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Going to School When The World Stopped

Judd Karn
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Going to School When The World Stopped

     I was a freshman when the pandemic started and am nearing the end of my Sophomore year as the pandemic is coming to an end. It is fair to say that Covid-19 has drastically affected my high school experience, but in what ways?

     My freshman year started off as it would any other year: I eventually learned my way around the school and made a couple new friends. First semester finals came around, and I was doing just fine. Once they were done, I was relieved and also excited, seeing as I had made it on the golf team and was excited to play.

     We started practice in the beginning of February, and by the middle of the month, I had become good friends with everyone on the team. We then had an introduction party on February 28th where I was getting even more comfortable with all of the boys golf, then a couple weeks later golf got cancelled a couple weeks later.

     By February, I knew about Covid-19 and how it was getting very serious in China but that was about the extent of my knowledge. Right before spring break, my English teacher talked to the class about Coronavirus and how there was a possibility that the school would be shut down for a couple weeks after spring break. 

     Everyone was excited for the longer spring break, but no one in our class ever thought it could become a pandemic. Yet, it was becoming more and more of a possibility as we got closer to the mandatory lockdown declaration.
    In 2019, I got my Disneyland annual pass, which we used about once every other week. When I heard Disneyland was  closing because of Coronavirus, I knew it was serious (seeing as they only closed for 3 days prior). 

     After the lockdown started, I believed, like most other people, that it would only last for a couple weeks, and I am fairly sure the school also thought this. 

     My teachers recorded videos and some held meetings on an app new to me at the time, Zoom. As the weeks went on it became apparent that Coronavirus was not stopping and that it was necessary for us to be on lockdown for the foreseeable future and prepare for what that means. 

     It was a weird time , I was optimistic that the pandemic would end soon, but it still felt weird to be kind of on vacation and still do work. Eventually finals came around and we did not do them, then it was the end of school.

     In short, the second semester of my freshman year wasn’t even a semester, the start was normal but once the lockdown neared, everything just felt in a weird limbo where it was not actually a school break but it was at the same time. 

    During summer break, I went outside for 1 hour a day to go on a walk to keep myself sane, but other than that all I did was catch up on TV shows and movies. 

     When we came back, things were much more concrete and schedules were in place; everyone had zoom meetings at designated times. During this time I really struggled with paying attention during class and zoned out at least once every class period. After a couple months, I adjusted to keeping attention but it was a struggle at the beginning.

     I chose to do everything online for the entirety of the year, and I believe that was the right decision (eventually) for me, but I was considering doing hybrid classes.  Hybrid classes would have been nice for me to keep my attention, but at the same time Coronavirus cases were peaking, so I did not want to risk it. 

     The only negative thing with online is in the beginning of the year I rarely talked one on one with the teachers and there were also a bunch of students that did not have their cameras on. So it was inherently easier to ask for help with hybrid because of the fact that you were actually present and you did not have to deal with tech problems.

     As the restrictions started to lift there were talks about starting to play golf again, this was one of the first sports to be confirmed as it is inherently built around social distancing. The only thing was everyone else started playing golf as it was one of the sports you could play during the pandemic so the prices of everything related to golf skyrocketed. I was just happy to play golf and get back into the sport.

     My sophomore year as of right now has been one that was much more difficult to be productive, difficult to participate in and more difficult altogether, albeit considerably better than my freshman year. I have only been to school six times since the beginning of the school year and every single time it felt foreign. Do I feel like I missed out on anything? Most definitely, but this will be an experience to remember.

The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Expanding a Universe

Judd Karn
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The Falcon and The Winter Soldier: Expanding a Universe

     The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is much more down to Earth compared to its predecessor, WandaVision. It is what you would expect from a Marvel Cinematic Universe series, action, superpowers, and world building. 

