Category Archives: Entertainment

Editorials/Student Voice, Tech/Games

Positive impacts of social media

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By: Aliana Romo

Social media has had a major impact on society since it became more popular in the early 2000s. There’s many different opinions on if social media has had a negative or positive impact for people. Harvard EDU says “In more general terms, these findings suggest that as long as we are mindful users, routine use may not in itself be a problem. Indeed, it could be beneficial.” This means that as long as you have self control when using social media, and not being on it for too long, it could be beneficial for mental health.

Being active on social media is beneficial for learning more about the world and being introduced to new cultures. This is important because without seeing new cultures, it would be harder to learn and understand most things about the world. This overall helps to be exposed to new things. Being able to see posts from other countries makes it easier to be informed. Along with this, social media also helps with the spread of news. Most importantly, news in other countries, or worldwide knowledge. Without social media I would not know most about what is happening in other countries since I don’t watch the news. There’s also many different opinions that really help with seeing other perspectives and understanding both sides point of view.

It is also beneficial for creativity and being introduced to new fashion, ideas, recipes, etc. I mainly use Pinterest to find new recipes and outfit ideas. Personally, I think that this really helps to try out new things and go out of comfort zones. It also helps seeing other people step out of their comfort zones and can be used as a way to help yourself try new things. Along with something more commonly known as trends, which are important for younger generations. Overall, trends help show the evolution of society through history.

Another way that social is helpful, is for staying in touch with family and friends that live out of state or the country. Oftentimes, it gets hard to constantly stay in touch with loved ones that aren’t around as often, although with social media, it’s easy to stay involved in their life and communicate easier. This is also important for getting news to spread quicker around families; in many cases my family has posted on social media to try and get a family reunion together. This has worked many times, and overall a good way to stay in touch.

Social media is positive in many ways, it helps people stay connected with other people and learn new things about the world. Without the use of social media, the world would become very unconnected and out of touch.

Advice/How To, Travel/Food

Places to visit in and near Saint Paul

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By: Abisola Dosunmu

Image created with Hotpot AI

Saint Paul, known as the ‘Twin Cities’ with the city of Minneapolis, is the state capital of Minnesota. Saint Paul is known for many attractions such as the museums, parks, malls, and theaters. In this article I will be mentioning all of the central attractions I listed here.

  1. Science Museum of Minnesota

The Science Museum of Minnesota is located at 120 W Kellogg Blvd, St Paul, MN 55102, and is focused on educating people on history, tech, science, and mathematics. It has many galleries like an exhibit gallery, permanent galleries, a Science House with zero carbon emissions, and an Omnitheater. It was founded in 1907, and is located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It’s a nonprofit institution that’s supported by its volunteers.

  • Como Park Zoo & Conservatory

The Como Park Zoo and Conservatory is located in Como Park at 1225 Estabrook Drive, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Everything is owned by Saint Paul, and the zoo was built on November 7,1915 and founded by a German man named Frederick Nussbaumer. The attractions are not just the zoo and conservatory, there is an amusement park, a carousel, Lake Como, a golf course, a pool and more. As of March 2023, reservations are no longer needed for the most part.

  • Mall of America

And of course, the Mall of America. Not only is it the largest and most popular shopping mall in America, it has an average of 40 million visitors a year and is located fifteen minutes from downtown Minneapolis in Bloomington. Not only are there so many great shops and places to eat, since it opened its doors in 1992, it’s monopolized retail and has become the leader in entertainment and shopping.

  • Ordway Center for The Performing Arts

The Ordway Center is in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, and is home to Broadway musicals, opera, cultural performers, orchestra, and local musicals. It’s all thanks to a lady named Sarah Prudence Ordway, who in 1908, dreamt up a “European-style concert hall” that we now today call the Ordway Center. You can get tickets anywhere from twelve dollars to fifty.

