Monthly Archives: January 2025

Movies/TV/Theaters

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘SEVEN’

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By: Charlotte Bistodeau

The movie ‘Seven’ (sometimes seen as ‘Se7en’), is a 1995 R-rated, crime/horror film directed by David Fincher (who also directed 1999’s ‘Fight Club’, 2011’s ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’, and 2023’s ‘The Killer’) and written by Andrew Kevin Walker (who also wrote 1999’s ‘Sleepy Hollow’, 2010’s ‘Wolfman’, and 2023’s ‘The Killer’).

The film follows two police detectives, William Somerset and David Mills, as they hunt down the serial killer who kills their victims based on the seven deadly sins. It’s hard to give any more information on the story of the movie because you pretty much know about as much as the two detectives at the beginning and learn along with them. This makes the movie interesting. Instead of knowing things that the main characters don’t, you know only what they know, making you invested in each scene.

I would say that there aren’t a lot of horror aspects except a few dead body’s. Instead, there is a sense of dread making you feel like something bad could happen at any moment throughout the film. The ending of the movie though, is perfect. There couldn’t be a better ending to it.

I enjoyed the main characters thoroughly. Many horror movies throughout the 1980’s and 90’s have an incredibly stupid amount of main characters. Many times you end up being annoyed with these stupid characters and even end up rooting for the killer (or being extremely disappointed in the killer for not having killed them by now). But ‘Se7en’ is not that movie. William Somerset is incredibly smart, to the point that he’s able to figure out by the first two murders that they were done by the same person. Even David Mills, who is not as smart as Somerset, still has a personality that is able to put two and two together. These things make you root for them. It also helps that the actors of William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) and David Mills (Brad Pitt) do a great job at playing their characters.

The background music is something else. You don’t notice it. Or at least I didn’t. It wasn’t bad, in fact it was great, it was just that you get so invested into the story that the background music doesn’t stand out. It adds feeling without making it noticeable.

You can buy the DVD for about 25$ on Amazon or you can watch it on HBO or YouTube Premium.

I’ve watched a lot of horror movies from the 1980’s-90’s and this one is definitely my favorite. Even compared to horror movies today, it’s still my favorite. So, I would have to rate it a 10/10. If you really like psychological horror or crime horror, I would definitely recommend this movie to watch.

Editorials/Student Voice

Potholes in East Side of Saint Paul, Minnesota

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By: Angelina Nguyen, Gaohlee Thao and Christine Yang

Photo by Zu00fclfu00fc Demirud83dudcf8 on Pexels.com

Our goal for the article is to reach local residents of the East Side of Saint Paul and spread awareness about road issues (potholes) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Spreading awareness about road issue(s), like potholes, can also bring awareness to different areas in Saint Paul so residents across Saint Paul can also drive safely no matter the status and conditions of that area. We also want to incorporate into our article how to help fund Saint Paul with their budgeting to help with road issues and help pothole victims along with other things. 

We want to address the problem that Minnesota has with roadway inconveniences that lead to damaged vehicles, injured civilians, and chaos on the road – all caused by potholes. In 2023, Minnesota was rated as the worst state for having potholes because data showed by QuoteWizard, that Minnesota had the most pothole-related complaints of any state. KSTP, a local Minnesota news outlet, created a post relating to the overall issue of potholes in Saint Paul to help inform citizens about repair programs for roads, or reimbursement for cars/injured citizens. 

The reason Minnesota roads end up with so many potholes is because it goes through the freeze-thaw cycle, which usually occurs during the winter season; that is how potholes are formed. The freeze-thaw cycle happens when the temperature fluctuates repeatedly below and above 32F.  The freeze-thaw cycle hollows the road, and with the added pressure, when people are driving on the weakened roads, this is why potholes look like a dent in the road. Minneapolis and Duluth, or similar cities, face the worst cases of potholes due to the fact that these cities are heavily trafficked and have to deal with harsh climate conditions. These are two main factors that contribute to deteriorating the infrastructure. 

