Lone Star Dispatch Issue #6

1- Front Page: Shelby Johnson and Marcus Gallardo win election and take StuCo office
Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.Student council elections were cast and the new presidents for 2015-16 are Shelby Johnson and Marcus Gallardo. To be a student council president, it takes honesty, work ethic, communication skills, and being willing to give up a lot of personal time for the school. Eric Moe and Powell Henson leave the office to allow Shelby and Marcus to step up to help improve Bowie. 

On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained. 
Front Page- There were 2 pictures for the elections and an animation to describe the FIT schedule for next year. This lets you see the difference that we could experience for all of our school days next year. It is 2 calendars with red dots for A Days and blue dots for B days and there is the schedule for this year and next year.
Student Life- "Seniors on route to the big, tough world"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.

Graduation is coming up soon for all the Bowie seniors. Some seniors are really glad to be done with high school and move on to college and the adult world so they can leave the stress behind. Others will miss being a member of Bowie high school and the friendships they've made over the years.

2. On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained.

Student Life- There was a illustration of the continents and lines that lead to different places in the world that people are going to. There is a picture of the choir's award they received while in Disney World. There is a illustration of a diploma with the statistics of graduation rates as of 2012. 

 

Front Page- "Votes are in and the elections come to a close, drum roll please"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
Student council elections were cast and the new presidents for 2015-16 is Shelby Johnson and Marcus Gallardo. To be a student council president, it takes honesty, work ethic, communication skills, and being willing to give up a good amount of time for the school. Eric Moe and Powell Henson leave the office to allow Shelby and Marcus to step up to help improve Bowie. 
On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained. 
Front Page- There was 2 pictures for the elections and there was an animation to describe the FIT schedule for next year. This lets you see the difference that we could experience for school days next year. It is 2 calendars with red dots for A Days and blue dots for B days and there is the schedule for this year and for next year.

Student Life- "Seniors on route to the big, tough world"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
Graduation is coming up soon for all the Bowie seniors. Some seniors are so glad to be done with high school and move on to college in the adult world and be able to leave the stress behind. Others will miss being a Bowie Bulldog and the friendships they've made.
2. On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained.

Student Life- There was a illustration of the continents and lines that lead to different places in the world that people are going to. There is a picture of the choir's award they received while in Disney World. There is a illustration of a diploma with the statistics of graduation rates as of 2012. 

News- "NHS induction brings new faces"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
To become apart of National Honor Society, there is a long application process you have to go through. The requirements is a 3.75 GPA, they turn in an application that also has record of at least 8 hours of community service. Then Vicki Hebert sends out evaluation forms to the teachers the student likes or is close with to learn of their character and leadership qualities. After that they are rates from 1-5 and a student needs at least a 4 to be reviewed by the faculty committee with Stephen Kane, the principal. 
2. On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained. 

There is a photo of the color guard to go with the news story about color guard. There is a quote from Ms. Widner on the new schedules.

Sports- "Spring ball winds down to an end"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
The season for Bowie baseball is coming to a close. They won a total of 20 games, and they went to the quarter finals and are in the third round of the playoffs. Their determination and dedication has paid off. They had a devastating lss to Oak Ridge 4-0 taking them out of the playoffs. 
2. On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained.

There was a photo of Kyle Gray pitching for Varsity. There was also a lacrosse photo to go with the story on lacrosse.

Entertainment- "Silver Stars take NYC"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
Silver Stars had their Spring Show with the theme of "Broadway". For many seniors this was not only their last show, but their last performance with the Silver Stars before they leave for college. During the dance about Central Park, a gas lamp fell, but they professionally fixed the problem and continued the show gracefully.

 On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained.

There were two pictures on the Silver Star spring show. There was a sunflower graphic to go with ACL lineup just as a little element to it. There also was a ticket with information on the movie they reviewed and the rating the staff gave it. 

Commentary- "Why can't teens have fun?"

Write a three to five sentence summary of the story.
This is a commentary piece on how much school affects kids and teens. Elementary school was such a bright place that kids actually want to go to school and now in high school, we are all just trying to get by. There is so much to do for school, there is not always time to just let go and have fun.
 2. On each page of the main section (NOT the senior tab) - so 8 pages, what were the graphic elements on that page? Be specific, describe what it is and what information it contained.

There was art with a kid struggling to hold up a bunch of books for school. This graphic is to show all the classes teens have and they have a lot of weight on us. There was a graphic for the other article with two buildings and different classes illustrated by items for their class with arrows to the other building to represent kids being able to go to Crockett for an auto class.

