Have a budget friendly and safe Halloween

By: Brad Tripp

Ever find yourself broke on Halloween? Got a creeper across the street?  Well, here are some tips for a safe and budget friendly Halloween:

Candy

You may ask, “Where I can get my candy the cheapest and are there any problems with it?” Also, you may wonder, “Can I use old holiday candy?” In some cases, this may be okay, but it’s best to throw all that old candy away. This is because sometimes candy sits on the shelf even longer than the time you had it. The best thing to do when it comes to buying candy is to buy in bulk. Why is this? This is because not only is it cheaper, but it helps when you’re handing it out. Not only does it keep the children happy, but that leftover candy can be used for future instances with your own children. The cheapest local place to get candy is probably Dollar Tree; this is because everything is a dollar.

Costumes

One of the first things you think about when it comes to Halloween is the costume. The next thing you may think, with a thin pocket book, is, “Where can I get a quality yet budget friendly costume?”  The best places to go are department stores, such as Family Dollar or Wal-Mart. When you go to a Halloween store like Spirit Halloween, they tend to raise the prices. For example, a baby costume at Spirit Halloween can cost upwards of $30, whereas, at Family Dollar all small children’s costumes are $10 each.  Also, the best thing to do is try to shop online; it tends to be cheaper and/ or can help to compare prices. The best place for most costumes all in one place is probably Amazon.com/costumes. Not only are they all there, they tend to be cheaper due to possible free shipping and overstock. If you don’t care for Amazon, try Googling your favorite clothing/department store and seeing what the store has in stock for Halloween.

Build your own

What are some ideas to build your own costume and is it really cheaper? In most instances, it’s cheaper to build your own costume. For example, for a last minute costume, you can be a selfie. Yes, you read that right, you can be a selfie. This cost little to no money ($25, tops) and consists of things that you may have around the house. A selfie is probably the simplest costume ever. It literally consists of cardboard, markers and scissors, plus a little bit of time. Simply cut out a hole for your head at the top, plus 2 holes for your hands out of a large piece of square cardboard, then decorate the front to look like whatever phone you want. Pop your head and hands out and you’re a selfie!

What to watch for and why

Is trick or treating dangerous? This Halloween, you may wonder what you can do to have a safer and more delicious holiday. When trick or treating, try carrying around hand sanitizer. Why? Its best to keep away those germy hands those recent kids before may have had. Another thing to do is to have you candy x-rayed. Not only is it kind of cool, but it can help to prevent you or your children from the possible dangers that lie within the candy.  Most hospitals on Halloween are open to free x-rays for candy. Have a fun and delicious holiday!

World Series bound

 

 

 

By: Peter Lewis

 

 

 

The 2012 Cardinals season ended after failing to capitalize on a three to one lead in the 2012 NLCS against the eventual World Series champions San Francisco Giants.  In those last three games the Cardinals were shockingly outscored twenty to one and finished the year on a very sour note by failing to continue their success from the 2011 World Series season.   With this, the off-season began and Pitcher Kyle Loshe left the team as did Lance Berkman, Skip Schumacher, and hitting coach and Cardinal legend, Mark McGwire.  Other than the signing of Ty Wigginton, the Cardinals were very quiet during the off-season, which both shocked and worried many.  Above all though, there were many unanswered questions, such as: would the young pitching be able to handle the pros, who would be starting, could Adam Wainwright get back to his former glory after his Tommy John surgery, and who would step up and lead the team to the playoffs?  To make matters more troubling, on February 22, Chris Carpenter was lost for the season with numbness in his right shoulder, arm, and neck; just days before the season started, on March 22, both Rafael Frucal and Jason Motte were lost for the season.  With the season approaching, some doubt started to creep in, although, with good players returning, there was faith to be had.   

The first month of the regular season ended with a reasonable record of 15-11; though the bullpen struggled, the Cards looked to be in fair shape.  However, May showed that the Cardinals were still a top tier National League team, as they finished with a 35-18 record.  The bats and rotation improved, but the bullpen still had issues closing out games.  At the All-Star Break, the Cardinals posted a record of 57-36 and looked to be a solid team.  However, their division rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, would provide the biggest obstacle for the remainder of the season.

