Friday, December 5th, 2014 No. 22 - No It's Becky.

NO MORE NO SHAVE NOVEMBER

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Trinity's Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper0¢

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TTHHEE NNOO SSHHAAVVEE NNOOVVEEMMBBEERR CCHHRROONNIICCLLEESSBY THAD BEAVER

In the month of November you may have noticed something

different about several of the Senior men. They had facial hair. As

any young male who has ever read the Trinity dress code or can

grow enough facial hair for a faculty member to notice knows,

young men are to be clean shaven at all times. However, our newest

benevolent overlord Mr. Adams, responded to pleas of the senior

boys to not have to shave. However, we did have to agree to a

number of service and specific beard growing guidelines. Luckily for

you, the clearly deeply interested reader, I recorded some of my

thoughts about this great endeavor whilst it occurred, and I will

share them with you now.

November 3rd 7:35 AM- I haven’t shaved in two days, but the beard

needs more time. A lot more time. It’s not ready. At all. But that’s

ok. I have time. It’ll get there.

November 7th 4:30 PM-It’s been seven days and the beard is

coming along. The triangle is the most noticeable part so that’s

somewhat unfortunate. Everyone else’s beards are doing well,

except for the twins. Austin’s beard is doing much better than I

expected. Logan’s is doing pretty well to, which was anticipated but

still, it’s a good thing. Someone has to grow an awesome beard.

November 12th 12:43 PM- The beard isn’t there yet. I’m starting to

doubt that it ever will. But I have to believe. Great beards only

come to those who believe in them. Conti’s beard is becoming

pretty solid, if only he could get the connection between the

mustache and the goatee. Hunter’s needs more time. If he just has

enough time he’ll look like white Jesus.

November 13th 2:05 PM- We got our rules for beard growing today.

They are very…ummm… specific. Also, I found out Josiah hadn’t

shaved all month today. So that was pretty hilarious.

November 17th 10:27 AM- The beard is finally here. It’s actually

pretty good. I do have a fairly large isosceles triangle on my face so

there’s that. Josiah has some peach fuzz. Thomas looks like he’s

shaved every day this month. David has a pretty impressive neck

beard but that’s about it. The sheet Mr. Adams gave us says we

have to shave by the 21st. Four more days of beardedness.

(Continued on page four along with more on No Shave November)

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A T T R I N I T Y

TTRRIINNIITTYY SSHHOOWWEERRSSBY HUNTER DOTSON

At first I did not find the issue of Trinity

not having showers in its gym to be a big

deal, but, over the years, I have noticed that

Trinity is one of the only schools that has

its own gym but lacks showers. Aside from

not having showers, Trinity’s gym could be

considered the nicest gym in the area. The

convenience factor of a shower would be a

game changer for the entire gym. It would

make life for all of the athletes a lot easier,

as everyone would be able to access these

showers before and after games or

practices.

After a friday night competition it is

common to want to go hangout with

friends, however, before you do anything,

the first essential step is to rinse off.

Instead of having to go home and waste

valuable time, one could simply clean off on

campus and leave straight from the game

with friends.

I can remember one account where, after

a basketball game, one of the referees came

in our locker room looking for the showers.

He asked us where our showers were

located and when we told him there were

none his response was, “No showers? This

might be the only gym I have ever

officiated in that doesn't have showers.”

Putting in at least one shower would not be

a difficult task nor would it be expensive.

There is no better time than now to add

this luxury as we begin the process of

building on to the gym.

Eventually, it would also be nice to

include a locker room for the boys and girls

basketball team that includes everyone’s

specific locker where they can keep jerseys,

shoes and whatever else they may need for

a practice or game. The privilege of keeping

all of your basketball stuff in your locker

would eliminate the hassle of having to go

home after school to grab clothes to change

into for practice. I can speak from

experience that it is oftentimes hard to find

time to get in the gym because it seems

there is always someone using it.

Sometimes, the only time that’s an option

for you to workout is in the morning before

school, not having a shower to freshen up

in after your workout can present a

challenge. While it is not a big deal to drive

to the Finley YMCA down the road for this

purpose it certainly would be much nicer to

have one of our own.