     The chemistry between The Winter Soldier AKA James Buchanon “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Falcon AKA Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) carries the show, the character growth and mannerisms that change over the span of the show are a nice touch and provide extra depth to a character. Zemo (Daniel Brühl) is given much more diverse characterization compared to Captain America: Civil War where he was sidelined. The introduction of the new Captain America (Wyatt Russell) is done perfectly and the actor does a great job to show how nervous his character was trying to take up the mantle.

     The plot is wonderful, much better than I thought it would be and it very much parallels our society. We also get shown that the superhero-filled world is not perfect, minor spoiler; Sam Wilson tries to get a loan in the bank to fix his boat after he was ‘dusted’ for five years, and he is told his record is not good enough to get a loan. The fact that this series is six episodes long allows the story to provide more explanation to what is going on outside of doing missions; the heroes of the world do not even get paid for their work.

    We also get a glimpse into the fact that even though Sam Wilson is a hero,  he still has to face racism. When in an argument with Bucky, two cops confront them and ask Bucky if Sam is bothering him. This is also addressed multiple times later in the series and once again reminds us that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is just as broken as our own.

     Bucky’s arc throughout the series is trying to write his wrongs when he was being mind controlled by the Nazis; this arc is not thrown in your face and does not take center stage but when you focus on that it is prevalent through all of the episodes. Bucky also is dealing with being friends with nobody and settling back into a world after being frozen in ice and fighting for years and years without stopping. After Captain America died he had no one to hang out with and was left with a permanent mental scar from the fact that he remembers every single person he killed.

    The threat of the series is not anywhere as big as any of the movies or as WandaVision, but that was on purpose. This season was more focused on finding out what the characters were dealing with providing world building to the Marvel Cinematic Universe rather than fighting a big evil alien.

     Overall The Falcon and The Winter Soldier is a great watch if you like action and will definitely be down your alley if you like good fighting, choreography, and character development. The ending of the show was a bit rushed, but that was because the season was initially supposed to have more episodes but was cut short for Covid-19 reasons. With that being said, it was very entertaining, and I look forward to seeing how these characters will progress in their future appearances in the MCU.

Godzilla Vs Kong: You Get What You Pay For

Judd Karn
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Godzilla Vs Kong: You Get What You Pay For

     Godzilla vs. Kong is Warner Brothers’ 4th film in their “monsterverse”, a connected movie universe that features larger than life creatures, commonly referred to as Kaijus or Titans. This is special not only because it is a culmination of the last three films, but also like other films this past year, it was temporarily streaming on HBO Max, but it is still being played in theaters.

     As for the visual effects and fights, they were phenomenal. The entire world is built on VFX (aka visual effects), a combination of computer generated elements in tandem with motion capture suits and other methods to bring fantasy to life. 

     This VFX is exceptional, it does not pull you out of the world for one second. The characterization of Kong was really nice to see as the titans are the real stars of the show and it was nice to see Kong have a story behind him and to actually have feelings behind him.

     Jia (Kaylee Hottle) was portrayed really well and her communication with Kong allowed the viewer to think that Kong was not just a giant fighting monster but a human that has feelings and humanity. However, the characters were one sided and felt more like things to move the plot along rather than be actual characters.

     Bernie Hayes (Brian Tyree Henry) was a conspiracy theorist and that was about it. Him, Josh Valentine (Julian Dennison), and Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown) were really just there to provide information on what Apex is doing and to find out about MechaGodzilla.

     It was not just them either, the other characters were just there to move the plot along so Godzilla, Kong, and later MechaGodzilla could fight. With this being said, it makes sense that they would hire star-studded actors to play such one-sided characters so the characters were actually interesting.

     The movie is not just assisted by CGI but carried by it. These spectacles are the main reason to watch the movies and the studio could see that; they gave the titans a way to battle, a personality, and a history.

     I was a bit skeptical of the monsterverse at first but it is now clear to see that this franchise is here to stay as an enjoyable movie that is full of action and fun to watch. They were able to fill an entire movie about monsters, with a plot that enhances and showcases the visuals that viewers come to see, and is able to make it entertaining the entire time.
     The movie makes you care for Kong more than just a giant killing machine and makes you not want him to die. I give them props for making a giant monkey with an axe and (somewhat) a giant nuclear lizard something that we can care about. 

