alhambra scimitar december 14, 2012

8
The Inside PHOENIX, ARIZONA ALHAMBRA HIGH SCHOOL • December 14, 2012 VOL. LI NO. 2 Scim Around the world with ten lions; AHS is truly diverse PAGE 4 & 5 SPORTS Chilly air. Shorter days. Winter sports begin. See the full schedule in the Alhambra Scimitar PAGE 6 OPINION Anthony Munoz wants you to hang up your phone and stop being rude. PAGE 3 by SCIMITAR STAff What seemed to be a regular day at Alhambra High School took a turn that caused trouble for every student. It was a regular day when the bell rang and everyone who had 5th lunch ran to the caf- eteria. Students got their food and took their seats. 5th lunch was looking pretty normal when suddenly things got a little suspicious; students sitting at tables in the center of the cafeteria got up and moved to sit in other Food fight causes injury and two-week cafeteria ban A mix of JROTC cadets and Sports Medicine students participat- ed in the Mass Casualty Excercise planned by the Army JROTC department. The exercise, was the first of its kind on campus. see CASULTY on page 2 Alhambra Scimitar Happy Holidays by SCIMITAR STAff The flashing lights of emergency vehicles bounced off the walls of the auditorium. People, bleed- ing and injured, were lying on the ground. Someone yelled “Over here!” and one of the most interesting real- life learning exercises of the school year began. On Monday, No- vember 19th students from Alhambra’s JROTC and Sports Medicine programs engaged in a Mass Casualty Exercise. The exercise began shortly after the 8:00am bell rang. An alert came through that a large accident had oc- curred. Students from the JROTC program grabbed first-aid supplies while oth- ers went to the scene of the “accident” to begin offering emergency aid. The scene simu- lated military confrontation where several victims were bleeding profusely. Some had lacerations while oth- ers simulated injuries from Mass Casualty Exercise provides simulated realism areas away from the middle. Many students stopped eat- ing and appeared to be wait- ing for something to happen. Some students looked ready for a fight and some left, while others continued eating their lunch oblivious to the goings- on. Security suspected noth- ing. It only took a couple of minutes before someone yelled out “Food fight!” Yo- gurt flew through the air and tomato soup splashed every- where. Tables were quickly flipped over for protection, and some students ran while others fought back. During the fracas one student was hit in the head with a chair. The young lady’s name was not released, but she is uninjured. “I was inside the caf- eteria during the food fight. It was unexpected for my group (of friends) and I” said Albert Rodriguez. Fortunately, Mr. Rodriguez wasn’t hit by the flying food. When asked if he thought it was fair that all students were banned from the cafeteria Mr. Rodriguez responded, “I think it was fair because people participated willingly besides the people who started it.” Rodriguez also feels that the food fight was dangerous and could have caused harm to many students. With the penalty of banishment from the cafeteria for two weeks still looming, some ask the question was the food fight planned, and will there be another? Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 by Robert L. May as a promotional for the now-defunct Mont- gomery Ward depart- ment store. The best gift I ever re- cieved was...an X-Box. You can watch You- Tube, play games, and check Facebook. Ericka Garcia JUNIOR 1.7 Billion candycanes are made each year 95% of Americans say they celebrate Christmas My favorite thing about christmas is “Secret Santa.” It shows that you really know a per- son and take time to buy them a gift they would like. Brenda Bernal SENIOR “The best Christmas gift I ever got was when my parents gave me a laptop because you can take it everywhere you go.” Karla Trevino FRESHMAN

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Volume 51, Issue 2 of the 2012-2013 school year. Headlines and news from Alhambra High School in Phoenix, Arizona.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

The Inside

PHOENIX,ARIZONA•ALHAMBRAHIGHSCHOOL•December14,2012•VOL.LINO.2

Scim

Around the world with ten lions; AHS is truly diversePAGE4&5

SPORTSChilly air. Shorter days.Wintersportsbegin.Seethe full schedule in theAlhambraScimitar

PAGE6

OPINIONAnthony Munoz wantsyou to hang up yourphone and stop beingrude.

