Monthly Archives: December 2022

Books/Art

Wintery reads: A compilation

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By: Julia Sikorski Roehsner

What first comes to mind when you think of winter? The holidays, most likely, along with snow, hot drinks, soft blankets, freshly baked goods, and seasonal flora.

Perhaps, too, you might be reminded of books. Classics, such as ‘A Christmas Carol,’ ‘Little Women,’ ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ or even ‘The Snowy Day.’ When I think of winter, I conjure the image of curling up by a crackling fireplace and diving into a good book.

But what to read once you’ve run through the tried-and-trues? It can be a hard decision in today’s overwhelming literary industry. Hence, my compiled list of titles below. Perhaps you’ll find a new prospect for your next snowy day.

1. ‘Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances’ by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

‘Let It Snow’ is a novel by Maureen Johnson, John Green, and Lauren Myracle written in three separate parts, each narrated by a different character. Set during a surprise blizzard on Christmas Eve, the trifecta takes place within one small town.

The first story, “The Jubilee Express,” is told by the comical Jubilee Dougal, who finds herself stuck on a snowbound train mid-journey to her grandparents’ house. Unwilling to spend the evening idle, she embarks on a trek in search of help that turns into a walk home with a stranger.

In the story that follows, “A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle,” we are introduced to Tobin. Tobin expected to spend his Christmas Eve at home with his two friends, the Duke and JP. However, a call to travel to the town’s Waffle House propels him out the door and into the cold. It’s a twist of festive fate when his car breaks down.

‘Let It Snow’ ends with “The Patron Saint of Pigs,” narrated by Addie, who is struggling through a recent separation with her boyfriend. In between heartache and a terribly early work shift, Addie discovers herself responsible for the retrieval of her friend’s Christmas gift—a teacup piglet.

A lighthearted and cheery holiday read, I give ‘Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances’ four out of five stars.

2. ‘Beartown’ by Fredrik Backman

Fredrick Backman’s ‘Beartown’ is the first in a series of three books telling the story of a wilderness town, still standing in the ever-pressing forest due to one thing—hockey. It’s the love and talent for the sport that keeps Beartown going.

The community is full of expectations, pressure, and dreams, all of which rest heavily on the junior hockey team and the upcoming national semifinals. Hockey is what the town knows, and winning is what the players know.

Sometimes, it seems like those are the only things they know.

‘Beartown’ is not a holiday-centered book—though it carries a winter feel—but nor is it a sports book by any means. Backman weaves together a web of characters, each of them distinct and brimming with depth. I give it four and a half out of five stars.

3. ‘Trapped’ by Michael Northrop

‘Trapped,’ written by Michael Northrop, begins innocently enough, with fresh snowfall and after school shenanigans. It takes a turn once protagonist Scotty and his classmates realize that they won’t be returning home at the end of the day.

As suggested by the title, they’re trapped. For how long, no one knows.

The press of time and panic is poignant in ‘Trapped,’ and Northrop easily places the reader within the emotions of the story’s characters. I give it four out of five stars.

4. ‘Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow’ by Jessica Day George

Based on the fairytale ‘East of the Sun, West of the Moon,’ Jessica Day George’s ‘Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow’ tells the story of the unnamed Lass. She stands separate from the rest of her family, which is struggling to survive in the cold north.

Thus, it seems almost natural for her to accept an unnatural offer from an isbjørn bear—live with the isbjørn in its faraway palace for just one year, and her family will be provided with riches beyond imagination.

But is the trade-off worth it?

George puts a wonderful creative spin on the classic tale; I give ‘Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow’ four out of five stars.

Tech/Games

‘A Plague Tale Requiem’ review 

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By: Semaj Carter

‘A Plague Tale Requiem’ is a horror fantasy game about a girl named Amicia and her brother Hugo set in the 14th century. As you can guess, this game is based on the Black Plague. The game opens up to Hugo and Amicia running away from Lucas, the alchemist of the group, because they are playing king vs the sorcerer. You start playing in the tutorial by playing hide and seek with Lucas; that’s how they teach you the basics of stealth in the game and how it works.

After the tutorial, Lucas leaves to go back to Amicia and Hugo’s mother, who is also an alchemist. In my opinion, I think the mom is the worst character in the game because she acts like she doesn’t care that much about Hugo, and when she does, she favors him over Amicia. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, in the first game, Amicia didn’t know much about her brother at all, he was basically isolated away from everyone including her, except for her mom and dad, who didn’t really pay attention to her.

This game is really depressing, so if you actually pay attention to the story, which I normally don’t do, be prepared and grab some tissues. 

Now let’s talk about Amicia and her overprotectiveness towards Hugo and Lucas, but mostly Hugo. Understandably, Amicia is, according to the prophecy, a protector to the Macula A.K.A. Hugo. If you don’t know what the Macula is, and no, I’m not talking about the thing in your eye, it’s a mysterious, ancient curse that runs in the bloodlines of certain families. It plagues the de Rune family, and in particular has awoken in Hugo de Rune’s blood.

