Issue 6 | The Falcon Flyer

8/9/2019 Issue 6 | The Falcon Flyer

1/20

Volume XIII, Issue VI 21401 SE Falcon Way Kent, WA Febru

TheFalconFlyer

TheFa

lcon

Fly

erTheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyerTheFalcon Flyer

TheFalcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyerTheFalconFlyer

TheF

alconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlye

r

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falc

onFl

yer

TheF

alconFlyer

TheF

alco

nFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalc

onFlyer

TheF

alcon

FlyerTheFalco

nFlyer

TheFalconFly

er

TheFalconFlyer

T h

e F

a l c

o n

F l y

e r

TheFal

conF

lyer

TheFalcon

Flyer

TheFalcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFly

erThe

Falcon

Flyer

TheF

alco

nFl

yer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falcon

Flyer

TheFal

conFlyer

TheFalconF

lyer

TheFalco

nFlyer

TheF

alconFlyer

TheFalco

nFlyer

TheFalconFlyerTh

eFa

lcon

Flye

r

TheFalconFlyer

Th

eFa

lcon

Fly

er

TheFalconFlyer

TheFal

conFly

er

TheFalconF

lyer

The

FalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falc

onFl

yer

TheF

alcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheF

alcon

Flyer

TheF

alcon

Flyer

TheFalco

nFlyer

The

Falc

onFl

yer

TheFalco

nFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalcon

Flyer

thefalconflyer.c

Turn seeds into

green-discovering

the savings buried

in the backyard

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheF

alconFlyerTheFalcon Flyer

TheFa

lcon

Fly

er

TheFalconFlyer

TheF

alco

nFlyer

The

Falcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFal

conFly

er

TheFal con Fl y er

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falc

onFly

er

Th

eF

alc

on

Fly

er

TheFalconF

lyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheF

alcon

Flyer

T

heFalconFlyer

TheFalconF

lyer

T h

e F

a l c

o n

F l y

e r

T h

e F a l c o n F l y e r

TheF

alcon

Flyer

TheFalc

on

Fly

er

The

FalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheF

alcon

Flye

r

The

Falc

onFly

er

The

Falc

onFly

er

TheFalconF

lyer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falcon

Flyer

The

Fal c

onFl y

er

TheFalcon

Flyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalco

nFlyer

TheF

alco

nFl

yer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falcon

Fly

er

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer

The

Falcon

Fly

er

TheFalconFlyer

TheFalconFlyer


2/20

2 ContentsThe Falcon FlyerCo Editors-in-Chief

Cynthiann Heckelsmiller

Christine RushtonOp-Ed Editor

Alyssa RyanA&E Editor

Mike LydonSports Editor

Holly PirretStudent Life Editor

Yasmin AbubakarBusiness Manager

Kayla MaletichWebmaster

Spencer TransierCopy Editors

Brendan CesconDaniel Tadeo

PhotographersMegan RogersMelissa Pitchford

Michaela MandalaStaff Reporters

Brian BenshoofKeith Bolender

Kelsey BoltonSarah Cubine

Matthew DavisMichala Dymond-Shaw

Kierra ElfalanCraig Heffner

Jerel HendersonMcKenna Herron

Jason HirscheyErin Hunt

Jacob LangholzNicole LuceAmy Reiter

Ryan SnyderKiley ThroopSteven Weier

Kentlake High SchoolPhone:253) 373-4900Fax: (253) 373-4908

Principal: Diana PrattAdviser: Susan BestTheFalconFlyer.com

The Falcon Flyer is an open forum,produced by students in the

journalism class at Kentlake High

School. Its mission is to providea thought-proviking, informativeand high-quality publication for theKentlake community, adhering to

strong journalistic principles.Editorials which appear in the Flyerrepresent the opinion of the namedauthor or authors, or if no author

is credited, the opinions of theEditorial Board.

The staff welcomes signed lettersto the editor. The Falcon Flyer

reserves the right to edit letters, al-though every attempt will be made

to preserve original content. Lettersshould be sent to [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter

and Facebook.

Meet the

PressNews Pg. 4

Tech Expo allows district to boast advanced technology

Flautists own regional contest; bring on state competitionDistrict board member resigns due to time commitmentKentlake falcons a rug cutting success as members of Allegro DanceWith hopes of a new look, Eastern Washington University plants fake color

Op-Ed Pg. 6Junior class decit to grow with

Bipartisan State of the Union promises bNew bill gives corporations undeserved fNew technology from Apple: IPad or I-P

Kentlakes technology sub-par in providing edTechnology dependant society: are we passing by the simple pleasures

Famous for being famous? Americas obsession spirals out oOver publicized inquiry: werewolf or v

A&E Pg. 12

Ex-Beatle reaches creative mediocrityMurdered children have a lot to look forward toMad Max tackles evangelismWill the world ever get tired of ending?A unique experience in Covington diningFrasier going through Extreme Measures to save his career

As the death toll approaches 200,000, Haiti is forced to ask exiledscholars and engineers to return to help them recover. Haiti is also ac-cusing a Baptist Church who rescued 33 children of child abduction.

National News Briefs

Toyota has recalled a number of their cars for faulty accetor pedals. Also there is an investigation going on involvifaulty brake system on the Prius as well.

Google has turned to the National Security Agency for help ghChinese cyber-hackers, though they approach it timidly as they wto keep Google from being government regulated.

At the state of the union address, President Obama proposed a $10,000 taxcredit for families with kids attending college. Also he proposed many more

job opportunities for Americans.

Cover art by Kiley Throop & Holly Pirret


3/20

ContentsThe Falcon Flyer3

Features Pg. 10

Pick up your hoe!Getting down and dirty

Student Life Pg. 15Sparks y in February

Love is in the air...or notWant the girl? Read the guide

Falcons fess up for Valentines DaySadies receives mixed reviews

Kelsey gains more than self-defense through tae-kwon-doStudents weigh benets of honors and core classes

Diversity club reveals winners of Poetry Slam

Sports Pg. 18

Winter Falcon FrankensteinSaints secure well deserved Super Bowl victorySki club provides tons ofunNetball and rugby for Leua

Do you have any raNo? How about a da

Oh, Im sorry, I ththat was a Braille na

Lets make like fabener and Snuggle!

Are you an Alien? why?] Because you j

ducted my heart.

Can I borrow yourcard? [Why?] Causechecking you out.

Is your father a thcause Ive been wondwho stole the stars frskies and put them ieyes.

If I could rearrangalphabet, Id put U atogether.

Do you know whatgood on you? Me.

Please help the hoTake me home with

Ill let you cast a spmy wand, if you knoI mean.

You know how krymakes Superman weWell, youre my krypand Im him.

I want to be your dtive so I can be tangeyour curves.

Hook hot

in FebruaAfter weeks of text voting and desperately trying to gain thesupport of the school for the KZOK School of Rock competi-tion, the judges at the station placed the Kentlake band in fthon Monday. The nal judging was based on sound and littleon video. The band will get a pizza party from The Rock WoodFired Pizza as an award. Puyallup High School placed rst.

Kentlake News Briefs

As of Feb. 8, the quite delicious student store is servingbreakfast. The store will open at 7 in the morning and close at7:25. They have new items and are encouraging the studentbody to try the fresh approach.

Principal Diana Pratt recently decided that the spring dance, Tolo, will becancelled until further negotiations with the ASB leadership team. This oc-cured because of the dancing problem at Januarys Sadie Hawkins dance.At Sadies, the lights had to be turned on because the dancing was consid-ered inappropriate by the administration and chaperones. With regards tothis, Pratt is willing to discuss the reinstatement of the dance.

VS


4/20

4 NewsThe Falcon Flyer

Seniors Christine Rushton and Chris Wood are making their way to the Wash-ngton State music competition toest their abilities in a ute duet for aanel of three judges. After winningegionals on Jan. 30 at Kentwood

High School, the two now have thepportunity to compete statewide athe competition in Ellensburg theeekend of April 24.

Playing duets together every yearor the past ve years, Wood andushton were pleased to nally suc-

eed. We have never gone to Stateefore. We have been alternates, but

s seniors it is really good to nally goo State, said Wood.

The results where given at the endf a long day, but was more than worthhe wait.

Our duet had been at about 9:50 inhe morning. I came back and waitedom about 3-4pm for the results,

aid Rushton. A lot of people left, butstayed there to see how we had donend who was going to State for smallnsemble. When they wrote that we

were going to State on the board Iooked around for people to be happyith and there was nobody there. It was sad but at the same time really exciting.

The piece they chose is an intricate French piece called Air du Fat Puni bcomposer Francois DeVienne.

It kind of melded together our sounds because I play the theme andthe background, and then we switch. The switch occurs multiple times in

weave of sound. It is also a slower piece and is more based off of musicalthan technicality, said Rushton.

The practice time Rushton and Wood put into the piece was worthresult. It was only about a month [of practice]. We practiced it a lot m

vidually because we have the time to get togethRushton. When they dtice together it was about as awless as possible.

We practiced for ahour a day just going thr

working out the making sure each other good, said Rush- ton.

Although they where practice a lot out- side otogether, they had the bknowing each others sound from years of experience.

We have played together for about 6-7 years and know each other pretwe decided to do kind of an annual duet, kind of like a tradition, said Wo

Congratulated by many, Rushton and Wood are seen clearly as commby their music teacher, Chuck Stowell. Chris and Christine are two verysenior ute players and [are] very deserving of this, said Stowell.

