Category: Creative Corner

DIY Crafts

BY KAIA KARPE

STAFF WRITER

How to make a Halloween theme monster book of monsters notebook from Harry Potter:

Materials:

  • Notebook
  • Fur
  • Hot glue gun
  • Googly eyes
  • Red and white thick fabric
  • Adult supervision

Instructions:

  1. You place the notebook on the fur (have the notebook open!) and cut it into the notebook’s shape.
  2. Once you have finished the first step, you can cut the white fabric into teeth and then cut the red fabric into a tongue.
  3. Then, you hot glue the spot on the notebook (on the front cover) and place the red tongue fabric on that spot with hot glue. Hold it in place for about thirty seconds to one minute.
  4. Next, hot glue the teeth on and hold it for thirty seconds to one minute.
  5. Then, hot glue the fur (with the notebook open) on and hold it for a minute or two.
  6. After the glue on the fur seems dry, you can hot glue the eyes on.

It should look something like this:

Image from:

https://www.doodlecraftblog.com/2017/10/harry-potter-monster-book-of-monsters.html

DIY Yarn Projects for Australia Wildfires

BY MAYA CRANDALL

STAFF WRITER

24.7 million acres burned, 25,000+ kangaroos, koalas, and other wildlife dead. The wildfires have created a national state of emergency in Australia. But how can we help from an ocean away? The MSA Yarn Society has been chipping in by knitting, sewing, and crocheting pouches for infant marsupials who have been rescued from the danger. I took up one of the projects myself, knitting a twelve by twelve centimeter wool pouch.

First, I started with 100% wool yarn. Anything mixed in with it could be harmful to the animals. I then casted on until the stitches were 24cm. in length. I then knit a standard garter stitch until the rows were 12 cm. long and casted off. After this, I folded the knitted sheet in half and stitched along the two sides, leaving the top open.

Voila! A perfect pouch for a sugar glider or a koala. But this isn’t all you can do. Talk to Mrs. Seeberger or join a session of Yarn Society, every Friday at 8:15 A.M., for more patterns and ideas! 


SOURCES:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-50951043

Riddles

BY BHAVYA KODALI
STAFF WRITER

The answers are at the bottom of the page.

  1. As you were walking to the park, you saw seven men with seven wives each, who were carrying seven sacks each, which held seven cats each. The cats weighed exactly seven pounds each, and they had exactly seven kittens each, who weighed exactly seven ounces each. How many things, both living and inactive, were going to the park? (Hint: The answer is in the first sentence)
  2. John’s mother had three children. One was named April, one was named May. What was the third child’s name? (Hint: The answer is in the first sentence)
  3. It’s so fragile even just saying its name can break it. What is it? (Hint: Be quiet and think)
  4. It’s been around for millions of years but is never more than a month old. What is it? (Hint: It spins and it’s huge)
  5. Three doctors said Bill was their brother. Bill said he had no brothers. Who was lying? (Hint: List all of Bill’s possible family members)
  6. Name three consecutive days without using the words Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. (Hint: The first one starts with a Y, and the next two start with a T)

  1. One: Yourself
  2. John: April, May, and John
  3. Silence
  4. The moon
  5. None of them. Bill has three sisters.
  6. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Music Theory: Casually Explained

BY SAM WURDEMANN
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF IN TRAINING

When you’re not up for it, music as a concept can be a pretty daunting task. It’s formed as math and works like a science. Every brain processes it in a different way. It takes all sorts of forms for all sorts of people. 

There are some professionals who spend way too much time thinking about this stuff and have devoted their lives to deciphering the building blocks that make music tick. The truth of the matter is, if it were an easy-to-define concept, we wouldn’t be wasting all this time trying to figure it out. However, in the chance that you find yourself willing to look into the theory of music, and are interested enough to learn about the pieces so that you might be able to use them yourself, consider this article to be an Introduction course from someone who took those musical puzzle pieces and put them together in the weirdest way possible. 