For more information:

Music/Concerts

‘good kid m.A.A.d city’

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By: Judah Gregory

*Note: This album and review includes songs with explicit language

The album ‘good kid m.A.A.d city’ is an album released by Kendrick Lamar in 2012, and is considered to be one of the best rap albums of all time. It was only his third album ever. He’s considered one of the best rappers of all time and the album would win Grammys for Best Rap Album, Rap Song, and Rap Performance. The album has 11 tracks in total and I’ll be going over them and what they’re about since each song has a story about Kendrick’s life connected to the album. I’ll be going in depth about that.

“Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter’s Daughter”
(The reason the title would call Sherane, Master Splinter’s Daughter, is a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Master Splinter who is a human. Basically calling her a rat for setting him up)

This starts the album off with a skit of men saying a prayer before ominous vocals start to make it feel like something bad is going to happen and gives some suspense. Then the beat changes and Kendrick raps about him being a 17-year-old boy meeting a girl at a house party named Sheraine and how he would try to pursue a relationship with her, with him really just wanting to sleep with her. The beat change from the men praying would make the song sound more calm then ominous when Kendrick raps about it like it’s a change in setting and would go well with this track.

The song would end though with Kendrick going to her house but being greeted by two men in black hoodies, who were her cousins, that would take him out to his van and jump him for not saying where he’s from. Each song in the album would end with a tape recorder of his mom and dad sending voicemails. This would be his mom telling him to avoid Sheraine since she knew they were talking over the summer and that she needed the van he took (cover of the album) back.

“B##ch Don’t Kill My Vibe*

This song would not connect to the story but would have a voicemail at the end. The song would start with a spicy beat and was a song to vibe to via the title. I think Kendrick did that well with him being able to flow on different beats nice, and the song is told from the current day perspective of Kendrick as he didn’t like what the state of rap was and how everyone wanted control him and was killing his vibe.

The voice mail at the end would be one of his friends telling him to get into the car and to grab some CDs for them to freestyle with.

“Backseat Freestyle”

This one would again follow the story of Kendrick again and he would be raping in the perspective of 17-year-old him in the back seat with his friends. That would mean this would be more sloppy and he would be saying crazy things in the song on an 80’s sounding beat, but he would rap about how he had a dream of being big and having what a 17-year-old would want at the time, and him being focused on more materials at the time.

The end of this song didn’t have a voice mail.

“The Art of Peer Pressure”

This song would follow right after “Backseat Freestyle” and Kendrick would rap about him being in the car with all of his friends. The song starts with the chorus of him singing that he was smoking and drinking but then saying that he really was a “sober soul” but he’s with the homies right now, following again with him saying they rush someone quick then laugh about it later but really he’s a peacemaker. Kendrick raps in the song about how he was caught in between two sides in his city with him being Good but being in Compton at the time where he was at. And in the song, he showed it well when he would rap “Rush a anybody quick then we laugh about it” but then say “That’s ironic cause I’ve never been violent until I’m with the homies”. He would actually rap about in the end about how they committed a home invasion not knowing there was a person there and almost getting caught.

The voice mail at the end would be him and his friend actually going over the plan to rob the house and to drop Kendrick to his van to go to Sheraine’s house meaning this happens before he gets jumped by her cousins.

“Money Trees”

At the start of this track Kendrick would focus in more on the home with the start saying “From 9:00 to 5:00 i know it’s vacant ya bish” saying the person works one and also saying “Hit the house lick tell me, is you with it ya bish” here are his friend talking to him and using peer pressure to get to him to do it. One thing I like in this song and in others in this album is that that he will ad-lib some of the story or the lines people would say in the song and it still all sounded nice with it all multiple voices or thoughts in his head talking.

At the end of the song, the voicemail this time would be his mom wondering were he is at and just wanting to get out the house since his dad, at the moment, was intoxicated he would be heard singing in the back ground and was one of the funny skits in this album.

“Poetic Justice”

Now this song would be a reference to Janet Jackson’s ‘Poetic Justice’ and would use some of her vocals in the song. In this song he sings along side Drake about women and their flow together and them being considered 1# and 2# interchangeably. It was going to be a good song no matter what and it flowed nice with Drake’s part being good with the theme of the song since it’s about women.