He has been teaching music many years, and he knows the effort andtakes to go to State. As to what State is going to be like, Wood has an ide

believes in their abilities to do well.I assume the competition is going to be really competitive, and a lot of p

going to be there going for the same thing, but hopefully we will do wellthe condence to do it, said Wood.

MichaelaMandala

hotograPher

Tech Expo allows district to boast advanced technolo

Hundreds of Kent School District students, parents,nd teachers assembled at the ShoWare Center Jan.7 to participate in the districts The Future Is Nowechnology Expo. The district put together the elabo-ate event in attempts to persuade voters to approvehe 2010 technology levies.

While at the Expo, students of all ages demonstratedow modern technology is used in classrooms today.mong these students was Panther Lake Elementaryshande Samuel Mengsteab. He shared with booth visi-ors his love of technology in the classroom.

It helps us with many, many projects and it getshings done faster, Mengsteab said.

Mengsteab, along with his fellow classmates, createdvideo story which he then presented to interested on-

ookers. A video story is similar to a digitalized essay,ith synchronized pictures running behind it.

Several teachers also took time out of their day tossist students. These teachers hoped to demonstrateow they incorporate technology into their curricu-

um.First grade teacher Maureen Akins from Sawyer

Woods Elementary School said, I thought that peoplehould know that technology is being used in the earlyrimary grades, and that were getting them ready forheir futures.

Kent School District Superintendant Dr. Edward Leeargas came to show his support as well. He walkedround the center, immersing himself into the com-

monly used technology of classrooms today.

I think its reallygreat that we can bringthis awareness to the

entire community, toshow the power of tech-nology, and how itschanged the way we liveand work and play. Inschools were helpingto make sure that all ofour kids are prepared,and know how to usetechnology wisely, said

Vargas.According to Var-

gas, the use of technol-ogy is already making adramatic difference inclassrooms today. Theaccess to information24/7, digital learning

projects, being able tomanipulate content andcreate your own publi-cations; its awesome,

Vargas said.Also, although there

have been great stridesin terms of technology,there is still improve-ment for the future. Well, I would [hope to see it] con-tinue to expand, continue to adapt as new technologies

become available, Vargas said. So again, learning be-comes 24/7, anywhere, anytime.

The levies which the District hopes will be aare an extension of the technology levies

which expire this year. These levies are respoa great portion of the modern technology seenrooms today.

MichaladyMond-Shaw

taff rePorter

Photo by Christine

Aiyana Hickey, Matt Da vis, Russ Ballard, Ian McFeat, Kelsey Wa gner, and Kendat the Kentlake Physics booth at the Tech Expo.

Flautists own regional contest; bring on state competit

W e v e p lay e d tog e the r f o r abou t 6 -7 y e ars an d k n o w e a ch o t h e r p r e t t y

w e ll , s o w e d e ci d e d t o d ok i n d o f a n a n n u a l d u e t ,k i n d o f l ik e a t r a d i t i o n .

-Chr i s W ood

Photo by Leslie Rushton

Christine Rushton and Chris Wood playingtheir duet at the Regional competition.


5/20

NewsThe Falcon Flyer

5

The Eastern Washington University football pro-gram announced plans on Jan. 28 to install new redturf at Woodward Field in Cheney, Washington. Theschool ofcials hope the proj-ect will be completed by the2010 season.

Since its opening in 1967, Woodward Field has hadnatural grass; the turf will bethe rst articial surface at the stadium. The red color

will be the rst in the nation, but not the rst coloredturf.

The idea of differently colored turf is not new to

college football. Boise State University has blue turfaffectionately named Smurf Turf, at Bronco Stadium

in Boise, Idaho.Boise State was the rst stadium to introduce a dif-

ferent colored turf in 1986, when then athletic direc-tor, Gene Blaymeier, decided that if the school was tospend $750,000 on new turf, he wanted something

special. The blue turf has been aunique icon of Boise State since.

The University of New Havenout of West Haven, Connecticut,also plays on articial blue turf.They added the turf when their

football program was reinstated in 2009 after beingcut in 2004 due to insufcient funds.

When New Haven announced plans to install theblue turf, Boise State was not accepting. They claimed

the blue turf had been a symbol of theirsince 1986, and New Haven would be dis

symbol.New Haven defended those claims statin

was to be blue and gold, the New Haven twhereas Boise States is blue and orange. still did not agree, but they did not le crimcharges.

Now, Eastern Washington hopes to crimage; red. Former Eastern Washington Roos has pledged $500,000 to the projeothers would donate. Also, the university waround 300,000 gallons of water because longer be required to water the eld.

Ofcials also believe that the new euseful tool in recruiting as new prospectsadvances the university is making.

JaSonhirSchey

Staff rePorter

Kent School District Board Member Chris Daviesdeclared his resignation during the Jan. 13 boardmeeting. After two years of service, Davies decided heneeds to spend more time with his family, and servingon the board is exacting too much time. He will stillmaintain the position until Feb. 11.

This is all about family and my desire to spend asmuch time at home as I can, Davies said in his resigna-tion letter. He has been balancing the time consuming

job and family activities since 2007 and now wishes todevote more of that time to his two children.

As a board member, he has seen success in areasincluding his tax program. My tax practice is fortu -nately experiencing rapid growth, a very good thing,

however it is taking more and more of my time awayfrom my family and other responsibilities includingthe school board, said Davies.

Davies feels that he cannot perform his duties wellenough while trying to be a father and husband, andhe feels he is doing a disservice to the KSD Board.

The job of the board members is to support thestudents and staff of the school district in addition toother duties. We lobby our legislators and other poli-ticians for the betterment of our District, said Davies.The ve board members of the KSD work to providethe maximum amount of benets for the district whileonly using the minimum amount of funds.

These tasks require a strong devotion and a full-time commitment beyond that of a regular job, whichDavies says he cannot grant. If we want to be the bestDistrict in the state then we need to have ve boardmembers that are dedicated 100 percent to the respon-

sibility and can givethe time necessary ona daily basis to pro-

vide the support thatthe District and ourcommunity needs,said Davies.

Davies is glad for allthe support he has re-ceived while makingthis difcult decision,and he is not trying to

betray his colleagues.I look at you all notonly as my professional board mates friends. I will always be here to supportand you as you continue on the mission out on, said Davies.

Matt daviS

Staff rePorter

Photo by Kent Sch

District board member resigns due to time commitm

Boi se S ta t e Univ ers i t y

h a s b l u e t u r f a f f e ct i o n a t e l y

n a m e d S m u r f T u r f .. .

Kentlake falcons a rug cutting success as members of Allegro Da

Hitting the stage for the rst time thisseason, dancers from Auburns AllegroPerforming Arts Academy brought homea sense of achievement to their studio.Competing against 23 other Washingtonschools and roughly 1,000 participants,

Allegro dancers swept the competition attheir tournament on Jan. 15-17 at HighlineHigh School.

The dancers won double platinum (rstplace) trophies for their performances intap, lyrical, jazz, and hip hop. One of Alle-

gros tap numbers, Nothin But Strings, was chosen as the overall best act in anycategory.

For the 12-14 year-old division, in thecategory of large groups, Allegro won all ofthe trophies in rst through fth place.

A myriad of awards were also won for solos, duos, trios, and small groups in allareas of dance. Freshman Jordan Gormley, a student at Allegro, has seen manyof her friends routines and knows the level of dedication that went into their per-fecting. I didnt get to see [the competition], but I know they should be proud of

themselves, she said.Among the many trophy winners is freshman Brenna Benson, who

dancing at Allegro for 10 years. She has been a part of the PURE hip hoping group for four years, and comthe lyrical category for three yearssolo, Dark Angel, won rst plaage groups lyrical category, and Soul, one of her large group lyricmances, also won rst place in its

Part of the solo involves a difcalled an aerial, which Benson desa no-handed cartwheel.

Gormley called Bensons solbeauteous. At the tournamentranked number three in the overaldancers.

Theres a lot of contributingsaid Gormley. We focus a lot on nique, we work together well, and teachers push us to do our best. Whard conditioning and focus, Al

voted the number one dance studio inWashington, and named in the top 50 studios in the nation.

Goodwillie said, Our students danced hard and had a lot of fun.success of this rst competition, we are planning on keeping up our harcontinue to do well at the competitions coming up over the next few mo

Stevenweier

Staff rePorter

Photo courtesy of Allegro Performing Arts Academy

Allegro Performing Ar ts Academy dancing to the jazz number Here for Now.

With hopes of a new look, Eastern Washington University plants fake


6/20

6 Op-edThe Falcon Flyer

Editorial Cartoon by Keirra Elfalan

Junior class defcit to grow without TolChristine rushton

o editor-in-Chief

After the January Sadies debacle,opes of gaining money from Tolo areashed for juniors, however what didhey do to deserve such a slap in the -ancial face? Although the seniors couldrobably name a few striking reasons,ll in all they really havent done much,uite literally. Unfortunately for them,ancers at Sadies were apparently attle too lets-have-sex-in-public that

ovely Saturday in January.Principal Pratt stated straight to lead-

rship that she is willing to negotiate theossibilities of Tolo, but as of right nowhere will be no dance. The administra-on was shocked at the vulgar dancing

hat occurred the night of Sadies, ini-ally showing their disappointment by

urning the lights on during the dance.he threat of no Tolo is considered pun-hment for the rule-violating dancing

tyles.The spring dance, better known as

olo, quite possibly will cease to ensuehis year. Sadly what that means is the

ladies of the night will not have one oftheir few chances to wear the pants, not

literally because that would be a fash-ion nightmare, and step out to ask theguys. It also means that unless you area senior or very lucky underclassman

invited to prom, dances are nished foryou this year.