All music theory stems from the most basic unit of good-vibe sound: the notes. They’re the letters that form words and the numbers that form equations. You can walk over to a piano or pick up a guitar, and with a little help from the internet, you can locate any note ranging A through G. Between these notes, there’s also sharps and flats, which are like the half-step between two full notes. These can get confusing if you don’t know where they stem from, but the long and short of it is that some frequencies get to be letters and some get to be letters with a hashtag (that’s a sharp) or some other symbol (a flat), so we could easily find them all on a piano (hence the black keys; those are your sharps and flats. They’re arranged unevenly so every note might be easily located). 

The words these note letters form are called chords, and like words, they get progressively more complicated, and you make them by adding letter after letter until it sounds correct. The chord C Major is the simplest one you’ll ever be taught. If the C is the one of the chord, think of the E note as a three, and the G note as a five. One with three with five equals… a C Major Chord!  

Music Theory is all about analyzing chords. We look into which ones a composer will use, the order they use them, how they arrange them, and the effect they have musically. You could keep adding thirds onto that C Major, for example. Say you throw in a Bflat. This would be the seven of the chord. One plus three plus five plus seven equals C Major 7! Add the nine, C Major 9! Etc., etc., etc. 

Different variations of which numbers you put together lead to some very weird chords, just like there’s weird words– for every jentacular there’s an A#susdim11/C. Not all of them sound very good on their own, but in theory, anything can sound poignant with the right execution. 

Is any of this starting to make any sense? If you’d like to take a step further on your Music Theory journey, this playlist is a pretty good place to start. Hope I’ve put my brain into yours a little, and good luck makin’ them musics! 

Eight Interesting Animals

BY XUYING LEE
STAFF WRITER

1. The Angora Rabbit

        The Angora Rabbit is one of the oldest types of domestic rabbit. It is bred for its long furry coat. They originally come from Ankara, Turkey. Their lifespan is an average of  7-12 years or more. They usually weigh about 2.0–3.5 kg (4.4–7.7 lbs.). Their coat colors are white or colored, natural or dyed. 

2.  Terror Birds 

     Terror Birds may be extinct, but they are still interesting. Terror Birds, also known as Phorusrhacids, were alive during the Cenozoic era. They lived in South America. Their height ranged from 2-3 ft. tall, but the largest species found were 10 ft. tall. They had a wide range of interesting colors, including white, red, and green.

3.  The Dumbo Octopus

     The Dumbo Octopus, unlike the Terror Bird, is still alive. The Dumbo Octopus is a rare bottom-of-the-ocean find. Their scientific name is Grimpoteuthis. Now, why are they on the list? They are quite cute, despite being able to swallow their prey whole. But they won’t harm humans. The largest one found was only 20 cm. So us humans are safe. The octopus swims with its fin-like ear. It was named the Dumbo octopus, because it resembles “Dumbo”from the 1941 Disney Film. 

4.  Kakapo

     The Kakapo is the world’s largest parrot. It evolved into a large peaceful bird because of the lack of mammalian predators. Kakapos can live up to 95 years old, and its scientific name is the strigops habroptilus. They are found in New Zealand. They are critically endangered with less than 200  left in the world. When Europeans arrived, they brought along cats and dogs; that learned the Kakapos’ scents. Poor Kakapos.

5.  Olm

     The Olm looks like it could be a snake or giant worm with arms and legs. They can live up to 100 years old. This blind salamander has a great sense of hearing and smelling. They have pale human-like skin and can go up to ten years without food. They can be found in the Limestone Caves of Southern Europe. Many fisherman now believe in sea monsters, after catching this creature.

6.  Flying Squid

     The Flying Squid? I thought it was Flying Fish. It turns out there is also a Flying Squid. The Flying Squid’s scientific name is Todarodes pacificus. Female lying Squid can lay up to 4,000 eggs at a time. The squid prefer to be in colder water and can be found in water less than 25 degrees Celsius. They can glide up to 11.3 meters per second, and can remain airborne for up to three seconds and cover 30 meters upward. We can no longer consider squid to be just a creature of the sea, but now the air as well.

