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introduction to newspaper winter 2012

PAGE DESIGN BY//HANNAH MERRILL

REVIEWS The 200 Animals of Benjamin Mee

Battle of the Oat Donuts

By Hannah Merrill hannah.merrillwss@gmail.com

By Velarchana Santhana velarch9123@gmail.com

“There’s no reason for you to know about zoos in order to buy one. You just have to be a bit mad, but I assume you’ve got that part covered,” someone tells Benjamin Mee in his memoir, We Bought a Zoo, now a major motion picture starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson.

In the movie, based on the memoir, Mee’s wife has recently died, and while he grieves, he is also struggling to care for his teenage boy and his daughter. After his son, Dylan (Colin Ford), is expelled from school, Mee decides some changes need to be made. Buying a zoo deserves to be right up there with his top options, right?

Mee soon moves into the zoo with his family only to discover that it is in less than ideal shape. But there he also meets the zookeeper Kelly and her niece. This is the perfect chance for romance for himself--and for his son.

The movie is very different from the memoir. People often expect movies to be exactly like the books—for example, Harry Potter. However, this is very difficult, and under certain circumstances, a movie with a plot that differs from the book can be very interesting— but not this book. The romance in the movie is unnecessary and awkward—partially because of bad acting, but also because the romance is just confusing and a bit too manipulated. One love story is plenty—two is really pushing it. Perhaps you’re thinking, what else could have been done to replace the romance? Plenty. In the memoir, Mee’s entire family moves into the zoo, pooling large amounts of money to make their dream a reality. There is plenty to work with when an entire family moves into a zoo—is it necessary to include two love stories and a hormonal teenage boy who can’t get along with his father when you have all that?

The film is a mixture of bad and good acting. Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson both give strong performances and work well with the zoo’s animals, to display the powerful relationship that can develop between humans and animals. And although their romance seems slightly ridiculous, they have good chemistry on screen. Other notable actors include Mee’s daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) and his brother, Duncan (Thomas Haden Church). Jones is incredibly cute and performs with passion. However, Colin Ford and Elle Fanning, who plays Lily Misca (Kelly’s niece), are not the best. Elle Fanning’s acting seems forced, and her character seems pointless. Colin Ford has good moments, but in the emotional scenes his acting is weak, especially in comparison to Matt Damon.

Although the film has its flaws, it is still a heartwarming dramatic comedy to see with the entire family. The film offers some great advice and the story of how the zoo was made into something to share with everyone is inspirational. The animals bring love, humor, and friendship to the film, something most films don’t have.

Photo courtesy of Hannah Merrill

Cheerios and Crispy Oats: Cheerios, a brand name cereal loved by many, and Crispy Oats, a cheaper, generic version of the former. With rising food prices along with a shaky economy, we need to cut back, but what if you could save by just buying generic? For Cheerios, the generic brand Crispy Oats is cheaper and tastes the same.

Conducting a blind taste test, orchestrated by a third party (my sister), I tried the two cereals to see if there truly was a difference in taste. The consensus: there isn’t any discernible difference. They both tasted crunchy and had a lingering taste of oats. Crispy Oats, as suggested by its name, is just slightly crispier than Cheerios. Due to the few discrepancies, neither was better than the other. Winner: Tie. When comparing the look of the two, Cheerios is a slightly darker color than Crispy Oats. This color difference could relate to a slight dye difference or possibly the oats themselves. The other difference is the thickness of the individual cereal pieces in comparison with the other brand; the Cheerios were, on average, a little thicker and more ‘fluffy’ than Crispy Oats. Although these slight differences aren’t very important, to me the darker color eludes a slightly healthier look. Winner: Cheerios.

Another important part of cereal is how long it stays crunchy when in milk. To test this, I put some cereal in milk and tasted it every minute to see how many minutes it took for the cereal to reach a point that it fell apart in my mouth.

Cheerios lasted six minutes until it reached a point of utter sog whereas Crispy Oats lasted 11 minutes until they turned soggy. Whether different ingredients or more preservatives cause this difference is unclear. Depending on whether you prefer crispy cereal versus soggy cereal, the best comes down to your personal preference. To me the crunchier, the better. Winner: Crispy Oats Price is another one of the key factors. At the local supermarket, Cheerios are priced at $2.19, whereas Crispy Oats are priced at $1.59, both for a 14 Oz package. At first glance, the savings are only about 60¢, but let’s say a family finishes a box every two weeks. In one year the savings would reach about $15.60. Okay, that’s still not a lot, but coupled with generics for some or all of your food products, the savings would add up. Winner: Crispy Oats.

There are only slight differences between Cheerios and Crispy Oats. Both cereals taste very similar with only a slightly different coloring to them. With their quality being so similar, the price is the biggest difference, Crispy Oats being much cheaper. Therefore, in this case, the generic brand matched the brand name. Overall winner: Crispy Oats.

Did You Know...

Photos courtesy of Velarchana Santhana

According to www.moneycrashers.com, a family who shops completely generically could save $200-300 per month on groceries even if they used coupons before.

According to www.dartmoorzoo.org, The Dartmoor Zoo is in Devon, England, has many animals such as bears, tapir, and capybara.

PAGE DESIGN BY//VELARCHANA SANTHANA

Where are the real athletes?

BY HANNAH MERRILL

hannah.merrillwss@gmail.com It is a common headline--another athlete suspended for a drug violation, or a coach fired for his involvement in a sexual scandal. But you probably missed the news that Michelle Kwan, one of the most accomplished athletes in American history and a sports ambassador for the U.S. State Department, had been inducted into the Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Scandals make better copy than hard work and graceful achievement.

Many athletes have gotten caught doing things they should not be doing-Michael Phelps smoking marijuana, Barry Bonds taking steroids...the list

goes on and on. Figure skaters, too: Oksana Baiul, an Olympic champion, who developed alcohol problems.

Tonya Harding was infamously involved in injuring her rival, Nancy Kerrigan, before the 1994 Winter Olympics, ending her career as an amateur figure skater. She was later arrested for fourth-degree domestic violence and then became a boxer. From figure skater to boxer? But I digress.

Too many athletes have no balance in their lives or perspective about the place of sports in the scheme of things.

There can be too much pressure on an athlete who feels that his/her entire life is centered on one thing. That’s when some may turn to performanceenhancing drugs so that they can train harder and longer and thus improve their chances for success or prolong their careers. But this often leads to their downfall. Rafael Palmeiro, a baseball star, tested positive for steroids, ruining his chance at ever being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Other athletes get caught up in a life-

Alien invasion?

BY VELARCHANA SANTHANA Velarch9123@gmail.com

The age-old question: do aliens exist?

Recently, the journal, Nature, released studies that have shown that there are likely more planets than stars in our universe. This makes a lot of sense with there being multiple planets surrounding most stars. Why wasn’t this discovered sooner? It seems so obvious. But a variety of new, previously unimaginable discoveries have been made. For example, a planet with twin suns has been discovered much like the discovery of, a planet with twin suns has been discovered much like Tatooine of Star Wars. NASA has confirmed the existence of over 700 exoplanets, planets outside of our solar system, and are

working to confirm thousands of others.

Which brings me to my point, are we not the only ones in this universe? With so many different planets, with varying conditions it seems plausible that there must be at least one planet somewhere that must be capable of sustaining some form of life. But what would that life be like? I definitely don’t see any sort of human-like organisms existing anywhere because evolution doesn’t work that way. Nor do I envision any green, one-eyed monsters appearing. But there could definitely be smart aliens, possibly smarter than humans.

And if we do discover intelligent life, not single-celled organisms, on one of these exoplanets, what is the worst that could happen? Stupid question, of course the aliens will run out of energy sources on their home planet, see humans and think ‘hey food!’ and then proceed to eat us all and inhabit our planet in the process.Yeah, no question there. But seriously, it could happen.

These aliens may be smart enough to figure out problems in their own

style detrimental to their performance.

For example, Tiger Woods seemed to think he could get caught up with other women, including prostitutes, and get away with it. It cost him a marriage, support, endorsements, and success. It is a matter of character.

Michelle Kwan, who won every medal one could possibly dream of except Olympic gold, has such character. Her life was not all about sports, fame, and partying. She cared about school, and her family, and since her retirement from skating she has gone on to be a sports ambassador. She had plenty of pressure in her career, as, for example, when she went to Nationals to win her record-tying ninth title. But she realized that there was so much more to her life than that one title—which is what made her so admirable. She was a great role model for kids; she sent the right message—that kids should get involved in sports. It’s not all about winning or losing, but simply having fun.

These are the stories that should be on the news, not the ones about athle-

tes disappointing us with their arrests and suspensions. They are not the athletes to support—it’s the ones with good character and values who we want to be proud of.

world, unlike humans who haven’t been able to solve problems like war, disease, and poverty. They may manage their resources more efficiently. They may see us as animals, much like we see animals on our own planet, and look at us hooligans and think ‘they seem stupid and easily fooled, let’s eat ‘em.

Dig in!’

This brings me to my other point, it would be horrible to have another, smarter species of ‘humans’ in the universe. I mean think of the chaos.

Humans on our own planet have a vast amount of flaws, let alone those on other planets. And if they are like humans, they could treat us much like we’ve treated stupid’ animals on our planet, like food. They could treat us like we treat ‘smart’ animals in our world, like slaves, I mean look at pets. Or it could be the exact opposite, maybe it would be like War of the Worlds, and the aliens, as smart as they are, would die due to bacterial disease not on their own planet.

The truth is we won’t know what will happen until it happens. Aliens aren’t

going to appear in the next few years, I hope. But even if they do, humans are smart. We’ll be able to get our act together for the good of the planet. Maybe we can start thinking about joining together now and end the constant bickering between opposing forces.

Maybe we can become smarter in the process. And while you’re pondering that, I’m going to go eat some chicken.

Michelle Kwan at the 2002 Grand Prix Final in Kitchener, Ontario.

Photo courtesy of WikiCommons

If you see an alien...

Call the National UFO Reporting Center Hotline: (206)-722-3000 or Visit Nuforc.org ...Yes this is a real organization.

Last year 5,182 aliens were spotted and reported to the website.

And the Djoking Begins WRITTEN BY ASHER GAGE VAN DYKE

As the tennis season renews itself down under at the Australian Open, players come together to rip at each others throats, and where wrinkly old critics come to analyze players, stripping away any credibility a player has.

But with Novak Djokovic coming off a

a stupendous record (70 wins and only 6 losses), the Championship has a leader, a player that other players want to crumble. But who, in the top 4 of the ATP have a chance of breaking down their leader?

Andy Murray is often, scratch that, ALWAYS proclaimed as the NEXT big thing and that he will win the Aussie Championship, but when he finally gets to a credible opponent and one that can bash away at his second serve, he crumbles. His feeble mind doesn’t help his cause either. Murray over the years has rested on being good, making a great suite in that department, and he isn’t looking to move out of it anytime soon. Sure, he won 2 titles last year towards the end. The fact is, he wasn’t challenged during those tournaments. Murray’s chances of winner are as slim as Mardy Fish

winning.

On the other hand, Rafael Nadal is coming into the championships injured. Unfortunately the Spaniard is accustomed to injuries. But this injury is different. A freak injury. Nadal said that while resting in a chair, his leg went “snackle, crackle, pop, rice crispies”. He was rushed to the hospital for an MRI, and it was put under the “nota-big-deal” category. Nadal suffered an early loss in Qatar to Gael Monfils (who is as consistent as Tim Tebow), but Nadal was reluctant to give critics a chance to crack at his armor. He valiantly brushed the win off to the reporters, saying he felt confident going into the Open. Nadal could face Roger Federer in the semis, who retired in Qatar because of a back problem. Federer is one of the greats, if not the Great, but Nadal is his poison.

It’s hard seeing Federer coming out of this championship a winner.You see, the Australian Open has this crazy magic power. Want to know what it is?

The ability to heal players just by them walking on the courts and practicing!

As a hardcore Rafa fan, it’s hard seeing him get past a godlike (geesh, I cringe at my praising of him) Djokovic.

Djokovic skates around the court like a puck on a glow-in-the-dark hockey rink, and isn’t intimidated by anybody.

Rafa lost to Djokovic all times (during big events) last year and I have a gross feeling that that trend will continue to prosper. Ugh, get me a spoon. Can’t believe I gave Djokovic credit.

Hot & Dangerous WRITTEN BY JORDAN ROSSEN As GOP candidate hopefuls travel the country in an attempt to gather support; the overwhelming body of scientific research suggests that the world is warming at a rate which, in the longterm, is ultimately unsustainable.

Out of the five leading GOP candidates, Mitt Romney is the only one who is willing to admit that global warming is a major threat facing humanity.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a international group of thousands of scientists and 97% of climate scientists, according to a University of Illinois survey, concluded that global warming is happening and anthropogenic, meaning human caused.

Why do Republican presidential hopefuls deny global warming in the face of compelling scientific evidence?

In order to understand this skepticism one has to look at the political motives. The burning of fossil fuels is a major contributor to global warming.

Regulations which could help save the environment and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases are also those the oil industry wishes to prevent. New legislation has the potential to slow the oil industry’s growth by imposing new taxes and reducing demand for fossil fuels by promoting the research and development of renewable energy.