Although there are many other things

that Trinity is wishing to build, I strongly

feel that showers should be close to the top

of that list. One last suggestion that I think

would end up saving Trinity a lot of money

is purchasing big tarps that can roll out

across the gym floor in order to protect the

hardwood from scraping or other damage

during large events. The school recently

had the floor refinished, which is not a

cheap task, but, after The Exceptional

Evening, the floor was left dusty and

scratched. Spending money in order to

refinish the floor and failing to protect it is

a waste. There are numerous websites that

offer various floor-cover options. By

purchasing some sort of protector for the

floor, the school would be able to limit the

times the floor is refinished significantly.

OODDEE TTOO PPLLAAYY WWEEEEKKBY JOSEPH DELGROSSO

Ode to a play week

How we thank thee for thee;

You come bearing gifts

Santa Clause you must be.

You begin like any school week

But end with a bang;

Less sounds in the hallway,

Except the bells when they rang.

No tests! No tests!

The students they cheer;

Let us relax and feast

And head to class with no fear!

Now Thursday approaches

Our favorite day of the week;

Not much to be done

Except to jump and to leap.

The clock ticks and ticks

As the minutes go by;

We play games and delight

But with no phones, oh my.

No matinée for us

But still joy we keep;

We have our reward

And that reward is our sleep.

Now the week has concluded

Oh how we’ll miss you;

But now we remember

Spring play is even better than you!

Thank you for your warmness

Your kindness and strength;

But maybe next time

Will you increase in your length?

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A T T R I N I T Y

CCEEMMEETTEERRYY CCLLEEAANNUUPPBY ANNA TWIDDY

Our most loyal Muse readers might

remember a peculiar article written around

two years ago by our former photo

emperor, Andrew Evans. For those of you

who don’t, Andrew, in his woodland

wanderings, one day came across a

disheveled cemetery on Trinity’s property.

Naturally, a Muse article was needed to

explain this strange discovery to the world.

I read it, and was immediately fascinated by

it. “I wonder if I’ll ever get the excuse to go

and see it,” I thought to myself.

That school year ended, and, over the

summer, the time had arrived for me to

come up with an idea for my Girl Scout

Gold Award project. For those of you who

don’t know, the Gold Award is the highest

award a Girl Scout can get, being a rough

equivalent to achieving the status of Eagle

Scout. I had been in Girl Scouts since before

I could tie my own shoes, so it seemed that

I should, of course, tackle this project and

make a difference somewhere. But where?

And whom should I help? The answer soon

became obvious as the memory of the

decrepit Trinity cemetery emerged from its

hiding-place in my brain. “I shall help the

dead!” I exclaimed, internally of course.

“And Trinity! By helping the dead people on

their property!”

I spent the fall of my junior year

crafting out a plan, and gaining the

permission of Trinity to clean up their

cemetery, which was, thankfully, given

quickly. I soon realized I would need the

help of an advisor to get my project off the

ground. I found one in the form of the

chairman for the Raleigh City Cemetery

Preservation Incorporation. She helped me

map out a cleanup plan. I eventually

convinced my local Girl Scout Council to see

the effectiveness of it. All was going

extremely well. “I will surely have this done

by Christmas!” I thought to myself.

Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken.

Junior year soon struck with a vengeance,

and I was forced to postpone my project till

this summer. Here’s how it all went down:

The Poole-Cope-Crawford family

cemetery lies on Ray Road, immediately

behind Trinity. I had visited it many times,

but this summer was the first time I was

going to study it closely, in order to refine

my plans. It was like a jungle in there: it

had weeds that were almost as tall as I was.

In order to study the tombstones, as I

needed to do, a mowing would be

necessary. Otherwise, the brambles and

ticks would win. With the aid of my sister-

in-law and a push mower, I was able to

finally walk around all the cemetery. I

studied each tombstone closely: there were

Civil War veterans, married couples, and,

most sobering of all, children. That was the

first time I really felt the need to help these

people. They had been forgotten, but I

could help that by cleaning the place up.

I spent the final weeks of my summer

weeding and doing some other

miscellaneous cleaning, but I knew I would

need a team to keep up this work after I left

Trinity. Otherwise, this effort would be all

for naught. I would need the help of the

Beta Club, the main headquarters of service

projects in all of Trinity. They were very

open to the idea: a once-a-semester cleanup

that would keep the cemetery in decent

shape. We had our first cleanup day a few

weeks ago, and now I’m quite sure this

project will persist after I leave.

And now, the time has come for me to

finish this project and explain it to you all.