PAGE3

bySCIMITARSTAff

What seemed to be a regular day at Alhambra High School took a turn that caused trouble for every student. It was a regular day when the bell rang and everyone who had 5th lunch ran to the caf-eteria. Students got their food and took their seats. 5th lunch was looking pretty normal when suddenly things got a little suspicious; students sitting at tables in the center of the cafeteria got up and moved to sit in other

Food fight causes injury and two-week cafeteria ban

A mix of JROTC cadets and Sports Medicine students participat-ed in the Mass Casualty Excercise planned by the Army JROTCdepartment. The exercise, was the first of its kind on campus. seeCASULTYonpage2

Alhambra Scimitar

Happy Holidays

bySCIMITARSTAff

The flashing lights of emergency vehicles bounced off the walls of the auditorium. People, bleed-ing and injured, were lying on the ground. Someone yelled “Over here!” and one of the most interesting real-life learning exercises of the school year began. On Monday, No-vember 19th students from Alhambra’s JROTC and Sports Medicine programs engaged in a Mass Casualty

Exercise. The exercise began shortly after the 8:00am bell rang. An alert came through that a large accident had oc-curred. Students from the JROTC program grabbed first-aid supplies while oth-ers went to the scene of the “accident” to begin offering emergency aid. The scene simu-lated military confrontation where several victims were bleeding profusely. Some had lacerations while oth-ers simulated injuries from

Mass Casualty Exercise provides simulated realism

areas away from the middle. Many students stopped eat-ing and appeared to be wait-ing for something to happen. Some students looked ready for a fight and some left, while others continued eating their lunch oblivious to the goings-on. Security suspected noth-ing. It only took a couple of minutes before someone yelled out “Food fight!” Yo-gurt flew through the air and tomato soup splashed every-where. Tables were quickly flipped over for protection,

and some students ran while others fought back. During the fracas one student was hit in the head with a chair. The young lady’s name was not released, but she is uninjured. “I was inside the caf-eteria during the food fight. It was unexpected for my group (of friends) and I” said Albert Rodriguez. Fortunately, Mr. Rodriguez wasn’t hit by the flying food. When asked if he thought it was fair that all students were banned from the cafeteria Mr. Rodriguez

responded, “I think it was fair because people participated willingly besides the people who started it.” Rodriguez also feels that the food fight was dangerous and could have caused harm to many students. With the penalty of banishment from the cafeteria for two weeks still looming, some ask the question was the food fight planned, and will there be another?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was written in 1939 by Robert L. May as a promotional for the now-defunct Mont-gomery Ward depart-ment store.

The best gift I ever re-cieved was...an X-Box. You can watch You-Tube, play games, and check Facebook.

Ericka GarciaJuNIoR

1.7 Billion candycanes are made each year

95% of Americans say they celebrate Christmas

My favorite thing about christmas is “Secret Santa.” It shows that you really know a per-son and take time to buy them a gift they would like.

Brenda BernalSENIoR

“The best Christmas gift I ever got was when my parents gave me a laptop because you can take it everywhere you go.”

Karla TrevinoFRESHMAN

Page 2: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

NewsPAGE2

Arts program gives students “voice”by SAMANTHALIMON

You may have seen signs around campus ad-vertising something called Raise Your Voice, but had no idea what it was. Raise Your Voice is a free arts program serving the Alhambra community. I’ve been going for the past few weeks and I’ve been in-spired by what teenagers like myself could do with pen, paper, paint and brush-es, and a simple camera that snaps and shoots and also plays music. I had the plea-sure of interviewing Sean Malakowsky about Raise Your Voice and here is what he had to say:

Q. What made you come up with the Raise Your Voice program?A. We wanted teenagers like you guys to have an outlet and to give people a chance to get away from the world out there, and ex-press who they really are. We want them to discover themselves and have an op-portunity that I didn’t have (as a high school student).

byALICIADOMINGUEZ

Pink ribbons are ev-erywhere. You see them on backpacks, cars, and key-chains. Finding someone who doesn’t know that a pink ribbon stands for breast cancer awareness would be nealy impossible. People are more aware of breast cancer than ever. Talking about this possibly deadly disease in public is far more common than in the past. Even with this increase in awareness, should teenage girls be con-cerned about breast cancer? Cancer is a disease that can cause serious ill-

ness and unfortunately, in some cases, death. It starts because of an abnormal cell. Cells become cancer-ous because of DNA dam-age. DNA is in every cell and directs all of the cell’s actions. Cancer cell growth differs from normal cell growth. In normal cells, when DNA is damaged the cell either repairs the dam-age or the cell dies. In can-cer cells the damaged DNA is not repaired and the cell doesn’t die like it should. Instead the cell goes on making new cells that the body doesn’t need. The good news is that teen breast cancer con-

Q. How do you feel about the idea?A. I really enjoy it. It’s start-ing to pick up a bit. We’re helping teenagers step out of their comfort zones. I re-ally think it’s going pretty well.

