By Jaxon Mundy
Welcome to the day in the life of Mr. Hurd! Many staff and students consider Mr. Hurd the head of Auburn High, but Mr. Hurd sees himself as a “funnel”. He starts his day at AHS by making sure students get where they need to be on time and stays in the halls a few minutes after to make sure nobody is roaming the halls. I asked Mr. Hurd a few questions to get to know him. I asked him what he would be doing right now if he wasn't at school, and he said he would like to be with his family somewhere on a trip, or playing golf if he had more time. He also said that Golf is his most expensive hobby. After he makes sure students aren’t roaming the halls, he goes back to his office where he checks his daily calendar for what he needs to do for the day. When he gets the things on his calendar done, he makes sure none of the staff needs his assistance. The next question he answered was about the perks of being a principle and what he misses the most about being a teacher, and his answer couldn’t have been any better. As a principal, he gets to know everything and anything that is going on in Auburn High School, but he misses the connections he used to have with each student. He also stated that “I’m known as the bad guy a lot.”
Mr. Hurd said “Students here at Auburn High School are my number one priority.” but “Outside of school I make sure to communicate with my family as much as I can.” Not only is he the principal of Auburn High School, he is also the district chairman. I noticed while sitting in his office, he is very neat and organized. I asked him what was the most embarrassing thing that happened to him in his career, and he replied as a principal, “On the first day of school at Blacksburg Middle School, I bent down to pick something up and my pants ripped and didn’t notice until it was too late.” As a teacher though,”I was teaching all day, and the students were laughing and I didn’t know why. Then a student wrote XYZ on a piece of paper. My fly was open.” I asked him some more questions about his daily life. Hurd’s biggest addiction is Coke Zero, but the students think he's addicted to taking phones. I asked him what his hidden talent was, and he said “It might still be hidden,” but after some time he told me “Not a lot of principals are also stonemasons.” If Mr. Hurd was stuck in the elevator with anyone, he said he would like to be stuck with whoever is president at the time so he can get his political view out. He has a lot of great memories as a softball coach, most of his favorites were from players doing something unexpected.
I learned a lot about the principal during the time I shadowed him. Before I interviewed Hurd, I thought he stayed in the halls to make sure nobody was roaming around all day. After the interview, I realized that he does a lot more such as making sure students are safe and that the school runs smoothly. I asked him, if he could change something/tell his highschool self anything, what would it be. He told me, “I wouldn’t want to change anything, things worked out really well for me.” But as far as advice, he said “It's important to realize, you don’t always know what you need.” Mr. Hurd is happy the way his career planned out and doesn’t wanna change anything.
From Behind Bars to in Front of Congress
By Angelica Moore
For those who don’t know, Jelly Roll (Jason Bradley DeFord) is a rapper, singer, and songwriter. He went to prison for distribution of narcotics and violating multiple probation violations. Jason caught his first charges at the young age of only 14. In some dark times when Jelly Roll was feeling low he would come up with some rhymes. This is how he eased into his music career after he got out of prison.
Here recently Jason has gone in front of Congress to do an anti-fentanyl hearing. He said it is time to "proactive", not "reactive" towards the crisis. He also said "I am not here to defend the use of illegal drugs." He also went and performed for inmates at the jail he served time at. He sang one of his top award winning songs “Need A Favor.”
The song says things along the lines of “I only talk to God when I need a favor.” “Hangin' in there, just barely, Throwin' up prayers, like Hail Mary's, If You're still there, Lord, spare me, Oh my God, oh my God, Hail Mary.” Jason was born in Nashville, Tennessee and his stage name actually came from his mother. She gave him this name when he was a young and “chubby kid.”
The artist said in his plea to make an anti-fentanyl bill "I could sit here and cry for days about the caskets I've carried of people I love dearly, deeply, in my soul." Stating "I've attended more funerals than I care to share with y'all” According to the US Drug administration six out of ten fake prescription pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl. Jason asked the congress "Could you imagine the national media attention it would get if they were reporting that a plane was crashing every single day and killing 190 people?"
