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volume 1 issue 1 november 2010 palisades football­ down but not out by luke wysocki an inexperienced palisades pirates football team is relying on their young players to step up one such player is jake lynch a versatile sophomore who plays both offense and defense on the pirates varsity squad pirates pearl palisades school district i want to win we all want to win but the reality of the situation is that we can t always win so we have to learn from our mistakes and that will lead to more wins jake lynch is a sophomore offensive guard and defensive end on the varsity squad of the palisades pirates football team jake is just one of many first year sophomore starters on the team this year in fact he said it s very common for us to have sophomores not only starting at one position but two because palisades is such a small school there are many first year starters on the varsity squad that have an opportunity to play offense and defense guys like mike roszkowski zach johnson jason thompson and jake lynch are just a few players upon whom the palisades pirates 2010 squad relies jake knows however that it s the seniors on the team that are really making the difference guys like josh parris tony stanell and skyler carr are the main leaders of this team that really helps us younger guys get comfortable in the varsity system the coaches also influence the players a great deal especially with the addition of new head coach jim brady brady s debut didn t go as expected as the team suffered a 35 to 3 loss to penn argyl at their first home game when asked about how his team is adapting to the new coach jake said i think everyone was uncomfortable with the idea of a new coach at first but as the pre-season went on we all started connecting with the coaches and our chemistry is improving with each game we play at first in practices we didn t feel like a team we felt like a bunch of kids playing football and a bunch of coaches doing their jobs but now i really feel like we re starting to improve in that area and we re communicating better as a team chemistry is something that is really important to any football team but it s not jake s main concern jake knows that the problem with the team this year is their age and inexperience however he also knows that whenever two high school continued on page 2 inside this issue serving the palisades sports entertainment editorials reviews science 1 5 7 12 18 community · editor-in-chief lindsay geller · assistant editor kayla lerch

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palisades football­ down but not out cont teams are placed on a field and pitted against each other there s a 50-50 chance of either team winning i want to win learning the fundamentals of the game is important to me but i want to win learning the game is what practice is for when i m on that field there s one thing that s on my mind and that is playing the game to the best of my ability and winning the palisades pirates football team is used to winning just because their performance has faltered in recent years this year s goals for the team are still the same as they ve always been make the playoffs win and be the best they can be jake says that other than the team goals everyone on the squad sets goals for themselves as individuals jake s goal is simply to be the best at his position the comments usually made about the team s chances are usually negative whether it is a bad rating in a newspaper article the student body as a whole or just the general community fan base however the players don t let this lack of confidence get them down in fact jake told me that it actually builds the team s confidence and motivation during practice our locker room is filled with confidence because people always say that we stink but we pick each other up in the locker room and on the playing field the pirates believe in themselves and are confident in their chances of doing something great the playoffs are always in the back of our head we re always thinking about what we can do to get better and become a playoff team not just now but in the future for guys like jake lynch it s not always about what the scoreboard says or what his peers say it s about what he can do as an individual to contribute to his football team in order to ensure a brighter future for palisades pirates football dean reiman­ the savior of palisades basketball by jessica hendricks at the end of the 2009-2010 school year dean reiman applied for the palisades high school s girls basketball coaching job redean reiman mian was apth proved on may 19 2010 in his past coaching career he has coached bethlehem catholic high school and also coached for outcast aau team having done the job for seven years he absolutely loves coaching going into the interview he had a good a positive attitude and knew what he was getting into as i interviewed coach reiman i asked him why he wanted to coach palisades high school basketball he said because every kid deserves to have a positive experience with a high school sport reiman s coaching philosophies are play hard and play fast page 2 pressure the defense play strong on with the jv team as the coach of the and off the ball defense and always palisades high school girls basketball attack the basket coach dean reteam reiman stated i welcome the iman s goals for the up coming season comments because i know soon things and are to be competitive in everywill turn around and that in the meanway represent our school in a positive time i use it as a motivation to keep manner and to make other teams repracticing and improving reiman is spect us he plans on achieving his willing to help anyone with basketball goals by spending as much time workskills and has a positive attitude when it ing with the team in the off season and comes to wanting more open gym time building excitement in and around the he has already begun to institute these program so that girls want to play baschanges as he has numerous open ketball for the gyms and a summer league open to high school grades 6-9 every saturday he also every kid deserves to have a dean has holds a morning workout from 10positive experience with a high noon for anyone interested in honthree other school sport people in his ing their skills every tuesday and coaching staff thursday he holds an open gym that are helpfrom 4:30-6:00pm coach dean ing him make a better basketball team reiman hopes that with his effort and jeff barr who has also helped coach the changes he can get as many high outcast aau team joy wolf the school students as possible to come out freshman and jv coach and lee and join the team hendricks who assisted wolf last year pirates pearl

