter. Other events, however, have been linked to random things like fireworks displays in Arkansas disorienting thousands of birds causing them to run into things before they were found dead all over an entire city.

Kate Mclnnes from New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) told a local news website, “It’s not just penguins. All seabirds are struggling to feed their chicks or get into a breeding condition as a result of the La Niña climate pattern.”

Mclnnes also pointed out that the reason why the birds are starving to death in that part of the world is due to a lack of small fish that birds such as penguins feed to their chicks.

In Vietnam about 150 tons, or $2.2 million worth, of red tilapia have died. “Tests on the fish and water samples reveal the deaths were caused by frequent ebb tides and the high densities of fish kept caged in pens,” Vu Thi Nhung, head of the affected province’s Department of Natural Resources explained to the Asia News Network.

The fish are kept at a density of 130-200 fish per meter, much higher than the suggested 90-150, creating a lack of oxygen in the water.

Here in the United States, over 5,000 birds dropped out of the sky in the small town of Beebe, northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas, followed by over 500 along Louisiana State Highway 1 near Baton Rouge. Dr. George Bradley noted in an interview with NBC that the birds did not die on impact; instead they died in mid air. Preliminary results said they died of mass trauma.

Also in Arkansas, more than 100,000 fish washed ashore on a 20 mile stretch of the Arkansas River. The fish began washing ashore one day before the birds turned up dead within the same state. Wildlife officials have not decided whether these events have been related.

By KAELYN COLE NEWS & FEATURE EDITOR

Junior Tasha Petermann is using her position in DECA to start a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald house. “I went to a DECA conference and they talked about ways to help the community and it really inspired me,” said Petermann. “The Tri-Cities was the area that raised the least amount of money for Ronald McDonald house in Washington.” Wanting to make a change and give our city a better reputation for giving, Petermann decided to do her own project and raise money for the organization herself.

“Ronald McDonald House is a place where kids with cancer can stay with their families for $24 a night that is close to the hospital,” said Petermann. For 36 years, volunteers and donors have made it possible for the McDonald’s company to help children and their families through the hard times in a comfortable setting. In case you didn’t know, the Ronald McDonald House Charity is a non-profit independent organization whose largest donator is McDonalds. The Ronald McDonald House website says, “We know that families are stronger when they are together, and their presence helps a sick child heal faster and cope better.”

To raise money Petermann, along with partner Kristen Bohlander, will hand out small plastic baggies to every homeroom class on Feb. 11 that every student can take home and then fill with whatever small change they have lying around. Then the students are to bring them back to class the next few days. On Feb. 14, every homeroom teacher will collect their class’s baggies and whoever collects the most money will receive a pizza or doughnut feed.

If you want to help Petermann or Bohlander set up for the fundraiser, go to Mrs. Wilson’s room on Feb. 1 to help prepare.

How to achieve your New Year’s resolution

By KAELYN COLE NEWS & FEATURE EDITOR

As the clock turns from 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31 to 12:00 a.m. Jan. 1, people immediately look back at the last year and what they are willing to do to make the New Year better than the last. The New Year’s resolution is a long standing tradition that dates all the way back to Babylonian times but in the recent years, the focus of this tradition seems to be targeted towards the same few hopeful ideas. So to make this New Year the best, here are some of the most desired resolutions and how to actually accomplish them.

10 resolutions everyone wants to keep: 1. Lose 30 pounds!!!

2. Save lots of money!

3. Spend more time with the family.

4. Quit smoking.

5. Learn something new.

6. Get a boyfriend/girlfriend.

7. Help people.

8. Get better grades.

9. Be a better friend.

10. Get a job.

How to keep them:

1. Everyone wants to lose 30 pounds in a month, but the truth is that it’s unrealistic, so instead say you’ll start going to the gym once a week for the first two months, then the next four months go twice a week and then the rest of the year, go three times a week. By slowly adding the amount of time you spend in a gym, you’ll gradually get used to being there.

2. Instead of saying the general resolution “I want to save money this year”, you should try making a budget. By setting your money into categories before you actually get it, you are more likely to stick to it when you do. These categories should include: save, spend, and give.

3. Many want to spend more time with the family while they can, but people are busy and will get complacent so instead, set one night every other week for an activity the family can do together.

4. Quitting smoking is one of the hardest things to do, so to make it actually happen, enlist the help of the people around you along with whatever quitting solution you are using.

You might be surprised how far a guilt trip can get you.

5. Learning something new is not a very difficult thing to do while in school, but the key to this one is learning something you always wish you did. The best way to do this is to sign up for classes at a local college or wherever they teach the class you are interested in as opposed to learning something on your own.

6. Getting a boyfriend/girlfriend is something that everyone wants deep down inside. The surprisingly best way to do it is to stop looking! It might not happen as quickly as you dream, but the way you find people who like the same things you do is to go to activities because they interest you and not just to find somebody.

Expires 2/28/11

7. Probably the most noble of all resolutions, helping is also one of the hardest to keep. Saying you’ll give money to a charity is good but if you’re a little low on funds, the best way to give back is to donate your time. Getting involved in the Link Crew or ASB charities is a convenient way to give to the less fortunate.

8. Getting better grades is a great way to invest in your own future. A good way to make this happen is to make a realistic but challenging goal for the grade you want in each of your classes. Then you have to promise yourself to do whatever it takes (including going in during lunch and getting help from your teacher) to make it come true.

9. Being a better friend is something everyone can work on.

Everyone wants to think that they are the perfect friend, but the truth is we all have small things we can do to be better.

Mostly, we need to learn to listen to our friends’ problems and then comfort them. Don’t boss them into doing whatever you think is best for them, and only give advice if they ask for it.

10. Getting a job these days is not the easiest thing in the world. The minimum wage jobs originally meant to help kids our age get job experience are now going to adults who need the job to support a family. The best thing you can do is apply, apply, and apply! It may take awhile but there will be a job out there for you in maybe the most random place.

Also be consistent about it, dress nice, meet the manager in person, give a firm handshake, introduce yourself and say this simple question, “What do I have to do to get this job?”

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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Around theNEWS Campfire & FEATURE

Why love is reserved for February 14

By DALIS McKENZIE STAFF REPORTER

F

ebruary has always been a month of romance. It is the month associated with Valentine’s Day celebrations. Time and time again we’ve heard the name St. Valentine being uttered before us in this season of love. But just who is St. Valentine? Why is this month associated with love and romance? The origin of this lover’s day goes back as early as 270 A.D and started with the clash between a kindly priest and a mighty ruler.

It is not exactly known why the 14th of February is known as Valentine’s Day or if the noble Valentine really had any relation to this day. The history of Valentine’s Day is impossible to be obtained from any archive and a veil of the centuries gone by has made the origin behind this day more difficult to trace. There are only legends that are our source for the history of Valentine’s Day. The modern St. Valentine’s Day celebrations are said to have been derived from both ancient Christian and Roman tradition. As one legend states, the holiday originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observed annually on Feb. 15. But the rise of Christianity in Europe saw many pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the early Christian martyrs. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day earlier, on Feb. 14. He proclaimed Feb. 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the third century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern Valentine’s Day honors.

The story of St. Valentine has two different versions -The Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies for soldiers. Claudius II, who had prohibited

marriage for young men, sentenced Valentine to execution. During the lifetime of Valentine, the golden era of the Roman Empire had almost come to an end. Lack of quality administrators led to frequent civil strife. Education declined, taxation increased and trade witnessed a very bad time. The Roman Empire faced crisis from all sides from the Gauls, Slavs, Huns, Turks and Mongolians from Northern Europe and Asia. The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover.

When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and therefore, would not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made men weak. So he issued a proclamation banning marriage in order to assure quality soldiers.

The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree.

He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage. He planned to counter the monarch’s orders in secrecy.

Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them in a secret place and joined them in matrimony. And he began secretly performing many marriages for young lovers.

His kindness was not hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this “friend of lovers” and had Valentine arrested.

While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It is said

that Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal people.

Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine, he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter.

The Catholic legend states that Valentine did this through his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius’ blind daughter.

When Claudius II met Valentine, he was impressed by his dignity and conviction. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage. It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccessful in his efforts.

Valentine refused to recognize Roman gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.

Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius’ daughter. It caused great grief for the young girl to hear of Valentine’s imminent death. It is said that just before his execution Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor and signed a farewell message to her “From Your Valentine,” a phrase that lived ever after. St. Valentine is believed to have been executed on Feb. 14, 270 AD. Feb. 14 became a day for all lovers, and Valentine became its Patron Saint. It began to be annually observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection, known as Valentines, to the women they admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine’s Day.

Valograms serenade the hearts of students

By ERNHEL TATUNAY STAFF REPORTER

Valentine’s is coming around and people are going out, buying gifts for that special someone, whether it is flowers, chocolates, or stuffed animals. But you know what would make a great Valentine’s gift? Kamiakin’s valograms. They’re back by popular demand.

For those who are unfamiliar with what valograms are, valograms involve a variety of groups from Kamiakin’s Scarlet and Gold Choir, from all-girl groups and all-guy groups to mixed groups. There are a total of six groups - two girl groups, one guy group, and three mixed groups – who will be conducting valograms throughout the Tri-Cities and possibly surrounding areas. Each group has chosen four songs that will be available to customers. Valograms is Scarlet and Gold’s number one fundraiser. The money that is raised is used for trips to competitions and festivals. For this year, the students must come up with $700 for a trip to Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

In past years, valograms were allowed in classes; however, because of complaints about classes being disturbed, the administration has chosen to ban valograms from being performed during class hours. This year, however, Scarlet and Gold is planning on putting a stage in the center of the cafeteria where valograms will be performed and seen by the students. The ban did upset quite a few members of the choir, but the choir still expects some success in their valograms.