Although various students will be an-gry at this punishment, its the juniors

who should be panicking at the cancel-ation; all the money made from Sadies

will go directly into their bud barely even $100 in their buprospect of having prom in mons becomes greater, and yefundraiser falls through for thefully they will start their neg

with Pratt soon as the date Tobe approaches.

To the students who are anging another chance to grind away: please try and control ing hormones because studetheir hormones in check mighthave a little dignity and theirleft when they leave a supposedable night. To the administrais shocked at these strange anmoves, remember that is howministration and parents felt wdanced in high school. Also, redance completely is overkill, anchances with maybe a few mortions might be better received bdent body you are trying to leadto the poor juniors who are sin money, try praying to whatsuites you because at this p

your senior year knocking on you should be looking for a mi

Unlike any previous state of the unionddress in history, President Obama ac-ually remained committed towards aipartisan Congress. Meanwhile, he didave a few choice words to say about theemocrats recent struggle in Massachu-etts and their loss of the super-majorityn the senate. Obama also chastised theupreme Court for the recent ruling on

campaign -nance. The

economy, the war in Af-

ghanistan,g l o b a lw a r m -ing, and

healthcarew e r eall dis-

cussed in depth, resulting in an over-done, ninety minute proclamation ofthe new United States envisioned by

Obama.The President opened with histhoughts on the bank bailouts, showinghis humorous side. He exclaimed thatnobody liked the bank bailouts, least ofall him. However, something had to bedone to deal with the already unstable

banking industry or else the economy would surely crumble. Likewise, hepromised the American people thatthe banks would pay back every dollarthey owed, and that the government

would use these surplus funds to givesmall businesses tax breaks. Formerdebt money from the banking industryis supposed to stimulate job opportuni-ties here in the USA. Favorable to many,Obamas plan ensures indebted Ameri-

cans will not be forced to spend their taxdollars bailing out billion dollar banks.

Other topics up for discussion in-cluded infrastructure, healthcare, and

republicans.It was obvious through-

out the address that Pres-ident Obama was displeased

with Congresss lack of prog-ress on his proposed health-

care legislation. In a borderlinewhining tone, Obama cried foul at op-ponents of his Obamacare. Likewise,the president challenged all naysayerrepublicans to come up with a more ef-

cient healthcare bill than the one he hasproposed. Conversely, Bipartisanshipseemed to be the name of the game as

Obama rambled about how he believedthat the American people should comebefore the lobbyists and interest groupsin government.

The Supreme Court was abruptlyawoken from their dull slumber whenPresident Obama chose to comment ontheir recent campaign nance ruling onJan. 21. Obama said, They [SupremeCourt] had reversed 100 years of previ-ous legislation with their ruling. Under-standably so, the President showed hisfrustration regarding how large compa-nies could successfully buy elections.Like myself and many other

Americans, Obama believedthat the Supreme Courtsruling was a step in the

wrong direction fordemocracy.

With all ofthese issues todeal with, thequestion I askmyself is: Can thePresident deal

with allof theseproblemsat once?E v e n

with a su-p e r - m a -

jority, the democrats could Obamacare in the Senate. Wtions coming up in November

Congresspersons, the next fewwill determine a large amounin Washington D.C. If the P

wants to get anything on his vda completed, he needs to sw

bers in both parties to comprissues. Bipartisanship soundsTV, but when push comes to sthe democrats and republicansgether? If nobody in Congressto give up ground, Obama masame gridlock that is prevalengress now. However, if Obamathe circumstances and persu

parties to asolution,

nd hofc

o

erelhenderson

taff reporter

Bipartisan State o the Union promises big pla

Photos courtesy of creative commons.com


7/20

Op-edThe Falcon Flyer

7

As if public opinion isnt swayed enough already, citizens are now receiving helpfrom corporations to warp their political views.

On January 22 the Supreme Court opted to remove restraints on corporatecheck-writing. This means that a company has the ability to support or soil the rep-utation of a candidate by using large amounts of money. The only advantage linkedto this new law is that politicians sharing the same beliefs as certain corporations

will obtain endless funding for their campaigns.However, there are numerous drawbacks associated with the new law. First of

all, if a corporation is capable of aiding a politician in his race to candidacy, they aredenitely capable of promoting obstruction towards it. Companies who disagree

with a candidates political views could potentially spend thousands of dollars inattempt to destroy his/her reputation.

In addition to the corporations newly granted freedom, the citizens per-spectives have to be taken into consideration as well. With the lack of politicalknowledge most Americans hold, how on earth will they be able to distinguish a

bankroll idea from a legitimate one? Americans will no longer be voting for a politi-cian, but for a corporation; whatever the corporation desires, they shall have. If not,

they can always scally bash the candidate until he either changes his mind or is outof the running. Will Americans be able to grasp what exactly this enticing new lawcould do to them? Maybe the small percentage who keep tabs on the political world,otherwise, theyre nished. The odds of public opinion being persuaded by a stingycompany are higher than rain in Washington.

The Supreme Court did not make a wise decision to assist politicians in their

If you think you are the cool-est kid on the block with yournew iPod that ts into yourpocket, wait until that kid nextdoor is strutting down the cul-de-sac with his brand new iPad,three times the size of youroutdated, and now, completelyobsolete piece of technology.

On January 27th, CEO of Apple Steve Jobs announcedthe latest addition to the iF-amily. If you could imaginean iTouch stretched out to thesize of your common textbook,then you have yourself an iPad,

a touch screen tablet with theslogan of the most advancedtechnology in a magical andrevolutionary device.

During the iPads keynote,an Apple presentation of itslatest and greatest product(s),Jobs said, and I quote, [aniPad sells for] as low as $499.

Now, as a frequent Apple user,I have spent my fair share of

lawn-mowing and birthdaymoney on their products, butnever a cent over $299. Yet thisgigantic iTouch is supposed toconvince me to cough up anadditional two-hundy? Nicetry Steve.

Using this device to intro-duce Apples newest moneymaking marketplace, Jobs an-nounced the iBook Store that

will accompany the iPad, ormore correctly entitled theKindle Killer. Now my view onan electric book is that it shouldfeel like a legit book. With mycopy of War and Peace, I canhold it in one hand, I can dog-

ear the pages, and toss it intothe re after page twelve. TheKindle fulls this need, as itis sturdy and thick, with the

weight of a real book (althoughburning it is not recommend-ed). But the iPad falls short,only half an inch thick and 1.5lbs, it is like holding a twig that

is destined to snap. Oh by theway, that twig cost you $499.

Throughout the entire iPadcommercial, viewable on Ap-ples website, Jony Ive the Se-nior Vice-President of Designfocused his attention on howeasily the iPad feels to hold andits ability to surf the web andre off an email with superbease. Except a tablet at thatsize is in no way simple to hold.The additional inch border ap-plied to avoid incidental typingand touching would appear tohelp, but it truly does not. Inreality, the bulkiness of thelarge screen would get in the

way of any task you are tryingto accomplish, because it is the

iTouch, just on roids.It is arguable I am being a

bit hard on the iPad. The 9.5LED screen is very powerfuland brilliant, which will cre-ate a video experience like noother. Games can be expectedto be quite intriguing, althoughstill practically the same.

If I had been able to giveJobs a small recommendation,

it would have been this. To siton the iPad for a few years. Thestraight facts are that Americais not ready for a device likethis. Just three years when

Amazon released its Kindle,our minds were blown. Now alarger and more advanced ver-sion, I would not even know

what to do with it, it wouldnever leave my house. If in-stead of the iTouch software,it was preloaded with Macin-toshs Snow Leopard OS, theiPad would actually be revolu-tionary device.

As experience has told me,waiting out on any new prod-

uct from the MP3 Gods is agood idea. With time and time,the device will becomes greaterand more affordable. The largesize makes it appealing for ourparents who squint just to see

billboards, but it is denitelynot worth it to purchase onenow.

campaigning; they simply corrupted the whole point behind it. Campaned as a systematic course of aggressive activities for some specic ppurpose? To get elected. Why people elect a specic candidate should

the goals and ideas that candidate possesses, not how cleverly theyve speeches in order to win the votes of every person out there. Of coursehope for eliminating this method, but the government doesnt have tit.

The new law taing advantage of thlack of political in America; whendont com- pletelhend what theyrtheyre not able in a way that reecliefs. Thanks to thCourt, people will ndiscern a pol- iticianfrom a corpo- rationthose who are educaassimilate their own opinions with politics, a potential candidate that w

their vote could be terminated if a corporation didnt like them.At the least, the Supreme Court could apply restrictions to the For many of the noted reasons, the upcoming elections will suffer ePoliticians wont even care what theyre standing for as long as they gereturn, voters wont know what theyre voting for. It will be interestindramatically this change affects future campaigns.