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the life of a cheerleader by daniella ellis everyone plays a part in high school whether it is the jock or the nerd everyone is put into a stereotype no matter if they actually deserve it or not the cheerleader is no exception however what is more important to know about a cheerleader than her social life is her devotion to the sport believe it or not cheerleading is a sport at which many palisades girls work hard with after-school practices weekend practices football games and competitions their work almost never stops there is a lot that the girls need to do in order to perform well at the games and competitions for homecoming they worked hard for five weeks on their dance for the homecoming football game they also did a dance at half -time besides their dance skills they are also always working hard on their stunts many think that cheerleaders just say words that rhyme and tell the football players to get a touchdown but that is not true they work hard on all their cheers with about ten jv cheerleaders and 20 varsity cheerleaders the cheers always need to be together and on-time or else there is chaos aside from perfect timing cheerleaders also have to worry about memorization for football games the girls need to learn about 62 cheers and that s a lot of work a cheerleader said that the squad learned all these cheers in only two weeks besides being mentally fit cheerleaders have to be physically fit as well to stay in shape for cheerleading the girls run a mile every day at prac tice they practice on tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays sit ups push ups lemon squeezers and v ups are other workouts that help keep the girls fit during each game whenever the pirates get a touchdown the cheerleaders also do push ups in support of the score no matter how many people judge cheerleaders based on rumors or egos they actually do a lot of hard work their practices are just as hard as any other sport thus before a judgment is made about anyone or any sport one should learn some background information because he might just be surprised the race for october by zac slawter as the end of the regular season in major league baseball is almost in sight many baseball teams are starting to feel a kind of urgency with each and every game each win can be the difference between being a half of a game behind the leader or being a half of a game in the lead in a division it is almost do or die for many teams and they are starting to feel the pressure in the american league east division the new york yankees lead the tampa bay devil rays by only a half of a game there is still plenty of time left for the tampa bay rays to overtake the yankees but there is also plenty of time for them to lose games and fall out of contention for the first place spot in the american league east division in the national league east division the philadelphia phillies are trying to hold off the atlanta braves page 3 the phillies are leading their division by only a game but have been doing very well lately while the atlanta braves have been struggling if the phillies can continue their consistent run of good hitting and superb pitching they should be able to hold off the braves and win their division a key part to this recent success in the bullpen is the recently acquired roy oswalt being 6-1 since he has joined the phillies oswalt has an earned run average of only 1.98 added to their accomplishments is his shutout out of the new york mets the national league west division is the most closely knit division in the league tied for the lead are the san diego padres and the san francisco giants following closely behind these two teams are the colorado rockies the rockies are only one and a half games back and have won all of their last ten games currently making them the hottest team in baseball for the time being if either the san diego padres or the san francisco giants make the slightest misstep the rockies might pass them and take the lead of their division with ace pitcher ubaldo jimenez on their roster the rockies have a great chance at success jimenez has an earned run average of only 2.75 he also leads the league with a winning record of 18-6 when he is on the mound with this much success so early in his career jimenez has a lot to offer the colorado rockies organization for the rest of this season and for many seasons to come while many teams are starting to realize that they need to win as much as they can to get into the playoffs other teams have already realized that their playoff chances are nonexistent the baltimore orioles are in last place in their division and are behind the first place new york yankees by 32 games in the american league central continued on page 4 pirates pearl

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the race for october cont tered again strasburg injured himself for a second time while pitching against the philadelphia phillies as a result of the injury strasburg must take part in thommy john surgery in his arm he is out for the rest of the season but he is expected to be ready for the start of next year strasburg had better hope that he had an unlucky year because if he gets injured this often every year he may not last long in the majors even if he is one of the best newcomers to the league their divisions and which teams will fizzle out and fall back from the playoff race the teams who have a chance at the playoffs know who they are and will put as much effort as they possibly can into each game because they know that each and every game has the potential to make or break their season for now it s almost anybody s game and the leaders of divisions are going to have to dig deep and stay strong in any games against the teams chasing them if they can hold them off the prize will be victory in their division and a step closer to the world series out of all the teams in the ubaldo jimenez of the colorado rockies photo taken from google images division both the kansas city royals and the cleveland indians are behind the first place minnesota twins by 27 games also in the american league the seattle mariners find themselves 25 games back from the texas rangers the texas rangers have a comfortable eight game lead on the second place oakland athletics and look likely to make it into the playoffs in the national league east division the washington nationals are behind the first place philadelphia phillies by 22.5 games the nationals have had many disappointing seasons recently but this season is especially disappointing because besides having another terrible record the washington nationals called up their top minor league pitching prospect stephen strasburg this year in his first major league outing he struck out an amazing 14 batters nationals fans were so excited about this young player and the chance that he was going to turn the team around unfortunately for them strasburg got injured and had to sit out for a while when he came back their hopes were restored only to be shatpage 4 league the pittsburgh pirates have known that they have no chance at the playoffs for the longest time they have without a doubt the worst record in baseball with a current record of 4894 their runs scored vs runs against difference is also the worst in the league the pirates have allowed 273 more runs than they have scored they have a record under .500 at home and have only won 15 games on the road so far this season perhaps they can take some lessons from their neighbors in philadelphia on how to play baseball because what they re doing right now isn t working for them it will be interesting to see which teams will come out on top in 2008 philadelphia phillies world series champions photos taken from google images currently both the san francisco giants and the texas rangers have defeated their opponents and are now battling it out in the world series as of october 29th the giants are leading the series two games to none the rangers need to turn themselves around in order for them to even have a chance of extending the series source www.espn.com pirates pearl

