All posts by HPSH Plaid Line

COVID-19

How COVID-19 still has an affect on us three years later

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By: Calla Fragrassi & Mackenzie Malek

After three years of constant change in our school system, we wanted to ask Highland Park students how they were affected personally, then and now, by COVID-19.

We asked the same questions to students in grades 9-12 on their experiences.

Academics- How did the pandemic affect you academically in school? Was the transition between virtual to in-person learning challenging for you? If so, explain.

Freshman: “I thought the transition was really hard because on top of having to adjust to a whole new lifestyle where I couldn’t see people and couldn’t do so many things, my workload was still similar and so it was harder to do than before because I had so much more going on.”

Sophomore: “I felt like I fell behind in my classes and that school felt optional. Yes, I would say it was challenging because everything was constantly changing and it felt like there was no routine.”

Junior: “I believed everything would be easier coming out but my ideas changed. Also, I mentally struggled after the pandemic which took a toll on school. The actual transition wasn’t the hard part.”

Senior: “It made things easier and I got all As. The transition wasn’t that hard but it was fun to see other people again.”

Activities- Did COVID stop you from participating in any sports or activities you were involved in at the time? If so, how did that affect you personally?

Freshman: “COVID restrained me from all my sports and from seeing people I loved and it was really challenging because I relied on those practices to be good at my sports, so I felt set back and also felt set back from social activities since I wasn’t allowed to see people.”

Sophomore: “I stopped playing volleyball during COVID and when I went back for the season it was harder getting back into it because of the long break off, so I ended up quitting because I didn’t enjoy it as much anymore.”

Junior: “It took away club gymnastics, which was hard for me since it was the last year, and made the sports I eventually joined challenging in the fact everyone knew it wasn’t normal.”

Senior: “It prevented our football season in 2021 from going its full length because we had a shorter season due to COVID.”

Socially- Do you think the way you interacted with others changed after COVID? If so, explain.

Freshman: “ I think it did because so many people relied on social media to interact during quarantine and social media was the base of a lot of people’s senses of humor and things like that, so it kind of became something that defined your personality which I hadn’t really noticed before quarantine.”

Sophomore: “It was weird seeing my teachers and classmates in person after so long, and it felt weird being able to interact with other people besides just my family.”

Junior: “Yes, how I interacted changed in the way I grew, how I wanted to be as a person when I was in lock down. So, I figured out who and how I’d interact.”

Senior: “No, because I still interacted with people during COVID.”

All in all, these responses show that no matter the age, all these students had somewhat similar experiences throughout the pandemic. As you can see, for academics and activities, everyone had similar answers such as falling behind in classes and having to take a break from sports.

For the social questions, the responses varied a bit because this depended on how everyone interacted with others before COVID-19 prevented them from socializing. Some students were still able to talk to their friends and classmates, but others not so much.

What happened during the pandemic still has an affect on everyone today in some way and will in the future.

Travel/Food

Pepsi vs. Coke

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By: Rose Ramadan and Thea Berg

In this article, we will be reviewing the difference in pop flavors. We chose to compare Pepsi and Coke flavors, due to the big controversy surrounding them. We tested regular Pepsi, regular Coke, Cherry Pepsi, and Cherry Coke. We also tested the different pop brands they own. For Pepsi, we tested Sierra Mist and for Coke, we tested Sprite.

Our outcomes were as anticipated. More so than Pepsi, we preferred most Coke products. On a scale of 1 to 10, we assigned each pop a flavor rating. Then a bubble scale from 1 to 10. The aftertaste on a scale of 1 to 10.

The majority of Coke products scored an 8 on the flavor rating. They scored a 6 on the bubbling scale, primarily due to our distaste for bubbly beverages. On the aftertaste, they scored an average of 9.

Pepsi, on the other hand, scored an average of 6 on the flavor scale. On the scale of bubbling, they scored a 5. Finally, they scored an average of 7 for aftertaste.

To dive deeper, let’s review each comparison. To start with regular Coke versus Pepsi; the Coke had more of a refreshing taste. It was more pleasing to our taste buds and overall it had a better lasting flavor. In addition, it didn’t have much of an aftertaste compared to Pepsi, where the aftertaste had more of an unhealthy taste. Because of this, Coke had way more of a higher rating in our books.

To compare Cherry Coke versus Cherry Pepsi, we could hardly taste a difference between the two of them. As stated before, the Coke had more of a refreshing taste. We probably couldn’t tell the difference between them if it came down to it, though. The comparison between these two was hard.

Last, we compared Sierra Mist to Sprite. Sierra Mist, being a Pepsi product, and Sprite, being a Coke product. Though both are on the top of the list for our favorite pop drinks, we prefer Sierra Mist by a lot more. It has a sweeter taste and is more pleasing to our taste buds. It also has less bubbles which makes it more of an appealing option to the two of us.