At the time of writing this article, I am in

the midst of preparing my project for

submission to my local council. They will

decide if I have done everything I needed to

do, and, with luck, I will have. But whatever

happens, I realize it has been such a

pleasure to work on this project. It amazes

me that I was able to help the Trinity

cemetery as I did. But I couldn’t have done

it alone, and I thank everyone who has

helped me along the way, with many of you

being included in that.

If you want to visit the subject of my

project, I highly encourage you. However,

do know that parking is really limited. To

get there, turn right onto Baileywick from

Trinity, take another right on Strickland,

then turn right on Ray. Take the first right

and park at the entrance to the subdivision

(just don’t block the entrance!) . It’s a very

interesting cemetery to visit, with

tombstones from the mid nineteenth

century to the mid twentieth century. If

you ever visit, do pause a moment to think

of those buried there. I certainly did.

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A T T R I N I T Y

SSLLOOWW WWAALLKKEERRSSBY REUBEN RIEDELL

Have any of you ever been late to a

class because you got stuck behind a

clothesline of walkers lethargically

moving down the hallway? Well, I

have, and if I knew that that was going

to happen to me every single day, I’d

have brought my battering ram.

Getting entangled behind this

intriguing specimen is the highlight of

my day—like black Sharpie

permanent marker highlight.

Whenever I’m late to my class because

of a herd of alpacas moving backwards

through a pit of tar and superglue, I’m

mildly bothered. But when this

occurrence happens daily, I turn out to

be extremely irked. Let’s be honest

here: among all of those who go to

school at Trinity, the majority of those

dawdling crab-walkers tend to be

middle school girls. Yes, I know, being

able to talk to someone at your side

during your entire walk down to your

next class is a pleasure, but when four

or five of you link up together in a

chain, it becomes difficult to traverse

the hallways.

What’s worse is when you are about

to get to your classroom and then one

of the people in front of you decides

that it would be a spectacular idea for

them to stop by their locker and have

that chain of followers stand there

when the others don’t even need to

access theirs. If migrating to a single

locker became such an infectious trait

as the girls-going-to-the-bathroom-

with-every-other-girl-they-know-

simply-because-it’s-a-social-event

trait, then we would be in trouble.

When you decide to brave up and

ask if they could move aside so that

those who need to get to their classes

in time can get there, they’re too busy

conversing about some kind of social

media you’ve never heard of to care. If

I weren’t caught up in a stampede of

tortoises as much as I am in the

hallways, then I wouldn’t be writing

this article, now would I? I’ve come up

with a few ways of combatting this

predicament so that you won’t be so

melancholy once you finally make it to

your classroom five minutes after you

were supposed to be there:

1. Don’t bite the hand that restrains

you. Barging your way through the

barricade of teenagers like an unhappy

rhino is not the way to go about

getting past them. Perhaps letting out

an extraordinarily loud sneeze to wake

them up to reality is a tactic of getting

past this traffic jam. Oh, and don’t

forget your megaphone.

2. Don’t use common sense. Trying

to reason with those who impede your

destiny should be dealt with using

alternative methods. The real reason

why each hallway has two sets of

double doors is to solve the problem

that students have when getting to

their classroom. You know the old

saying, “If you can’t go through them,

then waste even more time going

around.”

3. Don’t walk to your next class.

That’s right—sprint. If you can make

it to your next class before getting

caught in this snare, then you’re home

free. The slow walkers take a bit to get

ready before their trek to their lockers,

so make sure you are by your

classrooms door ready to book it when

the bell rings. Don’t get stuck; get

there first.

RREEUUBB RRAANNTTSS !!NOW WITH HIS VERY OWN COLUMN!

November 20th 9: PM- The day has come, the

sheet says I have to shave tonight or there’s

gonna be some sort of “Shaving of the Beard”

which doesn’t sound like a thing I want to do at

school. I will miss you triangle beard. You made

me much more manly.

November 21st 8:15 AM- I am the only person

who shaved. Is this karma? Is this some sort of

retribution for some evil act that I committed? I

don’t remember committing any evil acts. But

hey, you still can’t tell Josiah hasn’t shaved for

three weeks so I guess I've beaten him! No Shave

November is a success!

BBEEAARRDDSS AARREE HHEEAALLTTHHYY!!BY JACOB HOFFER

This month ushered in starts the notorious No

Shave November. At Trinity this meant the

masculine males are finally allowed to show off

their nice fuzzy beards for the first time. I would

like to take this opportunity, then, to argue that

we keep this tradition in future years and maybe

during times other than November, and I have

some pretty sturdy evidence to back me up.