Nearing the end of the game, Hugo and Amicia sail on to sea with their friend Sophia, and eventually reach an island where they suspect the pond that can save Hugo is present.

Overall, I thought the game was really sad, and I was upset with the ending. I still would give it a 10/10 because it was the first game that made me cry, and I was really invested in it. You can get ‘A Plague Tale Requiem’ for the PS5 and XBOX.

Editorials/Student Voice, Soccer

The problems permeating Qatar’s World Cup

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By: Jocelyn Knorr

**For sake of consistency and international standardization, the word “football” here refers to the sport that the United States calls “soccer.”**

The FIFA World Cup is a quadrennial football competition, in which countries fight tooth and nail to even qualify. It’s an incredible honor to win, and even more of an honor to host—not to mention it’s incredibly profitable. So, it came as a shocking surprise when Qatar, a Middle Eastern country smaller than the state of Connecticut, was awarded the 2022 competition.

Before 1971, Qatar was a nation largely built off of pearl diving and trade. Then, oil and natural gas was found in the little peninsula, rocketing it to international wealth, a coup in 1972 cementing the monarchy. It’s 2008 bid for hosting was described by the country as an attempt to humanize it—get away from oil, sharia law, and its relationship with neighboring Iran. Because of this, Qatar has been accused of sportswashing.

The bid was off to a rocky start—in 2009, a delegate from FIFA, Harold Mayne-Nicholls, visited the country to inspect its infrastructure. His report was a resounding no—Qatar was too small, and was a sweltering 120ºF during the traditional World Cup window of June-July (an issue that has been “solved” by pushing it to the middle of the traditional football season, a massive upset to the schedule that has caused injury, disruption, and lost wages for those whose salaries depend upon the game). Not only did it lack a football stadium, but hotels, highways, and an airport too. Qatar countered with plans for stadiums and hotels, and a proposition to push the tournament back six months. The council was convinced, and in 2010 Qatar was confirmed as host for the 2022 World Cup. Al-Jazeera, a Qatari media company owned by the king, had started broadcasting news of the victory six hours earlier.

All was not well within FIFA, however; before the year was out, every single official who voted on the Qatar decision would be investigated for, or convicted of, corruption. 2 members had already been banned from voting because of an attempt to sell their votes; the US Justice department accused 3 South American officials of accepting 7-figure bribes from the Qatari government. Sepp Blattman, president of FIFA at the time, has been banned from ever holding an administration position within football for the rest of his life. 

Nevertheless, the decision held, and Qatar embarked on a massive nation-building project, the likes of which the country had never before seen. To achieve all this, Qatar began recruiting foreign workers; workers from places like Uruguay and Pakistan poured in by the thousands. Qatar has a population of over 2 million, but only 15% of those people are citizens. Instead, the country depends upon foreign labor to keep the economy moving.

Conditions are awful; workers sleep in cramped conditions, passports are held by employers, and they are forbidden to leave or change jobs without the consent of their employers. Many of these migrant workers are in construction, working for over 18 hours a day to build Qatar’s stadiums and hotels; they are making barely 13 USD an hour.

More than 6,500 of these workers have died in the sweltering heat, among them a man named Mosharraf Hossen. He moved from Bangladesh to Qatar in 2014, getting a job working on a stadium to support his family. He died in 2018, collapsing when temperatures reached upwards of 115º; the Qatari government has denied this, and has put ‘cardiac arrest’ on his death certificate. The family has now been left without a way to earn money.

Qatari officials have stated that, more often than not, compensation is received in labor disputes, and the country will not take “destructive criticism” from outside observers. “The World Cup is a stage that will end in [December], but our laws are ongoing and being developed and we don’t implement them [only] for the World Cup.” said Qatar’s Assistant Undersecretary of Labor, Mohamed al-Obaidly. 

There are other human rights issues to take into account, as well; namely the treatment of women and gay men. Female citizens of Qatar need to get permission from a male guardian for just about everything, even after a divorce. Pregnant attendees have been advised to be prepared to show a marriage certificate if medical care is necessary, and there have been repeated cases of sexual assaults on women going not only unpunished, but the women being penalized for “fornication outside of marriage.”

As for homosexuality, it’s punishable by jail time—and even the death penalty for Muslims. The Qatari officials have made attempts at sweeping these laws under the rug; despite this, Khalid Salmen, a Qatari football player turned FIFA ambassador, has been quoted as saying that “homosexuality is damage in the mind.” He has been defended fiercely, with Qatar stating that these laws are part of the country’s “conservative values.”

In light of these policies, female fans are being advised by human rights groups to proceed with extreme caution, and LGBTQ fans have been advised to cancel their tickets altogether.