The oil industry is willing to make su bstantial contributions to those politicians who will kowtow to their interests. In a tight political race, campaign contributions can make all the difference and to admit the dangers of global warming would be to kiss oil lobbies

sweet campaign funding away. In 2009 the oil industry spent over 39 million dollars on political lobbying according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The massive donations to individual candidates is exemplified by campaign contributions to Rick Perry from the oil and gas industry. Since 1998, Rick Perry has taken in over 11 Million from the Oil and Gas industry, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.With tougher legislation and more strict regulations being introduced that number is bound to increase.

Regardless of how much money Big Oil is willing to throw at politicians

who are willing to ignore the facts, it doesn’t mean those facts don’t exist. We, as (soon to be) voters, should remember those facts when picking a candidate to endorse. If the rest of the GOP candidate wannabes are going to stand a chance beyond the Republican primary they will have to make concessions on issues such as global warming to steal away the disappointed independent Obama vote.

Until lobbies begin to make contributions to the voters, we should try to see through the haze and find out which politicians will work for the people, not for the contributions.

Falafel Fight

By Jordan Eli Rossen You thought it was good, I thought it was falafel In the past two months at least two falafel restaurants have closed their doors. This highly competitive industry is an eat or be eaten world.

Falafel is an economical staple of the Mideast, but may not be familiar to inhabitants of the Midwest. Falafel is chickpeas, ground into balls, seasoned and deep-fried.

The Oasis (206 North Linn Street, Iowa City) and Petra Falafel House (89 2nd Street, Coralville) are the two remaining falafel suppliers in town.

But… Which is best?

As soon as I walked into The Oasis, a combination of indie rock, college students and the aroma of fried salty goodness overwhelmed me. While the entire menu looked delicious I kept my eye on the prize and held my order to a side of six falafel balls for three dollars. When my falafel order arrived, I threw my balls of chickpea onto a scale. The falafel weighed in at just less than 22 grams each or 43 grams a dollar.

The falafel itself had a golden brown, crispy, yet uneven shell, with a slightly granular, chickpea center. The taste was very appealing with hints of garlic and parsley. The accompanying mango curry sauce sweet and tangy, but not overpoweringly so.

My only thought on the way over to Petra was that competition would be hard to beat.

The atmosphere of Petra was the opposite of The Oasis. The indie rock of Oasis was contrasted against Arabic music videos being blasted from plasma screen televisions, a large mural of the ancient Treasury of Petra and the spillover aroma of a hookah bar from next door.

Petra is ahead in terms of value; falafel balls are 35 cents each and clock in at just under 20 grams each or about 56 grams a dollar.

The falafel was more uniform than Oasis, but had a less crunchy shell. The internals were much less granular, yet somewhat mushy. The mango curry sauce abandoned the sweet flavor of that at Oasis, in favor of a salty spicy taste.

As soon as I had eaten my last ball of falafel, I looked around myself and was only able to utter two words, “Chickpeas!”

Fal-o-meter

Oasis

Petra

Taste: 5 3 Value: 3 5

Photo courtesy// Jordan Rossen

Atmopshoere: 4 2

Are You There, Chelsea?!

By Gage Van Dyke It’s a cozy Wednesday, my parents are not home and I am free to blast the volume of my T.V., the beeps of reality shows going off without my parents storming in.

Turns out comedian/celebrity commentator Chelsea Handler got a new gig, like her pal Whitney Cummings (who’s a knockoff). Her own show. Sadly, Chelsea’s gig isn’t a reality t.v. jackpot that had me rolling around in popcorn in my bed, splitting my sides of laughter, but rather a gig that made me dangle popcorn in hand, mouth gaped a bit, comprehending what I was watching, and how I couldn’t imagine that I was watching a dull, calculated production of Chelsea’s.

Now before I start picking at the pilot like barbeque wings on a Friday night, let me tell you what this show is about. There’s this chick, Chelsea Handler, has a life consumed with alcohol and strange encounters, and..well, that’s basically the plot. Her life. Now, to the picking!

The pilot opens with Chelsea (Laura Prepon), a decent look-alike of the real life Chelsea Handler, is in jail. In her cell she is confronted by a cough, manlier woman who gives off danger like a wolf on the hunt looking for some meat to tear. Chelsea, afraid of the woman’s appearance (the woman’s biceps were the size of my torso), kisses the woman. The woman requests Chelsea and her meet up later after the oh-so-awkward kiss, but Chelsea is saved by her pregnant sister Sloane (Chelsea Handler) who is portrayed as a generic, god fearing Christian. The obscenity depicted in the jail scene came off like an earnest gag or “attention grabber”, hoping the craziness of the situation would earn some laughter from the “live audience.”

During the course of the episode, we are exposed to, well, Chelsea’s one side which is poorly captured by Prepon. Chelsea is portrayed as a drunk who works at a bar with a tool Rick (Jake McDorman) who is sexually focused and a bit homophobic (he insisted a red head Chelsea is interested is gay, singing “Bottoms Up” while prancing around him). Chelsea finds an apartment close to work with her childhood friend/bodyguard Olivia (Ali Wong and who is approximately 3 feet tall. Just kidding. But it looks like it.) and meets a paranoid, dorky girl who is obsessed with Chelsea’s cat, Assface, who actually looks like a butt with its squished face. A very hairy butt. The star of this episode was truly the hairy butt, it was the only time I broke out a smirk was when the name was presented. Exactly.

Now, as I describe the events they might come off jumbled, but the truth is, that’s what the show felt like. A blur of snobby remarks strung together, hoping some crippled old man will burst a wheezy laugh. The audience doesn’t care about Chelsea’s job, her apartment. They come off as environments for strange things to happen, maybe to spice it up. Prepon doesn’t execute the role well, at points she was basically talking as if she was reading lines, calculating her gestures towards the small man (Mark Povinelli) in one of the forgettable scenes.

Chelsea Handler lovers want snippy comments at people, with her stoic face while she says something ludicrous, not a girl who snickers at her comments. At the end of the episode nothing stuck with me, only one question. Why wasn’t Chelsea Handler playing herself?

I don’t know where Chelsea Handler is there, but wherever she is, she needs to leave this show. Comparing this show to her “Chelsea Lately” show is like comparing a sketchy, torn up motel that has 2 big white vans parked in its lot and is located behind a car wash to a Marriott.

I wasted some darn good popcorn on that show. Refund?

PAGE DESIGN COPYCATTED BY//LUSHIA ANSON

Minding Our Manners

BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO

megumi.kitamoto@gmail.com Your teacher at West wants you to do errands. Not just one errand. She wants you to go get paper from the printer, bring the computer cart to the classroom, bring her coffee, and many

more. Do you tell her “no way?” Do you accept hesitantly? Now picture yourself at a school in Japan. Your teacher wants you to do the same errands. If you say no, especially if you say no rudely, then you are set to be on the hate list. And no, it is not a good thing.

There are many different types of ways to be polite in many countries.

For example, here in the U.S., there there are basically no rules to etiquette.

It’s different in Japan. If they are older than you, speak politely to them. Talking back to a teacher or an adult is unheard of (if you follow the rules, which most students do), and if you don’t

greet a teacher when you see them, you are dead meat. Here in the U.S., it is a free country and you are able to ignore teachers when they say hi to you.

I have been to a school in Japan, and in the U.S., also. I think that it is very good to be polite to people older than you, because it prepares you for when you are in the outside world. However, talking politely to everybody older than you can be hard for our growing, adolescent minds, so talking politely to teachers is a good place to start, because it is an obvious thing to talk to your teachers politely. Since most of my relatives are Japanese, it has affected how I talk to people and how I treat

Pop Culture Clash:

What happens when a battle between two fantasy novels gets out of hand

BY LUSHIA ANSON

lushia.anson@gmail.com Vampires vs. wizards. Voldemort vs. the Volturi. Team Edward vs. Team Dumbledore. Six-pack abs vs. insanely awesome magical powers. Now comes the big question, the one that determines whether I approve of you or not.

Which side are you on?

Of course, I’m not being serious. It doesn’t really matter to me whether someone’s “Team Potter,” “Team Twilight,” or is just smart and chose not to get involved in the conflict. Although I’d definitely pick the Hogwarts acceptance letter over the sparkly abs, I don’t consider myself to be a “hardcore Potterhead.” Meaning, I don’t have an account on Pottermore (what does it mean when a website is ‘in beta,’ anyway?), I don’t own any Gryffindor undergarments or any clothing item with a bespectacled Daniel Radcliffe’s face

printed on it, and I’ve only seen the Deathly Hallows once.

On the other hand, I don’t really care for Twilight all that much. I’ve read all four books, and attempted to watch the first movie, but fell asleep in the process. To me, Edward and Bella’s relationship-infatuation-manipulation is twisted, creepy, and drawn-out. I despise Edward’s arrogance, moodiness, and anger issues. But if you like it, fine.

It doesn’t really matter to me. Everyone has a right to their own opinion.

The thing is, a lot of people can’t seem to stop hating on “the other side,” whether it be Twilight or Harry Potter. A little debate about which series is better and poking fun at the sparkliness of Edward’s ‘sculptured, muscled, chest’ is all in good fun, but I’ve seen blog posts, forums, and pages on the internet about how Stephenie Meyer “sucks” and should go “die in a hole,” or how JK Rowling is a “terrible writer.”

And don’t even get me started on the fans themselves. Doing research for this column, I’ve scrolled through so many heated debates on which series is better, and these fans (HP and Twilight alike) are practically cyberbullying each other. I’ve seen HP fans

call Twilight fans… really rude things I shall not repeat. I actually saw a post where the Twilight fans told the HP fans to “burn in hell,” and one of my friends, who happens to be a Twilight fan, was told by a person over Facebook she barely knew that “she had no life,” and that she needed to get herself “new friends,” just because of her taste in literature.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that everyone has a right to their own opinion, but when it gets to the point of verbally abusing each other over which book series, movies, music or activities we prefer, it’s crossing the line. It’s all right for people to criticize Twilight, Harry Potter, or any other book or movie all they want, but when they make it personal, it just gets ridiculous. Of course, this column is not just about crazy fangirls trying to tear each other apart with fantasy novels.

We live in a world plagued with stereotypes today, but don’t judge people by their preferences, style, or looks.Talk to someone who has different interests than you do, and you may even make a new friend. As we all learned in kindergarten, “Different is okay.”

older than me. In the U.S., I have observed that most people are rather rude to the people around them if they aren’t treated nicely. For example, there are fights in the hallways because people aren’t being respectful to others. I think that America isn’t taking the etiquette seriously enough, and Japan is taking it a little bit too far. So maybe a mix of each is good. Be respectful, but don’t forget to have fun at the same time. I am comparing the two country’s etiquette rules because I feel that some people need to learn about etiquette more, and people are forgetting about being thankful to people that are older than them.

Taking it too Far? Here are some of the (non-profane) comments I came across on the web as I was doing research for this column...

“Twilight [fans are] teenage girls with no love life, and it sucks them in because they wish they were Bella. They can pretend they’re her, because she’s a whiny rag doll excuse for a character and she has no personality.”

-harrypotterforum.com “[Twilight fans] all are giggly teenagers who probably still read at a middle school level.”

-Sodahead.com “That makes me wonder, if those kids really believe in high speed air chases on stupid sticks... Poor souls...”

-Harrypottersucks.com “Harry Potter is for morons with no life, [and it’s] what you get when a group of nerds want to escape their life. They want to ride on broom sticks and cast magic.”

-petitionspot.com

Driving Awarness

By Brittani Langland

Is it sad to say that ever since Drivers Ed ended, I haven’t been focusing on the road. I know it sounds terrible but it is probably true for most of you too. I am forced to keep reminding myself to pay attention, but I just can’t focus. That is however, until I crashed my car into the garage wall.

I was driving home from practice one day. The radio was on and I was talking to my mom. It was compleatly distracted from driving. Then when we were pulling into the garage my foot slipped. The car sprung forward and crashed dramatically into the wall. It was so bad, that the wall had to be replaced.

Now, I am not telling this story to you so you can feel bad for me. What shocked me was the reaction my family and friends gave me. They said things like, “Oh Brittani darling, everyone makes a mistake on the road for example…” Their examples included stuff like destroying a car, killing a cat, and forgetting to put the car in park and watching it fall backwards into a trashcan. Wait what? Are you telling me this kind of stuff is fine? Are you encouraging this behavior from others? Is this kind of action what our society is all about?

I think that you shouldn’t have to have one of those experiences. Take my accident for example and put it in a different situation, like in front of a crosswalk. That would have been horrible to spring forward and hit a person. I know it is hash but it needs to be said. Driving is very dangerous. That is a fact, no matter who you talk to. Now I am not saying everyone stop driving because it is dangerous. We can’t survive with out driving (I don’t care what the technical people say).

So since we need to drive what do we do? We raise awareness for driving. What does this mean you might ask. It means people need to know that they are driving and they need to focus on the road. No more texting, sleeping, shaving, reading, and eating while you drive. Let’s focus on the road togather.

We will save lives!

A Column on Columns

By Meagan Jans

As of recently, it’s been impossible to open a newspaper without reading a column that attacks a candidate for having different views on a subject than the author. Politics-related videos on YouTube are filled with offensive comments from Democrats and Republicans who are endlessly arguing with one another.