Q. What kind of programs do you guys have here?A. We have writing, photo, dance, mural making, and last but not least DJ.

Q. Whose idea was Raise Your Voice?A. Noel and me. We’ve been meeting for about half a year already. It happened like a dream in a coffee shop.

Q. How many Raise Your Voice locations do you have around Phoenix Union?A. This is the first one, but we’re developing one at Maryvale High School as well. We want Raise Your Voice to be an official pro-gram.

Q. How often does Raise Your Voice meet?A. We have meetings here (at Kineo Church) twice a month, and about thirty to

forty people typically at-tend.

Now you know what Raise Your Voice is here to ac-complish. Ms. Deaver, along with Sean and Noel are working with Ms. Bru-mels to make Raise Your Voice an official club here at Alhambra. Though the group meets at a church, there is no religious con-nection. Raise Your Voice Meets every Thursday from 3:00 pm-6:00 pm at Kineo Church on 37th Ave. just north of Camelback. Check it out; you’ll enjoy it.

tinues to be uncommon. Ac-cording to the SEER pro-gram registry, women from the age of 20 to 24 have a 1.5 in a million chance of contracting breast cancer. According to doctors, teens should conduct self-exams regulary and speak to their doctors if they have a con-cern. Women over the age of 40 should be tested for breast cancer once a year. Teenage girls should still give themselves Self Breast Exams and discuss anything unusual with your doctor. Early detection can make a big difference in the course of breast cancer.

embedded glass fragments or bullets. Members of the Army National Guard and Marine Corps Recruiting Command participated as the wounded. The exercise was a real-world application of first-aid skills that JROTC students had learned over the preceding two weeks. The same exercise offered Sports Medicine students the opportunity to apply first-aid skills obtained over the past months. Students who par-ticipated were met with a high-stress situation that al-lowed them to practice ac-tual life-saving skills. Many students found the experience both rewarding and entertaining. Samuel Rivas, a JROTC ca-det said, “Not only was this a test of knowledge, but it was also fun.” Fun, however, was not the primary educational motivation behind the ex-ercise. Amy Marlin, Sports Medicine instructor, ex-plained, “Basically, it al-lows us to see emergency situations and to see what the military goes through.” At the heart of this activity is a military exercise planned by Lieutenant Col-onel Jackson MacDonald of

Alhambra JROTC. Lt. Col. MacDonald believes that activities like this provide students with actual skills that can help save lives. “Just last weekend one of our cadets who was near a nine year old child that received a very deep cut to his head. She immediate-ly used her skills, stopped the bleeding, and continued care until the paramedics ar-rived,” he said. A teacher couldn’t ask for a better outcome for a lesson. Still, the activity was educational; it allowed students the opportunity to become more comfortable with a stressful environ-ment. “Everyone respond-ed quickly in a very high pressure situation. Some thrived on the pressure, while others had to adjust to fully comprehend what was happening.” said Lt. Col. MacDonald. When asked how he would like to improve this activity, he said, “The kids got a lot out of it. To make it bigger and better, I would like to add some more am-bulances, maybe even a Na-tional Guard Medevac Heli-copter.”

Casualty

ABOVE: Luis Valentine, Annette Sandoval, Yessica Padilla, and JesseTreviomovea“wounded”actortotheSportsMedicinestudentswhoservedasparamedicsfortheexercise.BELOW:StephonOwenssmilesasheremovesanArmyNationalGuardvolunteerfromhervehicle.

Teen cancer: should you be scared?

MembersofRaiseYourVoicecre-ateinaverietyofmediums.