Brian Benshoof

staff reporter

MCkennaherron

staff reporter

New technology rom Apple: IPad or I-Pathet

New bill gives corporations undeserved reedo

W i t h t h e l a c k o f p o -li t ic a l k n o w le d g e m o s t A m e r ic a n s h o ld , h o wo n e a r t h w ill th e y b ea b l e t o d i s t in g u i s h ab a n k r o ll id e a f r o m a

l eg i t im a te one?


8/20

8 Op-EdThe Falcon Flyer A teacher fumbling with a Smart board remote,

tudents waiting 10 minutes in the computer lab for aomputer to start, a laptops battery dying, and etc etctc. These are frequent occurrences at our institutionf learning. Some say students benet greatly fromhis technology and that it is helping us prepare for ouruture, but is it really? From the desktops, that seemke they are about to take ight, to the laptops thatarely hold a charge for 5 minutes; our electronic toolsre outdated and slow at best and to top it off mosteachers barely know how to work them.

Chances are your teacher spends half of the classrying to gure out the smart board or another piecef technology in their

mmensely wired class-oom. Most Teachersave grown up without

echnology in the palm ofheir hands, something

most students couldntast a minute without,nd do not quite under-tand how to work them.hanks to the alwaysheerful IT staff, teachers prayers and questions arenswered; after a week or so.

Nobody can wait for the day the English teacher rollsn the laptop cart; only to nd them dead, missing keys

and vandalized. Then tragedy strikes as a classmatetrips over the power cord and the laptop goes blank,

losing your precious project. Remember to save.The worst part of a computing experience is thewait; wait for it to start up, wait for it tolog in, wait for it to open the internet waitfor it to load and so forth. Multiply thistime by 10 and you have the average waittime on any given school computer.

Just about all our computers are stillrunning Windows XP, which is several

years old; something they did update how-ever is Ofce 2007, the newest ofce suitefrom Microsoft. Having an old operat-ing system coupled with a new version ofsoftware can really cause some strains be-

cause the updatedsoftware will wantrun faster, but theOS will not be able

to handle it; over-all causing slowerprocessing. Withthe recent releaseof Windows 7, one can only

wonder if we will see an updateamong school computers.

Equipped in every classroom; smart boards are apractical and easy to use device. They continue to pro-

vide early-works and do-nows with a fun and inter-active approach. These devices seem to give students

what technology lessons they need, because iwhere smart phones and laptops with touch sc

becoming the norm, a little know-how with oa long way in terms of image and appeal. But ing thsmart

weretrodu1991;still nnolog

T e c his ogy, I sayin m

be to slife,

necesour Becaucondi

status, Kentlakes tech doesnt provide us tools we need as students to achieve our goafuture. Despite lack of sufcient technologalumni are doing ne in their own futures,

will our upcoming classes face going into with knowledge of lethargic laptops and terrnology.

Kentlakes technology sub-par in providing education

These days teens seem to live as virtual versions ofhemselves- surrogates, if you will, in the cyber world.

Hours are spent texting, instant messaging, and doc-menting their lives on Facebook, MySpace, andwitter. Often times teens will plug in an iPod and

une out the real world. However, then they complainbout not having enough time to nish homeworkr manage extracurricular activities. This begs theuestion Is technology deterring us from our realves, or is it just a nice accessory? I wanted tond out. For one weekend I decided to go with-ut essential teen electronics- no TVs,

computers, music players, or cell phones. It was only

for a weekend, though, so how hard could it be?I woke up late on Saturday morning, lethargic andlazy. I slowly drifted to the bathroom, where I took along, hot shower, followed with breakfast. After this I

was slightly lost- like I had something to do but couldnot remember what. I shrugged off the feeling andpicked my guitar to sing a ditty or two. I got bored and

needed something else to do, so I began towander my house, searching for pos-

sibilities. It was about this time thatI started craving everything for-bidden. My desire for a movie wasstronger than my thirst for water

during long summer runs, more per-sistent than a full bladder, and more

annoying than the high pitchedlaughter of freshmen girls. It had

merely been a few hours and I

was already having a devastat-ing withdrawal.

Soon I found myself exam-ining our bookshelves. Eagerly, I

piled up the books that grabbedmy attention, and transferred

them to my room, my for-tress of solitude. I began to

read. It was as if I was in atrance- a hypnotic state

fueled by Stephen King,Dean Koontz, and BilboBaggins. However, my

spell was broken whenmy dad barged in, asking me

Ist e c h n o l o g y

d e t er r in g u sf r o m o u r r e a l

l ives , or i s i t ju s t a n ic e

a c c e s s o r y ?

to go to the store with him. Eager to see the re

and other human beings, I accepted his invitmediately. The store felt different, though, so

was not relying on a cell phone or Zune for ement, so I actually observed the world arounawareness was strong, unfuzzled by pointlchatter. I began to notice things that I normanot- a man purchasing a rainbow umbrella

variety of wines, the startlingly ugly pharmthings invisibl

were nattentio

At weekenpossibleon the giving

watchin

ie, or up somand pl

guitar. However, I managed to control mysepaid off. By Sunday evening I was at peace wiand had a new found respect for reality. Tedominates peoples lives and prevents themperiencing the world. However, technology iIt is a crucial and essential part of our societshould utilize, but we need to understand wheis enough. Think of all the time wasted watchsip Girl, playing Maa Wars, or texting. W

you have been doing instead? The answer iyou could have been living.

Technology dependant society:

Ryan SnydeR

taff RepoRteR

Rendan CeSCon

opyeditoR

are we passing by the simple pleasures in lif

Photo by Alyssa Ryan

Photo by Alyssa Ryan

Photosco

urtesyof

creative

common

s.com


9/20

Op-EdThe Falcon Flyer

9

How is it that someone can become famous for be-coming famous? Americas obsession with celebritieshas spiraled out of control. Sometimes people are fa-mous for knowing someone famous and just got theirpicture on a magazine cover, Paris Hilton, Kevin Fed-erline, Nichole Richie, and Kim Kardashian, just toname a few. Americano, the western hemisphere isenthralled with people in the entertainment industry.Maybe they just like to identify themselves with a fa-miliar face and this just gives people a chance to iden-tify with someone in the public eye.

Lets face it, celebrities are not special, but they stillput up with paparazzi and people constantly stoppingthem on the street, and for what? Because, they wereawesome in a movie that they were in twenty yearsago. If someone were to walk up to you and ask for

your autograph you might be attered at rst, then af-ter putting up with this for months on end you mightstart to get sick of it. When the carpel tunnel sets in af-ter about fteen years of signing autographs, and youhave fractured your hand after you have successfullypunched out the nearest camera man, you might get alittle sick of it.

Some people make a living off of just following these

Keith BolendeR

Staff RepoRteR

people around, taking embarrassing photographs ofthem to sell to the tabloids. If one were to do this to a

normal person, it would be considered stalking. Yes,celebrities have stalkers. David Letterman had thesame woman break into his several times.

Reality shows are even worse. This is when you takeyour average Joe and turn him into everyones favor-ite celebrity. Shows like The Bachelor, Survivor,and The Mole have taken people that are not special,have no talent, and are frankly not that interesting andthrown them directly into the public eye. If you windup on The Bachelor you have six weeks to nd yoursoul mate and afterword the entire nation will fol-low your romance and inevitable divorce three monthslater.

Oh! The rumors are quite grand as well. Does Jen-nifer Aniston really want everyone to think that shespregnant with the child of an immigrant migrant work-er? Did you hear that Rob Schneider picks up Mexicanimmigrants to choke him in the shower? Would you

believe anything that Im saying? No. Do you want toknow? Because its all crap, but for some reason welike to cook up these cockamamie tails of people inthe public eye just so that we have something to talkabout.

Granted, they will always be subject to this kind oftreatment because of the careers that they chose forthemselves, but it is not healthy behavior for someone

S i n c ethe begin-ning oftime, one

question has been left

u n a n -swered:

w h ow o u l d

win in areal ght, v a m p i r e

or were-w o l f ?

S i m -

p l y ,there is onlyone way to

a n - swer this.No, its not,

and never will be, that

Twilight seriesnonsense. The only

way is an in-depth and

extensive comparison of origin, powers, weaknesses,and diet. Now, forget everything ever known about

vampires and werewolves; it is time to start over; do

not be swayed by that Twilight garbage, this is the realdeal.Vampires cannot be harmed by conventional weap-

ons, they never tire, and they heal themselves withinseconds. They are shapeshifting and can morph be-tween humans, moths, owls, (wolves), and famously

bats. Vampires are also hypnotists and posses thepower of mind control. To top it all off, the more a

vampire ages, the more powerful it becomes. Basi-cally, theres not much a vampire cannot do.

To counter the seemingly endless number of pow-ers a vampire has, they have weaknesses. Vampirescannot cross a body of water; they cannot

withstand direct rays of sunlight and re-main in a coma during the day. Because

vampires are antichrist, anything afliated with religion, especially Christianity, canharm the vampire. To sum up, a Christian

houseboat in the sun away from land is avampires worst nightmare.

Contrary to popular belief, werewolvesdo not need a full moon to activate theirpowers. Werewolves may undergo lycanthropy (themetamorphic change from human to wolf) wheneverthey please. A werewolf has tremendous hand-to-handcombat abilities; their most powerful weapons are theirown fangs and claws. Werewolves, like vampires, healthemselves in seconds and cannot be harmed with con-

ventional weapons. Unlike vampires, they have verysharp senses of sight, smell, and hearing; making itnearly impossible for others to hide from werewolves.