Not only are potholes an inconvenience to traffic, but they are also a hassle for residents who may have to pay repair fees on their damaged cars, paying up to $1,000. This kind of fee can be covered by insurance companies or reimbursed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) by filing a complaint of negligence, but this might not be the case for some residents who are affected. They might not get either of the coverage and might have to pay from their own income. According to the U.S. Census of Saint Paul, the average income per year for a household is $35,000-$70,000, so taking some portion of this family income if they were to pay may not be possible. 

Potholes have been a problem in Minnesota, but it doesn’t seem to be a huge concern, and it is not talked about enough. Considering what kind of damages and dangers are caused by potholes – that are frequent to Minnesota roads and occur yearly during the winter months, we think it is about time this topic is reviewed more and is talked about more, to help alleviate the traffic disruption. In the Saint Paul community, it is necessary to look out for other people in the community who might come into danger with potholes and will have to pay the aftermath prices, such as hospital bills or car repair fees. This will cost a lot for a low-income family who might not be eligible for car insurance coverage or reimbursement by MnDOT.

The East Side is one of the areas that struggles with poverty the most, which can be the reason why the roads are in a rougher condition than other areas of Saint Paul. That area, and others, probably are not at the same level of prioritization of road conditions compared to other areas of Saint Paul, or just cities in Minnesota in general, that don’t struggle with poverty as much. This leads to more frequent and severe potholes in those areas that are often overlooked while the “wealthier” areas are being cared for, or focused on, more. The East Side and other areas most likely wouldn’t be able to properly afford the costs of pothole recovery and/or fixing accidents that were a result of the poor road conditions. But even knowing that Saint Paul struggles with finances for road conditions, which leads to the cause of potholes or more road issues not being fixed, can help lead to more people trying to do something to fix the problem. 

The average median household income in Saint Paul in 2019-2023 was $17,055, which can be a reflection of Saint Paul’s funding or budgeting. This ties back to institutional oppression because those in low-income areas will most likely have a difficult time finding access to affordable healthcare or insurance to cover possible damages to themselves or their vehicles caused by these harsh road conditions. 

Poor road conditions also get in the way of people getting access to education, healthcare, and employment, as many people face delays or have difficulty getting from one place to the other on roads that are poorly maintained. This impacts low-income and minority groups more as they may not have many options for transportation. Also, the costs of car repairs as a result of potholes can be a significant burden for these families, taking money away from other necessities. Whereas areas with higher incomes would have an easier time with being able to afford and get access to the right resources or help that they would need from any damages. 

Institutional oppression manifests in budget allocations, with marginalized communities often receiving less funding for road work, paving, and timely repairs. In turn, this neglect influences cycles of poverty, as deteriorating roads contribute to unsafe driving conditions, car damage, and hindrances to economic mobility. Furthermore, these potholes can lead to environmental problems, as the streets in these communities may not be fit to handle certain climates like flooding, stormwater, and other weather conditions that can make existing inequities worse. Potholes deepen disparities, impacting transportation, health, safety, and community resources.

If potholes are spotted on a street in Saint Paul, Minnesota or your vehicle has been damaged due to it, report it to this link. https://www.stpaul.gov/departments/public-works/street-maintenance/pothole-patching 

Tech/Games

All powers in ‘Wild Life’!

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By: Julia Yang

The saga of ‘Life Series’ articles is almost coming to a close, but it’s never too late to discuss the latest season!

‘Wild Life’ is of course by far the most wild season, where every session is a different wild event! In session 7 every member was selected a random superpower! I loved this session so much that I want to explain to you every power, who got it, and how I think it connects to the person!

Grian – Copycat/Mimic

Grian had the ability to copy any other player’s superpower for 5 minutes, all he had to do was simply find and right click on a player to copy it.

Grian gave himself this power because he’s the creator of all of the “wild cards” (events), which meant he also came up with the powers!

I can go into lore to explain why this can possibly draw back to it, but I don’t want to waste your time with lore.

Cleo – Necromancy

Cleo had the ability to summon zombies back from the dead— no, like literally. She brought back all of the dead players.

Previously dead players Mumbo and Skizz came back from the grave for this session, but not as the same Mumbo and Skizz you may remember. They came back from the dead to serve the person they get summoned by, and no more than that. They each only have four hearts and listened to Cleo’s every command, no matter how hard or weird it may be.