There’s gotta be some actual valid reason for

keeping beards, right? They must have some

health benefits, I think? After all, if your body

wants it there, it has to be good or have a good

reason, I think. (Ladies, this is in no way giving

you a reason to also participate.) After looking

online, I found that beards do have health

benefits, and that No Shave Every Month should

be put in place.

First off, shaving beards can sometimes cause a

stupid rash, called folliculitis barbae. This rash is

caused by a bacteria that infects the skin, making

you look foolish. It is usually brought on by

shaving equipment that we use that carries the

bacteria in it from our noses. Dr. Toni Phillips, my

man from over there at the Destination Skin

Clinic says, “The shaved hair starts to grow again

and forms an ingrown bump which can become

inflamed. During the next shave, these bumps

can be cut or irritated, resulting in infection. Not

only is this an unpleasant medical condition, but

it looks awful.”

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A T T R I N I T Y

Another benefit of not shaving is its

helpfulness with allergies. According to Dr.

Gill Hart, a food intolerance expert, a beard

may help the body become used to

allergens, and not react as harshly as it

usually would. With a beard, some small

amounts of pollens may get caught in it,

and actually “de-sensitize” the immune

system. This means that the body will get

used to the small presence, and be less

likely to react. Although the only person

that can grow a beard thick enough for this

to be the case has graduated, I think you

get my point.

Furthermore, beards are able to help

lower the chances of skin cancer. With hair

covering my face, I would never have to go

through the hassle of putting on stupid

sunscreen and trying to protect my face

from the sun, my lovely beard would just do

it for me. The best example of this hair

being sunblock effectiveness is my legs. My

legs, as some of you may know, are very

hairy. Not once, since I have had trouble

seeing the skin on my legs, have I had to

wear sunscreen on them. And not once

have I gotten sunburn on them. I burn

fairly easily I might add. With a beard to do

the same as my leg hair, I would be an

almost invincible human being, but

understandably, Trinity doesn’t want me to

be this powerful.

As I look at these reasons, and many

more, pointing towards the positives of a

beard, I would like to propose that No

Shave November becomes a tradition and

maybe spreads to the other months so I get

to look like a handsome man, and also

protect myself from the sun, allergies, and

a nasty rash.

AACCTTUUAALLLLYY AAUUSSTTIINN''SSJJOOKKEESS ((MMOOSSTTLLYY)) !!BY AUSTIN BLACKWELL

Mr. Raneiri said I need to make my own

jokes this time around so here I go, sorry

for what you are about to read.

1. What do you call venison in the rain?

A- a.. . a wet deer?

2. What do you call a bill written in the

winter?

A- a SANTA clause!

3. What do you call a reindeer that

interrupts his teachers?

A- RUDE-olph!

4. What’s Benedict Arnolds favorite part of

Christmas

A- The Christmas-treason!

5. Who is Wendy’s™ favorite Christmas

character?

A- FROSTY the Snowman!

6. How do the elderly get around during

Christmas?

A- Candy Canes!

7.What did the shirt say when the elf

called him a sweater?

A- Sweat her? I don’t even know her!

8. What would you call a baker with red

hair?

A- a ginger bread-man!

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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AALLEEXX FFRROOMM TTAARRGGEETTBY DANA FROM JOURNALISM

To this day I am still shocked by how

some people get famous. Whether it’s by

getting a reality show or becoming an

overnight success from YouTube,

technology seems to have set the bar for

talent these days. Yes, sometimes finding

talent over the internet can be a good thing

(see The Vamps or Shawn Mendes for

results in that area), but other than that it’s

a complete joke.

One of these jokes is Alex from Target

who gained his fame by just being good

looking. He took the world by storm

through Twitter, where thousands of

people (mostly teenage girls) shared a

picture of the attractive teenage boy

working at Target which eventually caused

him to be one of the hottest trends on

Twitter worldwide. Oh, and the fun didn’t

stop there. Now, this new, acclaimed

celebrity has over 700,000 followers on

Twitter and has appeared on the Ellen

DeGeneres show. The best part about all of

this is its fake (what a surprise! )

Apparently, Target set all of this up to get

more promotion which, in my mind,

doesn’t make sense, after all, lots of people

love Target and it seems to be doing pretty

well. Yet, people will do anything to be

famous these days, and so this secret deal

turned into the next big thing. People like

me keep talking about this phenomenon

which just shows how one little spark can

cause a whole flame of frenzy. It’s kind of

scary how our culture can develop a new

household name like this where people

don’t even have to work hard any more to

get where they want to be in life.