Werewolves have reasonable means of beingharmed. The two surere ways to kill a werewolf are

decapitation and removal of the heart; sense. What does not make sense is th

werewolves can be killed with a silver bu

a werewolf has their heart removed or is with silver, there is simply no way to killsilver bullet.

Both vampires and werewolves feed oVampires can only feed off of blood, nothsufce. They are rendered defenseless ifconsume enough blood, whereas werewolenergized by normal human food. Whentake the shape of humans, they may act humans. It is only in wolf form when bloare the only foods that will sustain the wer

Finally, the moment long awaited, win? After rcharacteristics oand werewolves,

battle. As the sounds, the weretack right away; h

snap off the vamThe vampire wilattack and striking for the were

and sucking the blood. However, no matte blood is sucked out of the werewolf, he cumb to blood loss. He will counter this aslash from his claws. This will strike the do little damage. The vampire will attemptize the werewolf only to be slashed at agahis concentration. This tradeoff of attackstinue for hours on end amounting to no solution. And if there is anything learned f

vs. Jason (2003), no matter how imaginarful the two beings are, they will never die.

JaSonhiRSChey

Staff RepoRteR

A n d i f t h e r e i s a n y t h i n g

l e a r n e d fr o m F r e d d y v s .

J a s o n ( 2 0 0 3 ) , n o m a t t e r

h o w i m a g i n a r y o r p ow e r fu l

t h e t w o b e in g s a r e , t h e y w i lln e v e r d i e .

to obsess oversomebody just

because theysing thatone song,or Disneydecided toput togeth-er a little

boy band.Yes, I can bepetty.

Over publicized inquiry: werewolf or vampir

Famous for being famous?Americas obsession spirals out of control

Photos courtesyof

creative commons.com

Photos courtesyofcreative co


10/20

Pick up your hoGetting down and dir

Take a cue from the First Lady: shoppingis out, gardening is in.

Trading in slick Gucci pumps for sloppygarden clogs may sound like a drag, but con-sider this; according to the USDA Food Insti-tute, the price of food is climbing, and is pro-

jected to go up 2.5 to 3.5% in the next year.This may not sound like much, but group that

with the ever-rising cost of gas, goods, and alimping economy and the and the numbers

begin to add up. One way to remedy a tightbudget is to grow your own food. The aver-age teen may not give a sack of compost, butpopping a few seeds into the backyard can be

benecial for the whole family, health andbudget.

Take the rst family, for instance. Whenthe Obama family moved into the WhiteHouse last year, one of the rst things Mi-chelle Obama did was plant a vegetable gar-den on the grounds. Im a big

believer in community gar-dens, both because of their

beauty and for their ac-cess to providing freshfruits and vegetables toso many communitiesacross this nation andthe world, said Obama.This is not new for arst lady. Eleanor Roos-evelt oversaw her VictoryGarden during World War II.Hers was an example of self-reli-ance to a warring and ration-bound nation.Today, Obamas garden serves as a model of

healthful, cost-savvy living.Do-it yourself eating is good for the body.

Consuming organic and whole foods has been increasingly recommended by healthofcials. The food grown at

home or bought from a localfarm is usually pesticidefree. Just being outin the garden canalso help withdepression. Ina study done

by Christo-pher Lowry,a neurosci-entist at theUniversity of Bristolin England,

breathing in bio-particles insoil, such as thedust you stir whenturning a shovel, wasshown to have a simi-

lar effect on the brain toProzac, a powerful anti-de-

pressant.Homegrown veggies are inexpen-sive to grow. Even small gardensthat do not provide a ton of pro-duce are still helpful because ev-ery little bit helps lower the cost of

having to buy from a store. A packetof seeds costs less than a dollar, and

one packet can yield bushels (look upthat old-fashioned measurement for fun)

of produce.Gardening brings communities together.

Neighbors have the ability to lend a hand

and share some delicious fresh prodtheir gardens that can add that unito a classic meal. Instead of separadens, some neighborhoods build c

gardens. This sensemunity is need

times of cras a peri

nomic

if

gf

m wG

is ione

and cacult. Tod

may be intework, but they f

gardening is above all

Artistic students looking for a newof design should play with the textors, and scents of the garden. Ithave to be your grandmothers romini-farm. A garden is a canvas, ta palate, and where else can art bcious?

It is not yourgrandmothers

row-by-rowmini-farm.

Matt Davis & Cynthiann heCkelsMiller

staff reporter& Co eDitor-in-Cheif

Plant a Row for the Hungryis a charity program start-ed in Alaska in 1995 designed to feed the hungry in communitieseverywhere. It started when garden writers encourage their readersto plant an extra row of produce each year and donate the surplus tolocal food banks and soup kitchens. Since 1995, American gardenershave donated over 14 million pounds of herbs and vegetables to feedthe local hungry.


11/20

Mix lettuce, carrot and

raddish seeds beforeplanting. The lettuce willcome up rst and softenthe soil for the deep-root-ed veggies. The Debate Continu

Are tomatoes vegetables or fruit? Botanicalare the ovaries of the plant, therefore fruit. Hoaccording to a 1893 Supreme Court ruling, iff purposes, tomatoes are vegetables. Ohio the tomato its ofcial state fruit, while Newdubbed it the state vegetable. Arkansas rifence, naming it both the state fruit and vege

Put it togetherIn 3 easy steps

Place taller plants (pole beans, berries, tomatoes,etc.) on the north side ofthe garden so they do not

block the light for the littleguys.

1 Site- Choose a location with lots of sun. A gar-den can be as small as a single potted tomato or

a large plot. Before you plant in the ground, check

the soil for poisonous chemicals such as lead.

2 Design- What do you like to eat? What colorsdo you enjoy? Try to use your space in an inter-

esting way, with concentric circles, zigzags, and

patchworks of color. See below for ideas.

3 Plant- Whether you use seeds or growingplants, be sure to give the whole garden plenty of

water, keep the weeds out, and use organic fertil-

izer. Now it is up to sunshine and patience.

Stawberries in pots arehard to kill. Juicy and

good for beginners!

Photos illustrations by Cynthiann Heckelsphotos by wikicommons.org


12/20

12 Arts&EntertainmentThe Falcon Flyer

From the man who brought The Lord of the Ringsrilogy to life comes The Lovely Bones, the lm adaptionf Alice Seaboldsovel. Directoreter Jackson wrote

he script withran Walsh andhilippa Boyens.With Jackson as

he director, thexpectations runery high.

Her name isalmon, like thesh; Susie SalmonSaoirse Ronan). Sheas 14 when she was

murdered. Susie waspproached by hereighbor, George

Harvey (Stanleyucci), and wasersuaded to go intosecret undergroundubhouse built for

he children in theeighborhood. Thiswhere life ends and death begins.

Susie is in her heaven, but is caught in the inetween which means she is not in the real heaven. Inhe after life Susie tries to come to terms with her deathwhile back on earth her father, Jack Salmon (Mark

Murdered children have a lot to look forwardWahlberg), attempts to nd her killer. He edges closerto guring out who killed his daughter with clues thatSusie leaves him. Jack is certain he has gured it out,

but he has no evidence which leads to some breakingand entering. From there information regarding hermurderer unravels which provides answers aboutHarveys past. The pieces to the puzzle are slowly being

uncovered.The most enjoyable things about The Lovely Bones

are the phenomenal acting, the outstanding musiccomposed by Brian Eno, and the creative use of specialeffects. The marvelous acting was the result of a well

put together cast and perfect role selection.had its own composer which was a nice chathe usual playlist of pop songs. To top it off theffects were abstract and visually stunning. of colors and constantly changing scenery wto watch. The special effects were like eye can

Other than those few things this lm unpleassit throdistastis due t

which i well Part problem

with the lmoff of wnot

well frto thscreen. that hthe booseeing thave idea ofoccurrinscreen. else wlikely l

theater in a cloud of confusion.

KelseyBolton

taff RepoRteR

/

Photo by imdb.com

Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon experiencing the fanciful landscape of the afterlife in The Lovely Bones.

Ex-Beatle reaches creative mediocr

Ringo Starr is not often respectedor his songwriting, and this is notithout justication. He is the one whorote such poetic lines as When I lookack, it sure was cool and We wereumber one, and it was fun. These

yrics may make Mother Goose lookke Shakespeare, but that just adds toingos innocent charm. I mean, he wasBeatle, for Gods sake. Discrediting

im is like blasphemy to Rock n Roll.ut we can still have a little fun, cante?

His new album is youthfully titledY Not, and consists of several guestrtists including Joe Walsh, Joss Stone,illy Squier, Edgar Winter, and Sirames Paul McCartney. All the songswere collaborations between Ringond another one of these artists (or ofeveral other professional songwriterskely hired to turn his couplets intoongs). Y Not is nowhere near as goods classic Ringo albums like Blast fromour Past or Goodnight Vienna. It lackshe excitement of fresh Ringo material.nstead, it contains relatively new, yetelatively familiar tracks. But these

are still enjoyable. In fact, the albumssingle Walk With You, a duet withMcCartney, is actually pretty catchy,and someone could easily listen to it

without cringing. The song begins withguitars strumming and violins singing,and soon follows with Ringo on drumsand vocals. Paul harmonizes duringthe chorus, providing listeners withashbacks of the Fab Four in their glorydays.

