Monthly Archives: October 2019

Books/Art

Book review on ‘Red Queen’

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Image taken from: https://www.epicreads.com/blog/read-the-first-7-chapters-of-red-queen/

“I grew up wondering if I’d have enough food for supper; now I’m standing in a palace about to be eaten alive” – Mare Barrow

This quote is from the book: Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. 

This is the first book of Victoria Aveyard’s four book series. It is a fantasy novel for young adults. The book has a dystopian type of atmosphere and it contains a lot of action through the entire novel. It has a hint of romance throughout the novel as well. 

The novel is based on the separation of different groups of people. There are those born with red blood and those with silver blood. The Reds (those born with red blood) are born as normal human beings, unlike the Silvers (those born with silver blood) who are born with supernatural powers that allow them to control certain things. 

Mare Barrow, a Red, lives her life in poverty alongside her family and other Reds. She steals in order to try and keep her family stable. One day while she is stealing she meets a mysterious man and the next thing she knew she was working for the King. 

At the King’s palace, she realizes that she has a supernatural power like the Silvers. All Silvers in the different powerful houses witness Mare’s supernatural power. The fact that she is a Red with powers could disrupt the hierarchy that the King rules over, so the King decides to give her a fake identity. 

The rest of the book tells of her journey as a Silver with Red blood.

The book jumps straight into the problems with the society and the harsh conditions that Mare and other Reds must face. The book keeps a consistent pace when revealing information and when placing action throughout the plot. 

The book has a slight touch of humor with Mare’s intriguing and stubborn personality. The book keeps the reader interested, hanging off the edge of their seat to find out what will happen next. 

I would give this book a 5/5.

Entertainment

Lori Harvey Accident

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Image taken from: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a29535560/lori-harvey-accident-arrested-instagram-stories/

Lori Harvey, a business woman and model on Instagram, and on many other platforms, who is also the stepdaughter of the television host and comedian, Steve Harvey, recently got arrested during a car accident that turned into a hit and run incident on the 200 block of Moreno drive in Los Angeles, California, according to the Beverly Hills Police Department. Lori Harvey got a hit and run citation for hitting a parked car and for leaving the scene at around 9 p.m. on October 20th.

She was stopped and cited right after the accident, but she wasn’t at the scene so was not booked for the crime.

According to OK Magazine, a witness that saw it all happen claimed that Lori Harvey hit a parked car that caused it to flip over. The eyewitness also stated that, allegedly, Lori Harvey was texting and driving when she hit the parked car. The witness also claimed that she tried to help Lori Harvey out of her car but then she the drove off.

Steve Harvey hasn’t commented on Lori’s recent arrest at all.

Steve Harvey married Marjorie Harvey, Lori’s mother, in June of 2007, and he’s also the stepfather to 2 of Marjorie Harvey’s other kids: Jason and Morgan. According to the Beverly Hills police Department, Lori Harvey got arrested on two counts, “misdemeanor hit and run, and delaying a police investigation at 9:48pm on October 20th after she rolled her vehicle.”

Since the accident occurred on Sunday, October 20th, Lori Harvey hasn’t spoken about the incident on social media or to any news outlets since it occurred. Thankfully, this accident didn’t cause or result in any serious or terrible injuries to anyone.

Entertainment

Boo!

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By: Vivian

Image taken from: https://www.newidea.com.au/ghost-caught-on-camera-10-real-ghost-videos

I have never been the biggest fan of the horror genre. I cannot even remember ever seeing a horror movie over my entire life. But recently, I have become somewhat fascinated with the genre, so I set out to discover more about it.

Literaryterms.com defines horror as a fiction genre made to inspire feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience. It feeds on ideas that have bothered humans for centuries, and delves into our deepest fears.

There are many different types of horror; gothic horror, supernatural horror, and non-supernatural horror are listed on the website. If you want an example of a horror story, read practically anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

Masterclass gives you a few tips on how to write horror. They say that you should use your own real life experiences, remembering things that used to be creepy to you, or other things to put a more sinister spin on. They also suggest you write the title first so you can draw on a whole host of ideas from it. You might also want to write the ending first so that you know what will happen and can put twists and turns throughout the story to both mislead your reader and set up the conclusion. They also say to use cliffhangers and plot twists to keep your reader hooked, but those tips could be argued that unless done right they become a bit annoying. 

Other sites have other tips, for example Nownovel.com talks about word choice and creating an unsettling tone or mood. They also advise that you read plenty of horror so you can observe how others write. It also compares the horror and tragedy genres, and the same elements both use. Tragedy is born out of character flaws and the choices they make, and so is horror. 

