15325 E. Los Robles Hacienda Heights, CA 91745Volume XLVI, Issue IV December 15, 2011 Circulation 2200

It’s no secret that the 2011boys’ football team took everybody bystorm when they went from an 0-12record to a 8-4 record in one year. Theboys, especially the se-niors, worked hard all yearto ensure there would beno leaving without a bang.The hard work paid off asthe players and coachespulled off nothing less thana remarkable turn aroundwhile forming a bond ofbrotherhoodthat will belong remem-bered.

“ T osummarize theseason, I cansay only oneword and thatis pride. Thisword means alot to the history of Los Altos, andone of our first goals in taking overthe football program was to bringback a sense of pride in them, intheir team, and in their school. Towatch the transformation takeplace was an amazing experiencethat no one will ever forget. Thetrue testament and legacy of theseseniors will not only be their CIF gamesor beating Wilson, but in being the classthat brought pride back to Los Altos

football. Two days after our seasonended, over 100 underclassmen begantraining for the 2012 season. That newattitude and dedication is the product of

the pridethese se-niors haveb r o u g h tback toLos Altosfootball. Ispeak forthe wholestaff whenI say wewere truly

blessed to coach suchan amazing group forour first year,” con-fesses assistant coachSteven Burke.Dedication, hard work,

a n df a i t hh a v eput thet e a mback onthe mapa n dbroughtp r i d ea n d

spirit back to the Los Altos community.It’s a year we won’t ever forget.

Thanks for a great season boys!

Los Altos High School’schoir had their annual Christmas con-cert on December 14 at 7:00 pm in thegym. Not only do these kids sing, butwhen they are on stage, they sing,dance, andact all atonce. Thestudents’hard workand dedi-cation wereshown intheir sec-ond con-cert of theyear. Their excitement to perform wasobvious by the things they said priorto the performance.

“I am excited toperform.”said GabbyCordova, freshman.“Ican’t wait to perform forhundreds of people. Ican’t wait to shine withmy girls,” stated TaylorChanes, junior.

“It’s a longshot, but I totally want itto snow. It will be icingon the concert cake.” commented Sa-vannah Lewis, senior. “I can’t wait! I’mexcited to perform,” said Emma Stanton,sophomore.“It will be fun,” remarked ConnorMcCormack, senior.

“I am overjoyed, excited, andready to show everyone what we’ve

got!” exclaimed Katie Clark, freshman.“I am excited for the Christmas concertbecause I want a lot of alumni to showup and embrace their friends. I alsowant to give the audience all of our

hearts when weperform,”explained BlancaAguirre, junior.

“I don’t know how Ishould feel. This is goingto be amazing, a lot of funand I am really looking for-ward to it.” said AngelHerrera, junior.

“All the groups aregoing to give it their all and

have fun on stage,”stated Dinorah Ortiz,sophmore.“I am looking forward to showing all

our hardwork and re-ally show-ing peoplethat choirisn’t justsinging, butits perform-ing. Plus, it’smy last yearand I want

to make it rock,” remarked Mireli Prado,senior.

“I think the fall concert laid agreat foundation for this school yearand I’m really excited to see and hearhow the choirs will sound and look atour holiday concert,” commentedAmanda Benavides, choir director.

By Corissa BurdetteConqueror Staff Writer

By Danielle GomezConqueror Staff Writer

Sing That HolidaySing That HolidaySing That HolidaySing That HolidaySing That HolidayAgainstAgainstAgainstAgainstAgainstAll OddsAll OddsAll OddsAll OddsAll Odds CheerCheerCheerCheerCheer

District Changes 2012 CalendarSummer Cut Short

On Monday, December 8,members of the Hacienda La PuenteUnified School District board ofeducation voted to start school next yearon August 8, the earliest school hasstarted in the history of the district. Theearly start means that the first semesterwill now end at the start of Winter Breakand the end of the school year will be onMay 21.

Proponents of the change listedseveral advantages of starting in earlyAugust. First, an earlier start will allowAdvanced Placement courses additionaltime to prepare students for the all-important AP testing period which startsin May. The old schedule put such

By Collette Andraos and Lauren OosamranNewspaper Editors in Chiefs

students at a disadvantage as theymissed out on several weeks ofinstruction that students withthe early start were able toenjoy. A second benefit is thatit will align more appropriatelywith college and universityschedules, thus allowinggraduating seniors to startcollege earlier. The last majorbenefit is that the end of thesemester will fall on the last dayof school prior to thetraditional two week Winter Break. Thismeans that students will no longer beburdened with assignments that teachersmay be inclined to give over the break.

