Are we so different? (By: Cheryl Joseph)

I may not think like you.

I may not act like you.

I may live halfway across the world,

In a land you may not have even heard of,

Let alone think about.

I may not think about clothes,

Or exams,

Or movies that just came out.

No.

I think about food,

And how to get some.

I think about my parents,

Who died of AIDS before I even knew them.

I think about my grandmother,

Who’s so old she can’t even care for herself anymore,

Let alone her grandchildren.

I think about my younger siblings,

And whether they will survive another year.

I may not think like you.

I may not act like you.

But am I really so different?

Do I deserve any less?

Are we really so different? Take the Vow of Silence on November 30th. Make a difference in the life of another kid or teen just like you.

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Hawaii Five-0 Review (By: Erika Ty)

10:00 on CBS

Only in it’s second season, Hawaii Five-0 is already packed with action and a lot of drama. With 11.2 million viewers every Monday night, the rankings are always high and receive a lot of great reviews from the critics. Hawaii Five-0 originally aired in 1968 and ran for 12 seasons. In May of 2010, CBS announced they would remake the series with Australian hunk Alex O’Laughlin as the Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Scott Caan as Detective Danny “Danno” Williams, Daniel Dae Kim as Chin Ho Kelly and a native of Vancouver, Grace Park as Kono Kalakaua. Five-0 is a special task force team assembled by the Governor of Hawaii thatfollow no law and no rules, they make their own.

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The Son of Neptune, Rick Riordon Book Review (By: Omer Younus)

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordon is the second installment of the “Heroes of Olympus” Series; this time however, is based on three new characters. One of which many Rick Riordan fans will know: Percy Jackson himself. It starts off as many might expect, at the other “Roman” camp for demigods that was mentioned at the end of the previous book, “The Lost Hero”. But that definitely does not mean that it is predictable in any way. This novel allows you get to know the new main characters similar to the beginning of the “Percy Jackson” series. I did find it kind of frustrating at times trying to remember all the new terms of the new Roman Camp, but as a reader, I can assure you that the Roman camp for demigods is not at all the same as the Greek camp for demigods.

While reading this book, my mind was thinking of how Rick Riordan has written this book quite cleverly for readers. It gives you nearly the exact same feeling at the beginning of “The Lightning Thief”. Rick Riordan cleverly brings upon a new series with new characters, new terms, new settings, yet keeping the old and known characters, settings, and terms in the book, which immediately will draw any Percy Jackson’s fan’s attention, because they will see the relation and the similarity between the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and “The Heroes of Olympus” series. Like mentioned before, many new concepts have been added to this book giving it an originality of it’s own.

One thing that really kept revolving in my mind while I was coming across the beginning of the book was the comparison with the previous installment, “The Lost Hero”. Percy Jackson has returned to the game with his great humor, skill, and familiar voice, making this an excellent book. Along with great efforts from the author, this book comes with several new and exciting things that such as the new monsters, names of Roman gods and much more. “The Lost Hero” did not have many if not, any, of these factors which made it nice to see the old characters again but left you thriving for something different and a better storyline which this book was capable of achieving.

Overall, since the book did finish with quite of a cliffhanger, many readers will be waiting for the next book, “The Mark of Athena” coming out next fall. “The Son of Neptune” did keep my attention the whole way, did introduce the characters not all at once, but little truths revealed here and there, and did make me crave for the next part. A classic background of a new story.

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Occupy Wall Street: The Motives Behind the Movement (By: Nikhita Singhal)

What has driven hundreds of people to gather in the streets of New York’s financial district?
Occupy Wall Street, being a prominent topic in the news lately has inspired offshoots in over 100 cities across the United States and action in over 1500 cities globally. But despite its prevalence in the media, the movement has many scratching their heads. What exactly are the protests all about?

Initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters, the demonstrations in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s financial district, began on September 17th, 2011. The forces behind Occupy Wall Street believe that Wall Street has played a major role in causing the greatest recession in generations by creating an economic collapse. Inspired by the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the protestors are objecting to the power of large banks and corporations and the sway they hold over political processes in America – as well as social and economic inequality in general. According to the unofficial website of the growing movement, Occupy Wall Street “aims to expose how the richest 1% of people are writing the rules of an unfair global economy.” This explains the slogan of the movement, “We are the 99%.”

From the description above, it may seem the goals of the protest are slightly confused. And they are, in a way; when confronted with the question of what they would like to see the movement achieve, 35% of protestors sought to influence the Democratic Party the way the Tea Party has influenced the GOP, 11% wanted to break the two-party duopoly, and only 4% replied a radical redistribution of wealth. Their aim may not be clearly constrained to one particular target, but the message is coherent enough: they want change.

Even those who do not agree with the cause must admit that the determination of the protestors in Zucotti Park is admirable. The protestors who choose to spend the night must stay in sleeping bags or simply blankets, as tents are forbidden in the park. Fortunately for the movement, they have received over $500 000 in donations as of October 27th, and have had access to food, washrooms, and water.

Interestingly enough, media coverage of the protests was scarce until the police became heavily involved. Tales of police brutality have ignited anger and outrage among many, and have made the movement all the more newsworthy. Online videos of police roughing up protestors, and even spraying mace at a group of females, have gone viral. Since then, the demonstration has gained sympathy worldwide and global press attention.

It will be fascinating to see what these protests accomplish; could significant change to society and political processes be looming on the horizon? Only time will tell.

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Real Steel Movie Review (By: Nikhita Singhal)

The premise of the new movie Real Steel may turn moviegoers away – boxing robots? Really? But the Hugh Jackman flick was a surprising hit, topping the North American box office on its opening weekend. In fact, the film has achieved the biggest debut ever for a boxing movie, raking in $49.4 million for its worldwide opening.