Page 3: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

Opinion

TheAlhambraScimitar3839 West Camelback RoadPhoeinx, AZ 85015(602)764-6144 Adviser

Mr. Adney

Editor-In-ChiefEileen Yazzie

StaffFabian MoralesVanessa Sanchez

Yvette Padilla

Edgardo GaxiolaAlicia DominguezSamantha Limon

Analy Rascon Cecilia Chang Anthony Munoz Fernanda Luna The Scimitar is a pub-lication of Alhambra

High School’s sixth pe-riod newspaper class. It is published five times a year.

Editorial Policy: All editorials will reflect the majority of the edi-tors’ opinions and will be written by an editor.

Ethic Policy: All sto-ries are accurate to the reporter’s best ability and the information in the story must be able to be documented. We vow to do no harm nor

print obscene or vulgar media of any kind. The source’s name can be withheld upon request. Everything is written for the reader. We are the voice of all Alham-bra students and strive to represent all students regardless of race, gen-der, ethnicity, and abil-ity.

Letters to the Editor and Guest Submission Policy: All letters to the editor must not not ex-ceed 200 words. They

may be handwritten or typed. All letters can be submitted by either e-mail, via Mr. Adney’s mailbox or delivered to room 1144. All guest submissions must be submitted electronical-ly. All submissions must include the author’s name, grade and Eng-lish teacher. All letters and guest submissions that are to be printed will be edited for clarity and length.

PAGE3

Some holiday visitors are just unwelcome

by VANESSASANCHEZ

With the holidays approaching, students will be coming into contact with many different people, and not all of these people will be healthy. Increased sick-ness around the holidays is a problem that affects many high school campuses. It is important for students to

What the cell?

byANTHONYMUNOZ

Living in today’s world people that use them can be addicted to their cell phone. With so much tech-nology in today’s world it’s hard not to love it. Having cell phones helps people communicate with their friends, fam-ily, and whoever they want. Now, with texting and so-cial media, having a phone has become vital to con-nect with others. When we socialize through our cell phones we lose aspects that come with talking to an-other person. Being able to call people from a distance is extremely convenient and makes communication much easier between people but it comes at a price. The

emotion and the connection in a conversation are lost through all the wires. Soci-ety has become so addicted to these mobile devices that having an addiction to your cell phone is real and it is even called nomopho-bia when you are scared of not having your phone. Our current generation has be-come so obsessed with cell phones that we check them every minute if not more. Teenagers grew up with cell phones and have not known a life without them like old-er generations. Having these amaz-ing devices in our lives is really convenient and we have become attached to these things that help us stay in contact with the people we know. Being able to so-cialize with others has neg-atively impacted humanity. We are so accustomed to reading text messages and emails that it has forced people to lose time actually talking face to face with someone else. Although these cellular devices are a convenient way to commu-nicate with others, talking to people in person is more interactive.

keep themselves clean be-cause they could get infect-ed with a parasite like toxo-plasma gondii. More than 60,000 people in the United States are already infected with this parasite, and that number is continually grow-ing. What is more shocking is that even though a person might have the parasite in them, few people actually show symptoms of toxo-plasmosis, which is what this nasty bug causes. People get toxo-plasmosis by eating under-cooked contaminated meat, or eating food that has been exposed to cooking items (like knives or forks) that have been exposed to con-taminated meat. The dis-ease is also linked to drink-ing contaminated water, or touching cat feces and for-

getting to wash your hands afterward. The symptoms of toxoplasmosis are similar to flu-like symptoms. Peo-ple develop muscle aches and swollen lymph glands. However, severe toxoplas-mosis will damage the eyes and other organs. Symp-toms for the more severe variety include reduced or blurred vision, eye redness, and pain from bright light. If you think you might have toxoplasmosis, talk to your health care pro-vider. Sometimes treatment is unnecessary because your immune system will be strong enough to overcome the disease. So whatever you do, make sure you keep yourself healthy by keeping clean. No one wants to be sick during the holiday.

bySCIMITARSTAff The staff of the Al-hambra Scimitar would like to wish you a very festive holiday season and remind you to remember that the spirit of the season should last the whole year long. Here are 12 ways that you can make the world a better place: 1. Introduce yourself to at least two new people at school. Learn their names