Not everyone was pleasedwith the change as some cited

d i sadvan tageswith the newc a l e n d a r .However, it ishoped that thepositives willoutweigh thenegatives. “Mybirthday is May27, so I get tocelebrate my

birthday the whole summer! However, Ithink it’s good. It doesn’t really matterto me. I think time is inconsequential tolife,” says English teacher Todd Hedell.

Isaak Serrano, junior, said, “It’sunnecessary, but I do like the fact thatfirst semester will end before the break.”

“It’s going to be a really shortsummer, especially for those who haveto take summer school,” says Sean Kane,biology. Since the current school yearends in late July and the new school yearwill start in early August, summervacation for summmer school studentswill be drastically reduced. However,that will only be the case for the firstcycle. After the first year, summervacation will be the same length of timethat it has always been. Linda Wong,math, said, “I am willing to try it. It’s thesame thing, just shifted.”

FeaturesThe Conqueror December 15, 2011

By Melissa ChenInternet Editor

Worst

Editor in ChiefBy Douglas Wong

By Alex VelasquezConqueror Staff Writer

2

The month of December marksthe end of the year. As the year comes toan end, students are starting to thinkabout their goals for next year. Whethera New Year’s resolution is about schoolor personal life, most aredetermined to reach theirgoal.My New Year’s resolu-tion is…“..to be a better person.”Abraham Wu, junior“..to get a 4 or higher onthe AP Biology test.”Nathan Shon, junior“..to be more organized.”Irene Tsao, sophomore“..to maintain mygrades.” Hailey Lee,sophomore“..to get an “A” in AP Biology and Pre-Calculus.” Jocelyn Rodriguez, sopho-more.“..to avoid answering questions fromnewspaper people.” Darren Eng, junior“.. What is a New Year’s resolution?”Jeffrey Chang, junior“..to live life more and enjoy my high

New Year’sNew Year’sNew Year’sNew Year’sNew Year’sResolutionResolutionResolutionResolutionResolution

school years as a teenager.” ErikaBeserra, junior“..to enjoy high school and just go withthe flow.” Jose Lona, freshman“..to work consistently on tumbling.”

Raylene Ibarra,freshman“..to get a 4.0 GPAand maintain it.”Carlos Paz, fresh-man“..to maintain a 4.0and improve on ev-erything I do.” Mat-thew Hayashi, fresh-man“..to do well inschool, but enjoymyself at the same

time.” Gerardo Macias, sophomore“..to change the world for the better.”Todd Wang, senior“..to not be so focused on school andenjoy life with my homies.” Darren Liu,junior“..to avoid senioritis (even though itmeans the inflammation of a senior) nextyear.” David Delgadillo, junior

Every year, thousands sufferfrom Bad Christmas Present Disorder(BCPD). Afflicted persons have a ten-dency to produce gifts that create utterdisgust in the recipient. If you think thatyou or aloved onehas BCPD,make sureyou do notgive one ofthese gifts.1. Maga-zine sub-scriptions:Most, if not all, major publicationshave an online version that com-pletely mirrors the printed maga-zine. The gift of a subscription isessentially the equivalent of send-ing a stack of scratch paper minus theempty space to work mathematical cal-culations.2. Breath freshener, wrinkle crèmes,and nose hair removers: By suggestingthat your recipient needs some self im-provement, you will be earning eternalhatred. This category of gifts also in-

cludes gym memberships and anger man-agement books.3. White socks: Plain socks are utterlyuseless. They look bland and often re-sult in disappointed gift openers. We livein California so our feet will not obtainfrostbite without socks during the win-ter season.Plain cash: A sign of sheer thought-lessness that usually comes packaged

in a cheesy card.Cash suggests thatyou threw in somespare bills as a last,procrastinated re-sort. An exceptionto this poor gift is ifone gives a signifi-cant amount of over$100, which is the

equivalent of a fortune to a poor highschool student.5. Stocks: No, your recipient will notstrike it rich by holding a handful of stockin Apple. Especially in this recession,your gift will quickly depreciate in value.Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like areminder of economics homework.