The differences between the flavors of the regular Coke and Pepsi were subtle, but noticeable. Regular Pepsi tends to be sweeter, but it also has 2 more grams of sugar than Coke does, so the sweetness level makes sense. Coke is a little less sweet and has a more flavorful taste than Pepsi does. Pepsi also has more of a slightly citrusy tang, but Coke has more of a raisiny-vanilla flavor, although both Coke and Pepsi have very similar recipes that both contain carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, phosphoric acid, and caffeine.

One main difference between these two drink recipes is that Pepsi has the ingredient of citric acid in their drink, and Coke does not. The citric acid is what sets the flavors apart between the drinks and makes Pepsi have the citrus flavor over the vanilla raisin flavor.

Coke also had more carbonation and bubbles than Pepsi did, we thought that Pepsi seemed a little more flat and less bubbly.

Between the 2 of us we both agreed that we liked the flavor that Coke had better than the flavor of Pepsi. We both preferred the less sweet flavor and the less tangy flavor because we thought it tasted more authentic with the raisiny-vanilla flavor.

We also liked the carbonation level that Coke had better than the carbonation level of Pepsi.

Overall, we both agreed that the Coke products were better than the Pepsi products based on a lot of factors. Pepsi had many good flavors, and it had the upper hand with Sierra Mist, but most of the other flavors of drinks were in favor of Coke products.

Getting To Know/History

The Boston Strangler

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By: Ren King & Violet Hirman

*Warning: This article contains descriptions of murder and rape.

He who strikes in broad daylight.

It was a seemingly normal day, a woman after having just stepped out of the shower heard a knock on her apartment door. The plumber, though a bit early, she let him in quickly with a smile saying:

“I do hope you forgive my appearance, wait here and I’ll change quickly.”

She closed the front door, turning her back to the man in a heedless ignorance to his dangers. Her neighbors heard nothing of what came next, not of the screams, the terror in her voice as she pleaded for mercy, nor the strangled sounds of a woman dying.

In a few minutes, she was dead.

In a few hours, she was found with her bathrobe tied around her neck in a bow. So tight, that when they touched her head, it fell off.

Anna Slesers, 55 years old. The first victim of the Boston Strangler.

From June 14, 1962 to January 4, 1964, this serial killer plagued the streets of Boston. It was like a curse had been cast over the city, people lived in fear. The streets were silent, eyes turning to every stranger one would see on the street. Women locked their doors, hid their children.

Yet, this didn’t stop the murders from happening.

13 women of the police’s knowledge, many more that were unconfirmed to have been the Boston Strangler’s victims. Most were sexually assaulted, some had been stabbed or shot before they were strangled. Nonetheless, they all had one feature in common. They were found with a meticulously done bow wrapped around their neck.

Always so tight that if not handled properly, the head would fall off.

Over ten years later, a man of the name Albert DeSalvo was arrested for charges of sexual assault and breaking and entering. While he was in custody, another inmate, George Nasser recalled their conversations.

“He’s mad is what he is, sick and twisted beyond my own belief. Which is hard to believe since I shot a man, but true all the more. He says that he wishes to be as famous as the Boston Strangler himself, but a lot of the time I’m afraid that he actually is.” The exact words, according to the locals of Boston.

DeSalvo was taken into questioning about the crimes of the Boston Strangler. At first, he denied having any ties with the serial killer other than adoring remarks about his good work.

F. Lee Bailey, after two full days of interrogation, emerged with a tape of recordings from DeSalvo. Words that the police insisted were those only the Boston Strangler would know.

So, they had finally caught the Boston Strangler.

Or so they thought.

Dr. Robey was skeptical of DeSalvo’s complete guilt. He knew that the man had photographic memory, and had a track record for breaking and entering. He suspected that DeSalvo had come to the crime scenes days after the events occured to study them. That he confessed to the crimes of the Strangler in order to be sentenced to a mental hospital instead of a prison.

Alas, the evidence was too strong in DeSalvo’s favor and all investigations of the Boston Strangler were shut down.

Not before they discovered, from an eyewitness, from one of the murders, that she did not recognize DeSalvo, but instead George Nasser. Along with this, testimony that several people were seen coming out of the apartment.

Though they studied the scenes thoroughly, there was no other sign that it was a case involving multiple people other than the witness statement. Therefore, they had to believe that DeSalvo truly was the Boston Strangler.

DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison, but not for the crimes of the Strangler. He was never actually tried for the serial killer’s crimes, only named it.

On November 26, 1973, DeSalvo told his psychiatrist that it was finally time to reveal the true crimes of the Boston Strangler.

The same day, he was found stabbed to death in his prison cell before he could say a word.

Through more recent DNA testing and closer scrutiny into the case, it was shown that unidentified DNA was found at several of the crime scenes. None of it matching to DeSalvo’s. Along with that, a painting crew was seen at the site of the first victim’s house. Two weeks later, the same crew was seen at the third victim’s.

Was it a coincidence? Or was it a clue?