Everything is nice until at the end the ominous beat starts playing and it brings us back to the moment we’re he would meet up with Sheraine and instead sees her cousins. It starts with Kendrick being interrogated by Sheraine’s cousins after figuring out he’s there for Sheraine they would ask where he’s from and countinue to press him before it ends with them saying to get out of the car or they were going to drag him out.

“Good kKd”

Immediately it starts the song with a loud beat with drums and bass booming in the back. It would foreshadow Kendrick’s headspace at that time with this being after getting jumped and everything going down with him saying “Look inside of my walls and you see I’m having withdrawals,” and in with the line “This is your station baby” making it feel like Kendrick was stuck here and his station was Compton. The beat would drop and he would rap about wanting to become a big rapper and more, getting respect from the streets as he says, “Step on my neck and get blood on your Nike check I don’t mind cause one day you’ll respect the good kid m.a.a.d city,” but he would also rap about the police injustice and the city of Compton killing his innocence. With him also realizing that he won’t ever be able to gain respect of the police as a black man when he says, “I heard them chatter he’s probably young but I know that he’s down,” with Kendrick saying from his perspective again “Step on my neck and get blood on your bullet proof vest I don’t mind I know you’ll never respect the good kid m.a.a.d city”.

At the end of the song, at the time he would say that “The streets were sure to release the worst out of my best”, but him saying that he didn’t mind because he just wanted respect. This would not have a voicemail at the end.

“m.A.A.d city”
“If Pirus and Crips all got along they probably gun me down by the end of this song seem like the whole city goes against me”. This song would talk about now with him being in this negative head space and all the way up until now him being friends with some Bloods and Crips, but not claiming he would be caught between with them hearing how he was done by Sheraine’s cousins they would want to help him but he would have to choose eventually becoming a pirus blood(not confirmed but his friend calling each other blood when they talk and him being with bloods when the shooting happens are hinting to it). This song’s beat matches the decision at the moment as in the song he plays back the moment of the men asking him questions with it saying “were you from” but then changing to “where your grandma hung”.

In the second part of the song, before the transition where he’s woken up by a friend saying that it was just a Compton thang, referring to him getting jumped, and then the beat changes. Here it goes back to a more ominous beat, but not the same, as here it seems to be Kendrick giving it off instead of it being Sheraine and her cousins being around. I think how it means at the time he was in the same headspace as them and focused on getting back.

He would end the song with him saying Kendrick aka “Compton’s human sacrifice” with him later saying that all the things that he went through was almost like he was a sacrifice for the city. The end track to this song would be him with his friends after getting jumped passing him a bottle and saying that he’ll be okay.

“Swimming Pools”

“Swimming Pools” would be played as a anthem for clubs with it lyrics about swimming in drinks and partying, but would also talk about Kendrick’s over use of it at the time with the chorus of the song being “Pull up drink hop out drink faded faded” and with him riding around drinking with his friends. He would rap about all the things up until now and finishing the song with “And when I thought I had enough” indicating that something bad was going to happen at the end of the song.

A skit would play, and this would be Kendrick with two other of his friends who would plan to get back for him, but when they go to execute the plan one of them would get shot in the car and pass.

“Sing About Me I’m Dying of Thirst”

This song is a letter and would be after the shooting of one of Kendrick’s friends who he explained passed in his arms while he was trying to comfort him. With the song being in three parts the first from the perspective of the brother of the friend who died. In his part, he would tell Kendrick that ever since his brother passed his plans were vindictive and that everybody was a victim in his eyes. With him set on revenge he would ask that when Kendrick would make it big that he would sing about him, and that he would not be able to change with his part ending in shots.

The second part of the song would not focus of Kendrick but instead a woman’s sister he wrote about named Keisha, and her story in the streets and how her sister now feels like Kendrick was judgmental with the things he was saying, and her feeling like if you can’t fit in her shoes she can’t be talked to. Her part ends with “She’ll never fade away” as she fades away to the next part of the song which would be him. Here he would rap responding to both the people earlier, with him telling his friend that his brother was like one to him and him saying that he wasn’t trying to offend the sister of Keisha but just trying to speak on something bigger than what’s on TV.

