S456 ARCHIVES: A Breath of Fresh Air: Gravity - Film Review

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

A few astronauts, namely a space-rookie named Ryan Stone and a space-veteran named Matt Kowalski, are calmly working on a damaged satellite. Regular small-talk is exchanged. The situation escalates until soon enough an alarming amount of debris crashes into the satellite, sending the rookie spinning out of control, tethered to a detached hunk of metal. She begins to panic more and more as she becomes less and less in control of her fate. She drifts into space, fully detached. 

The premise of Gravity, a new movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, and directed by Alfonso Caurón, is compelling, and thankfully the film's execution is equally so. This movie is a terrifyingly plausible display of the human psyche when put together with the scares of space. This isn't a movie about mind-boggling future technology, or anything mysterious that may or may not be waiting out there for us to discover. This is a movie about the horror of the known, present and realistic. And it's fantastic.

What's presented here is a very effective mixture of thriller and science-fiction. The dialogue and acting is natural and believable, making these characters come to life. It's when these actors play their characters as horrified in one scene, and then nervously comical and chipper in another, that Gravity most shows just how unsettling it is. The movie looks stunning from a technical standpoint, with both methodical floating and exciting carnage which engross in whichever way each portion of the film calls for. Sound is also smartly played around with to tug on heart-strings and shoot up heart-rates. Seeing the film in 3D is so mesmerizing that I can honestly say it's the best experience I've had of the gimmick. The movie is aesthetically masterful. 

Gravity has a clear, focused story that it wants to tell, and sticks to it. Every second is relevant, delivering a plot free of fluff. Typical Hollywood conventions are not stuffed in here for length and easy-viewing; this is a unique film. It's structured like a single, long sequence, it takes its time on even small things when it needs to, and doesn't feel the need to align itself with expectations. The movie is constantly unpredictable and surprising. It's a breath of fresh air

By the time the credits roll, Gravity triumphs as a faithfully succinct tale of isolation, determination, and horror. Occasionally it gets a bit hokey, revealing perhaps a tiny overabundance of pride and confidence from the director. But ultimately, this stems from the fundamental truth that what he put together is special. Gravity is sublime. 

S456 ARCHIVES: RHS Does Radium Girls

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

Ringgold High School's drama department is putting together a performance of the play Radium Girls. This play is a historical telling of a series of important cases of occupational disease; so important that they pushed big workers' rights legislation at the time. A group of female workers working with chemicals in paint were told that it would be safe, but that didn't turn out to be true. Fed up with this injustice, the system was fought against by these women in an attempt to secure labor rights. 

Twelfth grade student Sarah Krempasky, according to her at least, has been in every single RHS play and musical throughout her high school career besides one play in her ninth grade year. In this play, she is playing a lead character by the name of Grace Friar, who she explains is fifteen years old at the start of the play and twenty-six by the end. Sarah says she "really like[s]" her character and most enjoys the part when she gets to "stick it to the man." She comically ensures that a ticket to the play ensures that "you get to see stuff glow in the dark!". 

Nicole Garrick is am eleventh grade student at RHS who has been doing stage management since her freshmen year. She simply explains that she "screw[s] stuff together." Garrick told me about a bench that was "hard to put together" and had a habit of "fall[ing] apart." She says the "cast [is] very good" and "the play itself is interesting." 

Mrs. Weinstein, the RHS drama teacher in charge of putting this play together, tells me that this is "a bit more serious" of a play topic as is usual for the school. She told me that this play getting chosen was a result of underclassmen students involved in the school's productions becoming upperclassmen. After warning that "this is going to sound so drama-geeky," Weinstein told me what excites her most about doing Radium Girls is the "universality of the show." She is referring to the fact that the themes and issues of the play are relevant to many even today, as "people are still fighting this same fight." She is "very much satisfied with the casting" and says that "everybody should come and see [the play] because it's really good!".

You can attend Radium Girls on Wednesday, November 6th, and Thursday, November 7th. Both are at 7:00 PM at Ringgold High School. The price of a ticket is $4.00. 

S456 ARCHIVES: Students Consider Post-High School Plans

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

This time of year, many students have a good idea of what they're going to do after high school. Deadlines for college applications and scholarships are quickly approaching, along with the due date for financial aid in March. Some students aren't going to college, but by this time a lot of those people also know what they are doing.

Sarah Krempasky, a twelfth grader here at Ringgold High School, has been very involved in the college application experience. She wants "to major in music/theater." The main school she has in mind is Point Park University, which is a communications-focused college in Pittsburgh. She says PPU is "fabulous," and, "I like the way they structure [the music/theater program] more than [other colleges]." She feels the stress of the application process, and jokes, "it's a horrible, horrible process."

A 2010 statistic from the National Center of Education Statistics asserts that around 5.7% of the population was in college. According to the Washington Post, "only 27% of college grads have a job related to their major." Also, from CNN Money, "in the 2011-12 academic year, the average net cost for a full-time student at an in-state public university was about $15,000 for tuition, fees, room, board, books and incidental expenses, according to the College Board."