“I feel that it’s a bit ridiculous and unfair. It was a tradition that both students and teachers loved, and we can easily schedule around teachers who don’t like it. I just think we should be able to make a compromise because it’s our main fundraiser and we lost a lot of money by cutting it out of classes,” senior Chelsea Kupitz of Scarlet and Gold said. “I expect them to be a bit more successful this year because students are more aware of the cafeteria performances now, but it’ll still be fun like always.”

The prices for valograms are $5 for in school, $15 for deliveries in Kennewick, and $20 for outside Kennewick. The choir will begin selling valograms on Feb. 3. Valograms will be delivered from Feb. 11 to Feb.14.

Tribal Games SPORTS

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FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

The world’s most dangerous sports

By ALEX PETERSON STAFF REPORTER

F

or most people, playing a sport is a relatively simple and safe activity. There’s usually a ball that you either hit with a bat or toss on the gridiron or whack on the green way. For other people, however, sports aren’t anything without shedding some serious blood, sweat and tears. Early fencing, wrestling, archery, and pentathlon competitions trained troops in the practical arts of war. Later, sports refocused to improve physical fitness and impress women. Base jumping and motor sports seem to be at the top of the list for most dangerous and deadly sports. Some Kamiakin students gave their opinions on what they thought would be the most dangerous.

Junior Sam Gamache said she thought the most dangerous sport is “roller derby because it’s mostly girls and anything goes, and they are all on roller skates.”

Contemporary roller derby is an American-invented contact sport with roots in sports entertainment. The game is based on formation roller skating around an oval track by two teams. Points are scored as the designated scoring player, the jammer, of both teams each laps members of the opposing team, including its blockers, which means offense and defense typically occur simultaneously.

Junior Scott Humphreys said he thought “motor cross is the most dangerous sport because it’s the only sport I have ever got hurt doing.”

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. Motocross is derived from the French and traces its origins to British scrambling competitions. It is the motor sport with the largest number of accidents and injuries. 23,800 people were admitted to hospitals in 2004 with motor cross related injuries. Another 245 people died due to motor cross injuries.

When asked, Junior Wes Preston said, “I think NASCAR is the most dangerous sport because of the high speeds.”

NASCAR is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France grandson of the late Bill France Sr. NASCAR is the largest sanctioned body of stock car racing in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nation Wide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series

Wrestlers having good season despite low fan base and injuries

By KYLE DAVIS STAFF REPORTER

Everyone knows about the basketball team (men and women’s) and the gymnastics team because everyone goes to their events. Wrestling has a smaller fan base. Mostly the fan base is the parents of the athletes.

The 2010-2011 season has been plagued by injuries and low numbers.

Sophomore Antony McFadden (would have wrestled 189) is out for the season with injuries. Freshman Hayden Burris (would have wrestled 285) sustained a shoulder injury and is out for the season.

Freshmen Urbie Pina Jr. (112 lbs 12-9 record), Brian Ennen (285 lbs record is not remembered); sophmores David Lazano (103 lbs 8-8) Harley Kolp (119 lbs 12-6), Sisto Pina (160 lbs 8-1), Daniel Crnvoich (285); and senior Javier Pereyda(145 record is not known) say that the season is going well.

The team members say that even though the season is going well so far, they all have room for improvement. Seven year head coach Ryan McCallum said the season is going as well as can be expected under the circumstances. McCallum has lots of experience in his wrestling career, placing second at state his senior year and coaching for seven years.

Sisto added that the strength of this team is our lightweights (103119), but our heavy weights are weak (189-285) due to no one turning out in those classes. Kamiakin has been in a rebuilding stage with freshmen and sophomores leading the veterans, and hopefully the numbers will be increasing in the next few years. The team has lost a total of four duals mostly by forfeits. They have competed in a total of four tournaments (Kennewick Invite, Cat Classic, Othello tournament and most recently Snohomish Invite). The team went to Sunnyside on Jan. 13; JV went to a Richland tournament on Jan. 15. Jan. 18 was our annual wrestling showdown with Southridge and Kennewick, and on the 20th, Kamiakin hosted Hanford in the last dual of the regular season before varsity goes to the Tahoma Invite and JV heads to Ephrata for an Invite.

Senior Katie Storm said, “Lacrosse is the most dangerous sport because there are flying sticks everywhere, and there is no knowing who is going to get hit.“ Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small solid rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse sport, mainly played on the Eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh designed to catch and hold the lacrosse ball. Offensively, the objective of the game is to score by shooting the ball into an opponent’s goal, using the lacrosse stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball. Defensively, the objective is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to take the ball from them through the use of stick checking and body contact.

Trying to classify the world’s most dangerous sports is a tricky issue. Dangerous sports are often activities that people take part in exactly because there is an element of danger involved. The fact that these dangerous sports have killed a number of people does not prevent some people from trying them out. It only encourages them.

What exactly defines a sport?

By Daniel Elliott STAFF REPORTER

Many people play sports, and almost everyone knows what some big sports are, but can many people actually define what is a sport and what isn’t?

Some may say that a sport has to be outside, but other people would argue that racquetball is a legitimate sport, and it is only played inside. Many would argue that a sport has to be something active, when others would say that chess is a sport, and it isn’t physically active.

For starters, the Webster dictionary defines a sport as “any activity or experience that gives enjoyment or recreation; pastime; diversion.” If we went by this, then anything that made us happy would be a sport. We could consider going to the mall a sport, or math a sport if we really liked it.

Some have said that sports can only be an activity where a human uses no machines or very simple ones. This would keep activities like running, football, and skateboarding sports because they all use either no machines, or very simple ones.

This would make horse racing and NASCAR non-sport activities though since they use very complicated machines, like the horses and the cars.

Sophomore Hunter Durham thought a sport is “a game in which you have fun playing, that keeps you active and that you work to be better at.” This could be considered a very

good explanation of a sport because it keeps most activities as sports, like baseball and tennis, but it wouldn’t include many that Webster’s definition would include, like shopping or math.

In the end, no one will probably agree on how we should classify sports. So really, we all might have to agree to disagree.

Tribal Games SPORTS

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

7 NFL post season in full swing

By TANNER CURTIS STAFF REPORTER

With the wild card weekend over, the NFL post season is in full effect. Last week we saw one of the biggest upsets in playoff history when the Seattle Seahawks stunned the country with a victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

Marshawn Lynch had the run of a life time; a 67 yard touchdown in which eight of the 11 defenders touched the back. The other NFC was an upset as well. The Favre-less Packers marched into Philadelphia to win their first playoff game with a quarterback not named Brett Favre since 1982! Over in the AFC, the Colts gave the Jets a run but a field goal as time expired gave New York and Coach Rex Ryan “revenge” over Payton Manning and the AFC South division champions. The Baltimore Ravens seemed to be in a league of their own as they rolled over this season’s surprise team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

This sets up a great Divisional Playoff week with only a fourth of the league still fighting for their hopes of being crowned Super Bowl champs. In the AFC, the top seeded Patriots will face the Jets. The last time they played, the result was 45-3 in favor of the Patriots on Monday Night Football. Sticking in the AFC, another division battle is about to take place. The AFC North heavy weight Pittsburgh Steelers will trade blows with the Baltimore Ravens in what is sure to be an old fashioned defensive battle. On to the NFC.

Gymnastics: a sport that takes dedication

By DANIELLE OPENSHAW STAFF REPORTER

The 2010-2011 gymnastics team is off to a strong start. So far, in their meets, the girls have scored well. Michelle Fletcher scored second in the vault with 8.65 and Kayla Curtis scored 6.6 on the bars at the same time during the meet Friday, Jan. 14.

The team holds 15 practices and has about eight meets during the season. So far, the girls have had five meets and will have their next one on Jan. 26. The regular season ends on Feb. 4, but the girls plan to go on to state.

State will take place Feb. 18-19, and Kayla Curtis is expected to lead the team there.

Most of the girls have been doing gymnastics for years. It takes that long to build up the strength and stamina they need. For example, Gabby Polanik said, “I have been in gymnastics for 13 years.” Polanik also said she enjoys the endurance challenges and likes getting to know people. She started out in club and then when she got into high school, she began competing in school meets.

Jessica Anderson said, “Practice always ends with strength and stretching.” These girls know what they’re doing and love doing it. They get out there in the meets and show the other team how it’s done.

Even though gymnastics doesn’t receive the same attention as football and basketball at the high school level, the sport takes an extreme amount of skill and dedication. These girls have given the sport their all.

Photos by Danielle Openshaw. Above: Michelle Fletcher posing after a run on the bars. Left: Michelle Fletcher doing a bridge.

The Seahawks of Seattle will give the Bears of Chicago another go in hopes of repeating their 23-20 victory back in week six.

Squaring off in a battle of the elements, the red hot Aaron Rodgers will lead his Green Bay Packers into Atlanta to face “Matty Ice” and the Falcons.

Photo: Marshawn Lynch’s run of a lifetime that lifted the Seahawks over the Saints.