It just proves that when you do work

hard you should be proud of what you have

done, so you at least have some proof that

you have actually accomplished something

worth showing off instead of saying that in

one point of your life you were the “it” boy

on Twitter.

WWHHAATT''SS WWRROONNGG WWIITTHHDDLLCCBY MATT CURRIN

Those of you who know me well know

that I am a huge Nintendo gamer. and not

ashamed by it. Recently, Nintendo released

the first of two packs of downloadable

content (DLC) for Mario Kart 8 (a first in

series history), and I played the heck out of

it this weekend, and loved every second of

it. The first pack contained 3 new

characters, including Link, 4 new karts, and

8 new tracks, including tracks based off of

The Legend of Zelda and F-Zero (Captain

Falcon’s series). The tracks were all

brilliantly fun, well designed, and felt like

they had been in the game all along rather

than thrown together for a few quick bucks.

Oh, and the best part is that it was only

$12. Excuse me, that is wrong. It was $12

for the season pass, which gave me both

packs on their respective release dates, as

well as 8 alternate colors for Yoshi and Shy

Guy immediately. The main lure of this

DLC is the tracks, and the combination of

both packs gives you 16 of them added on

to the 32 you already have in game.

This is a massive deal, and I would

recommend you all go buy it, but to my

knowledge, no one else at Trinity owns this

game.. . .the point is that this got me

thinking about how this bargain stacks up

to other DLC’s released for more popular

games. So I Googled what may be the most

popular video game in the USA (for the

time being), Call of Duty: Advanced

Warfare, which I love, by the way, but that’s

for another time. What’s important is that

the season pass for that game, which

provides you with 5 new multiplayer maps,

costs $49.99. I’m going to let that sink in

for a moment. That’s only $10.00 less than

the actual game, which already has 12ish

maps. By comparison, that’s insanely

overpriced. The Mario Kart 8 DLC would be

the COD equivalent of getting 6

multiplayer maps, 6 new guns, 8 new

exosuits, and 16 new gun camos for $12.

And it’s not just COD; here’s a list of other

series with DLC prices.

Watch Dogs: $19.99: 3 hour bonus

campaign, a new game mode, and 5ish

outfits

Halo 4: $24.99: 9 maps, two helmets, one

emblem

Infamous Second Son: $15.00: 3 hour

bonus campaign

Killzone Shadow Fall: $20.00: 5 maps and

vehicle skin

Anyone else sensing the same pattern I

am. Compared to the MK8 DLC, these are

all massively overpriced for underwhelming

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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content in both quality and quantity. The

only recent example I’ve seen of doing DLC

right is GTA V, who has released extra

vehicles, missions, and even a content

creator for free. All of this just goes to show

that companies like Activision and Bungie

are beginning to realize how much money

they can make off of offering additional

content for an unfair price instead of just

putting it in the game in the first place.

However, now that Nintendo has entered

the DLC game, things could change, but, in

reality, players will probably have to end up

paying almost $100 to experience the full

game.

FFUURRYY RREEVVIIEEWWBY JOHN "FROM CLAYTON"HINTON

If you ask a war vet or a movie buff,

most of them would tell you there are

certain movies that are the most accurate

and vivid interpretations of war. Here’s the

list: Full Metal Jacket, Saving Private Ryan,

The Hurt Locker, and Lone Survivor. I

declare that the next movie that should be

added to the list is Fury.

Fury stars Brad Pitt, and there’s no

reason to believe from past movies with

Pitt that this movie could possibly be bad.

Pitt plays an experienced, hardened

sergeant nicknamed “Wardaddy.” Although

Wardaddy may be tough, he has a soft side

when he needs it; classic Pitt, or, as his

friends call him, Brad. Shia LaBeouf is there

too! The Transformers kid play an

extremely right-wing Jehovah’s Witness

from Deep South. I am sure you can all

imagine what his character is like. There are

supporting characters like Michael Peña

and Jon Bernthal that add to the movie but

the main protagonist of this film is Logan

Lerman, A.K.A. Percy Jackson from the

Percy Jackson movies. Poseidon’s son

decides to play with the big dogs and star in

his own hardcore war movie.

Logan plays young Norman Elison, a

EELLEECCTTIIOONN FFRRAAUUDDBY BEN REIN

In light of the recent elections, with the

ads, emails and phone calls that we are all

sick of, I have decided to address the issue

of campaigning. We all know that, in some

way shape or form, campaigning is corrupt,

or extremely susceptible to corruption.