Jumping on the Judge
By Meadow Wayne
Information on the man who allegedly jumped on the judge has not all been uncovered, as there is only so much that is known of the man known as Deobra Redden. This man had violently attacked judge Mary Kay Holthus during a court hearing on wednesday, January 3rd. Deobra Redden was in court, attending a hearing. He was Sentenced to 19 months to 4 years in prison for attempted battery assault, and with what was said to be substantial bodily harm on Mary Kay, along with murder charges.
He has had history with his mother, and sister. Deobras sister claimed that the system failed her brother¨ and the court should have not been so cruel on his hearing day. Deobra Redden's next hearing was not the same, showing that Deobra came into the courtroom locked in chains, to prevent another battery assault case. Deobra will remain in custody with a $54000 bond, and therefore will most likely never get out. Deobra Redden had jumped onto the judge, and claimed he did it because he had a bad day. Although this could have been the case, Attorneys say he had refused to show in court on his trial day. And Deobra would have never jumped on the judge if he hadn't refused to go to court that day, therefore Deobra Reddens case was no mistake.
Nikki Haley
By Hunter Greene
Republican party candidate Nikki Haley stated that she wanted to raise the retirement age to 70 years and this will only apply to the younger generation of people, so the adults still hopeful to retire can still retire at the age of 65 years of age. Nikki’s hopes to increase social security for fear one day it will dry up. She wants to limit benefits of social security for the young generation. Nikki also took a massive and quite embarrassing loss in Nevada where she was out voted to nothing. Trump was the frontrunner for the republican nomination in the state but his name was not on the ballot so everyone in the state checked the box “none of these candidates”. But Haley claims that her campaign did not focus on Nevada Haley claiming “ the state is a tank for Trump supporters” but the numbers speak louder than her words she is falling well behind trump only placing second in New Hampshire and only placing third in Iowa. Nikki’s goal for her campaign is to increase numbers in New Hampshire and in South Carolina. Amid her losing to nothing, she claims that the ballot was rigged by the Nevada republicans. Sense she lost to nothing she will have to go through caucus with the no candidate's option where she will be awarded the state nomination.
Nikki might actually be able to win the election if she focuses most of her campaign in the South Carolina area she may be able to partake in the presidential debate. But in doing so, Nikki will have to go up against Donold trump who is notorious for silencing his opponents and not giving his opponents chances to speak just like in the 2019 election with him and his opponent Joe Biden when he wouldn’t give him chances to speak and kept interrupting him. Trump also fired shots at Nikki during a rally asking her where her husband is. He is presumably overseas serving his country after Trump fired his shots at Haley. She remarked back saying that she was proud of her husband serving overseas she also said that if you mock a combat veteran you should not have and let alone not be the future president of the United States. Trump's attacks had gotten so bad that Joe Biden stepped in and defended Nikki Haley saying that Trump wouldn't know service if it slapped him in the face. We’ll all have to stay watch and see how this battle between Nikki Haley and Donold Trump will be and we’ll see if Nikki Haley can come out on Trump and beat him.
National Snow Coverage
By Alyson Gillenwater
There are 3 months in winter: December, January, and February. Out of all of those months we only had 1 snow that got us out of school for 3 days. There was a lot of snow but it somehow seemed to miss us. The weather was cold enough that it could snow but it chose not to snow. Students and teachers were wishing that we didn’t have to go to school. Some people didn’t like that we had to come to school when there was still ice on the roads. There are 180 days in school and we still don’t have snow on the ground. Over the past few years we have barely been getting any snow. People have been upset that there hasn’t been any snow because most people don’t want to go to school or even work. Personally I think that we should be out for snow because we don’t have many mental health days, and some people are new at driving and still ain’t comfortable with driving on the road. I feel that even if we do have a snow day we shouldn’t do work because it is our time to go out and play in the snow. We won’t be able to do that if we have school work. If we did have snow days we should only have to do work if we are getting close to having more days in the school year. I think that having a time that we have to check in is a little crazy because some people don’t get up until 11 & if we don’t check in until 10 then we are counted absent, which there shouldn’t be a time that we have to check in. This year Montgomery County was one of the last schools to get closed while every other school canceled for snow days. If the weather is below a certain temperature then we should close school because the roads might not be safe & kids could get cold and sick or even be in danger. Many of the teachers also enjoy the snow days we get off. It's not just students enjoying days off teachers enjoy them too because they could spend time with their kids & even pets. Winter is the time that people's mental health goes down & that is why we should get breaks so we could take advantage of that time when we can. We are at school more than we are at our house & that affects a lot of relationships with our family because some people go home & either have to do homework or have to get ready to go to work & we don’t have time to spend with family. Snow days should be a day that students could check up on missing work. The days that we do go to school when we shouldn’t be at school the adentends is low because some people either don’t feel comfortable driving or don’t have a way to get to school or don’t even want to come.