7. Mandarinfish

     The Mandarinfsh is considered one of the most beautiful creatures, but beware: they cause trouble. Mandarinfish use poison and a foul, disgusting stench to keep predators away. They are covered in tiny spines that inject poison in to anyone or anything that tries to eat it or touch it. The Mandarinfish produces two secretary cells in its epidermis. One cell produces a thick slimy mucus coating that protects it from the dangers, and the other produces toxins to protect it from predators. Not only is the toxin-mucus coating dangerous, but it is even worse for the predator. Reportedly, they smell disgusting.

8.  Bactrian Camel
     The Bactrian camel is more popularly known as the camel with two humps. There are thought to be more than a million Bactrian camels domesticated worldwide. Bactrian Camels are often used by people to carry or pull heavy loads or groups of people. Their scientific name is the Camelus bactrianus, and they can live up to 50. Like the single humped camel, they store fat which can be converted into water and energy. They can run up to 40 mph (64 km/h).  They are currently endangered with less than 1,000 in the wild parts of China and Mongolia. They can weigh between 1322 lbs and 1800 lbs (600 kg – 800 kg). Even with their thick fur, in the summer they are able to keep cool because their coat sheds off.

Things To Do On New Year’s

BY PRANU VEDERE

STAFF WRITER

New Years is a time to have fun and spend time with friends and family. It’s a time to recap on the year and set goals for the following one. There are many classic traditions for New Year’s, but there are other fun activities you can do as well. Here are some joyful things to do with your friends and family on New Year’s Eve. 

1. Have a Bake-off

Get together with all of your friends. Pick your favorite recipes and create some magic in the kitchen.

2. Share Your New Year’s Resolution

This classic tradition is a great way to start off the new year. 2020 is the time for a fresh start.

3. Have a Sleepover

What better way to celebrate the New Year’s than to countdown with all of your friends while doing fun activities and sharing your deepest secrets. How cool is it to pull an all-nighter on the last day of the year!

4. Play Party Games

Have hours full of laughter while playing simple, easy minute to win it games. Enjoying games of pictionary, charades, cup stacking, and many more with people you love can be the best way to end 2019.

5. Movie Marathon

Binge watching your favorite shows and movies can be the most relaxing thing ever. Sit down with buttered popcorn and watch all of the classics. 

New Year’s Eve is a great time to hang out with friends and family! I hope you liked these five ways to enjoy New Year’s Eve. It is that time of year again when everybody is waiting for a new start, so cheers to 2020!

Little Women: A Review

BY LAUREN PAULSON
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

**Warning: this review contains spoilers!**

With a hurried and anticipatory air, Jo March hurries out of an apartment and off to the Weekly Volcano Press, a different and surprising beginning to the seventh movie with the same title, Little Women. Instead of being greeted by the smiling faces of all the March sisters on Christmas morning as many audience members expected, the new film defies the idea of chronological timing and instead begins toward the end of the story. In a portrayal different than all of the previous movie adaptations of Little Women, this new film jumps around to different times and years in almost every scene to keep the story engaging and help audiences connect the interplay of parts of the story throughout time.

Debuting in the United States on December 25th (Christmas Day), 2019, the new Little Women movie is yet another retelling of the classic book written by Louisa May Alcott, a full twenty-five years after the last (1994) version was released. Many famous actors and actresses star in this film adaptation written and directed by Greta Gerwig, which was nominated six times at the Academy Awards and has impressively high reviews on top sites like Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. The adventurous and endearing March sisters were played by Saoirse Ronan (Jo), Emma Watson (Meg), Eliza Scanlen (Beth), and Florence Pugh (Amy); other well-known faces in the film include Laura Dern (Marmee) and Meryl Streep (Aunt March). 

Although it did not break any box-office records or make a stellar amount of gross income, Little Women has had an overwhelmingly positive response, and for good reason. The movie is a unique take on a classic story that is memorable and moving. As previously mentioned, the film begins towards the end of the story before flashing forward to the original beginning scene; throughout the rest of the movie flashbacks and forward jumps in time keep the pace fast and enticing. For newer audience members who have not watched earlier versions of the movie or read Little Women, this type of plotline might be confusing, but for long-time fans of the classic novel, the added twist keeps the story fresh and exciting.

