By: Manuel Avalos Mateos

Founded in 1985, Blockbuster went from being a king in the entertainment industry, and thriving in the era of physical movie rentals, to filing for bankruptcy in 2010.

Blockbuster was widely known for its chain of movie rental stores. They offered a wide variety of different movies and video games that customers could rent, take home, and later return them.

Blockbuster was booming during the 1990s and early 2000s when renting movies meant taking a quick trip to a store. People loved going to Blockbuster, especially on Friday nights. Families and friends would rent movies for the weekend making it a big deal. Blockbuster was also a community that connected all sorts of people with movies. People would talk about new releases and grab copies of popular films during that time, which would be all a part of the experience.

Blockbusters blue and yellow signs were iconic, easily recognizable, and everyone was familiar with it. The best times for Blockbuster was when new movies were released and people would rush to their local Blockbuster for a copy of the movie. Blockbuster however, would not last for very long.

Netflix, at one point, when it was still a small company and still growing, offered to sell their company to Blockbuster for 50 million dollars. The CEO “laughed them out of the room”, rejecting their offer.

Its fall can be attributed to the rapid growth of digital streaming services. Blockbuster had always stayed with having physical stores instead of having to change or create their own online service.

Blockbuster would continue to show its downfall as the digital age for watching movies began to grow and gain more and more popularity. The quick shift to digital streaming services, and the decline of physical movie rentals caused Blockbuster to face major challenges and eventually file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. Blockbuster eventually had no choice but to close all of their locations through 2014 which left under 100 stores sitting globally.

Blockbuster, at its peak, had roughly over 9,000 stores worldwide. Today, only one store remains in Bend, Oregon.

By: Cleo Newton        

Whenever anyone wants to take a picture, they can use their phone to do so, but that hasn’t always been the case.

According to an article from NFI, the camera obscura is probably the first camera made. This camera was just a little room with light coming out of a small hole, and an inverted image from outside was projected on the adjacent wall. This camera didn’t take pictures, light just came through a  tiny hole and projected on a surface. Manuscripts of this kind of camera were traced back to China in 400 BC. These records were written by a Chinese scholar of the Han Dynasty, Mozi.

Designs for the  handheld handflex reflex camera was proposed by a German author Johann Zahnn in 1686. It wasn’t until 1816 when Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created a prototype of this that people actually started realizing this camera. The images that Niépce made were made on silver chloride-lined paper; the oldest photo he made was in 1826. This image is on display in an exhibit in the University of Texas in Austin.

Louis Daguerre created a more efficient camera. Although his camera could produce better images, the pictures would vanish quickly.

A box camera named the Kodak was marketed by George Eastman in 1888. These cameras came with 100 exposures, and they had to be developed at the Eastman Kodak plant in Rochester, New York. A cheaper version of this camera, Kodak’s Brownie Camera, replaced it in 1901. In the following years, 1905-1913, camera companies would sell 35mm film which people could buy to load their cameras with.

Sasson was the first digital camera and was invented in 1975 by Eastman Kodak American engineer Steve Sasson. This camera was 8 pounds, it required a Kodak’s movie lense, 16 nickel-cadmium batteries, and a digital recorder. It could create black and white pictures in about 23 seconds.

The first DSRL camera was created in 1999, this camera could produce high quality images and many photographers liked using this camera. The DSRL camera allows you to see what you are taking a picture of through the viewfinder, which was considered impressive and convenient at the time. People could now take better pictures.

So, looking back, you can see how the camera has developed over time.

For more information, please visit:

• https://www.nfi.edu/when-was-the-camera-invented/

By: Oak Berg

Minnesota which is known as the Land of 10,000 Lakes, is also known for its crazy winters. In the past few years, the state has seen an increase in snowfall, causing lots of snowy winters. Here are some the reasons behind the snowy weather and its impact on the people and environment of Minnesota.

One of the main reasons to the snowy winters in Minnesota is the increase in dampness and water in the atmosphere. As global climate changes, Minnesota will/has been affected by more intense winter storms. These storms bring a lot of snowfall, covering the state in a world of snow.