The Qatari government has also been rumored to be using fake fans as a surveillance tactic; allegedly, these are paid plants meant to create atmosphere and hype up the crowd artificially. If this is true, they also serve the secondary function of sniffing out and reporting anti-Qatar sentiment on social media. Qatar has responded to these rumors with a statement from the Qatar World Cup 2022 Supreme Committee; “Fans from all over the world — many of whom have made Qatar their home — have contributed to the local atmosphere recently, organizing fan walks and parades throughout the country, and welcoming the various national teams at their hotels. Numerous journalists and commentators on social media have questioned whether these are ‘real’ fans. We thoroughly reject these assertions, which are both disappointing and unsurprising.”

Taken altogether, these issues with the World Cup have left many fans upset and disquieted. Miles Robinson, a freshman at Highland, and Mary Steffy, a teacher here, have been kind enough to speak to me about their feelings on the matter. 

Miles Robinson is a freshman here—the MVP and captain of the Highland freshman football team, this sport is a large part of his life. He’s supporting the Dutch team this year, with USA and France as a close second (allez les Bleus!) Outside of World Cup season, he follows almost every league imaginable—including USA’s MLS, the English Premier League, and Germany’s Bundesliga. 

“It shouldn’t be there. Honestly, FIFA was 100% bribed for it to be there. If you look at the infrastructure that was there before 2010, it was minimal at best; they had one major stadium, and had to build nine more. Close to 7,000 workers died building those stadiums. They had so few people in the country, they had to get thousands of migrant workers to build (them). They spent over 200 billion US dollars on infrastructure— they had to build cities, build railroads. They spent way, way too much money and time preparing.

“Not to mention the fact that this World Cup had to be moved to November as opposed to the summer. If a World Cup has to be moved, should it be held in that country? The FIFA World Cup is a staple of the summers. Most professional leagues’ seasons go from August to May—holding this in the summer means that most of the teams’ best players are either going to be tired or injured. France are one of the favorites to win this year, and they have five starting players out with major injuries, because this is the middle of their season. This gives less talented teams an advantage.”

The news coming out of Qatar of human rights and climate problems has even driven some people to a boycott—people like Madame Mary Steffy, another person kind enough to speak to me about their views. She’s a French and AVID teacher here at Highland Park Senior High; not a football fan, as a rule, the one exception being the World Cup. This year, she would be supporting the French national team, famously nicknamed “les Bleus”—she’s Luxembourgish, but the country is too small to support a national team, or indeed a league at all. She found out about the human rights abuses largely via Francophone news sources. 

“Monsieur Curry and I follow a lot of online sites, and there was a lot shared—most of Paris and a lot of larger cities in France, for example, are not, on public television, showing any of the games. So we started reading all about it; I had heard some things, even, in the last couple of years about the construction going on in Qatar, and how so many young men had been dying and getting their bodies sent home with [death certificates] saying they had died of natural causes when that was not, in fact, true. The conditions were appalling—it was hot, there was no food or water, [employers] would take their passports, there were injuries; there were just a lot of human rights issues that I became aware of.

“I also became aware, in the past few months, of all the climate issues. When you host a large event like this—even the Olympics—it’s terrible for the planet in general, but Qatar had promised that this was going to be the ‘greenest’ World Cup ever. They really greenwashed it, and that has not happened.”

This is largely a France-based movement, but for Mme Steffy, it’s not a large group effort; it’s just about showing Qatar that they don’t want a World Cup that has been built by the blood of the workers. 

“I don’t want to give any of my time, money, energy or attention to a country that has such appalling abuses of people coming in—actually about 90% of their society—and their stance on the LGBTQ community, whom any association with is punishable by death, even for visitors there. I personally, refuse to give them my time, money, or attention; which is what they get when I watch.”

For more information, please visit: 

Travel/Food

Blueberry Lemon Loaf recipe

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By: Kaylen Fuentes

This recipe was adapted from: frugalmomeh.com and www.Iilluna.com

As it gets colder, and winter approaches, many people are looking for things to do with Thanksgiving, winter break and the new year. One thing I enjoy doing in my free time, and especially the colder months, is baking. So, here’s a recipe for blueberry lemon bread!

Tools you will need for the bread:

  • One big bowl
  • One medium bowl
  • A whisk or an electric mixer
  • A 9-inch loaf pan
  • Wax paper
  • Measuring glass

Ingredients you will need for the bread:

  • 1 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 stick of salted butter (melted)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup of milk (of choice)
  • 2 cups of all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • 1 and a half cups of fresh blueberries
  • 2 teaspoons of lemon extract

Tools you will need for the frosting:

  • Two small bowls
  • Whisk or electric mixer

Ingredients you will need for the frosting: 

  • 3 tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1 and a half cups of powdered sugar
  • 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of lemon extract

(Before starting this process, preheat your oven to 350 degrees).

First, in a medium bowl, cream together your melted butter and sugar using an electric mixer or a whisk. I prefer to use an electric mixer because it’s easier and much faster.  