3. Which graphic in this paper was the strongest, in your opinion? WHY?

I think the FIT schedule graphic was the strongest because it was a great way to show the possible schedule for next year in a graphic and being able to show it in compare to our current schedule made it more realistic.
4. Which graphic was the weakest, in your opinion? WHY?
I thought that the political cartoon was a little difficult to understand what was happening and I thought they could have done a better job on the schools so it would have a better overall look.
5. Look at the political cartoon on page 7 next to the editorial. What is the artists message?

The artist's message is that the idea of letting kids go to other schools for classes is not a good idea and is messing with the system we already have and we don't need to have something like that at Bowie.

Free Write #2

A twinkling eye can mean many things. Start with a twinkle in someone’s eye and see where it takes you.


For me a twinkle in someone's eye means they have a story to tell, that they live an interesting life and think about the future often. When I see that twinkle I think of how a person has grown over time and what they've been through over the course of their lives. Everyone has different experiences and adventures and a twinkle of the eyes is a partial give away of those experiences.
 I have learned that in order to understand what a person has been through you have to have been through it yourself and step into their life first. I believe that life is a series of challenges, tests of faith, different loves, and heartbreaks. Depending on how you deal with these things influences your future on Earth and beyond. Personally I think that all of these things that we depend on currently will mean nothing in future when life takes you in different twists and turns along the road of life none of these details will standout in the end. There is an end. There is a time when we will all cease to exist, but I don't let it bother me. I know that there is a supreme being out there that has created a special path for each and everyone of us and whether or not we follow that path is the real trial.
 Everyone wanders from that path at some point in their lives but what really matters is if you get back in it and continue living for your purpose. Even though there is a definite beginning and end, we are all put on this planet for a purpose. I believe that some people just don't find it, got lost on their own winding path so deep that they just couldn't escape. I think that even through our troubles and mistakes may make us feel stuck and alone, without a purpose, that there is always another way. There is always another way out of the past, an escape route to a brighter future.
Even when things seem impossible there is another way up and out. There is that person with a twinkle in their eyes, creating that bright future of happiness, fearlessness, and relentless and sacrificing love. Just a twinkle alone can bring great adventures and a sense of hope in the future.

Movie Review

Captain Phillips has us at the edge of our seats

When I first heard that we were watching Captain Phillips I didn't know what to expect, Perhaps it was like The Pirates of the Caribbean or maybe the Little Mermaid? Nope, not close at all. Captain Phillips is the leader of the Maersk Alabama, a containership on its way across the Indian Ocean from the United States to Somalia and other countries in that area. Some of the crew includes Richard Phillips played by Tom Hanks, Shane Murphy played by Michael Chernus, and Mike Perry played by David Warshofsky. When the Somalian Pirates attack the ship, the leader Abduwali Muse (played by Barkhad Abdi) and his accomplices Bilal (played by Barkhad Abdirahman) and Najee (played by Faysal Ahmed) demand money or they will shoot them. These characters give us an inside into what the pirates are thinking and translations at the bottom of the screen show what they are saying in Somalian, showing us what they are saying to each other and their intentions.

When Captain Phillips and his crew first embark on their journey across the ocean, the Captain gets an email saying that there have been reports of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean along the route that they are going along. He doesn't really think anything of it but warns his crew to be on the look out. When he sees speed boats quickly approaching them in the middle of the ocean, all crew members go into their safety hiding spots but the Captain and other important members of the crew are left in the open and unprotected control room of the ship. At first they speed up the ship in order to create a strong wake that would make the speed boats slow down and not be able to follow them. This works for a little while and the boats turn around, but that isn't the end of the pirates. Now only 4 of the pirates come back the next day and the rest of the movie is their dramatic experience on the ship.

Captain Phillips is played by Tom Hanks, who turned out to be an amazing actor for the role. He took the film to another level because he really brought the experience to life and made it even more realistic, and it was like you could see the fear in his eyes even though he was acting. Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, and Barkhad Abdi all did a very good job of not only playing the intense role of the pirates but also being able to portray the relationships between each one of them flawlessly. The relationship between the four pirates is evident because they created an ensemble effort to pull the movie together. The movie was really intense and dramatic and the characters made the story really interesting and realistic.

This movie was very interesting the whole time, even though sometimes it seemed to drag on a little but it was never really boring. I would say that this movie might be a little too intense for children under 15 but over had a really developed story line. This movie is a good example of a high-concept film because I didn't know that much about the film prior to watching it and it still made sense because of the details in the story. I liked how the pirates would talk to each other in their native language, which was Somalian, and there were translations of what they were saying in English at the bottom of the screen even though when they did speak English it was sometimes hard to understand.

