Hot Dog by Kaitlin Brubaker

A cylindrical sausage-like food sits in between a bun of the same shape that fits the object perfectly in its butterfly-cut wings. The meat of which this food is made is unclear, yet childhood memories bring a long forgotten urge to eat it regardless of what may be inside. Under a blanket of sweet relish lie layers of tart mustard and creamy ketchup atop a bed of succulent grilled onions. With a mouth-watering aroma it waits, soon to be devoured by barbeque patrons, bonfire enthusiasts, and plain ol’ hungry folks. Merriam-Webster’s word of the day describes not this hotdog; this hotdog lacks even the proper part of speech. Hotdog (v.) has the definition: ”

to perform in a conspicuous or often ostentatious manner; especially: to perform fancy stunts and maneuvers (as while surfing or skiing).”

A word of the day should be memorable, grab the reader’s interest, and be easy to use if desired. Hotdog being a word that describes an action has taken on a new and intriguing persona. The word has lost its delicious edge and has gained an active meaning — ironically opposite, don’t you think? Some say the English language is tricky in this way. to hear hotdog used any other way than the most used food definition would cause confusion in any poor foreigner. Alas, the word can yet again be used as an exclamation; though seldom, discovery or joy brings forth “hotdog!” as a form of showing excitement.

Hotdog may describe a grilled, boiled, or microwaved meal favored by young children, and some days it may be shouted in glee. However, Merriam-Webster chose to show readers that it may be used when looking to express a deed done in exuberance or an overly flashy manner. The English language is amazing in that way; a simple word can have numerous meanings that relate to each other in absolutely no way. Hotdog! Today a new meaning of hotdog has been highlighted and shared with those who may not have known it prior to the word-a-day article.

Risky Pictures by Sarah Harlin

Will Burrard-Lucas is an extraordinary wild life photographer. He is known for his up close photos of wild creatures in their natural habitat. To capture these images he made a remote controlled traveling camera. He wanted a camera that could take pictures of wild animals up close without getting attacked by them or disturbing the animals peace. I think this is a well-founded idea because no one gets injured in the process.
But, there are minor set backs in the creative invention. Such as; it does not have a fit protection so, the camera can sometimes be destroyed by one of the animals. The contraption is in need of an outer armor to be protected from these wild animals who get too rough with it. In his first trial a lion ran off with the device in her mouth and broke the pricey camera, yet an expensive camera is the price you pay to save your own life.
Burrard-Lucas has also recently decided to make more of these to help other wild life photographers because its such a cut throat business…literally. Which would be efficient because then the photographers would not have to risk their lives to shoot the interesting pictures that they long for. Furthermore, will also benefit PETA’s belief in letting the wild life live in peace in their environment undisturbed.
This new idea is such and easy and productive way to take interesting and unique pictures of animals that we do not generally see of them in their natural habitat. It is also a safer and a secure way for photographers to be intimate with them without actually having to interact with them.
http://classroommagazines.scholastic.com//issues/SWCS0912/book#/8

A Beautiful Journey by Chris Moe

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”-Paulo Coelho. Paulo Coelho is one of the most read authors in the world today and has sold 65 million copies of his stories. Paulo Coelho’s tattered early life and hectic party years helped him to achieve the sense of the world he now shares through his novels. Through these inspiring and life changing novels people discover true meanings of our lives and become spiritually awakened. Paulo Coelho’s early life, his crafting of his stories, and his messages help us dive deeper into this amazing author’s life.

To begin with, Paulo Coelho was born on August 20, 1946 in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. His parents were devout Catholics and chose to put their son into a Jesuit school, which means a Catholic school. Pablo decided that he wanted to pursue his writing dream at a young age, but his parents saw no future in it for him. So Pablo chose to become rebellious against his parents which only caused more problems. His parents sent him away to a mental asylum on three different occasions because of his wild behavior. He has since forgiven them because he realized that they did this to him out of love. Coelho was mature enough to understand this happens often with parents and children.