The snow also leads to colder temperatures, with the snowy conditions. Continuing, the location of Minnesota adds to its snowy winters. With it being placed in the northern part of the United States, the state is near the cold weather coming from Canada. The frosty air adds to the moisture, resulting in a lot of snowfall. The combination of cold air and moisture creates perfect conditions for heavy snowfall within the winter season.

The snowy winters in Minnesota have both positive and negative impacts on the people and environment. Positive impacts include the snow has opportunities for a lot of winter fun like skiing, snowboarding, and ice fishing. These activities add to the local economy and provide a lot of options for residents and tourists.

However, the heavy snowfall also has bad things, transportation slows down, energy is being used more for heating, and there are some risks to public safety like slippery driving conditions and dangerously cold weather that can lead to frostbite.

Minnesota has had noticeable gain in snowy winters over the past few years and and this will continue in the upcoming years. Things like climate change and location add to this. While the snowy weather offers opportunities, it also bring bad to the people and the environment of Minnesota. Adapting to these changing weather patterns will be needed to deal with the state’s winter and cold.

By: Mae Skold and Audrey Smith

Frankie Macdonald is a Canadian weatherman born on April 24, 1984. He is from Whitney Pier, an area in Sydney, Nova Scotia. He is also known for his humorous videos as a comedian. He makes online weather forecasts and meteorologist reports. He often posts them on YouTube, but he is also known for TikTok and Instagram. His YouTube channel handle is: dogsandwolves.

He is pretty popular and has received more than 32 million views on YouTube. He has been a popular creator since 2007 on YouTube. His father, Finneas Macdonald was also a weather reporter in Canada in his time, reporting on well known Canadian weather events such as Winnipeg’s “Snowstorm of the Century”, “Greatest Rainfall in One Day”, and “Hurricane Beth terrorizing Nova Scotia”. Hurricane Beth was widely reported by Finneas MacDonald at the start of his career, due to the fact that he inhabited Sydney, Nova Scotia.

Frankie has said in his videos that his father was the one who got him involved in weather reporting and content creation. Ever since Frankie was younger, he said, he has wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps of weather reporting. Along with this career as a weather reporter, Frankie Macdonald owns a bakery in his hometown of Sydney, Nova Scotia called “McKayla Smiths.” This bakery was run by a friend of his in Sydney, but has been turned over to him. He has decided to keep the name of the bakery the same in order to keep the original charm of the bakery.

In one of Frankie’s videos, he goes through his favorite activities to do in Sydney, Nova Scotia, including taking a visit to “Mckayla Smiths.” He also discusses his other favorite things to do in the area of Sydney. He mentions that you can visit the “Largest Ceilidh Fiddle in the World” at the Sydney waterfront. There are many boardwalks and waterfront stores along the cape.

The “Celtic Colors Festival” according to Frankie MacDonald, takes place every October at the cape, with some concerts performing in Sydney.

Though Frankie is living his best life now he comes with a troubling past. Before fame he was heavy into drugs and the world of prostitution which he is very open about on his platforms. He shares his story to empower others to pursue recovery and that a future is possible after the streets. His podcast “Meth to Mr. Mac D” offers a lot of self help advice to those struggling, and he features guests frequently to get other stories shared.

Frankie is a very versatile influencer sharing everything from books to video content to owning a bakery. How does he manage all of this you may ask? The answer is his family and friends. You can see them frequently featured on the YouTube channel as they vlog their lives managing all of Frankie’s successful businesses. His cousin Bobby plays a big role in the YouTube side of things and even collaborates with him and Frankie’s channel together to put out gaming content along with the vlogs. This just further diversifies the Macdonald family industry.

Frankie has a line of merchandise available for his fans for any of his many businesses. Anything from bobble heads to Nike tracksuits; he has it all. He recently has worked on a collaboration with famous influencer Irissa Darizz. Their merch line sold out instantly but is getting restocked Summer 2023. Fans will be waiting patiently to get their hands on one of their limited edition Nike techs.

Frankie Macdonald is certainly an entrepreneurial prodigy and his success is nothing to be looked over. We hope you will check his content out and enjoy it with the world. As Frankie would say from his signature YouTube videos, see you later Senkies!