When Mumbo and Skizz die, Cleo can simply summon them back, but they’re on a cooldown of 5 minutes.

Cleo has this power because her full gamer tag/YouTuber username is “ZombieCleo” and her Minecraft skin is literally a zombie! How could she not have this power?

Etho – Windburst

Etho had the ability to use a windburst and go up dramatically higher than the normal player and take absolutely no damage!

Although he had a mace and fishing rod which made his power extremely dangerous to be around, I don’t believe he ever landed a hit or killed anyone with it besides Gem (and Skizz, the zombie that’ll come back anyway)!

This power has absolutely no connection to Etho, but it was fun nonetheless!

Bdubs – Time

Bdubs had the ability to slow down time for about 10-15 seconds and sleep at night to make it daytime.

By “slowing down time”, I mean when he used his power, absolutely everything in the whole server would get slowed to this snail paced speed. It confused many when he used it the first time, because it affects everybody and they didn’t know who did it.

In a regular ‘Life Series’ season, all members of the server would need to sleep if they wanted to skip the night, which is impossible in a server of 18 people worried about dying and killing other members.

Bdubs hates the night time, he finds nothing good about it besides that it’s pretty! Back on the ‘Hermitcraft’ server, Bdubs can be called the “Sun God” or “Sleeping Master” because every single time it gets even close to night time, Bdubs is always there to sleep the night away using a mod. Now, in this one session of ‘Wild Life’ he can finally sleep the night away too!

Bdubs has time based powers because of his odd obsession with the Minecraft clock! He uses the clock to tell the time if it’s late and should go to sleep, and if he has one (which he usually does), it’s in his off-hand! Like a lucky charm!

Lizzie – Darkness

Lizzie had the ability to blind people and disappear for about 5 seconds.

This power was very dangerous, but Lizzie is a pretty non-pvp person so there wasn’t much to worry about!

Lizzie got this power because her full gamer tag/YouTuber username is “LDShadowLady”, it’s perfect really!

Joel – Triple Jump

Joel had the ability to triple jump. This was about it.

It doesn’t seem that good in text, but he had a lot of fun with it and it saved his life multiple times!

This power has no connection to Joel, but he enjoyed it and that’s all that matters!

BigB – Creaking

BigB had the ability to summon a small group of the Creaking mob.

He didn’t use this ability much because it wasn’t that helpful, but it was cool to look at!

BigB got this power because his whole shtick for this season was that he lived in the Pale Forest (the Creaking biome) and even had a Creaking skin! Like I said, it wasn’t useful, but man was it cool to see!

Tango – Speed

Tango had the ability to run at an insane speed.

He ran at an impossible speed to hit or kill, but it came at a price of ultimate starvation. His power was something he could toggle on and off, but insisted on leaving it on because what was the point of turning it off?

The entire server hated him in this session because he was basically unkillable and was rubbing it in everyone’s faces, of course in the end though, he did manage to die.

Tango connects to this power because Tango would like to flee more than pvp anyone! He isn’t very good at pvp and would like to avoid it at all costs, being more brains than brawn.

One of his most known catchphrases is to “flee with extra flee”!

Pearl – Flight

Pearl had the ability to jump up extremely high and fly as if she had an elytra on!

At first she thought it was just the big jump, but Grian eventually showed her that she can actually fly around. This power even came with a cool hat!

The only way I could connect this back to Pearl was that fans often thought of her as a moth because of her full name “Pearlecentmoon”!

Martyn – Super Hearing

Martyn had the ability to hear anything he could see!

If he were to hover his crosshair over a group of people from over a mile away, he could hear their entire conversation!

This connects to Martyn through lore! Just a snippet of what there is, Martyn is called a “listener” in the story that he has made for the series, which is perfect for his power!

Scott – Mob Morph

Scott had the ability to transform into (almost) any mob!

As long as he could click on it, he could transform into it!

This power doesn’t exactly connect to Scott in any way, it was actually given to him because it’s a passive power and he was on his green life which meant he couldn’t kill anyone, thus getting a boring power.