To this day, no one knows the true story of the Boston Strangler. Despite countless reasons that the real killer, or killers, are still out there, further investigation cannot be taken due to DeSalvo’s confession.

So, if you’re home alone and you hear a small clicking sound. You turn around, but nothing is behind you. It may very well be…the sound of the Strangler’s walker because if they were still alive right now they would be well into old age.

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Science/Nature

The affects of climate change

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By: Ellie Moore

Global warming is impacting our environment in many ways. Climate change is caused by an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere because humans are burning fossil fuels and destroying the forest.

The effects of global warming are occurring throughout the whole world, and although climate change is bad everywhere, it is worst in Japan with the Climate Risk Index being 5.5 (you want a higher Climate Risk Index). The Philippines is the next worst with 11.17, and Germany is third with 13.83.

Rising temperatures have led to the melting of polar ice caps and glaciers, causing sea levels to rise and putting coastal cities at risk of flooding. Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, hurricanes, and droughts have become more frequent and intense, leading to loss of life and property damage.

The impacts of global warming affect our economy, health, and social well-being. It is estimated that by the end of the century, global warming could cause the loss of trillions of dollars in economic output and displace millions of people from their homes.

The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that the world is running out of time to limit global warming to safe levels.

By the year 2035 it is said that the effects of climate change will be irreversible. The main “tipping” point being sometime between 2026 and 2042. This means we only have a few years to change our habits.

Since we only have around 20 years to take action we need to drive less and carpool if we can. Some other ways to slow down climate change is to eat less meat or use less electricity in your house.

With the population growing, it is harder to get everyone to take action, but if everyone took one small action it could make the difference of 1 million more years of our planet’s existence.

However, despite these efforts, global warming continues to worsen.

Global warming is not just a problem for the future, but one that we are already facing today. We must act now to protect our planet and secure a sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.

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Travel/Food

Caribou Coffee bakery items

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By: Toby Martin-Kohls

Caribou Coffee is a worldwide coffee chain headquartered in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. It was also founded here in-state, in Edina, in 1992. As of May 2015, the company operates 603 locations worldwide.

Caribou is your typical American brand coffee chain, similar to Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros, and Peet’s coffee chains. They offer coffee and an array of snacks and bakery items.

On a Saturday morning, I decided to go venture out and try some of their bakery items, which I’d never tried before. This article was a good excuse for me to go buy some coffee, muffins, croissants, and scones.

The service I received was pretty good. I felt the price for the items was reasonable and each of the three items I tried, were all offered to be warmed up for me.

The first item I tried was their Blueberry Muffin. I received the muffin in a typical brown to-go bag. I’m going to be honest, looking at the muffin out of the bag was uninspiring. You could see a couple of blueberries from the top but not as much as you would like to see.

I was pleasantly surprised when I bit into the muffin, as it was warm and not dry. You could taste the blueberries but they didn’t overpower the muffin. It was sweet, but not overly sweet (like some of the other items!). The texture was wonderful, making it easy to enjoy.

The next item I sampled was their Raspberry White Chocolate Scone. It took me two locations to find them, so this may be a popular item. I opted to not have this one warmed up and was satisfied with my choice.

The white chocolate was the best part of the item, as it was nice to differentiate from just regular chocolate.

Fun fact: did you know that white chocolate is not actually chocolate and is actually made of just sugar, cocoa butter, and milk?

I was surprised by the sweetness of the chocolate complimenting the raspberry taste, but it worked pretty well. I thought the scone was soft and almost buttery-like, which made it enjoyable to eat without feeling too heavy or dense.

The sweetness was pretty good and balanced, but the coarse sugar sprinkled on the top might be a little much for some.

The last item I tried was their Lemon Poppy Seed Bread. As an avid lover of poppy seed muffins, I was excited to try this item. It is an old-fashioned pound cake with lemon zest, black poppy seeds, and icing.

I also got this item warmed up, which I think greatly improved the niceness of this item. Having your pastry warm just adds another level of comfort. The balance of flavors stood out to me, as the lemon flavor was there without being too overpowering of the bread. I got a little tired of the icing, but most will not notice the sweetness as much as I did.

Overall, Caribou has a solid selection of pastry items, perfect for when you want a little snack with your coffee on your way to work, school, or whatever!

Getting To Know/History

Garbo, the greatest spy in World War 2

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By: Hoaseng Thao

If there was ever a comedic spy movie to be made in the future, then it must be about Juan Pujol García, or known by the British Intelligence Agency known as MI5, as “Agent Garbo.” Juan Pujol García is credited with not only deceiving the Germans, but also receiving medals from both sides of the Second World War, an Iron Cross from the German Dictator Adolf Hitler himself, and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire from Security Service’s Director General, Sir David Petrie.

Juan Pujol García was born in the year 1912, in Barcelona, Spain. He was a veteran of the Spanish Civil War where surprisingly, he found himself fighting on both sides of the Civil War but never firing a single bullet. After the Civil War ended, Juan Pujol García grew a hatred for totalitarianism and nazism due to Nazi Germany supporting the Fascist Spanish Leader Francisco Franco.