TV and new shows are full of loud-mouthed commentators that ruthlessly mock the political party that they are not part of. The comment sections of online articles and webpages are crowded with liberals calling conservatives heartless demons and Republicans calling Democrats tree-hugging, government-loving idiots.

Considering that we have a multi-party system here in the United States, it should be expected that people will disagree and have differing opinions. This system would work well if people were willing to listen to each other, share their views on topics in positive, constructive ways, and respectfully disagree.

However, this is not the case. Too much of the time, people choose to stick unfalteringly to their own views, ignore what another person is saying, and subsequently attack another person for disagreeing with them. People start to get defensive, and a conversation drifts from being a political debate to a brawl in which people ceaselly throw hurtful insults and make personal attacks on one another.

Why is this the case? Why is it so hard for people to find it in themselves to actually respect other people’s voices and opinions? Most likely, the answer lies in how massive the human ego is. We decide that our opinions are better than those of others and so refuse to change them. In addition, our egos can’t stand being proven wrong, can’t stand looking stupid, so we end up putting up a defensive wall when anybody tries to disagree with us.

Things don’t have to be this way. If we put aside our egos, we could see that people who express different views than we do aren’t after us; they’re just trying to get their point across and share their opinions. There’s truly no reason to get angry and viciously fling cruel words at each other. We can respectfully counter others’ opinions with our own without making it into a personal argument. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to talk about our opinions without having to fear that we’ll be hated for doing so?

1.Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among 15- to 20-year-olds.

2.2,739 teenage drivers died in motor vehicle crashes in 2008, down 13.7% from 3,174 in 2007.

3.About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2008 were males.

4.63% of teenage passenger deaths in 2008 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager.

5.In 2006 teenagers 15- to 17-year-olds cost more than $34 billion nationwide in car crashes.

6.Hand-held cellphone use was highest among 16- to 24-year-olds Scary 7.37% of male drivers ages 15-20 who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time.

Driving 8.55%, or 2,014, of the 3,678 occupants riding with a teenage driver were killed in crashes were not buckled.

9.31% of teenage drivers were killed in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking some amount of alcohol Facts 10.Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

10

PAGE DESIGN// BY HANNAH MUELLERLEILE

Smooth Moves RONG-PAVLIK

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This is Hearth

BY HANNAH MUELLERLEILE

Hearth, One Twenty Six’s sister resta urant, is situated on the cozy second floor in the midd le of downtown Iowa City. The unassuming door to it is sandwiched between One Twenty Six and Zephyr Printing.

One of the first things you notice about Hearth, and one of the things I love about it, is how intimate it feels (perfect for a date with your honey, perhaps?). The soft lighting and the exposed brick wall s make the place small but cozy. Ask to be seated by one of the three bay windows. Trust me, they’re perfect for people watching.

(And if you’re there late enough, you can see college kids stumbling into Panchero’s for a drunken burrito run which, unsurprisingly, provides endl ess entertainment.)

As charming as the atmosphere is, the real star of the show is the food. The mixture of American, French, Italian, and vegetarian dishes (don ’t forget the dash of Indian inspiration infused into the food !) provide choices for everyone. However, the handmad e thin-crust pizzas cooked in their firewood pizza oven are what Hearth is named for and they are the main reason why I keep coming back.

I started off with a prosciutto salad. Delightful, especially with the fried egg on top (sounds strange, but again, trust me. Delicious). Secondly , I had the Alsatian Tart, one of the handful of artfully crafted pizzas made fresh for you.

After the first bite, this pizza became my spirit animal.

My reason for living. My hear t and soul. The meaning of life. In simple terms, this pizza is nothing more than cheese, bacon that was crispy yet chew y, and caramelized onions on freshly made, perfectly crisped dough. It doesn’t sound like much, but honestly, it may or may not change your life.

Lastly, I ordered my dessert off their ever-rotating list of end-of-the-meal-sweets. I chose the spiced cake with caramel, but also got to try the flou rless chocolate torte.

I’m going to preface this by saying I’ve had a lot of good meals in my life and a lot of good food , but this dessert was one of the best I’ve had in a long time. The cake was perfectly spiced, perfectly tender, perfectly everything (and big enough to share!). The choc olate torte punched you in the face with cacao—it was dense and intensely chocolate-y beyond belief.

Hearth is my go-to dinner spot for going out with my friends for a night or having a special dinner with someone equally special as this plac e is. The atmosphere is unmatched by anywhere in Iowa City, and the food is to die for.

You have nothing to lose. Try Hea rth. You won’t be disappointed.* *(I feel like I should include a ‘Or Your Money Back—Guaranteed!’ but I am completely serious. Try it.)

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT HEARTH:

Hours: Open for dinners Tuesday through Saturday. What to try: any of the woodfired Tues-Thurs: 5pm - 9:30pm; Fri-Sat: 5pm - 10pm

Where: 124 1/2 E. Washington St., Downtown Iowa City. Above Zephyr Copies.

What’s on the menu?: A range of Ameri-

can, French, Indian, Italian, and vegetarian dishes.

homemade pizzas

Recommended? Fo’ ‘sho. 5 stars.

Want to see WWW.WSSPAPER.COM

more of Hearth?

Log on for more photos and exclusive web coverage .

PAGE DESIGN BY//FIONA ARMSTRONG-PAVLIK

Worry Wart

BY FIONA ARMSTRONG-PAVLIK

S

ometimes, I worry about myself. And then I worry about everything else that I could possibly have to deal with.

I worry about worrying too much. Conversely, I also worry about not worrying enough and missing something that deserves my concerned thoughts.

Is that kid next to me tapping his pen? Or am I hallucinating that sound? Is there a disease where hallucinating the sound of someone tapping a pen is a symptom? Oh, wait. He is tapping his pen. Is it possible to politely ask someone to be less annoying?

Why didn’t anyone text me back? Are we not friends anymore? Oh no, what if they all got kidnapped and that’s why? What am I going to do? I’m a horrible person to worry about petty things like text messaging when everyone I know is on the brink of death.

I didn’t mean to make eye con-

tact with you. I didn’t even want to look at you. I was just trying to look up at the clock. Please stop making eye contact with me now.

Okay, this is weird. I’m looking away now.

If a teacher passes papers to your row in a class and you notice the stack is one short, whose responsibility is it to tell the teacher? Is it mine because I noticed? Is it the person behind me because they are the victim of the situation? What if it’s my responsibility to get the extra copy and I don’t, so the person behind me never gets a handout and fails the class because of me?

Things that I cannot control are especially stress-inducing. People sneezing on me–a small child will sneeze on me one day and give me a terrible disease that will cause me to be quarantined and exiled from society, only to die a slow and painful death..

Television schedules. Weather patterns. The list goes on.

At least I’ve matured enough to stop having to worry about being seen with my mother in public, the ultimate “uncool” thing of being 12.

I keep myself up at night because I worry that I will not be able to fall asleep.

Note to self: look up anxiety disorders on Web M.D. I, like, forsure have one.

Are you scared yet?

According to Web M.D., phobias are the most common anxiety disorders. Test your knowledge by matching the phobia on the left to its meaning on the right.

1. Brontophobia 2. Acrophobia 3. Aerophobia 4. Emetophobia 5. Carcinophobia 6. Neophobia 7. Gerontophobia 8. Arachnophobia 9. Ophidiophobia 10. Ornithophobia 11. Apiphobia 12. Agoraphobia

a. new things b. old things or growing old c. thunder d. spiders e. vomiting f. snakes g. cancer h. open/public spaces i. bees j. birds k. heights l. flying ANSWERS: 1C, 2K, 3L, 4E, 5G, 6A, 7B, 8D, 9F.

05 OPINION

We Are a Slut Shaming Nation

BY HANNAH MUELLERLEILE

“

I mean, she’s just a slut!”

One of the many comments said when a discussion of Colorado teen Sydney Spies’ quote-unquote scandalous senior pictures arose.

Now, I’ve seen these pictures myself. I wouldn’t say they are the most schoolappropriate clothing choices, but they were more or less tasteful and definitely not deserving of the scandal it caused.

But what interested me in the whole debacle was the fact that the label of slut was pasted on her the moment the topic of her came up. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a slut is “a) A person, especially a woman, considered sexually promiscuous; b) A woman prostitute.” From her clothing, can you really deduce that this high school girl is a prostitute? Or even sexually promiscuous?

There’s something wrong in this situation. First is the idea that you could ever evaluate someone’s sexual preferences by the clothes they wear; but secondly, and more importantly, that even if she was hypothetically sexually promiscuous (I’m definitely not saying you are, Miss Spies. This is all hypothetical.), the use of the world slut–with all of its negative connotations–implies that we, as a society, deem enjoying sex wrong.

I’ll give everyone the benefit of the doubt here. It may have all been a case of throwing around adjectives with unfortunate connotations, but I really don’t think that’s the situation here.

Miss Spies brought the issue up that we, as a society, have made it wrong,

unacceptable, even immoral, to enjoy sex and sexuality.

Why would that be? Or, a better question would be why would that not be?

Our society is rife with contradictions. Television shows such as Jersey Shore idolize binge drinking and casual sex while at the same time children are becoming hyper-sexualized younger and younger (Toddlers and Tiaras, anyone?). Yet abstinence and remaining a virgin until marriage are the best (and only!) options in society’s mind. I can see why the majority of young people may be confused with the mixed messages being sent.

Now, I’m not saying “Hey, all you horny high school-ers, go out and have vast amounts of unprotected sex!” I’m saying that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, wrong with being comfortable with your sexuality. Society, for whatever reason, has deemed sex as something completely unsavory, but in reality, it’s a natural human process and has been since the dawn of time. (But if you’re gonna do it, be smart about it.

Come on now.)

Sydney Spies should not be judged on the clothes she wears or how she does her makeup or even the life she may or may not live. How she looks says nothing about her personal life. But really, the true tragedy here is the slut-shaming attitude we’ve adopted as a society.

There is nothing shameful about embracing your sexuality. It’s natural. It’s human. It’s a part of our lives whether you choose to accept it or not. Don’t let society, or anyone else for that matter, tell you otherwise.

So, to everyone, sluts and non-sluts alike: don’t feel guilty, don’t slut shame and don’t judge. Just because you’re not secure in yourself or your sexuality doesn’t mean someone else has to be as well.

In the words The Coquette, one of my favorite writers of all time and a columnist for The Daily, “Respect yourself, enjoy your sexuality, and ignore the haters.”

OC D

By: Alyssa Hancock

It has been staring me in the face for about 20 minutes now. It shines in the light and mocks me. I feel as though I may throw up.

All because of a stupid hair.

This hair is just sitting there.

Right on the back of the guy in front of me.

He is a guy. He shouldn’t have hair on his clothes. Well in my opinion anyway. This is the final straw. I can’t take this for another minute. I reach out slowly, grasping the hair between my index finger and thumb, but just as I am about to pull away, this kid decides to lean back in his chair.

[

I quickly toss the hair to the floor, left to live the remainder of its life on the cold tile. The guy turns around with a look of “you better not have been touchin’ all up on me” spread across his face.

my OCD. I used to have to count my steps when going up or down the stairs, and yes I would have to start over if I forgot, perhaps even walking up and down twice to make up for my mistake. At least I got some good exercise. On the down side there was no benefit from turning the T.V. on and off at certain times, just because I couldn’t let my self see certain commercials. I always have to say “I love you”, and “See you later,” to my mom when I leave the house. If I didn’t, something inside me made me feel as though I wouldn’t see her later.

OCD is my illness, and obsessing is my medicine.

That and three pills a day.

OCD isn’t so bad though. At least there is medicine for it.

But even with the medicine I still have a

tendency to obsess, majorly. If you don’t

smile back at me in the hall I

WILL spend the rest of the day

wondering why you

hate me and what I could have

done to upset you.

]

OCD is my illness, and obsessing is my medicine.

I stumble over my words, “I...you...I was just...” I gesture to the limp hair on the floor. He looks back up at me and gives a weak “I’m gonna wait to be creeped out until you’re gone” look.

This is just the usual story for me. It hasn’t always been this way though. It used to be worse, a lot worse.

I always felt that anything and everything was going to get me horribly, terribly, perhaps even terminally ill. I remember a time in junior high when I went bowling with some friends. It was all fine and dandy until I realized I had forgotten to put a band-aid on my thumb to protect my hang-nail.

Gross I know, I apologize for that image. Anywho, I ended up texting my mom all in a tizzy, saying how “what if it gets infected from the bowling ball”, and, “what if I have to have it cut off,” etc. Needless to say I survived the incident.

I always seem to remember the most traumatic events of

I’m reading out loud in class and mix up a few words. The class laughs. I worry all day that the entire class now thinks I’m a freak.

Everything is always directed at me (even if it’s not). One friend is mad at another? I just know I had some part in ruining their friendship.

I know I could have it worse. OCD is a serious illness that varies in degrees of severity. I try to take my situation lightly but everyone deals with it differently. So, please do be respectful.

The littlest things can set me off on a tirade of worry and stress. But even with all my moments, it’s great to have friends who can tolerate my insanity.

