Niskayuna High School

Since 1974,Now Weekly

October 5, 2001 The Warrior

Into the Woods chosen as spring musical

EVER AFTER: Four performances of Sondheim’s Into The Woods arescheduled for April 4-6. Casting will be held in December.

graphic courtesy of RCA

by Jesse ContiNEWS

Into the Woods, written by James Lapine and

arranged by Stephen Sondheim, has been chosen

as this year’s spring musical.

The musical’s literal and symbolic journey

includes an assortment of new and old storybook

characters. A baker and his wife are attempting to

have a child, but cannot, due to a curse that a witch

has placed on their house. The witch offers to lift

the curse, but only if the baker provides the four

specific ingredients to the potion. Suddenly other

fairy tales are intertwined. The witch demands

objects from various other fairy tales: “The cow as

white as milk,” referring to the cow from Jack and

the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood’s “Cape as

Red as Blood”, Rapunzel’s “hair as yellow as gold”

and Cinderella’s “slipper as pure as gold”. The

musical quickly begins to follow the progression of

the aforementioned tales, which all eventually cross

paths with each other.

Into the Woods is not a comedy, but a dramatic

comedy. The first half of the play is far funnier then

the latter half, however. Brinkman is confident that,

despite the smaller cast, attendance won’t fall

this year. “I think we’ve gained a reputation over

the years,” she said.

Paula Brinkman, musical director, strongly

stressed that no one character will be the lead,

explaining, “It truly is an ensemble cast. There are

eight to ten people, maybe even 12 people who

spend a lot of time onstage. We’re going to need

more body mikes because unlike years past, we

don’t have an

opportunity to pass off a

mike back stage.”

Brinkman also stressed

that there would be a great

need for technical people

this year. Though the cast

this year is smaller, and

the vocals more

demanding, understudies

will not be cast. “This is

not the kind of thing

where you can do a

double cast, it’s just too

hard. I’ve been very

careful over the years to

schedule rehearsals such

that I didn’t vocally wear

out my singers.”

“We had looked at this

play last year and decided

that it wasn’t the right

mix of talent, but we

decided that there was

more potential this year,”

said music director

Brinkman. Though the original Broadway cast had

23, Brinkman said she was unsure of still of how

many roles there will be, and that it will be up to

director Ken Smith how many he will cast. Auditions

will be held December 3, 4, and 5. There will be two

days of regular auditions with between one or

possibly two days of callbacks. At callbacks,

students will be asked to read from the script so that

Smith can evaluate stage interactions, and they will

also be asked to sing from the libretto. Brinkman

and Smith hope to have the cast list posted by

December 10. Brinkman said students could better

their chances by “coming prepared” to auditions.

The musical will be performed on April 5, 6 and 7.

by Ruth BrownNEWS

Election for the Class of2005 will be held today dur-ing all lunch periods in theNew Cafe. Candidates for allpositions gave speeches yes-terday during learning labin the auditorium. The can-didates had to hand in peti-tions and speeches to theStudent Congress homeroomby October 2 for review andapproval. The petition de-manded signatures fromtwenty freshman and twofaculty members . Thespeech, est imated to beabout a minute in length,

had to include positive com-ments about the candidate’sability to lead the class. Inaddition, candidates forpresident and vice presidentwere also asked to discussspecific issues and eventsthey would address if electedto their respective position.

Kevin Draper, running forvice president, said, “Thisis my first time doing some-thing for a campaign or elec-tion, but I’ll do the very bestjob that I can do.”

Many candidates have ac-t iv i t ies proposed whichwould help raise money forclass activities like prom,

as well as community andnational foundations, likethe World Trade Center re-lief fund. Vice presidentialcandidate Allie Weingartensaid, “I am going to focus onprom and ways to raisemoney for that and also forrelief in New York City.”

Another vice presidentialcandidate, Alex Friello, fo-cused one of his main topicson school safety. “I wouldlike to make our school safer,with more safety guards, espe-cially in the senior parking lot.”

Zach Merriman, a candi-date for president, looks for-ward to a fun and produc-

tive year. If elected, “I wouldlike to work on any issuesthat students tell me aboutduring the year, what thingsthey want changed,” he said.

Presidential candidateAllie Sylvetsky looks for-ward to “producing moreclass spirit, and a school thateverybody feels comfortablein,” as well as raising moremoney for prom. MarisaZumbo, also running for theposition of president, antici-pates hosting many socialevents and school activitiesif she is elected.