In 1939, when the Second World War was just beginning, Juan Pujol García decided that he needed to help stop the German war machine by offering to be a double agent to British authorities in Spain, to which they refused. Despite not being accepted by British authorities on multiple occasions, Juan Pujol García decided it was best to contact German officials in Madrid, where he posed as a Spanish Official who was willing to go to Britain as a spy on their behalf. The Germans, wanting to build a spy network in Britain, happily agreed to his offer and made him an official spy for the Third Reich.

Juan Pujol García was expected to go to London and collect intelligence about the British, but in reality Juan Pujol García moved to Lisbon where he fed the Germans information gathered from magazines, guide books, and travel brochures from a local library. Surprisingly, his information from his local library was able to fool the Germans.

In April of 1942, Juan Pujol García was finally accepted by British officials because they too were fooled as they had received reports about a spy from Spain who kept on giving information to Germany. Brought to London to work for the MI5, where Juan Pujol García, now known as “Garbo”, would work with an intelligence officer, Tomás Harris. The two would create fictional agents and stories to fool the Germans.

In 1944, Garbo participated in Operation FORTITUDE, an operation that would help deceive the Germans while the Allies prepared for the D-Day landings. On June 5th, 1944, Garbo sent his usual scheduled message to a German Radio Operator where he would send information about the D-Day landings as requested by his superiors in MI5.

Despite being on his scheduled radio message to the German Radio Operator, the latter would not even show up and would fail to receive the information Garbo had given to them, so when the D-Day landings did occur, it gave Garbo an opportunity to show how reliable he was to the German High Command.

“I cannot accept excuses or negligence. Were it not for my ideals I would abandon the work,” Garbo said to his German contacts to give the impression that he was serious about being a spy for the Germans.

On July 29th, 1944, Garbo would receive news that the Führer himself was awarding him the Iron Cross for his service in the German Intelligence against the British. Garbo had fooled Adolf Hitler, an achievement that many had wished to have during that time period.

Due to his efforts in deceiving the Germans, Garbo would then receive the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in December of 1944, from Security Service’s Director General, Sir David Petrie.

After the war ended, Garbo contacted his handler and friend Tomás Harris about his plan of faking his own death, to which Harris would then spread this news about his “death” within MI5. Garbo would move to Venezuela and would live under a different name until 1988, when he was discovered by a British writer, Nigel West, who had tracked him down and asked him to come back to Europe to which he accepted.

On the 40th anniversary of the D-Day landings, 1984, Garbo would return to Europe to visit Normandy, France, to tour the beaches in which the allies landed to liberate France before paying his respects to the fallen.

In 1988, Garbo passed away in Caracas, Venezuela, forever known as the greatest spy to participate in the second world war.

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Clubs and Activities

African Night

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By: Ajmal Abdirahman & Mushtaq Yonis

Image taken from: Instagram-@hpsh_asa

On March 3rd, Highland Park Senior High hosted the second annual African Night! African Night showcased a variety of different cultures, dances, poems, clothing, and food. Students who are a part of Highland’s African Student Association (ASA) put in a lot of time and effort to make it an enjoyable and fun filled night. The turnout was huge with lots of people coming from all over St. Paul!

The opening act was by Ayane Kabeto. She sang and danced for the audience. She beautifully sang “Blame It on the Boogie”, by The Jackson 5, and started the show off with a bang!

Followed by Ayane’s wonderful singing was a showcase of Oromo dances. The amazing dancers were, Fadela Yussuf, Nuhamin Melese, Zubeyda Kedir, Saba Getahun, Liya Lantyderu, Nardos Ashenafi, Samera Adam and Beti Negash. Oromos are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, which numbers around 40 million people.

Fun fact! The Oromo language is one of the youngest languages in the world to become a written language. Before that, the Oromos had a rich oral literature tradition including songs, proverbs, poems, and stories.

After that amazing performance…It was followed by a traditional Somali dance called Dhaanto. The dancers who showed off their dance skills were, Hana Elmi, Salmaan Mohamud, Nasro Osman, Subeir Said, Lena Ahmed, Sahil Ali, Sohail Ali and Iman Abdi. The performers did an amazing job showcasing their culture!

Dhaanto is a style of traditional Somali music and folk dance. The Dhaanto was inspired by the camel and mimics the actions of the camel. Fun fact, the world’s largest population of camels is found in Somalia.

Next was the lively Tanzanian duo. The two dancers were Jamila Dauda and Maaka Nyembo. They showed us a few Tanzanian dances with some really nice songs. The duo showed us our first taste of West Africa! They danced to the songs “Inama” by Diamond Platnumz Ft Fally Ipupa and “Kelebe” by Rayvanny Ft Inoss’B.

Tanzania is a country in East Africa. Tanzania is known for its vast wilderness areas. It is regarded as one of the most beautiful aspects of East Africa. It is renowned for its exotic wildlife and rich cultural heritage. Here is a picture of the duo!