The

Walking

By: Alyssa Hancock

Dead

A

man awakes. Alone in a pale hospital room. He finishes a sentence he had started before he went into a coma. He glances over at the dried flowers on his nightstand, crumpled and in pieces. He is shocked at the fact that his good friend had only given them to him maybe a half hour before. How long was this guy out? His bullet wound stings but is better than he remembered. This was bound to happen sooner or later when you're a police officer.

Rick kicks off the show as a wounded police officer waking up in the middle of a full blown zombie apocalypse. The first moments of Rick’s life back to “normal” are anything but. He breaks out of his room finding a gurney pushed in front of his door, perhaps in the hopes of keeping someone out, or something.

The hospital is in ruins. Blood splatters are all over the walls, floor, and ceiling. Bodies of nurses, doctors, and perhaps patients lay, lifeless, the looks of sheer terror forever frozen on their faces. Rick peers into a hallway that has been closed off. The lights flicker, revealing what looks to be a half devoured body of a women. laying on the floor. Rick runs the other direction only to find more closed doors. The words “DEAD INSIDE” are spray painted in red across them. He moves closer. Suddenly the doors begin to shake, only the chain keeping them closed. Still, the zombies inside manage to squeeze there fingers through the crack. Rick stumbles out of the building only to find rows and rows of dead bodies in white trash bags. I mean hundreds of bodies, and yes, these are really dead.

This moment sets the scene for the one of a kind series, The Walking Dead. You can watch this innovative show on AMC. It starts back up again in early February, but you can catch up on The Walking Dead page on the AMC website.

The Walking Dead revolves around a world over run by zombies. This sure seemed like one of those shows you watch once to say you've seen it and then bless fully let it wfade into the woodwork.

Yeah, I thought so too.

But this show captivated the inner comic book lover I didn't even know was there. The guts and gore, such as the merciless ripping apart of Innocent humans, of this show can be a bit unsettling at times but this show gives a whole new meaning to apocalypse by zombies. This show dares to go where no show has gone before. Telling the stories of a hand full of individuals as they try their luck out in an undead world, leaving no detail unshared.

I maybe cheer leading more than necessary, I'm sure I had you back at guts and gore. There may be no overly tanned young adults with drinking problems but trust me, you can see things equally disturbing in The Walking Dead, and I do apologize, I don't recall a single teen mother anywhere to be found.

Even with these minor downfalls, this show will make you wonder, will the world end in ice, fire, or flesh craving shells of what used to be a person?

The Stuff You Really Wanna Know...

You can catch it on AMC! The First 6 episodes of TheWalking Dead can be found in instant play on Netflix!

The show starts back up again in February!

REVIEWS page design by//Megumi Kitamoto

WEST SIDE STORY VS. THE LITTLE HAWK APPS

BY MEGUMI KITAMOTO

DIVERGENT

BY VERONICA ROTH

photos used with permission from the West Side Story and the Little Hawk

All you need is a Smartphone, iPod or iPad . Now you can have The Little Hawk or The West Side Story app with you at all times. Both are free and are a great way to keep up with current events at both of the schools.

BY LUSHIA ANSON

photo from flickr

LAYOUT

Ever since the Hunger Games topped the bestseller lists, there’s been a scramble among authors to write more dystopian thrillers, (not unlike the vampire literature epidemic of ‘year.) Many of these new novels about futuristic, perplexing worlds are just scorned by readers as knockoffs of the Hunger Games, but debut author Veronica Roth proves in her new novel, Divergent, that there are more possibilities to a ruined future than the Hunger Games’ ‘Panem.’

In a dystopian Chicago, sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior lives in a society that is divided into five “factions”: Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Erudite (the intelligent), Candor (the honest), and Amity (the peaceful.) Every year, the sixteen-year olds of the society must choose which of the factions they will be loyal to for the rest of their lives. Beatrice is torn between staying with her family or being who she really is; her choice will only give her one or the other. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

In the initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself ‘Tris,’ and begins a new life, where she struggles to find out who she can actually trust, what she is capable of, and who she really is. Throw in an unexpected romance, a possible infiltration, and a deadly secret, and you’ve got a compelling plot that will make you stay up well past midnight reading it (and as a result, become a zombie the next day. But it’s worth it.)

Divergent was very well written, with a good plot and mostly believable characters. I had mixed feelings about Tris, whose personality drastically changed throughout the story into a curious but selfless ordinary citizen into a proud, vengeful warrior-girl. I would have liked to see more on the character development and more on what caused her personality to change.

The history of the factions was also a bit confusing; I didn’t quite understand how and why the faction system came to be, and I had to reread it several times to understand, and even then, it wasn’t clear.

The romance aspect was partly cliche; Tris falls in love with her initiation instructor, Four (who’s perfect, and fearless, and apparently hot). She finds out that there’s more to Four than she expected, and yeah... you’ve probably come across this sort of plot at one point or another. It kind of reminded me of one of those cheesy summer camp romance novels where the girl falls in love with her ‘hot’ male camp counselor, actually. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then don’t worry. You actually have good taste in literature.)

Overall, the novel was fast-paced and full of adventure, and I would give it a 8 out of 10. The plot was always surprising me, even though it was a little shaky and I found some inconsistencies. The romance was okay; not great, and a little cheesy and boring. The adventure and the writing both made up for it, though, and this was one of those books, that despite its weaknesses, I couldn’t put down.

The Little Hawk’s app home screen is very unique because it shows the picture of their school’s main building. There is also a direct link to the Little Hawk homepage and there are multiple tabs at the bottom, including podcasts, videos, and a link to the official Little Hawk twitter. However, The West Side Story app has news articles on the first thing you see, so you are able to immediately see news. Thanks to the tabs, categories, albums, pages, and more, you are able to see the posts from the past quickly and easily.

CONTENT In The Little Hawk app, the breaking news is very easy to spot. Simply click one of the three options on the home screen; News, Opinion or Sports.

The articles are also very well written, and the titles are very amusing. An example is Recycling: Coming to a Cafeteria near you. The article was about putting recycling bins in City’s cafeteria, and I thought that it was going to be really boring, because it’s a topic that we never thought but it was actually interesting because they add some humor and mix it in well with the serious parts, and the articles get to the point. However, looking at articles from the past isn’t possible, and sometimes the articles are those “you had to be there” articles because there wasn’t enough information given for a non-City

person to understand it.

In The West Side Story app, there are oodles of pictures and articles to look through. The articles are very well written also, and they are explanatory and understandable to the non-West reader. However, the titles lack creativity. It’s great to know what is going to be covered in the article, but there should probably be more pizzazz to bring readers in. And, there’s more.

There is snow falling in TheWest Side Story app, no joke. But sometimes there can be too much of it and it affects the efficency of reading. Nobody wants snowflakes fluttering over their books, even if it is pretty.

EFFICENCY Both of the apps were kind of slow on the device that I was using. But when I tried on a different device, the efficiency sped up by a lot.

Even though West High and City High are considered rivals, I think that there is a lot of talent going on in both of the apps. There is also a lot of things to learn from each other. For example, City could learn from West’s articles, and West could learn from City’s layout.

Layout Rating (out of 10) Little Hawk: 8 because of the clock on the cover of the home screen West Side Story: 7 because of the simple layout, but simple doesn’t necessarily mean boring.

Content Rating (out of 10) Little Hawk: 9 for very well written articles West Side Story: 9 for a good variety of aritcles Efficiency Rating (out of 10) Little Hawk:6 because when I move onto another page, the text form the page is sometimes left after I have moved to another page.

West Side Story: 6 because the pages are sometimes slow, even with good Wi-Fi.

Must See Romantic Movies for Valentine’s Day

By Cat Rebelskey

This Valentine’s Day, you could watch the same old, same old corny love stories, but you will probably regret wasting your time on it later on. With the help of Top 25 Best Romance Movies of all time created by moviefone.com, I took five out of that list, some old and some new, to help make it easier for you to choose movies you should see to set yourself into that love mood of Valentines Day. Casablanca(1942) Rated: Not Rated *****= 5 stars out of 5 For an oldie but goody, Casablanca is still rated number one on the charts as the best romantic movie of all time, pushing Titanic to number two. With being number one after all these years it had to be looked into to see if it should still be rated number one. Casablanca is placed around the time of World War II with Nazis taking over. Rick is a club owner in Casablanca who is stubborn, only cares about himself, and is lifeless. What made him this way was a woman he fell in love with in Paris name Ilsa but the Nazi’s invasion in Paris separated them. When Ilsa comes back to Casablanca, unexpected turns happen in this movies and to see where their love goes, you have to see Casablanca to find out. Today we don’t commonly see movies about war separating true love, it is something new from all the same loves movies we see come out now. Even if this movie is in black and white, the globe in their opening scene made out of clay(looks really funny). This movie still is a classic and I see why. It takes a little bit to get into with all the war stuff they have to get in(which honestly isn’t too bad). Girls will be feeling the hope of true love, and guys won’t be too grossed out with all the sappy love smoochy stuff because there is only about four times they kiss, nothing more. So try you never know how much you will enjoy it!

By Aileen Norris Nothing excites me more in winter than being able to pull out my warm fuzzy socks and wear them whenever I want to. To celebrate the beginning of fuzzy sock season, I purchased three new pairs from the mall and compared them.

Description: Knee high fuzzy socks, colored black and gray.

Price: $6.00 Length: Says knee high, but only gets three quarters of the way up Fuzziness: Nice and fuzzy everywhere, very warm Lady and the Tramp(1955) Slipperiness: I travelled an average of three feet three Rated: G inches, which is longer than the average human’s ****1/2=4 1/2 out of 5 stars arm.

As #17 Lady and the Tramp is the only animated love movie put on this list. It may be a classic but, I had Comments: These socks didn’t slide as much as I to re-watch it just to see why it deserves to be on this list. Lady is a park avenue, good-manner, beautiful, would have hoped, but they’re really nice for a cold “perfect” life style dog who falls for a stray,wild, free-spirited tramp dog who makes her see life in a whole winter day. new way. Putting these two dogs together with a plate full of spaghetti equals love. Even though the movie is Grade: A a Disney and it doesn’t show any love stuff, we usually see in the other movies we watch today. It still shows Description: Knee high socks that that no matter who or what you are, love is possible for anyone--even dogs who aren’t in the same social class. have penguins on the feet. Even has a Any age, male or female, will enjoy this cute,funny, romantic movie. It is an oldie but classic goody! little pink bow. After the penguin is a blue pattern.

West Side Story(1961) Price: $10.00, but they were on sale Rated: Not Rated for $5.00 ****= 4 out of 5 star Length: Allegedly knee high, but they West Side Story is a typical love story plot similar to Romeo and Juliet. Taking place in New York City in only went halfway up my calf. Did I accidentally grab the 1950’s two gangs roam the streets: the Jets(Americans) and Sharks(Puerto Rican) fighting for the streets children’s 9-11 instead? while Tony(Jet) falls for Maria, the sister of Bernardo who is the leader of the Sharks. They must overcome Fuzziness: Only toes are fuzzy, and even those aren’t the boundaries of their social status to be together. Can their love survive? This movie is a musical so yes guys, as fuzzy as I would like there are a lot of moments where they break out into song and you will have to suffer 2 ½ hours of hearing, Slipperiness: These slid surprisingly well and ex“Maria,” sadly poorly sung. Even though this movie has action,violence,dancing and singing, and of course ceeded my expectations. My average was three feet love, you’ll be surprised what you might see...maybe even enjoy! So go dance and sing into West Side Story. five inches.

Comments: I just wish these were a little fuzzier.

Titanic(1997) They are absolutely adorable, and I love being able Rated: PG-13 to look down at my feet and see penguins. *****= 5 out of 5 Grade: B+ Description: Crazy zebra striped Based on true event, the Titanic came out as number 2 on the top 25 list(right behind Casablanca). With unanklet socks colored purple and told love story about a rich wealthy woman named Rose on her way to America to get married to a rich man green. The other pair has the same she does not truly love. When Titanic takes an unexpected turn and she meets a poor, free-spirited, full-of-life shades, but a different pattern. man name Jack who changes the way she sees life from pointless and unhappy to happy, free, and true love.

The main part is purple, with This movie is an all-time classic favorite from the digital work on the ship to Jack( Leonardo DiCaprio looking green at the toes and heel.

FINE!) hand tugging the steamy window of the car. This movie maybe long but it’s all worth it. This movie is Price: $6.00 for two pairs known as a classic and will stay as a classic. Perfect romantic movie of all time.

Length: Anklet Fuzziness: As fuzzy as the Target socks, but not as The Notebook(2004) warm Rated: PG-13 Slipperiness: These socks slid the most. My average ****= 4 out of 5 stars was three feet nine inches. I almost slid into my This movie is pretty recent and ranked number 24 on the top 25 list, but is probably the most common fridge, but it was worth it. and a classic to our generation. The Notebook is about a well brought up, rich girl name Allie who falls over Comments: These are a little light for the winter, but a lower, working class boy name Noah one summer. It takes you on a journey through their life with the obstacles they face as they grow up, strength they gain, happiness, and true love. With this love story, we have I imagine they would be perfect for late autumn or all probably heard of it, but now it’s time to watch it for yourself.Your heart will feel the beat of true love and early spring.