By: Lauren Beth Garnand
We live in a small town where we all root for the home team on Friday night win or lose and we all go to church on Sunday morning. But even in this small town there are people whose traditions, thoughts, feelings, skin tone, or church look a little different. But we are all people trying to make sense of a world full of nonsense, trying to do our best to be the best we can. Today, I want to shed some light on the unique cultures, traditions and religious beliefs here at Auburn High School. Did you know that 1.2% of the United State’s population practices Buddhism? That is 3.5 million people that practice Buddhism. Today, I went and asked a few of Auburn's students and staff that practice Buddhism some questions about their unique religious beliefs. When asked about Buddhism specifically, they said that “Life is like a wheel with a bunch of spokes. Everyone is on their own spoke trying to get to the center. And the center looks different for everyone, for Christians it is Heaven, for Islam it is Jannah, for Judaism it is Shamayim and for Buddhism it is Enlightenment.” I am christian and I pray for my friends, family to be safe and happy but for Buddhists it is to pray to “gain a stronger connection to the spiritual realm, it is a way of requesting help or insight into a spiritual concept you are gaining a better understanding of.” So, prayer is a lot like christian prayer, praying for help or guidance or reassurance. Buddhism is a “non judgmental religion, it is practical, and questioning is encouraged, it is an investigation, your given an idea of a way to practice or a way to live you life and it encourages you to question and challenge until you come to an agreement or understanding about being kind to all living things. It gives you clear instructions on why it is beneficial, why it would help you, why it would help all living things, I think it is very tried and true. It wants you to think your way into your Faith rather than blindly having faith.” Buddhism is interesting because “it accepts all people no matter where they come from, what they do, what their beliefs are.”
Compassion is something that I personally try really hard to show everyone everyday and when asked if they could take one thing away from being a Buddhist what would it be? “Showing compassion to all living things.” I learned about different religions during World History 1, and it was said that Buddhism is more of a philosophy rather than a religion but it is not really either “it is a way of life, a practice, it is something I do everyday and I try to stay mindful of my practice. If my practice is to have compassion then I try to wake up every morning and incorporate compassion into my whole day.” “Being a Buddist has given me peace of mind and a peaceful mind is a happy mind.” Being Buddhist is about “being happy for yourself but also helping others find happiness.” When I asked “What is the lasting effect of Buddhism for you personally?” Their answer was “I don’t take harm to myself personally anymore and I don't take things as personal. I have a lot more compassion for different situations and people. I feel like I have meaning to my life, a huge meaning that I was searching for my whole life. What can I do to make a difference in the world and this is where I found it.” I believe that religion has helped so many people find themselves in ways some of us can only dream.
What is your Faith?
by: Kira Crockett
So many things are uncertain in this life. People go through many different things and many different situations. One thing everyone has in common however is experiencing struggle. Struggle comes in many different ways and situations. You can experience struggle in school, at work, at home, in public, and even just on the day to day. Struggle is a tough thing to overcome, especially depending on the situation. Tough does not mean impossible though, it is definitely not impossible to overcome struggle. The journey to overcoming struggle is rough though, it is not an easy journey and the road is rocky.