So, now I had to wonder, why do some people like this genre when I normally avoid it like the plague? Science Daily suggests that people actually enjoy feeling scared and other “negative” emotions in horror films, not just waiting for the payoff, while other arguments seem to be that people enjoy the payoff. Instead of feeling fear, some people feel excited, or full of adrenaline, and that makes everything more vivid.

Even now, after reading multiple articles on why people like horror, and how to write it, I am not fully sure I understand it, but I am definitely going to keep looking into it.

School Life

PTSA is raising money for OUR school!

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Last year, more than 100 donors/families donated an average of $91 each. This year our goal is 150 donor/families and an average gift of $100. Will you help us reach our $15,000 goal with a contribution of $100, $200, or more?

We are raising money for the little things… the things we don’t really notice… the things that just magically show up right when you need them. 

The Highland Park PTSA is all about the little things, supplies and equipment that the department budget’s can’t cover. These things, from big to small, give our students rich educational experiences. With your help, we can continue to provide the little things.

A small sample of what we used funding for includes:

  • Library books
  • Paints and paper for art students
  • Scientific balances
  • Badminton equipment
  • Chinese reading materials
  • Mountain bike stands
  • Music stands
  • Dissection animals

Just to name a few!

Our goal is to raise $15,000 this year to make sure our students and faculty have the little things they need to be successful, have fun, and build their community. 

Please donate before November 14 by check to the office (PREFERRED) or online at givemn.org/organization/hpshgive

 
Thanks for including Highland Park in your Give to the Max plans!

Sincerely,
Your Parent Teacher Student Association

Give the Max committee

Athena Adkins
651-235-2645
adkinsdesk@me.com
Advice/How To

What to do this Halloween

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Halloween pumpkin head jack lantern with burning candles. Image taken from: https://www.istockphoto.com/photos/halloween?sort=mostpopular&mediatype=photography&phrase=halloween

October 31st is right around the corner. Lots of people have their decorations up and costumes ready.

So, what are you going to do for Halloween? If you aren’t sure how you want to celebrate, take a look at the four ideas listed in this article. 

Go trick-or-treating. To an extent, age shouldn’t matter if there is free candy involved. If you want to go out one last time, then honestly, just do it. There may be some people who criticize you, but the fun you have will make memories for years without end.

Also, just a tip if you do wear a costume, your best option might be one that covers your face. That way some of the most critical candy passer-outers don’t know what you look like and would not really have the ability to assume your age.

And, try your best to go to the houses that aren’t as busy. Any houses that don’t have many visitors often pass out more than one measly candy bar. 

Pass out treats. If you are the kind of person that finds pleasure in making others happy, this could be pretty fun for you. Not only can you stay inside during the cold October night, but you will be able to see all the little kids that come “trick-or-treating” by your house in their cute, and sometimes creepy, costumes.

But be warned, never leave out a bowl of candy on your step. All it takes is one group of kids to come and raid your whole bowl with a “please take one” sign on it. 

Do the tricking. If there is anytime to scare someone, no doubt it should be on Halloween. There are always questionable decorations, weird setups, and a variety of costumes, and kids walking around looking for candy, all while it’s pitch black outside, so use this all against them to give them what they have been asking for all night. 

Watch scary movies. There is no shame for anybody on Halloween who choose to shut off all the lights in their house, make some popcorn, and watch a scary movie. If anything, this holiday is the best time to do it. There are countless numbers of Halloween-themed movies that could fill up your schedule for about the next year.

Tech/Games

Highlights from the recent Apple event

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Everyone knows about Apple. The extremely successful company has grown over the years and has created many revolutionary products of our time, like the iPhone. Recently, they had an event where they showcased some of the new products they were releasing this year. Here are some of the highlights:

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New iPad

The newest iPad is better and cheaper than ever, with a starting price of just $329. That’s a great price considering the iPad is like a computer and many people use iPads on a daily basis for work and school.

The new iPad also has a 100% recycled aluminum body and comes with a free, year-long subscription to Apple TV+. We’ll get to that later.

Apple Watch Series 5

This announcement was expected at the event, but nevertheless was exciting. This new Apple Watch has many new features that can make your life much easier. Some of these features include a new compass function, and many health-monitoring features, including a heart rate monitor and an emergency phone call function if you can’t access your phone.

The best new feature is an always-on feature, where the display of the watch never turns off, which is very useful.