     The movie focuses mainly on the combat between the two monsters, which was a great thing to do. Basically, Godzilla Vs Kong is a classic action CGI brawl that is a blast to watch, but if you need a good and logical plot to enjoy a movie this is most definitely not in your ballpark.  However, the main reason to watch the movie is to watch two giant monsters fight each other and that is most definitely what you get.

Wandavision Proves That Marvel Doesn’t Need Action To Be Entertaining

Judd Karn
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Wandavision Proves That Marvel Doesn’t Need Action To Be Entertaining

     WandaVision, Disney’s latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is an ambitious slow-brewing mystery-sitcom starring Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany), that takes place right after Avengers: Endgame. The project is meant to directly connect with the movies, but did they pull it off?

     The first couple episodes I was very uncertain about and, to be honest, a little disappointed at. Initially, I felt that the show was too slow for the first three episodes and was most likely losing people’s attention. I would have preferred if they instead went for the 2010s down to the 50s as it would have been a more captivating audience to watch something they are more familiar with, but I understand the need for this sequential way due to the narrative but I would take that sacrifice for a less boring first three episodes.

     If you think that the first couple of episodes are too slow you would be happy to know that the fourth episode changes that pace quickly. The chemistry between Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), Jimmy Woo (Randall Park), and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) was great and they balanced each other out. If you do not like the first three episodes that’s fine but once you get into the fourth episode and do not like it that is when you know you most definitely do not like the show.

     Over time the show drops subtle hints at what is going on, whether it is a quote or the commercials that show each episode, but it is more for a person who is rewatching a show so they can say, “Oh I get that reference now!”. However, there is a very prevalent theme of perspective, questioning who is the bad guy and how that could change so easily just by who gets the most screen time; the same exact show but with a different angle could change the entirety of it.

     During the last half of WandaVision, you start getting answers and everything starts making sense. Whether it be the story itself, the characters, or how the story itself is happening. I have to say there was an episode where they tried to go for a 2010 office/modern family-Esque episode but it was not done justice because they had to progress the story as well.

     The eighth episode was exposition-heavy, trying to fit everything in before the finale but it was still a very good episode. The last episode was a good episode by any means, it just did not fit the theme of the rest episodes and I felt that there could have been a more cohesive way to end the show. 

     The tone and genre of WandaVision is a great use of perspective and mystery elements to create a compelling show without the need for big action fights and explosions. Marvel’s WandaVision is not perfect, but it is a great watch for any Marvel fan or a person that knows the basics of Marvel. The ending left a lot to be desired, but I assume those payoffs would come up in one of the future Marvel films. However, as a standalone show, the ending is not unacceptable and is more like a movie set up for a sequel. I would say standalone 8/10 due to the ending but with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe 9/10 as we know that this is a lead-up to an upcoming Marvel project.

     Binging this on your first watch would also improve the show as watching it weekly you have to deal with the waiting for another episode and so you hope every single episode is great and binging them allows you to not have any expectation and see the cohesive story unfold.

GameStop, Dogecoin and The Stock Market

Judd Karn
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GameStop, Dogecoin and The Stock Market

     January 26th the market closed and the already-raising GameStop spiked up from $145 to $371 the next day. How did the near-extinct GameStop become so vastly overvalued? Well at one point it was vastly undervalued as it had been shorted, so much so that it was short squeezed.

     Shorting a stock is when you borrow a stock from the bank, pay a security deposit, then give the stock back and get your security deposit back. This can be lucrative because if a stock is constantly declining as you would easily be able to make a profit. 

     Hedge funds have been shorting stocks to the ground for a while, then people began to catch onto it, this was known by many investors; the investors began to invest in it and it then spread by mouth to the subreddit Wall Street Bets. Wall Street Bets admits themselves to being very idiotic and makes fun of themselves for it, either way, they have made many bad bets (here are just a couple of examples). 