Ren – Player Morph

Ren had the ability to transform into any player on the server!

As long as he could click on the player, he could transform into them, skin and name tag!

You could say this power connects to Ren because he’s a theater kid and loves to role-play and act! Ren loves storytelling and playing as characters; this power couldn’t have been more perfect.

Jimmy – Invisibility

Jimmy had the ability to go invisible!

All he had to do was press a button and he could go invisible for an infinite amount of time!

This one I don’t believe can connect to him in any way, but he had a blast using it!

Gem – Astral Projection

Gem had the ability to go into spectator mode and talk to ghosts!

When Cleo’s zombies, Mumbo and Skizz, aren’t walking around in the overworld, they’re flying around as ghosts where Gem can then have a conversation with them.

I personally can’t connect this to her in any way, but I’m sure someone can, considering the lore behind her character!

Impulse – Teleportation

Impulse had the ability to teleport and swap places with another player using that same teleportation!

Anywhere he could see, he could teleport to, but to swap teleport with somebody, he had to be very precise about where his crosshair was because if they’re not right on the crosshair, he could miss which could be a vital mistake.

Impulse has nothing to do with teleportation, but he did manage to kill tango!

Scar – ???

Scar had the ability to sit on anything— including on other players’ shoulders, and hit players with a knock back of like 10 blocks!

This power couldn’t really be given a name because obviously they’re two very drastically different things, it was more so given to him so he could enjoy himself!

This once again can’t be connected back to Scar, but he had loads of fun with it.

I do believe these are all of the powers, and how they may connect to their corresponding person! The ‘Wild Life’ season is over, and so is my collection of ‘Life Series’ articles.

I bid you all adieu!

Advice/How To

Best Shops

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By: Grace Lopez

  1. Target

Target is a really popular place to shop. Target always has really nice clothing, home decor and more. It’s also possibly a grocery store to buy food as some people think it could be really expensive or kind of cheap. But Target would be such a good recommendation to buy home decor or clothing items.

  • Walmart

Walmart is a really good grocery store, you can almost find anything in Walmart, but they also sell some really good clothing, home decor and way more. Walmart could be more on the cheaper side but their item qualities are really good and anyone can also shop here.

  • Cub Foods

Cub Foods is mostly an only Minnesota grocery store. It’s a good store because it offers really good products and very reasonable prices. They are pretty close to everywhere, and that is really convenient too.

  • Lunds and Byerlys

Lunds and Byerlys is a good store because you can have a really good shopping experience. They have a lot of fresh produce, special foods and a lot of bakery items. And what’s good about Lunds and Byerlys is that everything is well organized.

  • Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee is quite a lot like Cub Foods but Hy-Vee is also such a good store to shop at. It offers a lot of services like a pharmacy, groceries and some household items, but what is a little special about Hy-Vee is that there is a gas station and some popular food options.

  • Aldi

Aldi is a good store because they also really focus on their high quality products at very low prices, so that’s why it’s a really good place to shop at. A fun little thing at Aldi is that you will need a quarter to get a shopping cart so you should always be prepared with a quarter to shop.

  • Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe’s has very unique foods that you probably can’t find anywhere else. They also have very high quality products and service and their prices are very very affordable for anyone. They also have really nice produce and more.

Alpine Skiing, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Nordic Skiing, Scoreboard/Schedule, Softball, Swimming & Diving, Wrestling