Another senior, named Bryce Imhoff, has very different after-high school plans. Bryce plans to "[drive] for a gas company." Currently, Bryce is in the tech program that RHS is associated with, in a "gas and oil class." In this class they "learn as much as possible," he says. He claims he won't do any additional schooling "other than getting my CDL," he says. I asked if he's happy with this path he's going down, and he said he is, so long as he's making six figures.

No matter what one chooses to do afterwards, high school graduation is a pivotal moment in the average American's life. 

S456 ARCHIVES: New Game Consoles PS4 and Xbox One Release to Success

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

The new video game consoles from Sony and Microsoft just released this month. Sony’s successor to the Playstation 3, simply called the Playstation 4, came out on November 12^th, 2013. Microsoft’s successor to the Xbox 360 is called the Xbox One, which came out on November 25^th. The most substantial new features to both of these consoles is their greater horsepower which can handle more intensive games than consoles before. These two platforms were preceded by Nintendo’s Wii U, which released in November of 2012.     

Each new Playstation console ushers in a new controller, although each controller is very similar to each other. The PS4’s controller does offer some broad changes over the PS3’s controller, including sticks that curve in on the tip to fit around one’s fingertips, and a generally bigger build for more comfort. There is also a small, rectangular touchpad at the center of the controller, which functions similarly to a touchpad on a laptop. The most critically-acclaimed exclusive game for the PS4 is Resogun, a shooter that can be downloaded from Playstation’s online store, which has a Metacritic critic score of 83.

The Xbox One’s controller is more similar to the Xbox 360’s controller than the PS4’s controller is to the PS3’s controller. The most notable new feature is the now vibrating “triggers” (the buttons at the back-top of the controller), which are used in games like Forza 5, a simulation racing game, to give the player additional feedback. An improved version of Kinect, a very advanced camera/microphone device that was introduced on the Xbox 360, comes with every Xbox One system and is integrated into the user interface of the console as well as some games. The aforementioned Forza 5 is the most critically-acclaimed exclusive game for the console, with an 82 on Metacritic.

Brand loyalty is evident in Dwight Moore, a tenth grade student here at Ringgold High School, who thinks that the Xbox One looks better because he “just love[s] Xbox.” RHS Students like twelfth grader Terry Richardson find the Playstation 4 more compelling. Terry thinks that the PS4 has “better hardware” and is a “better deal” over the Xbox One. He does also own a Wii U, saying that he likes it despite not using it very much. On a similar note, some students like twelfth grader Adam Martin aren’t interested in any of the new consoles because they are satisfied with playing video games on their PCs.  

Both consoles have been selling incredibly well. The Playstation 4 retails for $400, while the Xbox One retails for $500. On their own first day of release, both sold over one million units each according to Sony and Microsoft respectively; it is, however, important to note that on its first day, the PS4 was initially only available in Canada and the United States, whereas the Xbox One was available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand.

The two consoles are both off to a successful start. It will certainly be interesting to see the two duke it out! 

S456 ARCHIVES: Latest Pokemon Video Game is a Success

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

Nearly every American has heard of the Japan-originated franchise Pokemon, centered around young adventurers and sportsmen collecting, training, and living amongst creatures known as Pokemon. The franchise encompasses cartoons and comics, but it got its start with video games on the Gameboy back in the 90s. There is a myriad of spin-off video games, but it is the main series that fans latch onto the most. Each entry in the main series of video games releases in twos, each version only slightly different than the other, and then usually not too long after this simultaneous release there is yet another slightly different version of the game put out. Different releases are organized by “generations;” the latest to start is “Gen VI,” with Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for the Nintendo 3DS. The game has done well financially and it has also pleased both fans and critics.

The first three generations of Pokemon have entirely what is referred to as sprite or pixel-based graphics. This retro style is essentially a collection of two-dimensional, small dots, put together and animated to create visuals. Throughout these generations, these pixel-based graphics have gotten more intricate. Starting with the fourth generation back in 2007, polygon-based graphics were implemented alongside the sprites. Polygonal graphics is a three-dimensional form of visuals. The most easily recognizable difference with the newest generation is its complete usage of polygonal graphics, which forgoes old-school style pixel graphics.

Over four million copies of Pokemon X and Y (combined) worldwide in the first two days of release, according to Nintendo. Metacritic, a website that indexes professional video game reviews, has averaged out Pokemon X and Y’s critic score to an 87%, with 61 “positive” reviews and 4 “mixed” reviews. RHS Senior Aaron Turkovich has been a player of Pokemon video games since he “was… 8, maybe 9.” He bought the latest game, choosing the Y version, and says the series “just keeps getting better.”

S456 ARCHIVES: RHS Paints the Walls

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

A walk through the halls of Ringgold High School reveals walls covered with fun and interesting paintings. These paintings are called murals, and they are craftily splattered on the walls by Ringgold's twelfth grade class of art students every year. A new feature added last year means that, in addition to new murals done directly on the walls, some students' work will be on large boards that are temporarily hung on the walls, and then given to the respective artists to keep. I decided to talk to some of the artists as well as their teacher, Mr. Lewis, to check up on their progress this year.