The 12 kindnesses of Christmasand something interesting about them. Then be sure to address them by name the next time you see them. 2. Take 10 minutes to hand-write a thank you note to someone who made a difference in your day. 3. Lift the spirit of someone who is having a rough day by offering them words of encouragement 4. Spread the good will of the season by adopt-

ing a child from your local Salvation Army Angel Tree. 5. Find something small, like a sticker, and give it to someone. 6. Commit to only using kind and positive words for one day. 7. Take five minutes to compose a meaningful note of gratitude to the Unit-ed States Armed Forces. 8. Make an effort to pick up litter and deposit it

in the proper receptacle. 9. Offer genuine compliments to five people and make their day. 10. Start your neigh-bor’s day off right by post-ing a “Good Morning” mes-sage on their desk before

class. 11. Eat lunch with someone you don’t know or someone who is sitting alone. 12. Smile and wish 12 people a great day as you pass in the hall.

Page 4: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

fEATURES4

Jose TellezMexicoMy favorite thing about my culture is the

food. There is so much variety of flavors

and spices. Also, the people are hard

workers.Wilber RiveraDominican RepublicThe culture of the Dominican Republic is

beautiful. People are friendly and good

athletes.

Aisha ThompsonNative American “Navajo”The favorite thing I like about my cul-ture is the traditional teachings and the language.

John PoeseTongaOur language and the food, and the way we prepare the food.

Mr. Wi

lder

Bolivi

a

I like

the “

ciesta

matea

da”, w

here e

v-

eryone

goes

home,

closes

the s

hops,

and

eats l

unch w

ith th

e fami

ly and

drink

mate

(Boliv

ian te

a). Th

en aft

er lun

ch eve

ryone

goes b

ack to

work.

Around the World

Page 5: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

fEATURES5

Arlette Amuli Democratic Republic of CongoThe dancing, like parties aren’t about getting drunk and stuff like that. It’s all about the dancing.

Frank TsangHong KongMy favorite thing about my country is that even though we aren’t in our country, traditions live on.

Eddie LemusGuatemala My favorite thing about my country is the kindness towards each other compared to communities here in the U.S.

Zach SharpGermany and Ireland

My favorite thing about my culture is the

deep history it has. My ancestors were

immigrants from Germany and Ireland who

filled important roles in their communi-

ties. They were doctors, military person-

nel, and engineers.

Jose TellezMexicoMy favorite thing about my culture is the

food. There is so much variety of flavors

and spices. Also, the people are hard

workers.

Hong DangVietnamMy favorite thing about my culture is the clothing they wear for the holidays; like he gowns and stuff.

With Ten Lions

Page 6: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

SportsPAGE6

byANTHONYMUNOZ The Los Angeles Lakers are a great team and they have some amaz-ing talent. With the addi-tion of one of the best cen-ters in the NBA right now, Dwight Howard, and a veteran point guard, Steve Nash, the chances of win-ning the championship this year are looking up. Going up against other powerful teams such as Miami and

Better Lakers could win championship

GIRLSMon-12-17-North-HSan Diego Tournament-Tue-1-8-North-AWed-1-9-Dobson-HFri-1-11-Camelback-ATue-1-15-St. Marys-HFri-1-18-Hayden-ATue-1-22-Central-AWed-1-23-Maryvale-AFri-1-25- Central-H Tue-1-29- Ironwood-HThur-1-31-Westview-AFri-2-1-Camelback- HTBD-State-TBDGame Time: Fr-4,JV-5:30,V-7Coaches: A. Fraga, J Gross, L. Blakely

BOYSTue-12-11-St. Marys-HFri-12-14-Skyline- HMon-12-17-North-A12-26/29-Phoenix Christian1-2/5-PUHSD Tournament(Fairfax)Tue-1-8-North-HFri-1-11-Camelback- HTue-1-15- St. Marys-AThurs-1-17-Willow Can-yon-HFri-1-18- Hayden-HTue-1-22-Central- HFri-1-25-Central-ATue-1-29-Ironwood-AFri-2-1-Camelback-AGame Time:Fr-4, JV-5:30, V-7Coaches: S.Kunz, B.Upshaw,D.Page