(Continued to page 2,FRESHMAN)

Candidates anticipate freshman elections

2 News October 5, 2001 The Warrior

CLASS OF 2004: Anyone interestedin participating inthe Breast CancerWalk on October 14,contact Ms. Rand orMs. Wilson in D101during homeroom.

WARRIOR: The Warrior is lookingfor new writers. If you’re interested,

come to D103 dur-ing homeroom or af-ter school Mondayor Thursday for in-formation. Also,we’re looking for ateacher to act as a

second adviser. Contact Mr. Edgar inD103 if interested.

NHS: Entertainment Book money isdue ASAP! Bring ei-ther checks or yourbooks back to E212during homeroom.

DECA: Listen for information on theupcoming contest involving the winter

skiing andsnowboarding season.If interested, pleasecontact Sean Quinn,president of DECA.

NEWS BRIEFSKEY CLUB: Member dues are due

by Tuesday, October9. Dues are $10, andare to be brought tothe Key Clubhomeroom ASAP.

THE MULTICULTURAL SOCI-ETY: All members, stay tuned to the

morning announce-ments for informa-tion on selling star-shaped lollipops toraise money for theSeptember 11thFund and the club.

by Sara BackowskiNEWS

In response to the recent at-tacks on the United States, mem-bers of the Niskayuna commu-nity, ranging in age from the youngto the elderly, gathered togetheron Sunday, September 30 to par-ticipate in a Patriotic Sing-Along.

The Sing-Along was thoughtup by Jennifer Chapman, andwas produced by the efforts ofChapman, superintendent J.Briggs McAndrews, BobChristenson, and Ned Hale.

The Sing-Along began with aspeech by principal John Rickert.He eloquently introduced theevent, stating, “Today is an op-portunity for us to gather to-gether as a small community toshow our support for ourwounded, for our rescue work-ers, and for our country.”

Christenson, a former musicteacher at Niskayuna HighSchool, acted as the emcee forthe event. He spoke before eachsong, reminding the singers ofthe important messages con-veyed in the lyrics they weresinging, and related the mes-sages, written many years ago,

to the events of the present, giv-ing the singers a new dimensionof feeling to explore and relate towhile they were singing. “Musiclets us reflect,” said Christenson.“Today we’re going to reflect withthe music we sing both happi-ness and sadness.”

Among songs sung were clas-sics such as “The Star SpangledBanner,” “America the Beauti-ful,” and “My Country ‘Tis ofThee,” as well as lesser-knowpatriotic songs like the Hymnsof the Armed Forces. After theparticipants had performed theUS Army Hymn, the Marines’Hymn, the Air Force Song,Sepmer Paratus, and the NavyHymn, Christenson suggestedthat perhaps one day, hymnswill be written to honor the bravepolicemen and firemen whorisked their lives to help withthe rescue efforts.

Chapman, the creator of thepatriotic sing-along, spoke at thefestivities with a reminder ofthe purpose of gathering. “Thiswas to help us share togetherwhat we’re all feeling- the pridein our country and to let theworkers in New York City know

how grateful we all are for whatthey’re doing.”

The attendees of the Sing-Along were given not only theopportunity to show their na-tional pride, but also a chance tosend monetary donations andsympathetic messages to therescue workers in New York.Each singer was given a slip ofpaper on which they could writeencouraging, supporting, andgrateful messages to the fire andpolicemen working on the res-cue efforts. All of the messageswere then linked together into agiant chain of well wishes, which

Niskayuna community sings together

Freshman Election

is now on their way to New York.The Sing-Along concluded on

an inspiring note, proving thatthe spirits of the Niskayuna com-munity members are not easilyweakened. As the singers wereproceeding out of the auditorium,a woman called out “Let’s sing‘Proud to be an American!’” Asolitary voice began to sing, acapella; quickly the rest joinedin. The entire auditorium con-cluded the song together, dem-onstrating the feeling intendedfor the Sing-Along, the feeling ofa community coming together tocelebrate their country.

(Continued frompage 1, CANDIDATES)Candidates for other positions

are also planning ideas to imple-ment if elected. Secretarial candi-date Stephanie Bomeisl notedthat her previous experience inStudent Council would help in hercampaign and performance as sec-retary. Mary Anne Dutcher, alsorunning for secretary, looks for-ward to working with the fresh-men class and “making an effort

to get everybody’s ideas heard.”The elections for the Class of

2005 have drawn numerous can-didates for all positions, creating alarge pool for voters to pick from.Elections will be held on paperballots all day today during thelunch periods for all members ofthe freshmen class.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Onlycanidates who turned in their peti-tions by Friday, 9/28, were inter-viewed for this feature.