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entertainment lehigh valley launching ground for local bands by kris ewaniuk although the lehigh valley may be considered one of the top ten dead cities in america www.247wallstreet.com it is very much alive in the entertainment aspect however one aspect of lehigh valley that sets it apart from other areas in pennsylvania is that something is always going on concerts and culture are on every street corner whether it is blues rock country hip-hop or anything in between the valley is sure to have it annually there are two world famous festivals that the lehigh valley hosts mayfair which is normally held five days in the last week of may boasts over one hundred music acts even more famous is musikfest held for ten days in the first week of august musikfest showcases hundreds of national and international performers it is festivals like these that make the lehigh valley a proud center for the local arts and why a new home for the arts is being built near the old blast furnaces of bethlehem steel this project is called steel stax and will be giving the arts a permanent home in the valley to be completed sometime next year steel stax will hold over 300 live performances and more than 50 free outdoor concerts a year if the wait for steel stax is too far away entertainment is spread out all over the valley another known music hotspot is the crocodile rock café located on hamilton street in allentown big names and local acts are constantly selling the place out upcoming shows include nevershoutnever the maine and august burns red as well as local favorite wailing waters in the past a group of palisades students that go by the name fate of fiction have featured their talents at the venue consisting of connor mckane ryan dailey brad doerr and morgan smith fate of fiction has been entertaining crowds all throughout bucks county and the lehigh valley in an interview fate of fiction shed light on who they are and what s going on in their world formed in october of 2009 former instrumentalists of a previous project mckane dailey and smith wanted to take their music in a new direction enter brad doerr after one show with doerr the lineup was decided when asked about their greatest influences mckane and dailey both agreed on coheed and cambria and a day to remember basically we are influenced by any musician/band who does what they do because they love it claimed dailey fate of fiction s sound is another interesting aspect of who they are they are a mix of rock progressive rock/punk fate of fiction and alternative we would say we sound something like if progressive rock and pop punk birthed a child although we don t have a set sound we are still experimenting with different styles stated mckane we are basically pounding drums driving bass and screaming guitars added dailey in the future fate of fiction plans to go wherever life takes them in the immediate future they plan on releasing their six song ep that was recorded by jim roney they plan on writing a lot and hopefully releasing a couple of albums they want to play more shows throughout the bucks county area and possibly even open up for national acts at the famous starland ballroom in sayreville new jersey another palisades student is in a local band making a stir in the valley guitarist kris ewaniuk is in the local favorite groovitude groovitude has been thrilling audiences with their bluesy rock sound for over two years they consist of brett broczkowski of bethlehem andy kurtz of bethlehem and michael geroni of quakertown playing everywhere from the main street theatre in quakertown to the emmaus fire hall to the great allentown fair to playing for the groovitude president of the philadelphia chapter of the grammy awards groovitude has quickly created a dedicated fan base groovitude s cd wildfire which was released in june of 2010 is being played constantly on local radio stations such as 91.3 wlvr wildfire has also been getting international attention by being shown interest by a couple of french radio stations wildfire can also be found on numerous internet music stores such as itunes amazon and cd baby recorded by sonlight productions in milford square wildfire also got rave reviews by a nationally-acclaimed critic who also reviewed heart s new cd the critic michael mckenna said that the band has a unique sound and they are way ahead of their time groovitude is also hoping to showcase their talents at this year s continued on page 6 page 5 volume 1 issue 1

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lehigh valley launching ground for local bands cont lehigh valley music awards ceremony where they have been nominated for best teen band in the lehigh valley besides groovitude being up for an award their guitarist kris ewaniuk is up for a few solo awards as well best blues guitarist and best electric guitarist the lehigh valley music awards is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and honoring the performing arts in the lehigh valley the 12th annual show will be held this year at the scottish rite cathedral the ceremony will be on december 5th the lehigh valley music awards are associated with the grammy awards and as with the grammy s is a very prestigious accomplishment to win this will be a highly entertaining event as most of the local professionals attend and a lot perform too it is always a great show proving to be yet another astounding event in the lehigh valley so how does one find out who is playing in the valley well there are many different sites dedicated to informing the public about who is playing where www.lehighvalleylive.com is a great site showing when and where events are going on in the valley they also offer reviews of great shows that have happened in the area the off the couch gang is another group dedicated to letting people know where music is in the valley at www.offthecouchgang.com social networking is proving to be another huge medium in finding events in the area with social networking bands can have their own website for free so they can let their fans know where they are playing next so when it comes to the lehigh valley who ever said it was dead facebook procrastination by darby codd the microsoft word document is blank and the essay is due tomorrow the whiteness of the page is blinding but with one click it gives way and the friendly screen of facebook it will only take a couple of minutes to check everyone s status and then back to work suddenly the clock says 10 pm and the blank document looks even more daunting where did the time go facebook-based procrastination is a newly reoccurring problem that does not only plague students while studying but anyone with an account with 500 million active facebook users online it means that not only is the effect a global one but also that there is always some other procrastinator with whom to chat those quick chats that end up being hours long are extraordinarily detrimental to students and adults who have other more important matters to which they need to attend students avoid their homework and adults avoid balancing a checkbook or doing yard work because facebook is an excuse and an escape facebook is an excuse for procrastination it has been heard and said countless times well i was on facebook so i didn t really do that shelby codd an avid facebook user states from experience never go on facebook when you have something else to do you ll never get off of it with all we can do on facebook why would anyone ever want to leave one can update his status chat with his friends write on walls and check out other s profiles to see what they ve been up to recently have something to do and i go on facebook it won t get done says sam kintzly a junior at quakertown high school why must we go on facebook when we know we have something else to do facebook is a fantastic social networking site it gives the users the ability to stay in touch with friends that may have moved away ten years ago or to reconnect with high school or college friends that are almost forgotten one should not quit facebook cold-turkey but perhaps taking a break from facebook every other day is a good start to do what really needs to be done it seems as though every time one logs into the site it takes hours to click that logout button and focus on what really needs to be done maybe that couple of minutes that was going to be spent on the website should stay a couple of minutes rather than a couple of hours facebook is an extremely important and useful tool but only when it is used as a tool not as a lifestyle the website that started out as a chat site for harvard students has evolved into a worldwide phenomenon facebook is a great networking site but sometimes it is more important to shut off the computer and click out of the window than to find out what one s third cousin s bestfriend did last night photo taken from google images unfortunately when one finally does look at the clock and realizes he is out of time for homework the only solution is to quickly write that essay or only skim that chapter assigned for american history a student may not put as much effort into the subject as he should and yet he will repeat the same pattern the next night stopping that pattern seems to be the most difficult addiction to break in the world of avid facebook users such as myself it seems like facebook is more of an addiction than a website if i

