Friday, November 26, 2010

Something's Gotta Give

A business-like look on Glee
Audience: Females aged 13-26

    Glee is a television show. It is a dull, cliched show that is over-hyped.

    Glee is often talked about in the hallways. It is very common to hear the constant squabble of girls discussing what's happened on the show; "OMG, what happened to Puck?" or "I hope they get together!" are constantly being repeated by the ninth grade girls.

    The cast of Glee is ridiculously shallow. The main character, Mr. Schuester, is a flat character that brings little to the show beyond wasting space. His "rival" is Sue, a fellow faculty member who attempts to bring down his glee club for reasons that fade out of importance in order to build on the hatred she has for him, which seems rather forced. Sue's character pretty much consists of being mean for the sake of being mean and moving the plot along. The students themselves are incredibly annoying; they overreact to the smallest of things or remain ever-happy and socially awkward, despite the club being ridiculously well-known and filled with popular students.

An Academic look on the Harry Potter series
Audience: Anyone aged 13-23
  
    While author of the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling, paints a vivid, entertaining world of magic and growing up, she has yet to fully develop the plots she uses.

   Many instances in the series involve Harry or other characters acting brashly or without the use of common sense. It becomes a very common sight by the fifth book; it seems Harry completely forgets about the adults that actually attempt to help and protect him, especially neglecting Severus Snape, who has helped him several times.


   Pictured: Severus Snape. He has assisted Harry Potter many times. He is most likely disliked, however,  for being rather petty and cruel to students at Hogwarts.

      Harry has managed to organize students en masse in order to form Dumbledore's Army. He and his allies successfully manage to host meetings with students while avoiding being caught by the watchful staff and Ministry of Magic's Dolores Umbridge. But there are often instances in which Harry forgets about Snape helping him in the past, any advice helpful headmaster Albus Dumbledore, his godfather Sirius Black, or any other people older than him who might be of assistance. While it could be assumed that Harry is naturally mistrustful of adults due to the abuse he has suffered in the past, it becomes excruciatingly grating to see him act without common sense in order to avoid their assistance. Such instances would nullify several obstacles in Harry's path.

An informal look on inexperience trolls.
Audience: Males aged 12-17

  An Internet troll's job is to aggravate, harass or otherwise torment people online. But it seems that as of late, trolls have lost their touch and merely became a mere nuisance.

  Most trolls online used to be very experienced. They would aggravate many, but would strike down those who deserved it. Whether they are cutting down the haughty like Jessie Slaughter (a girl who was trolled so hard she went under police protection) or simply replying with sarcastic responses to stupid questions, trolling meant something. It really affected people.

  Inspired by the antics of these trolls, many people took to attacking people on the Internet. But due to their inexperience, they make themselves out to look like immature morons who are inexperienced at using computers. They simply swear at people and spam forums, never leaving people feeling the discontent or confusion real trolls would leave. Indeed, trolls are now more like a bothersome fly buzzing around you, rather than the horrible swarm of locusts they once were.

A colloqial look on Satan birds.
Audience: Anyone aged 12-26

 Satan birds (also known as turkeys) are these horrible little birds that deserve to be wiped out faster than you can say "dodo bird" or "Beyonce's career." I'm all for animal rights and the safety of animals, but these things are nasty as all get-out and I hate them.

  Satan birds are total jerks, too: they attack you in swarms and get really mad when you hit them with snowballs in order to defend yourself. They are vicious monsters that live to torment you. That's why you gotta torment them first before they get you.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Trivial News: Friday

Audience: Males 8-10+
Purpose:

Local Boy Likes His Pet

St. Elecord Elementary School student enjoys having a pet.

 Last Friday, local student and animal-lover Joey Oak said that he liked his pet rat, Gary. Joey claims that his pet is different from other pets. "It's like it's in the top percentage of pets!"

 "It's good to see people who like their pets," says shoe-putting-on expert and child psychologist Dr. Shund. "Joey here likes his pet. He respects in and know what makes it different from other rats."

 "All animals are different," says rat expert Dr. Dach. "We did some tests, and Joey's rat really is in the top percentage of pets."

"I really like Gary," Joey said in an interview with us. "I brought him to school and show and tell one day. Everybody loved him! But what I love most of all about him is that he always listens to me talk to him, he likes to cuddle, and he loves me back. That's why I like him, and that's why he's in the top percentage of rats."

Trivial News: Thursday

Audience: Teens, 12-15
Purpose: To inform people about the wonders of carrots

Teacher Likes Carrots

Local teacher at East York Institute, Toronto: "I like carrots."

 Ms. Beagle Coronetopolous was reported to enjoy carrots when when she claimed that she "liked carrots" on Friday, November 12th, 2010 at the East York Institute library.