I have been in Wall Street Bets for about 4 years just to see what they are doing and I thought GameStop was just another meme like the rest of the subreddit and was going to make them lose money, but people just kept investing more and more. 

     Wall Street Bets was picking up steam as it was notable that GME (GameStop’s stock symbol) was raised on the Robinhood most bought leaderboard (Robinhood shows the 100 stocks their customers buy) and the entirety of the stock market, Robinhood is the most popular consumer brokerage as it allows for partial shares. 

     Redditors of Wall Street Bets began buying GameStop stocks on Robinhood, then people outside of the Reddit people joined in, not only buying GameStop but similar stocks like AMC, Blackberry, and Nokia. When everyone thought GameStop was going to go down it kept going up and up, becoming way overvalued in one of the most unprecedented overvalues after being undervalued for so long.

     According to cnet, the CEO of Robinhood was on the Good Time Show, a talk show on the audio call app Clubhouse, he stated that the order for GME and Robinhood as a whole had too large of an order request for them to fulfill without meeting requirements for the clearinghouse, which is what validates and finalizes stock transactions, so they had to cancel many orders. Many other brokerages closed or restricted trading of the volatile stocks, including Cash App and Webull (Webull later removed these restrictions).

     The people in WallStreetBets were enraged by these restrictions, causing many brokerages to get ridiculed and a lawsuit to be filed against Robinhood; Congress called for a hearing on this and the Government organization that regulate the stock market stated, “[we will] closely review actions taken by regulated entities that may disadvantage investors or otherwise unduly inhibit their ability to trade certain securities.” 

     These events caused the stocks that were surging to grow stagnant or drop heavily. What would have happened had Robinhood not limited the noted stocks? Who knows, the stock market is insane with or without unprecedented short squeezes, a monkey could predict it better than stock market analysts. 

     I am invested in stocks and cryptocurrency but was not affected much by this, my stocks dropped 5% but then went up 11% as of writing this. Dogecoin is just funny to me, if you do not know Dogecoin raised 700% then dropped and raised even more than that. 

     The reason my stocks were not affected much is that the only real thing that was apart of the stock craze was Bitcoin and went down slightly then backed up. Other than Bitcoin I mainly have blue-chip stocks (ex. Disney, AMD, Apple, Nvidia, etc.). 

     This event of short squeezing was one for the books but do not let it discourage you from investing, you can be risky and try to make lots of profit in a short amount of time or you could do what I do and plan to hold stocks for years to come.

A Comprehensive Guide on How to Have a Bad Year: 2020 In Review

Judd Karn
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A Comprehensive Guide on How to Have a Bad Year: 2020 In Review

In January:

     We start off the year with the assassination of Iranian Army General Qasem Soleimani (what felt like years ago). Due in part to the event that was stated previously an impeachment of President Donald J. Trump was held but subsequently failed. Meanwhile there was an extensive amount of bushfires in Australia threatening hundreds of species into extinction, and the death of former Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said. The end of January was rather eventful as well, with Brexit starting and the death of the beloved basketball star Kobe Bryant.

In February:  

    President Trump got acquitted, minor accidents like sewage leaks and the like, a mass shooting in a Milwaukee area brewery area involving five employees dead, and minor discord of a new disease called COVID-19.

In March:  

     The month started with an air strike in Turkey from Syria that killed 33 Turkish soldiers. On March 6, a suicide bombing incident occurred in Tunisia the same day 30 people were killed in Kabul. 

     A prison riot erupted in Columbia on March 22nd after rumors of Coronavirus, going from 90,907 cases to 939,581. Many countries began enacting quarantine policies throughout the entirety of the month. Meanwhile, in North Korea, they set off six different projectiles with little to no information about them.

In April:

     The aftermath of March: everyone was locked away, watching their favorite streaming services, and many schools were on a prolonged spring break. Tiger King also began picking up steam as 64 million households tuned in. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Israel and South Korea held elections and there were three attacks of different types reported.