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editorials american does not mean islamophobic by luke chadwick we see it in cities we see it in schools we saw it in the rumors when obama was running for president but most notably we saw it surrounding the remembrance of 9/11 this year controversy recently arose over a mosque being built near ground zero despite the fact that it s on private property and by people with strong interest in promoting positive interaction between muslims and members of other faiths take for example terry jones the man who wished to remember the day through a massive bonfire fueled by a pile of qur ans while people do have the right to their opinions this year we can see it turning into something stronger something more serious when our nation was built upon the need for freedom of religion how is it possible for us to stoop so hypocritically low and want to deny others what most take for granted the proposed site of the mosque photo taken from google images when people are religious they are often taught that their way is the only way everything else is false and if someone s beliefs are different they are very obviously ridiculously incorrect prior to the 9/11 attack even before the technology existed to make such a spectacle religion was there spreading a subtle sort of xenophobia throughout its followers if that is not widespread enough the same can apply to certain theories and ways of life every culture usually includes the same way of thinking while of course it depends on volume 1 issue 1 how strictly the individual follows the prescribed beliefs the potential to despise another group has always been easily within reach now stereotypes are something that every human being is good at forming but especially after the 9/11 attack all that was needed were the words terrorist and muslim and automatically they went together this was demonstrated by the uproar that occurred after the attack muslims were assaulted a few even killed simply because some other members of their faith had done something reckless while it would be untrue to say that all muslims are bad it would also be untrue to say that all muslims are good yet the same condition of human fallibility goes for christians buddhists jews etc regardless of this truth the media created a monstrous stereotype out of muslims that spread quickly and deeply into the minds of the u.s population once the media calmed down our government gave them just the reason to continue the war on terror this war has dragged on for years with the results being attacks deaths of thousands of people and lots of media coverage the war has created a lot of unrest in the american population leaving people to view it with disgust with the socially occurring belief that others are wrong if they believe differently the mass of negative stereotypes and almost a decade of war to reinforce and change opinions for the worse it s almost too easy to see why islamophobia exists statistically islamophobia stands as a widespread form of anti-semitism our country has had a hard time identifying president obama as christian in fact only 34 recognize 33 of americans in a time poll said that a muslim should not be legally allowed to run for president him as a christian according to a poll done by the pew forum almost 20 identify him as muslim according to another poll done by time magazine that was released in august 28 of respondents said that muslims should be forbidden to sit on the supreme court one third of respondents said that a muslim should not be legally allowed to run for president 46 of those surveyed believed that islam is more likely than any other faith to encourage violence against non-believers yet in spite of their certainty only 37 actually know a muslimamerican while the debates and opposition will eventually settle down people should remember that america is a nation that was founded upon aspirations of a society that was pluralistic and tolerant every single person in this country is entitled to their opinion it only becomes a problem when that opinion takes away the rights of oth the faces of freedom photo taken from google ers namely the entire first images amendment page 7

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the amazing shrinking presidency by rob rousseau president obama is a man of words honor and great attributes however there is a negative side to this man he is a man of accusation irresponsibility and most recently unpopularity how did a man as charismatic as president obama turn out to have his approval rate plummet from 60 percent to less than 47 percent in the last two years it is his big decisions and beliefs that have made the american public more dissatisfied with him and his administration the policies that have made obama lose popularity with the american public are national healthcare big business bailouts and most recently the ground zero mosque national healthcare was a big issue with president obama s popularity because many people believed that national healthcare was the first step towards national socialism how would healthcare be a step toward socialism the answer is that some past socialist nations such as nazi germany and fascist italy and even red russia under vladimir lenin have used national healthcare as the first step towards draining the pockets of the people to provide the very expensive lowquality plan healthcare is also a threat to doctors when overwhelming amounts of people start swarming into the office for healthcare that is paid for at the regular working man s expense the doctor will only get a fraction of money from the government to pay for his practices this fraction of money would be too small a cut to pay for all the necessary equipment wages and bills funding for this program put the government into about a five trillion dollar debt this amount of money spent will definitely cut into obama s other plans for spending and who will be left to pay obama s check the taxpayer bailing out big companies such as general motors has also lowered obama s popularity with the american people although gm began as an american company now there is only one gm factory in the us all other gm factories are in mexico china and other third world countries across the globe thereby obama by helping out these kind of companies is hurting the american worker the biggest blunder of obama is probably the plan to build a mosque or islamic holy center near ground zero the site of the september 11th attacks this plan largely infuriated the people of new york city and the families of the people who died in the 9/11 attacks because some people supposedly are suffering from islamophobia which is a nice word for post 9/11 paranoia but these people are not islamophobic they are just mistaken because the terrorists who destroyed the towers considered themselves as muslim in all actuality the terrorists were really just a band of brainwashed people who believed that their god wanted them to destroy the infidel they were acting on a misinterpretation of the quran the islamic bible the people have been lured into a false sense that all muslims are terrorists and therefore do not want to build a mosque near ground zero they want to feel safe and they would feel safe without paranoid thoughts that a terrorist will be ready to bomb something else that is a symbol of the free world also the 9/11 victims families don t want to build a mosque near ground zero because ground zero is in a sense hallowed or sacred ground they don t want a mosque there because they want to pay their respects to their loved ones there is also the fact that some say that they don t want a mosque at ground zero because in islamic culture a mosque near the site of a battle symbolizes a victory over the west for the nation of islam there is evidence of this because during the crusades and the moorish conquest of spain mosques were built to symbolize an islamic victory to make controversial matters worse for the president tabloid magazines such as people and star now have come up with a rumor that president obama is a muslim which cannot be proven what can president obama say now he is tied up in a knot that only houdini could escape is there any way for him to save himself there is still hope for him and his party in the promise of new job creation tax cuts for the working man and better foreign relations if he succeeds in leading america into a new age he will be remembered with the same reverence yet if he fails america just has another few years of irresponsibility with which to deal the spanish spread by colleen woodruff the united states is a country known for the diversity of its people people of many nations have flocked to the united states to create a better life for themselves since the start of this country in today s society immigration remains a large part of what makes us american however it also remains something that is largely page 8 disputed spanish is primarily spoken at home by an estimated 34 million people ages five or older the united states currently has the fifth largest spanish speaking population in the world although the general assumption by many involved the dwindling of spanish s presence in the united states recent projections say other wise actually the number of spanishspeaking americans is only expected to increase presently 35 of third generation latinos speak spanish clearly the spanish community is expanding currently 40 of the nation s growth is accounted for by the hispanic population it is now predicted that the hispanic population will increase nationally by 45 in the next two decades continued on page 9 pirates pearl