 "Carrots are a type of vegetable," explains plant-expert, biologist and shoe-putting-on expert Dr. Dach. "They are orange and often eaten as food."

Pictured: Three carrots. Credit: Google Images

 "Carrots are not liked by everybody," Dr. Dach's colleague, Dr. Shund, adds. "A lot of people enjoy the taste. Many others do not."

 Coronetopolous claims that carrots "are delicious," and that "they are fun to play with." She then told us that you eat them as one would other vegetables, and showed us how to make carrot-shapeships.

Trivial News: Wednesday

Audience: Males, Females 8-14
Dog Eats Food

27 Labrador Road, Toronto: On Wednesday, local shiba inu dog Weenee ate her dog food.

   On Wednesday at 5:15 PM, Weenee was reported to have gone to her bowl of food, which had been placed on the floor by her owners. She sniffed the food before eating it.

Pictured: Weenee after she had eaten her food. She went outside to "do her business" shortly afterwards. Credit: Google Images

  Weenee shocked her owners when she ate her food. She chewed her Bacon Yumms before swallowing.

 "It's quite a neat trick," says her owner, Bob Barker, canine expert. "She's very talented. She does this trick whenever she can get her paws on food."

 "Dogs need to eat n order to live," claims biologist and shoe-putting-on expert Dr. Dach Shund. "If dogs do not eat, they would be hungry. Not eating would result in them starving."



Trivial News: Tuesday

Audience: Boys 12-16

Boy Messes Up On Test

East York Institute: On Tuesday, high school student Lenny Portamakinski got a question wrong on his history test, earning him a 98%.

 "I'm so shocked," says Daniel Pleasant, expert on cheating. He had been cheating off on Portamakinski. "I was cheating off of him and I got that question wrong. Because of him, I didn't get perfect on that test."

 Portamakinski answered the 18th question of his test with 1914. The correct answer was 1912, two years off the date he put in. The test was out of 20.

 This shocking behavior seems to be spreading: several students have put in wrong answers on their tests. Fellow classmates of Portamakinski who have gotten wrong answers include Mary-Sue Pleasant with 94%, Circe Beaker with 87%, and Dach Shund with 67%. The lowest mark in the class 55%.

 "Lenny's wrong mark seems to have left a bad impression on our class!" says child psychologist Dr. Papil Lion. "Imagine: students not getting perfect marks on tests!"

 "Who has ever heard of someone not getting a perfect mark on a test?" asks Dr. Hubgerber, so-called expert on UFO's, being homeless and "people-ology."

 Portamakinski has refused to comment on his mark, other than that he forgot the right answer to the question. He guessed the answer he put in.

Trivial News: Monday

Audience: Girls, 9-16

Ballerina Puts On Shoe

Blackberry Ballet Studio, Toronto: On Monday, ballerina Isadora Duncan put her dance slippers on in a spectacular fashion so she could dance.
  "I've never seen anything like it!" claims local shoe-putting-on expert Dr. Dach. "She put her foot in one slipper with such confidence and speed! Her foot didn't miss the slipper one bit!"



  Duncan was preparing for a dance. She had already put on her other dancing clothes and only needed to put on her slippers. Only then would she be ready for her recital for the king of Scandinavia.

  "Her motions were so fluid," says other shoe-putting-on expert Dr. Shund. "She was aware of the time she had and put her slippers on in swift motions: not too fast, but not too slow. It was like watching an expert of shoe-putting-on putting their shoes on. Obviously, she has been putting on shoes for years."

  "The slippers were a great help for Isadora," says shoe expert Germaine Sheppard, who was on the scene when Duncan slipped and stabbed her leg on a prop during her solo. "When she slipped and hit a sharp decoration, the slippers helped to absorb a lot of the blood. You see, the wool material they were made of helped soak up the blood so it wouldn't stain the stage. Isadora was right to put on those slippers."

   Duncan first put on her left slipper, gently sliding them on with both of her hands. Fellow dancers claim that she then used both hands to put her other slipper on her right foot.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Newpaper Club (Do not comment)

Life As We Know It
By: Jonathan Cabral Rocha

Last Tuesday, I went to see a movie with my friend. We heard good reviews about the movie, and waited excitedly to watch it.
But that movie was sold out, so we watched Life As We Know It instead.
The movie stars Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) and Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) , two people who are not only opposites, but hate each other due to getting off at a bad start. Their friends Peter and Alison however, decide to make both of them the godparents of their daughter. Meaning that if they were to die, one or both of them would have to take in the child.
Peter and Alison die pretty quickly, of course.
So Holly and Eric decide to live together and raise the baby. The movie is pretty bland, but it has its funny moments. While the story is not at all original (and in fact very predictable), it really gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling.
Cute, worth a few chuckles and accurate in the portrayal or parenthood, this movie is worth a look.
                                                                                            Rating: 3.2/4