SpirSpirSpirSpirSpirit Wit Wit Wit Wit Weekeekeekeekeek

Jeffrey Chang

Possible Gifts

In order to send Conquerors off on a good note for the holiday vacation, ASB set up a spirit week from December 5-9 and filled it with new and unusual spiritdays that Los Altos has never seen before. From Class Shirt Day to Zombie Day, you can be sure some Conqueror crazies went out of their way to make these days asspirited as...

Brent Spivey, senior

By Stephanie BishopNewspaper Editor-in-Chief

Conqueror Crazy DayConqueror Crazy DayConqueror Crazy DayConqueror Crazy DayConqueror Crazy Day

Jessica Torrez, senior Chelsea Sykes, senior

Zombie Day It’s Not ______ Day Super Hero Day

Santa, oh Santa, art thou real?In other words ... is St. Nick for real?This mind blowing question intriguesmillions. How do presents magicallyappear under the tree? How are thecookies and milk gone in the morning?How, how, HOW?! Los Altos HighSchool’s students seem to have verydiverse opinions on the subject.

“Santa? Yeah, he’s thehomie! He gave me a ride once. It wascrazy!” said Kathleen Arcadia, junior,when asked about Santa. Some have

been true believers since birth. Santa’smysterious waysleave people twisted.Santa is said to knowit all. He makes that listand checks it twice.Children try to behaveall year in order to notreceive coal forC h r i s t m a s .However, not every-one believes in Santa.

Shaiday Rosales, junior, says, “I don’t

believe in a white fat man who magicallycomes down a chimney thatI don’t even have. So Iguess not.” I guess allthose rumors about Santado get the best of somepeople. Andrew Duran, jun-ior, says, “Personally, I don’tthink Santa is real. TheTooth Fairy told me so. Andplus, he has the same hand-writing as my mom, soyeah.” Some people are just not believ-

IIIIIs Santa Real?s Santa Real?s Santa Real?s Santa Real?s Santa Real?ers. Mark Huizar, junior, says, “He isn’t

real. If he was,there wouldn’tbe people liketeachers in thew o r l d . ”

W h e t h e ryou believe inSanta or not,Christmas ismeant to be en-joyed. Think

positive and enjoy the holidays.

Samantha Esparza, Haley Osborn,Cirenna Dao, Samantha Rocha, Sarah

Becerra, juniors

FeaturesThe Conqueror December 15, 2011 3How

MuchDoYOUSpend?

Freshmen:

Sophomores:

Juniors:

Seniors:

There by your fireplace stands themighty Christmas tree that your familypicked out for your home just last week.In order to officiallykick off the holidayseason with someChristmas spirit, youare left in charge withthe wonderful (per-haps painful for oth-ers) task of decoratingthe classic tree. Asyou stare at the boxesof colorful ornamentsand tangled strings ofbright lights that lay atyour feet, you realizethis may take longerthan you had origi-nally anticipated.For those of you whohaven’t a clue on howto decorate your magnificent tree, hereare a few pointers to help you.

1. Start with the lights first. Ifyou place the ornaments on the tree first,

Christmas will have come and passedby the time you finish weaving the lightsup and over the other decorations.

2. Begin fromthe base of the tree andwork your way up.Starting with the star orangel on top while pre-cariously balancing ona ladder just might tireyou out too easily.

3. Hang yourbiggest ornaments anddecorations first. Dis-tribute these largeritems evenly on yourtree, and then usesmaller ornaments to fillin empty spaces to ac-centuate for more detail.

4. Be sure to adddepth to your Christmas

tree. By adding depth, we mean don’thang all your decorations at the edgesof your Christmas tree branches. Dis-tribute your ornaments evenly to adorn

your tree and place such decorationswithin the greenery to add depth and morep e r c e p t i o n .

5. Workfrom the inside bythe trunk, thenmove out toward thebranches. Frompersonal experi-ence, this is mucheasier. I’ve droppedmany ornamentsover past years.

6. If you haveedible ornamentssuch as candycanes or stringedpopcorn, keep aneye out for indoorpets and small chil-

dren as you decorate. You wouldn’t wantyour pet terrier Sparky to potentially ruinyour hard work or gain a stomachache.

