Sims

 Have you ever played Sims? I've been thinking about the game and I have made a conclusion that the game is stupid. Imagining about your world, creating your world, and creating your own story about your life is a mental illness. In my opinion, when you make your own world you will make it very good so that you are always happy when you play the game. However, when you face reality you will be depressed because you don't get anything you want like the game. Also, when you want to do something or travel anywhere you want, you can go do those things in the game. But when you are with real people and the real world, you won’t be able to do those things. So, I think the game Sims is a game that messes up people's minds and makes them depressed. 

Charlie Ji

Cruise Ship Crash Kills 13, 21 Still MIssing

    Francesco Schettino, captain of the Italian cruise ship Costa
 Concordia, is accused with multiple manslaughter and abandoning his
 ship before all of the passengers were evacuated after it crashed on
 January 13th. Schettino steered the ship too close to land in an
 attempt to do a maneuver known as the “salute,” causing it to crash
 into a rock near the Tuscan island of Giglio. The collision caused a
 large hole to be made in the hull of the ship, flooding it and causing
 it to capsize. Half of the ship now lies underwater, and many are
 concerned about the environmental effects of it sinking completely.
 Costa Cruises has blamed the crash on Schettino, suspending him and
 refusing to pay his legal fees. Costa claims that Schettino delayed
 issuing an SOS and evacuating the ship. However, Schettino argues that
 Costa told him to do the maneuver for publicity and to please the
 tourists on board. He also says that he performs the maneuver
 regularly on Costa ships. While officials try to determine who is to
 blame for this tragedy, the current death toll has reached 13.
 Additionally, the ninth day of search brought the number of passengers
 and crew members missing to 21.  Sources say that the possibility of
 unregistered passengers aboard the ship may raise this number. Only
 eight of the dead have been identified so far due to the bodies being
 submerged in the water for such an extensive period of time. Four
 French, one Italian, one Hungarian, one German, and one Spanish
 nationality make up the identified dead. Among the missing are Jerry and
 Barbara Heil, a couple from Minnesota. Their family members still
 cling to the hope that they will be found soon. This tragic event
 caused by a reckless stunt leaves dozens of other families mourning
 the loss of their loved ones.

 Alexis Brenner

Active Baseball Off-Season for Chicago Cubs

Baseball fans all around the world witnessed one of the sloppiest World Series in the history of Major League Baseball when the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Texas Rangers in 7 games. Game 6, of the 2011 Fall Classics, the game went late into extra innings when David Freese stepped into the batters box. Freese struck fear into the Rangers pitcher’s eyes when he hit a game clinching and series saving home run to give the Cards the win and tie the series at 3 games a piece. The next game in St. Louis was the distinctive blow as the Cards were bathed with confetti, all sorts of alcoholic beverages, and thousands of people cheering! However, teams all over the league have been moving players around to different teams. One franchise that has been making big changes fast is your Chicago Cubs. After firing general manager, Jim Hendry, the Chicago Cubbies made there first impact of the off-season by hiring former Red Sox general manager, Theo Epstein. Theo has been a busy GM lately, sending away names like Sean Marshall, Andrew Cashner, Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Pena, and Aramis Ramirez (etc.) The Cubs in exchange have received young pitchers and former San Diego Padre first basemen, Anthony Rizzo. Theo has not yet stated that the Cubs have stopped bargaining for Prince Fielder, the Brewer free agent who was one of the two big named players that were becoming free agents this 2011-2012 off-season. Joining that list was Albert Pujouls, who recently signed a 10 year contract with the Angels. If Theo was to come to an agreement with Fielder the Cubs would be so much better because last year they needed a leader who could hit the ball deep at anytime and hit the ball in the gaps. Will having a GM who has won multiple World Series do what no Cub GM has done before and break the billy goat curse?

Andrew Ryan 

Elephants

Elephants are one of the largest mammals that live on land.  Even though they are huge and intimidating at times, they are surprisingly calm and soft animals.  They like to mind their own business and will not come after you unless they are threatened or scared.  Female elephants have the longest period of gestation out of any other animal which is 22 months.  At birth elephant calves weigh about 230 pounds on average. They typically live to about the age of 50-70 years.  However, the oldest recorded elephant lived to 82 years of age.  The largest elephant ever recorded weighed 24,000 pounds and had a shoulder height of 13 feet.  The smallest elephant calves are typically about the size of a large pig.  Adult elephants do not have any natural predators; however lions occasionally pounce on calves.  This massive animal tends to only eat plants and spends up to 16 hours a day eating.  On average they consume 300-600 pounds of food each day and only digest about 40% of it.

Wil Woodhouse

Biceps vs. Triceps

For anyone who lifts weights regularly, or even once in a while, knows the age old debate over whether working your biceps or triceps are more important. For most people who are not regular gym-goers, the answer is biceps. Similarly, if a person were asked how you get big arms, the answer would most likely be working your biceps. Many believe that exercising the triceps is useless because it doesn’t change the appearance of the arm as much as the bicep. THIS IS WRONG. Triceps are the secret to putting muscle mass onto your arms. In a recent poll, people were shown two pictures of an arm; one arm with an exceptionally large bicep, and the other with an exceptionally large tricep. The arms measured the same size, and yet over 80 percent of people said the arm with the muscular tricep was larger. The absurd stereotype that has built up is that bodybuilders get the arms they have by pumping out a thousand biceps curls. The truth is that you’re better off with a quick set of 30 tricep extensions. I am not out to say it’s not good to increase size and strength in your biceps. Rather, I propose that one should spend an equal amount on working each muscle. You wouldn’t build a home without a back, don’t do it to your arms.

Dylan Scully

The Killer Whale

 The Killer Whale, also referred to as the Orca, dwells in every sea around the globe from the bone chilling waters of the arctic regions to the tropical waters.  The Killer Whale feeds primarily on small fish but will also go after other mammal prey such as sea lions or even other whales.  The Killer Whale eats about five hundred pounds a day on average.  The Killer Whale has a massive brain and is super smart and they are often trained when they are in captivity.  They are also very social, living with their mothers in pods for their whole lives.  People are worried about messing up the extremely delicate social structure of whales by holding them in captivity.  While in the wild, the Killer Whale is of no threat to human kind but while in captivity however, the whales have been known to turn on their trainers and end up killing them.  Killer Whales are beautiful animals but if given the chance they should always be approached with caution.

Colin Brandon

Therapeutic Art

"If a voice can't be heard, teach it to be seen." Emily Scott, a former art director at Art Relief International, used this as the company's philosophy. This therapeutic foundation allows individuals to explore various means of creativity, such as visual, experimental, and performing arts. The Art Relief International program is fairly new. It is a well-known artistic outreach organization. The ARI partners with numerous other humanitarian groups. The organization was formerly known as the Canvas Art Program. Its mission is to impound powerful change through art. The ARI believes that there is personal expression and creativity within each individual. They use an "artsy atmosphere" as a place of inclusion, where people may not feel welcomed in the social world. It creates a serene feeling of belonging. Art is used to express deep feelings and emotions that may never be expressed anywhere else. It provides a great escape from stress. Art opens up the doors to cultural experiences, changes, and awareness. 

Alison Howey