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the spanish spread cont which would consist of another 12.5 million persons who are dominant in the spanish language or are bilingual the majority of hispanics currently reside in the southern states which border mexico however large hispanic populations are also present in states such as florida new york and illinois more locally in the city of allentown pennsylvania hispanics constitute 37.4 of the population whatever one s stance may be regarding immigration the fact remains that spanish has a strong presence in the society of the united states the ability to speak both spanish and english continues to become an important factor for business success in the us as well many industries are now marketing towards the american spanish-speaking population including construction services food services and banks and financial services as well as countless others in north america the hispanic market is the fastest growing segment a number of businesses have a large spanishspeaking workforce and many of these companies currently seek employees and supervisors who speak the language for inter-company communication because spanish truly is a worldwide language it s the first language of 21 countries and globally the fourth most common language in europe spanish is the second most popular second language after english and is often used by travelers besides its communicatory benefits learning spanish also has introspective benefits research shows that knowing and using two languages reduces the chances of developing dementia later in life bilingualism also increases one s memory span and slows age-related decline in mental acuity learning spanish also improves one s skills in english both of these languages are romance languages and therefore latin based root words exist in both and thus an expansion of spanish vocabulary will reflect in comprehension of english vocabulary the study of grammar in spanish raises awareness of grammar concepts that are differentiated or mirrored in english as johann wolfgang von goethe the german author said he who knows nothing of foreign languages knows nothing of his own spanish-speaking americans make up over fourteen percent of the population of the united states and as this number continues to rise so does the importance of this language at present spanish is being studied in record numbers this language is the fourth most common language worldwide and the personal benefits from taking up the language are innumerable spanish will continue to be a strong force in our world as this generation ages ¿debe aprender a hablar español por supuesto photo taken from google images affluent america by errika gavril around 14.7 percent to 15 percent as quoted by hope yen and liz sidoti from associated press nationwide the number of families in homeless shelters jumped to 170,000 from 131,000 from 2007 to 2009 according to the department of housing and urban development figures if those estimates are true that would mean that about 45 million people in this country were poor last year the highest increase since 1959 demographers are sure that the report will show that children in poverty increased from 19 percent to over 20 percent racially speaking african-americans and latinos were hit tremendously because of their rates in unemployment as far as location is a factor modesto california detroit michigan cape poverty in america is growing every one in seven people in america live with it as a daily part of his life the expected increase of the poverty rate is from 13.2 to 15 percent the most important anti-poverty effort is growing the economy and making sure there are enough jobs out there president barack obama said friday september 10 during a news conference at the white house obama is very dedicated to helping those in poverty get a middleclass status in society and said if we can grow the economy faster and create more jobs then everybody is swept up into that virtuous cycle interviews with demographers found that in 2009 there was a high increase in jobs page 9 coral-fort myers florida los angeles and las vegas are all metropolitan areas that have the highest amount of poverty poverty is not as big an issue right now as middle-class unemployment that s a lot more salient politically right now said lawrence m mead political science professor at new york university he wrote the new politics of poverty the nonworking poor in america some experts say that a leap in the poverty rate could mean that the moderate point of view will add power over the conservative position of the poor they have opportunities to work but they choose not to because they get too much help from others the continued on page 10 pirates pearl

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affluent america cont great recession will surely push the poverty rate for working-age people to a nearly 50-year peak says elise gould an economist at the economic policy institute it s time for a new attack on poverty at the same time university of maryland professor douglas besharov is questioning if there is anything more that can done to help those families in poverty former poverty expert rebecca blank estimated that last year poverty would reach up to about 14.8 percent if the unemployed reached 10 percent she aid as long as unemployment is high poverty will be higher going along with blank a former analyst with the white house office of management richard bavier was very accurate with his predictions of poverty rates during the last decade he predicted that poverty would reach 15 percent making it the highest rate since 1993 the highest the rate that has ever occurred in the united states is 22.4 percent back in 1959 the first year the government recorded the poverty rates in 1973 the rate decreased to 11.1 percent but has made its way back up to 12 to 14 percent over the years the next move for american poverty whether it is positive or negative remains to be seen but what is sure for those in poverty is that any progress is a step in the right direction source msnbc.com photo taken from google images go vegetarian by kalin carl vegetarianism is gaining popularity across the globe there are many different types of vegetarians but the most common is the lacto-ovo vegetarian which means that they don t eat any type of meat including fish and white meat yet vegetarians need to be careful making sure that they get enough protein and vitamins however there are now a variety of simulated meats that have about the same amount of protein but less calories there are many health benefits to being a vegetarian if they are getting the right nutrition according to buzzle.com vegetables contain a low amount of fats cholesterol and saturated fats therefore those who eat vegetables do not gain as much weight as those who do not a vegetarian diet also lowers blood cholesterol levels and decreases the risk of assorted health risks such as high blood pressure stroke heart diseases diabetes osteoporosis kidney diseases gallstones and cancer some of which can be caused by obesity since certain vegetables are high in fiber being vegetarianism also improves digestive health another benefit is that vegetarians don t have to worry about food-borne diseases in meat like bird flu even though being a vegetarian has its advantages it also has disadvantages if vegetarians don t get enough nutrients they can become very ill and with fewer sources to gather these nutrients vegetarians need to monitor what they eat more closely than most humans vegetables are low in proteins calcium vitamin b12 iron and zinc humans need protein and calcium to strengthen their bones vitamin b helps build protection against illnesses iron is needed to carry oxygen through the body which is needed by protein in order to do anything and for cell growth zinc is needed for the immune system brain bones kidneys and liver vitamins such as b12 can be found in soy products but eating and drinking too many soy products can increase the risk of breast cancer thus almond products are also suggested protein and iron are high in green vegetables like green beans and broccoli sera passerini a vegetarian at palisades said that it s awkward to be a vegetarian around here because so many people eat meat and hunt being a vegetarian for a little over half a year and hoping that she will be vegetarian at least until she goes to college passerini and many other teens got the idea to change their diet through concerts and the bands to which they listen besides these influences many other vegetarians including passerini saying that it s unfair to eat animals make the switch simply because it is a healthy and more humane alternative to the omnivore lifestyle passerini believes that she is getting enough nutrition because she eats the fake meat made by morningstar farms and tries to buy food that is high in protein and iron she does not think that she will ever be a vegan because there are too many health risks however as far as being a vegetarian goes she said that [it isn t as hard as it sounds if anyone chooses to go vegetarian they need to find all the facts and find ways to get enough nutrients many people don t and thus have become sick or even overweight prior to being a vegetarian those who decide to try out this lifestyle need to look up vegetarian recipes online or see a nutritionist as far as there is any drastic change in a person s diet he needs to see a doctor beforehand and talk about what they can do to photo of sera passerini stay taken by herself