7. Have fun while decoratingyour tree. ‘Tis the season to be jolly, af-ter all.

By Felicia KwonSplash Editor

Kimberley Bonjoc

The Christmas season alwaysbrings the biggest commercial and spend-ing time of the year in America. Howpeople go aboutdoing their ownyearly Christmasshopping is quitevaried though.Many people doit on Black Fri-day, the morningafter Thanksgiv-ing, when moststores have ri-diculously cheapproducts to sell.Although thatday has passed,there are stillgreat ways to ef-fectively handleChristmas shop-ping and keep thespending low.

The task of finding deals forChristmas shopping may seem to be tire-some or hectic, but there is another way

to find deals without leaving home:online. Nowadays,someone can quickly

go online andmake good useof Google orAmazon to findthe cheapestprices for nearlyany given item.Certain storesites also pro-vide useful information about theirparticular sales and deals. Al-though it requires some research,you’ll be able to do all of yourshopping from the comfort of yourhome!

Finding a gift at times is oftenfound to be a difficult task. It ishard to think what your uncle oryour Secret Santa selection wantswithout asking them directly whatthey would like to recieve as a gift.

Kohl’s offers a great way to look throughcommonly bought gifts and still savemoney as you do it. They divide their

By Connor LeeConqueror Staff Writer

ShoppingSavings

ChristmasChristmasChristmasChristmasChristmas TTTTTreereereereeree TTTTTipsipsipsipsipsBy Ayana UsuiConqueror Staff Writer

online store into catalogs of certain pricesand lowerc o s t s .Therefore, itis simple tokeep ahandle onhow muchs o m e o n ewants tospend whilestill finding

an ideal Christmas gift for a family mem-ber or friend.

If you are brave and are a realpenny saver, then there is another strat-egy to spend less on Christmas presents.Almost all stores tend to include betterand greater sales as Christmas day getscloser. This is risky, however, because astore’s stock will go down and particularitems you may want to buy may be gonebefore you can purchase them. A goodway to make sure this does not happen isto call the store and ask if they have whatyou want. In the end, you’ll be savingthe most you can by doing this.

FeaturesThe Conqueror December 15, 2011

Stafful ty

By Lauren OosamranNewspaper Editor-in-Chief

Christmas seems to beeveryone’s favorite holiday. This be-ing the case, we asked a few Los Altosteachers and staff about their mostvivid Christmas memory.

“My mostmemorablem e m o r ywould bewhen my sis-ter and I werem a k i n gcandles andwe had extracandle wax inliquid formand shepoured it down the sink. My dad hadto pull and scrape it out.”Mike Shaw, psychology

“My favorite Christmas memory was

when I wanted a new Bible. As a trick, mymom put cake mix in the Bible box. I wasso excited when I opened it, but it wascake mix.”Kathleen Campbell, librarian

“This year’sChristmas willbe the mostmemorable be-cause my wifejust gave birthin November toour newbornand it will beour first Christ-mas all together.”Garrett Carrington,

math

“When I lived in Argentina, a family thatwas poor gave me a key ring. It was unex-pected and I knew it was a big sacrifice

Can You Name Santa’sReindeer?

By Delyana SyarovaConqueror Staff Writer

Every Christmas season, themajority of us watch different programsthat celebrate the holidays. They’llusually involve avariety of charac-ters such as SantaC l a u s , h i selves, and ofcourse his rein-deer.

Can youname all nine ofthem … Rudolph,Prancer, Dancer,Donner, Vixen, Comet, Blitzen, Dasher,and Cupid. The nine reindeer originallycame from the poem “’Twas the NightBefore Christmas” by Clement ClarkeMoore, but the names “Donner” and

“Blitzen” were changed by Moore from“Dunder” and “Blixem.” Surpris-ingly, the majority of students

questioned at LosAltos High Schoolwere able to namea few, but not all.Rudolph wasnamed first onpeople’s lists.