3NewsOctober 5, 2001The Warrior

by Peter ChenNEWS

In the wake of its unprecedented achieve-ments last year, the Niskayuna Forensicteam kicked off the season with an impres-sive showing at the prestigious Yale Univer-sity High School Forensic Tournament onSeptember 21-23. Three of four NiskayunaLincoln-Douglas (LD) debaters qualified forthe final rounds, two in the JV division andone in varsity, setting a new record forNiskayuna.

Carol Olszewski, a parent who attendedthe tournament, said, “I’m really delightedthat Niskayuna was announced threetimes [during the awards ceremony.] Usu-ally at tournaments of this caliber [theannouncers] say it once, twice or some-times not at all.”

The Yale tournament was a truly na-tional tournament, with over 65 participat-ing schools from all around the country.“The level of competition was what youwould expect at a national tournament. Youhad the best students from schools as faraway as Minnesota,” said Coach Christo-pher Chadwick. The competition in LD

debate was especially fierce, with around 130debaters in each division. After five gruelingpreliminary rounds of affirming and negatingthe resolution, the 32 debaters with the high-est records were pitted against each other in anintense double-octo round. The top sixteendebaters moved on to the next round.

Representing Niskayuna at Yale in LD de-bate were sophomores Peter Chen and NedRuggeri, with junior Katherine Brainard andsenior Alok Tayi participating in Extempora-neous Speaking. Brainard, a New York Statefinalist in novice LD last year, added to her listof remarkable achievements by advancing toocto-finals in the JV division. “I was surprisedand obviously very happy that I had gotten asfar as I did,” she said, “and it was exciting to seethat so many other people also qualified forfinal rounds considering the size of our team.”Chen, too, was a double-octofinalist.

Chadwick expressed his excitement, stat-ing, “I’m very proud of our students. I wasn’tall that surprised though because all of ourstudents are very talented and hardworking.I think it was a very positive reflection onour program and our school that our stu-dents fared so well.”

The team attributed its success to goodpreparation and excellent coaching. “Ourstudents are getting used to putting in moreeffort, and it showed,” says Chadwick. Ac-cording to Tayi, “Mr. Chadwick puts in a lotof time and effort and his superior knowl-edge and experience in speech and debatehas made him a definite asset to theNiskayuna forensic team and has brought atremendous amount of prestige to our highschool.”

The trip to Yale was not without sacrifice,however. Students had to pay around $200for room and food. Chadwick, in addition tocoaching beforehand, spent the entire week-end driving and judging, along withBrainard’s mother, J.C. Glendinning.

“A greater financial commitment andinvolvement from the school district wouldbe of great benefit for the team because itwould foster motivation and demonstratethe district’s level of support for activitieslike forensics,” Tayi said.

Forensic club president Gina Schwartzpredicted more success to come. “The factwe did so well as a team is indicative ofhow we will perform all year,” she said.

Forensic team enjoys success at Yale

by Jessica TepperNEWS

Russell McDowell, KellyMoore, and Becky Gleason allhave joined the Niskayuna HighSchool faculty to teach Englishat Niskayuna.

The three new teachers areunder pressure to live up to thestandards set up by last year’sretirees, including Richard Holtand Julie Fischer. However, thenewcomers have already begunto leave their stamps on theEnglish department.

McDowell joins the staff withsignificant experience under hisbelt. After graduating fromKennedy College, he taught atAlbany Academy for Boys foreight years. Subsequently, hemoved to Duane Stuart, wherehe spent the past twenty yearsteaching English, photography,and college guidance.

“I believe I’m a real advocate forstudents, and that’s why I teach,”said McDowell. “I love my subjectmatter as well, but the real issueis to teach students and makethem realize strengths about

themselves as much as strengthsabout English.”

The veteran teacher chose thisdistrict for its resemblance to hisprevious school. “Niskayuna

struck me as what would be, ina public school, something simi-lar to what I was experiencedwith, which was an ambitiousprogram with students, facultyand parents who were all inter-ested in the educational process,”

said McDowell.Also stepping up to bat in the

English Department is Moore.After attending Hamilton Collegeand receiving her master’s at

Union College, she’s currently fin-ishing her Ph.D. Moore started offher career with an internship atSchenendahowa, and then movedto South Colonie, where she taughtfor the past ten years.

“I was looking for something a

little different,” Moore repliedwhen asked why she came toNiskayuna. “I love my disciplineand I also really like workingwith young people,” she added.“I really am interested in havingmy students enjoy English andhaving them become readers andwriters beyond what happensjust in class.”