And finally, in this song, he would realize that he can’t be in Compton anymore and he had to make it out. With the skit at the end talking about them spinning back on the people, but before they can, they’re stopped by an old lady. This lady would be the one to tell them the prayer that we would hear in the beginning of the album. And with her saying that, this is the start of their REAL life.

“Real”

The last track of this album, and would be a close to this part of the story of Kendrick’s life. Here he would rap about how all of the things that he was doing don’t make him real, and in the song between him rapping his parents would talk to him on a voicemail with his dad first saying that he was sorry about his friend and that anybody can hurt a person and that don’t make you real, and how getting out of where he is may be possible with music, before giving the phone to Kendrick’s mom with her telling him that a man name top Dog came by and had wanted him and his friend Dave to come up, and with her also, to take the music seriously and to spread positivity and to tell his story to the kids in his city with the story ending here.

Overall, this is my favorite rap album of all time and is definitely a 10/10 in my opinion with “Good Kid” being my favorite song of the album.

Tech/Games

Game opinion: ‘Splatoon 3’

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By: M. Ahmadad

‘Splatoon 3’, released last year on September 9th, is the third installment of the Splatoon franchise developed by Nintendo. It’s an online player-versus-player multiplayer game, with a single player story mode.

The fan base has been active for 8 years now, and the newest seasonal update known as “Chill Season” was announced just a few days ago.

The multiplayer gameplay is about humanoid cephalopod characters participating in popular sport competitions surrounded around shooting ink and cartoon violence. The story mode uses the same mechanics but it’s player-versus-enemy and levels that are race courses/challenges. The story mode is mainly about explaining the background history of the players, the current in-game power source of the multiplayer city, and the conflicts that arise from it.

I like the general style of ‘Splatoon”’ the bright characters, art style and music genre are easily recognizable, and they’re fun. The world setting is full of life, but the gameplay does get really boring after a short while; you can only shoot paint/ink for 3 minutes at a time so many times. They don’t add much to play for after you start getting most of the objectives finished, like story mode and unlocking all weapons. That doesn’t take long to finish either, so being a “fan” of the game really just means waiting for more.

The only real reason I can imagine playing it consistently for more than a month is if you’re hyper-competitive or if you just really, really, really like funny sounding squids. While the game is made and enjoyed by people of all ages, I think it’s fair to say that based off the dialogue and 3-minute matches, it’s best fit for people who enjoy short and colorful gameplay that doesn’t require too much attention or focus (I don’t know how people take the competition seriously).

‘Splatoon 3’ is not much different from the previous installments. It’s more enjoyable to use because of improved features and better quality animation, and the only person who could really tell the difference would be a fan of ‘Splatoon’ or ‘Splatoon 2’. I love the art style and music from the game, but there’s really not much to love when I’m actually playing the game.

Tech/Games

History of the ‘Persona’ franchise

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By: Persephone Pond

The ‘Persona’ series is a series of games comprising 23 total official and spin off games that started releasing in 1996. In this article, I’ll be going over how the ‘Persona’ games came to exist and more historical facts about this franchise.

The ‘Persona’ games are spin offs of a series called ‘Shin Megami Tensei’. These games started as a part of the ‘Shin Megami Tensei’ series, but used a different name as they were being released in the West.

The first ‘Shin Megami Tensei’ game was released in 1987 on a console called Famicom, and a total of 14 more official games have been released since, the latest being in 2021.

Altus, the production company, started releasing ‘Persona’ games in English, and due to their growing popularity, has continued their production. These spin offs grew to hold even more popularity worldwide than the original games, and as the production of ‘Shin Megami Tensei’ didn’t cease, the ‘Persona’ franchise grew to be what Atlus’ more known for.