The remainder of July and into September showed the NL Central become a race between the Pirates and Cardinals, with the Reds close behind, but never quite able to catch either team.  In this time frame the Cardinals and Pirates faced each other fourteen times; it didn’t start out well though.  A five game series with the Pirates in Pittsburgh to close out July saw the Cards lose the series four games to one, but they made up for it by finishing six games to three and secure the NL Central Pennant and tied for the best record in MLB, 97-56, with the Boston Red Sox.

The first obstacle on the road to the World Series was, unsurprisingly, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who made their first playoff in twenty-one years.  Game one saw a Cardinal blowout win of nine to one, where game two was a complete reversal, as the Pirates blew out the Cardinals seven to one.  The Pirates then took game three, but above all odds, the Cardinals won games four and five and advanced to the NLCS.

In the NLCS, the Cardinals faced the resurgent Dodgers, who had made a complete turn around after the All-Star Break.  Game one and two went to the Cardinals, who looked to have all the momentum in the NLCS.  Though the Dodgers awakened and went on to take games three and five.  However, it was too little too late, as game six went to the Cardinals and their ticket to their nineteenth World Series was earned.  A rematch of the 2004 Series against the Boston Red Sox is scheduled to begin Wednesday, October 23, 2013.

What we learned from this year is that the Cardinals roster looks to be capable of winning for the next couple of years.  The starting rotation is at its best as is the batting, but the bullpen still has some work needed to insure wins in the future.  Adam Wainwright is back to top form, Matt Carpenter is the obvious lead off choice, and the young talent will indeed take the team places.  Although a short stop is needed and some players’ futures are questionable, the team showed this season that it is a top contender in MLB.





Gender based classrooms: what they do, do they work?

By: Autumn Hill

          Do boys and girls learn differently? Would being in a single sex classroom be less distracting than a “regular” classroom? What about the instructors in the gender-based classrooms? You may have heard that same gender classrooms can be easier for students, they can learn quicker and easier that way.

Indeed, studies have shown that same-gender classrooms increase students’ motivation, and students tend to become distracted by the opposite sex very easily. In an article on ascd.org, Jamie Smalls states, “Offering single-gender classes is an effective response to school-level data that shows achievement gaps between males and females, where students are not achieving at expected levels, or as a way to engage parents by offering a choice.”

            However, not everyone agrees with this. Tolerance.org, a discussion based website for gender-based classrooms, says, “There is no reliable evidence that segregating students by sex improves learning by either sex.” Diverse Learning Today, a group that looks at gender specific classrooms, states, “Recognizing diversity in the classroom is important. Excluding gender from that recognition limits the options educators can consider. Looking at gender differences and single-gender options as teaching tools can allow educators to better meet the needs of all students.”

Public schools can be more stressful for some (students), for a variety of reasons. Would the same thing happen in single gender classrooms? Some would say that the same gender classes causes students to be more loud, or chatty. Teens tend to engage more rather than focus more when they are with the opposite sex. Many private schools subscribe to the philosophy that single gender classrooms will make students more comfortable and less stressed.  

Perhaps single-gender classrooms are a good idea for some students, but not all. What about when they go out into the world and are put with the opposite gender, however? The Education Development Center asks, “Do boys and girls need different things to get a good education? They well may, because although girls and boys are more similar than they are different, our society treats them as if they are separate species.” If we were put in the same gender classrooms, then we wouldn’t know much about being with the opposite sex, making it difficult going into the real world. Bottom line, more research is needed before we switch to gender based classrooms across the nation.

The government shutdown

By: Brad Tripp

            So, how about that government shutdown? The world panics. What will we do? Does this mean there is no authority? What will happen to everyone’s money? Have we been saving all this time for nothing? These are all questions you may be worried about. Here is how the government shutdown will impact some major areas of American lives:

 

Money

            The government shutdown does not affect your income unless you are on welfare. According to the Arizona Capital Times, the state of Arizona is not allowing welfare after the shutdown. Although they are not currently allowing welfare, when the crisis is all said and done, Arizona will reimburse money to all those on welfare. All other states seem to be paying welfare though. Additionally, according to abc.com, it may be a great time to buy stocks.

Tours and monuments:

            As you know by now, all the monuments and national parks are closed. Why is this? The monuments and parks are closed due to lack of funding towards maintenance and security of those areas.  However, things such as state parks and fairs will continue to be open due to their funding coming from state taxes, not our national taxes. 

 

Law Enforcement:

You may think that since there is no government, there are no police.  This isn’t the case at all.  This is because law enforcement is state tax funded, plus they use funds from tickets and fines, along with towing auctions and police related events.