Should college football fields stay green?

By OSCAR PEREZ STAFF REPORTER

Should college football fields stay green?

Converting grass playing fields to synthetic turf ones have been a growing trend nationwide. Many of you are aware that the Boise State Broncos’ home field has a blue turf, popularly known as the “Smurf Turf”. Eastern Washington University recently joined the Boise arena with coloring the turf red.

The field is now called “The Inferno” and is a hit with Eastern Washington University players.

These colors, of course, are school mascot colors. The turf color is changed all in the name of school spirit. Although players from opposing teams call it “unfair,” the school is deciding to keep it. What would make it fair?

If all other schools changed their home field to their school colors, that would make everyone’s home field interesting and different.

I could easily imagine a purple University of Washington field or a beautiful crimson Washington State University field with chrome like silver numbers. It just adds more school pride and would be a nice change.

Some might think this is too expensive.

Actually changing the grass to turf isn’t that much of a difference in price. Although turf may be slightly more expensive, it is less expensive to maintain. Grass is harder to take care of. There are some health risks with fake turf fields, but they aren’t dangerous enough to compare to actual sports risks.

Snowboarding and skiing becoming popular sports for students

By MELISSA OSER STAFF REPORTER

Some students like hunting, fishing, or some other sport done for fun, like snowboarding.

Snowboarding and skiing have some similarities and differences. The similarities are that each sport needs special boots for their bindings. Both sports take place in the snow, and the rider or skier must stand. The differences are that snowboarders have to use their bodies for balance and weight for moving their boards, while skiers use their poles for balance and propulsion.

Many students are called to the powdery snow underneath the long body of a snowboard or the smooth ride of skis, but where is their calling and for how long? Are they called to Bluewood? White Pass? Snoqualmie?

Sophomore Blake Snyder was asked if he snowboarded or skied and he replied with, “Snowboard.” He snowboards at White Pass about every other weekend. He’s been participating in this sport since he was 10, and his favorite run to ride is called Cascade.

Sophomore Kacie Evans was also asked whether she snowboarded or skied and she said, “Snowboard, because it’s better.” She snowboards at Bluewood and goes every weekend. She’s been participating in this sport since she was about seven. Her favorite run to ride is called T.N.T. Photo: Kacie Evans at Bluewood before she goes down the T.N.T. run this season.

Tribal Games

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

8 Recent film causes roller derby sensation SPORTS

By HAILEY PAINE STAFF REPORTER

T

here is a sport that many of you have probably heard of only for the recent movie Whip It, directed by Drew Barrymore, starring Ellen Page, a popular actress. To put it in technical terms, it is a contact sport, comprised usually of women, who circle around an oval track to get past the opposing team with their point scorer, the Jammer. You all know what this is-- roller derby.

Roller derby started out its course during the Great Depression days, where a man named Leo Seltzer got tired of the dance craze that was sweeping America.

He then created the one-man, one-woman teams where the two would compete to see who could round 57,000 laps. It was not long until teams of mostly women stole the track and thus the sport was born. The basic idea of roller derby is that there is the jammer on each team (wears the star helmet), who tries to get past each other and their other teammates in order to score points. The team with the most points wins.

There is another aspect of the sport that interests most people--the fact that the sport is so brutal. Some people

Gatorade wins the best sports drink award

By JOEY FLORES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Many athletes prefer different sports drinks. Whether it’s Gatorade, Powerade, water or something completely different, athletes have their own preferences to quench their thirst. Gatorade has become widely accepted as one of the biggest sports drinks with athletes such as Derek Jeter and Dwayne Wade. “Blue Frost Gatorade is my favorite sports drink because it doesn’t have a sticky or overpowering juice taste and is thirst quenching,” said senior Lady Braves soccer player Brianne Anderson.

The first Gatorade mixture was made in 1965 at the University of Florida to help the football players stay hydrated in the heat of their summer practices. The first flavor of Gatorade was lemon-lime. Since then Gatorade has come out with many different types and flavors of Gatorade. Gatorade is marketed and manufactured by Pepsi Co. Gatorade is followed up by Powerade.

Powerade is marketed by Coca Cola and was first made in 1988 but has not gained the popularity of its competitor Gatorade.

Powerade is endorsed by MLB star Ryan Howard and NBA star Carmelo Anthony.

“I like Powerade because it gives me all those electrolytes,” said senior football and baseball player AJ Griffiths.

Powerade and Gatorade have minor different ingredients in the drink; Powerade has half the salt that Gatorade has but twice

as many calories from carbohydrates. Powerade also has vitamins B6 and B12 which Gatorade does not have. The main thing bringing Powerade down is the fact that the sports drink uses high fructose corn syrup, which is not a healthy thing to be drinking all day.

In a poll done here at Kamiakin, 50 students were asked what their favorite sports drink is. Gatorade was the most popular, receiving 23 of the 50 votes. Powerade had the second most, receiving 14 of the 50 votes.

Plain old water got nine votes. Any energy drink got two votes, with Vitamin Water and Sports Drink only receiving one vote.

Photo Illustration by Joey Flores. Gatorade was voted as the best sports drink by Kamiakin students.

watch NASCAR for the races, but some watch for the wrecks. The same is true in roller derby, which can cause major bruises, nosebleeds and sprained body parts. Even in practice, the sport can be dangerous. (Having had a mother who played as jammer for a team, she would often come home with huge black and blue bruises to reflect the day’s practice).

The Tri-Cities has its own derby team: The Atomic City Roller Girls, who play all over the Tri-Cities in anything that can hold them.

They have even played in Hanford High’s gym where they sold out tickets.

Roller derby is not an overwhelmingly popular sport like football and baseball in America, but it does not even have to be. It is a sport that can support itself without the need of a huge crowd. As long as there are still a few people still interested in the same 30s craze, and interested in women and occasionally men beating the crap out of each other, then the sport will prosper as one of the many crazy things that makes American sports so great.

Photo: Many people have come to know and love roller derby from the recent film Whip It directed by Drew Barrymore starring Ellen Page.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

SPORTS Tribal Games

9

Athlete Spotlight: Derrick Cooley

By TANNER CURTIS STAFF REPORTER

After a rough junior year in which he broke his elbow and was out most of the season, senior wrestler Derrick Cooley has bounced back to be known as one of the best wrestlers in his weight class. Cooley wrestles at the 135 pound weight class and is one of the best in the state in this class. “I hope to make it to state and place. Last year was a bummer because I couldn’t wrestle after I broke my elbow,” said Cooley.

It is rumored that many wrestlers “starve themselves” before games, but Cooley has a different take on this. “I don’t starve myself.

I have a special diet that gives me the nutrients I need without making me put on the pounds.” Cooley not only listens to music to pump him up be-

fore the matches. He also takes a spiritual break and prays before each match. “My prematch ritual is to play the song “Caught” in a verse by Andre Nickatina over and over and I pace back and forth but I also pray before each match. I also always have some form of scripture written on my headgear. Right now it’s Psalms 23:4, but I’m changing it to Psalms 56:4 because it is starting to rip off,” said Cooley.

Cooley has placed as high as second place this season with playoffs coming up in three weeks. “My favorite move would either have to be the high crotch or the low single,” said Cooley. Before going out onto the mats, Cooley makes sure to relax. “I tell myself and my teammates just to relax. Wrestling is the hardest sport, but I think it has the best results as well. I love wrestling,” said Cooley.

Photo provided by Kai Huei Yau/herald. Sportstricities.com. Derrick Cooley wrestling Pasco’s Andres Sandoval.

Cooley won the match, but Kamiakin lost the meet.

Sports Quiz

By JOEY FLORES EDITOR-IN-CHEIF

1. What former MLB player’s card was recently sold for $222,000?

2. Who is the only freshman quarterback to beat Florida State?

3. What former Seattle Mariner fell short in his second try to make the HOF this year?

4. How many regular season hat tricks does Wayne Gretzky have?

5. Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino will spend next summer coaching what country as it tries to qualify for the Olympics?

1. Honus Wagner 2. Brett Farve 3 Edgar Martinez

3. Curtis

4. 50 5. Puerto Rico

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10

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

2600 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland, WA 99352 (509) 735-0300  800-421-8881  Fax: (509) 735-0330 www.brutzmans.com  your.info@brutzmans.com

Proud to support Kamiakin High School

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

11

Chief Legends IN-DEPTH

Chief IN-DEPTH Legends

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FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

The Smarts Among Us

By BOND HENDERSON IN-DEPTH EDITOR

By CHRISTINA WOODARD STAFF REPORTER

You pass by them every day. You sit next to them in class.

You might even stand in the lunch line next to them. Who are they? They are the students who are not only smart but

involved in activities throughout school and our community.

One of the students from each grade has been selected to come forth and tell us about themselves. They are freshman Paul Pierson, sophomore Michelle Fletcher, Junior Taryn Meacham, and Senior James Luey. They have shared with us

how they keep their good grades, clubs and activities they are involved in, and some interesting facts about themselves.

Where are they now? They are living among us: average students, average Einsteins, quietly and anonymoudly continuing to make the world a better place

Questions: 1) What do you do to keep good grades? 2) What are you involved in at scool? 3)What are you involved in outside of school? 4) What is something intersting about you no one knows?

Freshman Paul Pierson

1) “I study and try to understand the teacher’s grading system.”

2) Freshman ASB president, ran cross country and wants to try out for soccer.