‘Revelations: Persona’ was the first of its series to be released outside of Japan in 1996 for the original Playstation. Following its release came ‘Persona 2: Innocent Sin’ and ‘Persona 2: Eternal Punishment’ in 1999 and 2000, then came ‘Persona 3’ in 2006, ‘Persona 4’ in 2008, and ‘Persona 5’ in 2016. These games all have very similar premises and basic world building, but are all self contained and separate from one another. Many spin offs and mini games were also produced in the years surrounding these core games.

Over the years, Atlus has worked on reproducing many of the core ‘Persona’ games, giving them extended content, bug fixes, and graphic upgrades. ‘Persona 3 Portable’ was released in 2009, ‘Persona 4 Golden’ was released in 2012, and ‘Persona 5 Royal’ was released in 2019. These are significant upgrades from their original games and are often recommended over their counterparts.

Atlus hasn’t stopped releasing more games in this series. No ‘Persona’ games were released in 2021 or 2022, but Atlus soon recovered from that few year gap and just a few days ago on November 16th, released ‘Persona 5 Tactica’, a spin off mini game of ‘Persona 5 Royal’. In addition to this new release, Atlus is releasing another rendition of ‘Persona 3’ titled ‘Persona 3 Reload’ in February 2024 and it’s rumored that Atlus is also currently planning and starting the production process of ‘Persona 6’, which wouldn’t be released until 2025 or 2026.

All of these games are wonderful and engaging and are all worth the play. The extensive history of the ‘Persona’ games is only one aspect of what makes them fun and interesting, and I would highly recommend the download if you’re looking for something fun to get into.

You can find the Persona games across all major platforms.

Travel/Food

Pasta dish combinations

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By: Addie Strack and Sophie Johnson

Image created with Wonder

We both love pasta, and we decided to try some different sauces and noodle shapes to find the best combination. We tried pesto sauce with macaroni shaped noodles, Alfredo sauce with penne shaped noodles, and tomato sauce with spaghetti noodles. We also added different toppings to each dish like mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and more. In this article we will review each dish, and give it a rating out of five.

Our first combination that we tried was pesto and macaroni noodles. We decided we wanted to try to make our own pesto sauce to try to make it taste even better (the pesto recipe will be linked at the bottom of our article). We also added some mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes to top off the dish. We both really enjoyed this dish, but agreed that the shape of the noodle could’ve been different. We thought maybe using bow tie pasta would be better, and agreed to try that next time. Besides the shape of the pasta, we thought this dish was amazing. It was our favorite dish overall, and the homemade pesto made a big difference. The dish tasted fresher, and it was also fun to make the pesto. We would rate this dish a 5/5, and would definitely make it again.

The next pasta combination that we tested out was Alfredo sauce and the shape was penne pasta. Out of all the shapes of pasta that we tried, this one was our second favorite. We agree that penne is the second best because the sauce is more absorbed in the noodle because of the shape of the noodle. The hole in the middle of the noodle allows for sauce to be trapped and makes the dish extra flavorful. The sauce in this combination (Rao’s Homemade) was delicious and we would rate it a 4.5/5. It was extra creamy and the brand we used was extra cheesy and rich which added a lot of additional flavor to the meal. Overall, this dish was really good, especially the sauce and we would rate it a 4.5/5. We would definitely recommend this recipe and would make this dish again.

The last combination of pasta shapes and sauces that we tried was spaghetti with red tomato sauce. This was our least favorite dish out of the three that we cooked, but it was still very delicious and flavorful. There was nothing wrong with this recipe but we both agree that tomato sauce is just not one of our favorites. One factor that could make this dish more enjoyable is if there was a side like meatballs or something that would add more flavor to the meal in the end. Overall, we would rate the spaghetti with red tomato sauce combination a 3/5. It was good, but not the best thing we’ve tasted, and it definitely did not come close to how good both the pesto macaroni and penne Alfredo pasta combinations were.

All of these dishes were super fun to make. We loved being able to test different combinations and toppings, and we have so many different pastas that we want to try. We want to try making our own Alfredo and tomato sauce since the homemade pesto was so good, and we also want to try making a pasta salad. Our one big recommendation after making all of these dishes is to make your sauce homemade. We think that the biggest difference that set the pesto ahead was the fact that it was homemade, and we would love to try more homemade sauces.