With a slightly longer run time and different emphases, the new movie focuses on the main characters (the four March sisters and Laurie) and is able to develop their characters in a much more in-depth way than previous films have done. There is also more emphasis on the adult lives of each of the sisters, even after Jo moves away; in addition to the main focus on Jo, there is a deeper look into the lives of Meg, Beth, and Amy. In a scene not found in the book, Meg’s marriage to and life with John Brooke is focused on. Viewers get a closer look at Meg and her humanness: how she loves her husband and two children but is tired of being poor and being pitied by neighbors and “friends.”

Beth’s story is such a heartbreaking one, and I felt the movie did her justice by growing her character and giving the audience a window into her strong relationship with Jo. Although she has a very timid and shy personality, the new movie successfully establishes and advances her character into one of courage and selflessness. In fact, Beth cares so much about the Marches’ poor neighbors that she goes without her sisters to help with their sick children. It is this selfless act that leads to her sickness and eventual death, making it all the more tragic. I cried three times while watching the movie because of the poignant way Beth’s death and the family’s reaction to it is portrayed. The film was effective in provoking the audience to deeper questions about life, grief, and love.

Amy is usually disliked by readers and viewers because of her childish and selfish ways, but I thought the new movie did a wonderful job of showing her as a grown and mature woman who is able to think for herself and care about others. Audiences are able to see a little more of the rivalry between Jo and Amy, which leads to Amy’s real, human feelings of jealousy and unworthiness. The scene where Amy tells Laurie that she won’t marry him because she’s tired of being second-place to Jo is one of my favorites because it portrays how Amy has felt living in her sister’s shadow for so long. These scenes and others give viewers more of a look at the lives of all the March sisters, which I believe is a great addition to the story.

Besides the possible confusion from the way the movie jumps around, the only complaint I had was the age of the actress who played Amy. I thought there should have been a younger actress to play Amy as a young girl because she is supposed to be the youngest March sister, but she looks older than all the other actresses. Florence Pugh is a very talented actress who did a great job playing the character, but it was hard to imagine her as young because of how much she looks like an adult. This minor issue did not detract much from the movie as a whole, however. Overall, the film was entertaining, emotional, and deep, and I would recommend it to any audience. In my opinion, Little Women was a cinematic success.

Source:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Women_(2019_film)#Release

Image source:

https://tomandlorenzo.com/2019/10/little-women-character-posters-revealed-movie-preview-posters/

Winter Break Activities

BY ALAINA INOUYE AND BELLA TRINKO

STAFF WRITERS

  Break Activities Ideas

 Are you sitting at home with nothing to do? Well, here are things to do over break!

1) Watch Movies!

Watching movies is a great way to pass the time and spend time with family and friends. Here are some ideas:

  • Home Alone
  • Elf
  • Harry Potter
  • Titanic
  • Mama Mia 
  • La La Land 
  • Frozen 2
  • Star Wars 

2) Drawing

Drawing is a great pastime if you want some alone time. You only need a pencil and some paper to have a great time. If you want  to be extra you can color it. 

3) Cooking/Baking

If you enjoy cooking,winter break is a great time to enjoy this pastime. Here are some ideas on what to cook/bake:

  •  Cookies
  • Cupcakes
  • Banana Bread
  • Soup
  • Tacos

4) Youtube

Youtube offers a variety of different videos and is very entertaining. You can enjoy many different types of videos for free!

5) Listening To Your Favorite Songs

Listening to music is super entertaining if you enjoy the music you listen to. Whatever your style, it can be really fun to listen to music.

6) Reading

Reading is a great way to pass time! Here are some great options:

  • Percy Jackson series 
  • Harry Potter series 
  • Keepers of the Lost Cities series
  • Little Women
  • Narnia 

I hope these ideas will save you from boredom. Now go enjoy your break from school!  

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