Meagan Hyslop and Jessie Martin are both doing murals on walls: the former by Ms. Hess's room on the first floor, and the latter by the staircase next to the elevator on the second floor. Meagan describes her mural-in-process as "a big flower," that is "separated into fourths." She joked that dividing it into the four parts was done to "put some symbolism" into her work, and described her lost week of progress due to accidents in her technique. Jessie is doing a horse that, and she wants to be very clear, is "not a unicorn," and "not My Little Pony [related]." She comically described her horse as more of a piece of LGBT propaganda, in reference to its rainbow-coloring. Both expect that their mural will take them quite a long time to complete, with the eight week deadline looming over them.

Two students working on the boards are The Ram Pride's very own comedy-guru Nicholas Greco and Nick Trocano. Their boards can be seen in the last hallway of the fourth floor where the art rooms are located. Greco is doing "two flamingoes flying over a sunset into a portal." According to Greco, "it sounds good but doesn't look good." He does say, however, that "it's been pretty easy so far." Trocano told me his mural is of the professional football player JJ Watt, but with the colors stylistically altered. He says he "like[s] the effect." Trocano also said, additionally, "Hi Mom!".

Ringgold's beloved art teacher is always lively and excited to do his job. He says that the murals are "going great" so far, this year. He also claims that "they get better every year." Thankfully, he assured me that there haven't been any horror stories like paint spills and ladder falls, besides the facetious claim that the Trocano boy had been eating some paint. Lewis also says that there has been "a lot of good cooperation from the other students" in the halls. Mr. Lewis asserts that the "murals are a lot of work," but that he doesn't let that get him down.

The obvious question to ask is which of the murals in progress is his favorite.

His obvious answer is "they're all my favorites."

S456 ARCHIVES: Voodoo Heart - Book Review

~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2013-14 school year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~

Scott Snyder is best known today as one of the biggest names in contemporary comic books, but there was a time when this wasn’t the case. His first published work was a short story collection entitled Voodoo Heart, which gained quite a bit of traction when it released back in 2006, including ringing endorsement from Stephen King.  As a fan of Snyder’s comic book work –work that includes American Vampire, a series that was originally co-written along with King – I noticed that Snyder’s style of story-telling didn’t change much once artwork was thrown into the mix. Something else I noticed is that this is a brilliant, quirky bit of fiction, which nails the crisis of having a strongly feeling and conflicted heart.

Voodoo Heart is a collection of seven short stories, altogether two-hundred seventy-eight pages in length. Each short story is memorable and smartly put-together due to Snyder’s keen ability to characterize, and to showcase drama associated with love. The characters he creates are thought-provoking in their intimate relatability, forcing me to self-analyze as I read. In the first story, called “Blue Yodel,” we read about Pres and Claire, two lovers with a fondness for airships. Claire runs away from him and flies off on one of the very things they bonded talking about. That is great situational drama, but the way he writes it is even better. The main thrust of the story takes place in the present, following Pres madly driving around looking for the airship, but flashbacks are sprinkled throughout. These flashbacks deliver beautiful accounts of their relationship when things were good, which actually hurt because of the context.

Snyder also likes to do something with these stories that he also likes to do in essentially all of his comic book work, which is tell a small story that is seemingly unrelated to the main plot, all for the purpose of thematic connection. An example of this is when he writes of a former racehorse who seems to wish he wasn’t so physically shackled by his enclosed home, which is thematically similar to the main character’s feeling of being emotionally shackled in his life due to a feeling of not fitting in. 

What’s truly neat is that he manages to do this on a much larger scale, with the entire book. My favorite short story is definitely the one with the same name as the collection, “Voodoo Heart,” which is – most likely intentionally - right in the middle of the book. This is the story that strongly reveals a thematic connection that all of these stories share, with a powerful, clever ending that takes a bit of thinking to decipher. Besides the thematic angles, there are also other, more subtle similarities to them all. These stories generally all have something a bit weird about them, whether it be a lead character who defends a garbage can with a harpoon, or a couple that bought a huge mansion for cheap because it’s next to a white-collar women’s jail.

I have a few quibbles. One story, “Happy Fish, Plus Coin,” which is very interesting (and probably the most beloved from this collection, actually), is about a loving friendship rather than a romantic relationship like all of the other stories. This is fine in a vacuum but fits in this collection a bit jarringly. Also, most of the endings to these stories are pretty vague, which is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it allows the reader to enjoy feverishly thinking to fill in the gaps, but on the other hand, it can be a bit dissatisfying to have build-up to something that isn’t conclusive. These, again, are quibbles.

Voodoo Heart is brilliant. Snyder manages to actually hurt with beauty. He is able to make readers think about themselves and ponder whether or not they too have voodoo hearts, but plants novelties throughout to add some fun. Scott Snyder is able to write about more than Batman, folks; Voodoo Heart is a thoroughly worthwhile collection of short stories.