Pesto recipe:

Movies/TV/Theaters

Show recommendation: ‘Helluva Boss’

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By: Beverly Stinson

‘Helluva Boss’ is a comedy series on YouTube made by the artist, animator and YouTube creator VivziePop. The first episode aired on October 31st, 2020, and the most recent episode aired October 29th, 2023. There are currently 2 seasons.

The show follows the main characters Blitzo (Brandon Rodgers), Moxie (Richard Horvitz), Luna & Millie (Erica Lindbeck), as well as side character Stolas (Bryce Pinkham). Throughout the show they encounter problems and enemies as Blitzo (the O is silent btw) owns an assassin business where he and his partners get paid to assassinate people in the human world.

This series is rated M for mature audiences and could also maybe be considered rated R. It contains a lot of violence, gore, and profanity as well as suggestive language and sexual content. On every episode Viv starts with a warning for what the episode contains so you can be wary of the content you’re gonna see.

I’ve been watching ‘Helluva Boss’ since the release of its first episode, and even as a 11/12 year old I absolutely loved it. I’ve been so obsessed with it since it came out and a good lot of my friends are too. I had actually been a fan of Viv before she even announced ‘Helluva Boss’ and I watched her animations, including her other original series ‘Hazbin Hotel’, which even though it’s good, I still love ‘Helluva Boss’ more.

Every time I see a new episode drop it’s like an early birthday present as I really do enjoy watching it. It’s also a show extremely worthy of rewatching dozens of times.

The characters in it are so unique and all of them are voiced by very talented actors and singers like Kesha (Beelzebub) and Fizzarolli (Alex Brightman). I was actually surprised hearing Fizzarolli’s voice for the first time because I thought it sounded exactly like Beetlejuice from the original Broadway musical and it turned out it was Alex who did actually play the original Beetlejuice on Broadway.

I love that Viv is able to get all these amazing artists to be in her own show and that she’s getting more recognition for it.

‘Helluva Boss’ is one of my favorite shows literally ever and although it is pretty popular with each episode gaining over a million views in less than a day sometimes, I do feel like it should get more recognition and views because Viv works so hard on it and it’s such a good show. That’s why I want to recommend it.

Her other show ‘Hazbin Hotel’ has actually gotten so popular that it will soon be streaming on Prime Video and I really hope this means that ‘Helluva Boss’ will get to stream on more sites so more people can watch it too.

I hope more people watch ‘Helluva Boss’ and give it more popularity. I would love to be able to talk about it to more people, and I would just love it if more people knew about Viv and her amazing art.

I hope you watch it!

  • Beverly
Books/Art

‘Soul Fraud’

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By: Samson Beilhu

The author of this book, Andrew Giver, is mostly known as a YouTuber that goes by “Sigils”. His channel can be found at: Sigils-http://www.youtube.com/@sigils

This story introduces us to the word “soul fraud”, meaning, in another word, a soul thief. It also introduces us to our protagonist/main character, Matt, and our main antagonist named, Dan. Dan is a demon, a demon that breaks the rules.

I looked into this book and what it had to offer, and as far as I could understand, it’s about the main character Matt, who’s in love with a girl, but the girl is already in love with a friend close to Matt, and he’s a good friend. He says, “He would never want to see Connor and Violet break up, or worse,” but Dan/demon wasn’t going to take a no for an answer.

So, Dan decides to forge Matt’s signature, which is considered committing “soul fraud”, and leaves the main character/protagonist with a mess. In the middle of it, Matt is teleported to a supernatural world; a world he never knew existed.

Despite all the confusion, he was determined to get his soul back
from this strange world, which he was dragged to. He starts to look around when he sees monsters, monsters that are only found in folk tales. And for some reason, all the monsters are hanging out at a restaurant. And not just that, there are more demons that look like the one that stole his soul there, even worse looking ones: much worse.

For me, the details to this story at first are revealed slowly, but afterwards the story plot picks up fast. There are mysterious characters that display immense power.