Gleason is also a new face inthe English Department. “I likeeverything about teaching, es-pecially working with studentswho have interesting ideas,” shesaid. “I like seeing books throughkids’ perspectives; it’s differentevery time around.”

Gleason attended Elmira Col-lege and earned a master’s at theCollege of Saint Rose. She spentthe past two years teaching atLansingburgh High School andtaught in Greene County. “Chang-ing jobs is like starting all over,”Gleason noted. “It’s like being afirst year teacher all over again.”

“Hopefully, my students willunderstand anybody can be a goodwriter, you just need time to learnit and practice it,” she said.

THE NEW FACES OF NISAYUNA: McDowell and Gleason are twoof the new English teachers this year. Not pictured, Moore.

Warrior photo / Lindsay O’Connor

Three new teachers join English department

victims of the attacks. We should keep inmind that actively trying to help the relief

effort is even more impor-tant than simply proclaim-ing out our patriotism.

It is also crucial that inshowing our unity as a coun-try we do not somehow ig-

nore both the effect that these events havehad on other nations and the sympathytheir people have offered. This was not just

an attack onA m e r i c a ,but a blow tohumanityand the in-stitution ofdemocracy.Soon afterthe attack,Le Monde, aprominentF r e n c hnewspaperexpressedits condo-

lences, stating, “Today we are all Ameri-cans.” If everybody can be American, thenAmericans can all be citizens of the world.We should not be too proud to acknowledgethe support of our allies.

By all means, we should indicate ourpatriotism in any way that seems appropri-ate. But let us not do so without consideringfirst what it means.

In light of the September 11 tragedies,our country has seen an unprecedented showof patriotism. Star-spangledbanners and related red,white, and blue regalia aredisplayed everywhere asAmericans strive to demon-strate the unity of our nationand their support for the victims of thisterrible attack. Students, previously apa-thetic about saying the Pledge of Allegianceevery morn-ing, nowstand withhands overhearts andmean everyword. Re-cently, ourown highschool evensponsored aP a t r i o t i cSing-alongto give com-m u n i t ymembers another chance to show theirsupport for the good old U. S. of A. in thistime of uncertainty.

There is no doubt that this manifesta-tion of our national pride is marvelous.Let us remember, though, that flags andwords mean nothing if we do not putaction behind them. Many clubs in theschool have already held fundraisers for

4 Opinion

The Warrior

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For a one-year subscription, send acheck for $25 payable to NiskayunaHigh School to The Warrior, Attn: Sub-scriptions, 1626 Balltown Rd.,Niskayuna, NY 12309.

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T H E S TA F FEDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Brian Dashew,

Cassandra WolosNEWS EDITORS: Sara Backowski,

Lindsay O’Connor, Jessica Tepper,Anna Yu

ASSISTANT NEWS: Peter ChenOPINION EDITORS: Elspeth Edelstein,

Melissa JordanASSISTANT OPINION: Eugene YeeENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Ryan

LindenbergASSISTANT ENTERTAINMENT: Bill

Curran, Ben CrairSPORTS EDITORS: Matt Larkin, Pete

RelyeaASSISTANT SPORTS: Michael

SpinnicchiaMAGAZINE EDITORS: Jessica Dan, Leo

SutkinASSISTANT MAGAZINE: Jonathan ChowLAYOUT MANAGER: Dave SheehanDISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Sufyan

ShahinCOPY EDITOR: Andrew BrownBUSINESS MANAGER: Karin DonhoweWEB SITE MANAGER: David SheehanADVERTISING MANAGER: Anjana VakilADVISORS: James Edgar

EDITORIAL POLICIES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are wel-come from all members of the schoolcommunity. The Warrior reservesthe right to edit letters for gram-mar and length.

SIGNED OPINION ARTICLES AND CAR-TOONS express the opinions of theircreators.

UNSIGNED EDITORIALS representthe consensus of the paper’s edito-rial board, which may not reflectthe majority of the students’ views.

THE OP-ED PAGES are a forum forstudents’ opinions and ideas.

October 5, 2001 The Warrior

EDITORIAL

Pondering our patriotic pride

To the Students and Staff at NHS:

The Social Studies department would like to thank all the people - students,faculty, and staff - who have made our teach-ins a successful and positivelearning experience. The student-generated questions and discussions havebeen quite enlightening and show a real sensitivity to the complex issues ourcountry now faces. We intend to continue these forums on a weekly basis(every Thursday during learning lab—remember to get passes from a socialstudies teacher if you are interested in attending) and encourage your activeparticipation. As we move into a new phase in world history, let us continueour intellectual discourse together.