In May:

     COVID-19 was as rampant as ever. There were protests for different reasons, including the BLM, in response to the death of George Floyd and many others, and Hong Kong protests, opposing a bill initially and now advocating for a democratic reform and continuous Hong Kong autonomy. Statements from the President recommended hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19 treatment, WarnerMedia’s streaming service HBO Max releases in the US, the brief disappearance and return of Kim Jong Un after rumors of an alleged surgery that did not actually happen. Another large event this month were the rampant ‘murder hornets’ that appeared in North America, they threaten to kill off honeybees. 

     Near the end of May, a great tragedy happened: Breonna Taylor was shot eight times to death while she was asleep, followed by the filmed killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police, resulting in protests near the end of May. An unknown man shot a protester during all of the chaos.

In June:

     Black Lives Matter protests continued and grew exponentially, coronavirus got worse in the US with 2,700,000 cases at this time and shootings were still prevalent. Locusts began swarming India and destroying crops across the entire country. 

In July: 

     The protesting was still as apparent as ever. US representative and activist John Lewis passed, the mayor of Seoul died, two hostage situations occurred, and many other incidents. Oh yeah, and Kanye West endorsed himself as President of the United States.

In August:

     There was the Apple Fire that continually worsened in California, landslides in India, Hurricane Isaias was coming, along with Marco and Laura. In mid-August a man named Jacob S. Blake was shot in the back seven times while his sons were in the backseat. Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was announced as the Democratic candidate against President Trump. There was also an ammonium nitrate explosion in Lebanon killing 100 people and leaving 4,000 injured. Near the end of August, actor Chadwick Boseman died of cancer at age 43. Meanwhile, schools are trying to find a way to open up the school during this pandemic.

In September:

     Protests continued, the passing of Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a fire tornado in California, shooting at an Amazon facility and the hard to watch presidential debate. Some good news is that a social deductive game called Among Us unexplainably rises to popularity. 

In October:

     President Trump and many of the administrators caught Coronavirus, Pope Francis backed the LGBTQ+ community and same-sex marriage. Also to add to the bizarreness, US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and US Representative Ilhan Omar streamed Among Us to 440,000 people at its peak. BLM protests were still very evident in the states, the Epstein case came up again in the news, and the election had record-breaking early and mail-in votes.

In November:

     The presidential election started on November 3 and on November 6 Joe Biden was declared President-elect by the Associated Press after tension for what felt like weeks on who was going to win the election, Bolivia also elected a new president. The world remains confusing with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streaming once again with famous streamers, fellow US Representative Ilhan Omar, and Canadian Member of Parliament Jagmeet Singh. Black Friday and Cyber Monday were mainly online due to the pandemic still being prevalent and having a second wave in the US.

In December:

     We are nearing the end of this dreaded year that seemingly has no end in sight. Former New York City mayor and personal lawyer to President Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani contracted COVID-19, and US COVID-19 vaccinations are supposed to start soon. Let’s hope that the vaccine comes swiftly and all of this can end, this is not a good year and many would say, the model bad year. Knock on wood it can not get any worse than this.

Los Angeles Dodgers Win The World Series!

MVHS Staff
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Los Angeles Dodgers Win The World Series!

Eja Fromm
Sports Editor 

The Dodgers finally took home a World Series Championship for the first time since 1988! 

     This past baseball season, the LA Dodgers took home a World Series Championship after defeating the Tampa Bay Rays. All 6 games were played at Globe Life Field, in Arlington, Texas. This was the first time they only played at one field since 1944 because of the global pandemic. 

     The first game took place October 20th. The Dodgers took the victory that game with an 8-3 win over the Rays. This was a big confidence booster as they attended the 2017 and 2018 world series but didn’t win overall. 

     Their lead in game one was sparked by Cody Bellingers two home runs almost immediately. This was insane because just two days prior Bellinger had popped his shoulder out of its socket.

     In the fifth inning, the Dodgers got six runs against Rays pitcher Tyler Glaslow. 