Apple Arcade and Apple TV+

Some of the software features announced were the Apple Arcade and Apple TV+.  Apple Arcade is a subscription service that allows access to a wide variety of games to be played on your iPad or iPhone. There were over 100 titles released when it launched on September 19, from big game companies like Capcom and Konami.

The other subscription service announced was Apple TV+. Apple TV+ is, when boiled down, Apple’s take on a television streaming service, similar to Netflix or Hulu. The service has original TV shows and movies, and is set to release on November 1st for $5 a month.

iPhone 11

The announcement of the night, that had to take the cake, was the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 11 Pro. These new iPhones have tons of new features that top them from their previous models, especially the iPhone 11 Pro. It comes with 3 cameras, which includes an ultrawide camera lense. This lense is used to take very wide photos that look amazing, and it is considered the greatest camera on a mobile phone, ever.

 

Image taken from: https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/images/1-1568664530.jpg?resize=480:*

Apple has created a wide list of products, and is improving on them now more than ever. These products are designed to be integrated into our everyday life and match with our lifestyle. Apple products have many uses, and can help make our lives easier.

School Life, Sports

Student athletes

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Image taken from: https://engineering.vanderbilt.edu/news/tag/student-athletes/

Student athletes are no regular students. They go from focusing on academics to sports in a heartbeat. You’ll always hear someone in your class complaining about running at practise or being sore from morning weights.

There’s nearly 8 million students participating in a school sport in the U.S. Out of that, 8 million, about 490,000, will go on to play at NCAA schools.

Student athletes have a lot going for them. They tend to graduate at higher rates than their peers and their experience in sports also gives them plenty of life lessons that will help them in their future. 

For these students, their work ethic is what truly matters. It’s their psychological commitment. It’s the mind set they have when approaching or leaving a game and practice.

Student athletes have crowded minds. Overlapping thoughts of things they have to do that’s panned around their sport. They must responsibly balance their school work, sports, and social life.

Athletes have to keep their brain going, from waking up for school, to staying up after a practice, to get school work done. Once all that is done, they can finally relax. 

As a student athlete myself, I catch myself thinking; do I go to my practise or do I finish my project? If I go to my practice, that means I have to stay up later to do my project, but if I miss my practice it could show how I’m not committed to my sport.

In class I’ll be thinking about the important game I have in a few hours. At practice I’ll be stressing out about the loads of homework I still have to do.

Even with that, I still have to focus on the task at hand, whether it’s school or my sport. To fix these problems, athletes do their best to manage their time. 

Through these obstacles, being a student that plays a sport can be one of the best things. It comes with so many benefits. When playing a sport, you can meet tons of new people. They can end up being some of your closest friends or just people to know in school.

Playing a sport also keeps you healthy and in shape. Imagine everyday after school getting in a good workout with your team.

The biggest thing a student could gain from being in a sport is what they learn mentally. You get a chance to test your boundaries and see how far you can go.

Could I play harder or run faster?

Can I handle practice and homework? I think you can. 

School Life

Is school better designed for girls than boys?

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By Charlotte Lane

There is no denying the current data reflects that girls are out-performing boys at all levels in school.  According to the New York Times, boys score equal to girls on standardized tests, however they are receiving lower grades and fewer boys are completing college than girls. 

Researchers involved with the New York Times believe the reason behind this is that boys have a harder time sitting still and following rules than girls, and teachers lower boys grades due to bad behavior.

Image taken from: https://images.app.goo.gl/fCxLcWTQnnpcc1i57

Sit Still and Be Quiet

New York Times research shows that schools were not created for all different learning styles. Girls mature faster than boys, and this means they can consentrate longer and have better interpersonal skills. Schools are designed for one learner type, it’s not necessarily a boy verus girl issue, it’s a lack of learning style options for students.

The traditional learning style at schools is geared for someone who can sit and actively listen for long periods of time. Research proves that is exactly what girls can do.

What is the Differnce? 

Boys don’t fit in the box of sit, read, and listen to a leture. Boys need to be more physical and learn by hands on learning.

Schools are created for a learner profile that is easier for girls to follow.

According to the New York Times Magazine schools ultimatly demasculinze boys. An exapmle of this is how mucn more young men are yelled at then girls. Unlike boys, girls are much more likely to mimic each other and work as a team. Boys value compentency and group acceptance, and boys prove this by being the most physical, the funniest, or the most disruptive in a class setting.  