When Coelho was released from the institutions he enrolled in law school, but dropped out to live the hippie lifestyle and ended up writing songs for protest bands against the Brazilian military run government. After he moved around in career positions, Paulo Coelho’s life was transformed after a 500 mile long religious pilgrimage walk through Spain. Coelho had a spiritual awakening and wrote a story called The Pilgrimage, which was a personal autobiography of the religious walk he endured on. His next work, which gained him his most fame, was called The Alchemist. The story was about a man in search of treasure but finds the treasure inside of his own heart. Since then, Paulo has written a book almost exactly every two years and has written many more masterpieces over the last 30 years.

Paulo Coelho’s fans have said that his novels are life changing and inspiring. Coelho likes to add a bit of spirituality and considers himself a "self-problem writer." He also says that he writes books for himself and what is opinionated by the reader is their choice. His early life, his crafting of stories, and messages help us see why he was such an amazing author of our time.

Space Jump by Agatha Tesmer

On Sunday October 14th, 2012, Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian adrenaline junkie, broke the world record of the highest free fall jump. Millions of Americans observed as this twenty-three mile free fall opened new doors for science. Felix free fell for over four minutes wearing only a high tech space suit and a helmet. He reached a speed of over seven hundred miles per hour, breaking the sound barrier.

Earlier that Sunday morning, Felix was lifted off earth by a massive helium filled balloon with walls ten times thinner than an average zip-lock bag. It took about two hours for the balloon to reach the edge of space (twenty three miles above Earth’s surface). Ironically, sitting in the small can that would lift Felix proved his biggest fear due to his claustrophobia. After the two hours, news channels broadcasted live the moments right before his ludicrous jump. The free fall down lasted about four minutes until Felix incredibly landed on his feet in New Mexico with cheers from around the World. He became the first man to reach the speed of sound without aircraft protection.

Despite being an experienced sky diver, Felix trained for just this jump for over five years. He even met with psychologists who helped him deal with his extreme claustrophobia. The pressure regulated suit space suit, which essentially saved his life, helped him withstand the quick atmospheric changes. But despite all these precautions, Felix encountered a slight problem. During his decent, once he hit air, he began to spin and tumble miles over the Earth’s surface. Everyone feared he would fail to regain control but, thanks to his five years of training and experience, Felix regained control shortly. Currently, America mocks that such an incredible achievement for science was proved possible by the energy drink company, Red Bull, while NASA places their air shuttles in museums. None the less, one man’s bravery and a hundred men’s time and skill opened new doors to our advancing world of science and technology. At this point, the possibilities truly are endless.

The Killing in Colorado by Kathryn Updike

What happened at the premiere of the Batman Sequel?

On a Friday night in July in Aurora, Colorado there was the opening of the Batman Sequel, “The Dark Night Rises.” A few minutes into the movie, a man named James Holmes walked into the theater casually dressed as the “Joker.” He suddenly pulled out a .40 caliber handgun and as many movie watchers began to rise in confusion, he began a minute-less gun shooting, killing twelve people and injuring fifty eight people. Then after he left the theater , a few minutes later the police came to arrest the “joker,” who is also known as James Holmes in the parking lot of the movie theater.

What did the Police officials find?

After arresting James Holmes on Friday night the federal law enforcement stated that they found that in the past sixty days before the shooting Mr. Holmes purchased about twelve thousand three hundred rounds of ammunition for four guns he had purchased at local gun stores in Colorado. This means that he probably used over quarter of three thousand rounds of ammunition for his .40 caliber handgun he used for the night of the premiere. The officials also said they found three other guns inside of Mr. Holmes’ car which included a AR-15 assault rifle, a 12 gauge shotgun, and another .40 caliber handgun. This man probably could have used the guns if he had not been caught that night.

Who was James Holmes before all this?

James Holmes was a student at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, where he was enrolled as a Ph. D student majoring in neuroscience. In June 2012 he started falling behind in his classes and began failing all of his tests. He soon then dropped out of all of his classes after failing a key oral exam in June. This man seemed to be having mental problems and started to think of what he was going to do next and a month later in July 2012 he killed and also injured many innocent people.