Then the crowd got to enjoy some Ethiopian and Eritrean dances. The dancers were Liya Lantyderu, Sonya Hussein, Ayane Jarso, Samera Adam, De’ Shaun Booker and Mahlet Dagne. Some of the dances they performed were, Gurage, Wyleta and Tirgey.

There’s a lot to love about Ethiopia, including its coffee and culture! And also Eritrea, for its delicious food, beautiful culture and its amazing architecture from Eritrea’s capital city Asmara.

Next was a beautiful spoken poem by Iman Abdi. Her poem was beautifully written. Black beauty was the theme of her poem. She spoke clearly and confidently and did so well!

After the poem, we got another taste of West Africa! The dancers were Qamar Amode, De’Shaun Andrea-Booker and Jamila Dauda. The songs they danced to were from Nigeria and Ghana. They were very vibrant and enthusiastic!

Nigeria is the most populous country in the whole of Africa with around 210 million people. Nigeria is one of the most diverse countries in the world with more than 500 spoken languages.

Ghana is also a very diverse country with over 70 ethnic groups residing in Ghana. Ghana is known for its dynamic culture and its food!

Next, the crowd got to enjoy an intermission with a video. The video was made by Asia Mohamed and Asma Sedik.

We talked to Asma Sedik about her experience as one of the video makers:

“The process of making the video was a bit stressful since we had to film it during school. It was hard to find times that would work for everyone and we often would have to miss class to film. But otherwise it was so much fun filming and we had a blast with our friends. Editing was also fun but also stressful because we didn’t have access to a professional camera or editing software, but we made due with what we had and learned a lot. Overall, a great experience!”

Back to more dancing, the crowd got to enjoy more Somali dances with Somali Part 2. The dancers were Zubeyda Kedir, Qamar Amode, Lena Ahmed, Sohail Ali, Sahaam Ahmed, Subeir Said, Muna Mohamed and Salmaan Mohamud. They did a performance of Shirib dance. The Shirib dance is very common in the southern region of Somalia.

A break from all the dancing; next up was a game show. The crowd was asked questions about Africa and if answered correctly they were given candy!

Then we got to enjoy a solo Congolese dance! By Jamila Dauda. She danced to the songs, “Call Me Baby” by CDG, “Moto” by Fabregas and “Ntaba Mood” by Ntaba2. She did a wonderful job!

There is a lot to be admired about the country of Congo with its rich natural resources and the world’s second-largest rainforest, in addition to, its unique culture and its delicious dishes.

Then we got to enjoy more Oromo dancing with Oromo Part 2! The dancers were Samera Adam, Muna Mohamed, Eddie Reynosa, Obama Ahmed, Sahil Ali and Zubeyda Kedir. They performed dances such as, Wollo, Wallega, Shagoyee and Sodoo!

Muna Mohamed, the president of ASA shared her African night experience:

“We would practice almost 4 times a week and spend a lot of time together, working on perfecting our dances and making sure we were showcasing our cultures in a positive light.”

The final thing was the Fashion show where many students participated and showcased their cultural clothing! We saw many different flags and ended the African Night with everyone singing to “Last Last” by Burna Boy! Overall, the night was a huge success and was filled with so much fun.

Ms. Baheriy was the advisor for the African Student Association, (ASA), we spoke to her about how it went this year:

“It was amazing, I’m so proud of all the students who participated, they put in a lot of work and it definitely paid off. Students started planning and practicing for dances in the early fall, and it was exciting to see it all come together last Friday!”

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Music/Concerts

Morgan Wallen album review

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By: Sophie Johnson & Mae Skold

One of the most successful country music artists of our generation, Morgan Wallen, released his double album ‘One Thing at a Time’ on March 3, 2023. This is his third album he has released since his career launch and it features 36 songs. This album has several featured artists, on multiple tracks, such as Eric Church, HARDY, and Ernest who are some of Wallen’s long time friends. The album was a hit with the fans and here’s what we thought about it.

Because the album is 36 songs long, there was a lot of room for variety in style and song quality within the album. Given that there were so many songs there were certainly ups and downs but here are some of the “ups”.

The biggest favorite among the fans would have to be his upbeat, early release single, “Everything I Love”. This song is an upbeat, fun, song with country twang. It follows the plot of a breakup perfect for fans to relate to.

Another hit was “Man Made a Bar” featuring Eric Church. This song is in storytelling style and its chorus is its hook. Wallen and Church’s voices blend perfectly in the chorus making the song unskippable.

Ultimately, the song that we think takes the title of best on the album is track #5, “Devil Don’t Know”. It’s a slow guitar ballad about a girl he loves who is with someone else. The emotion and passion of this song is so powerful making it shine among the other songs on the album. 