Sports schedule for: Jan 20-25

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 ATHLETIC EVENTS SCHEDULE: JANUARY 20 – JANUARY 25
MONDAYJANUARY 20 
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:30pm Alpine Ski MeetAfton Alps
TUESDAYJANUARY 21
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
JV: 5:00pm V: 7:00pm Girls Hockey vs. SimleyWSP Ice Arena
JV: 5:00pm V: 7:00pmJV: 3:30pm V: 5:00pm | 9:00pmBoys Hockey vs. South St. PaulDoug Woog Arena
6:00pm – 7:30pm Softball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
WEDNESDAYJANUARY 22
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
3:45pm2:20pm | 5:15pmNordic Ski Race – SkateBattle Creek
JV: 4:30pm V: 6:00pm Boys Basketball vs. WashingtonHOME
6:00pm Girls Basketball vs. WashingtonWashington Tech
6:30pm Baseball Captains PracticeFieldhouse
THURSDAYJANUARY 23
THURSDAYJANUARY 23  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
4:00pm Girls Basketball vs. Metro Schools College PrepHOME
5:00pm3:15pm | 7:15pmBoys Swimming and Diving vs. Central and Como ParkHumboldt High School
JV: 5:00pm V: 7:00pm Boys Hockey vs. Southwest ChristianCharles M. Schulz Highland Arena
FRIDAYJANUARY 17
FRIDAYJANUARY 24  
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
5:00pm Girls Basketball vs. Higher Ground AcademyHigher Ground Academy
SATURDAYJANUARY 25
TIMEBUS TIMESEVENTLOCATION
9:30am6:50am | 3:00pm Wrestling TournamentRoseville High School
JV: 12:00pm V: 2:00pmJV: 11:15am V: 1:00pm | 5:00pmBoys Hockey vs. IrondaleSuper Rink – Blaine
Getting To Know/History, Movies/TV/Theaters

How ‘Sesame Street’ changed education

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By: Kara Fini

In 1969 ‘Sesame Street’ was aired on television. It was the first time that there was an educational show for all children and its impact showed.

Before ‘Sesame Street’ was created most children were exposed to cruel shows meant for adults. A study done by the University of Michigan showed that the average American child had seen 16,000 deaths on TV before they turned 18.

Although there were children shows on TV like ‘Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood’, they were meant for middle class children and gave an advantage to middle class children who knew more before they started school. The founder, Joan Ganz Cooney, observed that and wanted there to be a show where children of every class would be able to start school on a more even playing field.

When ‘Sesame Street’ first aired, it was an almost immediate success. Children who watched the show were seen to have higher knowledge in math, reading and writing before they started kindergarten. The impact was so big in some parts of the US that districts had to change their elementary school curriculums because too many kids had already learned what they were trying to teach them. It wasn’t only educational learning, but social and emotional skills too.

‘Sesame Street’ gained some backlash for its diverse cast and hard topics that it covered. It took a very long time for it to be aired on TV, but ‘Sesame Street’ never backed down from this backlash. They wanted to have a television show that all kids would be able to see someone like them in. They introduced more puppets that came from different backgrounds and continued to cover heavy topics like childhood poverty, natural disasters, death and racism.

‘Sesame Street’ paved the way for tons more educational shows and showed us how you can turn a harmful thing like television into something beneficial.

If you want to hear a more detailed explanation on how ‘Sesame Street’ changed education, a history day project made by Maeve Callahan-Schreiber is available on YouTube from the YouTube channel ‘The Better Angels Society’ with the title “Sunny Days: A Turning Point In Children’s Television”. Maeve is currently a 9th grader at Como Park Senior High School, and represented SPPS at the National History Day in June getting second for Junior Individual Documentary.  

Tech/Games

All you need to know about ‘Hades 2’

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By: Persephone Pond

‘Hades 2’ is an upcoming roguelike action role playing video game developed and published by the studio Supergiant Games. As the name suggests, ‘Hades 2’ serves as a sequel to the hit indie game ‘Hades’, which was also developed and published by the same studio. This article will cover all you need to know about this upcoming masterpiece of a game.

‘Hades 2’ is currently available for purchase as an early access release on PlayStations 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and series S, and Microsoft Windows. Early access to this game means the game isn’t fully released. In addition to bug fixes and new mechanics, Supergiant Games has also been adding new characters and stories in big updates to the game as users continue to test the current mechanics.

With the early access of this game, initially released in May of 2024, many fans have begun to speculate the full release date of the game on a wider variety of platforms. These speculations have led to the conclusion that the full version of the game could be released anywhere between quarters 2 and 4 of 2025 due to the extensive build of the game so far. This timeline is earlier than expected, since Supergiant’s previous game, ‘Hades’, was in early access for over 2 years before its full console release.