As soon as you overcome the struggle you will see that it is so worth it. It is so much brighter on the other side of the rainbow. You will realize all the struggle you went through and experienced was worth it to achieve your happiness. You will probably have doubts about starting your journey to overcome struggle first, after you get started the hard part is to keep going. It's hard to keep going because as you are trying to fix everything and lessen your struggle, it might seem as if everything hits at once. All the problems you have will feel like it is piling on top. You might also run into new problems you thought you would never have before but suddenly get added to the pot. During this time you would probably feel like giving up, that's one of the biggest struggles, to keep going even when you feel like you can't. There are many things you can do to help you keep pushing through, you can write all your thoughts down in a journal, you can invest in your friends or family, invest in self care, talk to a professional, as well as many other options you could look into.
The first step in working on your struggle is to notice that you are struggling and accept that it is normal and it is ok to have problems. A lot of the time this is what people struggle with the most, accepting that you are struggling. Most people think if they admit that they are struggling then they are weak or vulnerable, which is not true at all. Actually admitting that you are struggling means that you are very strong and independent. We are all human and have many different feelings and emotions we feel and experience. Everyone's experiences are different and unique to the individual that goes through them.
Struggle is a worldwide thing, which can make it easier to open up about and others to understand where you're coming from. To achieve the other side of this goal we would of course look to the emotion of happiness and calmness. So, is struggle essential to happiness? Absolutely! To achieve the peak level of happiness you have to know what it is like to not experience happiness. If you're struggling you are probably not the happiest, therefore if you struggle, happiness means a lot more to you. You have to struggle in order to achieve your happiness. If you don't struggle then you can't understand what it's like to not have happiness. Therefore in order to achieve maximum happiness you need to experience struggle first, which everyone does.
by: Corrina Hoose
The phone policy has students in a hot mess. Let me explain why. A couple of students have gotten written up because of their phone but some students aren’t even on their phones when they do get written up. A student had their phone in their backpack and they got a text message from their mom and saw the message and replied back real quick. There was only 3 minutes left until class was over and they put their phone on their desk. As soon as they put their phone on their desk, a principal, (Not saying names), walked in and wrote them up. The student wants to clarify that they were not on their phone at all and it was only for 3 seconds that their phone was out. Some students call the policy stupid. The policy is stupid because students can’t be on their phones during soar. Teachers argue that Soar time is to do work and not to have phones out. Students argue that Soar is the time for them to relax and have their phones and talk with their friends. But they made it a rule that no phones should be out unless a teacher says otherwise. Teachers get irritated when students have their phone out but some teachers are polite about it. When a student is asked to put their phone on the teacher’s desk they get angry and cuss out teachers. I have seen this happen in multiple classes to teachers. Students tell teachers no and say really rude things. In conclusion this phone policy has students angry and teachers getting cussed out for just doing their jobs.
By: Rylee Lyons
As Superbowl season approaches, there are many rumors and concerns about the game being rigged, for one, many thought the teams playing in the game had been previously decided to be the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers, seeing as the colors for the logo were red and purple. Another piece of evidence for these claims was a news article that was published saying Usher was excited to see the Ravens v. 49ers superbowl. There rumors were quickly shut down by the results of the final playoff games, though. But, of course, more rumors started revolving Taylor Swift and her involvement with the NFL. Around the start of the NFL season, Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce announced their relationship when Taylor Swift attended a Chiefs game. Many NFL fans were unreasonably mad, saying the camera panned to her too much, or that she was “ruining the NFL.” While some of these claims were ridiculous, it is true that many of the spectators focused on Taylor Swift’s attendance more than the game, and some fans had valid concerns. But after that game, Taylor Swift was hardly mentioned or seen at the games, but NFL fans had the same hateful comments. Some people even say Taylor has been planted by the NFL or even the government to earn more money for the Chiefs and the NFL as a whole due to the astonishing amount of fame she has gained. While Taylor has increased the revenue for the NFL, that would only be expected from someone at her level of fame, she also increased the economy of every city she performs in. Some NFL fans claim they “just want to watch football,” but many Swift defenders find that to be an irrelevant While some people are very serious about these claims against Taylor, may find it funny to watch football fans complain and feel a whole sport is threatened because of 5 seconds of screen time taken up by a pop star.