Wallen spoke about the process of writing this album and how he was searching for a theme as he wrote it. He stated that he started writing with a song called “Born with a Beer in My Hand”. To him, this song symbolizes the birth of the album in a way, making this song a big monument for him. To go along with that, track #22 is titled “Dying Man” which for Wallen really pulled together the theme of birth to death in the album.

One other song that we loved off this album is the song called “Thought You Should Know”. This song is a thank you letter to his mom letting her know that he appreciates her and everything she has done for him. It is slightly slower paced than some of the other songs on his new album, yet it still holds such a deep meaning. We loved this song so much partly because it has such a catchy and singable chorus as well as the fact that it holds such a sweet message. 

The last song that we are reacting to on the new album ‘One Thing at a Time’ is a song called “Last Drive Down Main”. This is another one of our personal favorites on the album because it fits the vibe of the album so much and it has a really fun and catchy melody to it. This song is about someone who he is no longer in contact with, but wherever he goes, he sees their face. He talks a lot about old memories in this song and how he keeps going back to the same places because they make him remember those special memories of being with that person.

Tech/Games

JOYSTiCK Ep. 7: ‘Splatoon 3’ – The skeleton in the closet

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By: Daniel Kendle

Let’s start off with a metaphor. You like metaphors, right? Yeah you do.

So, you and your fictional partner have decided to adopt a dog. Cool! All you have to do now is go to a center, pick out a mammal, and get ready to have your life changed for the next 15 years.

After the dog comes home on September 8th, 2022, the 2 of you are ecstatic. Playing with the pup, feeding it, spending all of your waking moments with the thing for about 2 months. You’re in bliss.

Then you just kinda…forget it exists.

Your partner and you decide on taking a vacation to the Bahamas for a week, letting your cold-ridden bones be rejuvenated in the warming sun. You come back home, happy and still carefree, and you see a decrepit body on the floor of your living room. Now, how did that get there?

Oh yeah, it’s that small creature that existed for a while. The 2 of you have that classic “aha!” moment, before realizing you probably just incidentally committed a crime.

…

Hello, and welcome once again to JOYSTiCK, the HPSH serial where we explore and review video games. ‘Splatoon 3’ is the 3rd entry in Nintendo’s flagship ‘Splatoon’ franchise, which is about humanoid squids shooting Nerf guns. Fun!

But there are obviously some big questions to answer here. How does the game compare to prior entries? How is it as a kid-friendly FPS Shooter? And how many corpses is Daniel (the author) hiding in his basement? None of these, and more, will be answered in the first JOYSTiCK entry after a 1.5 month-long hiatus.

PART ONE: GAMEPLAY

‘Splatoon 3,’ like many other projectile-based shooters, have both a single-player and multiplayer campaign. The single-player campaign I won’t be touching on today, because within the vast expanse of time, I don’t wanna waste my time proclaiming, “It’s okay.”

‘Splatoon’ functions on giving you a variety of different weapons, all of which come with several types of sub-weapons. They all focus on the gameplay element of spreading ink, the replacement of bullets because, you know, “kid-friendly.”

As one would expect from this style of game, you play in matches against other players, with 4 players forming each team. The 2 teams each get a certain color that they spread across the battlefield, also using said weapons to eliminate other players and send them reeling back to the fringes of the turf war. There’s also a 3 minute time limit before the match it’s over. You can’t permanently remove players from the match; they’ll just continually respawn.

As to my thoughts on this shake-up of the FPS formula, I’m…mixed about it. On the one hand, spreading ink instead of shooting bullets is honestly more fun. However, I will say that, while I don’t personally play many games involving guns, the one’s I do (‘Metroid Dread,’ ‘Enter the Gungeon’) involve a good amount of strategy with it in how you go about killing enemies. Positioning, type of weapon, preserving ammo, and much more all go into combat.

Meanwhile, ‘Splatoon 3’s’ main method of strategy merely relies on what weapon you choose, and its attributes. Some are arguably better than others, but besides that, there’s not much to it. Granted, I’m far from the most skilled or in-depth player around, but from my experience, positioning and preserving ammo (or ink, in this case) are more of an annoyance than key gameplay element. Since ‘Splatoon 3’ focuses on spreading ink rather than shooting others, the game turns into you standing around, trying to cover over the other team’s ink. Of course, you can eliminate others, though it’s really just to get them to stop spreading ink so you can spread ink.

Having to slink into ink using your “squid form” to regain ammo is nice though. I like being able to quickly dot around the map to regain high ground or whatever. It does make me wonder how this feature would’ve worked due to, early on, the characters being all weapon-possessing bunnies instead of squid-human things. (Monty Python fans rejoice.)

Like I said, I’m mixed on this. I definitely get enjoyment out of the chaos of trying to shoot globs of multicolored secretion over the maps, but the fact that action comes at the expense of some good ol’ strategic thinking is somewhat disheartening. Plus, matches are so short that you can’t do much to “stake-out” or whatever. Patience is useless in this game.