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who s really on the other side of your computer by samantha mitchell a few thoughts come to mind when someone says social networking facebook myspace twitter and friends social networking has become a large part of our lives we catch up with old friends talk with new friends share pictures and participate in events and games however social networking has some very harsh and realistic dangers social networking sites have dangers that need to be known but there are many actions you can take to stay safe on how to avoid all dangers from cyber-stalking to cyber-bullying here are your dos and don ts of social networking dos don ts × do post positive upbeat comments that cheer on your friends your school your extracurricular activities or yourself don t post your cell phone number address or personal information like your school or sports team why posting positive comments about yourself and others shows everyone potential employers included that you are involved upbeat and kind person why because people who would possibly want to stalk you or harm you use this information to figure out where they could possibly find you × do post links fun pictures and interesting articles don t post inappropriate pictures videos or messages of yourself or anyone else why this says that you are well-rounded and are up on the current events happening around the world be sure your pictures are fresh fun and upbeat and portray a positive picture of yourself and everyone else do support community groups businesses and charities why once again people looking to harm you could use this information against you also when looking for a job almost all employers check the social networking sites to see how a person acts or what they are posting inappropriate pictures videos or posts can prevent you from landing that job 40 of people in the last year have been declined a job offer because the employer didn t like what they saw on facebook × why this shows you care you care what goes on in your community and you are interested in helping others in what they do when you know something is coming up post vendor fair tomorrow from 10:00 to 4:00 help support the american legion and have a wonderful day it shows great support of other people and they will definitely be inspired by your selflessness don t post mean offensive or unlawful comments online why you could possibly get in trouble with the law get fired from your job or suspended from school remember that everything you post can be seen by the world so be careful people are constantly getting into trouble with the law over facebook only to find out that it was all a misunderstanding × do have fun with your friends don t add people you don t know why yes you can follow these rules and still have fun you can still interact with other people and stay safe and paint a good picture of yourself why these could be people meaning to harm you or put you in danger page 11 pirates pearl

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reviews charlie st cloud­ book and movie by megan slabicki and hailey greim what if in one instant a boy was responsible for a death not just any death but the death of his little brother what if he was reminded of what he did what life he ended what pain he brought every day what if it wasn t his fault charlie st cloud is the model boy an athlete an honors student he even has a scholarship ready and waiting for him that is until his car is hit by a drunk driver instantly killing his brother sam the truck almost takes charlie too the accident sends charlie and his little brother sam to the inbetween a place between life and death in this place charlie makes his promise with this promise he never thought that it would go to the extent that it did charlie promises sam that they will stay together forever swear sam says i swear charlie responds right before the paramedic shocks him back to life when charlie wakes up his first thought is to find sam but he soon realizes that sam is never going to be able to come back to the living world days go by and charlie finally asks why the paramedic saved him but was unable to save his brother the paramedic replies that st jude was the one who saved him the paramedic also says that there was a reason charlie survived and that he would figure it out in time with in thirteen years after the accident charlie becomes the caretaker of the nearby graveyard where his brother is buried being the caretaker charlie gets to live on the grounds of the graveyard near the woods his safe haven every day at sunset rain or shine charlie plays catch with his dead brother s spirit to do this charlie keeps a calendar of when the sun would set to enable him to get to sam on time volume 1 issue 1 one day charlie arrives to the woods late and realizes that this causes sam s spirit to fade away a little it is in that instant that charlie realizes that sam must be his number one priority otherwise charlie would face losing him everyday charlie s life continues in the same pattern take care of the graveyard and then go play with sam some days the brothers will simply play catch while on other days they will swing on swings that charlie had built or go swimming or rope swing in the lake charlie gave up his scholarship when sam died in order to take care of him his life stays to this same routine until one day he meets tess carroll they had attended the same high school but charlie had never really talked to her all he knows about his former classmate was that she was famous around the town because she was soon going to partake in a race to sail around the world tess comes to charlie one day at the graveyard to complain about her father s grave not being planted properly charlie apologizes and then she goes on her way then the next day tess goes missing at sea charlie st cloud originally titled as the life and death of charlie st cloud is a page turning novel written by ben sherwood also known for the survivors club and the man who ate the 747 although the novel has the typical romance and can mistakenly be taken for a teen-girl book it takes the meaning of a love story to a new level not only is it a love story but sherwood has his own way of keeping the reader s attention with new twists at every corner the novel is not upsetting but emotional as the reader gets to truly see the bond between two brothers it is also not the depressing story of death but rather a story of learning to let go of the past throughout the book charlie struggles with making the right decision for him and he contemplates on why he was given a second chance and what he should do with it charlie eventually rediscovers the true meaning of life and happiness after a long period of just going through the motions recently universal studios has recreated the story of charlie st cloud in order to fit the big screen zac efron charlie st cloud porphoto taken from trays charlie as google images a happy-golucky kid until the accident efron then shows that he is capable of taking on a serious role when he goes into a stage of depression after his brother sam charlie tahan dies this film differs from the novel as with most cinematic recreations the beginning of the movie has the same gist as that of the book showing the needed background information in the book a dog is in the car with charlie and sam when the accident happens and the dog travels with sam to see charlie every day the movie differs in this detail as the dog isn t really as important to the film s plot therefore the dog is not part of the movie also in the movie charlie and sam are portrayed as sailors that beat tess in a sailing competition in the beginning of the continued on page 13 page 12