How are individuals or corporations

allowed to spend massive amounts of

money on individuals running for office?

It’s mind boggling. If someone gave me a

million dollars that helped me gain a job, I

would definitely feel as if I were in their

debt. What is to stop some oil corporation,

or some outside lobbyist group from

coming in, tampering with the elections

and having the entirety of congress in their

pocket? The answer.. . nothing, because

corporations and individuals are allowed to

give as much as they want.

How do we fix the possibility of

corruption? I would say we can kill two

birds with one stone. Just don’t allow

campaigning. Have the candidates give a

set number of speeches and have a set

amount of debates that are all broadcasted

BBEENN''SS CCOONNSSPPIIRRAACCYY CCOORRNNEERR!!

THE GOVERNMENT CAN'T REIN HIM IN!to general television. This gets rid of

corruption, changes smaller elections from

being based purely on name recognition,

and gets rid of all the stupid ads that cost

millions even billions of dollars sometimes.

With this step taken American politics

would be be uncorrupted for the imminent

future and the populace would not have to

listen to ridiculous ads that just make

everyone angry.

paperboy for the military who is thrown

into Wardaddy’s platoon. He gets mocked

and abused by the rest of the crew, like an

initiation to the guys’ varsity soccer team.

The whole story circles around Norman

going from being a scrawny, little cadet to

becoming a loyal, tough soldier. The

transformation is vividly documented in

the film through extreme, somewhat

gratuitous scenes that Norman must go

through.

Norman is a participant, as well as a

witness to many events that mold him into

a soldier. Executing a captive, taking out

enemy flanks, and losing comrades; these

are all a part of what Norman experiences

as a man of war. Then there is the final

battle. I will try to not give out spoilers, but

really? With an entire armada of angry,

spiteful Nazis, one Nazi decides he gonna

be nice to Norman! Really? Come on David

Ayer, be accurate.

I would put Fury on the list for one of the

best war movies to come out. Fury’s

portraying of vivid, and “hard to watch”

images makes the movie a parallel to Saving

Private Ryan and the emotional and

thought provoking nature of Fury puts in

the same league as The Hurt Locker.

Overall, I give Fury an 8 out of 10.

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

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11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY HUNTER DOTSON

The stunning Taylor Swift has done it again, producing a record

breaking album that has limitless potential. 1989, being her first

ever pop album, has had such soaring reviews it is hard to argue the

talent of this 24 year old. The album is modelled from late eighties

pop music. When referring to why she chose to go with the late

eighties theme she said, "I really love the chances they were taking. I

love how bold it was. I love how ahead of its time it was." If the

predictions are correct by the one week mark of the release of 1989

Swift will hold the record for one-week sales by a female artist,

beating out Britney Spears which sold 1.319 million copies in its

debut week. 1989 may also overtake the 1.322 million copies of The

Eminem Show from 2002. Before Swift’s album was released there

was speculation as to whether or not it

would be a hit. Even though her last

album, Red, sold 1.21 million copies

in its first week people questioned the

ability of Swift. No one knew if she

would be able to produce a successful

album as a pop singer. By the first

couple of days her (cont. on next page)

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY DANA DZIADUL

Taylor Swift has finally (emphasis on the finally) made the long

time coming crossover from country megastar to pop superstar

with her highly anticipated new album “1989.” Being that her

unique album title was the year that she was born, it also adds to

the fact that her new infectious sound adds a bit of 80s pop flare to

a bunch of her songs, which, surprisingly, works for her. “Welcome

to New York”, the first track on the album, is a great example of her

80s vibe where she also expresses her fascination with the big city

that has become her new home.

Even though Swift claims that this album is less about her

personal makeups and breakups, she still looks like a hopeless

romantic as she sings songs out her diary for the world to here.

With songs like “Wildest Dreams” and

“Bad Blood” for instance, you get a real

insight on her ever so confusing love

life.

Her first single and most popular

song off the album so far, “Shake it off”,

expresses her new motto of girlfriends

before boyfriends (cont. on next page)

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY JORDAN PUTHENVEETIL

1989 (MCMLXXIX) was a common

year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian

calendar. It marked the 989th year of

the 2nd Millennium, the 89th year of

the 20th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1980s decade.