Grade: AP.S have a box of tissues with you, there is a high chance you will use them.

Photos by Aileen Norris

Top 10 Shortest Celeb Marriages

By Cat Rebelskey

“To love and to cherish till death do us part.” That line is usually said in the ceremony of marriages and if it was honestly true then most celebrities would be dead. Celebrities’ marriages are the shortest marriages we see daily in our lives from Kim Kardashian’s 72 day marriage with Kris Humphrie’s in 2011. Even though we can’t forget Britney Spears 5 HOUR marriage to childhood sweetheart Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in 2004. I have seen Wallstreet protesters last longer then most celebrity marriages. It’s all over the gossip tabloids: “So and So are getting divorced(already).” It feels like the magazines are in repeat mode and no one wants to stop repeating. When I pick up a People, Star, Us or any magazine it feels like I am picking up high school drama paper but for celebrities.

As high school students we read and hear celebrity gossip all the time and people say they look up to these people.

Why?!

The difference between them and us is their personal lives are in writing. We just hear about other people’s drama through the halls. So we look up to them for the glam,success, and perfect bodies they have, but who says we don’t look up to them for their love lives too? Are they influencing how we want our future relationships to be? Do we all want to rush into a marriage to end up in a public divorce? Personally having my parents never getting married but ending in a nasty split, I don’t even look at them for what love should look like. I look up to my friends’ parents or older adults I know who has been married for over 10 years or so and still show they love each other with the little things they do for each other. From date night once a month or even taking out the trash, anything and everything counts with married. That is type of people we should look up to with what true love and happy marriage looks like. So who should the young look up to? The people we read about in magazines and honestly don’t know anything about besides what we read or watch on reality T.V(99.9% not always true information) or real people in our lives we do know and are living proof a long, healthy relationship is possible? Realistically that is your own choice, but look at the facts.Do you really want to end up like Katy Perry and Russel Brand who after only(literally) one year of marriage to a couple who have been married for over 50 years? Not saying relationships are easy(not in the least bit) but with a true partner that you love, challenges in life will be easier to face and overcome together no matter what.

In other words celebrities should either 1. take their time getting married 2. make marriage illegal to celebrities or 3. when celebrities get married they should not be a Prenuptial agreement between them(that will stop marriages fast in the land of the rich and famous).

10. Jennifer Lopez&Chris Judd 8 months 9. Chad Michael Murray&Sophia Bush 5 months 8. Pamela Anderson&Kid Rock 4 months 7. Renee Zellweger&Kenny Chesney 4 months 6. Lisa Marie Presley&Nicholas Cage 3 months 5. Nicky Hilton&Todd Meister 3 months 4. Kim Kardashian&Kris Humphries 72 days 3. Mario Lopez&Ali Landry 18 days 2. Eddie Murphy&Tracey Edmonds 2 weeks 1. Britney Spears&Jason Alexander 55 hours

Photo taken by Alieen Norris

Photo by Flickr

By Alieen Norris

More info on SOPA

Wikipedia is not the only thing that would be affected by SOPA and PIPA. There are quite a few other websites that could be harmed by these bills. So what else might be censored in the name of copyright?

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation(EFF), Flickr might be shut down if SOPA passes. Etsy, a website that sells specifically homemade or vintage items as well as arts and crafts, is also predicted to be shut down by EFF. Another website EFF has warned about is Vimeo, a website similar to Flickr, except videos are shared instead of photos.

If you live in the Johnson County area, David Loebsack is your representative to call in protest to SOPA.You can contact him at 202-225-6576 or you can call his Iowa City office at 319-351-0789. If you don’t want to call, you can email him by going https://loebsackforms.house.gov/ and clicking on the “Email Dave” under the Contact Me tab.

There’s going to be a big gap in my family for 24 hours. I’m pretty confident that I will somehow survive without tearing up, but my father is going to spiral into a deep depression during Wednesday, January 18. I don’t know how he’s going to make it to Thursday. Why? Wikipedia is turning off. For the entire day.

According to their website, they’re protesting two bills; SOPA(Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA(Protect Individual Property Act), that are trying to stop copyright infringement on the web. Isn’t not having copyright infringement good, though? Well, the Wikipedia staff believes that these bills would infringe on free expression on the Internet. Thus the blackout and protest.

If SOPA and PIPA are passed, Wikipedia is going to be in serious danger. Wikipedia will be required to monitor all of the websites it links to. Have you seen how many websites there are linking on just one Wikipedia page? That’s a lot of websites to monitor. If they’re linked to a website with “infringing content”, they could be forced offline. Indefinitely. My dad will most likely need to see a therapist.

So what are we supposed to do about these two new bills? Wikipedia is encouraging people from around the United States to either email or call in to their legislators and ask that these bills will not be passed.

I personally don’t use Wikipedia for homework too often, but if I’m learning about a broad topic I like to get a general understanding of it from Wikipedia. Sure, maybe someone edited in “purple llamas have gone extinct in Africa, and are on the endangered list in Poland,” but even if all the information isn’t exactly correct, usually it helps explain the concept in a concise way so I can figure out how I want to tackle all the information. Wikipedia also has fact checkers that go through pages and make sure false things like “Justin Bieber has a Hipogriff,” simply disappear. I like the Justin Bieber Hipogriff going bye-bye, but all of Wikipedia? No way!

How important is Wikipedia to you? I know that most teachers encourage students not to use it for research, but what about normal, everyday searches? I know my dad uses Wikipedia at least twenty times a day whenever he becomes curious about anything. My dad is a very curious cat. What would he do if Wikipedia was gone, possibly forever? What would happen to you?

Photo taken by Cat Rebelskey

Page Design by Tong Yu

Awkward Stares

By Alyssa McKeone

So, I’ve got to admit driving a red bug around town can be quite the adventure. I mean, it’s not like it’s a terrible car or anything.

It’s great except for those winter days when less than an inch of snow on the ground makes it go out of control and lights start flashing making it an adventure to drive. It’s a lot of fun though.

My red bug seems to be getting a lot of stares lately that seem to last a dangerously long amount of time. These looks are so startling that you’d think I was driving a flying car or a go-kart through town. How terrible would it be if the cause of an accident would be because someone was staring at my car an excessively long time? What does a police officer even write as the cause of accident in a police report: excessive car staring?

One day, I was simply starting on my usual path home from the mall. I’m at a four way intersection waiting at a red light. There’s this older man with an older truck that’s just beginning to show it’s age with rusting paint. He’s turning since his light has turned green, while I’m still waiting at my red light. I seem to be very observant while driving and this stare seemed one of the more awkward looks I’ve caught while driving my bug.

This man completes an amazing feat. He’s turning the slowest turn I think a truck the age of his can make. All the while, he’s staring at either me or my car. I like to think it was my car. If he was looking at me I think I’d become 100 more times self conscious. So for the sake of my self consciousness lets say he was looking at my car.

This man’s look was different than the usual looks I get on a daily basis. It wasn’t the little kids in my neighborhood yelling “slug bug” as I drove up the hill to my house. It wasn’t my family asking anxiously if they could have a ride in my car because they’d never been in a bug before. This guy had no excitement or happiness in his face like the usual reactions previously mentioned.

I don’t know what that guy’s problem or problems that day were.

Maybe the weather wasn’t how he liked it. Maybe his aging truck wouldn’t start for two hours that morning when usually it started after an hour. On the bright side maybe he was one of the few rare people who’s never seen a bug before.

Whatever this stare meant, I hope the rest of his day went well.

And thanks to the inventors of the bug. The “slug bugs” and stares are worth the humor despite some stares lasting for awkwardly long times.

Photo used with permission from US National Archive

Germ Buster

By Tong Yu

For some unfortunate reasons, I have been the repeated victim of anonymous head patting in the hallways. Now, I understand that patting is a common gesture often directed at those adorable little puppies who will surely die if they are not constantly smothered with affections. But I do not resemble a puppy in any shape or form.

Not only is the gesture disrespectful, it’s down right disgusting. Hands touch everything. They touch the desks, the pencil leads, the toilet paper, the flusher, the doorknob, and the places we don’t want to know. Then they end up touching my hair.

Just thinking about it sends an army of goose pimples down my arms.

Don’t get me wrong here. Contrary to my appearance as a nerdy, organized freak, I am not quite as pure as others may suspect. My room looks like a tornado ran through it, then happily came back to run over the spots it missed. I love the shrewd, vulgar humor that is the charm of MadTV spoofs. I sincerely believe Eminem is a genius. But the thought of hundreds of bacteria relaxing on the palms of my hands does not exactly bring a smile to my face.

Coming from a generally health conscious family, I make an effort to wash my hands before and after stuffing my face with whatever heavenly goodness that happens to be bestowed upon me.

But I’ve noticed that during lunch at school, that simple habit is lost. Students seem to devour their greasy pizza with their unwashed hands and then proceed to use their greasy hands to give a greasy high five to their bros.

I may be wrong here. I don’t have the perspective of a third-person omniscient. Maybe some people still wash their hands. Maybe some people are just born with hands that don’t need to be washed. And since I basically live under a rock, I don’t even know if high fives are still the cool thing to do.

But it doesn’t hurt to wash your hands once in a while. A trip to the bathroom usually takes less than three minutes, unless you’re the type of people who like to endlessly fix those already perfect strands of hair in front of the mirror. For those people who cannot bare to waste a couple minutes of their ticking lifeline, there’s always the handy dandy Germ-X that comes in millions of different scents. In fact, I’ve noticed that there’s an automatic hand sanitizer dispenser sitting in the corner of the cafeteria near the entrance. Swarms of people pass by it everyday, but not many seem to acknowledge its presence. That lonely little creature could surely use the affection of some hygiene loving human with greasy palms. If worse comes to worse, try eating your greasy pizza with forks and knives.

It may be awkward, but it’s a whole lot better than using those same hands that accidental touched some unwanted gum, still disgustingly warm, hiding under that germ infested table.

So go pat your dog and wash your hands. Thanks.

10 Dirtiest Things You Touch Everyday Source: www.ranker.com

1.Money 2.Lightswitch 3.Computer Keyboard 4.Cellphone 5. Toilet Seat

6. Shopping Cart 7. Remote control 8. Bathtub 9.Kitchen Sink 10. Kitchen Sponge

Crêpe De Luxe Café

Page design by Alyssa McKeone

Alyssa McKeone alyssamckeone@gmail.com

namon sauce. The crepe was the perfect consistency. It was a pale yellow color, thin and smooth.

The le matin was just as flavorful as the crepe de chef. The le matin definitely lived up to it’s description of being a savory crepe filled with turkey bacon, egg, spinach, and cheddar cheese. The crepe had the average blend of typical breakfast food but was also mixed in aoli sauce. Aioli sauce is garlic mayonnaise and made the crepe tangy and unique. It was then covered in a pesto sauce.

Overall, the restaurant deserves a five out five star rating. The crepes were irresistible. They were delicious and filling. Most of the crepes are reasonably priced at $5.25 to $6.95. Some crepes are priced higher though. Crepes can also be served with ice cream for an additional $.50.

So, next time you’re looking for a unique, new, and delicious meal go to Crêpes De Luxe Café on 309 E. College Street in downtown Iowa City.You won’t regret it.

-Located at 309 E. College St. -Hours: Monday 10:30 am-2pm, Tuesday-Staurday 11am-9 pm, and 8-5 Sunday -Offers sweet and savory crepes -Been open for 2 years -Has Moroccan crafts available for purchase -Offers unique crepes that include nutella, strawberries, bananas, cocoCrépe de Chef nut, and walnuts

Suburgatory Tong Yu tongtong001@gmail.com Teenage sexuality is nothing out of the ordinary.

But when a single father finds a box of condoms (unopened, thankfully) in his beloved teenage daughter’s drawer, some things are bound to change for the worse. In Suburgatory, Fifteen year old Tessa Altman (Jane Levy) is dragged away from her niche in New York City by her father, George (Jeremy Sisto), to live in the suburb. Although some people may call the suburb the epitome of charming, it’s an itchy place not too far from Hell for Tessa.

From the perfectly mowed lawns to the busty housewives with brains the size of Godiva white chocolate truffles and wallets the size of super massive black holes, the suburb is shown as a cookie cutter neighborhood populated by well pampered idiots.

It’s cliched. But these cliches are hilarious.

For example, Dalia Royce (Carly Chaikin) is the stereotypical rich girl with her phone super glued to her

fingertips. She can’t blink because she’s got too much mascara on her lashes. She can’t pass the driver’s license test without being critically injured. She’s an air head. The extent of the stupidity of the characters and their inability to recognize their self-absorbed, materialistic lives is unrealistic, but nevertheless entertaining.

However, the show has started to repeat some of its humor. For example, nudity is an unnecessary but constantly reoccurring motif. George takes a shower in his friend’s newly renovated bathroom and is discovered by his shocked housekeeper. Tessa’s friend Lisa strips naked and runs through the street in an explosive demonstration of defiance to her mother’s awful Thanksgiving custom of dressing up in unflattering pilgrim costumes. George has a fight with his friend Noah and several others in a sauna, where most of the men’s towels fall down and more than

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia

Fast Facts:

wasn’t my indecisiveness but rather the descriptions of each type of crepe that drew me in to all of them. The smell of crepes being made immediately took over my senses and I placed my order.