3) Soccer, marimba/ steel drums, Boy Scouts 4) Play piano, have two cats and four family members

Sophomore Michelle Fletcher

Junior Taryn Meacham

Senior James Luey

1) “I make sure that I do my homework even when I am tired.”

2) Cross country, track, and gymnastics 3) Competes in Garland’s Gymnastics and practices about 20 hours per week 4) “I love nachos!”

1) “I turn in my homework every day and study a lot.”

2) Two school plays: “The Night of January 16th” and “The Importance of Being Earnest” 3) Just homework 4) “I have been in the Nutcracker for 10 years.”

1) “I make sure I don’t stress about it.”

2)Tech club, Orchestra, and Knowledge Bowl 3) Engineering competion and Boy Scouts

Beauty products that don’t break the wallet

By MARISSA RODRIGUEZ STAFF REPORTER

A majority of young teens are looking for the best products to enhance their appearance. Well look no further because the good quality products can be purchased here in town for low prices compared to the actual best products.

The first beauty product is used by many girls all over the country-- mascara. There are many brands of this item out there, and different kinds are used by various Kamiakin students.

Some of the most popular brands include the Colossal Volume Express mascara, commonly recognized in its bright yellow tube. This works very well the first couple of uses but dries out a little fast. Another brand used is the Falsies Volume Express, which is from the Maybelline Company, too.

I had no problems using this mascara; I have to say it is my favorite. This brand is in a bright purple tube and sometimes

in black. And the final popular and old school brand is Great Lash, which is in the pink bottle with a green lid. This brand works great but can clump your lashes easily. Enough with mascara, and on to hair products.

There are many types of hair products out there for curly, straight, wavy, or just plain train wreck hair. One product that works for shine and attractive smell is Coconut Silk.

One very popular brand for its smell and the amount of vitamins contained is the Aussie brand. It is more recognizable for its bright purple bottle and kangaroo logo. If you want a natural shine and healthy look for your hair, then Biosilk is the brand to choose. You only need a small amount of it for long lasting use.

The one problem shared by kids all over campus is the dreadful acne .We have all had problems with acne once in our lives, and we have all struggled trying to find the right product. I have personally struggled with acne and have

tried a billion solutions but have only had a couple that worked. Pro-Active is a product everyone has heard of on TV and in the stores. There is even a vending machine of this product in the mall. I didn’t think this was the best acne product because it left my skin oily, and it wasn’t easy keeping up with the daily regimen.

The only acne product that has worked for me which I still use today is the Neutrogena Deep Clean face wash. This product can be used as a face wash and mask, which I love. It leaves my skin oil free and acne free as well. I would recommend this to anyone.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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Chief Legends IN-DEPTH

Blondes VS Brunettes

By KYLEE SCHWARTZ STAFF REPORTER

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

By TARA HALVERSON STAFF REPORTER

Does the Little Mermaid wear an algae bra?

Do infants enjoy infantry as much as adults enjoy adultery?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?

If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done?

If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?

Seth Kennedy: BLONDE 1. ”I think so.”

2. “Probably not” 3. “No.” 4. “Fail and succeed” 5. “We don’t have monkeys and apes in America.”

6. “It’s exciting.”

7. “That’s a good question.”

8. “Zero degrees” 9. “In case you have a blind person as your passenger” 10. “Because he takes your money” Ben Welch: BLONDE 1. “It’d float off if she did.”

2. “It depends if they’re good at adultery or not.”

3. “No, they didn’t like that person anyways.”

4. “That’s a dumb question.”

5. “Those were the losers.”

6. “Makes them feel special” 7. “What would a parachute do in the water?”

8. “Who cares. If it’s zero degrees, you’re not going outside.”

9. “No one knows that.”

10. “He wants to make you broke.”

Mr. Biglin: BLONDE 1. “How am I supposed to know? She wears a swimsuit.”

2. “Yes? I don’t know.”

3. “If it’s synchronized, they better all drown. They’re a team.”

4. “Failed” 5. “I don’t think we evolved from

them.”

6. “I don’t know.”

7. “More planes go over the water.”

8. “Great question” 9. “If he’s in a taxi.”

10. “I don’t know.”

Tori Softich: BLONDE 1. “It’s a swimsuit top, not a bra.”

2. “I don’t feel comfortable answering questions about babies.”

3. “Yes” 4. “Both” 5. “Because some are dumb enough not to evolve.”

6. “Because boys like naked girls” 7. “Because planes can fly underwater, DUH.” 8. “Half” 9. “Because blind people can still roller blade” Jessica Jones: BLONDE 1. “No, it’s seashells” 2. “Yes, of course they do” 3. “Yes, because they follow each other” 4. “You failed to do it the right way.”

5. “That’s a stupid question.”

6. “Lust isn’t blind.”

7. “For when you crash in the water” 8. “-100 degrees” 9. “For the blind kids in the back seat” 10. “I don’t know.”

If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?

Why are there floatation devices under plane seats instead of parachutes?

If it’s zero degrees today and it’s supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?

9. Why do they put Braille on the keypad of a drive-up ATM? 10. Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

6.

7.

8.

Libby Davis: BRUNETTE 1. “No, it was a seashell.”

2. “No” 3. “No” 4. “I don’t get the question.”

5. “Because they didn’t evolve” 6. “Because there are different types of love” 7. “Why would you jump out of a plane?”

8. “Twice as cold as zero” 9. “In case they want to walk up” 10. “Because he saves you from being broke” Christian Tinajero: BRUNETTE 1. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen a mermaid. Doesn’t she have shrimp on her breasts or something?”

2. “Yes, adults like adultery but infants don’t care. They can cheat on anyone.”

3. “Yes, because they think it’s part of the plan.”

4. “Can’t you do both?”

5. “Our dads need mothers-in-law, too.”

6. “Because love isn’t as hot as lingerie” 7. “I don’t know. What if they crash on a mountain?”

8. “Pretty cold” 9. “I don’t know.”

10. Because you’ll both end up broke sooner or later.”

Marya Valdevinos: BRUNETTE

“Yes” “Yes” “No” “You have accomplished something.”

5. “Because we didn’t evolve from them” 6. “Who said love is blind?”

7. “I don’t know.”

8. “Two degrees” 9. “What’s Braille?”

10. “They predict the future… They go broke!

Patrick Goeldner: BRUNETTE 1. “I think so.”

2. “No” 3. “No, they don’t. They can swim.”

4. “Failed” 5. “Because those monkeys are too stupid” 6. “Because they’re cheap” 7. “To survive if you land in water” 8. “-95.72 degrees” 9. “Weil er vielleicht gewinn macht” Mrs. Bayona: BRUNETTE 1. “I don’t know.”

2. “No” 3. “No” 4. “Succeed of course” 5. “Because it didn’t happen that way” 6. “Because love is not blind” 7. “Because of the size” 8. “-20 degrees” 9. “I don’t know.”

10. “Because he’s breaking you.”

1.

2.

3.

4.

Teacher of the year: first, second, and third place

By TERIA LYONS STAFF REPORTER

We asked the students of Kamiakin who they thought should be teacher of the 2010-2011 school year. After counting the nominations, we found that first place went to Keith Russell, second to Jennifer Tillenburg and third to Anna Haines.

Mr. Russell is the instrumental music teacher and teaches 0 hour Jazz Ensemble, Symphonic Band, String Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Symphony Orchestra, and Marching Band. He’s very hard working and is loved by his students. When he really wants to get a point across, he’ll do some wild things, Keith Russel Band Director and once he yodeled

for string orchestra. He sings quite often, and while it isn’t the best, it makes his classes laugh. Other times he can simply freak out, but no matter what, he is loved.

Miss Tillenburg currently teaches Physics, Honors Physics, and AP Physics. She sometimes seems flustered but is extremely nice and helps her students with whatever they need. Projects are fun, and students have built roller coasters, rockets, and have done an egg drop lab. Whatever you need, she helps with, and if you can’t figure something out, chances are she’ll get you to understand the problem that you’re stuck on.

Mrs. Haines teaches the 2D art classes: Basic Art, Drawing & Painting, Advanced Art, Commercial Art, Jennifer Tillenburg Physics and last but definitely

not least, Yearbook. Students say that her classes are extremely fun, and they love having her as a teacher.

She’s open-minded about what they draw, and instead of grading them on how their art looks, she grades them on what they learn from it. She’s a hands-on teacher and it’s said that if you were to compare her art classes to the art classes of any other school, everything would seem different and if you ask one of them, her students would say they’d prefer Mrs. Haines over any other teacher.

Even though these three teachers made the top of the list, many other teachers at our schoolhave fun classes that are enjoyed by the students of Kamiakin.

Anna Haines Art and Yearbook

Chief IN-DEPTH Legends

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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Best and worst cars at Kamiakin

By BRIANNA HARROD STAFF REPORTER

Junior Zach En’Wezoh Best Car

Junior Jacob Valdez Best Car

Junior Drew Crandell Worst Car

Senior Amanda Meadows Worst Car

New Year brings new technology

By ASHLEY MAY STAFF REPORTER

2010 may have brought some titillating and advanced electronics, but people are stepping it up just for the year of 2011. 3D TVs, Face Time chatting, and Kindles are all old news.

This year it is all about tablets, faster ways to accomplish tasks, and making life more exciting.