By: Lauren Beth Garnand
The Blue Ridge Bobcats of the Federal Prospects Hockey League sprouted up from seed with their first official game in franchise history, a 5-3 loss to the visiting Mississippi Sea Wolves. In early summer it still had a dirt floor. Now a hockey rink covers the surface, and the ice won’t be going anywhere until the local team’s 56-game season ends in April. Professional sports have returned to the county for the first time since 1989, when the Chicago Cubs pulled their Appalachian League Rookie baseball franchise out of Withers Field in downtown Wytheville. Let that sink in. There is a professional sports team in Wytheville. Matt Hankins, Wythe County’s assistant administrator, was among the curious who stood rinkside on a squeaky-clean concrete floor waiting for the Bobcats to take the ice for the first time. “It’s hard to believe that where we are standing, in May this was dirt,” he said. The Apex Center sits high atop a hill overlooking Interstate 81 in Wythe County. Photo by Robert Anderson. Building a hockey franchise from the ground up is nothing new for Bobcats owner Barry Soskin. The 66-year-old Illinois native has owned a number of teams in a variety of leagues and currently has a majority stake in at least four other FPHL teams, the Port Huron (Michigan) Prowlers, the Carolina Thunderbirds of Winston-Salem, the Baton Rouge Zydeco and the Bobcats’ opponent Friday, the Biloxi-based Sea Wolves. Soskin also is the president of Apex Drive Holdings LLC, which operates separately from the hockey team and hopes to attract other forms of entertainment such as concerts to the Apex Center. We did not get the final seating chart until Monday,” he said, imagining a conversation with a potential ticket buyer. “I’d like to sell you a season ticket.” “Great, where do I sit?” “How the hell do I know?” “Well, let me see a seating chart.” “No! We didn’t have anything approved yet.” The game began 15 minutes later than the scheduled 7:30 p.m. puck drop. Spectators were still filing into the arena. Soskin reported an opening-night attendance of 1,271. The owner did not try to deflect any blame. The Biloxi franchise plays in a 9,150-seat arena. The club formerly was in the East Coast Hockey League, where it won the Kelly Cup in 1999. The team folded amid the COVID-19 pandemic but returned last season as an FPHL entry. Necaise has some pull with the Mississippi team. He is the co-owner of a Biloxi business, Omni Technologies, which has its advertising logo on the Sea Wolves’ uniforms. Standing outside the visitors’ locker room before the game in the shadow of the team buses, he was impressed by the local show of support. “I’ll give props to the Bobcats,” he said. “I’ve been watching some of the fans walking around in their jerseys, hats, all that stuff. They’re decked out, ready to go.” Randy Irvin had never seen a hockey game before the Bobcats clashed with the Sea Wolves. The former Rural Retreat football player was enjoying the physical nature of the event. “I came tonight knowing zero. I like it a lot, I really do,” Irvin said. “The speed is amazing.” Irvin left the arena with positive vibes. “As a fan, what I’m most happy about is they’re actually doing something with this place,” he said. “Looking around, I think it’s going to do well. The 11-team FPHL is one big traveling fraternity. “It gets wild out there at times, but for the most part we’re friends,” Oakes said. “We all know each other.” The Bobcats dropped a 4-3 decision to Mississippi the next night before embarking on a 511-mile trip to the Detroit suburbs to face the Motor City Rockers. It was a history-making bus ride as the Bobcats earned their first victory in franchise history on Oct. 27 with a 5-4 overtime victory. Two third-period goals by Vladisov Vlasov sent the game to overtime, where the Bobcats prevailed 2-0 in a shootout on goals by Jakub Volf and Josh Newberg. The Bobcats dropped a 4-3 decision to Motor City on Saturday. The Wythe County team is in the FPHL’s Empire Division, named for good reason because three of the teams are located in New York, the Binghamton Black Bears, the Elmira River Sharks and the Watertown Wolves. The other Empire team is the Danbury (Connecticut) Hat Tricks. The six teams in the Continental Division are the Sea Wolves, the Thunderbirds, the Rockers, the Zydeco, the Port Huron (Michigan) Prowlers and the Columbus (Georgia) River Dragons. The Bobcats will make the 835-mile trip to Baton Rouge for a two-game series Dec. 8-9. Biloxi is a 748-mile ride. Most of the trips are two-game series. Almost all the games are played on Fridays and Saturdays with a handful of Wednesday and Sunday games. Soskin has some short-term and long-term improvements in mind. “Let’s build some more stands,” he said. “A work in progress.” Soskin said the financial support from local advertisers has been “better than I thought for the first year.”