-High School Social Studies Department Jason Bach, David Bloom, Mary Eads, Rosemary Hirota-Morris, Peter

Melito, Sandy Meyer, Mike Peters, Nick Petriaccione, John Sharkey, AlfredSive, Catherine Snyder, Geoff Stroebel, and Peter Warren

Letter to the Editors:Social studies teach-ins successful

5OpinionOctober 5, 2001The Warrior

by Arun RaoOPINION

In wake of our national trag-edy, the United States and we,its citizens, have reached astate of near paranoia regard-ing national and personal se-curity. The sales of guns andother automated weapons aresteadily increasing, as is thedegree of interrogation at ournation’s airports, where ourcarry-on luggage is physicallyinspected to a degree of nearintrusiveness. The same air-port employees earning mini-mum wage who looked ondreary-eyed as bag after bagmoved down the conveyer beltare now responsible for theenormous task of preventingsuch a calamity from ever hap-pening again. I find it excruci-atingly difficult to believe thatwe, the same people who neverbelieved that something this ter-rible could ever happen toAmerica, “the land of the free,and the home of the brave,”have now become the samepeople who we once despisedfor being despots and suppres-

sors of liberty.As our quest to eradicate ter-

rorism from our nation as wellas from the world contin-ues, many Ameri-cans are for-getting pre-cisely what itmeans to beA m e r i c a n .We watchedthe horrificshots ofplanes beingused as ka-mikaze mis-siles crashinto the WorldTrade Centertowers. We be-came sick to ourstomachs whenwe witnessed thecrude photos ofinnocent civil-ians jumping totheir own deathsamidst the terror. Yet we arehearing stories of Arab andMuslim civilians, many ofwhom are citizens of the UnitedStates, being harassed and

Avoiding complacence in the face of terrorism

by Paul Hebert

sometimes physically abusedor murdered by uncouth indi-viduals who feel it is their duty

to avenge thewrongs com-mitted by a se-lect few by do-ing the sameto innocentothers. Havewe not real-ized that two

wrongs don’tmake a right?

Are some of usstill oblivious to

the creeds of libertyand freedom that

America was founded on inpart? Sadly, from what I haveobserved over the past fewweeks, the answer to boththese questions appears tobe in the affirmative.

It is understandablethat our nation has en-

tered a state of caution af-ter the incidents of Septem-ber 11. We are diligently at-tempting to prevent any re-peat or manifestation of thehorror that took place on that

fateful day. The necessity ofthese measures is paramount,but for how long are we will-ing to live in a state of ex-tremely high security andnear intrusion? In a year ortwo, will we hold the samefeelings of patriotism and na-tional pride that has properlysurfaced in the wake of trag-edy? Or will we return to ourold, cushy senses of arroganceand ignorance that existed forthe most part prior to the na-tional tragedy? It will obviouslyrequire time to know the an-swers to these questions; how-ever, I hope we all realize thatwe can no longer live with thesame feeling of American invin-cibility that may have previouslypervaded our national mindset.

Despite this, Americans mustnot live with fear. We must findan appropriate balance betweenfreedom and security that willenable the United States to re-main the most prosperous na-tion in the world, as well as acountry where everyone feelsconfident in his or her own safetyand identity.

Warrior art / E

ugen

e Yee

6 Entertainment October 5, 2001 The Warrior

by Ryan LindenbergENTERTAINMENT

Ben Stiller’s Zoolander is cer-tainly a victim of bad timing, butthat doesn’t divert from the factthat it’s a really pointless moviethat probably shouldn’t havebeen made at all. The film’sdistributor, Paramount, couldeasily have had postponed itsrelease like many other filmsthis fall. Instead, the com-pany is relying on Zoolanderto revive the ailing movie in-dustry and box office. Re-leased a mere two and halfweeks after the September 11tragedies, the film attempts toserve as medication for ourtragedy-stricken country. Ittries to treat our drainedminds, to give us a little laugh-ter during a time when laugh-

ter is quite uncom-mon. Unfortu-nately, they failedpretty miserably.

Now, I wasn’texpecting any-thing more than anice, light comedy.Going into the the-ater, that’s all I re-ally wanted, all I

really anticipated. After all, thisis Ben Stiller and he can be apretty funny guy. I’ve seen theshort Zoolander sketches thatStiller created for the VH1 Fash-ion Awards back in 1996 and1997. I like Ben Stiller, and Iliked those skits, so before see-ing this film, I had nothingagainst it.

