Volleyball Day in Nebraska took place August 30, 2023. This was a historic day for Nebraska volleyball and female sports overall. Nebraska volleyball broke a world record this night. They broke the record of the most people to watch a female sport in person. There were a total of 92,003 people in the Memorial Stadium which is their football stadium.
The idea for this was created by the head coach of the Nebraska volleyball team John Cook. The goal was to beat the record Wisconsin had just created a few weeks before. The issue was there was no indoor stadium that could hold that many people, so they decided to do it outdoors in the Nebraska football stadium. The stadium can technically only hold 85,458 but has exceeded that number many times before. A lot of the administrators at University of Nebraska thought that this might not be successful but they were definitely proved wrong. The night tickets went on sale; they sold out in the first hour. Everyone was shocked by how fast they sold out.
The day of the game, the Nebraska volleyball team did a meet and greet with a ton of Husker fans. The goal of this meet and greet was to show the love the Nebraska volleyball team has for their community and the love the community has for them. The meet and greet was truly so special, so many young fans got to meet their idols in volleyball and it was amazing to see.
The game was against Omaha, and the University of Nebraska won in three sets. It was a beautiful night, not a cloud in the sky. Once the second set ended they found out the attendance number, and how they broke the record. All the players were trying to stay locked in for the game but could not contain their excitement. A lot of tears were shed by coaches, players, and fans. It was truly an amazing thing to hear and learn about as a younger volleyball player. Nebraska is the volleyball capital of the world and it truly is such an amazing atmosphere.
The month of December is such a magical time to be in New York City. There are endless activities to do or see in the Big Apple. Coming to the city can be a great way to celebrate the holiday season. Here are 7 things you can do this Christmas in NYC.
1. Book tickets to see The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. The Rockettes are a classic wintertime spectacular to see when visiting New York City; many families make it a tradition to see them every year. It is such a cool experience and it can ignite your holiday cheer!
2. Visit the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The Rockefeller tree is a classic destination for holiday lovers in NYC during December. The amazing 74 foot tall tree is decorated in over 50,000 lights for the holiday season and is a perfect place to go for photos with the family or by yourself.
3. Going to F.A.O. Schwartz. F.A.O. Schwarz is a toy store that is filled with holiday spirit this time of year. This store is well known in the movie ‘Home Alone’ 2, and inside it is decorated beautifully for Christmas. It has 2 floors but it was crowded making it seem smaller than in the movies. It is a great place to visit, but you have to be willing to wait in the long line to get inside. This long line can be worth it because when you turn the corner the Rockefeller tree is there and it is the closest you can get to it, so it is a perfect place to take a few pictures without crowds!
4. Visiting the Plaza Hotel. The Plaza Hotel is a beautiful hotel decorated elegantly for Christmas. Although the hotel itself is not open for visitors, and only guests, you can go around the corner to the shops at the plaza and look at the beautiful Christmas decorations while shopping.
5. Going to see the lights in Dyker Heights. Seeing a Christmas light display is not what you would expect to see when going to NYC but if you take the subway to Dyker Heights, just 39 minutes away from Manhattan, there is a neighborhood with many houses decked out for Christmas with many food trucks and lots of hot chocolate!
6. If you are walking near Rockefeller Plaza to see the tree, stop by Bryant Park to visit their annual Christmas market. You can do lots of holiday shopping and there are local crafts and other gifts at the shops as well. The Winter Village is also a big hit with its food and drink. It is more on the pricey side, but there are lots of fun holiday snacks and drinks available at different vendors and cafés. The Bryant Park Winter Village is a great place to grab a bite to eat, visit some shops, and experience the winter wonderland!
7. Another fun activity you can do downtown is ice skating at the Rockefeller Plaza. This seasonal rink is iconic in New York as you are skating right under the Rockefeller Christmas tree. This is definitely something that you want to check off on your list if you are traveling to the city. The rink is open all day and is a super fun way to experience the city’s holiday spirit with family and friends.