“I could prob-ably name more ofthe names, but I

just can’t remember the namesright now, let alone how to actu-ally pronounce them correctly,” said se-nior Victoria Corona. Psychology and APEuropean History teacher Mike Shawchuckled for a second, then finally said

the names he remembered: Vixen, Donner,Prancer, and Rudolph. To-gether, freshmen AngelaValenzuela and Justine Tovarnamed seven of the nine rein-deer: Rudolph, Prancer,Dancer, Danner, Vixen, Comet,and Cupid. Senior DaisyJauregui remembered justfive:Rudolph, Prancer,Dancer, Vixen, and Comet.

We hear the namesof these reindeer every yearwhen Christmas rolls around,but when we’re faced with the

question, “Can you name all the rein-deer?” most of us just can’t remember alltheir names. Santa just had too many forus to remember.

Okay guys, here is somesimple advice … don’t over-thinkChristmas giftsthis year for a teen-age girl. When indoubt, a girl wouldrather take one ofthree items overthe gift you mightbe inclined tochoose.

G i r l shave no issue re-ceiving money.There is nothingcheap looking about it. Cold hard cashis a present in its original form and isguaranteed to be loved by any girl.Why spend that same money on a shirt

that will require a girl to perform a fakesmile while praying on the inside that

there’s a gift receipt with it?All they ask isthat their presentscreams theirname. If that can’tbe done, thenhand over themoney so theydon’t have tospend the nextweek returninggifts.

If youwant it more personal, buy a gift card froma place that they’ll like. A gift card says, “Ihad you in mind when I decided on thisplace and I know what you like.” Even

Top Gifts For HerBy Stephanie HernandezEntertainment Editor

When is your birthday?My birthday is on November 8, 1972. Iam your typical aggressive but loyalscorpio.How long have you been teaching atLAHS? What have you taught?This is my fourth year at LAHS. I haveteam taught civics/economics with Mr.Panagos, English 4 with Ms. Meylor, andCAHSEE English.What made you want to become ateacher?When I was in high school, I realized thepositive impact that teachers, coaches,and counselors had on students. Theytotally transformed the way I thoughtabout myself and life.

What are some of your favorite hobbies?Some of my favorite hobbies are readingleadership books and playing sports andpoker.

Favorite:Food: chiles rellenosColor: royal blueBaseball player: Adrian GonzalezGolfer: Tiger WoodsMovie: “Gladiator”TV Show: “Friday Night Lights”Restaurant: PF ChangsBaseball team(s): Dodgers and Angels

If you could be anyone for a day, whowould you be and why?I would like to be the guy on “Man vs.Food” and be able to travel to differenteating places and eat delicious foods, andbest of all, for freee!

What is on your bucket list?My bucket list is to go skydiving, visitevery MLB stadium, and enter the WorldSeries of Poker tournament.

Who is your most inspirationalperson(s) and why?Cesar Chavez, Mother Teresa, and Ghandiare people who inspire me because theywere selfless, courageous, and willing tospeak out against injustice.

What’s your most embarrassing mo-ment at school?My first year at LAHS, I walked in myclass with toilet paper stuck to my rearend. The bright side was, the toilet paperwasn’t stained!

What’s one of your hidden talents?I’m a pretty good cook, especially withbreakfast and Mexican seafood.

TeacherSpotlight:

better, make it cute and put it in a nice boxor in a singing card and you are ready togo. Getting the gift itself is no fuss, no

stress, and somethingguaranteed to be used.What more could a shop-per ask for?

Now for those over-achievers who are trulywilling to fork out themoney, get the girl an elec-tronic gadget. No, it’s notpretty jewelry, but it is anaccessory all the same. Ev-ery girl can agree that a

phone is the necklace they never takeoff. In fact, it holds their life. Buy her anice camera, iPod, or cell phone and youare set.

Daisy Jauregui

Hec torGutierrez

By Jessie HuangConqueror Staff Writer

for them. It was very special.”Mark Hendrickson, art

“I come from a big family and I’m thebaby of the family. For Christmas one

year Iwanted anew bikeand mybrother andhis friendsbuilt me ared andgreen bikeout of scrappieces. It’s

really special and has been my favoritebike.”Christina Banes, secretary

“Eating with my family and gift exchang-ing is always the best.”Kathleen Myung, math

