by Saber Slate | Dec 13, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
Yet again, December has arrived with its negative temperatures and slush from the sky. And do you know what comes along with December? The holidays! A festive two-in-one deal.
But sometimes you’re sick of holiday traditions – maybe you hate always having to bake that cake for the family, or you’re tired of the same pair of socks grandma gets you every year, or maybe you don’t like doing the shoveling Christmas morning so your relatives can park in your driveway. And that’s okay – everyone needs a little change once in a while. Why do you think we have vacations?
So here are some fun ways to vacation from your usual holiday traditions this winter break, no matter who or what you are – yes, even the succulents on your window can get festive. The holidays are in the heart, not in the environment. Have some fun!
1. The Egg of Festivity
The Egg of Festivity is exactly what it sounds like: Gather around in a circle with family, friends, or whoever and whatever else you have lying around. Draw a face the best you can on the egg and set it back in the middle. Remember to show some respect for the egg. This is key – if you slouch or look uninterested this won’t work. Ask the egg a question, like a burning question about what you got for Christmas or if your friend is actually mad at you or forgets to text back. Shake the egg a few times then crack it . If the yolk breaks, it’s a no. If the yolk stays whole, it’s a yes! If you don’t like this method, maybe you can ask the egg for a Magic 8 ball instead next year, hmm?
2. Ultimate Snowball
One of the best things of the season, for most people living in Wisconsin, is the snow. For other’s, it’s the worst thing. But whatever stance you take on snow, there’s one thing we can all agree on – it’s cold, and it’s powdery, and it’s perfect for using as a projectile. Ultimate snowball is a wasteland of rules. Grab some friends (or some targets) and get together in an open space that can either be inside or outside, but outside is preferable. Use tactics like “The Blind Spot” (a rock covered in snow), “The Dirty Harry” (snowballs with more dirt than snow), or the author’s choice, “The January” (a solid ball of ice with a thin layer of snow on top). Go wild and compete to see who gets that last piece of grandma’s famous Jell-O.
3. Present Making
The true hallmark of the holiday season is the satisfaction of giving. Seeing the face of someone else open your present and smile is a feeling that one rarely gets to experience, unless you’re really generous or you go to a lot of parties. Imagine your family member’s face when they open that beautifully wrapped gift and find an uncooked piece of ham inside! The best gifts not only come from the heart, but are also usually found around your home – for example, some great stocking stuffers and tree-fillers could be individually wrapped grapes, water, one Kraft single in a box, a copy of Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 on Blu-ray, or the simple but meaningful spool of copper wire from Home Depot.
5. Family Fortnite Dance Competition
You already know we can’t have Christmas (or an article) without mentioning Fortnite. Another hallmark of the holidays is the time that we spend with others. That’s why this tradition might be perfect for any Fortnite lover out there! With the release of season 7 and the addition of festive skins like Merry Marauder and Ginger Gunner, this gives you the perfect reason to get together with your family and friends in your living room and do the hype like the world’s going to end. Orange Justice your way to a perfect holiday. Default dance throughout the night. Emote at holiday dinner and when receiving your presents. Whatever it takes to get that holiday Victory Royale!
6. Steal Christmas
There’s nothing stopping you. Just go full Grinch on ’em and steal your entire neighborhood’s Christmas. Steal the presents. Take the tree. Leave no evidence. No one will know it was you if you cry alongside them Christmas morning.
7. Mall Santa
This tradition might require you to be working age, however, you can always find loopholes. Step in for your local mall Santa (whether he knows about it or not) and let the kiddies sit on your lap this holiday season and tell you what they want. When they’re done, tell them what you want for Christmas. Should you encounter any crying or frightened children, be sure to cry alongside them to make them feel more comfortable. This applies to pets as well.