Overall, visiting New York City during the Christmas season is a great way to make the most of the holidays. There are so many attractions to see, shows to watch, and activities to do. There is really no other place that has this charm like New York City does during Christmas time. With all of the twinkling lights and decorations, the city is bursting with holiday cheer that is sure to be an unforgettable experience.
‘Marvel Rivals’ is a 3rd person shooter game developed by NetEase Games. On December 6th, it was released on Xbox, PlayStation, and Windows. On release, ‘Marvel Rivals’ has 33 Marvel comic characters to play as, including the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl.
Doreen Green, better known as Squirrel Girl, is a Canadian Marvel heroine in New York who debuted back in 1991. In her first appearance, she is a girl who has various squirrel-like abilities caused by a genetic mutation. Some of her powers are super strength, a strong bite force, retractable claws, and she’s good at tracking things. Similar to other characters like Wolverine, she has regenerative healing.
Squirrel Girl is a character readers find funny, as on her first appearance in the comics, she’s a 14-year-old who teams up with Iron Man, saves him, and defeats Doctor Doom. She didn’t defeat a Doombot, she defeated the actual Doctor Doom. Victor von Doom is one of the most threatening villains in the comics, so people found it a bit odd how a teenager with no training managed to beat him.
Unfortunately for Doreen, Iron Man did not take her as a sidekick and he tells her she’s too young to be a superhero.
Being a character who’s powers surround talking to squirrels and being a squirrel, she’s considered a silly and lighthearted hero. Her beating numerous characters who are definitely stronger than her is a recurring joke. They often work around the strength difference by making the fights off-page/only showing the aftermath. One of her most iconic victories would be her against Thanos, though later it’s revealed by Thanos she actually defeated a perfect clone of him (even though the Thanos who said that is a clone himself with altered memory). Another popular victory would be her convincing Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds, not to eat earth.
Squirrel Girl’s strength level has been a topic of discussion and personally, even though I’m not into her in the comics, she’s been one of my favorite characters since I played her in Lego Marvel Superheroes (2013) as a little kid. I haven’t played ‘Marvel Rivals’ yet but when I do, I’m planning on main-ing Doreen.
NASA is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA was created on October 1st, 1958 after president Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act. NASA is a government agency of the United States, and it is responsible for U.S. space exploration, space technology, Earth and space science, and aeronautics research.
In total, 24 astronauts have made the journey from earth to the moon. Half of those astronauts only orbited the moon while the other half landed on it. Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin were the first two people to walk on the moon. It’s been over 50 years since anyone has walked on the moon, but why is that?
The main reason is money. Building these rockets was incredibly expensive and NASA relied heavily on funding from the government. Once the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was a success and the U.S. had won the space race, NASA faced major funding cuts. Originally, there were 20 Apollo missions, but due to a lack of funds the last 3 were canceled.
Since then NASA has focused on other projects. One notable example being the International Space Station. However, one of NASA’s new projects aims to land humans back on the moon.
NASA’s Artemis program consists of 4 main parts: an uncrewed flight test around the moon, a crewed flight test around the moon, sending humans to explore the region near the lunar south pole, and finally establishing a scientific base on the moon. These missions will aptly be named Artemis I, II, III, and IV respectively. With these missions, NASA’s goal is both to “explore the moon for scientific discovery and to inspire a new generation of explorers” according to Nasa.gov.
Artemis I launched 2 years ago and was a huge success for NASA and its partners. However, the crewed mission (Artemis II) which was slated to launch in late 2025 has now been delayed to April 2026. Artemis III also suffered delays and is currently being projected to launch no-earlier than mid 2027.
If you want to learn more about the Artemis missions, please go to:
The movie ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, released in 2022, and directed by James Cameron, is a film with 60% of CGI imagery and the other 40% of the film utilizes the traditional techniques of live-action imagery. It is a film produced by Jon Landau, Peter M. Tobyansen, and James Cameron. It is set in Pandora, a habitable exomoon, and primarily in the tropical-inspired underwater region of the Metkayina clan.