     The second game occurred on October 21st, and the Rays took victory. The overall score for this one was 6-4.

     Blake Snell hit the first home run off of Dodgers pitcher Brandon Lowe, giving them their first lead for the series. Joey Wendle doubled in two runs during the fourth inning to extend the Rays lead to 3-0. 

     Corey Seager from the Dodgers hit a home run in the eighth inning and set the record for most home runs by a shortstop according to mlb.com.  

     During game three, held on October 23rd, the Dodgers conquered that game with the final score being 6-2. Justin Turner started off the game with the first home run, which resulted in him getting tied with Duke Snider (former LA Dodger) for the most postseason home runs in Dodger history which was 11 according to wikipedia.org.  

     Rays pitcher, Charlie Morton, was removed from the game after four innings because he allowed five runs on seven hits and one walk, which gave LA a big lead. 

     It’s understandable that these players are under a lot of pressure and don’t play to their full potential because of the stress and anxiety the Series brings. It definitely isn’t easy for the players having a huge crowd watching and judging their skills.

     Game four was given to Tampa after they pulled through with a one-point win, making the score 8-7. Justin Turner for LA hit the first home run in the first inning for the second game in a row. 

     This game was the first game to end because of an error for the first time since 1986. The error was Muncy (Dodgers) cutting off a throw from outfield, and his throw to Will Smith bounced off Smith’s glove, allowing Arozarena to dive safely into home base. 

     The Dodgers defeated Tampa in game five with the end result being 4-2. The Dodgers got the early head start in this game leaving Tampa to try to catch up. 

     Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw, achieved the record for most postseason strikeouts. This was also Kershaws 6th World Series he has attended. 

     Finally, game six came around and the Los Angeles Dodgers were declared the World Series champions after beating Tampa Rays 3-1. 

     The Rays started off this game with the first solo home run by Randy Arozarena. In the sixth and eighth inning, the Dodgers bounced back by scoring two points from runs. In the eighth inning, Betts hit a home run making the Dodgers the final winners. 

     The MVP of the series was Corey Seager. Shortly after, it was released that Justin Turner tested positive for Covid 19, however, he still attended post championship parties despite his results. He is currently being investigated by the MLB. 

     Overall, it was a long awaited win for the Dodgers as they definitely deserved this victory. 

Stuff Your Face This Thanksgiving

MVHS Staff
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Stuff Your Face This Thanksgiving

Eja Fromm 
Sports Editor

Here are some yummy and easy recipes for the upcoming holiday seasons. 

     Thanksgiving: arguably the holiday with the best tasting food. It’s not always easy to choose what dishes to make, but if you’re looking for a quick and easy dish, then you’re in the right place. 

     A sweet classic dish that will satisfy almost everyone is a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top. You’ll begin with boiling the sweet potatoes in order to make the casserole have a thicker texture instead of a soupy texture. Next, you’ll mash the potatoes and mix them up with some melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, and a little bit of salt to enhance the sweetness. 

     Lastly, top the casserole with marshmallows and bake it for about 30 minutes in an oven that was set to 375 degrees. It’s for sure done when the marshmallows look golden brown. The whole process should take about an hour. 

     If you’re in a rush and need to bring food to something like a friendsgiving, then cranberry sauce is your best friend. It only takes 15 minutes to make and you only need 4 ingredients (orange juice, cranberries, sugar, and the cinnamon is optional).  

     First, you’ll heat the orange juice and sugar together until the sugars are dissolved and it begins boiling. Next, you’ll stir in the cranberries until it boils again. Then turn the heat from high to low and cook for about 10 minutes until the cranberries have bursted.

     Finally, remove it from the stove and mash it all together while adding a pinch of cinnamon. After all that hard work, you’ve completed making your 15 minute sauce for everyone to enjoy. 

     Another simple option would be cornbread muffins. The ingredients are ¾ cup of cornmeal, 1 and ¼ cup of flour, ⅓ cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¾ cup of milk, ¾ cup canned corn, ½ cup of melted butter, 2 eggs, and 2 tablespoons of honey. For all those ingredients, it only takes 30 minutes to make. 