The Long Awaited 2024 Softball Season is Here!
By: Delayna Mitcham
I have talked with some of the players and we are all super excited for the upcoming season. A bunch of the JV players from last year are moving up to Varsity this year. We all can’t wait to join the varsity team as we take on the task of continuing the Auburn Softball legacy. The JV players moving up this year are Kaylee Rammratten (9), Madison Litton (12), Mallory Akers (11), Adyson Smith (11), Johnnie Gaynor (9), and me:). All of us are super excited to play varsity this year. We’re hoping we all have a competitive and fun season. The previous teams are relying on us to continue the trend and win another state title. It is a huge task but I think we will manage. The juniors from the jv team two years ago are finally back together, we are hoping to be as good as if not better than the graduating class of 2023.
The seniors on the 2023 team were stacked. The pitcher Kirsten Fleet went on to play D1 for James Madison University. Without her, our pitchers are going to have to step up their game and fill the void that Kirsten left us with. Mallory Akers will take the place of Kendra Scaggs, our center fielder from last year. Haley Greenhalgh will take over for her sister Emma Greenhalgh at third. Harley Hurd will most likely be taking over left field for her cousin Jordan Coutant. Johnnie Gaynor will most likely be our shortstop in place of Avery Zuckerwar. Kaylee Rammratten or I will be playing second in place of Rachel Brotherton.
The head coach for JV is Ragan Halsey. There is not an assistant coach yet but they are in the process of hiring someone who will help take the JV team to the district championship just like last year. For varsity the head coach is Tim Smoot. Ben Kratz is the assistant coach. Jason and Trena Booth help out the team. We are hoping to have Emily Coe and Jordan Coutant come back to help out with the coaching as well.
For the 2024 season we have two seniors Madison Litton and Harley Hurd. Harley has been playing varsity softball for the past four years. Madison started playing softball last year. She is being pulled up to varsity for her senior year. We can not wait to get to watch our two seniors play their last year of softball. We are going to hate to see them go but we hope to make this an amazing season for the both of them.
The softball season starts February 19th. We are having open diamond for anyone interested in playing with us this season, and to get our returning players back in the “swing” of the game. Our first scrimmage of the season will be on March 6th. We have a tournament at the Botetourt Sports complex March 16th, we will play two games that day. The following weeks our season will be underway.
Maya Spero
After years of waiting, Hazbin Hotel is finally out, and it is more popular than ever. Hazbin hotel is a dirty animated show on Prime, made by Vivienne Medrano. The original pilot was released on youtube in 2019, although it had been in production for several years beforehand.
It was loved by many people, reaching more than 90 million views. Everyone wanted to see more of it. People loved the characters, the plot, and wanted a full series. Vivzie(the creators nickname), was happy with her success and promised her fans a show based on the pilot. Although warning people it would take a long time, as the pilot itself took years to finally be posted.
So while Hazbin hotel was in production, Vivzie started to post episodes of Helluva boss on youtube; same universe but based on different characters. Helluva boss would keep people entertained and glued to Vivzie’s channel till Hazbin Hotel would eventually come out. While Hazbin hotel was based on sinners, people who died and went to hell; Helluva boss was based on hell born imps, the lowest class in hell, killing humans for payment.
Hazbin hotel came out this year, people were thrilled and exhilarated. 2 episodes were coming out each week and people were hooked. Although many were upset that the original cast was replaced. The new voices grew on everyone soon enough. The new cast consisted of many broadway actors like Erika Henningsen who was Cady in the mean girls broadway.