 

The main question you’re probably asking is if and when this will ever end. There is a glimmer of hope. According to csmonitor.com, there will be a decision made on a small increase in the debt limit so that the government can re-open and end the shutdown. The government shutdown, in a nutshell, touches everyone, but most of us won’t be majorly impacted.

Rush to see this movie

 

By: Peter Lewis

 

Films about racing or cars usually don’t do as well as the studio may have hoped.  The majority tend to drift into the genre’s clichés of primarily focusing on the action and how shiny the filmmakers make the cars in the hopes that it will amaze the audience.  While the visuals may do just that, these films suffer from lack of character development, story, or lackluster to clichéd dialogue that make the film be viewed negatively or be forgettable.  With the odds completely against these types of films, it was surprising to see Peter Morgan, writer of award winning films such as Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland, and The Other Boleyn Girl, would even take on a film like this.  However, even with the odds seemingly stacked against Morgan, he has done what looked to be the impossible and easily made the best drama (against a racing background) of all time.  

            Rush is set in what is commonly referred to as “Formula 1’s Golden Age” (in the 1970s) and focuses on the organization’s most famous and polarizing figures at the time: James Hunt, played by Chris Hemsworth and Niki Lauda, played by Daniel Bruhl.  During this time period both Hunt and Lauda emerged as the best in F1 and started one of racing’s most memorable rivalries.  What made it even better was how both men were completely different from one another.  Hunt was a playboy and brash person who worked his way from the lower ranks all the way to the highest point, but Lauda was a no nonsense hardworker and calculating genius behind the wheel that bought his way into the series.  Both drivers’ paths collide in 1970, in Formula 3, the minor league to Formula 1. Unsurprisingly, when they first come in contact with each other the relationship doesn’t get off to a great start.  From that point on each driver’s career takes a drastically different turn.  Lauda’s skill and potential is seen by Ferrari, at the time and today one of the best teams in Formula 1, and he is signed on to drive with them for the 1975 season.  Hunt and his team from F3 manage to get to F1, but face the season without a sponsor.  The 1975 season concludes with Lauda winning the championship and Hunt’s team going under.  However, Hunt’s skill and desire to defeat Lauda impresses McLaren Racing, who sign him on.  The film then gets to the infamous 1976 F1 season and racing’s most famous story begins to unfold.  For those who know the story, the film does a fantastic job at staying true to the history of these events and doesn’t follow the Hollywood route of changing things simply because they feel like they have to for interest; the filmmakers knew the original story on its own was great and kept it as is.  For those who don’t know the story, the film keeps everything grounded and easy to keep up with even though it goes through the season fast, but keeps the primary events that shaped the season with good amounts of time and allows things to develop.

            Just as it seemed Ron Howard’s career had started coming to an end, he looked inside of himself and put everything he did right in the past into the film and allowed it to be a successful as it was.  Peter Morgan’s writing captured the personalities of Hunt and Lauda very well and the dialogue of the film is very impressive.  Howard’s direction allowed the rest of the cast to do very good jobs with their roles, but, above all, Hemsworth and Bruhl are spectacular as Hunt and Lauda and their performances will defiantly not go unnoticed.

            Fall is the time of year where Oscar hopeful films are released in hope becoming worthy of nomination, Rush proves that it has plenty of worthy parts that will and should be nominated.  Howard’s direction is easily at the same level from a drama standpoint as it was in Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon and the action during the race makes the film action packed when it wasn’t even the focus. Peter Morgan has been nominated for best screenplay before and it’s very safe to say it’ll happen once more.  As for Hemsworth and Bruhl’s portrayals, either one or both have a good shot at having the honor of being nominated.  Hemsworth for pulling off a brash playboy very well and making the struggles Hunt went through come to life and Bruhl successfully pulling off a character that wouldn’t normally be liked, but in the end turns out to be the best of the two and the one most audiences would appreciate is job well done every time.  As a whole the film will easily be up there as well.

            Rush is easily one of the best films of 2013 so far and a highly memorable and one of the best racing/sports movies ever filmed.  Niki Lauda himself in an interview with Hollywoodvshistory.com stated, “When I saw it the first time I was impressed. There were no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively."  For these reasons, Rush is a must see; it has the quality of an award winner, but feels like a film anyone can get behind and enjoy.