Life After Oprah (By: Jordan Stothers)

A quarter of a century: that’s how long the legendary Oprah has had her hit talk show, Oprah. That’s longer than any of us students at the Ridge have even been alive. Twenty-five long, prosperous years full of Dr. Oz health facts, celebrity guests, Christmas giveaways and infamous couch jumpings on the popular Oprah show. Who cares about May 21st? It’s the 25th that’s the real doomsday date, when the final show of Oprah will be aired. For many, Oprah has been a source of inspiration. For us students and our younger siblings, she’s always been there. We’ve grown up in a world where Oprah has been the most powerful celebrity, thanks to her show. You want to win a presidential election? Just get Oprah to back you up, like Barack Obama did. Oprah can do anything. She’s like a superhero in heels and with a camera crew. You’re looking to redo your living room, and just don’t know where to start? Aunt Oprah will give her favourite interior decorator, Nate, and have him swing by with a whole new design. I can’t even remember a time when Oprah wasn’t around, picking books for her influential book club or dominating the list of most influential celebrity, for several years. She has shaped the television world and the real world alike. Everyone wants to be her, or find out that they’re her long lost sister or brother. Whoever says otherwise is a liar. Of course, this doesn’t mean the world has seen the last of Oprah Winfrey. She plans on devoting 100% of her time to her own network, fittingly titled OWN. However, this network doesn’t come free, and if anyone wants to get some quality time with Oprah, they’ll have to make a call to their network provider and chalk up some hard earned cash. Until then, there will be a gapping hole in her time slot, and in many hearts. When the ancient Egypt Pharaoh Ramses died, he had reigned for over ninety years. Egyptians didn’t know what to do with themselves. They thought it was the end of the world. Now it’s history all over again. The public won’t know what to do with themselves from 3-4, every weekday afternoon.

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The Royal Wedding: A Worthy Affair? (By: Megan Stulberg)

The bride, an elegant young woman, was dressed in a traditional white dress. She was escorted down the aisle of a beautiful church by her father. It was a lovely ceremony shared by the bride, the groom…and 25 million of their closest, personal friends.

For Prince William and Catherine Middleton, this was nothing out of the ordinary. Ever since their first meeting in 2001, they have been all over the front cover of every British tabloid publication, such as HELLO! magazine. For many, it only seems fitting that this “celebrity” couple’s decision to finally tie the knot on April 29, 2011, after 10 years of on-and-off dating, was to be a public event.

The international hype that surrounded the 2011 royal wedding was truly mind-blowing. The idea of a commoner (Kate Middleton) becoming a duchess is irresistible to many.

On the big day, women in dresses and tiaras across the globe threw their own royal wedding parties in their living rooms, glued to their television sets, longing to be part of the action. The desire to be part of the action and a part of history was just too tempting.

It is estimated at the global audience of the wedding ranged somewhere between 300 million to 2 billion people; where 25 million people gathered outside Westminster Abbey and watched the event live in the UK, April 29th was a public holiday in the United Kingdom.

The royal wedding took place at a perfect time. Just shortly before, the news had been focusing on tragic economical, political issues and natural disasters, such as the Egyptian crisis after President Hosni Mubarak resigned, or the devastating Tōhoku undersea earthquake that struck Japan and killed over 15,000 people.

These days, the world seems to be in a constant state of panic. During the early months of this year, much of the media attention has centered on themes of devastation, destruction and heartbreak. The marriage between Will and Kate has served as a way for many to momentarily forget about the world’s many crises and instead enjoy new reports and videos of a happy experience.

In a sense, the royal wedding is a harmless diversion with positive aspects for society to distract themselves from the major problems in the world and their own lives.

Is this a bad thing? Not at all.

However, many people have posted on blogging and social networking sites, such as Tumblr or Twitter, to express their concern that people should stop thinking about William and Kate’s marriage and begin to take things seriously.

Yes it costs a fairly large amount of money to produce a royal wedding, but the economic returns to the local economy, British tourism, etc – are incalculable.

As long as we as society do not lose sight of the big picture and continue to follow news reports that focus on world issues, it’s important to relax and remember that we all need an escape sometimes.

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Ridge Report Article Contest

Attention all students interested in participating in Ridge Report's Article Contest:

The co-editors of the school newspaper this year have decided to introduce a new contest to students in all grades at the Ridge. This contest will run through out the month of May and articles will be selected and posted up in June. Students can choose to write about any appropriate topic of their choice which are either Ridge News and Global News in order to be considered for the contest. There are a lot of events including Relay for Life that are coming up this month, and we would definitely like to put up an article about these events. Articles may not be any longer than 500 words. The deadline for articles to be submitted is MAY 31st, 2011. Articles will be judged by Ride Report's co-editors for the top 3 articles. A prize worth $25 will be given to the student who writes the 1st place articles. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to speak to Mr. Samsa, Sabrina Yeung, and Amira Zubairi or email us at ridgereport@gmail.com. We look forward to receiving numerous articles.

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There’s Always Hope for Love (By: Leanna Rose Jimenez)

He was perfect, strong, polite, chiseled, and handsome. His hands were gentle as he ran his fingers through her hair. He stared at her with a grateful look in his eyes as he watched her. He would protect her from anyone who tried to hurt her, and when he spoke the worlds “I love you,” he said it with great meaning. You could tell that he would never hurt her, that he would treat her the way she deserved to be treated. He showed me that I should never give up on love, that there is always someone out there, and he showed me this by loving my mother.