The album features some relativelygroovy rock beats, making the musicfun to listen to. Y Not does deviatefrom Ringos normal path, however,in the sense that the songs are morefunk-oriented. This is exciting becauseit means that he is still exploring newmusical ideas, and not settling forclich. Ringo has always been a creativedrummer, which is why this does notsurprise me. Individual Beatles songsare recognizable simply by their drumparts alone, thanks to his innovativeplaying style. Drummers like JohnBonham or Keith Moon strive for speed,and try to t as many notes as they caninto a phrase- but not Ringo. Ringoapproaches a song differently, intent onsounding unique and unlike all otherrhythms, and he succeeds effortlessly.This talent was not always respected,

however. When asked if Ringo wasthe best drummer in the world,John Lennon said Hes noteven the best drummer in theBeatles. Y Not is denitely a step upfrom his last album, Liverpool8, which was disappointing foranyone familiar with westernmusic. ButY Not is not likely togo platinum anytime soon, nor isit going to be rememberedas one of Ringos best

works. It is simply Ringo--the man who crafts songson drums like no other,

but authors lyricsthat only WilliamHung would feelc o m f o r t a b l esinging. He wascertainly theleast poetic ofthe Beatles.Sure, he isi n e x p l i ca bly awesome, buthe can only

write songs with a littlehelp from hisfriends.

BRendan CesCon

CopyeditoR

Photo by boston.com

/


13/20

1Arts&EntertainmentThe Falcon Flyer

The Book of Eli is a post-apocalyptic, action-drama in the style of a really preten-tious comic book: a lot of slow-motion attitude punctuated by sped up mayhem.You can tell it means business because all of the colors have been bleached out tocreate about ten thousand shades of brown to cre-ate a burnished wasteland. It is quite breathtakingin sort of a diseased way.

Denzel Washington plays Eli Walker, walkingthrough the footsteps of those who have come

before him, Will Smith in I Am Legend, and MelGibson in The Road Warrior. He has the ClintEastwood man with no name thing going on forhim, not to mention having a little bit of samuraiin him. In an early scene, a gang of roadside slea -zebags descend on him to steal from him and eathim (yes, in the future they have resorted to can -nibalism). The camera pulls back to show their sil-houettes doing battle under an overpass, its a lotlike if Quentin Tarantino tried his hand at shadow

puppetry.If that were all there were to The Book of Elithen it might be good, nasty fun. Walker is toting a

book with him, not just a book, THE book, a KingJames Bible, all of the other bibles having been de-stroyed in a t of mob pique after the bombs dropped 30 years ago. Why those other

bibles didnt make it but Elis iPod has survived over three decades is a mystery forthe ages; at least he gets to chill to some Al Green, which is all he really needs. The Book of Eli takes an interesting turn when Eli walks into a frontier town:Suddenly we are in a post-nuclear western, complete with a goodhearted saloongirl (Mila Kunis), her shady mother (Jennifer Beals), showdowns in the street, anda big bad boss, Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Washington seems as if he is on auto-pilot

for a good portion of the movie. The Book of Eli comes down to a face-Walker and Carnegie for possession of the Book, the latter craving apower base and the former wanting to preserve it for future generation

The casting director Mindy Martin has stuffed this lm with fami

faces. Fringe benets include Tom Waits in the Walter Brennan role oold cuss and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series

of an elegant survivor couple with sshaky hands. Toward the end, a chippMcDowell shows up in a white robe most as if he joined some post-apoca

The movie never wants to actuallyunderlying theme is. When Eli is ask

books gist is, he says Do to otherswant them to do to you-which is true about as deep as one would expect frthat combines the continuance of Jemessage of universal love with bo

violence and amputated limbs. But,something for everyone.

The directors are brothers AlberHughes, who made a splash in the e

with gangsta fables Menace II Societ

Presidents and have struggled to nding since. Eli is their rst feature s

brooding Jack the Ripper mysteryand it references other movies and g

out ever completely settling into its own groove. The movies certainlybut its never quite convinced of itself, and so it never really convinces thThe Hughes put most of their creativity in to the action scenes, which crand gurgle with panache. While not overly impressive, The Book of Eli iseeing.

Keith BolendeR

staff RepoRteR

Mad Max tackles evangelis

Denzel Washington trudges through a post-apocalyptic society in The Book of Eli.

Photo by imdb.com

When most people think about angels, images ofmajestically ying beings with halos are usually theones that appear inside ones head. According to rsttime director Scott Stew-art, this is simply not so(and thank God, the movie

would not have been as ac-tion-packed), in his creativecranium, angels are Godsfearless army of limitlessdestruction doing his bid-ding. Add a chosen one anda rogue angel and you have this biblical thriller, Le-gion.

The movie opens up with wingless archangel Mi-chael (Paul Bettany), yes, the very same from the Bible.Landing in the lovely city of L.A, the city of angels, you

would think he has come down to carry out Gods will,but alas, you would be wrong. In fact, he does the exactopposite. So why does he swiftly stash two duffel bags

with machine guns and ammo and hightails out to thedesert? An act completely unexpected, but intriguingnonetheless for I have never seen an angel with a ma-chine gun. The bottom line, society has lost their faith;and therefore, God hates us at least in this movie.Due to our incompetence and disrespect towards him,He has supposedly turned his back on humankind,losing faith in us as well. The last time this occurred

our punishment was a ood; this time around, hechooses to send his Legion of savage Angels, hence thetitle, to possess humans to kill each other. Michael, onthe other hand, has deed him and chooses to stay onour side. Great, one angel against an army, these odds

sounds so reassuring.Meanwhile, at an ail-

ing diner in ParadiseFalls we are introducedto owner Bob (DennisQuaid) and his son Jeep(Lucas Black), both livingin emotional and nan-cial instability. Working

at this diner is Jeeps love interest, Charlie (AdriannePalicki), a waitress who is eight months pregnant. Andno, Jeep is not the father. Michael

arrives to reveal that Charlies un- born baby is the last chance forthe human race, and if it dies, sodo we. Armed with the weapons he

brought in from the city, Michael,the stranded couple with theirdaughter, the lost traveler, and the

workers of the diner unite to fend off any possessedhumans until the baby is born.

I didnt expect Legion to blow my mind away, but itcame out exceedingly better than I pictured. Restrict-ing much of the action to the Paradise Falls diner gavethe impression that the movie was cheap and ulti-mately unworthy of a theatrical release. Also plaguing

the lm were the awkward single characte

which provided unneeded detail to chadied ten minutes later. However, savingfrom this humiliating and disgraceful plotimately made no sense in all seriousnesBettanys mesmerizing portrayal of Micha

work in The Da Vinci Code, where he plbino monk Silas, Bettany proved he can pgious role. Yet, in my mind, Legion nallthe phenomenal acting abilities he possemind, Bettany is clearly one of the best whto these types of roles. Legion may contain a confusingly asiniat times you may lose interest, but the archdown between Michael and Gabriel, packCall of Duty zombie survival game-like ac

make

worthdollarsas in moviepacks of moring d

your faith, or do what is needed than whbut then again, it just made the angels loosavages, which is pretty fantastic.

Will the world ever get tired of endindaniel tadeoCopyeditoR

I d idn t ex pect Legion t o b lo w

m y m i n d a w a y , b u t i t c a m e

o u t e x c e e d i n g l y b e t t e r t h a n I

p ic tured .

...Legion fnally illustrated the phenomenal acting abilities

[Paul Bettany] possesses.


14/20

14 Arts & EntertainmentThe Falcon Flyer

With its Red Robin, Applebees,McDonalds, Covingtons food scene wasypical, Americanized, and just good.ut with the addition a few years ago ofenjarong Thai, it became great.Entering this small restaurant, located

ear Khols and Coldstone Creameryn downtown, diners are greeted withwarm tones of rich orange and royalurple. The dcor is more upscale thanovington is used to, which makes itn ideal destination for date and casualance dinners.

The most important part is the food.hai cuisine is often stereotyped as apicier Americanized Chinese food. Atenjarong, the fare is far from the fastnd spicy grease-fest that Panda Express

ffers. Here, the focus is moreaditional Thai (and moreelicious). Each dish is

showcase of freshngredients and the

alance of avorso n s i s t e n t

n Asian

cookinghot, sour, sweet, spicy, and bitter. Fresh rolls, a crowd favoriteappetizer, are a masterpiece of freshavor. The sticky rice paper wrapping

surrounds layers of crisp lettuce, Thai basil, cilantro, thin rice noodles, andcold shrimp. Biting in to the roll aloneis like tasting garden air, but dipping itin the accompanying sauce makes theexperience. The sauce is a sweet and sourpeanut sauce, with a rich earthy avorand subtle spiciness that complimentsthe fresh pop of the roll like nothingMcDonalds ever thought of. After thatsymphony of avor, it is time to orderthe main course.