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charlie st cloud cont movie therefore the viewer can see how tess and charlie associated with each other before they really met yet the main difference between the movie and the book is the presence of the paramedic and his importance to the plot in the movie five years after the accident charlie runs into the paramedic that saved his life on that fateful day and finds that the paramedic florio ferrente has cancer when florio dies he asks his wife to give charlie this necklace which gave him luck throughout all his years as a paramedic he believes that the necklace had created so many miracles including the one that saved charlie the importance of the necklace was a screenwriter s innovation as there was no mention of it in the book a heartwarming and adventure-filled film for all ages the book and movie deserve five stars many literary and cinematic awards could be won for this story maus a survivor s tale part 1 my father bleeds history by elias carmer umberto eco says to potential readers of maus a survivor s tale and when you finish maus you are unhappy to have left the magical world and long for the sequel to return to it maus is the story of a jew living in poland a nazi-controlled country during the holocaust of 19391945 in the interest of posterity the background of photo taken from the book is one google images in which hitler believed that the jews were the cause of everything bad that had ever happened including germany s defeat in world war one thus he murdered around six million jews including vladeck s the main character s family he used a variety of techniques to complete this task including burning shooting gassing and even smashing crying babies against walls until they either stopped or as in most cases died yet maus is a story of survival it begins the same as any other book with just a young jewish man in love who gets married to his wife anja suddenly events take a turn for the worse the nazis invade poland and at first only give orders to the jews and treat them poorly after a while they start making jewish free camps page 13 putting jews in concentration camps and ultimately committing the largest killing spree of jews in history vladeck is sent to one of these camps and experiences the worst hardships of his life his family also suffers because they are not supported by him anymore after months in the camps vladeck narrowly escapes with his life by taking up a job the nazis offer him and then running away from it all the while vladeck s family including his brother sister-in-law and nephews had been surviving under the care of their rich cousin who provided them with a house and paid the nazi watch guards to overlook the house when vladeck finally returns home everything seems to be fine until the nazis order the family to give up the oldest members when the family hides the elders and refuse to give in to the nazis commands the nazis then say that they will take their children in the elders place thus the family makes the heart wrenching decision to give up the elders so they can keep their children however they are still not safe as the nazis return and demand for their children and again the family refuses vladeck and anja send their nephews and son over to their rich cousin s house so that they will be safe it seems to be the best idea but backfires eventually the family is notified of their rich cousin s death including their nephews and son meaning the guards will not be overlooking their house anymore because of the murders anja becomes very depressed and suicidal since they can no longer stay in their house the shoe shop owner next door offers them protection in a bunker hidden inside the shop and stocked with food later the remaining family is discovered and taken to different concentration camps with no way of communication there are plans for an escape even though the penalty for a failed escapee is immediate hanging read maus a survivor s tale part 2 by art spiegelman to see if they do or do not survive through the rest of the holocaust on a scale of 1-5 this emotionally powerful book deserves a 6 because it brings the reader into the love between vladeck and anja and then tears him away while crying for the deaths of their loved ones besides immense sadness the readers feel intense hatred toward nazis the suspense that comes with the possibility of getting caught and even some comedy mixed in well with the rest of the story this tragic tale told through the eyes of a jew gives a very descriptive picture of what it was like to be jewish during those tumultuous times through the gory war scenes relentless killing of innocent people and desperate measures of failing and succeeding in surviving this book describes a lot of the terrible events of the holocaust never ceasing to keep the reader s attention pirates pearl