BASKETBALL Winter Sports Schedule

WRESTLINGSoCCERWed- 12-12-North- H-V7pm, JV6pmThur-1-10- Horizon-A-V7pm,JV6pmWed- 1-16- Pinnancle- H-V7pm,JV6pmWed- 1-23-Valley Vista, Mtn Ridge, Maryvale-A-V-4Wed- 1-23—Mtn Ridge,Valley Vista, Mary-vale- A-JV-42/8-13 State Individuals-TBD2/15-20/State Team-TBDMatch times-Weigh-ins Duals at 4pm/start at 5pm FR, 6pmJV, 7pmVWeigh-ins 3 way Multi 4pm /start at 5pm JV, 5pm VWeigh in 4 way multi 3pm/ V-4pmCoaches: C. Barkoczy, R. Mendez

GIRLSThur-12-13-Washington-HFri-12-14- Ironwood- HThur-1-10—North-AFri-1-11-Washington-ATue-1-15-Maryvale-H Thur-1-17-Central- AFri-1-18-St. Marys- H-(V only)5pmWed-1-23-Maryvale-AThur-1-24-Corona Del Sol-HTBD-State-TBDGame Time-JV-4pm, V-6pmCoaches: S. Epstein, M. Arballo

BOYSFri-12-14-Ironwood-AMon-12-17-Deer Valley-H1-2/5-Liberty Holiday TournamentThur-1-10-North-HFri-1-11-Cibola-HMon-1-14-Camelback- HTue-1-15-Maryvale-AThur-1-17- Central-HTue-1-22-Chavez-H Wed 1-23-Maryvale-H

TBD-State-TBDGame Time-JV-4pm, V-6pmCoaches: Z. Zamenski, T. Quigg

Oklahoma City the Lak-ers still have an edge with Dwight Howard stopping people from getting into the paint. Las Vegas odds-makers are placing more bets on the Lakers winning the championship this year than the defending champs the Miami Heat. Though the Lakers were knocked out of the playoffs by Okla-homa City last season, the team remains a contender

with a phenomenal starting line-up. However, there are still some problems with the Lakers that need to be ad-dressed like the average age of their players and the play-ers’ chemistry. Since some players are older than oth-ers injuries are more likely to occur which can hurt this team’s chances of earning a spot in the finals. The Lak-ers, however, are once again a force to be reckoned with.

LoveSports?Wanttoseeyournameinprint?

TheScimitarislookingforfreelancesportswriters.

SeeMr.Adneyin1144formoreinformation.

Ironwood crushes AlhambrabySCIMITARSTAff

The December 7 varsity basketball game was an early Christmas present for fans of the Ironwood Ea-gles. The hosting Alhambra squad was bounced by Iron-wood in a game that ended with a score of 85-54. This win enhances Ironwood’s record to 6-2 in league play.

Junior, Mather Phi-fer, lead scoring for the Li-ons with 18 points, followed by Sophomore Donavan McCleary scoring 8 points. The game came at a critical time as Alhambra, currently, has no wins on the book. The 0-7 record after the most current loss to St. Mary’s reveals a team ready for some good news.

Boys varsity soccer beats St. Mary’s, NorthbySCIMITARSTAff As a counterpoint to the dreadful basketball sea-son, Alhambra Lions varsity soccer team easily trounced the visiting St. Mary’s Knights on December 5, 2012 and beat North on December 11, 2012. In league play that ended with a shattering 16-0 score against St. Mary’s, Al-hambra reasserted its place as a solid soccer school. At this

printing, statistics were not available. The Lions were able to keep the momentum and defeat North in an away chal-lenge that ended with a 5-4 score. Alhambra varsity boys soccer is currently ranked highly and it will be interesting to see if the skills the boys bring to the field can be transferred to champion-ship play.

BASKETBALL

SoCCER

There is still time for fans of Alhambra sports to catch a game. Winter sports need

your support too!