I watched as the crepes were made. Batter flowed from a ladle in a thin stream towards the griddle. After the crepe was cooked, the filling and sauce was added. Delicately, the edges of the crepe were folded in towards the center creating a square shape. The crepe was then drizzled in a sauce and placed on a bold red, square plate before making its way to an anxious customer.

I ordered the crepe de chef and the le matin. The crepe de chef is featured as a sweet crepe and is filled with cooked apples, blueberries, and cinnamon. The crepe is drizzled in a sweet, dark purple blueberry sauce. The drizzled sauce made it look like a delicate piece of artwork not meant to be eaten, but I couldn’t resist. The filling was very delicious but would’ve been even better with more fruit. Mixed in with the fruit was a creamy, cin-

Photo courtesy of Jim McKeone

Walking into the dimly lit Crêpes De Luxe Café I was welcomed by the bold, squash colored walls. I pondered at the menu written in neon colored chalk on black boards featuring two different categories of crepes to choose from: sweet and savory. Sweet crepes feature fruits such as strawberries, blueberries and bananas . Savory crepes include ingredients such as turkey, ham, eggs, and cheese.

Crêpes De Luxe Café began with a dream. Hicham Chehouani, the owner, had always had always wanted to open a restuarant. Chehouani was born in Rabat, Morocco. In 2000, Chehouani came to the United States. His dream came to life when he opened Crêpes De Luxe Café in 2009.

Even though Cheouhani lives in the United State now, his heritage is still apparent in his restaurant. Various Moroccan crafts are placed through out the restaurant and are available for purchase.

My indecisive personality soon started to set in as I pondered which crepes to get. Maybe it

enough skin is bared. It was funny at first. Then the excessive nudity got a little desperate and stale.

After the first couple episodes, I feared that the show would go downhill since it seemed like in each episode, the residents of the suburb got stupid and stupider. But recent episodes have hinted the more human side of them, such as dealing with a spousal infidelity. The actors are great. For being a twenty something actress, Jane Levy pulls off as a sharp tongued teenager pretty impressively. She’s got that classic “ohmygodareyoukiddingme?” look mastered.

Also, the cast of the show is kept fresh with a new talent, Scott (Thomas McDonell), who is both Dalia AND Tessa’s love interest. He’s got a bit of that Johnny Depp look going on (not surprisingly, he IS portraying a young Depp in a new Tim Burton film).

The show definitely has potential.Whatever happens in 2012, Suburgatory will not disappoint.

I’m literally falling for you.

BY CHANDLER MYERS

chandlermadison03@gmail.com You arrive at school ten minutes later then you would have liked. Your hair is a frizzled jungle, and your shirt is inside out creating a ‘bad morningesque’ look.You run to your locker and scramble to remember what you need for your first period. In a hurry, you scurry down the steps at top speed, only to fly down them, tumbling like dominoes through the many people pointing and laughing. You think to yourself, can this day get any worse?

You get up disheveled, bruised, and tired, to only end up staring your crush in the face...

When you asked if the day could get any worse, it was a rhetorical question, not a challenge.

Now, I understand that this may be the time you are repeating many words under your breath like ‘WHY’ or ‘REALLY’, but relax, take it easy, and realize, you could have your crush eating out of the palm of your hands . To play it off cool, here are some of the tips and strategies I use to make an awkward moment in front of your crush a tad less embarrassing (I said these are tips I use. Warning: use at your own expense): 1. Pretend to hurt yourself. Nothing is more adorable than meeting over your twisted ankle. Act like you are sad, because chances are they’ll help you up or ask if you are okay. If they don’t, well... luckily you stopped while you were ahead.

2. Get up, and maybe crack a joke.

Like possibly, ‘Whoops, when did those stairs get there,’ if they laugh and no one else does, they’re a real keeper.

3. How about a pun? If you trip down the stairs, jokingly say something like ‘I’m falling for you.’ It’s witty, and sure to grab their attention.

All you have to imagine is:When they take your hand in theirs, and help you up, they will be quite obviously and automatically charmed by your adorable and clumsy self and you two will waltz

off as the newest couple who are so madly in love (thanks for setting unrealistic expectations romantic comedies).

I know what you are thinking, how brilliant am I? Or another option is, well what if there are other scenarios that have nothing to do with stairs?

Here are some other tips as well: 1. Don’t make it awkward, because if you stare at them and say nothing, I’d make an assumption that you are always going to be too afraid to talk to them.

2. If you spill something cold or really hot, just make a joke out of it! Say something like, “Apparently my (drink) likes my outfit too,” or “It’s a new trend.” As long as you make it funny, it won’t be very awkard.

Overall, just be yourself. With these tips and wishful thinking, you’ll get your special someone right away!

“OMG! NO WAY!!”

Embarrassing Moments with your Crush...

Cat Rebeleskey ‘12 “I was a Sophomore

in the musical, Grease, and randomly a song popped into my head and i decided to sing out loud and “break it down”. It turned out the whole time, a hot senior guy was watching me. Luckily, later he came up to me joking about it, asking where i learned those moves from, haha!”

Payton Knight ‘13 “One day i was walking with my friend Ashley Blair ‘13, and out of nowhere in the middle of our conversation i yell out “I HAVE NEEDS!” Ashley replied with my crushes name, and i said yes really loud. Turned out my crush had been right behind us, and heard the whole thing. Later i had a claas with him, and he wouldn’t look at me!”

Alyssa Hancock ‘14 “Last year in P.E., there was a really cute senior in my class.

He hit me right in the face with a ball.

Hey, he felt bad so at least i got a hug out of it.” ;) Frannie Rizzo ‘15 “I was standing by the door waiting to get out of class, and i was swinging my arms, and slapped this guy right in his thigh/crotch area. So embarrasing!”

You’re a Barbie GIRL...

BY KAITLYN MCCURDY

kaitlynemccurdy@gmail.com Maybe it’s just me, but I like to think I have my parents undying love and support. They love me for me (cheesy, yes, but true) and taught me to love myself.

So, you can imagine my shock when I hear a 7-year-old girl from the UK received vouchers from her mother for future plastic surgery procedures.

Okay, granted, this child’s mother is known for her plastic surgery, but still. It’s even worse that these vouchers were both Christmas and birthday presents.

In South Dakota, a mother allowed her 7-year-old to go under the knife to pin back her ears, claiming the procedure was meant to prevent bullying. So what happens when this girl is bullied for her weight? Breast size? Lips? Nose?

Eyes? Is this girl going to have countless plastic surgery procedures to “prevent bullying?” Ridiculous.

Trust me, I know what it’s like to hate something about yourself, but going under the knife just seems so hasty to me. It’s such a serious decision, and so many things can go wrong, it just doesn’t seem worth it. Seriously. The image of Heidi Montag after plastic surgery has forever frightened me from even thinking about it. Gross. And when you don’t like the results, what do you do? Go back under the knife to fix it? Um, no thanks. I don’t like sharp objects.

Plastic Surgery Research found that, in 2010, about nine million cosmetic surgeries were performed. Nine million. That’s nine million girls (maybe even some boys) that hated something about themselves so much they thought completely altering it was a good idea.

And now parents are endorsing it, for whatever reasons they may have?

That says so much about today’s society.

Granted, some of those surgeries may have been reconstructive surgery that was vital to the patient. I’m still going to bet that a hefty majority of the pro-

cedures were purely to alter a hated flaw.

Don’t get me wrong. If you’re of age and would like to spend money on plastic surgeries, by all means, go for it.

What I can’t stand is other people putting the idea of surgery in other people’s heads, allowing it to fester in their brains until they think it’s the best thing to do. If a girl does decide something like plastic surgery is what she wants, I would like to know she came to that conclusion herself.

I want girls to be able to look up to women like Barbra Streisand and Lea Michele, who refused to get nose jobs despite peer pressure. I want girls to be able to walk down the halls at school without feeling like they’re being criticized. I want girls to look in the mirror and look past their flaws and see everything good about them. Most importantly, I want girls to be able to turn to their parents when they feel terrible about themselves and find comfort and support, not “Oh, you hate so and so about yourself? Let’s change it!”

Now, I know that’ll never happen.

Society places too much emphasis on looks for that to ever even be a possibility, which is ridiculous, considering that everyone has flaws. I may run around screaming about how perfect Darren Criss is, but really, I know he’s not. I’m fully aware of that. No one is perfect, no one will ever be perfect.

Even attempting to reach perfection is a huge disappointment waiting to happen.

I mean, really, when did the parental role change from main support system to implying that beauty, looks, perfection is everything? Ridiculous. Girls have so much more going for them.

Brains, sports, photography, writing, ANYTHING. Looks aren’t everything, they never were everything, and they’ll never be everything.

I want parents to take a step back and realize how their actions, no matter how well-meaning they are meant to be, could be detrimental to their child.

Helping a child view themselves in a positive light could prevent a girl from choosing something that could shape the rest of her life. So, parents, take the time to really look at the societal pressures surrounding your child’s looks and decide if you want to contribute to that. It may end up being the best decision you ever made.

The Poison Apple

BY CHANDLER MYERS

What if your favorite childhood fairy tales came to life? What if they became people in a town, who are trapped there by the evil queen? What if a storyline traveled through the characters, and created an adventurous television show? Well, your ‘what if’s’ have been put to rest since the new show, Once Upon a Time, hit the scene on ABC Sundays 8/7c.

The story starts off meeting Emma Swan (Jennifer Morrison),

a bail bondsperson who has taken care of herself ever since she was abandoned as a child. Her life is normal until her son, Henry (Jared Gilmore), who she gave up for adoption ten years ago, arrives at her door step needing her help. The story is deepened when Henry explains that Emma is the long lost daughter of Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). (Yes, the Snow White and Prince Charming most of you have grown up with in picture books and Disney movies.) Henry thinks everyone in Storybrooke, Maryland is trapped in that town by the evil queen and cursed to stay there. Think it sounds interesting or strange?

Well, what if the crazy story Henry has been telling isn’t so far off from the truth?

Honestly, it was refreshing to see a new show that isn’t about lawyers, forensics, cops, or judt a plain storyline. It has cool plot twists, and a fantastic pilot that makes sure the audience isn’t

confused and bored trying to catch up with all the characters’ lives in Storybrooke inside the Fairy Tale world.You’re immediately drawn into this feeling of compassion for the wicked queen who hates everyone for some reason (will find out more as the show goes on) by Snow White and vengeance is her only path.

Then you go to a town where the cursed live and time has stopped.

You slowly understand with flashbacks in time why the queen did what she thought was her only path accordingly, a curse that has unknown origins at this time.

Once Upon a Time is a thrilling fable that relates to real life as well as fantasies, creating a bond from the audience to the actors.

The actors are realistic and believable, and the storyline is strong and consistent. Overall, this show is a must-see.

Once Upon a Time: Fast Facts

Channel: ABC When: Sundays Time: 8/7c Genre: Fantasy/Drama Cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison,

Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Jared S. Gilmore, Raphael Sbarge, Jamie Dornan, Robert Carlyle Running Time: 45 minutes How Many Seasons?: 1 Current Episode Count: 11 Total Episodes in Season 1: 22 Content: Mild profanity Characters you would know: Snow White, Evil Queen, Cinderella, Jiminy Cricket, Mirror Mirror on the wall, Rumplestiltskin, Red Riding Hood, and Prince Charming

The One That (Surprisingly) Got Away

BY KAITLYN MCCURDY

With the awards season fully underway after the airing of the Golden Globes, publications are reminiscing on 2011’s greatest hits and misses in the film department. On the animated front, you have features such as The Adventures of Tintin and Hugo being praised over and over again for their amazing cinematography, box office numbers, and nominations.

One film you definitely won’t hear about is Winnie the Pooh, the 2011 reboot of the Disney classic, which did not do as well at the box office as you’d expect and landed no nominations.

The film starts with Pooh looking up and down for a jar of honey (shocking, right?) to fill his rumbling tummy. This quest leads Pooh to his dear friend Eeyore’s house (can it be called a house?), who is even more depressed than usual after misplacing his tail. As Pooh searches for a replacement tail, he stumbles across a note on Christopher Robin’s door. Owl, the best reader of the bunch,

informs Pooh and company that Christopher has been taken by a terrible, foul-smelling monster, a Backson, and it’s up to them to find him.

The most interesting aspect of Winnie the Pooh derives from its usage of text throughout Pooh’s adventures. Characters find themselves running across paragraphs, hanging off of periods, and using words as ladders. All of the text refers to the narrator’s lines, making some scenes read like a book. It’s a humorous cinematographic touch that is also used in 2000’s The Tigger Movie.

However, the greatest thing the film does is resort to the traditional animation style. Winnie the Pooh uses simple, hand-drawn animation that is definitely a relief amongst the swarm of generally unnecessary 3D effects most films use in bulk. Disney is back to its roots with this film and my eyes couldn’t be happier.

Winnie the Pooh is hands down the most adorable movie to be released in 2011. With its silly

jokes, spelling that makes you cringe, and ridiculous songs you can’t help but love, it’s a film perfect for all ages, and those familiar with Winnie the Pooh may even feel nostalgic for the good old days.

So, with all the strengths surrounding this movie, why did it receive no nominations? Why didn’t it do so well at the box office?