And then I saw it.Many, many things came to

my mind while watchingZoolander. The film takes placein Manhattan, and there aredozens of shots of the New YorkCity skyline. Stiller must havedone some last minute cram-ming in the editing room anddigitally removed the WorldTrade Center, because the tow-ers aren’t in the film.

It was impossible not to feel

uneasy during these scenes. Ineed more time to get used tothis image of the city, and Ifound it to be pretty disturbing.I really wanted to try to forgeteverything that had happenedin the city and simply enjoy themovie, but I just couldn’t.

Also, the movie revolvedaround a plot that isn’t in thebest taste, considering the cur-rent state of our country. WillFerrell plays Jacobim Mugatu, anevil fashion designer upset withthe Prime Minister of Malaysia’sprohibition on child labor. Thesechildren are important workersfor the production of Mugatu’sclothes. Instead oftrying to overthrowthe Prime Minis-ter, Mugatu brain-washes cluelessfashion modelDerek Zoolander,played by Stiller,to assassinate theguy. Now, it couldjust be me, but tohave a huge chunkof the movie focuson killing aMiddle-EasternPrime Minister is

not exactly my idea of humor-ous right now.

Maybe if I had seen this filmthree weeks ago I would haveliked it more. However, I doubtit. There’s nothing funny aboutthree dense male models spray-ing each other with gas pumpswhile one of them lights up acigarette, unaware of the con-sequences. They all blow upand die. And what’s more, theirfuneral is outdoors, right infront of a Twin Tower-less sky-line. The film simply lackedgood jokes and good taste. But,hey, I might have laughed onceor twice.

ZoolanderStarring: Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Owen WilsonDirected by: Ben Stiller105 minutes, Rated PG-13

Rating:

Jamiroquai is in a Funk with new albumby Ben Crair

ENTERTAINMENT

Four years after Britain’s Jamiroquailanded its first crossover single, “VirtualInsanity”, in the States, the band hasreleased its fifth effort, A Funk Odyssey.After their third album, Traveling With-out Moving, went gold in 1997, the bandreceded from the American spotlight andby doing so added itself to an ever-grow-ing list of “one hit wonders.” Their nextalbum, Synkronized, failed to recapturethe unique and soulful styling of theirprevious albums. The band seemed tofade from the charts as quickly as itexploded onto them. Unfortunately, AFunk Odyssey does little to revive thequality of the band.

The main problem with A Funk Odys-sey is that Jamiroquai never commits toa single style of music; instead it jumpsfrom genre to genre, leaving its intensionsunclear and the listener confused. Onereason that I have always enjoyed themusic of Jamiroquai is because it closely

resembles that of rhythm and blues leg-end, Stevie Wonder. Jamiroquai’s musicseemed to preserve the old school style ofone of the greatest performers of all time.In A Funk Odyssey, Jamiroquai neglectsthe soulful beginnings that made its ear-lier works such successes and instead optsfor a campy disco and pop sound thatappeals to a more marketable audience. AFunk Odyssey presented Jamiroquai withthe chance to bring a unique flavor to abland music scene. Unfortunately, in-stead of defying the standards of conven-tional pop music and bringing somethingnew to the table, Jamiroquai chose toconform to them. In tracks like “Stop Don’tPanic” and “Twenty One Zero” the bandseems to drop funk and soul all togetherfor a grunge-like sound. This inconsis-tency causes the listener to question whatJamiroquai’s intentions were with thisalbum. Did Jamiroquai change its stylefor the sake of the music or to appeal to alarger audience?

Jamiroquai’s attempts to be insightful

and unique in A Funk Odyssey areuninspiring, as is evident the songs “BlackCrow” and “Corner of the Earth”. Bothuse metaphors comparing humanity tonature in an effort to invoke profundity,but because the metaphor seems too over-used, the band’s lyrics seem more clichethan they do thought-provoking. Thebland and uneventful instrumentals ofthese songs do little to make up for thehorrible vocals. One of Jamiroquai’s great-est strengths has always been its abilityto create great grooves, but listening to AFunk Odyssey, this strength is not evi-dent. Their new beat more closely re-sembles elevator music than it does theirold club music that made them famous.

A Funk Odyssey is simply not worth themoney. If you are bent on buying aJamiroquai album then buy TravelingWithout Moving. Traveling Without Mov-ing was innovative and awe-inspiring andfor that reason it achieved renowned suc-cess and admiration. Unfortunately, AFunk Odyssey will not do the same.

WHERE IS HER OTHER HAND?: Zoolanderstars Ben Stiller, and it’s really dumb.