To me a main theme of this movie would be to always be prepared for the worst situations at hand because you never know what might happen. This message is shown throughout the film and is a main part of the whole concept of the movie. When the pirates first attacked the ship I don't think that the Captain was as prepared as he could have been because they were not really hidden from the pirates even though there were plenty of hiding spaces on the ship. This attack was a complete surprise to the whole crew even though they were warned prior to their departure.

This movie was rated PG-13 and I think that is a good rating because there was a lot of violence and some foul language throughout. The whole film was very intense so I wouldn't recommend it to people that don't enjoy thrillers, action or blood. I think an appropriate audience would be 15+ because even though its rated PG-13 it was a little too much at some parts. Overall I think t is a good movie that has a interesting storyline and contains a lot of drama and action. I personally would recommend it to people and think that it is a must see movie.
I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars.

Sports Current Event

1. http://digital.olivesoftware.com/Olive/ODE/AustinAmericanStatesmanNIE/
2. Locked out an Empty Feeling
3. Recently Baltimore erupted in riots because of the death of Freddie Gray. For the first time MLB fans were denied access to the game between the Orioles and White Sox because of these dangerous riots.
4. Foul- ball goes out of play
Out- When a player's ball is caught, he is tagged with the ball, or if the player gets three strikes.
Strike- When a player swings at a ball and doesn't hit it.
Ball- When a pitch is out of bounds.
5. N/A
6. This would be a news update because fans have never been denied access to a baseball game.
7. Orioles 8 : White Sox 2

Movie Exploration

Step 1: Read a movie review from the link provided below

Step 2: Post the headline of the movie review on your blog. Make the headline a sliceable link that takes the readers to the full review on the original Web site where it was published online.

The Age of Adaline

Step 3: Under the headline for the movie review, provide the following information:

1. Name of the publication

AV Club

2. Name of the writer

Jesse Hassenger

3. Grade or score the movie review on a 1-10 scale in your opinion- 7

 

4. High Points of the movie (performances, cinematography, plot, etc.)

The movie did better at parts where the couple was not the center of attention. At the anniversary party, the movie seems personal and old fashioned in an interestingly vivid way. 
5. Low points of the movie (performances, cinematography, plot, etc.)

The plot is a similar theme in romance movies: Adaline has to learn to trust someone again. Blake Lively's reserved and acting doesn't quite match what they are going for.

6. Quote a paragraph from the review that you think expresses the overall opinion of the reviewer about the movie.

"For a movie that emulates literature, The Age Of Adaline never fits comfortably into a particular form—literary or cinematic. It has the outline of a novel but not the scope; it has the plot of a short story but not the detail. And no amount of movie tricks—lofty narration, Danny Elfman-ish fairy-tale choral voices in the score, well-orchestrated overhead shots—can turn a dull little romance into a meditation on the nature of love and time."
-------

Step 1: Read a movie review from the link provided below

Step 2: Post the headline of the movie review on your blog. Make the headline a sliceable link that takes the readers to the full review on the original Web site where it was published online.

Far From the Madding Crowd

Step 3: Under the headline for the movie review, provide the following information:

1. Name of the publication

AV Club

2. Name of the writer

Isabella Biedenharn

3. Grade or score the movie review on a 1-10 scale in your opinion- 6

4. High Points of the movie (performances, cinematography, plot, etc.)

Carey Mulligan brought an enriching performance of her character, Bathsheba Everdene. The character Bathsheba was well adapted and shown throughout the movie, providing a better sense of understanding.
5. Low points of the movie (performances, cinematography, plot, etc.)

The way he casted the film almost ruins a big part of the movie. 
6. Quote a paragraph from the review that you think expresses the overall opinion of the reviewer about the movie

"The only problem with Vinterberg’s love-quadrangle setup is that his casting of the film makes it too obvious who Mr. Right is from the get-go: Schoenaerts’ Gabriel Oak. Hell, his protective sturdiness is right there in his name. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that the Belgian actor, with his sandy stubble and wounded eyes, has the dreamily brooding charisma of a young Daniel Day-Lewis. Since it would be a very short movie if Bathsheba were as quick to zero in on Oak as we are, she must suffer first (Hardy was a product of his patriarchal times, after all). Thankfully, Mulligan refuses to play the helpless, hapless victim. She’s strong and smart and sensual. "

Illustrator

This is supposed to be a music note for the orchestra part but it didn't really turn out to look like a music note but I tried.