It was a historical turning point for the wave of revolutions that

swept the Eastern Bloc. Also in this year, the first Internet service

providers surfaced, the first unofficial text message was sent in

1989, and most importantly, 1989 marked the beginning of the

current Heisei period in Japan, but you already knew that.

In politics, this year was incredibly important. Well, as

important and any other recent year in politics. Meaning the

whole nation focused on a number of important issues, hoping to

make some real changes in several of our polities…but ultimately

got nothing done. People thought about changing gun laws and

gay marriage rights. Instead the government decided to let 2014

take care of it.

The scientific progress in 1989 was really exciting. It marked

the one-year anniversary of the detection of the first extrasolar

planet, Gamma Celphei Ab. How exciting! Other than that…the

Soviet Union was still doing stuff, I guess. I know that’s not really

scientific, but I ran out of scientific facts and I didn’t want this

section of my article to fall short. (cont on next page)

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY ANNA TWIDDY

There are very few people anymore

who are skilled in the art of reviewing

numbers. I know what you’re probably

thinking: how does one review a

number? Are they not simple shorthand for the amount

of.. .things…there are? 1,989? You are hopelessly incorrect, if

you believe that. There’s a lot to read into numbers. They

communicate much more than simply how many something is.

It can evoke raw feeling, and 1,989 is a number especially

intriguing to dissect.

Let’s start by looking at the number as a whole. 1,989.

When you look at it, your mind instantly travels to 2,000. It’s on

the cusp of a very well-recognized number, a bold choice indeed.

But on-the-cusp numbers can be clichéd, at times. We all

recognize 1999, 99, or heaven forbid, 999999. They’re

exhausting to look at, right? Just one step short of a big,

recognizable number. We’ve all seen it before, and there’s really

no need to see it again. But 1989 keeps it fresh and interesting.

It’s close to 2000, yes, but not too close. Therefore, on the

whole, it works extremely well. It’s suspenseful, but not to a

degree where we just get tired.

But how well do its individual components hold up? It

begins with a one, a pretty standard choice. (cont. on next page)

w 9 x

E N T E R T A I N M E N T

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY HUNTER DOTSON

(cont. from last page) haters were silenced, and there was no

doubt that Swift’s new

album would be a sensation. Taylor has proven she is more than

capable of mastering multiple genres of music. When Swift

released her first album at the age of 16 she was solely a country

music star, as the years have gone on she has slowly evolved into

a pop singer. Her 2010 album, Red, was a sort of country-pop

genre and it was clear she was slowly leaving behind her country

roots. This new album signifies her complete switch to the pop

music world.

Regardless of if Taylor Swift beats Spears for most albums

sold by a woman in a week, she will undoubtedly have the first

album of the year to sell a million copies. In a year that has been

somewhat of a let down for the music industry, Swift proves her

consistent ability to produce quality music that attracts a variety

of people. Anticipating this album sells 1 million copies, which it

surely will, Swift will become the first act to sell 1 million copies

in the debut week of three consecutive albums.

Having said all of this I think you should go ahead and

purchase your tickets for Swifts concert on June 9 at the PNC

Arena. Her concert last year was easily the best concert I have

attended, and I expect nothing less from this next one. One

thing is for sure, you will find me there screaming my head off

along side the 20,000 thirteen year old girls in attendance.

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY DANA DZIADUL

(cont. from last page) without letting the haters get in your

way. This song has become a major hit for Taylor, but all of the

songs off the album have so much thought and care into them

that they have potential to be just as successful hits as well.

This transformation for Taylor Swift has definitely paid off,

and it seems that a new queen of pop is enjoying her throne.

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY JORDAN PUTHENVEETIL

(cont from last page) In the world of popular culture,

Ghostbusters II premiered in 1989. A lot of other movies came out

this year too, but I felt like mentioning Ghostbusters II. I mean,

really, when is anyone ever going to mention Ghostbusters II ever

again? It deserves its time in the spotlight…well it probably

doesn’t deserve it, but whatever. Elsewhere, a very popular

musician was born this year. I think we all know whom I am

talking about. You know, the once young and preppy country

singer who has recently made her way into more pop style music.