First-time Thai eater should givePhad Thai a try. Thisdish is comprised ofrice noodles, egg, tofu,chopped peanuts, meat

of the diners choice, and peanut sauce.The avors meld together in a way thatis, in a word, tasty. As with all dishes,the customer controls the heat when

they order, based on a scale of zero (nospice) to ve stars. Adventurous heat-freaks can also ask for extra spice, and

will be presented with an assortment ofchili concoctions to scorch their littlehearts out. Second-timers should scrollthrough the full menu for epicurean

jewels, from curries to soups and housespecialties. A perfect complement toa good meal: Thai iced tea. This tallsweet drink is concocted of spices,

black tea, whipped cream, and coconutmilk. The one downfall of

the tea is that it istoo rich to drink

quickly, so

diners should keep plenty of hand for quelling spice-burned

After all the ne artistry andthe appetizers and entrees, it is

head next door to Coldstone foThe menu offers four desserttwo rice dishes, and two ice crerst is a sweet sticky rice with coconutty mass of white rice adelightful, but a little bland. T

black rice pudding looks beautia bit like oatmeal in avor andThe ice creams are coconut anThey are sweet and true to th

but nothing to rave about. It wise to split a dessert with a pleast once for the cultural ex

but after that, it is up to the cuability to withstand rich an

textures. With delicate and

avors, reasonable

and polite service, Bis a lovely feath

cap of Cdin

CynthiannheCklesmiller

o-editor-in Chief

A unique experience in Covington dinin

Photo by blog.tourismthaila

Glycogen storage disease is a powerful and terriblellness. In Extraordinary Measures, Brendan Fraserppears as a father trying to save his daughter andons lives from the ailment, although for most of the

movie it is just the daughter that he talks about. In hisearch and research he stumbles upon Dr. StonehillHarrison Ford), who has a theoretical solutiono the disease. They go through many trials and

complications to attempt to make a drug to provide thenecessary enzymes to keep his children, and others,alive.

Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford return in thismediocre lm to tell the tale of John Crowleys ghtto get a working drug to aid those with Pompe. Thestory behind the lm is inspiring and heart-wrenching.Regrettably, the movie did not give the story justice.Brendan Fraser did little more than just be BrendanFraser with a different name, which is typical of hisacting. Harrison Fords acting considered of yelling alot with quiet moments thrown in randomly.

Tom Vaughan, a little known directornally gaining ground as a director, at leastto his prior works. Though this lm mayextraordinarily successful, compared to prioof his, it is a masterpiece.

Extraordinary Measures is not worth the msee in the theatres, unless the viewer is a majpopcorn butter induced comas and twinges inheartstrings. If one absolutely must watch tthen this critic would recommend that he/until it comes out on DVD or Blu-Ray and rereplay-ability is almost nonexistent.

JaCob langholtz

staff reporter

Frasier going through Extreme Measuresto save his care


15/20

1StudentLifeThe Falcon Flyer

So, you like this girl huh? Valentines Day - the day of love is fast apThe question now is how to woo her heart. If you are the typical malthought of asking that special someone to be your valentine makes ach get all tingly and you start to sweat in all the wrong places. Well,

you are in luck. I happen to be an expert in seducing women and ifmy nifty little chart, you will hold her heart in your hands (not literaHow to use my chart: The lower you go on the list of sthe greater your chances of getting the ever so seldom yesThe Loser:

Watch her via peripheral vision and try to build up the courher. When you nally do ask, make sure to throw in cheesy crude jokes, and twilight references. Rating: Not going to hapThe Average Bloke:Stalk her best friend until you acquire your special someones locker comb

best friend will ALWAYS know the locker code). Once you have obtainednation leave a cute little note for her to nd. Throw in owers, chocolasort of adorable stuffed creature in for greater effect. Rating: ReasonaThe Man:

Show up at her house dressed in a suit with owers, and other goodies. Linto her beautiful eyes and recite a sonnet written either by you or William Sin a sexy accent (I recommend Irish or Australian). Rating: Things areThe Beast:

Wait until the opportune moment then spring into action, steal the microJener DaSilva during the Falcon Fever Friday events at lunch and serenade hown rendition of What Is Love by Haddaway. Make sure to know your ch

bring backup dancers and the entire select ensemble choir. Rating: GuarantThe Romantic Lover:Steal a hot air balloon that is shaped like a massive heart and hover ovedropping leaets professing your undying love and devotion. RatiThe BOSS:Travel the globe visiting every country attempting to nd the por that matches her eyes. When realizing that this quest is impcause nothing can match her beauty, walk 500 miles to get toand announce your failure. A word of warning this will take tial amount of time; so get on that now. Rating: THE DAY The Pimp:

Pay her. Rating: Depends on how much you pay her!Disclaimer Note: I cannot be responsible for any disastrous breakupmoments, and/or restraining orders that may occur from the use of

Falcons fess up for Valentines Da

Believe it or not, every couples favorite holiday is near. Whether you are try-ing to get your secret crush or impress your dearest friend, Valentines Day is theopportunity for everyone to unlock their inner romance. However, not every-one has that special someone, how unfortunate for those maybe tragedy hasstruck and your relationship just went south, what can you possible do? Spend-ing the lovely day alone can be a real downer, but here are some tips to sur-

vive this crisis. Follow them and I will almost guarantee you successgood luck.1)Keep busyJust because it is a holiday does not give you the right to just sit around and be worthless.The more you cry, the longer you will grieve. Go do some chores you have never done,try out that new recipe, study for that next test to start off the new semester right, what-ever you do, just make sure it keeps you occupied and shielded from anything cupid.2)Survival is more likely with a groupDo not believe for a second that you are the only one that is alone for the evening,

because in reality, there are denitely more than you think. Instead of locking your-self in the bedroom, get some of your single friends and go out to a movie, bowl-ing, or maybe even mini-golf. Better yet, go shopping and create a new image for

yourself, a visual transformation may be all that is needed to turn your life around.3)Completely scrap the holidayMany people do not even realize that it is Valentines Day until the dayof, once you know, it is signicantly harder to forget. Simply act as if it

was any normal day. Remember, do not watch any television marathons,I guarantee you they are most likely geared toward stay-at-home couples.4)Look on the bright sideIf you are so desperate about your loneliness (after the second straight year it is per-fectly acceptable), take the day to ponder about the causes of such a tragedy. Make aplan and create some goals to achieve to guarantee success. Or, just think of all themoney you would save by going solo. On a study by the National Retail Federationtaken in 2008, men on average spend $163 and women a signicantly lower $85.5)Eat chocolate, seriouslySure, chocolate is the perfect gift for your Valentine, but that does not mean

you cannot take advantage of the half price offers. Other than the sweet sensu-

al pleasure and satisfaction eating chocolate brings, chocolate has been linkedwith the release of a chemical called serotonin in the brain, which is thought toput one in a pleasurably happy mood, the perfect solution for an ailing heart.

Valentines day is like a

cornucopia of booty call,- senior Erin Collins

It sucks for singles, cute for couples- freshman Terra McGinnis

From kindergarten to the presentI still call Valentines day, Valen-

times Day,- senior Leslie Ducay

I think that its supercial and Ifeel like its a Hallmark Holidayand theres a lot of unneeded pres-

sure.- sophomore Taylor Bouffard

Its sweet- sophomore Justin Martin

I think Valentines D

for everyone to show they love each ot

- senior Jordan Ja

Its stupid- freshman Jessica Smith

You mean Single AwarenessDay?

- senior Bryant Oxborrow

daniel tadeo

CopyeditorLove is in the air...or not

Craigheffner

staff reporter

Want the girl? Read the gSparks fyin February

Photos by Megan Rogers and Melis

Compiled by Kie


16/20

16 StudentLifeThe Falcon Flyer

Kelsey gains more than self-defense through Tae-Kwon-

Sadies receives mixed review

This years Sadies dance received dozens of negative reviews from attendees.However, if somebody were to seek out the diminutive group of students who re-mained until the end of the dance, they would hear a completely different response.

ophomore Brett Kenney was part of this small group. It was really fun. Really, theest dance Kentlake has had, said Kenny. Sophomore Bianca Zlavog also stated

hat after unruly students departed, the dance was better. [My favorite part] wasenitely the end. It was so cool. Everyone was being really spontaneous and fun,aid Zlavog.

The dance started out normal enough. Girls clad in peek-a-boo shorts and barely-

there tops arrived with their dates promptly at eight oclock that eveningbehavior escalated from bad to worse as the evening wore on. By 9:30, Sad

longer a dance, but an enormous grind fest. Warning after warning was but to no avail. Only impertinence was displayed in return. Finally the ligon. A mass of students threatened to leave, so the Commons was dimmpropriate behavior ensued immediately once again. The switches were again, and Principal Diana Pratt encouraged students to leave by suggea different genre of music be played. Wrathful students exited KentlakeSinatra boomed from the speakers. The remaining forty students danchits such as Sweet Caroline and L-O-V-E. The last hour of that evespectacular. The cool kids of Kentlake put on the strongest display of uschool spirit that this school has seen for a very long time. They joined togrefused to allow other students to ruin the fun that can be found in a schoeven while abiding by the rules. While reecting on that evening, the phrshow must go on comes to mind.

You know, when we changed the music I didnt really know how the going to respond, said Pratt. And when I saw the groups of kids start it surprised me to see there were probably still thirty kids still up on the

were dancing to Frank Sinatra I was just really proud of the kids for doDespite the unity, dances will no longer be the same. They are going to cha

they will is still in question. It was worse than its ever been. This is my nhere and it was very inappropriate, and so we have a responsibility to thing different, said Pratt. Additionally, turnout for the dance was rathpointing. Leadership and staff are looking for other ways to get studentsThere were only two hundred kids that went to that dance. Out of 1,800 k

were 1,600 kids approximately that did not nd it important or necessarto that dance. Now they are looking toward other ways to socialize, whe

by games, informal sports, or a movie; anything to provide a variety diversfor the student body.