To be more light-hearted, I do quite like the weapons. Since they’re the main source of variety in matches, they all are pretty different from each other, coming in different categories and types. Some deal ranged damage. Some deal melee damage. Some both. However, the wide variety of ways to dish out ink is nice, and provides some much-needed depth.

In terms of other gameplay, we get some interesting…things (I’m running out of vocabulary). Like many other multiplayer shooters we have a lobby, as well as a hub world. The lobby’s pretty simple; just a small area with some obstacles that you’re able to ink, as well as a training dummy. However, the hub world is where it’s at.

You get this nice city square to explore, full of shops, other player’s avatars and other things to discover. Your weapon of choice is removed, and the game instead opts for you just walking around. The only bad thing about this is that the Switch starts to chug at 30 FPS, which is honestly expected, seeing as the console’s 6 years old.

The world, known as Splatsville, is located in the Splatlands, is a nice place. Full of Splat-buildings with their Splat-foods and their Splat-squids using their Splat-guns-!

Apologies…I get carried away whenever I attempt to write that part.

Anyways, Splatsville looks good. It has both a very open, yet cluttered atmosphere; there’s plenty of darkened alleyways and spindly balconies hidden among the colorful streets. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this little piece of the world, even if it isn’t all that big. It just feels very lived in, you know?

If you explore long enough you’ll come across the Table Turf card game, basically regular turf matches made into round-based games. It’s good! It definitely has its perks; more slow-paced gameplay, more tactical maneuvers.

The game works where you basically use various different patterns of squares to cover a grid of them. You take a card, play it, and you spread your color based off of the pattern played. It’s definitely not supposed to be a key part of the game, so it being somewhat smaller in scale compared to the main game is understandable. After having played it for a few hours, I can definitely say…it exists.

I guess that’s all I really have to say about the gameplay in ‘Splatoon 3.’ Obviously, there are other parts to the puzzle, but when I review games through JOYSTiCK, I only like to cover aspects of games I play (shocker). Overall, good! While I do have occasional issues with the minute-to-minute action, I generally enjoy the gameplay of this game.

PART TWO: GRAPHICS

As one would expect from a flagship Nintendo title, ‘Splatoon 3’ looks great. The animation is polished, the movement is smooth, the frame rate is (mostly) good. It’s a quality Nintendo game that has that flare of fluid-ness that we’ve come to expect.

Granted, I do feel like this game, in comparison to other games from this company, has animation that’s much more…generic? Normal?

For instance, ‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’ has graphics and animations that look kinda similar to other Nintendo games, though still has its own unique style. Everything has a more rounded appearance; UI, character designs, etc. The movement of objects has a bouncy feel, and characters are just…cute! This style is one that only works for ‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land,’ and that’s that.

Meanwhile, ‘Splatoon 3’s’ animation is somewhat normal, safe. There’s not much putting this ahead of other titles in terms of its graphical fidelity. I guess the skybox is nice? There’s not much to talk about here, and there’s little defining ‘Splatoon 3’ as a different game when it comes to looks. Like I said, it’s good. Just…not anything special. Whenever I saw a trailer for it back in September, I couldn’t immediately tell what game I was looking at until I saw the big title wording or whatever. This game doesn’t exactly have much of a visual identity of its own.

PART THREE: SOUND & AUDIO

Now, you may be wondering: “Mr. Whatsername, why would one care about the sound effects in a video game? All we care about is whether or not you have any bodies in your basement!” And to that, I say 2 things.

  1. I actually think that, for a shooting game, ‘Splatoon 3’ is a very interesting game to look at in terms of audio and sound effects. It’s a detail I think is missing from many reviews, both of mine and other game reviewers.
  2. We’re getting to that.

Sounds for gameplay in video games are something of ambiguity, to say the least. How does one gather the components for, say, the sounds of a flickering flame? It’s a detail many outside of the people who actually make the sound don’t think about. And in my opinion, the audio design in this game is pretty great.

While it’s hard to necessarily define what makes ‘Splatoon 3’s’ noise work so well, I’d argue that the combination of cute, “wobbly” noise we’ve come to expect out of such a cartoony art style and more normal, FPS-shooter sounds is part of it. Such a balance is tricky, but I do say that Nintendo have decidedly laughed at the challenge and said, “Watch me, loser.”

  • The sounds for spreading ink in this game are ultra-satisfying, like you’re watching an ASMR video. They are decidedly – forgive me – moist.
  • I like the little noises that happen whenever a character is talking. The garble is cute, and isn’t annoying; it’s quiet enough to where you can understand that they’re speaking, yet not be distracted by said noises.
  • Whenever you slink through ink, you have this syrupy cue to it, and it makes me hungry. I don’t know why.
  • And while this is technically a song, the little jingle you get after winning a match is simply euphoria.

PART FOUR: CONCLUSION

‘Splatoon 3’ is… weird. If you compare it to all 6 other games I’ve reviewed thus far, it feels like the one where I have the least concise thoughts on it.