Photo courtesy IMDb.com

Zoolander a model of poor taste and timing

7SportsOctober 5, 2001The Warrior

Varsity Home SchedulesCome cheer on your WarriorsFootball

vs. Guilderland tonight @ 7 p.m.

Field Hockeyvs. Saratoga Oct. 10 @ 7 p.m.vs. Scotia Oct. 12 @ 4 p.m.

vs. Columbia Oct 18 @ 4 p.m.

Girls Soccervs. Mohonasen Oct 10 @ 4 p.m.vs. Guilderland Oct 18 @ 7 p.m.vs. Burnt Hills Oct 22 @ 7 p.m.

Cross Countryvs. Averill Park Oct 9 @ 4 p.m.

Boys Soccervs. Shenendehowa Oct 9 @ 7 p.m.

vs. Saratoga Oct 13 @ 7 p.m.vs. Averill Park Oct 15 @ 4 p.m.

vs. Shaker Oct 19 @ 4 p.m.

Girls Volleyballvs. Burnt Hills Oct 9 @ 4 p.m.vs. Bethlehem Oct 24 @ 4 p.m.

Boys Volleyballvs. Saratoga Oct 12 @ 4 p.m.

vs. Burnt Hills Oct 19 @ 4 p.m.

Field Hockey progresses Sports world amazes(Continued from page 8,

PRO)case with Tomlinson. As ofweek three, he had rushed for203 yards and three touch-downs, a very impressive per-formance. This is someone tokeep an eye on.

I know it’s still early to talkabout the playoffs, but I’m go-ing to anyways. The AmericanFootball Conference champi-ons will be the IndianapolisColts, fueled by the offense oftheir power trio, quarterbackManning, running backEdgerrin James, and wide re-ceiver Marvin Harrison. Thechampions of the NationalFootball Conference will be theSt. Louis Rams, thanks to quar-terback Kurt Warner, runningback Marshall Faulk and theirnewly improved defense. Theremaining 13 weeks should bevery exciting.

Jordan’s Return (Again)Michael Jordan, the great-

est basketball player in thehistory of the game, an-nounced that he will return tothe game he loves after a threeyear break (or as he called it,“retirement.”) However, thistime, instead of playing for

the one time powerhouse Chi-cago Bulls, he will play for theteam he owns, the weaklingWashington Wizards. It is myopinion that this is simply abusiness strategy to gain in-come for the team. Ticket saleshave already increased greatlyas a result.

The only question I have isthis: Will Jordan be as great? Hedid come back from retirementonce before to dominate thesport. But on the other hand,he’s 38 years old. Most profes-sional athletes have begun theirdecline by the time they’vereached the ripe old age of 38. Idon’t think he can hold up withthe young talent of Allen Iversonand Kobe Bryant, and he cer-tainly won’t be able to lead theWizards to a championship. Butbasketball fans are all just goingto have to wait and see.

I think this was a bad move onJordan’s part. When he retired,he was the greatest player of alltime on one of the most success-ful teams of all time. The nexttime he retires, it won’t be thisway. Thus, his legacy will not beas respectable, but he will stillbe seen as a legend in the sportof basketball.

by Pete RelyeaSPORTS

Senior captains LindsayMaxwell and Tricia Eldred,and junior captain CailinO’Meara are leading thisyear’s girls’ field hockeyteam under the direction ofcoach Lynn Connors .Connors is in her fourth yearwith Niskayuna varsity fieldhockey. The team keeps highhopes for this season, de-spite starting off with a 1-7record in league play as ofMonday. Their only leaguewin came against Saratoga,while the team posted an-other victory over Stillwaterin non-league play.

Along with the captains,seniors Lindsay Liquori andBrenda LaRow have beenamong the big contributorsto the team, as they havebeen in past years.

The seniors on the teamhave proven to be big con-tributors not only in theirtalent but also in the expe-rience and guidance theyprovide the team.

Senior Sam Schoolcraft re-f lected on the team’spotential,“We have strong

athletes, we just need towork together as a team. Wedefinitely have a lot of po-tential. I think we could be a.500 team.” LaRow added,“It’s a whole new team fromgirls who graduated lastyear. It’s really different.”She also mentioned thatthere are a lot of young girlsthis year, which is always abenefit for all sports teams.

The Warriors faced theScotia Glenville Tartans onMonday earlier this week.The game ended up going todouble overtime, and theTartans prevailed by a scoreof 3-2.