8. Spend Time with Your Family
The holidays are really about coming together at the end of the year and reflecting on how much fun you had. Before the new year comes around, be sure to savor those moments with your loved ones. Because that’s what traditions are all about! It brings the people together. The warm fuzzies in your heart is the real end-of-the-year treat and personally, it’s the moment my whole year leads up to. Sit back and forget about school for the week we’re gone and close your eyes and enjoy the special moments like your family sitting together and laughing among each other, or you and your siblings building snowmen outside and wrapping gifts for your parents, or baking cookies and going places with your friends. Holidays are in the heart.
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Happy Holidays everyone! What’s your favorite holiday tradition? Be sure to relax and have loads of fun this break!
by Saber Slate | Dec 3, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
In November, even before Thanksgiving, Christmas had already begun in retail. Holiday decorations are already set up, and turkey time is over. A staple of the Christmas season in the 21st century is the seasonal Starbucks Holiday drinks, ranging from the peppermint mocha to the eggnog latte. This is the story of how I tried each of these new drinks to review.
My journey of self and surprises started on Monday, November 19. I had just gotten my hair cut again at the salon. Conveniently, I was within the Wyndham Village Shopping Centre, which is the home of our lovely Franklin Target store. Of course, within Target is a nice Starbucks location, which would be the perfect place to start because in 30 minutes I would need to walk next door to Pick N’ Save.
After lengthy consideration, I was able to decide the first contestant in my taste-test journey. The White Chocolate Mocha was my first choice. After around 5 minutes, my ~$5.00 drink was ready. My first impression was that this drink was very sweet. I almost couldn’t tell that there was coffee in this in the first place. More like a nice warm white chocolate milk with memories of coffee. Secondly, there was a bit of whipped cream which made it pretty creamy to start, but it gradually thinned out. It wasn’t as thick as a typical mocha is. Generally it was an enjoyable drink, despite its shortcomings.
The next drink that I taste-tested was in two days, Wednesday the 21st. This time, I stopped by the Target in New Berlin after a road trip and decided on a Caramel Brulee Latte from their Starbucks. Again, like most Starbucks drinks, it’s very sweet. However, the caramel flavoring is noticeable with this drink and is pleasant. The drink reminds me of the other caramel offerings that Starbucks has, but there’s an additional “burnt sugar” aftertaste that really reminds me of actual caramel brulees. It reminds me of Christmas morning. Again like the last drink, it was more like a warm caramel drink with underwhelming coffee flavors. I’m starting to think that Starbucks should take coffee out of its name because so far, there’s barely any in here!
The 23rd was Black Friday. What better day to get a Starbucks drink on Black Friday, in the mall? No better day, according to the long line of customers I was met with. This time I picked out a gingerbread latte and a chestnut praline latte to share with my mom. In my opinion, the gingerbread latte tasted more like ginger than actual gingerbread. Despite this, it was an enjoyable drink. Unlike the other drinks that I’ve tasted, there was a more prominent coffee flavor which was quite nice. However, that’s my personal preference.
I had a little bit of the chestnut praline latte that I bought my mom at the mall. To be completely honest, I don’t know what a chestnut tastes like at all, but the drink tasted oven-roasted like a chestnut probably is. There was the sweet taste of the praline too, being the burnt sugar or toffee kind of taste. It left me feeling warm and nice.
After a relaxing Thanksgiving break, on the 27th, I thought, What better way to give thanks than buying instant Starbucks coffee packets? I couldn’t think of a better answer, so I visited the local Starbucks to buy a peppermint mocha. When I first started drinking it, my first reaction was Wow, this is minty! and I thought it was going to be overpowering again. But they didn’t overdo it with this one and make it full-on toothpaste flavored. It was just enough mint to compliment the mocha flavor and not make either flavors feel like an afterthought or aftertaste. It was also enough peppermint to remind me of those golden days where I would eat peppermint candy canes all day without worrying about lasting health effects. Surprisingly, I have nothing bad to say about this one. It was enjoyable all around. If you like peppermints, mochas, mocha flavored peppermints, or peppermint flavored mochas, then this drink is probably for you.