Iran Fires upon a U.S Drone by Troy Stechmann

Last Thursday a United States drone was flying in international waters off the coast of Iran. The Pentagon says the drone was on a routine flight but the details remain classified. During its flight the drone was attacked by two Iranian fighter jets. The jets fired upon the drone but they missed every shot and the drone flew back to base safely. The Pentagon is still unsure if the jets purposely missed or not. The real reason to as of why Iran flew into international waters and attacked an Untied States drone has not been clarified. In my opinion the decision to send fighter jets to attack an unarmed drone is completely uncalled for and unwarranted. An attack in international waters is an act of war. The United States has still yet to decide how they are going to respond to this attack. But I do not believe that the United States will go to war over a small event like this. Iran said that they took “decisive” action against the drone. I do not understand the reasoning behind Iran’s action because they willingly risked going to war over a drone flying in international waters. There must have been something the drone was looking at the Iran obviously did not want the United States to see. There has to be more detail about why the drone was there and what it was looking at. The pentagon says the drone was unarmed but if it was armed would we of shot back at the Iranian jets? If we did I could see the present tension between the United States and Iran only worsening. Ultimately I find Iran’s action of sending two fighter jets to attack an unarmed drone completely unnecessary and simply outrageous. Iran risked going to war with the United States over a drone, which was flying in international waters. Now I do not think that even if the drone was shot down that the United States would go to war just because of our current progress of leaving the Middle East.

Master of Disguise by Patrick Letrondo

With digital photography the mode and networks like Instagram and Pinterest the popular form of sharing pictures, everyone can be a photographer. Hopefuls often tint their pictures with blues and yellows to give their instant digital creations a nostalgic, vintage look. Girls can now blur and blush their faces into oblivion, and guys can blow up their biceps with warping tools. Things like those described are more or less acts of vanity, pretentious works to be posted to Facebook and carelessly accepted as modern portraits. I believe that the champion of modern photography is artist Cindy Sherman for challenging the hype and culture surrounding digital airbrushing and shallow self-transformation and ultimately turning grotesque façade into meaningful art.

In her most famous and defining collections, she has taken pictures of herself, but to call them self-portraits would be a mistake. Clouding her real appearance (she’s actually a gentle-faced New York native), Sherman employs makeup, wigs, false teeth, and outfits – never Photoshop. In a picture she may be an aging, wealthy sourpuss [Untitled #465], a haunted young woman [Untitled Film Still #28], or even a brooding circus clown [Untitled #411], but there’s always a piece of “Real Cindy” poking out from underneath the illusion. From shocking to plain, attractive to morbid, her many characters allow the viewer to project on them his own invented backstories, imagined personalities, and even prejudices.

The initial fun of her photographs is in trying to find “Real Cindy”; in breaking apart her “puzzle”. But after the observer realizes that beneath all these disguises is a comparatively plain woman, her art poses a further question: “Who are you, really? Which version of yourself are you putting on? Which one are you hiding?” Photographers who work digitally, retouchers at big-name fashion magazines and even zealous teenagers take for granted how easy it is to rework appearances in an attempt to chase some idealistic form of perfection. Cindy Sherman did cleverly and profoundly what many people (even I myself sometimes) do out of simple conceit. In an age of Photoshop and the deception of digital photography, she is a master photographer because she uses self-alteration not out of vanity, but to question the masks and disguises we wear every day.

Who will be the Next President? by Troy Brown

During the past few weeks the presidential elections have been creating a huge debate among people across the entire country. The 2012 presidential debate was between President Barrack Obama and Governor Romney. Some popular and important questions were asked and the two candidates; the nation watched as the two spoke of their future plans regarding them. Many of these questions were questions that the public was dying to hear about, and the topics were talked about in certain detail. Both men had different opinions on the various topics, however, if I were to judge the outcome of the debate, I would say Romney won.
According to many news stations and public opinion, Romney won. Obama is usually a very smart/smooth speaker, however, he was not as comfortable talking this time on stage. His answers appeared vague and he also seemed to have some holes in his plans or his rebuttals. In my opinion he was not as prepared as he should have been and it definitely showed on stage. Some people still feel that the president won the election, although, many supporters of Obama actually acknowledged the fact that Obama did not win this debate and that he was not at his best.
A credible reason Romney won was because he had the upper hand regarding the amount of time he had to prepare for the debate. Some supporters of the president may make the arguing statement that he did not have time to prepare for this debate because he was busy with the country. Romney had a longer period of time to prepare himself for the debate. And I think that these facts are both true, and it showed during the debate. However, it does not take away the fact that people feel that Romney showed better than Obama. Due to the change of events with the popular vote the elections have become more interesting and close.
I also feel that Romney began taking a more aggressive approach when it came to facts and the reality that the country is not better off right now. And that times have been seen to get tougher as the Obama has been in office.
I am not sure that Romney could do a much better job in office than Obama; its hard to assume how a president will look in the eyes of the American people. However, I think I would be willing to give him a try in office. The world has seen what Obama has had to offer us and his plans have not improved our country. I know candidates have their ups and downs, but I would like to see Romney in office.