The film tells us about the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids Lo’ak, Neteyam, Tuktirey, and Kiri), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
Lo’ak te Suli Tsyeyk’itan the second son of Jake Sully is a major character in the film serving as one of two main protagonists in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. The movie heavily explores Lo’ak’s struggles with identity and his relationships with his family, particularly his older brother Neteyam. His impulsive actions and desire to prove himself often creates conflicts and drives the story forward.
In my opinion, I love ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. It was the first movie I saw in theaters and I think it was a magical experience. Everything about the movie was perfect and I rate this movie a 5/5 because I love how it explores the themes of environmentalism, family, and the conflict between human greed and the natural world. I think it’s also a pretty emotional movie as it shows motherhood not only for the Na’vi but also the Tulkun which is a species of whale-like creatures native to the oceans of Pandora.
Overall, I love how it makes you feel deeply connected to nature especially with the environment and where it takes place. Like I said before, watching the movie in theaters was magical and a once in a lifetime experience, it’s one of those moments where you just had to be there to experience the feeling.
You can watch ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ on Disney+ or you can rent it on other platforms.
Yet again, another ‘Life Series’ article, but this one should be interesting! In the ‘Life Series’, some members are given what fans call “curses”. Curses are what fans discover are repeating to a member in each season, like how Jimmy is always the first one out (putting aside the past 2 seasons).
These curses can get complicated and may sometimes make no sense, so I’m here to save the day and explain them all to you to the best of my abilities!
This one was explained in a past article about “fan designs”, but it’s back again for this article too: the Canary Curse. Jimmy, as spoken about above, has somehow been on a streak of being the first member out for 4 seasons in a row! It’s impressive, really.
The Canary Curse is in reference to when coal miners would bring canaries into caves to warn them of gas/oil leaks (danger) as canaries are very sensitive to gas/oil leaks and would die first before the coal miners. Jimmy, the canary, would die before all of the other members, warning them that things are soon to be in utter chaos.
In connection with the Canary Curse, Mumbo has something called the Coal Miner Curse.
Mumbo is the coal miner to Jimmy’s canary, as in every season Mumbo has been in— minus the most recent one, Mumbo has managed to die minutes after Jimmy. I really hope that makes sense because I’m not sure how else to explain this one.
Grian has the Widow’s Curse. This curse was assigned to him because Grian has always ended up betraying his close teammates or being the direct cause of their death. For example: in ‘3rd Life’, Grian and Scar, who had been allied and teaming together throughout the entire season, had a fight to the death, where Grian won, making him the winner of ‘3rd Life’. In ‘Last Life’, Grian and Mumbo had a dispute, sparking a fight. Grian, knowing full well that Mumbo was the one that he had the strongest connection to in all of his alliances, goes on to take Mumbo’s last life.
These next few ones aren’t really well known throughout the ‘Life Series’ community, as they’re not as “official” as the others, but I thought it’d be fun to include them too.
Impulse has the Winners Ticket Curse. Impulse, in more than half of the seasons, has managed to get his last life taken by the soon to be winner of the season. In ‘Last Life’, Impulse gets shot by Scott at his base, losing his last life and forcing him out of the season. Scott will then later on that same episode go on to win the whole thing. In ‘Limited Life’, Impulse, Scott, and Martyn were discussing a way to have an even deathmatch. Martyn would then go on a killing spree, killing Scott first, and Impulse second. Making Martyn the official winner of ‘Limited Life’, and rendering Impulse as second place.
“Winners Ticket Curse” as in whoever takes his last life, is almost a guaranteed season win. If I’m being totally honest, if my curse was basically the saying “so close, yet so far” I think I’d lose my mind.
Ren has the Blinded Curse. He often dies to things that he doesn’t see. This can mean a trap, an arrow to the back, an axe to the head, or a stone to the skull. Whatever it is, it’s something that he hadn’t seen.
There are many more curses to be given out to the members, some of them blessings. Of course these curses “aren’t real” but they are fun, aren’t they? They’re just things fans came up with to keep themselves entertained and keep a creative mind.
Every year, around 40,000 people in the United States are killed by vehicles. This includes both those who die driving when they get in accidents and those who are hit by vehicles while walking or biking.