     First preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 12 cup muffin tray with nonstick. Then, combine all the dry ingredients which is the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and mix to combine. 

     Next, whisk together the wet ingredients and eventually combine them with the dry ingredients and continue mixing. Fill the muffin tray ¾ full and bake for 20 minutes. Let it cool for a bit and then it’s ready to serve plain or with warm butter on top. 

     One final classic recipe is baked macaroni and cheese. This dish consists of 1/2 pound elbow macaroni, 3 tablespoons butter, 3 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon powdered mustard, 3 cups milk, 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1 large egg, 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and fresh black pepper. 

     Begin with preheating the oven to 350 degrees. In a large boiling pot, boil the pasta. As the pasta is cooking, whisk the flour and butter for about 5 minutes, then stir in the onion, milk, bay leaf, and paprika. Let it simmer for 10 minutes before removing the bay leaf. 

     Next, put the egg in and still in ¾ of the cheese. Season it with salt and pepper, then fold the macaroni into the mix and pour it into the casserole dish. Don’t forget to top it off with the remaining cheese. 

     Finally, top it all off with bread crumbs and bake for 30 mins. This dish is sure to be a hit. 

     All in all, these are only a few delicious recipes for easy dishes among many. Make this Thanksgiving special and treat yourself and others with an enticing homemade dish. 

A Farewell to the Greats

MVHS Staff
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A Farewell to the Greats

Keira Deer
Co Editor-in-Chief

What is loss? The world learns the true meaning of loss with the recent passings of cinematic icon, Sean Connery, and long-time Jeopardy host, Alex Trebek.

     In the worldy climate that we live in at present, it is hard to take such hard hits as we have experienced recently, with the passings of such influential figures in just the past year: Kobe Bryant, Chadwick Boseman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Eddie van Halen, Regis Philbin, Little Richard — the list extends far longer than we’d ever wish.

     Recently falling upon that list are actor Sean Connery and TV host Alex Trebek. The two have been missed greatly by friends, family, and fans since their passings.

     Sean Connery, legend of the screen in the latter half of the 20th century, died on the eve of November at the age of 90. The actor was on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas when he passed away in his sleep. According to his wife of 45 years, Micheline Roquebrune, the late actor dealt with dementia in his old age.

     Connery was the first actor to portray Agent 007, James Bond, in film, appearing in seven movies in the franchise from 1962 (Dr. No) to 1983 (Never Say Never Again).

     The role of James Bond was succeeded after Connery’s retirement of the character in 1983 by multiple actors, including Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and most recently, Daniel Craig. In a statement on Connery’s death, Craig deemed the original Bond actor to be “one of the true greats of cinema,” full of “wit and charm.”

     Indeed, Connery was known for his performances in the Bond movies as a suave and charismatic secret agent. The impact he has had on the world of cinema is everlasting, as is his famous one-liner and light of the cigarette: “Bond, James Bond.”

     The Scottish actor appeared in a multitude of other films, including Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Name of the Rose, and The Untouchables, the last of which earned him an Oscar in the category Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1988. Among this and many other award nominations and wins, Connery was also presented with the American Film Institute (AFI) Life Achievement Award in 2006.

     Iconic TV personality, Alex Trebek, passed away on November 8, after battling stage four pancreatic cancer for over a year and a half. The Canadian born Jeopardy! host was 80 years old, and is survived by his wife of 30 years Jean, and two children, Emily and Matthew.

     Trebek appeared on a number of game shows through the decades, most popularly in the 70s and 80s, during which he sported his famous Chevron mustache and curly hair. In 1984, he took on his most well-respected responsibility of hosting Jeopardy! which he would continue to head for 37 years until his death.

     Confronted with the instability and health risk of the Covid-19 crisis, Trebek succumbed to the public’s curiosity and wrote his first autobiographical book, entitled “The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life.” The memoir revolves around different aspects of life, including marriage, success, and parenting, and was released just before his birthday in July.