You guessed it! It’s Jewel Kilcher…wait; actually she was born in

1974. Never mind.

Well there it is, an in-depth review of 1989. Maybe now the

Internet will stop asking about it. Actually I’m really confused

about why everyone is so obsessed with this year. It’s oddly

specific and a little creepy really. I means it’s a great year but…you

know what! It’s not even that. 1989 is kind of a crappy year. Ill

even go as far to say that it was a useless year! If I had a time

machine the first thing that I would do is go back in time and

make sure that 1989 never happen. That’s how time travel works

right? Everyone needs to get checked out. No one should be this

obsessed with a year. I’m actually starting to get really concerned

about your health.

11998899 RREEVVIIEEWWBY ANNA TWIDDY

(cont. from last page) Nothing communicates a beginning

better than a number one. All in all, a standard, easily

understandable place to start, even though it’s been done

before. This basic setup immediately throws the viewer for a

loop, as the next number is a nine, a drastic leap indeed. Nines

communicate a lot, as you can imagine: they often signify the

end. To go straight to a nine from a one is a bold move. It grabs

your attention, yes, but you then must take a few paces back to

allow the viewer to take all of it in. So many numbers make the

mistake of continuing that drastic tone with another nine, but

then the viewer can often not make sense of the thing. On the

other hand, other numbers go too far back, to a two or even

back to a one. This makes the drastic leap pointless. But what

does 1989 do? It moves backward only as far as necessary to

keep the viewer engaged, to an eight. The tone is calmed down

a bit; we move from the very edge of the cliff to a couple feet

back. However, we are still nervous. After all, we were just

flung from a one to a nine! An eight seems safer, but we are

still on edge, and rightfully so, for we are immediately thrown

ahead back to another nine! There, the number ends, on a

cliffhanger of sorts. We are left on the edge of the cliff,

knowing full well that we could be brought back to an eight, or

pushed forward into the abyss.

Thus 1989 is a high-performing number, on both levels.

As a whole, it takes daring measures without being clichéd or

overdone. When the viewer examines its individual parts, they

thrown into a numerical roller coaster; starting completely

safe, being flung into near death, pushed back a bit to ease

tension, only to throw us right back at the edge! 1989, an

engaging number indeed!

w 10x

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Online Editor (Eventually)

OOHH MMYY BBLLAACCKK FFRRIIDDAAYY!!BY JOHN HINTON

There weren’t just riots in Ferguson this past week, but also

riots in the shopping malls for the amazing deals on Black Friday.

Discount items that nobody actually wants but everyone fights

over them because they’re discounted, oh what a wonderful time of

the year. I am not sure how everyone else’s special day goes, but

here’s how mine went down.

I woke at 4 A.M., eager to storm the market for the best deals.

Unfortunately, a lot of people were as eager as I, seeing as how

there was a 2 hour traffic jam to Crabtree Mall.

The struggle didn’t stop, even when we got off the highway.

Parking was like something out ofMission Impossible. No one

wanted to give up their space, as soon as someone does, it would

take 20 minutes for people to stop arguing about who was there

first to take it. It was like watching your cousins fight over who get

the last cookie, or your friends fight over who gets to play the first

round of Call of Duty. Finally, my family and I found a parking

space a parking space at the McDonald’s a block away from

Crabtree. The next battle was inside the stores instead of outside.

The closest store was the Best Buy. Oh, the horror. A sea of

angry shoppers flooded the electronics store. At least one shopper

in every isle was yelling at a sales associate for better deals. All I

wanted to do was check out the computers in the back of the store,

but even that had a 15 minute line to get to. I walked out of Best Buy

with a charger and ringing ear-drums, so overall not a bad run.

Next I aiemd for a store with people who are supposed to calm and

sensible, Barnes and Noble, but I forgot that it was Black Friday. Even

Barnes & Noble could not escape the chaos of the biggest discount

day of the year. I saw two women play a game of tug o’ war with the

last copy of The Fault in Our Stars. There were no chairs available in

Barnes & Noble! Which actually is not anything new, there are never

seats available. My sister couldn’t get the book she wanted, but, more

importantly, there weren’t any good vinyl’s in the music section.

Even the largest free space in Crabtree was out of control, the food

court. People were yelling to each other, “That seat’s taken,” even

though no one was sitting there. Cinnabon was out of, guess what,

cinnabons! I’m almost certain a saw a little kid get thrown across the

room for holding up the line at Which Wich. And to top it all off, I

couldn’t get the Shamrock Shake from McDonald’s I wanted.

But if I had to choose whether to go shopping on Black Friday next

year, I would definitely do it again. The discount prices, the vibrant

life, the chance to leave a black eye; it’s wonderful! I hope that you all

can experience Black Friday the same way I do.