Once you have the butter and sugar mixture add both eggs, vanilla extract and milk. Mix with the electric mixer once again, but be sure not to over mix because then the loaf will not come out as fluffy and the texture will be more tender.

Then, in a big bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder, this mixture you can mix with a whisk or a spoon since it doesn’t need too much mixing.

After both the wet and dry ingredients are mixed together in their separate bowls, slowly mix in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients little by little. This part should be done with an electric mixer.

Once the dry and wet mixes are mixed together into the dough for the loaf, add a drop of lemon extract. A little bit goes a long way, so don’t add too much, especially since there will also be lemon juice and extract in the icing.

Next, prepare your pan. Add parchment paper to the bottom and around the side of the 9-inch loaf pan. Then cut off the excess paper sticking out around the top.

Then, before adding the blueberries, pour about ⅓ of the batter into the loaf pan. 

After preparing your pan, with the rest of the batter, fold in the blueberries gently, I try not to mush them because I find the bread better when they’re whole. I added about a cup, maybe a cup and half, but add as much or little as you’d like. Then pour the rest of the batter into the pan. The batter should be filled slightly under the top of the pan, because the loaf will rise.

Place the loaf pan in the oven and bake for 60 minutes. When the 60 minutes is up, the loaf will still be light in color so I baked it for about another 15 minutes for it to get golden.

While the loaf is baking, the icing can be started.

For the icing, take your small bowl and melt down 3 tablespoons of butter. 

Afterwards, add the butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract into a small bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth, and all the lumps are out.

Once the loaf is cool, ice the top of it with the icing and enjoy!

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this recipe. It was delicious and a perfect treat for Thanksgiving. Something I would like to do in the future is try this recipe with different fruits! I rate this tasty recipe 5/5 stars, and I will definitely be making it again.

Science/Nature

Temperature fluctuations: How climate change is causing our recent record-breaking weather

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By: Erin Moore

This November has had record-breaking storms and temperature swings, but why? Every possible answer can be linked back to one major factor: climate change.

In 2014, the number of geophysical events had tripled the number there were in 1980, but this isn’t too much of a shock for the general population to hear. We all know climate change is deeply impacting our animals and future, but its impact on our daily life is less apparent. We know it causes hot weather in the summer and natural disasters in other areas, but in Minnesota, it doesn’t affect us in any months other than July and August, right? Wrong. 

Hot summer days have become significantly more common than cold winter nights, as hot summer averages have doubled if not tripled their commonality, while cold winter temperatures have become a third of what they were in 1980. According to the EPA, “if the climate were completely stable, one might expect to see these highs and lows each accounting for about 50% of the records set. Since the 1970s, however, record-setting daily high temperatures have become more common than record lows across the US.” 

From 2000-2009, the record lows have been half as frequent as the record highs. However, 2022 has seen record lows in the past month, and they are expected to continue. In the areas and days where temperatures are significantly cold, their level of extremity is dangerously high. 

A 2018 NPR article stated, “New research suggests that global warming could cause temperature swings to get unusually extreme. Climate scientists already know that as the planet warms, there’s a bigger chance of extreme weather: bigger hurricanes, for example, or heavier rainfall. But a temperature roller coaster could be on the way as well, according to the study, which appears in the journal ‘Science Advances.’” This is due to drier soil from a warming hemisphere. Drier soil leads to temperature fluctuations and vulnerability. 

Clearly, we’re already seeing this play out not even five years after the article’s release.

On Kare 11, it was stated that this winter holds third place for temperature swings in Minnesota for the past fifty years with a 71º difference between the highest and lowest temperatures this month. This year is surpassed by only 1977 (77º) and 1978 (73º). 

Additionally, the 2nd of November was a record-breaking warm day in Minnesota. The highest temperature recorded was 79º at Theilman, and the Twin Cities reached 76º, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 

November is one of the fastest-warming months in the state, gaining 4.2º yearly. However, January, December, and September respectively are all ahead of November in fastest warming months. 

Just a week after November 2nd, a powerful storm occurred. In the Twin Cities, temperatures fell 20º in a span of four hours, reaching a 40º fall after twelve hours had elapsed. Additionally, Warroad received a total of 9.1” of snow on November 10th. 

On November 29th, the Twin Cities nearly matched Warroad’s level of snowfall with 8.4” Many schools in the state were canceled, released early, or had activities canceled. Additionally, transportation for many was delayed as vehicles struggled through the rough, slippery roads.

Next time you think about extreme weather, and the switches from warm to cool within mere days, don’t forget about the part we play in causing it.

Getting To Know/History

The history of daylight savings and why it will not continue next year

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By: Addison Strack

Daylight savings is when the clocks are set forward one hour in the spring, and back one hour in the fall.

The idea of daylight savings was introduced to the United States in the World War l era as an effort to conserve fuel. The idea was that Americans wouldn’t have to turn their lights on early in the day, therefore saving energy.