The last two drinks that I tried were the lattes eggnog and juniper. The eggnog latte surprisingly tasted like actual eggnog and even seemed like it had the same consistency. There wasn’t too much of a coffee flavor, it felt more like an aftertaste to be honest. The juniper latte tasted a lot like how Christmas trees smell. I like Christmas trees, but not something that I’d want to drink in a coffee. I was pretty let down by this one, but everyone has their own personal preferences.
My personal favorite would have to be the peppermint mocha. It just seems right for the holiday season, more so than much of the other drinks. Obviously Starbucks drinks have their ups and downs and we all don’t have to like them, and they aren’t for everyone, of course. But the holidays are all about the good times with your family and friends, not a bunch of curiously overpriced drinks.
(image source: https://people.com/food/starbucks-holiday-drinks-calories-sugar-fat/)
by Saber Slate | Nov 17, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
What’s a good series without constant delays before finally delivering? Back in October, I put out a form to ask what music albums students would want reviewed. Finally, my schedule has opened up from my own musical activities (concerts, auditions, etc.) and I can put my time into reviewing your selections!
Up first is “a modern tragedy vol. 1” by grandson. Yes, I did not miss any capitalization in the album title or artist name. I love the styling choice of all lowercase titles – it seems to provide a more concise style, while possibly hiding a hint of laziness.
(Bias note: I usually tend to listen to instrumentals more than vocals, so I apologize if I criticize an album you might find lyrically intense for having weak music behind them. However, I don’t think that’s something I’ll need to criticize with this album.)
Track 1: Blood // Water – I love the distortion used over the vocals. I’m also loving the style of alternating between the hard electronic chorus and the more guitar-based verses. That contrast is exemplified by the distorted singing during the verses and the more screaming style during the chorus. The lyrics are a little repetitive, but they definitely get their point across.
Track 2: Stick Up – The verse has a really nice driving bass drum beat, really easy to bob your head to, tap your foot, etc. The chorus does some great addition of backing vocals behind ‘grandson’. However, the breakdown near the end is a little simple, and seems to be too close to sounding like the rest of the song.
Track 3: Despicable – The guitar intro sounds really good, and the clean vocals on top of it with added reverb gives the entire thing a great feel. I loved the build up into the drop, and the break itself is great. I love the random noise in the background of the drop, it seems to add a lot to the tone of the song. This is especially true on the last drop, with the held out synth note in the background.
Track 4: 6:00 [Explicit] – The lyrics on this strong are a little bit more edgy, and talk much more about physical violence. This kind of turns me away from the song, but the instrumental in the background is very strong and keeps me from skipping over it. However, I would consider this the weakest track on the album – it seems a little bit too repetitive for me, in both lyrical and musical content. I did like the bridge’s use of explicit language, however – it helped strengthen the emotion in the lyrics.
Track 5: Overdose – The lyrics were a bit unrelatable for me, so the song in general was a little weird to listen to. The more mellow guitar sound compared to the rest of the album was used very well to fit with the more depressing tone of the song. Connected to the mellow guitar, the entire song has a more mellow feel than the rest of the album, which provided a greater contrast. It might have worked better as a midpoint for the album, but it was still a strong closer for the album.
I’m going to use my own system of ratings in order to put how an album is put together from my point of view. The different factors I will be rating are: How much the album bops, how approachable the album would be to a general audience, how artistic the album is, and how unique it is; each factor will be rated out of 10. I personally prefer more unique albums, but since everyone has different opinions, I won’t put one specific score to judge the album by.
My final ratings are:
Bop level: 8/10 – The buildups and drops feel great, and all it needs is a little stronger feel in some of the tracks.
Approachability level: 7/10 – Nothing too weird for a general audience on the album in the instrumental backing. However, the lyrics are a bit political, and can get tense (especially in the last two tracks).
Artistic level: 5/10 – Each track has a distinct enough sound to set a certain tone for the song, but it could use more variation in instrumentation to have the songs stay distinct from one another.