Real Steel takes place in the near future – a future that doesn’t seem entirely implausible. By the year 2020, traditional boxing has been replaced by robot boxing so more damage can be inflicted and withstood by the fighters. Jackman’s performance as Charlie Kenton, a former boxer who has resorted to putting together robots for underground matches, was one of the highlights of the movie. The result is a thrilling, emotional ride as Charlie gets a shot at a comeback while building a relationship with his estranged son, Max. The tense final match is extremely reminiscent of Rocky – in fact, the entire movie could almost be described as Rocky with robots – but it works. In the end, the originality of the premise is what sets this film apart. And the soundtrack, featuring the likes of Eminem, 50 Cent, and Foo Fighters, was as awesome as the film itself.

The critics gave the film mixed to positive reactions, but the relatable characters, suspenseful action, and compelling plot have earned it far more favorable response from the general public. You don’t need to be into boxing or robots to enjoy this movie. Just go in with an open mind, and you’ll definitely be pleasantly surprised. And for those of you who have already seen Real Steel and loved it, there’s some good news: a sequel is already being planned! No word yet on its release date though. Expect it to be in development as soon as Jackman’s schedule clears up.

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Monster Within (By: Rebecca Moodie)

As the clock in Subway struck 11, Kathleen stood behind the cash register. She tapped her fingernails on the counter in boredom as the last customer finished his sandwich. Once he left she was free to close up and head home. He walked out the door and she went to lock it. She could go out the back door. She turned her key in the lock and heard it click. She turned to go to the back to finish cleaning up when someone knocked on the door. She turned back and saw a man standing there wearing a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up.
"I'm sorry, we're closed." Kathleen called through the door. But he knocked again and she repeated herself. "I'm sorry sir, but we're closed for the night." She spun on her heels and started toward the back. She went behind the counter and locked the cash register. She glanced back at the door and saw that he wasn't there. Odd, she thought. Her phone rang and she took out of the front drawer.
"Hey, what's up?" Her friend Olivia said through the phone. Kathleen sighed and locked every other drawer.
"Hey, I'm getting out of here soon. Just closing up," she told her. Kathleen hung up the phone and continued cleaning. She wandered into the back and put the remaining food either in the garbage or the fridge. She then walked into the locker room and opened her locker. Her phone buzzed and she read the message.

SO EXCITED FOR THE PARTY!!!

Kathleen smiled to herself and slipped the phone into her pocket. As she did so she heard a loud bang. Kathleen jumped and fumbled her phone. She caught it quickly and threw it in her locker. She glanced around the corner and didn't see anything. So she grabbed her things from her locker and locked it. She wandered back out to the main lobby of Subway and saw that the door was open. Kathleen stopped and stared at the wide open door. Her heart pounded in her chest and she breathed heavily. I thought I locked that door, she thought to herself. However, she remembered locking it and telling the man to leave. The man...maybe he did this, Kathleen thought. But she shook her head and thought against it. To break that lock you've got to be either a body builder or throw something through the window, neither happened so what happened? Kathleen thought to herself but nothing came to her.
"Hello Kathleen," a voice spoke. She spun around and the man stood there. "It's nice to see you again."
"Who are you?" she asked him. But he didn't answer her. She waited for him to respond but he never did. "I asked you a question,” she continued.
"It doesn't matter who I am. But it matters who you are." He told her. She was confused. "Let's just say I'm your worst nightmare." Kathleen wasn't sure what to do – whether to run or fight back.
"How are you my worst nightmare? I don't even know you!" she screamed. Just as she said that, he took his hood off and the most revolting thing stood in front of her. A mangled face and blood stained hair. She screamed and tumbled backwards. She fell to the floor and he started towards her. She backed up and scrambled across the floor away from him.
"Remember me Kathleen?" he shouted at her. She slammed her eyes shut, hoping that it was all a bad dream and the he would be gone when she opened her eyes. But when she opened her eyes, he still stood over her like a shadow looming over its victim. "Remember me?" he shouted again.
"No!" Kathleen screamed. He grabbed her sweater that she had on and lifted her up off the floor. He set her on a table in front of him and grasped the sweater in his other hand as well. "If I remembered you I wouldn't be asking who you are!" She screamed.
"It's me, Graeme. The one you left behind." He spat in her face. Kathleen froze and stared at him.
"Graeme? I thought you were-"
"Dead? I am, because of you and your drunk driving you idiot!" he yelled. Being a coward she wished he was gone. "I can't believe that you're afraid of me. You were willing enough to put me in the passenger seat knowing you were drunk. So what do you do? You wrap the car around a tree and you live god damn it!"
"How was I supposed to know you were going to die? I didn't even know what was going on!" She shouted at him. "Trust me, if I could have saved you, I would have." But he wasn't buying it.
"I'm going to make you suffer for what you did to me." He said. He pulled back his sweatshirt and revealed a knife. Kathleen tried to move but his grip was too strong. She squirmed and wriggled around, but it was no use. She was stuck there and he was going to kill her.
"Why are you making me suffer for something that's not my fault?" she screamed at him. But he didn't stop to listen to her. He slowly moved the blade closer to her skin until it punctured the surface and spilled a drop of blood. She screamed in pain and tried to push him away, but it was almost like he was attached to her. He made a long cut down her arm and dropped the knife on the floor. He then brought her arm to his mouth. "Are you a vampire?" she asked.
"No, a zombie. I'm sucking the life out of you for myself," he told her. That's when she truly began panicking. Graeme was going to take her life in order to satisfy his own conscious. He took her life until there was nothing left but skin and bones. He dropped her and stared down at her lifeless body. He walked out of the Subway, never to return.

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