Businesses, sports, and recreation industries were in favor of the idea. This was because it allowed an extra hour of shopping in the daylight, and later start times of games, boosting attendance. In 1966, the Uniform Time Act made it US policy to have six months of daylight savings time, and six months of standard time.

In December of 1973, during an energy crisis, President Nixon signed a law bill for year round daylight savings, in hopes of reducing energy consumption. After only a month, concerns were raised in some states, as the safety of children was compromised because of daylight savings time. Children walking to school before dawn became involved in car accidents due to the lack of light. Eventually daylight savings became known as “Daylight Disaster Time.”

More people began questioning the benefit of daylight savings time, because the Western part of the time zone was using more electricity for the extra hour of darkness in the morning. The experiment of having daylight savings year round was supposed to last two years, but ended up only lasting eight months, when the clocks were set back to standard time in the fall of 1974.

Years later, in 1986, the US began seven months of daylight savings time once again. Since 2007, daylight savings time has been expanded to eight months from March to November.

Daylight savings time has always had its flaws, but recently, these flaws have been more noticeable. The loss of sleep, even if only an hour, can disrupt sleeping patterns. This can cause irritability, mood instability, and an increased risk of accidents while driving with a lack of sleep. Changes in sleeping patterns also affect children, because the younger a child is, the more sleep they require. Changing their sleep schedule can disrupt cognitive development that takes place during sleep.

People who struggle with seasonal depression, which is a depression that happens due to the darkness of winter months, are also heavily impacted. This is because of the loss of morning sunlight that can take up to a month to increase with the arrival of spring.

It was also discovered that daylight savings time costs more money, and may require more energy depending on where you live in the US.

Due to all of the reasons listed, as well as many more, the US Senate approved a bill to end daylight savings time in 2023. It is called “The Sunshine Protection Act”, and it still has to be passed by the House of Representatives before it can be signed by President Joe Biden.

Overall, daylight savings was a complicated process that ended up having more cons than pros.

If you would like to read more about daylight savings, feel free to check out the websites listed below.

Getting To Know/History

Kim and Kanye relationship timeline

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By: Ayamei Her

If you don’t know who Kim Kardashian is, she is described as an “American media personality”. Kim, and her family, have a reality show called ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’. In summary, the show is all about the Kardashian/Jenner family, documenting their life and everything about it. The family has had many scandals but Kim Kardashian, in particular, has had many interesting ones.

Kim Kardashian is a businesswoman and launched a fashion boutique chain named “Dash” with her sisters Kourtney and Khloe which was running from 2006 to 2018. She also founded KKW beauty and KKW fragrance in 2017, and currently runs a popular business called “Skims” which was launched in 2019. 

Kanye West is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and fashion designer. He first gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the early 2000’s. He produced singles for many artists. Kanye has also made many albums including: ‘Late Registration’ (2005), ‘Graduation’ (2007), ‘808s & Heartbreak’ (2008), ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’ (2010), ‘Yeezus’ (2013), and many others. also including his most recent album ‘Donda’ which was dedicated to his late mother, who he named the album after. 

Kim and Kanye did not start dating until 2012. Kim says she thinks she had met him in 2002 or 2003 which she told Ryan Seacrest during her reality show. Both Kim and Kanye dated different people during the 2000’s and stayed friends.

In 2011, Kim married Kris Humphries and only 72 days after said marriage, Kris and Kim decided to split up. Kim later confessed that her divorce with Kris led her to discover that she had feelings for Kanye.

Kim says that after her divorce she felt really low and Kanye told her to come to his fashion show in Paris and she went, Kanye jokes that he put the whole show on just to get a date with Kim. Kim states that she swears from the moment she landed in Paris, she fell madly in love with Kanye. Kim and Kanye had 4 kids together, North West, Chicago West, Saint West and Psalm West

People believed, and still believe, that Kim and Kanye were/are soulmates. Their love seemed kind, true, and real. Fans even described it as “The kind of love people spend lifetimes searching for”. Kim was always supportive of everything Kanye did and Kanye reciprocated that supportive energy back to Kim. He never failed to show her he loved her, and fans knew it, as many pictures and posts of them together were getting posted showing Kanye treating Kim like a queen. 

In 2021, it was confirmed that Kim and Kanye had divorced. Allegedly, Kim was the one who wanted to file the divorce with Kanye.

Now, Kanye and Kim are separated, but still working hard, although, Kanye seems to be going through public scandals on social media. These social media scandals started when Kim had started dating comedian Pete Davidson. He then had another over Kim posting on TikTok with her eldest daughter, North West.

Currently, Kim is still growing her businesses making new body shaping clothing, which includes dresses and bodysuits. Kanye, is not on the same path as Kim.

Football

Biggest surprises and disappointments so far in the 2022 NFL season 

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By: Abby Altman

Whether it’s Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady struggling for the first time in their lengthy careers, or the New York teams stepping up in ways nobody expected, the 2022 season has been shocking in many ways. 

