by Kush Bansal | Dec 2, 2020 | Advice, Writing & Art
Ever since 1621 the holiday known as Thanksgiving has swept our nation every year. From the food, to meeting the family, to participating in American Consumerism on Black Friday; millions of people look forward to it every year. Unfortunately, this year is very different, with the CDC warning against people gathering for Thanksgiving and thousands of stores shutting down on Thanksgiving night, ending traditions for millions. But like the safe and responsible people we are we can hopefully keep a safe distance, wear masks, and wash our hands…I’m kidding. I am pessimistic so I can guarantee that cases of this thing called COVID-19 will skyrocket after Thanksgiving because no one will follow the advice given to us by medical professionals. While that is depressing news it is also my duty as a journalist to inform readers about what they can do to be safe, so that one person can follow my advice and still get quarantined because their aunt on Facebook says that COVID-19 is a hoax so she doesn’t wear a mask. I digress, you should listen or you will be stuck on house arrest for another 6 months:
- When preparing food make sure you wash your hands as frequently as possible. This may be a no-brainer however in a world where some people don’t wash their hands after using the bathroom it is important to kill the 99.9% of germs on your hands.
- Wear a mask. Please for the love of god wear a mask. I don’t care if you can’t breathe properly in one. Some people wearing face coverings for tens of hours a day and they don’t complain. Your trip to Walmart won’t suffocate you and neither will wearing your mask when you meet your family on Thanksgiving.
- Safely distance. Look, I get that life is hard enough with you having no friends but that doesn’t mean that you should go around hugging people and talking 4 inches from their face. Be mindful of others so that a) you won’t seem like a freak and b) you won’t spread germs to others.
- Keep politics and family separate. Biden won, Trump lost. There’s no need to represent your political merch at family dinner and instead you should talk about actual issues in the world such as our crippled economy, the lack of healthcare for all, and how millions are filing for unemployment every week. Not to sound bitter but there are other issues in the world that aren’t about you. Deal with it.
You got that? Fantastic. Now there’s nothing left to do but enjoy our holidays!!! By being safe and respectful you can do your part in making sure that our country (or in this case the limited population of Franklin) won’t be in shambles after the holidays this year. Comment down below what things you bought during Black Friday and any Thanksgiving stories that you have. Merry Thanksgiving!
by Saber Slate | Mar 13, 2019 | Art, Athletics & Activities
As you might have heard on the announcements on March 11th, Visual Arts Team brought home 3 trophies to Franklin High this weekend, and over 5 people are making it to the state tournament!
“Wait a second,” you might be thinking, “Never in my life have I heard of Visual Arts Club.”
And that’s perfectly okay! Visual Arts Club is a team of artists led by Mrs. Bausch that have entered in the annual Visual Arts Classic competition held at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee. Each artist belongs to a sector of creativity – some are tasked with drawing a piece, others paint, others build sculptures out of toothpicks and glue. All of the artists must conform to a theme that changes every year, 2019’s being “simplicity”.
Visual Arts Team has been preparing quietly since January for regionals at Cardinal Stritch. Since then, they’ve been researching artists for the quiz bowl and creating long term pieces to enter into the competition.
Upon arrival at Cardinal Stritch, all artists from Franklin and the other schools are divided by their creative sectors and begin to work on an on-site piece that will also be judged at the competition. Continually, each team also has to be able to work together to answer questions about artists and think critically in the form of a skit. This year’s prompt was “create a promo for a well-known sitcom that features artists”.
Visual Arts Team came in second for the quiz bowl (a major improvement from previous years). Held in the school’s auditorium, they answered several questions about artists like Georges Seurat and Yasujiro Ozu, default-dancing every single time they got a question right, and also answering that Grandma Moses’ real name is “G-Ma Mo Mo” rather than Anna Mary Robertson Moses (which, unfortunately, did not earn them the point).
They also came in second for critical thinking, for a gripping skit about Pokemon. Ash Matisse from Pallet Town travels out into the exciting world of Pokemon, fighting his first challenger Yasujiro Ozu with his three new Pokemon Georges Seurat (Special: Pointillism), Shoji Hamada (Special: Pottery Shards) and Mythical Pokemon Harriet Power (Special: Applique). Unfortunately, they lost to a slightly-less-gripping skit, a parody of Grey’s Anatomy.
And lastly, Franklin brought home 3rd overall for most wins within the team, with several people on the team due to go to Madison for state in April, for all kinds of media – from drawing to video production. Please continue to cheer them on as they continue to compete!
Congratulations Visual Arts! Keep on making Franklin Proud!
by Saber Slate | Jan 7, 2019 | Writing & Art
by Kush Bansal | Nov 22, 2018 | Writing & Art
It’s a nice September afternoon, you’re sipping apple juice, watching F.R.I.E.N.D.S on Netflix, and procrastinating the first weeks of school, when your parents race downstairs. “WE’RE HOSTING THANKSGIVING!” Your parents laugh and cheer while you fall back into a void, like how Chris Washington fell into one. Multiple weeks pass and you forget about it — even November passes on and you hardly notice…
WEEKEND BEFORE THANKSGIVING:
You dread as you walk into Costco, your parents rushing around to pick up the Turkey, plates, utensils and that one crappy DVD for your cousins. You rush home, no biggie.
WEDNESDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING:
You come home from school to see your parents freaking out, vacuuming, moving tables, making food, and even watching that deadbeat, Disney sequel-DVD. You rush in helping along with your siblings (if you have any) because you know that if you don’t then your body is just as dead as that turkey your family will eat. At 10 o’clock, you set your alarm to 7 am, 8 am, and 8:30 am…you can never be too safe.
THANKSGIVING AT 11:00 am:
You wake up on time, got everything ready on time, and for once, you’re not going to fail. As the doorbell rings, your anxiety raises beat by beat by beat. A tear falls from your eye as your cousins sprint towards you, like a lamb to a slaughter…”What in the blue Jesus did I just do?”…you question yourself that as you topple into Black Friday…another whole can of worms…oh no.
That’s just something quick I came up in time for Thanksgiving. I also want to let you guys know that in December, there will be a Christmas movie review marathon, where every Monday and Thursday a movie review will be posted until Winter Break. Movies include Elf, The Polar Express, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Die Hard, A Christmas Story, and Home Alone. Be sure to check that out and of course, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
by Saber Slate | Oct 2, 2018 | Writing & Art
It’s that time of year again–! No, not Christmas yet. It’s October, which means only one thing– it’s spooky time, baby! Shiver-me-bones, it’s almost Halloween again, the season of scares and spooky horrors. It feels like yesterday since it was last Halloween, and I’m sure a lot of you need a good BOO! every now and then to keep you awake in class. I propose a solution: Why have only one day to celebrate ghosts and monsters, when you can simply celebrate them all year? Here’s how you can, without a lot of hard work, and more than a collection of glowing jack-o-lanterns and floating skulls in your locker.
Create your own spooky dialect. Here’s a simple example chart to help convince your friends that you’re a spooky phantom, not a mortal human being.
| Normal words |
SPOOKY HAUNTED WORDS |
| “Hello” |
“BOO!” |
| “How are you?” |
“OooOooOoooOoo…” |
| “My name is [ ]” |
“My name is [ ]. I passed to the other realm in 1848.” |
| “Let’s get something to eat, sometime.” |
“Shall we enjoy feasting on the souls of the mortals when the clock strikes midnight?” |
| “Why do you think I’m a ghost?” |
“OooOooOoo!! I’m a GHOOOooOOooSST!! I am heeEEEeeereeEE to haaAAAuuUUUnnttt yoOOuUu!” |
| “What time is it?” |
“IT’S SPOOKY TIME! |
I hope you’re able to take inspiration from this chart, and you’ll really convince those silly humans that you’re really a ghost who’s come to haunt them.
Of course, there’s more to convincing than just words, am I right? Actions speak louder than words, especially HAUNTED actions. Here are some super spooky actions to really seal the fact that you’re a ghost (in a coffin). What’s really convincing is a haunted Halloween playlist to listen to at full blast, so your whole class can hear and know that you’re a spooky ghost. My personal suggestion is to use Spotify because of its theme: black and green, just some of the many spooky colors used to represent Halloween. Here are some songs you may want to start with:
Thriller by Michael Jackson
Disturbia by Rihanna
Somebody’s Watching Me by Rockwell
Monster Mash by Bobby Pickett
Note: don’t add the Ghostbusters song, because what kind of ghost listens to a song about hunting ghosts? Someone who isn’t a real ghost. Take that into mind.
Another thing you can do is sneak up on your human friends and give them a good scare. You’ll surely give them a good haunting, especially when they’re least expecting it. During a math exam, for example. They’ll never know what got ‘em! Or perhaps, if scaring isn’t your thing, walk into class with an empty pillow case and “TRICK OR TREAT” that teacher. Make sure to insist for candy! If the teacher has no candy, don’t worry! Each student can pitch in with their own treat for you, of course.
Of course, who would forget the most important part of Halloween itself: showing your true form, or what humans tend to call “wearing your Halloween costume.” Wear your spookiest every day to keep those humans on their toes. Don’t forget the crucial trick-or-treat bag, or you won’t be able to store your prizes safely and securely. There are no limits to how you do this– just keep it school appropriate, or you might as well make it onto the list of PWats, the prime ghostbuster.
Hopefully, these tips will help you convince your friends that you’re really a spooky ghost instead of a human. If you have any follow-up questions about this, or if I’m a ghost, be sure to leave a comment with your question and I’ll make sure to get back to you within the next few centuries.
Boo. This is a satire article. If you do in fact have questions or concerns, please leave a comment and I will get back to you shortly.
by Saber Slate | Apr 9, 2018 | Writing & Art