I personally love how the show has turned out! The characters are interesting and lively, all having unique personalities. Each character had their own little episode where they were the main character, the center of attention. Although it being a musical was a little off putting at first, it soon grew on me as the songs were well written and drew me in. I was worried that I was going to be disappointed but it was the complete opposite, I was blown away. I love this show, and its humor. I also feel like I relate to some of the characters in many ways.
If you like dirty shows, you might like this one. Hazbin Hotel contains many dirty jokes, swear words and death; even more so if you like musicals or these broadway actors.
I personally think Hazbin Hotel is worth checking out, but I've liked the show since the pilot came out so my opinion may differ from others. I hope those who watch this show will like it as much as I do, and if not, that's okay too.
By: Lauren Beth Garnand
I know not everyone doesn't believe in a higher power, but I do so…people always watch the sunrise and set because it is beautiful, but I think the real beauty is the amazing painting God paints everyday. Whether it is painted with vibrant colors like yellow, pink, orange, blue, purple, and reds or hazed by a gray, or white cloudy fog. I believe that every precious moment can be summed up in patterns of colors. From light, cloud-like brush strokes to loud direct lines of bold pigment. It is a blessing to see a sunrise and sunset everyday. All memories of that day all over the world summed up into a single painting that will never be seen again. There has not been one the same nor will ever be the same again even if the variation is one millimeter it is different because persons day was different. Colors, like music, are the emotions and memories we have with the people who are important to our life. Your faith, family and friends is all we have, and each and everyone of us is defined by our faith in what we believe to the people around us. We remember things based on the emotion connected to them, but we also collage colors and emotions, so it makes sense that sunrises and sunsets are placed in the same category as memories. Emotions like love are pink, sad is blue, anger is red, happy is yellow, and these are very based on the person. To end this on a light note, everyday and every second is beautiful and I now more than ever am trying to live life to the fullest for me and the people around me.
By Lauren Beth Garnand
Fast & Furious is nearing its finish line and if you thought the Fast Saga was going to end quietly, then you've clearly never watched the series. We had thought Fast X was going to be the first of a two-part finale, but Vin Diesel recently let slip that it could well be the first movie of a climactic trilogy. It would be a fittingly, uh, understated way to end a series that was originally about street racing, but has become an entirely different beast. Subtlety has never been in the Fast Saga's wheelhouse, so it will be no surprise to learn that their approach to a multi-part finale is to go massive, setting up far too many plot threads that one movie can't tie up. In fact, Fast X barely manages to complete any and decides to just leave most of them open. The result is an overstuffed blockbuster that doesn't satisfy as a complete whole, but works as another ride that's often ludicrously entertaining and elevated by the best villain in the series. Fast X continues the series' penchant for retcons by revealing that Fast Five's villain Hernan Reyes had a son called Dante (Jason Momoa). He was there during the safe heist and the final battle on the bridge but we never saw him, and he's been concocting his revenge against Dom (Vin Diesel) for a decade. Don't worry if you either haven't seen Fast Five or haven't seen it in a while because Fast X recaps it whenever it can. All you really need to know is that Dante is pissed and he doesn't want to kill Dom as you "never accept death when suffering is owed". It marks a refreshing change-up for the series which had increasingly fallen into comfortable plot mechanics: bad person wants some world-threatening high tech, Dom and his family have to stop them. Here, director Louis Leterrier plays with that expectation during a first-act heist in Rome which delivers everything you'd expect from a Fast movie. There's incredible car and motorbike stunts, a massive bomb rolling through the streets and a scarcely believable way for Dom to save the day that defies the laws of physics. But rather than the set-up for the same old Fast movie, the heist is all a knowing misdirect as Dante is playing an entirely different game. It leads to Dom's familia being scattered around the globe, leading to a more grounded well, in terms of this series outing that avoids outlandish spectacle like space travel. The issue is that the sprawling cast means that there are multiple subplots going on. As Dom tries to track down Dante, we've got a few of