Here are some of the biggest surprises, and the biggest disappointments, so far in the 2022 NFL season. 

Surprises:

Geno Smith

After trading away Russell Wilson, the Seahawks new QB has been one of the most shocking performances of the season. So far this season, Smith has a 72.7% completion rate, throwing for 22 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. His overall quarterback rating (QBR) is 64.1. Many fans expected the Seahawks to be one of the worst in the league this season, but Smith has led Seatle to a 7-5 season, looking to try and take a wildcard spot into the playoffs. 

Philadelphia Eagles

After starting the season 8-0, the Eagles are by far one of the best teams in the league. Philadelphia dropped 1 game to the Washington Commanders in week 9, but havent lost since, and lead the NFL with a 11-1 record. The Eagles finished the 2021 season 9-8, taking the last wildcard spot in the NFC. 

Jalen Hurts has been a huge surprise for Philadelphia fans this season. Hurts finished 2021 with a QBR of 54.6. This season, he currently has a QBR of 68.2. Hurts has thrown for more touchdowns this season already than any other, and he still has 6 games left to play. 

New York Jets

In 2021, the Jets finished dead last in the AFC East, with a 4-13 record. Only 4 other teams had an equal or lower record that season. In 2022, the Jets are now 7-5. They are currently sitting in 3rd place in the AFC East, but are competing behind the Dolphins and the Bills. If the playoffs were to start today, the Jets would hold the 7th seed. 

The sudden change in the Jets success comes from an incredible 2022 draft class. With their 1st pick, the Jets drafted Cornerback Ahmed “Sauce” Gardner. Gardner currently leads the league in passes defended with 15 so far this season. Another excellent draft pick was used to select RB Breece Hall from Iowa State. Hall unfortunately tore his ACL in week 7 against the Broncos, but was a key piece to the Jets 5-2 record before he went out for the season. He finished week 7 with 463 rushing yards and 218 receiving yards. 

The Jets currently find themselves in a quarterback controversy, as previous 1st round draft pick Zach Wilson is heavily underperforming, and was benched for Mike White in week 12. White threw for 315 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Bears, and 369 yards, with 0 touchdowns and 2 interceptions against the Vikings week 13. As of now, it seems unlikely that Zach Wilson will start in the upcoming weeks. 

New York Giants

The Giants and the Jets are having almost identical seasons so far. Similarly to the Jets, the Giants finished last in the NFC East in 2021, with a record of 4-13. In the offseason, the Giants fired head coach Joe Judge and hired former offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their new head coach. Daboll has been a huge change for the Giants, as the Giants are now 7-4-1, and 3rd in the NFC East, behind the very successful Eagles and Cowboys. 

The surprising performance from Daniel Jones, combined with RB Saquan Barkely’s excellent season is a large piece of the Giants mild success. Barkley is currently 4th in the NFL in rushing yards with 1,055 yards. 

Minnesota Vikings 

With a brand new front office and coaching staff, the Vikings 2022 season was completely up in the air. Many thought the Vikings would go for a complete rebuild and be non-contenders for the foreseeable future. However, the Vikings did a competitive rebuild. They changed some things around and built a new scheme, all while remaining contenders. 

The Vikings finished the 2021 season with an 8-9 record, 2nd in the NFC North. The Vikings missed the playoffs for the 3rd year in a row. In the offseason, the Vikings fired head coach Mike Zimmer as well as general manager Rick Spielman. The new general manager hire, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, hired the Rams former offensive coordinator Kevin O’Connell as the new head coach. O’Connell joined the Vikings after winning a Super Bowl with Los Angeles last season. 

The new front office rebuilt Minnesota around an older team, led by several NFL veterans, including Adam Theilen, Patrick Peterson, and Harrison Smith. 

The Vikings are now 10-2 going into week 14, with a massive lead on the NFC North. Minnesota  currently holds the #2 seed in the NFC, behind the Eagles. 

Justin Fields

Since drafting Mitchell Trubisky in 2017, the Chicago Bears have been in a QB drought. In Trubisky’s time in Chicago, the Bears went 33-31, making the playoffs just once, in 2018. 

In 2021, the Bears drafted QB Justin Fields out of Ohio State. Fields has had a slow start, leading the Bears to 6-11 in his first season. While his record is not improving in the slightest, 2022 Justin Fields is a statistical beast, and it proving himself as a solid NFL QB. 

Fields played 12 games in 2021, and finished with 1,870 passing yards. Through 12 games in 2022, Fields has almost identical passing stats, with 1,896 passing yards. The rushing game, however,  is what puts Fields in the surprise category. In 2021, Fields had 420 rushing yards, which was 5th in the NFL for a QB. In 2022, Fields has 905 rushing yards. He has broken multiple records, including his 67 yard touchdown, which is the longest rushing touchdown in franchise history. The previous record was 61 yards, set by Fields 1 week prior.  