Will Matt ever find his soul or will his soul be lost?

 Soul Fraud is a story about a man that got his soul taken without his consent, and now is trying to get it back. To do that, he has to face magical beings and secret forces.

If you’re interested, or intrigued, about if Matt ever finds his soul, or whether his soul will be lost forever, which personally I am, you can find the book on Amazon (at the moment, it’s not in the school library).

If you wanna learn more about it, please visit:

Travel/Food

Seasonal recipes: Pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies

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By: Austin Bailey-Zimmerman

Since the leaves have all fallen, the weather is getting much colder, and everyone is getting into the winter spirit, I thought these pumpkin snickerdoodle cookies would be the perfect way to end the fall season.

These cookies have probably been the best I’ve ever made! They are full of that delicious warm pumpkin taste, the spice of cinnamon, and are coated with the perfect amount of sugar.

I am so happy I found this recipe from TikTok @lillyluvsfall. She has created the perfect cookie for fall, that is so easy to make. I had my friends and family try it, and they said that it was absolute perfection. It really warms up your whole body, and I was delighted to enjoy this treat! Please enjoy making this treat easily from home!

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 2/3 cup pumpkin purée
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 large egg yolks
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 2/3 cup flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
  • I tsp baking soda
  • I tsp cream of tartar
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Brown the butter in a large pan then let cool, once done, in the fridge.
  3. Once the butter is cool, whisk in the sugar and brown sugar into a large bowl.
  4. Whisk in the egg yolks, vanilla and dried pumpkin purée (to dry the purée, just press it on a plate with paper towels) .
  5. Fold in the flour, pumpkin spice, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda then set the bowl in the fridge for 5 mins.
  6. Then create the cinnamon and sugar topping by mixing the 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon in a small bowl.
  7. Roll the dough into balls (about the size of a golf ball) then coat the balls in the cinnamon and sugar.
  8. Bake for 10-11 minutes or until baked all the way.
  9. Take out to cool.
  10. Sprinkle the extra cinnamon and sugar mix onto the tops while still warm.
  11. Enjoy!
Editorials/Student Voice, Tech/Games

‘New Horizons’, quarantine, and Joe Biden

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By: M. Ahmadad

My own current avatar in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

On March 20, 2020, ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ was released on the Nintendo Switch, allowing for one island to be shared on multiple accounts per console. The game revolves around building and enjoying your own customized community and life on a deserted island. You can have homes with your friends or family, or invite humanoid animal villagers to live and participate in daily activities with.

The game was not meant to be released during the COVID crisis, and the Nintendo developers for ‘New Horizons’ stated that it was quite disappointing, but hoped that it could help as an escape for the mundane and isolated feeling that came with the stay-at-home requests. People were a little under 2 months into practicing social distancing, so the game was very well received.

‘New Horizons’ was not only the best selling game in the Animal Crossing series, but the best selling game of all time in Japan. It is also the best selling Nintendo Switch game, and the 14th best selling video game ever.

The 2020 quarantine is generally perceived as a major playing factor as to why so many people joined the Animal Crossing fanbase. The idea of creating your own dream town, and decorating a community, was extremely appealing for those feeling down because of COVID creating a shift of what social interactions were okay, and what weren’t.

The creativity of ‘New Horizons’ allowed players to have digital social events, such as going fishing with friends, having picnics, going to watch shows or meteor showers, building together, gardening, and more.

The game also served as a temporary replacement for events that were canceled due to COVID, like couples throwing wedding ceremonies in Animal Crossing, or having a graduation party in the game instead of in real life.

The game was also used as political marketing by Joe Biden, having his campaign team create an island that people could visit using his Island’s code. Both him and Kamala Harris were living on that island, and you could visit them and see “their version” of Animal Crossing America.

I liked ‘Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ a lot when it came out; it was a fun way to pass the time during online school. I mostly only gardened and covered all my villagers’ houses with flowers everywhere, but I later moved on to terraforming cliffs and rivers and placing bridges to make an actual structured town.

I named my island Akkala, after the ‘Legend of Zelda’ region.