So far, in its 8 months of availability, the game has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from returning fans and new players. Especially considering that ‘Hades 2’ is Supergiant’s first sequel, the game maintains a good balance of mechanics from the original ‘Hades’ and new unique aspects that make the game feel different and avoid the feeling of repetition between games.

From creative and unique interpretations of figures from Greek mythology to the fighting mechanics, ‘Hades 2’ is on track to be one of the biggest releases of 2025. In 2023, ‘Hades 2’ was nominated for the Most Anticipated Game at The Game Awards and Most Wanted Award at the Golden Joystick Awards.

So, whether you’re a returning ‘Hades’ fan or a newcomer to the games, keep an eye out for the full release of ‘Hades 2’.

Travel/Food

Jam thumbprint cookie review

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By: Norah Hoglund and Max Cahoon

Image created with Instagram AI

Overview

Jam thumbprint cookies are a classic Christmas or holiday cookie for this time of year. They not only look cute but they also taste really good. We tried out a recipe for them and are going to share our thoughts on it.

Link to the recipe:

https://www.loveandlemons.com/thumbprint-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-53346

Review

Taste

These cookies had two components: the cookie and the jam. The cookie was like a shortbread cookie, and it was sweet and crumbly. They were also very buttery and they were quite a good cookie. If they didn’t have the jam in the center they would have been a bit boring, so good thing there was jam in the middle. It added a different tart flavor to the cookies as well as a fruity flavor and a different texture. The cookies would have been a bit dry without the jam but it made their texture perfect. We rate the taste an 8/10.

Baking process

The process of making these cookies was fairly easy. The cookie part was pretty straightforward to make and wasn’t really any more difficult than any other cookie. The hardest part was putting the jam in the middle of them, because it was sort of hard to be precise with a spoon and to not spill over the edge of the indent that was made in the cookies for the jam.

Another thing about the recipe is that it says to wait until the bottoms are lightly browned, so we put it in for 12 minutes but the bottom edge didn’t look brown at all, so we put it in for a little bit longer which made the cookies a little more dry. Other than that, these cookies were pretty simple to make. We rate the baking process a 7/10.

Overall

Overall, this recipe is pretty simple and straightforward and yields good results. The taste and texture is good and the blend of flavors is pleasant. The one thing that we would change is the instruction about looking for brownness, because you can’t see if the bottoms would be brown.

Overall, we rate this recipe a 7.5/10. We would recommend this recipe to anyone who enjoys baking, cookies, and especially the sweet jam.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the two flours and salt.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, vanilla, and almond extract until fluffy. Gradually add the flour and mix until completely combined.
  4. Scoop rounded tablespoons of the dough and roll them into balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheets. Gently press down to form discs and use your thumb, or the back of a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, to make an indentation in the middle of the cookies. Use a spoon to spoon ½ teaspoon of jam onto each cookie.
  5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until the bottoms are lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely
  6. Then enjoy.
Music/Concerts

Songs meanings of ‘0.1 flaws and all.’ album by wave to earth

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By: Christine Yang

Wave to earth is a three-member band, Daniel Kim (singer-songwriter), Dong Kyu Shin (drummer), and John Cha (bassist) based in Seoul, South Korea. They want their band’s aspiration to “become the new wave” and expand their universe across the world. The band’s songs consist of indie pop with a lo-fi sound rooted in jazz drumming. The album ‘0.1 flaws and all.’ was released on April 20, 2023, with 14 songs (12 lyrical songs and 2 instrumental) on the album.

Lyrical Songs:

“bad”:

The song “bad” is about being with someone you love, and how the days will never be bad when you see/be with them. Which basically means their presence lightens your day or mood, and how in love you are towards them. 

“sunny days”:

“sunny days” is an expression of appreciating the joy and warmth that love can bring into someone’s life.

“peach eyes”:

“peach eyes” is an expression of the sweet bond between two people, showing how love brings light, comfort, and motivation. The song also symbolizes the partner’s “peach-colored eyes”, which are also the representations of beauty and warmth of the person/love.

“evening glow”:

The song “evening glow” is about a person’s flaws and how they feel “broken” or “unloveable”, and trying to find healing and acceptance while struggling.