Uniqueness level: 4/10 – While the album does have a bit of distinction between songs, it still doesn’t stray too far from a standard electronic buildup and drop style.
If you disagree, or want me to clarify any of my thoughts, please leave a comment! If you want to request a new song to review, submit it in this form.
by Saber Slate | Nov 2, 2018 | Athletics & Activities
The leaves are changing colors, the air is getting chilly, sweaters are being unearthed from closets everywhere. Fall is here, no doubt; and the one other thing that falls brings to Franklin High? None other than the fall play, the event everyone’s been waiting for! This year’s play is titled The Woman Who Came to Dinner, a play adapted from the movie that premiered in 1942, The Man Who Came to Dinner.
In this play, we explore the life of arrogant and egotistical radio personality Sheridan Whiteside, who, while on a tour in Ohio, injures herself by slipping over ice and ultimately becoming an unexpected guest for the Stanley family. Then, she proceeds to add her two cents onto every aspect of their life (whether they want it or not), and comically interfering with a relationship with her assistant Maggie Cutler and a local reporter, Bert Jefferson.
“The play is a comedy for all ages,” says Mr. Nettesheim, one of the main directors for the play. “The kids are working really hard to put it together and they’re excited to perform in front of the community and the students.”
Mary Ramsden, who plays the role of Sheridan Whiteside, also encourages attendance. “It’s a truly funny play and the entire cast has put to many hours of work into the production. It will be a fun evening for anyone who goes.”
Please be sure to go and see this play! Not only is it a fantastic way to spend an evening with family, friends, or even just by yourself, it’s an excellent way to support the school, as well as (or should we say, especially!) the fantastic members of the cast and crew. They’ll be so thankful you came! Please be there to provide them with a fantastic audience to guarantee fruits for their labor.
***You can view ticket information here!***
Hurry! The play premieres November 7, 2018! Get the seats while they’re available – tickets are limited!
Please consider going to see the play!
by Saber Slate | Oct 24, 2018 | Opinion & Reviews
Trick or Treating. Who doesn’t love it? I’m sure we all had memories of going around the neighborhood carrying those little pumpkin baskets before we got smart and started bringing pillowcases. The time when take one didn’t cause an all-out war for the whole bowl. You know, young trick or treating. The kind parents love. They don’t want any snotty teens on their lawn asking them for candy, they want the cute princesses. That’s why some towns have been banning trick or treating for kids over 12. In my unbiased opinion as a teenager who trick or treats, this isn’t fair. But if you are trapped in a situation where you can’t trick or treat for one reason or another, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy Halloween. So here are some fun alternatives to trick or treating on Halloween.
Just the tricks
If you don’t feel like walking around a neighborhood and asking strangers for candy, you can be the stranger and hand candy out. Pass the time by scaring children with novelty masks and yelling boo. Or you can go all the way and dress up in a creepy costume and chase 5-year-olds around. What could be more fun? Make it a challenge to scare as many people as you possibly can, your friends, family, everyone you know! If you do it well enough, I can guarantee you it will be a Halloween you’ll never forget. I suggest turning the power off late at night and doing as you please.
Staying at home
Don’t have friends? You can just stay home and have a fun time on your own. Most TV shows have Halloween specials to watch, or you could play video games, read a book. You could eat oranges until the sun comes up. You could eat oranges until the sun goes down again. Or you could just do what you do every other day of your life. However, this is highly unrecommended, as Halloween is one of the best times of the year and you should be having a life.
Go trick or treating
Who cares what those prudes think? Trick or treating is amazing! You get to dress up as anything, from skeletons to bananas, while also getting free candy. If you are so worried about people wondering if you are 18 years old, just slap on a John Cena mask and be a tall 12-year-old. Nobody will be any the wiser. Plus, free candy. You can’t pass it up. Forget society, get out there!
Halloween only comes around once a year. So celebrate it in some way! Don’t be boring. Go out and be spooky, be fun, and be scary!