The iPad is well-known for its all-touch-screen and access to many tools. Apple inspired many other technological businesses by creating the iPad. Businesses like Motorolla, Blackberry, Microsoft, Palm, Samsung, Toshiba, and many more have created their very own version of a hand-held tablet. Most of these tablets can accomplish the same things—maybe even more— as an iPad. Customers are leaning towards other brands because of the lower price range, but that did not stop Apple from creating the iPad 2.

Not only is Apple focused on iPods and tablets, but also their cellular devices. Along with the iPad 2 Apple enhanced their iPhone, bringing the New Year in with the iPhone 5. Apple was previously having problems with the iPhone’s antenna connection, but they resolved the issue for the iPhone 5.

Face Time—which also had bad reviews—now is 3G and a new iOS program.

Items like phones and tablets are not the only new devices being shown off for 2011.

Modes of transportation have also developed into something only seen in movies and video games: an actual flying car. Now for the price of $195,000, you can live like the Jetsons. The vehicle can top out at 115 MPH through the air, which is only about one-fifth of an actual airline plane’s speed.

Another invention that helps with the everyday life of citizens throughout the world is an electronic shopping cart. How can a shopping cart be electronic? The correct name for this device is SmartShop, but the name itself probably confuses many people. SmartShop helps show customers flash discounts and suggests purchases based on a customer’s history. It can also show customers where to find a certain item.

Another year is here, but there are many more things to be discovered. These inventions are just the beginning to a bigger step to the future. So when you are frustrated about the Wifi on your iPod Touch not working, think, What would life be like without technology? The answer just might scare you into thankfulness.

Best and worst movies of 2010

By AMANDA LING STAFF REPORTER

What movies did you watch during 2010? Were they good, bad or just unwatchable? Well, junior Haley Meyers says the best movie for her was Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera. This movie is about a small-town girl who ventures to Los Angeles and finds her place in a neo-burlesque club run by a former dancer. Meyers said, “I like Burlesque because they use really good songs, and the dancers are really good.”

This movie was rated 3 stars out of 5 by The Internet Movie Database (IMDB).

The worst movie for Meyers was Avatar: The Last Air Bender. The Last Air Bender is a story about the adventures of the main protagonist Aang and his friends, who must save the world by defeating the evil Fire Lord and ending the destructive war with the Fire Nation. This movie was rated 2.5 stars out of 5 on IMDB. Freshman Kamela Barrett says, “The best ones for me were Despicable Me and Date Night! But the worst was Harry Potter.”

The movie Despicable Me was about a criminal mastermind who uses a trio of orphan girls as pawns for a grand

scheme. He finds himself profoundly changed by the growing love between them.

The rating by IMDB was 4.1 stars out of 5.

Date Night with Steve Carell and Tina Fey was about when a case of mistaken identity turns a bored married couple’s attempt at a glamorous and romantic evening into something more thrilling and dangerous. This movie was rated a 3.2 out of 5.

Lastly, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows is a story about Harry racing against time and evil to destroy the Horcruxes. He uncovers the existence of three most powerful objects in the wizarding world: the Deathly Hallows. This movie was given 4 stars out of 5.

Junior Jena Granata says, “Best, Burlesque. It rocked my world. And it was really inspirational.”

These were all interesting movies, and as you can see, people’s opinions differed, which brings me to my point. Just because your friends or the IMDB doesn’t like these movies doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch them and give them a chance because your personal opinion is different than everyone else’s. And who knows, maybe you’ll really enjoy these movies and find your new favorite.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Talk

15

OPINION & EDITORIAL

PDA, an unnecessary problem PDA, also known as Public Display of Affection, is a physical demonstration of affection for another person while in the view of others. So knowing this, have you ever walked through the halls of Kamiakin on the way to your class, and just as you turn into your classroom you look over and two students are hugging or kissing in front of the room? Is this a necessary activity to perform before class time? No, most students have no interest in watching other boys and girls embracing before class. Because what they and their significant other do with each other is no one else’s business.

There have been restrictions established for this issue. Many schools (such as Desert Hills) have well known rules or laws against any PDA, and there are consequences for disobeying these rules. The reasons for these rules are clear. For one, the school may be trying to promote abstinence to the students.

Or they may want to make sure

those attending are concentrating on learning. It’s also a liability for the school, due to extreme cases where the students have been charged with sexual harassment.

It may not seem like a big deal to many students at Kamiakin, Junior Grant Owens said, “[They can] do whatever they want as long as I don’t have to watch people molest each other.”

In fact, other students feel the same way about the subject.

Sophomore Eric Miller said, “It doesn’t bother me at all. And if it did, I would just ignore it.”

So maybe PDA isn’t as bad as the school district or individual schools make it out to be. If you don’t care to see students sharing their love for each other, then you have the option of looking away o r

ignoring it. Freshman Tommy McMahan believes that some PDA is okay, but too much can be frustrating. And the majority of students interviewed at Kamiakin thought the same.

So if students can find a happy medium with the PDA, we can all be happy around campus and not have to worry about walking in on anything that may be disturbing or uncalled for.

Attendance clerk Kristi Lakey said, “Holding hands is good and cute, maybe a peck on the cheek.

But there’s a line to be drawn at making out in front of the door.”

Attendance clerk Donna Crockett agrees but thinks the cuteness stops at hugging and holding hands.

There is a point where the affection turns into vulgarity, but it’s your job to determine where that line is.

ASB needs more diversity and fresh faces

By KYLE DAVIS STAFF REPORTER

This year’s ASB seems to be less diversified than before, with (in my mind) more jocks than represetnives from any other group this year. I am pointing mainly at the junior class officers and some of the other officers in the ASB. Although some people feel that the ASB is diverse enough, and some people do not care, it only takes one look to prove there needs to be more diversity.

Most of the ASB officers are preppies and jocks. No school club’s officers (sorry but voting delegates won’t count) exist in the governmental office. Is this a problem?

We also have incumbent officers just seeking promotions; Kayla McCormick took a climb from sophomore secretary to executive secretary. Another officer, Kylee Welch, was freshman publicity manager, sophomore publicity manager and now executive publicity manger; another officer, Zach En’Wezoh, started as the sophomore class president, and now he is the junior class president. Okay, the last promotion was a small jump. What about Scott Foreman who was a representative and is now executive president? The list of promotions is almost endless.

Kamiakin, the time for change is not in the future. It is now; I urge you not as a reporter, but as a fellow Kamiakin Brave to be politically active and replace some of our incumbents with new faces.

Everybody needs to be equally represented in this school; no group should be taking a back seat to any other group. We need fresh faces that offer fresh

ideas to our ASB because it seems like we have the same faces coming up with the same ideas; this is not one or two groups’ school; this is everyone’s school.

I suggest we make it that way.

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ASB Representative

Obama has done some right!

By MAK McKINNIS STAFF REPORTER

Closer to home, a legislation to curb both global warming and greenhouse gases has been passed. Power plants, factories and oil refineries now have improved regulations. Energy producing plants now must produce 15 percent of their energy from renewable resources. Model Year 2011 vehicles must abide by new and improved fuel efficiency standards which will allow two

It’s been two years since President Barrack Obama has been appointed to office, and word has it that he hasn’t done much for our country. I’m here to prove that rumor false and get right down to the point, no funny political business talk.

We’ve all heard about how much debt Obama has put on this country, Obama stuck to his original but have campaign promise while ending you ever a pricey war which served no looked at it the other obvious purpose way?

A vast majority of economists said that the nation had a million more acres of land to be high chance of falling into a sec- declared wilderness.

President Obama has also lifted ond Depression had it not been for Obama’s passing of the stim- restrictions on embryonic stem ulus. Along with that, he saved cell research. This will allow scienjobs which would have otherwise tists to find cures for some of the been lost and funded areas of our most dangerous diseases. He has economy which were crucial for also reversed the ban on federal our long term economic competi- funding to foreign organizations tiveness. Yes, the economy today that allow abortions and has givis not as great as everyone wants en health coverage to 32 million it to be, but expecting the presi- more Americans. Over the next dent to transform our nation from 20 years, he will have reduced a possible Depression to a utopia- the $1.3 trillion deficit. It delivers on every aspect of the Patient Bill like economy is unrealistic.

Obama is also bringing the war of Rights which was unsuccessin Iraq to an end. Troops have fully passed by Bill Clinton, makbeen reduced by 120,000, and the ing it illegal to deny coverage for 50,000 still in Iraq are focusing people with pre-existing medical on training and recruiting Iraqi conditions. He also has signed the forces, not partaking in combat. Family Smoking Prevention and Obama stuck to his original cam- Tobacco Control Act which gives paign promise while ending a the FDA the authority to control pricey war which served no obvi- manufacturing, marketing and ous purpose. Not only is he end- the sale of tobacco.

This is only a small list of the ing the war, but he also is mending relationships overseas. He has many things that Obama has also signed a treaty between the done to improve our country, and U.S. and Russia which will elimi- he is only halfway done with his term in office. nate nuclear warheads.

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By AMANDA LING STAFF REPORTER

Tribal Talk

OPINION & EDITORIAL

16

Computer Policies hindering Our View:students, not helping

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hen are the regulations on computers at school too much? The Kennewick School District (KSD) is cracking down on the websites students and teachers are allowed to see and the amount of space that people can have on their hard drive. Both of these issues have become a problem as of late as more and more students and teachers are becoming frustrated with the policies.