Fields is currently 1st in QB rushing yards, and 7th in the NFL in total rushing yards. 

Dissapointments:

Los Angeles Rams

The Los Angeles Rams are easily the biggest disappointment this season, and high on the list for all time. In 2021, the Rams had one of the best offenses in the league, and that led them to a Super Bowl title. Less than a year ago, Matthew Stafford and the Rams hoisted the Lombardi trophy, and now they are 3-9 and last in the NFC West. 

Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp are both on the IR, and the Rams are in absolutely no position to win. In most cases, teams in this position would likely tank for a higher draft pick, but the Rams traded away most of their draft picks in order to build their Super Bowl winning team, and do not have a 1st round pick. 

This is the first losing season for head coach Sean McVay since he was hired in 2017. 

Aaron Rodgers and The Packers

The Packers rarely find themselves on the disappointing list, and when they do it’s typically because Aaron Rodgers didn’t play. This season, that’s simply not the case. Green Bay is currently 5-8 and 3rd in the NFC North. 

Without Davante Adams, it was expected that Rodgers would have trouble finding receivers to connect with, but many fans still expected to see the Packers atop the division. Quite the opposite has happened, however. rookie WR Christian Watson is stepping up in his 1st season, with 8 touchdowns over the last 4 games. 

The Packers however, can’t seem to get things done, and the playoffs seem to be out of reach, even for Aaron Rodgers. Packers fans at Highland Park decline to comment on the team’s situation. 

Russell Wilson

The Seahwaks trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos was a huge move, and Denver gave up a lot in order to obtain Wilson. Before playing a single snap for Denver, Wilson was paid a pretty penny. Much to the entire Broncos organization’s disappointment, he has not lived up to the hype. At all. The Broncos finished 2021 with a 7-10 record, and as of now, their 3-9 record does not seem to be an improvement. 

A quarterback, even one as accomplished as Wilson is expected to struggle in a brand new offense. But, nobody expected Wilson to struggle as much as he has. 

Wilson has made 9 Pro Bowls in his career and made 2 Super Bowl appearances, winning one of them. And yet, regardless of his career achievements, Wilson is one of the worst quarterbacks in the league right now. Wilson is ranked 17th in passing yards, and 28th in touchdowns and QBR. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This past offseason, Tom Brady kept fans on their toes by retiring and then promptly un-retiring, staying in Tampa for at least 1 more season. This has not turned out to be the relief that many Buccaneers fans originally felt. Brady has a QBR of 53.8, which is 18th in the league. He is 4th in passing yards, and 2nd in fewest interceptions thrown, but he has been unsuccessful in leading the Bucs to a winning season. 

The Buccaneers currently lead the NFC South and hold a playoff spot, with a 5-6 record. No team has ever made the playoffs with a losing record, and most NFL fans would be thoroughly disappointed if Tampa Bay makes the playoffs performing like they have been. 

On top of the struggles on the field, Tom Brady’s personal life has overshadowed anything football related. Also, likely impacting his play, Brady has taken more time off than anyone to attend weddings, go on trips, and deal with many family issues. If the Buccaneers want to be contenders again, something big needs to change, and a QB focused on football might be necessary. 

Music/Concerts

Ticketmaster and Taylor Swift

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By: Abisola Dosunmu

On Tuesday, November 15, the Eras Tour tickets went on sale through Ticketmaster and the demand has skyrocketed since the first day. Over 2 million tickets were sold, and over 3.5 million people registered as Verified Fans. Because of that, the Ticketmaster website was flooded with traffic, and users experienced constant crashes, technical difficulties, and having to wait hours on the site, just for a chance to get a ticket. There were also a lot of bot attacks and fans who didn’t have invite codes on the website. 

“I attempted to get presale by signing up for ‘verified fan,’ but I got waitlisted, and they cancelled general sale, so I was unable to get tickets. However, there are also many people who did get the presale code, but still didn’t get tickets, which I think is really unfortunate. I think it’s weird that so many codes were sent out that tickets were sold out before some people with presale could get tickets, because that shouldn’t have been possible. Obviously Ticketmaster is at fault and not Taylor and her team, though,” Erin Moore, “Swiftie”, stated.

Eventually, Ticketmaster had to cancel their public sale of tickets, due to the complaints and other external difficulties. They issued an apology that Friday night, apologizing to Taylor Swift and the fans that had a less than enjoyable experience buying tickets on their site. They offered more information on what happened. 

So what caused it? 

Well, I went to the link they added in their tweet explaining what happened—and the gist is Taylor Swift is so awesome she caused her own problem. The demand for her tickets was so high she broke records. And in turn, their website. Never before had a verified fan ticket sale attracted so much attention and traffic. Over 2 million tickets were sold on Ticketmaster for Taylor Swift—in a single day. That’s the most tickets sold for an artist ever. 