Mike Shaw

Mark Hendrickson

ChristmasMemories

Hector Gutierrez

6

EntertainmentThe Conqueror December 15, 20117

With Christmas vacation just around the corner, hitting up the movie the-ater is a must as new feature flicks make their way onto the big screen.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows: Number two in the Holmes series,Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law makea comeback as Downey’s charactercomes face-to-face with a new criminalmastermind. The new villain,named Pro-fessor James Moriarty, is just as bril-liant as Holmes and may even be moreof a genius than the widely acclaimeddetective. With Dr. John Watson at hisside, Sherlock Holmes must find a wayto stop this new criminal from releasing

utter destruction across the continent.(Release Date: December 16th)

Alvin and the Chipmunks:Chipwrecked: As if these squeaky crit-ters needed another movie, Alvin andthe gang are back for a new adventure.However, instead of raising mischief onland, the gang is attending a luxurycruise in order to enjoy their vacation.With 6 chipmunks onboard, this shipbetter be ready to handle squeaky sing-

ing, surprise dance routines, and the constant yelling of the name, “Alvin!” (Re-

lease Date: December 16th)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: This book-to-movie action-packed re-

lease is sure to excite audience memberswith its mystery-based plot. Based onStieg Larsson’s hit series, the movie fol-lows a detective/journalist who coordi-nates with a street savvy chick in orderto bring truth and punishment to insti-tutions that are acting behind-the-scenes in many illegal situations. (Re-lease Date: December 21st)

We Bought a Zoo: This film issure to be fun for the whole family with

its outrageous plot line of a family pur-chasing a zoo full of animals. StarringMatt Damon and Scarlett Johansson,the movie follows Damon’s single dadcharacter who feels the need for a freshstart. Since this is so, he decides to makethe freshest of the fresh starts: he buysand moves into an abandoned zoo. Tak-ing his two kids along for the ride, thefamily works hard in order to put thezoo back in its proper place of glory.

(Release Date: December 23rd)

Stephanie BishopNewspaper Editor

Daisy GomezPage Editor

As December approaches, many people begin searching for ways to getinto the Christmas spirit. One way to get into the holiday spirit is through well-known songs, carols, and other music. Every year we repeatedly hear the all-timeclassics, but how well do you actually know the lyrics? See how many of themissing lyrics you can remember before looking at the answers.1. Jingle BellsDashing through the snow, in a one horse open sleighO’er the fields we go, laughing all the way.—— — — —— ——, making spirits brightWhat fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight.2. Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad, FelizNavidad,———— — - ————.I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas, Iwanna wish you a Merry Christmas,I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas,from the bottom of my heart.3. Last ChristmasLast Christmas I gave you my heart,but the very next day — —— — ——.This year to save me from tears, I’llgive it to someone special.4. White ChristmasI’m dreaming of a white Christmas,just like the ones I used to knowWhere the treetops glisten and children listen to hear ——— —— — — snow.5. Rudolph the Red-nosed ReindeerRudolph, the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose. And if you ever saw him, you would even say it glows. All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names.

They never let poor Rudolph join in — ———— ——.6. Have a Holly Jolly ChristmasHave a holly jolly Christmas. It’s the best time of the year. Well I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a —— ——. 7. Here Comes Santa ClausHere comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, Right down Santa Claus Lane, —— — ——— andall his reindeer Pullin’ on the reins. Bells are ringin’, childrensingin’, All is merry and bright. So hang your stockings andsay your prayers, ’Cause Santa Claus comes tonight. 8. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with thekids jingle belling,and everyone telling you “— — —— ——.” It’s the most wonderful time of the year. 9. Winter Wonderland Sleigh bells ring, are you listening. In the lane, snow is glistening.A beautiful sight. We’re happy tonight.Walking in a winter wonderland.Gone away is — ————. Here to stay is a new birdHe sings a love song, As we go along,Walking in a winter wonderland.

Winter Flicks

Finish the LyricsFinish the LyricsFinish the LyricsFinish the LyricsFinish the Lyrics

Answers:1. bells on bob tails ring2. prospero año y felicidad3. you gave it away4. sleigh bells in the

5. any reindeer games6. cup of cheer7. Vixen and Blitzen8. be of good cheer9. the bluebird

EntertainmentThe Conqueror Decmeber 15, 2011

When the holiday seasoncomes around, what is better than sittingnear the fire watching a holiday movie?