“Internet access to the requested website has been denied based on your user profile and organization’s Internet Usage Policy” is something most students and teachers have seen pop up on their computer at Kamiakin.The website may be banned for a variety of reasons including objectionable material or pornog-

raphy, but some may just have controversial material in it that students ntted for some research projects. One of the websites banned that causes the most friction with both teachers and students is YouTube. Many teachers and students try to use this website to show videos for educational purposes in their classes but can’t because they can’t find the video without looking on YouTube. Teachers have resorted to using kids’ cell phones to show educational videos to the students because they have no way of showing videos from the Internet.

Another problem that has surfaced with school computers is the fact that students are only allowed to carry 1GB of space. This has become a problem with kids

in Photography, Yearbook, Computer Apps and other courses that require a lot of documents and pictures to be saved onto their computers. Kids all around campus have begun to receive emails saying they need to delete their documents. Students in Photography, Yearbook and Journalism are supposed to be exempt from this because of the documents these students need to keep, but more and more kids are getting these emails to delete their work. Students in Photography are now told to delete the pictures and files they have after sending them to Mr. Speakes.

All eight editors on the Tomatalk staff believe that there needs to be some sort of change on the computer policy of the Kennewick School District.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Do we need planners?

By MASON HANSEN STAFF REPORTER

Planners can help students stay organized and keep track of their homework. We all received them routinely in middle school, so why did it stop in high school?

Most students have gone from writing everything they need to do down in their planners to writing nothing at all. The only way to get a planner at Kamiakin is to go to the store and buy your own.

Providing planners would really help students. We may be older, and maybe we SHOULD be responsible, but many of us aren’t.

If students are failing a class, or even if they have been absent a lot, if they have planners, they can more easily track what they have missed and need to make up.

Principal Chris Chelin said, “If there was a demand for them, we could most likely get them.

Planners were not used correctly when we had them.”

The ASB also said that they did not want to spend the money to provide the planners for students at Kamiakin.

The unfortunate fact is that homework completion rates at our school are not what they should be. If students had planners, this might improve. At Southridge, the ASB doesn’t cover the whole cost. They charge students $5 for planners, and students have the option of purchasing them or not.

This may be a good option for students at Kamiakin. It would be kind of a compromise. Maybe some students who are performing poorly could be required to purchase a planner from ASB. These are just some possibilities.

The bottom line is that planners can help students stay organized.

Some students need them. They are more likely to purchase them if they are offered at school. We should consider doing something about that.

Talking on the phone VS. Texting

By AMANDA LAMPTON STAFF REPORTER

Courtesy of http://jonikcartoons.blogspot.com/

We all love to text and talk on the phone. But which one is better? Junior Kelsea Burnes said, “I prefer taking on the phone because you can get more out, and sometimes texting only gives you so much room to write what you need to say.”

Junior Kayla Emineth also agrees that talking on the phone beats texting. She said, “It’s more personal.”

It seems like talking on the phone is better, but I guess it depends on what you are talking about and depends on if you have unlimited texting and calling.

Since some phone plans may have unlimited texting but limit talking time, in that case texting might be better. Sometimes calling plans have limited texting though, and so talking on the phone would be the best way to communicate.

Senior Amber Waters also likes talking on the phone better. She said , “You know what they are talking about faster.”

How do teens use their phones?

According to Journalstar.com, 94 percent call their friends; 76 percent text message. U.S. teens (ages 13-17) sent and received an average of 1,742 text messages per month in 2008.

Teens also use shorter words to

put more into a text and sometimes it affects the way we write an essay or something like that in school, and we forget we are doing it.

Junior Reyna Mendez-Cormier prefers texting because “it’s faster to text people, and if you’re busy, you’re not stuck there talking to the person.”

Texting and Calling both have there pros and cons, but in the end, its up to the individual.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Tribal Talk

17

OPINION & EDITORIAL

E-Books: Will they take over real books?

By HAILEY PAINE STAFF REPORTER

cations, as in the case of the iPad, but far less because for them, reading still comes first.

“Even if e-books do take over hen you look at a book, real books, there will always you see all the texture, be people who read those real the thickness of it, all books, just like there will always of that work and preparation put be people who ride horses instead into it. Then you look at an iPad of drive cars,” said senior Joseph or a Nook or a Kindle, and what Phipps. do you see? It could be that an eThere are the benefits of having book is an easier, more convenient a reliable book storage system like alternative to reading a real book, an e-book. Some have the built in which can be heavy and hard to Wi-Fi and Microsoft Office for pack. Compared to real books, eeasy document writing on the go. books are overall less costly and Others still have MP3 compatibilhave many more features than a ity, the ability to change the font regular book could ever give to a of the books to fit your potential buyer. own personal liking, For some, an e-book and many other features means just another way I own an e-book, and they are such as those, but what to look at a book. Others great for travel, but it cannot is the real problem with believe that the e-books replace that new book smell them? could be taking over real -Meghan Woffinden, senior Sure, your battery books entirely because could die in the middle of the recent growth in of the last fight scene bethe sales of e-books. In tween Harry Potter and fact, at the beginning of the month, USA Today reported down because of a better elec- Voldemort during Harry Potter that for the first time ever, the sale tronic that could be built between and the Deathly Hallows, or the ebooks could take over real books, of e-books outpaced that of real now and then.

“No, I don’t think that the e- but what are the odds of that? Ebooks. The New York Times best sellers sold more e-books than books will overcome real books. I books are the alternative to carhard copies. Could this mean own an e-book, and they are great rying around all of your books that real books are going the way for travel, but it cannot replace while on the go.

Our country is already becomof the print media? Will e-books that new book smell,” senior ing dependant on its electronics, be the only available reading for Meghan Woffinden said.

One popular e-book is the Nook, and our generation has become the future?

“Oh no! That can’t happen! I which can hold up to 1,500 books known as the technology generamean, the Internet is cool, but inside of it. With the new NOOK- tion, all of us thriving off of our books are where it’s at,” said se- color, there is a touch screen, cell phones, iPods, X-boxes and more space and even built in Wi- high definition. E-books may be nior Reyna Bell.

Because a normal hardback Fi. Other e-books are the Kindle the next wave of technology to book is around $15 to $20 and and the iPad. The iPad, being the greatly change the way we funcan electronic book is somewhere most expensive of the three, has tion. Will the e-books take over between $7 to $10, the print books much more to offer than simply the power of the physical book? I are beginning to get kicked out of being a device for reading on the guess it is up to us. It is our choice the market. What could this mean go. The Barnes and Noble Nook to make, and time will tell what for the future of education? There and Nook Color have a few appli- that choice may be. is some speculation that technology like Kindles and Nooks could be tomorrow’s text books, making the average student’s load about 50 pounds lighter, but could it have other side effects?

Citing the same USA Today article, it was found that there are somewhere between three million and five million e-books being activated. Even with such high numbers, the outlook for the e-books is unsteady, as with any new device. By this time next year, the total sales for e-books could be double what they are now, or they could be dwindled

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By MAK McKINNIS STAFF REPORTER

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he Nook (Barnes and Nobel’s version of the Kindle) has made reading easier than ever. Weighing only 11.2 ounces, this device has a 7.7 by 4.9 inch color screen, 2 GB of storageapproximately 1,500 books – and a MicroSD slot which allows up to another 16 GB worth of reading material. That’s a total of 13,500 books (not that you’d ever need that many, but it’s better to be safe than sorry) in a .5 inch deep gadget. That’s a lot more appealing than carrying all those books around, even if you’re only carrying a couple.

It’s Wi-Fi capable, which can be extremely useful if you run out of books and want to download one of the 500,000 free e-books or the other one million titles which only cost around $9.99.

The Nook isn’t just for reading though.

It can also view .jpeg and .mp3 files. You can also play music and stream Pandora radio. And you can browse the web and send and receive email.

It also carries LEND-

ME which allows you to “lend” books to friends and family and lets you lend from others, too. But don’t be fooled. The Nook isn’t just for adults; it’s really handy for kids, too. Alive Touch is a feature which allows kids to interact with the words and the pictures.

The Nook may not have the upper hand when you talk about curling up with a good book around a fire and drinking a cup of hot cocoa, but in any other region, it seems to have the traditional book beat. Oh, and don’t worry about the battery dying on you. When it is fully charged, it lasts up to 10 days! So it’s time to modernize and curl up with your Nook. Just be careful of the cocoa!

What do you think about E-Books? Email your opinions to Laurie.Bender@ksd.org or respond on our on-line newspaper’s blog.

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Students aren’t the only ones to sit around; do their share as well

By NATALIE ELLIOTT EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

There is a fine line between being a good example and a bad example and sadly, many of our teachers are not the shining example that we would hope for.

In my almost four years in high school, I feel that I have learned a lot, but I have also wasted a lot of time. We all have had that typical day where our teacher allows the class to sit around for three-fourths of the hour and then 15 minutes before the end

of class, we receive a three page worksheet that is due by the end of class, no excuses. Though this may be an exaggeration, we all know this rushed feeling that would not happen if our teacher had it all together before we got to class.

Waste of time in high school is one of the main reasons why I am looking forward to college so much. Most of your schooling is done on your own in college, studying at your own pace and with your own methods. I am

sure that we will run into unorganized professors at college as well, but the thought of not having to waste half of my day sitting at a desk doing absolutely nothing makes me happy beyond all means.