     In his more recent interviews, Trebek stated clearly that he wanted the world to see who he genuinely was — a true, kind-hearted man. After releasing his diagnosis to the public in March 2019, he became outspoken with his struggle and fashioned himself as a public advocate for pancreatic cancer research.

     The three greatest champions of Jeopardy! are Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer, who gave their kind words and wishes after Trebek’s death. On Twitter, Jennings deemed the late host to be a “lovely and deeply decent man,” with Holzhauer calling him “a legend of American television.” Rutter stated “There will never be another.”

     For generations to come, we will remember both Sean Connery and Alex Trebek as modern luminaries of the screen.

An Overview of Ariana Grande’s Latest Album: “Positions”

MVHS Staff
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Brooklyn Baggett

Entertainment Editor

Released on October 30th, Ari’s sixth studio album has been long awaited by fans and is breaking records in both her career and the music industry.

     Following the success of her last two albums “Sweetener” (2018) and “Thank U, Next” (2019), Grande’s new album stays authentic to her body of music while incorporating more of an R&B feel and incredible vocals, as well as a romantic and contemplative theme.                                                                                 

     Fans are especially thrilled over her hit single “positions” after anxiously waiting for months ever since it was reported in April that Grande was working on new music. While she announced in May during an interview with Zane Lowe on his Apple Music Beats 1 Show that she had recorded a song with Doja Cat, she also stated that she would not release an album during the COVID-19 lockdown.

     Nonetheless, she shared on social media on October 14th that her music would actually come out later that month. Grande then released her hit single “positions” on October 23rd, and the complete “positions” album of fourteen tracks a week later, on October 30th.

     The studio effort made No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making Grande the fastest female artist to collect three number one studio albums in a single decade. The title track “positions” debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her fifth number one single in the U.S. and expanding her record of being the first artist to have five number one debut singles on the chart. 

     Doja Cat, the Weeknd, and Ty Dolla Sign all make guest appearances in this album.

     The opening track, “shut up”, in which Grande tells off people who are too concerned with how she spends her time, is similar to the intros of her other albums. It is one of the catchiest songs on the album and carries an upbeat energy, similar to “just like magic”.

      In the second song, “34+35”, Grande uses more suggestive lyrics, breaking barriers and singing openly about intimacy, an often taboo topic. “nasty” also embraces the same sense of transparency about mature themes. 

     “Motive”, featuring Doja Cat, is a dance-pop song inspired by the struggle of figuring out someone’s intentions with you. This is her first ever collaboration with Doja Cat, which fans of the two were very excited about.

     According to PopBuzz, fans suspect that the ballad “Off the Table” is about the singer’s late boyfriend, Mac Miller, though the artist has not confirmed this. Grande wonders if she will “ever love the same way again”, and the Weeknd sings as someone who is willing to wait for her. Some believe that the Weeknd’s perspective in the track is based on her current boyfriend, Dalton Gomez.

     “positions” and “pov” make references to some of her past work, while simultaneously playing a role in the storyline of both personal and professional growth displayed in the album. The “positions” official music video was released on October 23rd and showcases Grande as the President, topically set in her version of the White House.

     Critics and fans alike say that Ty Dolla Sign fits perfectly into “safety net”, a contemplative slow jam, only complaining that it doesn’t last longer.

     “my hair” is different from other tracks on the album in that it features a part of Grande’s personal style: her hair; many know that she is recognized for her iconic high ponytail. She sings the lyrics that reassure someone that it is okay to touch her hair with extreme vocal range. The last repetition of the chorus is sung entirely in whistle notes.

     Overall, listeners are enchanted by “positions”, charmed by the emotional story line throughout the tracks, Grande’s vocal ability, and authenticity to the artist’s specific sound as well as incorporation of other genres. The release is huge for the music industry, and it is exciting to see what Ariana Grande and other artists will come up with next.

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