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the things they carried by joshua witmer the things they carried is a beautifully crafted book of a collection of linked stories about vietnam it offers insight on the terrain of vietnam as well as the climate it blends comic relief and emotional pain people s lives are changed and characters inner personalities are revealed tim o brien excellently creates flow between the chapters by adding small bits of information pertaining to each following chapter in certain chapters tim tricks the reader into thinking that the particular story is true only to unveil at the end its actual falsity another stylistic device of o brien is his tendency to end chapters with an interesting thought or quote from a character in the book one example from the book is from the chapter the man i killed which was basically about o brien s first kill throughout the entire chapter o brien keeps returning in his mind to the appearance of the man he killed he does this countless times within the chapter and finally kiowa one of the soldiers says talk and that is how the chapter ends another trademark of o brien s style is his imagery and details of the surroundings and events one example of imagery in the book is when he explains how curt lemon another soldier died he says as lemon stepped on the booby-trapped 105 round and lemon flung into the air it was like the sun was killing him because it seemed like the sunlight gathered around him and flew him into the tree also when kiowa was sucked into the mud when they were trying to take cover from the mortars the narrator describes kiowa as norman bowker is trying to save him just sliding into the muck and disappearing he also describes kiowa s watch as giving off a green phosphorescent shine as it slips into the mud besides its obvious artistry o brien s tales moral is also one of its great features the moral is that one should not believe everything people page 14 say shown through o brien s own usage in the fact that some parts of his book are made up while others are not and the reader does not know until he is told o brien writes in the book a true war story is never moral [concerned with right or wrong if a story seems moral do not believe it if at the end of a war story you feel uplifted or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie besides style and moral the things they carried swarms with an interesting variety of major and minor characters thanks to o brien s perfect description of the characters the reader is able to easily understand more about each character s strengths and weaknesses in the first chapter he introduces the main characters in alpha company and explains what they were carrying in their backpacks thus shedding insight into their backgrounds for example the first person he introduces is lieutenant jimmy cross and he explains how he loves this women from college named martha whenever he finishes digging his foxhole he washes his hands holds her love letters and dreams of everything he wants to do with her immediately this description gives the reader a big piece of jimmy cross and it foreshadows to the end when nam changes his thinking makes jimmy enforce stricter rules and forget about martha so that he can keep his troops safe o brien goes even farther into one of the more minor characters life during the previously mentioned chapter the man i killed in this chapter as o brien is staring at the man he has just killed the story moves from actual events to a stream of consciousness in which o brien thinks about this man as a life for most of the chapter o brien writes about the dead soldier s life up to his death like a book should do the things they carried flows through the chapters almost flawlessly always making the reader want to find out what happens next this effect is achieved through o brien s weaving of glimpses of the next story into the present one another way is his deep explanations of each character s experience as if it were his own however the credibility of each story must be called into question because the reader until he receives a hint from o brien has no idea what is real and what is fake one part that from my reading i believe to be most definitely made up is the dead soldier s life because o brien didn t even know the soldiers name but for artistic reasons wanted to give him a story and so o brien most likely imagined the soldier s life also unique to o brien is that he doesn t just dive into the other characters lives he also reveals some of his struggles and personal life one of these such stories is about the first girl he loved linda they were both nine at the time and so odd as it may sound they both went on a date after that they immediately knew that they liked each other as the chapter progresses the reader learns that linda has a brain tumor which causes major complications in o brien s life the book ends with a haunting quote explaining to the reader that not everything in the book is true i realize it is as tim trying to save timmy s life with a story overall the things they carried is a thoughtfully written beau photo taken from google images pirates pearl

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why we love forbidden love by kayla lerch simply put by love expert christy spence people are drawn to forbidden love because it s forbidden the trend is global as many cultures are infatuated with forbidden love even in these different societies new and old the reoccurring similarity is stories of forbidden love why do people love these stories it is human nature to want what is ultimately unattainable is it just mere coincidence that the most popular literature consists of a passionate forbidden relationship juliet s parents forbade her to see romeo which made their bond even stronger bella was a mere mortal while edward would live forever which makes their love even more passionate yes those couples were meant to be together but why did the authors choose to make them belong with each other it may be because that is what society wanted to read about people yearn to stray from the social norms of what is accepted because they want to stand out and be different from everyone else since many people strive to be different writers often create characters that resemble what our inner selves secretly desire to be women want to be daring and bold men wish they could be romantic and sensitive however many societies look down on people who are different from everyone else for a less complex look on forbidden love just watch any classic disney movie in cinderella she was a bottom-of-the-food-chain girl who fell in love with the prince in peter pan wendy loved peter even though they lived in two totally different worlds in lady and the tramp dogs from entirely opposite ends of the spectrum fell in love in the little mermaid ariel was a mermaid who fell in love with a human man in beauty and the beast a beautiful girl fell in love with a horrid beast in pocahontas a native american girl and an englishman had a secret relationship the list of movies that include forbidden love will never end taking a closer look into the twilight saga written by stephenie meyer one can find that there are many facets to this forbidden love it paints the perfect picture of an average girl attaining the most unattainable boy a boy that is beautiful charming and romantic it reveals the image of what many average girls dream of the image of what every boy wishes he could be for a girl nobody wants to lead an average life with average people around every corner what everyone really wants is to be noticed to stand out to be the one who has what everyone else wants to be the one who achieved everyone else s goal photo credit kayla lerch janet evanovich by tiffany kennedy janet evanovich a #1 new york times bestselling author pulls readers in all across the world with her stephanie plum series these action packed books are filled with jaw dropping humor and steamy passion evanovich has written sixteen stephanie plum novels and she is currently working on number seventeen for the series evanovich was inspired to write the plum series after she saw the movie midnight run in 1992 she decided that a female bounty hunter would be a good twist on the bounty hunter model evanovich also bases some of the events from her own life but adds some fun and exciting twists stephanie plum the main page 15 character is a bounty hunter who often runs into trouble with help from her on and off again boyfriend joe morelli her sometimes partner lula and her sexy mentor ranger stephanie runs around trenton nj chasing ftas by luck she manages to catch them living pay check to pay check she struggles but mooching food from her parents every night helps her survive stephanie s luck swirls down the drain as she runs into life threatening as well as embarrassing situations as she tries to keep her apartment and her boyfriend stephanie s hectic life unravels in these terrific books with reviews that say brilliantly evocative denver post and offbeat and hilarious romantic times book reviews the stephanie plum series is a hit the first book one for the money which is currently being made into a movie starring katherine heigl jason o mara sherri shepherd and more should be in theaters next summer janet evanovich photo taken from google images pirates pearl

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