With finals upon us, it is easy to see which teachers have it all together and which do not. When teachers fall behind on grading, it affects the students, making them unable to make up late work, or even to know what they need to do before those final grades are

taken from the computers.

Teachers are in a position of authority and most students realize this. We look to them to figure out how to get a good grade in English class or how to take good notes in history. But what teachers don’t often realize is that students are affected by what they observe and so when we observe them sitting around, we think it’s acceptable. Okay, so maybe we aren’t that blatantly impressionable, but you get the picture: students have more respect for

teachers who practice what they preach and even more respect for teachers who lose the “holier than thou” attitude and act real.

I realize that not all teachers are unorganized messes, but not all students are lazy either. The relationship between teachers and students is a very delicate one, one that needs consideration and compromise. When both teachers and students step up and take responsibility, we might just be able to make our schools a little bit better.

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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A Decade in Review

As the year 2010 draws to an end, it seems fit to reminisce the last 10 years that jump started the 21st century. The decade started with the overtly hyped panic of Y2K (the fear that all the computers in the word would go back to zero and leave the world without the machines to organize everything). Fortunately, Y2K never came to a head, and the new millennium went off without a hitch.

This first decade seems to have an overflowing of disasters, both natural and manmade, to add to the record books. The first and most historical event came in the following year on that fateful day in September.

The attack on the World Trade Center changed the country forever, causing more unity in our hearts and security in our airports.

Then, of course, there was Hurricane Katrina, the anthrax mail scare, the War on Terror, the tsunami in Indonesia, the Virginia Tech shooting, the earthquake in Haiti, and the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression. But still, we had fun, right?

The recent past has also laid claim to the lives of many of the world’s most beloved celebrities including Patrick Swayze, Heath Ledger, Anna Nicole Smith, Bernie Mac, and the renowned Michael Jackson.

Baseball fans everywhere were devastated by the slow reveal that the heroes of the sport were discovered as steroid “hard hitters”.

There are many things that these past 10 years have given us that we are tremendously thankful for. Most importantly would be the iPod, which gave the gift of music to a new generation. Another gift of the modern age would be the furthering of the Internet with the invention of social networking websites, especially Facebook, the absolute necessity of Google and YouTube, which created a new kind of celebrity so that the whole world knew who the Numa Numa guy was. It also gave birth to: Wikipedia, the Survivor series, American Idol, the Harry Potter films, twitter, the Twilight books and movies mayhem, the rise of all things zombie, the SNL digital short, the Kindle, flash drives, Blu-Ray, Guitar Hero, Wii, crazy celebrity baby names, the term “wardrobe malfunction”, and the Chroni(What!)cles of Narnia movies. And cellular phones have come a long way; does anyone remember when flip phones were the cutting edge?

The politics of the last 10 years leave many wary of the future. Many of the candidates of the last 10 years have been uncovered as adulterers and gave way to the expression “sex scandal”. But the firsts of America included the historic election of the nation’s first African American President, Barack Obama, and the very first woman speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi.

So as another decade wraps up, taking along with it the memories of the last 10 years and, what some will come to call it, the time of our lives. So take a minute to remember all the past changed in your life, and brace yourself for the years to come.

By KAELYN COLE NEWS & FEATURE EDITOR

How young is too young for social networking?

By CHRISTINA WOODARD STAFF REPORTER

There comes a time when using networks such as Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter can be dangerous for any child. But how young is too young? What are the dangers for an underage child to have a social network account? This debate has gone on for years, and this article may help you find an answer.

When kids gain access to a social networking site, they usually use the site for fun and games. But what kids don’t know

about is the damage that the Internet could cause. Children of younger ages don’t have as good of judgment as adults and could end up in a dangerous situation with someone such as a sexual predator or a cyber bully. Predators can easily access sites and create a fake identity to stalk kids. In addition, some scientists worry that the Internet can cause early adolescent addiction and could be damaging to relationships and brains. Using the Internet is a very sedentary occupation and if taken to the extreme will mean that the child will not get out to play and will likely result in the child being overweight/underdeveloped and develop-

ing very poor social skills for face to face interaction with other people in later life.

Social networks such as Facebook and MySpace have an age requirement of 13, but who’s to say these kids aren’t going to lie about their age? There is not an efficient way to tell. Some say the age 13 is too young because kids are still learning good judgment and instead the ages 15 or 16 are more appropriate. Junior Sarah Noakes says, “I think the ages 12 or 13 are probably too young for social networking.”

Others say that there is not any solid re-

search to prove that the Internet is bad for children and believe that kids use social media sites in moderation and in positive ways. Sophomore Sydney Jackson says, “As long as kids aren’t going to do anything dumb to endanger themselves, the age 13 is okay.”

Facebook is one of the most popular Internet sites used around the world. In fact, the only site used more is Google. Facebook is a great social networking tool to keep in touch with friends who live out of state, but make sure you are mature and responsible enough to handle the consequences.

3D still has a long way to go before it is worth the hype

By DYLAN WILSON STAFF REPORTER

2D movies are really just as good as 3D. Not only do customers have to pay $3.50 more to see a 3D movie, but often the images they can see through the 3D glasses don’t stand out that much. Also, the 3D glasses hurt and give headaches, and customers have to return them at the end anyway. Movies are expensive enough these days, and spending the extra money for not so great effects is not worth it.

What exactly are 3D movies, and why is it so difficult to receive a decent image? Well, in order to explain, it is important to understand some facts about animation. Animation is an optical illusion, the process by which we see still pictures move. It involves the appearance of motion caused by displaying still images one after another at the rate of 24 pictures per second. The most common method of presenting animation is as a motion picture or video program although several other forms of presenting ani-

mation also exist.

What makes 3D different is that it uses something called stereoscopic vision, meaning that two separate images are shown simultaneously—one to each eye. But because of the way 3D is created, it is difficult to perfect. It has been 100 years since the first 3D movie has been made, and still there are problems with 3D animation.

2D has been around since long before 3D animation. 2D has both width and height but no depth, which means that everything is presented at the same distance from the viewer. 2D films are also what are called “frames” or images. A 2D animation is created when sequencing consecutive frames together that stimulate motion by each image showing the next in a gradual progression of steps. The eye can be “fooled” into perceiving motion when these consecutive images are shown at a rate of 24 frames per second or faster.

The bottom line is that, despite the advancement of 3D animation technologies, there are still some technical prob-

lems that are not totally figured out yet, so 2D will still have a place in the equation for some time. There’s just too much to be missed by sticking with one environment over the other.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Top 10 selling albums of 2010 2010 was a crazy year for musicians, and right here, we present to you the top 10 selling albums of 2010!

By MAK McKINNIS STAFF REPORTER

Ke$ha’s album, Animal, made the spot at number 10. Her album consisted of four singles. Three made it to the top 10. The album had a mixed review; some critics loved the carefree feeling of the album, while others thought it was immature.

Nevertheless, her fans stayed devoted to Ke$ha, giving her the tenth best-selling album of 2010!

Usher’s album, Raymond vs. Raymond, placed at number nine. This is Usher’s sixth studio album and sold 329,000 copies in its first week. The album gave him four Billboard hits, and it has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It has also been nominated for a Grammy Award for best Contemporary R&B Album.

Thank Me Later, Drake’s album, made it to number eight and within the first week, it sold 447,000 copies. In Canada it reached platinum certification within its debut week and the RIAA also certified it platinum with shipments of

one million copies in the U.S. The album received overall positive reviews from critics.

Sade’s album, Soldier of Love, was number seven and is Sade’s sixth studio album.

The first week in the United States, it sold 502,000 copies. Soldier of Love got generally positive reviews from critics and is nominated for two Grammy Awards. She has released three singles from the album.

Lady Gaga’s album, The Fame, is number six on our countdown even though it was released in 2008. The album went to number one in various countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany. The first two singles from the album were both international hits, and the album was nominated for six different categories in the 52 Grammy Awards.

Susan Boyle’s album, The Gift, is number five. We all know her from America’s Got Talent, thinking that when she opened her mouth, we’d all mute the T.V., but instead she surprised us all with an (to say the least) amazing voice. In the first week of the release, it sold 318,000 copies and sold even more during the second week,

335,000 copies.

My World 2.0, by Justin Bieber, is number four on the list. His debut single, “One Time”, placed in the top 30 in over 10 countries. He became the first artist to have seven songs on a debut album on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is certified platinum in the U.S. The single, “Baby”, was a worldwide top-10 single.

Taylor Swift’s album, Speak Now, placed number three and is the third studio album. It received positive music reviews from critics and sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week. Her lead single, “Mine”, had the highest peak of three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Need You Now, by Lady Antebellum, is number two, and the album gave them four consecutive number ones on the Hot Country Songs chart. They were new artist of the year in 2008 by the Country Music Association, and they were nominated for two or more Grammys at the 52nd Grammy Awards.

The top selling album of 2010 was Eminem’s Recovery. It sold 714,000 in its first week in the U.S. alone. He is the first artist

Iceman vs. HumanTorch

By EVAN RAMSEY ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

What would happen when an unstoppable force met an immovable object?

What would happen if you poured Coke into Pepsi? What would happen if Iceman fought The Human Torch?

I’m not sure, but you really don’t want to be there when it happens.

The magnetic approach of this fight is clearly biological and seasonal differences of the characters and their abilities. Their names make their abilities evident. Iceman has an ability to produce frozen water in any way, shape or form by using his hands.