“pink”:

“pink” is a poetic way of exploring the short lasting nature of life and love. Also, seeing the person you love in nature sceneries.

“calla”:

“calla” is about spending time with someone you love no matter the conditions, and hoping it’s not just you daydreaming about it. It’s also about how strong love and hope are, and staying strong while facing difficulties/misfortune.

“love.”:

The song “love.” is about the human connection, emphasizing the individual desires that are wanted to be brought into relationships, friendship, community, etc.

But Daniel Kim’s definition of the song “love.” is about his band members, expressing the emotions that the whole band felt during times they spent together. But also memorializing the growth that each individual member went through, and how far they came in life.

“homesick”:

“homesick” is about the feeling of an unfamiliar place and wanting to be at home due to the familiar comfort.

“dried flower”:

The song “dried flower” is about the person you used to love that doesn’t hold a special place or meaning to you anymore, and how you don’t want to get back with them because it won’t be the same.

“sunburn”:

“sunburn” is about dealing with “pain” (struggles), no matter if you try to get “rid” of them the pain won’t go away, and trying to seek freedom from it.

“nouvelle vague”:

“nouvelle vague” talks about the struggle of growth, and wanting to stay/memorize the past instead of moving forward in life. This is due to the desire of not wanting to move forward in life is because of unfamiliarities or just fearing you’ll lose yourself as you go further.

“so real”:

“so real” is about emotional imprisonment and deep isolation, while yearning for freedom, understandment, and connections. Also, having to know the challenges that will be faced in achieving those goals. 

Instrumentals:

“pink horizon”

“akira”

Tech/Games

‘Marvel Rivals’ review

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By: Munira Ahmadad

‘Marvel Rivals’ is a new multiplayer hero shooter by NetEase games. It was released on December 6th with 33 playable characters to start with (there have been 4 more added since). Outside of skins, the current roster consists of popular Marvel heroes and villains, designed after their comic looks. You play against other players in teams of 6 and each character fits into role categories that are based on what they’re meant to do. Some characters work well with others, and it’s encouraged for players to consider team-ups for more efficient matches. This also gives incentive for people to try out multiple heroes.

 When I first started to play the game, I didn’t expect to enjoy it a lot, but so far it’s been really fun, which is a pleasant surprise. Initially, I was leaning towards the option of skipping it since it’s a third-person shooter game, and I usually get tired of them quicker than other games. I ended up getting it just because it’s Marvel. The game uses well-known characters who are superhero icons like Captain America, Spider-Man, and Iron Man, and heroes that aren’t in the spotlight as much such as Psylocke, Squirrel Girl, and Jeff the Land Shark.

So far, I’ve only played in quick-play as Mantis, a strategist/support character, and I think the movement in the game is clean. The locations chosen for battle maps are cool. I’d give the combat a 6/10 for my own personal experience, but that’s likely to change since I’m still not familiar with the gameplay style and how to play optimally. I’m sure someone who actually knows what they’re doing would have a different opinion on it. Also, these types of games with objective-based game modes become repetitive for me. ‘Marvel Rivals’ is still in its early days, so I do have hope it develops well over time.

I give the character design a 10/10. I absolutely love the look of every hero, especially Scarlet Witch, Squirrel Girl, Mantis, Iron Fist, Rocket Raccoon, and Namor. I have no complaints about the designs and each character looks incredibly cool. The designs take from the comics rather than the animated shows or the films. Even with how faithful the designs are to the comics, they still have their own unique feel to them. Players who are fans of the MCU characters can purchase various characters’ movie equivalent designs as costumes.

Due to its similarities with ‘Overwatch’, a popular game, I’ve seen people online refer to ‘Marvel Rivals’ as a knock-off version of it, while others say it has potential to be a hero shooter that won’t decline the same way ‘Overwatch’ does over time.

Overall, I give the game a 8/10 for its initial release. I don’t have time to really play it a lot, and as it is right now, I don’t know if I’ll continue playing but the experience of playing as some of my favorite characters has always been something I really like.

‘Marvel Rivals’ is available on the PS and Xbox systems along with PC.