This picture is of a family at ACL.

                                                 This is for the dodgeball tournament.

Fears and Phobias Statistics: Infogram

Fears and Phobias Statisics | Create infographics

CE #6.2

1. How many people were killed in Waco this weekend in a rival biker gang shootout? How many were injured? How many were detained for questioning? What location did this happen? Page A1 "Biker shootout…"
There were nine people killed, 18 people were injured, somewhere between 20 and 70 people were detained for questioning. This happened in the parking lot of the Twin Peaks restaurant.2. What are the five topics the state legislature plans to take on in the final two weeks they are in session? Page A1 "Now or Never"
The five topics are tax cut talks, budget debate, abortion, gun bills, and border security.
3. Summarize the stats presented in the info graphic on page B1 "Rainy days by the numbers"
These past few weeks of constant rain have taken a toll on the city and there has been 7.5 inches of rain in the past week, 2.91 inches on Sunday alone, and a lot of delays and drought less counties.
4. What are some of the technological inventions that real estate agents are using to help sell homes in markets where homes do not stay on the market very long? Page B5 "New face of real estate"
FaceTime and a 3-D walkthrough program that enables people from further away to view a house that they might want to buy. This can promote buyers to see a house from anywhere in the world.
5. Why will funding to help pay for those who died and injured in the Amtrak train wreck be limited to $200 million? Page A6 "Amtrak could pay no more..."
Funding is limited to $200 million because in 1997 there was a law passed that could rescue Amtrak from financial ruin, theres a payout cap for every single person that died.
Short Answer: Read the story on page A2 "Will death make Tsarnaev a martyr".

What do you think about this topic? If they put Tsarnaev to death, will he become a martyr and inspire more attacks, or does it matter at this point since he has already carried out his attack?
Write at least three to four paragraphs and make sure you use textual citations from the story to support your opinion.
          I think that Tsarnaev should be put to death because he caused the death of a lot of innocent people and I don't really think that there is a possibility that he could become a martyr and inspire more attacks because whats done is done and he did already carry out his attack. It said in the article that he was more of a "lone wolf" with a low profile and doesn't have any known links to the Islamic State group or al-Qaida or any other terror organizations. 
         Tsarnaev was responsible for three deaths and more than 260 wounded people near the marathon finish line. I think that he should pay for what he did to all of those people because what he did was wrong. There are some groups of people that might make him a martyr because he could be someone that they might look up to or he might influence some people in a bad way.
        There are some things that his death might influence but a life in prison might actually be a worse punishment than death. There is also the possibility that he could influence people while he is still alive so I still think that him being put on the death sentence.

Movie Prep

1. Who are the main characters you would expect to see in the movie, based on the real life events?
The main characters would be Richard Phillips, Chief engineer Mike Perry, Muse ( the leader of the pirates) the other pirates and the other people in the ship.
2. Briefly, in 2-3 paragraphs, tell me what you expect the plot to be in the movie, based on the real life events?
I think the movie is going to be Captain Philips and his crew are going to be heading across the Indian ocean to deliver something. They are going to get attacked by pirates and there is going to be a lot of drama.
3. Why was this story important?
The story is important because their experience might help people who are being attacked by pirates in the middle of the ocean or give people a little more knowledge on the subject.
4. Why did the pirates try to take the ship?
The pirates tried to take the ship because they wanted money from them.

1. List the five most important actors in the film.
Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips, Barkhad Abdi as Abduwali Muse, Michael Chernus as Shane Murphy, Barkhad Abdirahman as Adan Bilal, and David Warshofsky as Mike Perry.
2. What is the movie rated?
PG-13
3. Who directed the movie?
Paul Greengrass
4. Who was the producer?
Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, and Michael De Luca
5. What awards did it win?
BAFTA awards for best actor in a supporting role, American Cinema Editors for Best edited feature film- dramatic, American Film Institute for Top Ten Films of the Year, Black Reel Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Breakthrough Preformance- Male, London Film Critics Circle Awards for Supporting Actor of the Year, Motion Picture Sound Editors Golden Reel Awards for Best Sound Editing: Dialogue & ADR in a Feature Film, San and Diego Film Critics Society for Best Editing.

6. How much did it cost to make?
$55 million
7. How was it received by audiences?
Good it grossed over $218 million.
8. What did other movie reviews think about the movie?

Other movie reviews gave it 4 or 5 stars and think that it is a god movie.