Also, Ticketmaster made users log in to get the tickets and enter a code to complete the purchase of tickets, just to limit the amount of bots that were on their site. Because of that, huge amounts of traffic from verified fans, unverified fans, and bots, hit the site, which meant Ticketmaster had to slow down queues to keep them from crashing. As a result, many fans ended up not getting their tickets.

As annoying as it is to have to wait long periods of time to end up not getting what you’re waiting for anyways, it’s impossible for everyone to have gotten their tickets to the show. The people (and bots) on Ticketmaster hoping to get tickets would have led Taylor to perform over two hundred stadium shows—She’d be performing every single night for the next 2.5 years. That’s impossible. So, playing the devil’s advocate here, from what I’ve learned, even though Ticketmaster could have done something to make the process of buying tickets easier, something like this was bound to happen anyway, given how popular Taylor Swift is.

Taylor responded to this in her Instagram story, and it’s pretty long, so I’ll just include a picture of it here.

So what happens now? 

As of Sunday, December 4th, some Swiftie lawyers (called Vigilante Legal—a reference to one of Taylor’s songs, named “vigilante sh*t”) have banded together to file suit against Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster is also promised further scrutiny from the government. I am unsure what further consequences will befall Ticketmaster and what effects will come from all of this, but there are a lot of people now paying attention to the ticket selling giant, and I doubt Ticketmaster will be allowed to mess up like this again. 

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Soccer

Will the runners up at the 2018 World Cup make it out of the group stage?

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By Aeden Evenson-McDermott

As the World Cup group stages got underway across Qatar, Croatia would be back on their path for the quest of World Cup glory following 2018’s heartbreak.

In their opening fixture on November 23, Croatia would be featured against their first opponent Morocco. They would combine for many chances as would Morocco, but none could find the back of the net. No exciting drama of many goals, but a good defensive battle put on.

Croatia’s Nikola Vlašić and Morocco’s Noussair Mazraoui would each share glorious opportunities in the first half especially. Croatian captain Luka Modrić at times was able to move freely but also at other times was limited in his ability to switch the field and dominate the midfield.

The second half would be much like the first half in many ways with both sides going back and forth up and down the field.

Croatia and Morocco would be held to a scoreless draw of 0-0 at the end of the 90 minutes earning each side a point going into the second match day.

On November 27, Croatia took on Canada in a thriller game. Canada’s Alphonso Davies scored an immaculate thumper of a header into Croatia’s net with just 68 seconds on the clock. It would be the fastest goal of this year’s World Cup. Canada’s brief joy spell would only last a short while until Croatia’s Andrej Kramarić would score a nice equalizer in the 36th minute! 1-1!

Both teams played quite competitively in the first half but signs showed Croatia was in the driver’s seat and was becoming more dominant in the control of the game. Just before half, Croatia’s Marko Livaja scored a beautiful goal too and Croatia would take the lead just before the halftime break!

In addition, it’s also important to note that going into this game, it was all or nothing for Canada, as if they lost they would be out of the World Cup. Canada’s coach John Herdman made some not so nice remarks about how they would beat Croatia but as you will see later in the article, his words reversed on him and Canada bared the words he said.

Into the second half, both teams came out strong and poised to go at it for the second 45 minutes of the match. Canada had some opportunities along the wings and were close to equalizing, but when Kramarić bagged his second goal in the 70th minute, it extinguished all hopes of a Canada survival.

In the closing stages of the game, a miscue by Canada allowed for Croatia’s Mislav Oršić to dish off the ball to Lovro Majer which essentially put the nail in the coffin when Majer slammed the ball under the crossbar through Milan Borjan’s arms.

An exciting game as Croatia would gather an additional 3 points which would bring them to 4 points in total going into match day 3!

On December 1, Croatia would match up against Belgium for the final group stage game. It would be the true test and final installment to see who would advance, or who would be leaving and be on their flight home, the following day.

The stage was set and both teams were focused on the match. Croatia had an early opportunity for a penalty but was reviewed by the VAR (Video Assistant Referee) and therefore was deemed offside because of the Croatia player’s hand being over the line.

In my honest opinion, I thought it was a takedown of the Croatia player for the penalty originally but now with FIFA’s advancement on VAR technology the player’s hand was offside but still a debatable topic.

Croatia would have some glorious opportunities of their own with captain Luka Modrić racking up some shots on goal.

Belgium in the second half though would have many incredible opportunities to put Croatia out and Belgium through, but none could see the net. Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku was the main man on many of the chances.

Croatia would survive the pummeling of shots late and would be relieved when the final whistle was blown at the end of the 90 minutes!

Belgium and Canada would come up short and be eliminated from the World Cup as Croatia, and first place Morocco, would advance.

A lot to take in for Belgium’s supposed “Golden Generation” as they failed to compete and win a major trophy again. The coach, Roberto Martinez, would also resign and step down following the game.

Croatia plays Japan for the Round of 16 Match on December 5, while Morocco plays Spain the following day December 6.

The World Cup excitement is only just beginning and there will be plenty more content left to come!