Oscar? Who the Heck is Oscar?!

The all famous Oscar Awards have arrived, and some lucky movies out there will get some awards for best actor, actress, makeup, special effects, and more.  This year Seth MacFarlane hosts the show for the first time, and all the nominees shall be announced.   Actors from the latest and greatest movies, such as Lincoln, Skyfall, Life of Pi, Flight, and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Families around the country will be switching on their televisions to watch this entertaining event. Be ready to see famous actors, actresses, makeup artists, and film directors walk up the carpet and receive their gorgeous golden Oscar trophy. The exciting once a year show keeps millions of viewers on the edge of their seats, waiting to see who will win the best picture.

This show is totally a big deal! Many men, women, and children have seen these movies, and they are all interested in the awards they’ll receive. They might have read the books, and can’t wait to see how well the public thought the movie was (the Hunger Games, Life of Pi). Or maybe it is interesting to see how the historical movies turned out in terms of being accurate (Lincoln). Whatever the reason, it is fun when a movie you like gets an award. Then people won’t tease you for liking a movie they don’t like, because the people have approved of something of its quality so much that it got an award for it. The Oscars are a must see, so as soon as it’s time, grab your family, turn on the T.V., and have a bet on which movie gets which award. I’m betting an oreo with my mother that Quvenzhane Wallis will get the Best Actress Oscar! She’s the youngest Best Actress Nominee in history!

Oscar nominations

~Savannah Nowicki

Snow Storm Nemo

  

 

Some people call it the blizzard of 2013. Being the first Nor’easter of this winter, snowstorm Nemo was the largest storm residents in the Northeast have seen in a long time. Some states received more than two feet of snow and schools were closed for several days. The roads were a narrow as most driveways. Bulldozers were on the sides of main roads attempting to widen them. Some effects of the storm included driving bans, power outages, or even flooding. Even now, over a week after the storm hit, people are still shoveling their sidewalks, driveways, roofs, porches, and decks. Plows are still clearing roads. Nemo left a big mess that everyone is still trying to clean up.

If  anyone is looking for a better way to keep your family and house safe during the next big storm we have, here’s some advice. 1) You should try to keep up with the snow. For example every two hours you can go outside and shovel everything off. This way you won’t have to deal with so much snow at once. 2) Make sure you shovel your roofs. So much snow sitting on your roof will weigh a lot. The roof can cave in under that much stress. I would suggest purchasing a roof rake to help get the snow off your roof. 3) Lastly, to avoid flooding, you should should shovel out the snow from around where the gutters drain the water. If you don’t do this the water will get trapped and seep through the ground into your basement. I hope these tips help for the next storm.

~Mike Quint

NBA Trade Deadline

The NBA trade deadline occurred in 2013 at 3 PM on Thursday, February 21. Teams were looking to make a few trades half way through the season to give themselves a better chance to win the championship, and this was the last time they could until next season. Although there weren’t any big trades made, there were some pretty big rumors. One of the biggest was Paul Pierce going to the Brooklyn Nets. Paul Pierce is a future Hall of Famer so it would take a lot for the Nets to acquire him. Manager of the Celtics, Danny Ainge, proposed Paul Pierce for Marshon Brooks, Mirza Teletovic, Kris Humphries, and two future first round picks. The offer was declined by the Nets.
Another big trade that almost went through was the Clippers Caron Butler for the Wizard’s Trevor Ariza. The Clippers wanted a defensive oriented wing to stop some of the best three point shooters in the game such as the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant. Trevor Ariza, who was averaging 8.4 points a game and 1.5 steals, was perfect for the job. The Wizards wanted to bring in Caron butler, who was averaging 10.3 points a game to improve their offense. The Clippers declined this trade at the last minute. So compared to last year’s exciting deadline where big game changing trades were made, this years was boring and uneventful.

~Michael Quint

Inspiration With Bow and Rosin

Lindsey Stirling, a revolutionary violin player, has an amazing gift when she picks up her bow and violin. She has the ability to create an inspiring scene and surge of emotion just by playing. With only her violin she creates music and covers of songs ranging from classical, to modern, to even dubstep. Just recently, she released her first self-titled debut album with her most popular songs which has made its way to iTunes Top 100’s list. For someone who has only first started her career, Lindsey is a provoking idol.

She also gives many people the confidence to express themselves in as many ways as possible, which is why she is my inspiration. She has even gone as far as motivating me to try one of her songs. Her impact on me is also that no matter what your talent is, everyone deserves to be recognized and appreciated for something they’re good at. I’m sure when she first created her Youtube channel, she did not expect over a million viewers per video, or millions of fans idolizing her. But, her violin talent has accomplished just that, making her my idol as well.

 ~Cassandra Calabrese

Education Growing Further Away

For the last three decades, college tuition has been rising dramatically. With low incomes and skyrocketing tuition, college is becoming out of reach for some people. Inflation in the economy is one of the contributors, and it has been harsh on colleges lately because of factors that have to do with the school’s budget. Another contribution is the availability of classes, or lack thereof. Since many schools are limiting their classes, students are completing their college classes later than they would like. Another factor is the scholarships of the students. As scholarship numbers rise, it continues to raise the price of higher education for the remaining students.

Although the solution is not even close to being developed, one of the obvious answers to me would be for colleges to increase their number of classes. Since their lack of classes is one of the reasons why their prices are rising it would only make sense for the school to offer more courses to their students. This way, their students can graduate faster. Another solution could be to save their budget money on things they only truly need. With more of a spending budget available, the colleges should lower their tuition prices. They can do this by instead of updating their provided technology, they can have their students provide their own devices to use in class.

~Cassandra Calabrese