Here are somemovies toconsider.“How the GrinchStole Christmas”(2000): Jim Carreystars as the green,hairy monster witha heart “two sizestoo small” thatfirst steals andthen savesChristmas fromWhoville.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas”(1993): After becoming bored withHalloween, a Halloween Townresident wanders along, only tofind Christmas Town. He is sointrigued by the idea that hetries to bring it back with him.“It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946):An angel keeps acompassionate, frustratedbusinessman from committingsuicide by showing him whatlife would be like without him.In return, the angel achieves hiswings.“Home Alone” (1990): Aneight-year-old boy who is leftbehind on a family trip to France must

defend his housefrom foolishburglars.“Elf” (2003): Aman raised as anelf at the NorthPole is sent to theU.S. in search ofhis true identity.“Jack Frost”(1998): Thisheart-warmingtale tells the storyof a father who

died and was granted a second chanceto make things right with his son in theform of a snowman.“Miracle on 34th Street” (1947): Whena jolly old man is considered insane byclaiming he is Santa, a lawyer mustdefend him by proving that the old man

A new revolutionary alternativeto iTunes has arrived from Europe.Spotify, an exclusive and mysteriousprogram, has made its way into the U.S.With Spotify, listening to music willnever be the same again. The uniquething about this new program is the factthat every song is free. With an invite,anybody is able to enjoy a vastassortment of music. As Spotify isadvancing, they are handing out moreand more invites by email. All you haveto do is give them your e-mail addressand wait for an invite.

This new program has over 15million tracks with numerous ways toaccess them. The invited are privilegedto enjoy free and unlimited music onyour computer. However, if you want totake the music with you, all you have todo is pay a $9.99 fee per month to streammusic offline to your phone. “Spotify islike iTunes, except for the fact that withSpotify, it’s like you already boughtalmost every song in the world,” said

Marching season has come toa close for the Los Altos High SchoolEntertainment Unit, and now the stageis set for concert season. Their firstconcert is on Thursday, December 15 inthe Hacienda. The unit is divided intothree bands: symphonic band, jazz band,and wind ensemble.Conducted by JayLaging, music, thebands will be playingChristmas music tobring joy to theholiday season.

Some of thesongs they will beplaying include“Sounds of theSeason”, “WinterHoliday”, “Greensleeves”, and manyother traditional Christmas tunes. Eachband has a specific song that they willperform. “We have been working hardfor this concert,” said Savannah Gomez,junior. “It is a nice way for our familyand friends to come and see us perform.”

Every student has a differentopinion of the performance. Judy Chen,freshman, said, “I am excited, butnervous at the same time. It is my firstyear here so it is kind of scary for me.”Senior Teresa Chen gladly said, “I am

happy marchingseason is over andthat a newperformance area iscoming. I am ecstaticbecause it is my lastyear playingChristmas music withmy underclassmen.”Sabrina Browner,senior, agrees withChen; however,Browner said, “I am

both happy and sad that it will be thelast one for me.”

Now that the marching seasonis over, the unit has high hopes for theirconcert season. This Christmas concertmarks the first of many concerts theywill be giving later in the year.

junior Leon Liang. “People should alsoget premium, though.”

Another new ideabrought by Spotify is the ability to sharemusic with friends. With the click of abutton, songs can be shared overFacebook, making communication fasterand easier. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO andFounder of Facebook, said, “Spotify isso good.” As Spotify slowly becomesmore and more popular, more people willrealize how this music program can takethe idea of music sharing to its fullpotential. “I like Spotify because it letsme listen to songs from many differenttypes of music,” said CristinaDypiangco, junior. “Its unique becauseI can also listen to other people’splaylists if I log into Facebook.”

Other than teaming up withFacebook, Spotify has also establishedpartnerships with Coca-Cola, Chevrolet,Reebok, and many more. As Spotifyexpands, so will the country’s interestin music.

really is Santa Claus.“A Christmas Story” (1983): A youngboy tries to convince his parents,teachers, and Santa that a BB gun is theperfect gift to get him.“One Magic Christmas” (1985): GinnyGrainger isn’t a big fan of Christmas. Infact, she hates Christmas so much thatnot even her mother can convince herotherwise. Santa decides to take actionand sends the angel Gideon to warmGinny’s heart and help her seethe wonder of Christmas.“The Muppet ChristmasCarol” (1992): The tale ofEbenezer Scrooge is toldMuppet-style in the “MuppetChristmas Carol” movie.Fozzie Bear, Electric Mayhem,

and of courseKermit andMiss Piggy jointogether to tellthe timelesstale of an oldmiser’s changeof heart in anunforgettableway.“The Santa Clause”(1994): Scott Calvinmeans well, but alwaysfalls a bit short of what’sexpected of him.