  • ‘Metroid Dread’ is my personal favorite game I’ve reviewed, and my personal favorite in-house Nintendo game.
  • ‘Cuphead,’ while flawed, has such a great art style and difficulty that it stands tall amongst the AAA titles.
  • ‘Pokémon Legends Arceus’ is a highly-addictive game with graphics that don’t hurt to look at AS much as before, but they still aren’t great.
  • ‘Minecraft: Story Mode…’ …makes me want to hit something with a blunt object, but still, ‘Minecraft Dungeons’ is great!
  • And ‘Kirby and the Forgotten Land’ is a pretty solid title as well.

Compared to the lineup, ‘Splatoon 3’ is pretty good, but it definitely doesn’t have as much staying power behind it; there’s nothing as poignant to discuss relating to it. Still though, my verdict is a 7 out of 10. Good…but not much else.

…And that’s this episode of JOYSTiCK done! I plan on this being the last Nintendo game I do for this season (school year), so plan on seeing other Xbox, Playstation and indie titles in the coming months.

Now, that’s all I have for you today, and if you’ll excuse me, I have a few red-stained bags to dispose of. Have a great day!

(Shockingly enough, most of the jokes in this article are, indeed, satire! I hope you’ll be happy to know that Daniel does not have any bodies in his basement; only centipedes and gophers, that’s all).


Movies/TV/Theaters

The Oscars

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By: Biftu Osman and Hannah Gliedman

The Oscars, also referred to as the Academy Awards, are notable awards awarded to people in the film industry who have achieved artistic and technical excellence. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences presents it every year.

The event was formed in 1927, but the award ceremonies began in 1929, and winners of each category have received a gold-plated statuette known as an Oscar. This year marked the 95th anniversary of the Academy Awards.

On Sunday, March 12th, it was televised nationally from the Dolby Theater at the Ovation Hollywood.

Aside from the awards, the night of the Oscars is one many look at as one of the biggest nights in Hollywood, and this year was no different. The fashion and red carpet started the evening with excitement. Rihanna came in a black leather, pleated Alaïa dress while also being pregnant. Malala Yousafzai arrived in a silver rhinestone Ralph Lauren dress. Cara Delevinge came dressed in a beautiful, red, long dress with a rose on her shoulder, she was dressed by Elie Saab.

Along with some of the best dressed, there were also some stars dubbed the worst dressed at the Oscars. These people include Halle Berry in Tamara Ralph, Eva Longoria in Zuhair Murad, and as much as we hate to say it, Florence Pugh in Valentino.

Even without being named on a worst or best dressed list, many celebrities attended the Oscars. With or without nominations, some of these actors included: Andrew Garfield, Michael B. Jordan, Emily Blunt, Cate Blanchett, Kate Hudson, Ana de Armas, Nicole Kidman, Mindy Kaling, and many more.

Host, Jimmy Kimmel, started out the evening with a bang. He crash landed on stage with a parachute.

There are 23 possible categories films could win an Oscar for. Categories called “big five” are the five most recognizable categories, they include: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.

‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, is a horror/sci-fi film that came out in March of 2022. The movie, along with its directors and lead actress, won 7 Academy Awards.

The movie won the Best Picture award out of the 10 films nominated, as well as the majority of the other Oscars.

Against four other nominees, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert received the best director award, Michelle Yeoh won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as the lead character in ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, and the movie received the award for Best Original Screenplay.

Brenden Fraser won the award for Best Actor in a Lead Role, as his character Charlie, in the movie ‘The Whale’.

Outside of the main “best five” categories, we personally believe the following categories are equally as significant to the Oscars; Best Animated Feature Film, Best Documentary, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing.

  • Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’ won Best Animated Film over four other nominees.
  • ‘Nalvany’ won the Oscar for Best Documentary, beating out four other nominees.
  • ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design.
  • The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects went to ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’.
  • Finally, ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ received the Best Film Editing Oscar.

There were a couple firsts during the Oscars this year.

The award for best original song went to “Naatu Naatu” from the movie ‘RRR’, which marked the first time an Indian song won this category. The song also beat out Rihanna for the song “Lift Me Up” from the movie ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’.

When Michelle Yeoh won the award for best actress, for her performance in ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’, she became the first Asian actor to win in the best actor category.

There were also many interesting and exciting moments throughout the night besides the awards. Many artists came to sing, these people include Lady Gaga singing “Hold My Hand” from the movie ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and Rihanna sang “Lift Me Up’”

There were also moments of remembrance throughout the night. Lenny Kravitz performed “Calling All Angels” from his 2004 album in the memorial tribute. John Travolta came out to honor his late co-star Olivia Newton-John. This year’s tribute also honored Vangelis, Jean-Luc Godard, James Caan, Ray Liotta, Angelo Badalamenti, Burt Bacharach, Angela Lansbury, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Whitlock, Mary Alice, and Douglas Kirkland, among others.

Overall, the Oscars were a very exciting and memorable night that honored and emphasized many different actors.