Didyouknowthatfemalehighschoolathletesare:

92%lesslikelytogetinvolvedwithdrugs

80%lesslikelytogetpregnant

3timesmorelikelytograduatethannon-athletes

from Women’s Sports Foun-dation

Page 7: Alhambra Scimitar December 14, 2012

Tech&Media PAGE7

ByTYLERKAUNE

Wreck-It Ralph, first made waves with regular movie goers when its origi-nal trailer sported some of video games’ most iconic villains in a humorous AA style meeting. Million dol-lar characters like Bowser from the Mario series, Doc-tor Eggman from Sonic, and even one of the ghosts from Pac-Man made even those with a casual knowledge of

WaltDisneyAnimationStudioDirector:RichMooreProducer:ClarkSpencer

Wreck-It Ralph breaks free of Pixar dominance with smart story and great animation

video games light up with glee. Disney’s new movie is much more than just an ode to video games, how-ever. The story follows the aptly named Wreck-It Ralph, the villain of an old school arcade game called Fix-It Felix Jr. After 30 long years, Ralph finally declares to his fellow arcade game villains that he doesn’t want to be “the bad guy” anymore, and sets out on a mission to prove his worth and gain the respect of his fellow characters. Things quickly go awry, and Ralph puts several arcade games in danger of getting unplugged (Wreck-It Ralphs equivalent to foreclosure). A motley crew of various video game characters, is then tasked with saving their existence. Despite an eerie re-semblance to Toy Story, Wreck-It Ralph sets itself apart with witty writing and fast action. In fact, one of the things that may surprise viewers the most, at least at first, is the lack of the Pixar logo. Wreck-It Ralph was created by Disney’s internal

studio, Walt Disney Anima-tion Studio, and produces impressive results. Most of the big video games that ac-tually contribute to the story are largely fictional, with obvious inspiration from games like Mario Cart, Donkey Kong, and Call Of Duty. This allows for more creative freedom on their end to craft fun places and original characters that blow most animated movie characters out of the water. Gamers in particular will enjoy Wreck-It Ralph immensely, as it shows lots of love for the culture, pro-viding commentary on the video game industry and plenty of inside jokes and references. But even if you don’t know the difference between a Nintendo DS vs. a DSi, don’t fret. Disney Animation has put together a riveting movie that any-one can fall in love with. If Wreck-It Ralph can be severely dinged for anything, it’s its habit of pulling out important plot devices just moments be-fore they become relevant. Essentially, the “rules” of

this world in where video game characters reside are constantly being updated through out the film. This causes a lot of really impor-tant moments, most notably around the mid point, to hit with a lot less impact than probably was originally hoped for. Some of the the more inane ones, usually used for gag jokes or skits, often don’t make a whole lot of sense, even in Wreck-It Ralph’s goofy concept. But don’t let it de-tour you. Wreck-It Ralph’s best part is its cast of char-acters, who transcend their own video game personas and almost become Super-heroes in their own right. They also make a strong case that not all animated characters have to pander to the kiddy audience, with nuanced personalities and moments where you may not like them. Disney has gotten into a bad habit of saddling Pixar Studios with this sort of thing, but Disney Anima-tion Studio should be seeing a lot more work after this great movie.

John Green: the best author

you’re not reading

BooKS

bySCIMITARSTAff

With Winter Break on its way you might be looking for something new to read. We think that you might want to check out some books by one of our favorites; John Green. Even though John Green’s most recent book The Fault in Our Stars has been on best-seller and ed-itor’s-pick lists for the past year, few of Alhambra’s avid readers have heard of this new and popular au-thor. Mr. Green is the type of author who loves to add humor to a story. Even when a sad situation brings the characters of The Fault in Our Stars together, he is able to inject humor. “...Most of my char-acters are funny...this is be-cause I dislike unfunny peo-ple and don’t want to write about them.” Mr. Green said. Even with humor, Mr. Green is able to portray heartbreakingly beautiful scenes of sadness with a sophisticated sense of un-derstanding. His words are perfectly chosen to express joy and sadness, pain and recovery, life and death. With the help of Mr. Brink, the librarian, we have created a list of books by John Green you might enjoy. If you stop by the library, you will see a dis-play of his books along with more information about the author.

Despite the tumor-shrinking med-ical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, Will Grayson crosses paths with . . . Will Grayson. Two teens with the same name, run-ning in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, and culminating in epic turns-of-heart and the most fabulous musical ever to grace the high school stage.

When it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always get-ting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, and a mission to prove The Theorem of Underly-ing Katherine Predictability. Love and friendship add up to surpris-ing and heart-changing conclu-sions.