Image taken from: https://images.app.goo.gl/BasCmrk9ptZDjPzo7

Solutions

Instead of focusing on the differences of genders in school, we should focus on a solution to help boys succeed.

One solution is designing curriculums for more than one learner type as well as allowing for more hands on, kinesthetic learners. Schools need to account for different learning styles and learning speeds.

Images taken from: https://images.app.goo.gl/yZKQEnv4J9JbaXoD7

Events

‘Trail of Terror’

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Well this is it, the spooky season. Now we’ve got to think about costumes and candy for the neighbors. But some of us like to go all out. Like haunted houses and mazes, and dressing up for this spooky time. Halloween is very festive, but my favorite thing to do is go to the “Trail Of Terror!”

On Friday, October 18th, I went there. If any of you don’t know, the “Trail Of Terror” is multiple different set ups of mazes. They have different people that dress up in scary costumes and makeup. The whole thing is near where the “Renaissance Festival” usually is.

During my visit I went through “The Maze Of Mayhem.” It has many people hidden throughout the maze. They jump out and scare! I think they did a wonderful job with this, but I feel that it was more suspense than anything and I think on my visit they were a bit understaffed but it was still fun. 

I also went through the mini versions of “The Maze Of Mayhem” which are the trailers. They were a bit disappointing, they didn’t have many people to scare you. 

The wait time gets longer and longer, about an hour after it opens. I arrived at 7:15pm and the line for “The Maze Of Mayhem” was not bad but after we left the maze it had almost twice as many people as it did when we were in line. 

I got in touch with the marketing team and asked them a few questions about “Trail Of Terror” so here it is: 

How many staff do you have return year after year?

About 70% of our staff returns each year and the rest are new people who want to get involved!

Are there emergency exits for the people that are too scared?

There are emergency exits for people who decide to leave the haunted houses before the end. In “The Maze of Mayhem,” there’s somewhere to exit around almost every turn.

Do they ever open an art contest for scary art, or other contests for new ideas?

Some years there are “Trail of Terror” mural competitions where people can submit murals and earn a free ticket.

What is the average age of people that go?

Teenagers and adults are the main demographics that we see, we don’t see young children here very often.

Do staff do their own makeup or is there a makeup team? 

We have a team of one professional makeup artist and some volunteers that do makeup for the entertainers.

How long does the prep, dress/makeup take each day?

It can take anywhere between 1-2 hours for full hair, makeup, and costume preparation.           

What requirements do you need for the job?

You must be over 14, have the desire to act and be scary, and the ability to stay in character!

How long have you been hosting this?

This is our 26th year of “Trail of Terror!”

Who started this tradition? 

“Trail of Terror” is hosted by an events company, Mid America Festival, that also puts on the “MN Renaissance Festival.”

Were there any challenges in starting this?

The biggest part is transitioning from “Renaissance Festival” to “Trail of Terror.”  While they are in different areas of our grounds, there is a lot of work to be done with closing down the “Renaissance Festival” and beginning “Trail of Terror.”

Anything else you want to say?

We have other fun promotions going on this year as well.  

This is the last weekend that you can attend! So, have a great Halloween, don’t get too spooked. 

If you plan on going:

Location: 3525 145th St W, Shakopee, MN 55379   

Prices are Online Tickets: $18.95

Box Office Tickets: $23.95

Times: it opens at 7pm and closes at 12:30am.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Predator’ (1987) review

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Predator was released in 1987, and made $98.7 Million in the box office. It become an 80’s classic with tons of memorable quotes and scenes. This movie is one of my all time favorite movies and here’s why.

The story is about a crew of hard and tough expendable men, run by a man named Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who are called in on a rescue mission in the jungle. Unfortunately, they are too late. They then find out there’s something inhuman in the trees hunting them down. It’s up to them to survive in the jungle and fight the creature off until the chopper arrives.

The writing in this movie is very well done. Especially for an 80’s movie because it holds back on the cheesy lines and cheesy jokes. It obviously has that vibe due to its certain camera angles of the characters muscles and the way the speak. But a majority of the movie is very well written for the era.

Which brings me to the acting, the acting is very well done, and each character is unique in some way, and you can easily pick a favorite character. Every character has a response that feels genuine and different for the situation.

The writing in the the movie is really well done because the first 45 minutes is more of an expendable action movie. But the rest of the movie is a somewhat thriller and almost horror. They have the watcher get into something they do not expect.

The action in this movie is used only when it needs to be, which makes it even more unique. When there is action it is very enjoyable and keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Overall, I give this movie a solid 10/10