Maybe it’s the fact that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was released the same day as Winnie the Pooh that generated a small box office profit for Disney, or maybe it’s the fact that people today need ridiculously bright colors and imaginary beads of water flinging out of the screen to fully enjoy a movie. Either way, Winnie the Pooh is undoubtedly one of 2011’s (sadly) unrecognized movies that deserves a lot more than it’s getting. Putting Pooh and company back on the big screen was one of the smartest decisions Disney’s made in a long while, considering this is

also the company that thought Mars Needs Moms would be a good investment.

Also, stick around for the postcredits scene. It seems like Disney might be planning another adventure for the inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Woods, but maybe that’s just my wishful thinking.

MORE 2011 UNDERPERFORMERS 1. The Beaver Budget: $21 million Box office: $6 million 2. Scream 4 Budget: $40 million Box office: $97 million (compared to Scream’s $173 million, Scream 2’s $172 million, and Scream 3’s $161 million) 3. Green Lantern Budget: $200 million Box office: $176 million 4. Glee 3D: The Concert Movie Budget: $9 million Box office: $8 million

Whats your opinion on offensive jokes?

“Offensive jokes are funny to a point. It might be overboard but I think everyone always has offensive jokes up their sleeve.”

-Chandler Myers ‘15 “Some jokes Im okay with if they are not from biggots and I know the person doesnt mean what they say. But other jokes, for instance holocaust jokes, are not funny at all.”

-Stephon Berry ‘14

That’s Offensive.

Sure, things like S**t Girls Say videos and Ricky Gervais at awards shows are funny. And yes, they make great inside jokes. But when does it cross the line?

This is a subject that causes a lot of debate and controversy. People disagree on what makes something offensive, even when it is, admittedly, hilarious. Racist jokes, or jokes simply involving race, are often at the center of these discussions.

Personally, I am pretty easily offended. Not really offended, just fake offended. Sexist jokes, racist jokes, you name it, I often am ‘upset’ by them. If they are actually funny, I am less likely to be really angry. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t approve of these jokes.

If it’s offensive to anyone, it’s probably not okay. I do make exceptions if the joke is obviously sarcastic or about yourself. I occasionally make jokes about how I talk-- you know, the OMG-LOL-Totes! type of thing.

Kind of a valley-girl way of speaking. I have to admit, I speak it. My friends speak it occasionally. Sometimes it’s actually serious, sometimes it’s ironic. My point is, sometimes jokes that could offend someone are okay, often they’re not.

And this brings me to what I actually wanted to write

By Audrey Hopewell

this column about--the S**t _____ Say videos.

Maybe you’ve seen them- there’s a video for girls, vegans, drunk guys, single girls, ballerinas etc. Those are only a few of the videos- only the really funny, not so offensive ones. Others, like S**t White Girls Say to Black Girls or S**t Baby Mamas Say, are borderline racist, and not quite as funny. But still. Some of the stuff rings true. Some of them “offend” me, others actually are offensive, but sometimes, I am simply laughing too hard to be politically correct.

S**t Girls Say is the original video (there are three), and the funniest.

Some may think it’s offensive, but I find it hilarious. I recognize some of myself in the young woman played by a man in a horrible blonde wig. She says familiar phrases like “I’m not even kidding” and “Can you look something up for me?” that, I must admit, I am guilty of using every once in a while. Fine, more often than that. More like several times a day.

Still, I have been told that one of the best attributes to have is the ability to laugh at yourself. I’m glad I have that ability. Otherwise, I would have missed out on these awesome videos that have helped me realize that, often, it’s better not to take yourself too seriously. I’m not even kidding. Seriously.

He’s Probably in Love With Me Assumptions girls make about guys

By Frannie Rizzo

The other week as I walked down the hall, I heard a girl talking with her group of friends. They were gossiping when all of a sudden the girl said (not too subtly, as you can assume) “In the hallway this morning he looked into my eyes for like TWO SECONDS and I SWEAR there was something there!” This was followed by lots of squealing and giggling because obviously the fact that her man candy held eye contact with her, he wanted to date her!

Unfortunately, this brings up a sad truth. Just because a guy looks you in the eyes, doesn’t mean he likes you (now that’s a concept!). Ever thought about the fact that maybe your crush was thinking about his basketball game tonight? Or, god forbid, the girl he actually likes (which happens, in this case, to not be you)? Cue the dramatic music because I am, unfortunately, going to address common misconceptions girls make about guys.

Misconception #1: If he is talking to another girl, she must be stealing your “special guy friend.”

This situation is a real blow to the self esteem.You’re walking down the hall thinking about how you just got a D on your math test and wondering if your life could get any worse when BAM you see your crush.You smile to yourself thinking about how great he is when your eyes shift to the side and recognize another girl talking to him. Now is not the time to think of all the reasons this girl is stupid and easy and other reasons why you should stage an intervention. Sure, there are chances that your crush likes this girl he’s talking to, but isn’t it equally as likely that he’s just making small talk with her because they’re friends? So the next time something of this nature happens, I have five words for you: Keep calm and carry on.

Misconception #2: He asked you what the homework was. He obviously wants personal, meaningful and deep conversations.

You’re twiddling your thumbs in chemistry thinking about how some girl called your best friend fat when all of a sudden you feel a tap on your shoulder. “Hey, what’s the homework for English?” Noooooo this did not just happen! Your crush

asked you for the homework assignment (cue gasping and swooning). Now let’s stop and think logically about this situation. Your “boy toy” probably DID forget the homework. Don’t read to much into what a guy wants because in all reality, he probably has no ulterior motives. If this guy does use the “what’s the homework?” ploy to talk to you, you definitely don’t want to be getting into deep conversations just yet.

Photo courtesy of

Misconception #3: He touched your arm/brushed into you in the hallway.

He wants you.

You’re walking down the hall when all of a sudden there’s a slight tickling sensation on your arm.You turn your head to see what brushed your arm and its your crush (now is the point where you theorize that the tickling sensation you felt on your arm was actually sparks flying.). OMG (yes, you’re quite possibly so excited about this new development that you start talking to yourself in web acronyms). Take a deep breath. The hallway is crowded and there is a distinct possibility that he was jostled into your arm (No, seriously. This is a real possibility.

Shocker!). Yes, he might have intentionally brushed into you but please, don’t scream to your friends about the “deeper meaning” in the fact that he brushed into your ulna at approximately 10:58 a.m.

So this harsh reality doesn’t mean you’re forever alone or that you will be spending the rest of your life as a crazy old cat lady, but that every girl needs a little bit of common sense when it comes to interactions with the opposite sex.

Best and Worst of 2011: Artists

Page design by Audrey Hopewell

by Frannie Rizzo

Best:

It’s safe to say Adele gets my award for Best Artist. With the release of her second studio album simply titled 21, in January of 2011, the magnitude of her success has increased greatly.

The album sold more than three million copies and included her hit singles “Someone Like You” , “Set Fire to the Rain” and “Rolling in the Deep”.

Adele’s simple classic all black dress gives her the features of a porcelain doll and her look defies societies ideal looking pop star. But those in the audience of her concerts could care less about her outfit--they’re busy swooning over the soon to come effortlessness of Adele’s voice melodically swooping from note to note. Adele’s music isn’t the only thing that earns her the best artist of 2011. Her ability to bring a bare, yet meaningful simplicity to the music scene’s gaudy and raunchy reputation is what really makes Adele. In other words, her unique style is the sliver of light in the music industry showing that the classic acoustic artists still have a place in the pop culture scene.

Worst:

the term “hit” doesn’t exactly apply to her since, well, lets face it: Friday was most definitely NOT a hit. Unless that of course it is in reference to the amount of times you hit your head on the keyboard after listening to her auto tuned voice sing the same three notes over and over.

For those of you who have seen the music video for Friday, it is apparent that this girl lacks talent and probably just has a nice mom with a big wallet. Frankly, the extensive amount of parodies available on YouTube explain exactly how almost everyone feels about her.

Her second single, My Moment, came out in summer of 2011 and is a message to her “haters.” Her vocals are as heavily auto tuned as they were in Friday, and it sounds like it belongs on radio Disney. Unfortunately for Black, Friday who some argue is “so bad its good” My Moment lacks the same luster.

Rebecca Black. Need I say more? When her first, I dare to say, “hit” single, was released, the video went viral. Although

Yotopia=Yogurt Utopia?

by Audrey Hopewell

Can anything ever measure up to ice cream? Frozen yogurt can. And even if it doesn’t boast the same texture that makes ice cream so good, fro-yo, as some call it, can be a great alternative, especially if your New Years resolution is to eat healthier.

Frannie Rizzo ’15Yotopia can help you reach that goal! Located in downtown Iowa City on the Ped Mall, the selfserve shop offers a variety of flavors. Choose one (or more!), add toppings and sauces, weigh, “Chocolate with chocoand pay (a reasonable $0.39/oz.). The best part, however, is eating it. I tried Pomegranate Rasp- late sauce, chocolate berry yogurt with strawberries and blackberries as toppings. The yogurt was smooth, creamy, and chips, and chocolate tasted like real fruit. The blackberries were delicious, but the strawberries were, disappointingly, sprinkles. I go for the still slightly frozen. classics.”

I also tried Espresso yogurt with Heath bar crumbles, cocoa powder, and a bit of Nutella. I’m Lily Reitz ’15- “Red vela sucker for all things coffee flavored, and this delivered. It was flavorful and tasted authentic, not too bitter or sweet. The toppings tasted typical, like you’d expect them to. (Hopefully you know vet cake. It’s so good!” what Nutella tastes like. If not, try it. You are missing out on a sensation.)

Both of the flavors I tried are great options, but don’t limit yourself. Yotopia offers a selection of unique seasonal flavors.

Currently, they offer the standard chocolate and vanilla, various fruit flavored choices, and more creative flavors (candy cane, red velvet cake, and even Creamsicle, which is orange and vanillla). Top it with fruit, candy bar crumbles, chocolate chips, nuts, and more. And make sure to check out the unique sauces and syrups (agave, anyone?).

Of course, the flavor selection is important, but so is the atmosphere. Yotopia has a minimal lime green, orange, and white color scheme. The light fixtures and ample seating have a bit of a 60’s mod feel. While those white plastic chairs and the wood window seat might look cool, they’re not very comfy. Also, the walls are a bit bare. Music plays at a level suitable for converstion, so this is a great place to chat while enjoying a delicious frozen treat.

YOUR Favorites

Quick Facts:

Photo courtesy of Lotus Head on Wikimedia Commons

What: Yotopia, a frozen yogurt shop Where: On the Ped Mall, across from the Old Capitol Mall Recommendations: Take advantage of free taste tests; get creative Grade: A-

PAGE DESIGN BY//STEPHON BERRY

Opinion columns: Lessons in Life

By Jessica Duling

By Stephon Berry

duling.jessica@gmail.com It was a Sunday afternoon, just after leaving my grandparents’ house on Christmas day. On the car ride home I overheard my parents whisper to each other “I’m so glad we’’re not like your parents” and I thought to myself “does everyone hope they don’t turn out like their parents?”. My own parents who’d told me that this wish was only teenage angst were now thinking the same thing that I’m sure everybody has thought to themselves, at one point or another.

What is it about the relationship with your parents that makes you strive to differ from them? Is it left over teenage resentment that carries on into adult hood, or is it just something that everybody does?

That moment in the car led me to think that not only do I want to not be my parents when I’m older but I also want to be better. I’m sure that some psychologist out there would tell me that this need is just a way of me trying to win their approval, but in my relationship I don’t think that approval is exactly the thing I’m wanting.

So I started to reflect on what exactly about my parents makes me want to be completely opposite. The first word that came to mind was crazy, but I don’t think that’s valid enough because come on, what teen doesn’t think their parents are crazy?

It’s not that I don’t love my parents, trust me I do, but I think it goes deeper than just wanting to not turn into them; however, I wish to differentiate myself from them as a whole. Besides isn’t that the whole point of being OPINION

IT’s always sunny in: Chicago

Stephon.berry15@gmail.com human, to claim some sort of diversity for yourself so that you can become an individual?

Hence, wanting to not turn out like your parents, is more of just wanting to be different than your parents which I’ve come to realise there is no point to because everybody in some shape or form is a little bit like their parents. Whether it is ridiculously strange humor like my Dad and I, or common habits and taste in music.

I

remember Jasmine, Willie, and Davarus. The summer of pyro’s. I remember finding it. A crow as black night, which was extremely weird, I remember every aspect as clearly as if I’m reliving the entire experience at this moment. It was the middle of a Chicago summer, 97 degrees out.There were 300 seagulls in the sky and the one bird that happened to be on the ground was this crow this jet black crow which in a sea of white could have only resembled a dark speck of dirt or oils on a seagulls wing.

It was weird to think about, why was this bird here it was the only one of it’s kind in site. As a child with a seriously over active imagination my first thought was that the crows and the seagulls had had a turf war over this area in which there were so many pieces of stale bread and other possible food sources to choose from. The seagulls had mounted a surprise attack, that had engaged the to sides in a tumultuous battle for hours; the crows only retreating after they were sure there was no other choice most wounded but one had died and been left to rot.