However, when Scott finds himselfdestined to pick up the responsibilitiesof becoming the one and only SantaClaus, he finds his true calling in life.The problem is, will anyone else believehim?“My Friends Tigger andPooh: Super SleuthChristmas” (1998): Filledwith excitement andeagerly awaiting Santa’sappearance, Tigger andPooh discover one ofSanta’s newest reindeerhelplessly stranded in thewoods. Pooh and Tiggerbecome determined anddecide that Santa can’tleave the North Pole, andit’s up to them to save Christmas!“I’ll Be Home For Christmas” (1998):Like many college students, Jake

Wilkinson has his own life and isn’tinterested in going home for theholidays. Like most parents, Jake’sfather has quite a bit of interest inpersuading Jake to come home forChristmas, so he comes up with adeal to give Jake their Porsche.Jake’s journey home is filled withmany obstacles, and he learns thatthe prize waiting at home may besomething better than a car.

“Mickey’s OnceUpon A Christmas”(1999): Threemagical Disneystories all wrappedup in one beginwith Donald’sadorable yet crazynephews Huey, Dewey,and Louie who wishevery day could beChristmas. Theneveryone’s favoritecharacter, Goofy, mustconvince his son thatSanta exists. Saving thebest for last, Minnie and

Mickey talk about the “Gift of the Magi”as they learn aboutselfless giving in thismodern Disney classic.“Mickey’s Twice Upon AChristmas” (2004):Stories about DonaldDuck and his nephewsHuey, Dewey, and Louie;Goofy and his son Max;and of course, Mickey and

Minnie come tolife in afascinating wayand learn thatthere’s more tocelebrating Christmas thanboxes and bows. With a fewspecial Disney reindeer addedto the family to spice up theaction, “Mickey’s Twice UponA Christmas” is a holidayclassic.“Santa Buddies (2009):”“Santa Buddies” is a movie

about The Buddies (a group of youngpuppies who lack the Christmas spiritand believe Santa Paws and the naughty

Christmas ClassicsChristmas ClassicsChristmas ClassicsChristmas ClassicsChristmas ClassicsBy John Andraos and Lydia LeeConqueror Staff Writers

list are just lies told by their father tomake them behave), Santa Claus’s dogSanta Paws, and Puppy Paws (The SonOf Santa Paws). Santa Buddies is the

fourth sequel to thepopular children’smovie “Air Bud”. Atthe beginning of themovie, Santa Pawsand Santa Claus areexamining the magicicicle, which ismelting becausepeople do not believein Christmas anymore. Puppy Pawsthen decides to leavethe North Pole and

pay one of the buddies (Budderball) avisit because Budderball is on thenaughty list for eating the entireThanksgiving turkey. The Buddies thenrealize that they were wrong and doeverything they can to help save theChristmas spirit.“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” (2009):In Disney’s “A Christmas Carol 3-D,”Ebenezer Scrooge (Jim Carrey), amiserable fellow with no compassion for

anyone, learns the meaning ofChristmas when he is forciblytaken on a fantastic, fearful, andthrilling journey by three ghostson Christmas Eve. Carrey voicesseveral of the roles includingyoung, middle aged and oldScrooge, as well as the threeghosts. Director RobertZemeckis adds the 3D effect tothis movie like he used inanother Christmas movie, “ThePolar Express.” Through thesetwo techniques, the journeytaken by Scrooge through the

three ghosts comes alive for theaudience like never before.The film takes viewers from the quietNorth Pole to the busy streets of NewYork City.“Polar Express (2004)”: This animatedflick tells a story about a young boyhaving doubts if Santa really exists. Amagical train picks him and other kidsup to take to the North Pole and meetSanta, resolving any doubts the childrenmight have.

By Ariel ChangInternet Editor

MarchingMarchingMarchingMarchingMarchingOnOnOnOnOnBy Yvette Franco

Conqueror Staff Writer

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