the gang in London, while Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and nemesis Cipher (Charlize Theron) are at a CIA black site and Jakob (John Cena) is being a protective uncle in Los Angeles. You'd assume that all of the subplots, including the shenanigans of new Agency head Aimes (Alan Ritchson) and Mr Nobody's daughter Tess (Brie Larson), would combine for a big finale. However, Fast X never really does this and each subplot seemingly exists to just set up the next movie. Fast X might not go to space or have multiple huge set pieces, but it's still a massive movie because of this. The pacing isn't on the mark though, so we leave subplots for extended periods and if you didn't know there was a second part coming, you would leave frustrated with how the movie ends. However, there is one shining light that just about keeps Fast X on track: Jason Momoa's Dante Reyes. He's the strongest villain of the series to date and Momoa is having the time of his life, delivering an excellent performance as he does so.Dante is a flamboyant and theatrical baddie who absolutely loves what he does and as much as he hates Dom, he's also a bit of a fanboy and relishes battling wits with him. Like the switch-up with the plot, Dante is a world away from the usually serious Fast & Furious villains who are evil just because. Momoa is so good that when Fast X has to switch lanes and catch up with the other subplots, his presence is sorely missed despite the typically reliable turns from the extended cast. There's a playful edge to Dante's villain that spreads through other aspects of Fast X too. It's a series that's increasingly in on the joke, such as Roman (Tyrese Gibson) talking about invincibility in Fast 9. A standout scene here sees Aimes moan about family BBQs and deliver deadpan lines about violating the laws of "God and gravity". Fast & Furious fans certainly won't feel shortchanged by Fast X because as much as it changes the formula, it still delivers a lot of the same. There are deep-cut references, unexpected cameos and spectacle that no other series can deliver – after all, where else can you see helicopters used as wrecking balls? The final act will certainly create discussion too that will tide Fast fans over until the 11th movie arrives in 2025 (assuming the writers' strike doesn't delay it). You'll know it probably won't do what it's teasing, but it'll be fun to speculate endlessly over. But as much as the ending has an impact, it's hard to escape the feeling that Fast X is only half a story and forgot to tell a cohesive story of its own.
By: Delanya Mitcham
Chapter 5 Season 1 is here after a very short Fortnite OG season – but we now know that it will return at some point. This season promises to be one of Fortnite’s biggest yet, not only in terms of all the new stuff that’s been added to the main battle royale mode but all of the other new modes that are coming soon. As always with a new Chapter, a brand new map has been brought to Fortnite, this time featuring 11 POIs across some grassy and icy biomes. Some of the highlights of this map include the train doing a speedy lap across the entire island, and the many grand manors and hotels which serve as the lairs for this season’s bosses. There are five new bosses in this season, ranging from the cool and powerful Valeria, to…Peter Griffin.
Cars have never been that big of a deal in Fortnite. Some of them look cool, and they can help you get out of trouble in a hurry, but it wasn’t until now that they’ve become a more important feature. With Rocket Racing on the horizon, you can now obtain new skins and cosmetic accessories for your Fortnite cars. Getting in any car on Fortnite will transform it into whatever your currently selected skin is. There is also some crossover with this as if you own any of the Octane, Cyclone, Jäger 619, or Lamborghini Huracán STO cars in Rocket League, you’ll automatically unlock them in Fortnite too.
Now, all of the new weapons added this season can be modified with a bunch of handy accessories. These include things like new barrels, extended magazines, iron sights, and more. Any mod-compatible weapon has a chance to already have a mod installed depending on its rarity, with Uncommon weapons having one mod and Legendary weapons having four, but you can also create new mods or switch out existing ones by finding a Mod Bench and spending Bars.
First up is the Grapple Blade, which is exactly what it sounds like. This weapon lets you grapple around the place, and if you grapple to players you can use it to deal a heavy melee strike when you reach them. Next is the Cluster Clinger, an explosive weapon that shoots out a plunger with Cluster Bombs attached. It will stick to whatever surface it hits – including players – and explode after a few seconds. And last of all, we have the Ballistic Shield, which can block incoming bullets while letting you fire a pistol over the top. If that’s not enough, you can charge forwards with it to deal damage and knock back your attackers.