I never actually figured out what happened to that poor crow. There were the teen drivers who had, just moments before we arrived, sped by in a car with a gun aimed out the window. They were 1. Old photos: “ Members only jacket, and a Jerry shooting into the sky, a scene of pure jubilation, curl”-Dad but they weren’t really aiming in that general 2. Baby photos: “Why would you ever want anyone direction. There were also 7-12 year old’s, gallivanting around with there precision shooter BB to see your kid in the tub”-Kids guns. If you had asked me I would have told you 3. Fake curse words: “What the Bejesus “-Grandma they were a bit happy on the trigger, but there “Have you any idea how ridiculous you sound right was no more, or less to be said about that either.

The only moving targets they could hit were now”-Kids there size and up. There was also the less climactic possibility that it had just circled one of the 4. Real curse words: ”***** **** ***”-Mom streetlights, mistaking it for a star to navigate by, “ I can’t believe you just said that”-Kids and died of exhaustion.

I guess what happened to it doesn’t really matter 5. Old dance moves: “What are you doin?”-Kids as much to others as it does to me, so let’s get “Mowin the lawn”- Dad back to the real story. We had come across this “ This is cement”-Kids crow Jasmine, Willie, Davarus, and I. To leave it there to rot would have been a fate worse than 6. Capacity to remember and help with school death. An idea was forming in my demented eight work: “Well there’s your problem. That decimals year old head. Founded in something I thought floating in between two numbers”-Mom to be the equivalent of a 21 gun salute for a fallen 7. TV conversations: “ She should learn to listen to war hero who was a bird. No pun intended.

“We should burn him.” I said. me, maybe than she wouldn’t end up like this all the time”.

“Then There’d be no show, and shall I remind you, this is a show.”

7 reasons why families are lame

They just all shrugged and bobbed their heads in unison. Then we were all off to grab separate things that we knew we were responsible for supplying when starting a fire. I wrapped the crow up tight in tissue paper and sat him back down. William handed me a lighter. I looked down on the mummified cadaver of the crow, nestled in a patch of intermingled clovers and dandelion weeds.

Then I realized.

“If I sat it on fire here it’ll burn up this whole field.”

So instead we picked it up and moved it, placing it atop a pile of dirt, rocks. To make it especially special I implemented the knowledge I had learned the summer before when I was seven, and I made an addition of dried leaves to the pile. I picked him up, and wrapping one last roll around him I lay him back atop his pyre. We backed away, slowly unraveling it the tissue as we did so. I sat it down about 4 feet from the pyre and lit it.

We watched as the amber flame ate away at the tissue, It getting shorter and shorter, closer and closer as it did. Finally it reached the pyre igniting in a magnificent flare of emerald green. The leaves had been a nice touch. Suddenly, just then the most agonizing tooth shattering sound I’d ever heard tore through the space between us and the crow. it hopped up still partially wrapped in tissue, but completely engulfed in flames. It was unreal the green flames against it’s craven feathers the image of some twisted, morbid, wicked, phoenix. It spread it’s wings took off in flight’s and in less time than it took him to get up there it was black on the grind. Jumping, cawing, twitching. It was like a dance done to impress a mate. Then, he was dead again. To this day black feathers are a reminder of the schreeching horror.

I’ve never really spoken of it to date. None of us have. Probably the pent up feelings of remorse. As of yet I’m still reproachful in thinking of it.You’re never supposed to regret. That’s what they say.

Never do anything you’ll regret, and never regret anything you do. That’s so stupid. Sorry to say, but I look back and regret a lot of things, as I’m sure so many others do. It’s a sad fact but humans with all our logic, reason, and mental superiority are prone to mistake. It’s what you do after you make a mistake that matters. Do you convince yourself that you did nothing wrong, or do you own up and try to be better about what you do next?

Waiting For Forever

PAGE DESIGN BY//JESSICA DULING

BY STEPHON BERRY

Movie Stats:

Once upon a time life imitated art.

That’s when movies were based on true stories. I mean really based on true stories, and not on the vision of a director/producer/studio who just wants the idea that’ll bring the most profit. That would disqualify a lot of movies “based” on a “true” story, such as the supernatural horror A Haunting in Connecticut or Titanic. Though very entertaining in their own likenesses they’re both about as close to the truth as Horton Hears A Who. They’re as far from reality as you can possibly get, and until personified animals start becoming mediators and civil

Directed by James Keach Rated PG-13 for occasional strong language

rights activists, I rest my case.

So it was entirely refreshing to stumble upon a film like Waiting For Forever which doesn’t seek to masquerade itself under false titles of “based on a true story,” but still manages to come as close to reality as has been seen in any film in quite the while, a fairy tale ending.

An amazing movie that not only shatters the glass ceiling of any and all romantic comedies, but beats it into a fine powder beyond cheesy cliche recognition. Will Donner (Tom Sturridge) is what anyone in our society would notice as the textbook romantic. he’s fallen hard for EmmaTwist (Rachel Bilson) a childhood best friend, and now a successful sitcom star. He’s spent his entire adult life obsessing over her, not in a lustful manner but in a boyish first love way. It would seem

Won Vail Film Festival for Best Film by James Keach.

that Tom has some undiagnosed mental disease bordering the line of mental retardation which hints at autism, but it’s impossible to be sure because he looks completely normal and beside his boyish unfaltering optimism, he is. Oh, and he sometimes talks to his dead parents that no one, including the viewer can see.

His pursuit of this long lost love brings him back to his home town in which the mind blowing story of a decade begins. With its subtle undertones of parody, it beckons the mind to re-evaluate everything you know about romantic comedies. It wants you to see the stalking boyfriends, or the slightly over aggressive liberated woman, or the man, who, just after marrying his, young bride decides to whisk her away to a desert island in the middle of the

My Personal Rating:

9/10

pacific not as romantic, but with that cynical realism we all so often know. That means no more believing in the tooth fairy.

This story takes some great turns and also looks into some other misconceptions of society with one of it’s side stories built around the Miranda Twist (Blythe Danner) and Richard Twist (Richard Jenkins) the mother and father of Emma Twist.

I would have to rate this movie a 9 out of 10 for its faithful reliance on reality as a great influence, and still being able to fulfill the souls longing for the faithful happily ever after. Thank the crew for not producing another over publicized parody that does nothing to change something that matters in the world.

Dance Flick anyone?

The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo

BY JESSICA DULING Movie Stats:

Some would say that the only good things that came out of Sweden were Swedish Fish... and the novel The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo. With the end of 2011 comes the American film version of the novel featuring an unusual, slightly boyish, heroine character; Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara).

As a character who was depicted by the Swedish author, Steig Larsson, as looking like an older Pippi Longstocking, with the addition a few tattoos and piercings or course, you can imagine she has the same spunk and attitude. Lisbeth makes it difficult for people to get to know her because of her past, but don’t mistake this for

Directed by David Fincher Rated R for strong language, nudity, and violence

her being anti-social or shy, she is just incredibly careful with who she can trust. With the introduction of a truly different hero besides the usual middle aged men with loads of cash or superhuman powers comes a thin, pale, girl, with a certain fierceness about her that will have you embracing her intimidating personality.

Directed by David Fincher (Fight Club), the movie begins with one of the most visually interesting opening credit scenes that may even be better than the James Bond saga and if that alone isn’t enough to convince you to see the movie then the plot line will definitely reel you in. On the outside the movie has a typical crime/drama story line of a 40 year old unsolved murder case: Harriet Vanger (Moa Garpendal) goes missing and presumed dead, but the murderer was never caught. 40 years later the girl’s close uncle, Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), hires Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel

Nominated for 5 Oscars and already won AFI film award for Movie of The Year.

Craig), a financial journalist to take a look at the case. Though I will never understand what was going through this old man’s head when he decided to hire a financial journalist to solve a murder case. Mikael asks a spunky Private Investigator, Lisbeth Salander, to help him with the case.

But there is so much more to the story. For instance what’s really interesting is not the murder itself, but everything that the police didn’t find and how what’s really intriguing isn’t the basic suspects, but who the suspects really are. This is not your typical movie simply because there is no other movie like it but also because not only do you have your main plot going on, but you also have little side stories going on with the characters that really make the characters seem more believable.

If you’re like me going “Oh god all we need is another Hollywood butchering of a truly great novel.” then I promise you will be satisfied.

My Personal Rating:

10/10

The movie reflects the book almost seamlessly leaving out nothing or anyone important although Fincher does change the ending slightly just like it’s Swedish counterpart.

It would be hard for me to say that either the American or the Swedish version was better or worse than eachother because they both were stunningly well done that will strike emotions in you that no other film (in my experience) have ever done before. Although because of the strong language, sexually violent scenes, and nudity this movie may be awkward for some to watch with their family. The American and Swedish versions are unique in their own way and I recommend that you see both, especially since the Swedish version is conveniently on Netflix.

Sweden may have it’s downsides, but this movie is not one of them so I would like to end by thanking Sweden for blessing the world with a sure to be new favorite movie, it most definitely is mine,...and also Swedish Fish.

04 OPINION

HUGO

By Megan Jans

It’s early on Sunday morning, and you’re sitting in a train station’s quaint little cafe, sipping coffee out of a small white cup and chatting happily with your neighbor. Suddenly, a young boy sprints by the store, snatching a bottle of milk and a scone from a pile of freshly baked pastries. An upset, disgruntled shop owner immediately chases after the boy, as you shake your head in disapproval. Thieves and scum like that young man don’t deserve any mercy. However, what you don’t know is that the boy has ost his beloved father, lives by himself, has no way of earning money, and has absolutely nobody left who loves him, who cares for him. And he is in exactly the same

situation as the main character of the new movie, Hugo. Directed by popular filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who won a Golden Globe for his work on the movie, Hugo is a refreshing, fun movie with a creative story and striking visual effects.

Set in early nineteenth century Paris, Hugo tells the story of a parentless boy named Hugo Cabret who lives in a train station, where he tends the clocks, steals food from shops, and must constantly keep himself hidden from the station inspector. Every night, Hugo works on fixing a mechanical man his decesaed father left behind, believing that the machine will write a message from his father once it is running correctly. Hugo finally gets lucky when he meets an aging man and his goddaughter who have the parts that he needs to finish building the mechanical man, but he also suddenly finds himself trying to solve a mystery involving a strange drawing and a filmmaker who vanished many years ago.

There is no doubt about what the best aspect of Hugo is--the bright, awe-inducing visuals are stunning and outmatched by few other movies from this past year. The 3D element is also implemented quite well, unlike many other films that seem to put very little effort into making the 3D effect truly impressive. In addition, the movie’s plot is unique and fascinating, and a number of plot twists are thrown in to keep viewers interested. Many of the characters are fun and different, such as the quirky elderly couple

HUGO on rotten tomatoes

Iowa City Breakfast Places

by Brittani Langland

Do you ever get bored eating cereal and milk every morning? If so, you should try eating out at these places for breakfast: Lou Henry, Bluebird Diner, or the Hamburg Inn. They are great places to eat and all have unique atmospheres.

94%

whose two dogs fell in love and the station inspector who hunts orphans and has an injured leg. However, the standout character is still the main protagonist, Hugo, who is likeable, full of heart, and who makes you want to cheer him on toward achieving his goals during the entire movie. Although the dialogue does seem a little cliche at times, like during a number of Hugo’s conversations with Isabelle, it does help to keep moving the plot forward.

Overall, Hugo does justice for The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the book on which the movie is based.The plot is kept the same with the exception of a few details, and the movie drives home the theme of preserving old movies in just as powerful and meaningful a way as the book does. Another aspect of the book that the movie holds true to is having great visuals--half of The Invention of Hugo Cabret consists of well-drawn, remarkably detailed black-and-white sketches, and the movie’s imagery and camerawork is equally as admirable and impressive. One notable difference, however, is that the movie has slightly more of a romantic feel than the book does with the addition of two subplots that involve people at the train station falling in love.

With its clean, innocent humor and story and bright, stunning visual effects, Hugo is a fun film that provides entertainment for both children and adults and sends a positive, meaningful message about why it’s important to pursue your dreams.

critic approval

83%

audience approval

Hamburg Inn It may as well be one of the most famous Iowa City landmarks; the Hamburg in is a classic Iowa hot spot, and has been since the 1930s. It has been featured in food magazines and has been visited by many celebrities, including our President. Eating at the Hamburg Inn is a true Iowan experience. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, it is a must go place. I would personally recommend the Hawkeye breakfast if you go.

Lou Henry The Lou Henry is exactly what you would find at any diner around Iowa. This small diner has a homely atmosphere and great food. The breakfast ranges from omelets to French toast. Some unique features of Lou Henry are the Grand Canyon landscape pictures on the wall. These beautiful pieces set a warm mood in the Iowa winters.

The many plants also give the diner a happy down-to-earth feeling. Lou Henry’s would be an excellent choice on any morning.

Bluebird Diner The Bluebird Diner isn’t like a normal Iowa diner with its modern feel. The Bluebird Diner has a different look to it with its window for a front wall. This allows its guests to see out into Iowa City’s downtown area. The food has many different styles and is quick off the pan and onto your table. The welcoming workers and atmosphere are the perfect recipe to start off your morning right. The Bluebird Diner will soon become an Iowa City classic.