Per mile driven, our nation’s roads are almost twice as dangerous as many comparable nations. Furthermore, the death rate on our roads has been increasing for the past decade, despite all of the new safety features being included in cars, now mostly consisting of features that assist drivers in keeping the speed limit, staying in lanes, and braking.
Even worse, the number of pedestrians killed by vehicles has nearly doubled since 2010, and is now the highest it has been since 1981. According to a recent piece published in ‘The Economist’, the blame for this is on the increase in the weight of vehicles.
The average new vehicle in America now weighs 4,400 pounds. American vehicles are getting bigger and heavier. Vehicles weighing over 5,000 pounds made up 31% of the market last year, up from 22% in 2018. This trend shows no sign of stopping.
This increase in weight is an issue because it means an increase in force of vehicles, force being mass times acceleration.
Ironically, for a long time, the conventional wisdom has been that this increase in vehicle size has been making us safer. This is because very heavy vehicles are able to better protect those inside if they get into a crash with lighter vehicles. However, this causes a much greater decrease in the safety of those in the lighter vehicles, creating an endless arms race of heavier cars. It’s even worse for pedestrians and cyclists, who lack the safety provided by the walls of a car.
The biggest issue is the difference in weight. According to an estimate by ‘The Economist’, fatalities could be reduced by 12% if the heaviest 10% of cars got just 10 percent lighter. And, to be clear, this is all focused on passenger vehicles, not commercial vehicles like semi trucks.
Another thing that makes this issue more difficult is the fact that the shift to EVs has also made cars heavier, with their battery adding a lot of weight to new electric vehicles.
The solutions to this problem are also quite complicated. Regulations could be changed to encourage lighter vehicles, but this could also disincentive electric vehicles. One of the reasons that larger vehicles started being sold so much was that they were made exempt from fuel efficiency regulations in the 1970s.
Some changes have already occurred. The National Transport Safety Board last year changed their definitions of vehicle safety to account for those outside the vehicle in question, accounting for those in the other cars and pedestrians as well.
I think more should be done. We should be passing laws to encourage lighter vehicles and make our roads safer. We should also redesign many aspects of our roads, which are wide, with many uncontrolled intersections, and designed to make driving comfortable and easy. These conditions, however, encourage very fast car speeds, the other half of mass times acceleration.
*Warning: this story contains, depictions of violence, including suicide, and some vulgar language.
I had to hurry if I wanted to make it.
I stumbled down the street watching as the sun began to rise, just peeking over the overgrown forest, trying my hardest to go the slightest bit faster than a saunter, but I was tired from running. Not only that, the pain in my arm kept violently shooting throughout my body, making me wince each time. I could feel the bite’s poison slowly move through my veins. Hot and burning, it was creeping up to my elbow. Once it reached my heart, it would kill me. I should’ve been more careful. I was too cocky. Walkers are slow, but strong, so when I tried to push a walker twice my size off me, the walker unsurprisingly overpowered me and tore a grotesque chunk of flesh from my arm. I could barely grab my knife in time. If I hadn’t, I would’ve been turned by now. But I couldn’t let that happen. That’s why I was rushing. Trying my very hardest to get to the only place worth something before I turned. I wouldn’t allow myself to turn. I couldn’t become one of them. That was my only fear, to die and turn, then to kill and kill and kill, until I spread this curse to someone else. It was disgusting. I hated the people who were too cowardly to put down the turned. It was disgraceful to watch as a cannibalistic beast took over their bodies. I couldn’t do that to myself. So I decided to go to the only place that reminded me of a better time, before the world went to shit. A place where a smile was an everyday occurrence. Where nothing could shatter our hopes and dreams. The place I met him.
That place lay nearby; three miles, to be exact. For a slow and sickly human it felt like 20. I kept on walking, hoping I would make it before my body gave up. Just then, as I looked up, I saw it. The place I was searching for. I hadn’t noticed how close I had gotten because I was too busy trying to keep myself from being overcome by pain.
It also didn’t help that as far as I could see there were trees. Only the road, cracked and crumbling, was an exception to the surrounding greenery. Yet, the place I was searching for was intact. The high school.