A method used is an ice trail that is set out and skated on to

move around much faster than running. The Human Torch is the opposite of Iceman. The Human Torch has an ability to produce flames of great magnitude using his whole body. This talent even allows him to defy gravity and fly.

So which is the stronger element—fire or water? Either one could potentially incinerate the other if one has an over abundance compared to the other. Both men are more than capable of producing a plethora of their elemental substance. Would fire melt ice before ice has a chance to cool the fire down to a mere ember?

Like most things in life, this can be solved by science.

The movie Fantastic 4 reveals that the Human Torch is capable of reaching temperatures upwards of that in a supernova. This is a little farfetched since that would destroy earth. His estimated “earth survivable” temperature is a couple thousand degrees. Iceman’s temperature

in Soundscan history to have four albums with sales over 700,000 in the first week.

The album was the best selling album in the U.S.

with

Above: Ernhel Tatunay is pictured with an ipod playing Eminems’ song “W.T.P.” off of his newst album Recovery.

is estimated to be below freezing and could easily cause temperatures under -100 degrees to be felt. To make Iceman come up to a temperature that would make him incapacitated would not be very difficult.

The difference from Iceman’s core temperature and the temperature at which he will start to melt (anything above 32 degrees) could be no more than a couple hundred degrees. The Human Torch would melt Iceman in an instant. Fire is too aggressive for something as fragile as ice.

Tribal Reviews ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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‘Inception’ Review

By BEN YADEN STAFF REPORTER

The movie Inception takes place in a time when technology exists for sharing dreams.

Arthur stated, “Dream sharing was created by the military in order to shoot, stab and strangle each other to feel pain, but rather wake up instead of dying” and is written, produced and directed

by Christopher Nolan.

Inception is an implanted idea that grows to define or destroy a person.

Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) has been framed for the murder of his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard) resulting in his fleeing from the U.S. government, leaving behind loved ones including his son,

James and his daughter Phillipa.

He is the most skilled extractor and he and his right hand man Arthur are hired by a man named Saito who needs Cobb to perform inception.

Extractors search minds and find information deep inside another’s subconscious. They can also teach someone to defend their mind from outside presences by having the subconscious create projections of militarized defenders.

Saito (Ken Watanabe) is a man with a seemingly endless fortune who needs Cobb to get the heir, Robert Fischer, to break up his father’s empire in order to meet his secret goal.

To perform inception, one must be asleep and attached to another

person with an IV-like machine.

This machine lets one enter the dream state which speeds up the mind, making five minutes in the real world seem like one hour in the dream world.

With the loss of Cobb’s last architect due to Saito, Cobb heads off to see the grandfather of his children to offer one of his students an architect job. The grandfather’s finest student Ariadne (Ellen Page) passes a test and takes the job.

An architect creates basic mazelike layouts inside another’s dreams while the other person’s subconscious fills the maze with detail and people. Ariadne learns first hand to never build a memory in the dream world because the

grip on reality will be lost within the dream world.

Cobb explains, “We create and perceive our world simultaneously, and our mind does this so well we don’t even know it is happening. We can get right in the middle of this by taking over the creating part.”

I recommend seeing Inception at least more than once because all the complexity of different levels of dreams and following the schizophrenic scenes are hard, but the storyline and character interaction are extremely compelling. The dazzling sound and visual effects will blow your mind!

Inception deserves 5 out of 5!

‘Naughty Bear’ Review

By DEVIN SCHELL STAFF REPORTER

In Naughty Bear, you are a teddy bear living on Paradise Island. You hear about a party that all the other bears are going to, but you weren’t invited because you’ve been too “naughty” lately. You try to make up for it by making a present. When you go to deliver it, some other bears just laugh and you and you go back to your house enraged. After that, you decide to punish all of the other bears.

For the game play, the goal is to score as

many points as possible. You can score points by sabotaging or breaking objects like sinks, toilets, escape vehicles, and other objects. You can also gain points by scaring the bears. If you do things fast, you can get a multiplier to get even more points. At the end of the level, depending on how many points you gained, you can get a trophy, either bronze, silver, gold, or platinum.

The game really doesn’t change a whole lot, so it gets very repetitive. You are in the same area in every level. The scenery does change,

but not very much. One of the only big differences in the levels is a new type of enemy like the ninja or zombie bears.

Over all, this game is fun at first but does get boring fairly quickly, so I’d give it a 5/10.

Harry Potter: Books or Movies?

‘Speak Now’ speaks to fans’ hearts

By TERIA LYONS STAFF REPORTER

Taylor Swift, like many other artists, has made it to the top of the charts for best music of the year.

What she once started as a 15-year old has now continued at age 20.

Her album, Speak Now, is one of her best albums yet. When the album first released, it sold more than 1,000,000 albums in a week, more than any other young artist has ever sold. The album, like her past ones (Taylor Swift, Fearless) talks about her many experiences with love and guys. It also talks about some of her regrets and things she could have done differently in some areas. For example, one of her songs, “Back to

There has been much controversy among Harry Potter fans.

There are the ones loyal to the books, the movie lovers and the ones who enjoy both.

The books offer the ability to use your imagination to dream up the scenes in your own mind.

The characters are whatever you imagine them to be. The scenery/setting can look however you want it to look, too.

On the other hand, with the movies, you get to experience the action and see the story from another point of view.

In the books, when you meet Harry as an 11-year old for the first time, you might see an extremely bedraggled skinny boy, or you might see a slightly ratty boy who is skinnier but not overly skinny. His hair could be ragged and dirty or stick up straight (with the exception of his one piece of hair that never stays down) and

neat.

In the movies, you see Danielle Radcliffe as Harry, with his messy hair, paler skin, and the signature jagged scar.

Out of 80 students, the Harry Potter books were preferred by a small margin, but a good number of students enjoyed both the books and the movies, and another good sized yet smaller chunk enjoyed the movies more than they did the books.

Books

Movies

Both

Neither

Don’t Care

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16

21

5

15

By CINDY GONZALEZ SOCIAL CHAIR-PERSON

December”, is referring to Taylor Lautner, the famous actor who played Jacob in Twilight. Taylor Swift describes how sorry she is for leaving him, and she goes back to the moment of them being together all the time.

If you’re into something more tragic, there’s the song “Dear John.” This song is talking about John Mayer and how he hurt her, but she knew it was her fault for being with him at a young age.

All the songs were best sellers for the year. This 2010 album is popular because most people can connect to the messages that speak directly to their own hearts and their own experiences.

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

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Do you have an opinion that you want in the Tomatalk?

Send a letter to the editor to Laurie.Bender@ksd.org or bring it to room 314

Expires 3/31/11

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SHENANIGANS

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

Shenanigans

Make your own roller derby name!

By HAILEY PAINE STAFF REPORTER

Directions: Circle one name from each column in the box below, and write it in the three underlined spaces, and you can have your own roller derby name!

Carrie

Go

Round

Odd

******

Topsy

Johnny

******

Crash

Full

Metal

Jackie

Cheap

******

Trixie

Charlie

******

Horse

Hailey

******

Tosis

A.

Noma

Mel Peach Hardley

******

Clobber

An

Angel

Helen

******

Killer

Abby

******

Tude

Billie

******

Idle

Hurts

******

Donut

Damage

Patch

Kid

Dawny

******

Darko

Katie

******

Karnage

By VICTORIA DEMERS PHOTO EDITOR

20 FUN FACTS!

By CINDY GONZALEZ SOCIAL CHAIR-PERSON

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear The most common name in the world is Mohammed Chewing gum while cutting onions will keep you from crying Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death Most soccer players run seven miles in a game Women blink nearly twice as much as men In 2010, 1.9 trillion texts were sent Americans on average eat 18 acres of pizza a day U.S. dollar bills are made from cotton

11) Chickens can suffer from depres

sion 12) In England, the speaker of the

house is not allowed to speak 13) Peanuts are one of the ingredients for dynamite 14) Dolphins sleep with one eye open 15) Ketchup was sold as medicine in the 1830s 16) Snails can sleep for three years 17) The average rain drop falls at a rate of seven mph 18) The world gymnasium comes from the Greek word

gymnazien 19) Cat urine glows under a black light 20) You’ll eat about 35,000 cookies in a lifetime

FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School

WORD SEARCH

23

Tribal Amusement SHENANIGANS

Sudoku!

By

Easy No Bake Cookies By

MARISSA RODRIGUEZ

Don’t want to deal with the hassle of messing with the oven and the time it takes? Then I have found a trustful recipe you can use to make

Here is what you will need:

delicious No Bake cookies. The best thing about these cookies is that you can make them in a couple of flavors, depending on what you add

2 cups sugar

to the easy no bake mix. I am revealing a recipe specified for chocolate lovers, and that is the chocolate No Bake cookies.

1/2 cup cocoa 1 stick butter

Directions: Combine sugar, cocoa, butter and milk in a saucepan. On medium heat, bring to a boil for one minute.

Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter (optional), vanilla, and oatmeal.

Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

This recipe is easy to make, especially if you plan to have guests over. It’s fun, fast, and absolutely delicious.

1/2 cup milk 1 tsp. vanilla 3 cups quick-cooking oatmeal 1/2 cup peanut butter (optional)

BOND HENDERSON

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FRIDAY, JAN. 21, 2011 The Tomatalk • Kamiakin High School