My father left us when I was only a little girl. He just got up one day, left, and we never heard from him again. From that moment on it was just my mother and me. We were a team, always looking out for each other, she was my best friend and I was hers. But you could still see the pain in her eyes. Even after years after my father left she was still hurting, and it pained me to see her like that.

Then when she decided to start dating again she would always meet some guy, who in the end would end up hurting her, just as my father did. I would always be there to wipe away her tears and I became bitter toward anyone she was seeing. I only wanted to stop this pain, and I thought for so long that all guys were the same, that they would treat you like the only girl, for the time being, then break your heart and leave.

Then when she met him I thought that was how it would be again, just like all the others, and at one point it seemed that to. They fought one night, my mother cried, he stormed out and I thought that was the end of him. But then the very next day, he came back, apologized, and begged her to take him back. And now I know that he’s here to stay for good, because today is their wedding day. And as they say their ‘I do’s’ I know they mean every word, and I realize that you should never give up on love, for there is always hope.

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Have the Academy Awards Maintained their Purpose? (By Amira Zubairi)

Hollywood celebrities gathered at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles as the 83rd Academy Awards took place on Sunday, February 27, 2010. Many actors, actresses, and filmmakers were honored in up to 25 categories including best picture, actor/actress in a leading role, costume design, and music. It took viewers a second to realize the show had begun when it opened with a montage of movies nominated for best picture. Hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway appeared in an opening sketch that located them inside Alec Baldwin's dream, shifting into an elevator scene with Morgan Freeman, which then included them into their own versions of scenes of other Oscar-nominated films.

Stars played it safe for this year’s Oscars with classic, pleasing gowns but not overdone hair. Reds, purples, pale blush, and metallic tones dominated the red carpet as Hollywood stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Sandra Bullock, and Jennifer Hudson took their places. The major jewels on flaunt in previous years were also toned down going for a classic and safe impression.

Some of the top winners included “The King’s Speech,” which took home four awards including picture, direction, best original screen play, and actor in a leading role. “Inception” was also one of the top films of the year winning five awards, which included best cinematography, sound editing, sound mixing, adopted screenplay, and visual effects. “Alice in Wonderland” received two awards for costume design and best art direction, while “Toy Story” was given the award for best-animated feature film and original music.

Although James Franco is a well-known actor with a stunning smile, hysterical roles, and an impressive personality in featured films and television shows, his performance as a co-host with Anne Hathaway was not as extraordinary as thought to be. Franco seemed completely uninterested in the event, while Hathaway was remarkably enthusiastic and outstandingly humorous. Audience members stood to former host Billy Crystal as the current hosts simply could not live up to his performance.

This year’s Oscars were a triumphant evening for many actors, actresses, and filmmakers. Many look forward to compelling and attention-grabbing films in the following year.

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Egypt in Crisis (By: Danyal Younus)

Similar to World War One, all that was necessary was a spark to set off the rage of Egyptian citizens, tired of the dictator-like ruling of 82-year old President Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian rebellion against Mubarak’s rule began in January; the spark being the Tunisian revolt against Tunisia’s President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, whom, after numerous protests, was forced out of his presidency. Living under Mubarak’s rule for over 30 years, Egyptians took the Tunisian example as an inspiration to change the current state of their beloved country. Many say that they have been subject to rule from a dictator, who has repressed other political parties, used police state tactics against the media and suspected enemies, and banned the major Islamic opposition group, all the while allowing corruption and poverty of all sorts to thrive. Now, after many years of living under a dictator, protesting Egyptians now seek what was taken from them all these years, the main demand being the resignation of Mubarak. After peaceful assembly, a few violent protests involving the destruction of police vehicles, and encouragement from President Obama and David Cameron, Mubarak stated in an address on February 1st that he will not run in the next election, yet will continue to stay in power until that time. However, this statement failed to satisfy protestor demands, and more strikes ensued. Through all the pressure from President Obama and David Cameron, his ministry stated that the West was “inflaming” the situation through its interference.

Other changes demanded by protestors include a three-decade emergency law that restricts governmental interference, the purge of corruption, democratic elections, more jobs, increased salaries, peaceful assembly and an end to police state rule. The protesting parties include the poor and middle classes, consisting of citizens of all ages. To accomplish their goals, protestors have both attempted at peaceful strikes, with few violent riots, the latter resulting in a small number killed and more than one hundred injured. Despite having their vehicles vandalized, Police have stood their ground, utilizing methods such as hoses and riot shields to combat the rarely occurring riots. To complicate matters even further, citizens supporting Mubarak’s regime also participated in strikes and riots against protestors themselves, resulting in injuries and deaths. The countries’ army has been called to action, yet members refuse to solve matters though taking sides. The government has shut off the countries’ telephone and internet capabilities, to prevent protestors from posting their events, opinions, and videos onto social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Things such as these are what had aided in the mobilization of the rebellion, thus being a main source of the participant’s ability to organize themselves. The withdrawal of these capabilities angered Egyptians even further, adding unto an already large number of things Egyptians are insisting for. Amiss all this, Mubarak and his government have yet still to find a peaceful resolution to protestor demands. However, Egyptian citizens seek change now, as oppose to the time of the next election.

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