Five years ago I was here; though it seemed abandoned for at least fifteen. Standing in front of the building, I could tell it had been unkempt for years. Much like most buildings now, the concrete that covered the building was cracking. The trees surrounding were so overgrown that the shrubs underneath looked frail and pathetic from not getting enough sunlight. The building itself was the same as any other, dull, square, and beige, but now looked alive with ivy and moss. But the building wasn’t where I wanted to go, it was the garden.
The garden was located behind the school, so I mustered all my strength to make my way there. As I arrived at the far end of the school, I was shocked to see a field once plain and bare, brimming with flowers nestled within the surrounding forest. And, in the middle of the field, was a giant cottonwood tree on a small hill. The cottonwood was in full bloom, letting its seeds gracefully drift to the ground, making it look like freshly fallen snow. It was beautiful.
I let myself slowly stagger through the field, adorned with daisies and tulips, taking each step with deliberate care. I cared more for those flowers than anything in a long time. I couldn’t bear to break them. I could see him standing there in the field, smiling at me as he plucked the prettiest flower he could find. My heart hurt. I kept taking slow steps, searching for a fleeting memory, one where we were together. As I stepped underneath the cottonwood, I felt the warmth of the sun shining through the branches, making it feel as though he was there with me. Holding me. We promised to be together forever, but that was nothing but a dream.
It was the day he told me he loved me. It was the day he took my hands and smiled. It was the day I ran. I ran away with him. Running as fast as we could, away from the screams. We ran for years. Then he left. He grabbed my hands and smiled at me. All I could see was him. Yet in an instant, it all vanished as his lifeless body slumped to the ground. He was beautiful and so was his death. I chose to bury him beneath the cottonwood tree that we cherished so dearly. Now, flowers grow where he lay, where I long to lay.
I could feel the poison seeping deeper and deeper. I slumped against the tree, sliding down the rough bark, my dress getting caught on each crack. Sitting beneath the cottonwood, in snow that felt like clouds, on a hill amidst a field, with the sun gently touching my face, I couldn’t help but think there was no better place. I reached into my dress pocket and found the cold, hard piece of steel, fumbling the loose bullets. I struggled to lift it up beneath my jaw, aiming it toward my brain. I knew I was on the brink of turning, but that thought didn’t bother me. I could only find myself thinking of him. His warmth brought a smile to my face. I closed my eyes, embracing his warmth, filling me with peace. Then, as I felt a tear roll down my cheek, I took one final breath and pulled the trigger.
Burger King has made many songs over the years, but not all of them can be the best. This will be the top 5 Burger King songs from least good to most good in my opinion.
The least good song on this list is “BK’s Fiery Menu”. This song is advertising Burger King’s fiery menu. What I love about this song is that it puts a unique spin on the usual Burger King ad. The music in the background is changed with things like horns. Other than that, the whole song has good rhymes and is a fantastic way to advertise their fiery menu.
The next song on the list is “Double ‘Em Up”. This song is supposed to show off Burger King’s deal of 2 meals for $5.99 each. The good thing about this song is that it’s very simple and catchy. This is a classic Burger King song that shows off every part of the 2 meal deal.
The third best song is “Share, or Don’t”. Similar to the last song this is advertising a different deal for a Whopper Jr. duo for 5 dollars. It points out that you can share with a friend or eat it yourself without telling them. This is said in a funny and unexpected way by them whispering “They’ll never know”. This is a great way to advertise this new deal.
Now, the song that’s not quite the best, but so close is “Eat Like a King”. This song is showing how cheap a meal at Burger King is. What I like about it is that it has the same classic feeling of a Burger King song but the way it stops to say “Wait that can’t be right” actually works to not ruin the song and fits in quite well.
The best Burger King song is “Whopper Whopper”. This is the most well known Burger King song, which is just meant to advertise the Whopper. What makes this song better than the rest is that they aren’t trying to make it fit in with all the other ads because it’s the first ad of this style. The background and vocals are actually made to go together instead of trying to fit new vocals with the background. This makes everything in the song flow super well while still showing off the product that they’re trying to sell.
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