Overall, the dance was an event smothered with negativity. I appreciatethat stayed], and the reason is that they turned something negative to sopositive. We didnt do that. You know, they decided they wanted to dancegave it a chance. So they had a great time. Its not a really positive memooverall, although the way it ended at eleven oclock did help to mitigate sonegativity, so I really do appreciate what they did.

arah Cubinetaff reporter

tudents that remained to the end of the dance pose for a group photo.

After watching intense movie ght scenes ranging fromhe Bourne Trilogy to James Bond, many people wish theyad the ability to defend themselves like action heroes.

Of course, occasionally, some people decide to take theteps to learn to ght like Jasonourne. One such person is ju-ior Stephanie Kelsey who haschieved a third degree black beltn tae kwon do and intends toontinue this sport until she is ainth degree black belt.

Kelsey has competed in tae

won do for twelve years. Iake classes twice a week for anour to an hour and a half, said

Kelsey. Two major competitionsccur every year, one in Nevadand one in Washington. I used tove in Arizona, said Kelsey, andwould travel up to Washington

n order to compete in Tae-Kwon-Do. For competitions,eople are separated into divisions based on level and age.We compete in sparring, where the goal is to achieve veoints, said Kelsey. She went on to explain that points arewarded by hitting different zones on an opponents body.or instance, if Kelsey hits her opponent in the head she

will be awarded two points and if she hits her opponent

erinhunttaff reporter

in the stomach she will be awarded one point. Kelsey saysshe loves the tournaments because there is always a tonof people.

Although Kelsey enjoys learning self defense from taekwon do, she also loves the feeling of condence the sportgives. [Tae kwon do] has given me condence. I used to bereally shy and now I dont care what people think. It makesme more outgoing [and] not so quiet anymore, said Kelsey.

Another trait Kelsey has derived from tae kwon do is mo-tivation. The sport makes me

want to try harder. People havea goal to reach in tae kwon doand when you reach that it feelslike you can reach goals in therest of your life, said Kelsey.

Kelsey clearly has goals

for the rest of her Tae-Kwon-Do life. Im planning to get aninth degree black belt, saidKelsey, However; each yearafter you achieve a new de-gree, you have to wait a certainamount of years to go the nextdegree. For instance, Kelsey is

currently a third degree black belt, therefore she has to waitthree years before she can progress to a fourth degree black

belt. Though the wait is long, Kelsey welcomes the com-mitment. Kelsey is obviously passionate about tae kwon doand everything about the sport makes her happy. I like allof it. It teaches self defense, it boosts your condence, andthe people are fun, said Kelsey.

T h e s p o rt m a k e s m ew a n t t o t r y h a r d e r . Pe o p le

h a v e a g o a l t o r e a chi n T a e -K w o n -D o a n d

w h e n y o u r ea ch t h a t i t f ee ls l ik e y ou canr each g oa l s i n

t he r e s t o f y our l if e- S t ephan i e K e ls ey

Stephanie Kelsey in her formal Ta e-Kwon

Photo Courtesy of Stephan

Photo courtesy of Sarah Cubine


17/20

The Real MeBy Yasmin Abubakar

Do you see me?Do you see the real me?

Do you see the girl who loves to singAnd dance the night away

The girl who reads almost anythingAnd loves to sleep all day

Do you see the girl who laughs out loudAt silly little thoughts

The girl who everyday is wowed

By all the things shes taughtOr do you just see whats in front of your face

And none of whats insideDo you just see the hair, the skin, the race

The things I cannot hide

Dont just judge the visible meAnd leave all the rest behindLook for what you cannot see

And tell me what you nd

1StudentLifeThe Falcon Flyer

Our FearBy Kelsey Drotning

I see him.Sitting by himself in the cafeteria

He looks lonelyI have always believed no one should feel alone

Maybe he would like to sit at our tableI ask my friends

And watch as they shake their headsAshamed, I turn away.

You look at me.With my books in one hand

Hurdling spikes in the otherI look at you.Carrying your violin and drawing padWould you believe that some days,

I hold those things too?

Cliques.We all know themEven if we deny it

But where do I t in?Do any of these people really t where we put them?

You. Me. He. She. They. Them.We are not as different as we pretendOur beliefs, opinions, experiences vary

But our fear is the same

We fear standing outBut we fear being forgotten

We crave that sense of belonging

The knowledge of our placeI dont think we want categoriesBut categories are what we createTo form a denition of ourselves

A boundary to keep us safe

I choose to be me.The edges of my denition are blurred

Tomorrow I will ask that boy to sit at our tableI will not live by the standards put in place by my

peersI am not alone.

I simply choose to live the truth.Why, when we all want the same thing

Do we run and hideFrom diversity?

The debate between the benets of honor and coreclasses has been a never-ending battle. While some stu-dents stake their ground on one side or the other, sev-eral are left in the middle, wondering if the classes arereally that different, and which one will help the mostin the long run.

Some students have troubles making the decision,and switch to core classes from honors, or vice versa.

An example is sophomore Carissa Payseno, who decid-ed that honors classes were not for her. I signed up forhonors the rst time this year because my advisor toldme to. It was more work than I thought it would be, soIm attempting to switch out at semester, said Payseno. Many are not prepared, or

willing, to undergo the extra work which honors almost certainly entails.However, quite a few feel just the opposite. Sophomore Kelvin Fox took honors

Students weigh benets of honors and core clas

Ther e i snt r ea l l y m uchof a d i f f eren ce , [a l th ou gh ] i t

s eem s l ik e t he r e s m or ep e o p le w h o s ee m m o r e

w i ll ing t o l ea r n[in h on ors c las ses ]

- Kelv in Fox .

classes for the rst time this year. I didnt take honors last year becautaken honors before, and thought itd maybe be too hard, said Fox.

Surprisingly to Fox, honors did not provide all that he suspected. really much of a difference, [although] i

theres more people who seem more will[in honors classes], said Fox.Though there may be some discrepanciesregarding work load, colleges tend to view

AP classes with similar state of mind. Fthe University of Washington says that it and applauds students who have chosenPlacement (AP) courses as part of their curriculum. Also, several studies show lege admissions ofcers, AP classes and hes carry more weight than normal classes

Overall, the decision between honoclasses is a personal choice; there is no universal answer. Instead of

which one is better all around, students should wonder which one theyet from the most personally.

MiChalaDyMonD-Shaw

Staff reporter

Diversity club reveals winners of Poetry SlaThe following poems are the rst, second and third place winners of the third annual Diversity Club Poetry Slam. The theme for the poems was acceptancplace went to junior Kelsey Drotning, second place went to junior Yasmin Abubakar and third place went to junior Kayla Maletich. The winners recieved Jagiftcards.

Please?By Kayla Maletich

When I look at you,Please do not just see

The imperfections on my fac

And the sweat on my palmsWhen I look at you,

Please try to seeThe understandings in my eyeAnd the kindness in my smil

When I talk to you,Please do not just hear

My nervous stutters and stammAnd awkward pauses.

When I talk to you,Please try to hear

That I too have a voice,And an opinion all my own.

Please do not just write me offA loser, a freak, a wannabe, or a

Rather, give me the opportunTo show you who I am.

And please rememberNo two people are the same

And that its okay for some to different than you.

The winners from left to right, Kelsey Drotning, Kay la Maletich

and Yasmin Abubakar.

Photo by Mega n Rogers


18/20

18 SportsThe Falcon FlyerWinter Falcon FrankensteiGifted athletes from winter sports combine to create a conglomerate of ultimate falcon p

Athletes

Head Torso Left Arm Right Arm Legs

Record:8

-2

Preferred

toothpas

tebrand:

Colgate

Favorite

sockbran

d:

Nike

Bestfroz

endinner

:

LeanCuis

ineThaiC

hicken

-Wrestler

SeanCava

nagh

Weirdtal

ent:Ablity

to

touchtong

uetonose

Favoritem

usic:Chris

Brown

BestKLm

emory:

Goingtost

atefresh-

manyear

-BballPla

yer

Morganne

Comstock

Playing

basketballsin

ce:

5yearsold

Favorite

basketballme

mory:

Running

intoap

oleat

Gonzag

acampw

hilelooking

atthec

heerlea

dingteam.

-BballPlayerJaronHe

ck

Favoriteschoollunch:ThepizzasBestpencolor:BlackFlip-.opso rsandals:

Flip-fops-GymnastLynnseyThielman

Preferredsuperpower

IfIwereinvisible,

IcoulddoanythingIwante

likerobastoreFavoritenumber:7

SupermanorSpiderman:

Spiderman,becausehekissesgir

upsidedown-SwimmerTylerRoyal

Photos by MegInterviews by Spencer Transier, Jason Hirschey, McKen


19/20

SportsThe Falcon Flyer

1

Winter is the season for some of the best outdoor activities, includingskiing, snowboarding, and sledding. Members of Ski Club go up to Sno-qualmie Pass almost every Friday in winter. We have already gone up twotimes; we start

Issue 6 | The Falcon Flyer

Documents