When Miles “Pudge” Halter heads off to the sometimes crazy and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alaska Young. She is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart. Then. . . . After. Nothing is ever the same.

The Fault in Our Stars

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Looking for Alaska Will Garyson, Will Grayson

An Abundance of Katherines

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Aires Something under-handed is going on, Aries. Unethi-

cal people could be trying to manipulate some of the situ-ations in your life in order to turn them to their own ben-efit. Be careful! Steer clear of any political matters, and refrain from commenting on any situation or listening to gossip. On the bright side, your intuition is sharp, so you should be able to sense the trustworthy.

TAurusIf you’ve been thinking about throwing out any legal papers of any kind, Taurus,

that isn’t the best idea. Any contract entered into today is likely to have confusing clauses and obscure lan-guage that you may not un-derstand and that potentially could be used against you. However, it’s a great day for reading or meditation.

GeminiMoney matters, look uncertain, Gemini. This isn’t

a good time to enter into any kind of investment program, negotiate salaries or com-

missions, or change banks. Your dreams may be a bit disturbing, but this likely reflects fears from the past rather than dangers in the future. Write them down, however.

CAnCerNew people may arrive into your life. If you get

bad vibes from one of them, trust your instincts! Signs are that you will run into at least one new acquaintance who isn’t trustworthy. This isn’t a good time to enter into any kind of partnership, nor is it a good time to get committed or even propose marriage. Put all plans for cementing partnerships on hold for a few days!

LeoYou might wake up feeling a little under the weather,

perhaps too tired to go plac-es, and you’ll want to stay in. Perhaps this is the best option for you. You may be tired and a bit stressed out, Leo, and more vulnerable than usual to any bugs may be going around at this time. Drink lots of fluids and get some rest. Later you will probably feel renewed.

VirGo: You might get the feel-ing that someone in your family is

hiding something from you all. The atmosphere might be strained and somewhat tense. Your natural inclina-tion is to try to spread oil on troubled waters to return the situation to normal, Virgo, but this isn’t likely to be the right course of action here. Let things cool down on its own. Whoever is hid-ing something isn’t likely to spill it out.

LibrAGossip you hear might make you angry. You’re

likely to sense it is not true. Take nothing at face value today. Make sure it’s true before making any judg-ments. Avoid the temptation to be confrontational. It will only make things worse. Try to spend some time alone if you can.

sCorpio There is more than what’s on the surface in a mon-

ey situation, Scorpio. There could be errors in your fi-nancial records, or someone may not be telling the truth

about an important item. You’re a caring, trusting person, but this isn’t the day to blindly accept anyone’s statements. Check what’s true and see for yourself, then act accordingly in or-der to see to your own best interests.

sAGiTTAriusSagittarius, you probably aren’t going to feel very

nice. You’re most likely to want to sequester yourself at home and not see or speak to anyone. If your need for sol-itude is that strong, go for it. You won’t do yourself any good by forcing yourself to be around others. You might feel a little out of sorts phys-ically, so it’s especially im-portant to eat right and get lots of vitamins.

CApriCornSelf-control is the word for to-day, Capricorn.

Others’ unethical behavior could trigger some long-buried grudges that might make you want to lash out at those responsible. This won’t solve anything. The best way to handle these rather emotions is honest communication, but be care-

ful it could turn into argu-ments. Try counting to ten before confronting anyone.

AquAriusAnger and resent-ment caused by past hurts could

come up today, at times tempting you to burst into tears. Just cry it out. Just find someplace where you can be alone. This is only a symptom of personal and spiritual growth on your part. Releasing the past clears the way for breakthroughs in later time. You could wake up tomorrow morning feel-ing like a changed person!

pisCesSomeone you think of as a friend may prove less than trust-

worthy today, Pisces. There are signs of deception all around you. Perhaps some-one is hiding something from you or lying. Don’t be too suspicious of anyone, but check the facts before you take someone’s word for anything.

These horoscopes are provided for entertainment purposes only. So, make decisions with your brain. It’s a good brain. Trust it.

Horoscopes

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Try out this riddle...The famous mathematician Dr. Square Root had two sons, exactly a year apart. One day, shortly after they had both turned a year older, he noticed that if you squared their ages and then added the squares the total would be 1105. How old were his sons?