Untold Stories of September 11 by Harlie King

On September 11, 2001 Talat Hamdani’s son, Salman went missing. He had gone to work that day, but never arrived. His mother, Talat Hamdani, waited for his call that night but the phone never rang. Soon after the attacks, a flier circulated pointing out that Salman was wanted for questioning. His mother was appalled. When she heard this, she made the assumption that it was because Salman was a Muslim of Pakistani descent.
Salma was a certified E.M.T. and former N.Y.P.D. cadet. Talat Hamdani was not able to understand why someone with this history would even be considered of being involved in these horrific attacks. He had served his country in more ways than one. Salma’s remains were found at Ground Zero in March of 2002. His name was also later cleared of the suspicions of his involvement in the attacks just shy of a year before his remains had been discovered.
After Slama’s death, his father got up and fled the house leaving his mother there alone by herself. Talat Hamdani never saw her husband again. Two years later, she received news that her husband had passed away. Not only had she lost her son, but now she lost her husband as well. Talat Hamdani told a close friend that she had started to give up on everything good in life. Then in May of 2012, Talat Hamdani met with President Obama at Ground Zero. After having a long conversation with the president about her son, she started to see things from a whole different perspective. The president had opened her eyes to a world of peace, in the place of the grief she had been feeling for the past recent years.

Sugary Drinks Link to Obesity by Cristen Lane

Obesity exists as an epidemic throughout the world, including the United States. In response, researchers conduct experiments to demonstrate the correlation between sugary-drinks, such as sodas, and obesity. They conclude that on average, individuals who consume large quantities of sugary drinks weigh more than those who do not. As a result of this data, some individuals blame sugary drinks solely responsible for their weight gain. However, many individuals fail to realize that nutrition and exercise, or lack of exercise to be exact, are two main contributors to obesity. Although sugary drinks increase the likelihood of obtaining obesity, they are not the sole offender.

Studies demonstrate the populations’ lack of education of the consequences of artificial sweeteners. Many products in the market labeled as “sugar-free” are often times sweetened with artificial sweeteners. Subsequently, these artificial sweeteners affect the body with greater negativity than natural sugar. Products with artificial flavors may seem more appealing because the nutrition information reveals fewer calories and lower sugar percentages; however, often times this false advertisement exists as a marketing scheme. As I discussed the topic in AP Biology sophomore year, artificial sweeteners such as Splenda Truvia, aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin incorrectly communicate with the brain. They send a signal to the brain to prepare the digestive system for a large intake of calories, which more times than not exists as a false indication. Because the body cannot register this deceitful signal, it produces enough gastric juices for the expected amount of food. Unfortunately, the gastric juice within the stomach exceeds the consumed material. As a result, the body craves more food and consequently leads to overconsumption. Overall this excessive indulgence contributes to obesity throughout our nation.

In addition to unwanted weight gain, high consumption of sugary drinks and even “diet” drinks (usually sweetened with artificial sweeteners) leads to a greater risk of metabolic syndrome, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. These side effects lead to greater risks for a heart attack and diabetes.

As a leading link to obesity, eliminating sugary drinks from ones diet will significantly decrease the number of individuals suffering from obesity. In my opinion, companies should list the dangers of their labeled “diet” products which contribute to the poor health of American society. The obesity epidemic proves that individuals lack a nutritional education and therefore remain fooled by falsely labeled “healthy” or “low-calorie’ products. In order to take the steps toward reversing obesity, individuals require an education on healthy lifestyles and the dangers of mystery ingredients.