The team took on BurntHills here at the high schoolunder the lights this pastWednesday. It was the firstof the team’s two games athome on the main field. Theteam will play under thelights again this Wednes-day, October 10 at 7 p.m.The game wi l l a lso besenior’s night for the team,so if you missed them thisweek, this is the perfect op-portunity to come and showyour support as the girlstake on Saratoga.

Sports October 5, 2001 The Warrior8

There have been some veryintresting stories in thesports world as of late, and Ifelt it necessary to breakaway from the usual updateof Silver Warriors sports andtalk about these big storiesand what my take is on them.

The Home Run ChaseAnyone following baseball

th is yearshould beaware thatBarry Bonds ofthe San Fran-cisco Giants has been onpace to beat Mark McGwire’srecord of 70 home runs in asingle season. If Bonds hasnot beaten the record by thetime this is issue is released,don’t worry, he will.

As of Monday, he was onpace to hit 72 dingers. I don’tknow who determines thepace he is on, but whoever itis, he’s correct for many rea-sons. First, Bonds has beenon a hot streak as of late,hitting five home runs inseven games and a total of12 for the month of Septem-ber. Also, the motivation toget the Giants into the play-offs should be enough to keepthe hot streak going.

Another reason Bonds willbreak the record is the up-coming schedule. The Gi-ants’ have six games left.Three will be played at

Enron Park in Houston,home of the Astros. This isone o f the most hi t ter -friendly fields in the majorleagues. These three gamesare probably the games inwhich Bonds broke therecord, if he has indeed bro-ken it already.

The final three games ofthe regular season areagainst arch rival Los Ange-

les Dodgersat PacBel lpark in SanF r a n c i s c o ,Bonds’ home

field. Perhaps the environ-ment in which Bonds will beplaying (against the Dodg-ers in a sold out stadium,the final series of the sea-son, etc.) will trigger hispower- hitting. Despitewhat the critics ay say, makeno mistake; Barry Bonds willfinish the regular seasonwith over 70 home runs, giv-ing him the much covetedrecord.

Bonds’ chase for the recordhas been the most followedsports story of the summer.Some people view Bonds assomewhat of a jerk, but de-spite his pompous attitudeand his belief that he is thebest player in baseball, thisseason will go down in his-tory, thanks to his incred-ible performance.

Surrounding all the hypeof Bonds’ chase is the com-

petition between the top teamsto get a spot in the playoffs.The teams representing theAmerican League have alreadybeen decided. The East Divi-sion champion is once gain theNew York Yankees, the Cen-tral Division champions are theCleveland Indians, the cham-pion of the West Division is theunstoppable Seattle Mariners,and the winner of the wild cardis the Oakland Athletics. How-ever, the National League play-off teams are still up for grabs.Here are my predictions forwho will win what: in the East,the Atlanta Braves will pre-vail once again, despite theNew York Mets’ sudden drive;the Central Division champi-ons will be the Houston Astros;the Western championship is atough one to call, but I thinkthe Arizona Diamondbacks willward off the San Francisco Gi-ants and prevail, and the wildcard winner will be the St.Louis Cardinals.

Once the National Leagueteams are decided, the playoffscan finally begin. I predict theNew York Yankees will defeatthe Mariners in seven gamesand face the Houston Astros inthe World Series, with the Yan-kees winning in four games.

With this, a great season ofbaseball will come to an end.

The Start of Football Sea-son

The football season is finallyunderway! Although there re-ally isn’t much to report abouthere, there have been someimpressive performances sofar.

First, the most impressiveplayer this season has beenquarterback Peyton Manningof the Indianapolis Colts. Inthe second game of the seasonagainst the Buffalo Bills, Man-ning passed for 421 yards, fourtouchdowns and rushed for onetouchdown. Manning has beensimply amazing, and will nodoubt continue to impress fans.

Another great display of tal-ent this season has been thesurprising performance ofrookie LaDanian Tomlinsonof the San Diego Chargers.The Chargers passed upstandout Michael Vick in thedraft to get Tomlinson.Tomlinson and veteran DougFlutie have worked togetherto score big for theChargers.Usually, rookies donot get much playing time,but this is not the

(Continued on page 7,SPORTS)

SPORTS GUY

by Matt LarkinSPORTS

GOING, GOING, GONE: Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giantsfollows through on the swing of home run number 67. Bonds has beenchasing the record of 70 home runs in a season and is on pace to break it.

Photo courtesy ESPN.com

YEAH THAT’S RIGHT: Basketball legend Michael Jordan answersquestions about his return from retirement at a recent press conference.Jordan will return October 30 to play for the Washington Wizards.

Photo courtesy ESPN.com

Pro sports world full of recent surprises