Lydia Anderson

Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer 

Who likes to live in a cute town and take care of cute animals? I do! So I was very excited when Nintendo released their newest version of Animal Crossing on November 22nd, especially because they moved it from gaming consoles to an app.

 

Animal Crossing Pocket Camp has you be a manager of a camp, and you can design and place furniture that invites certain characters into your site. You complete their requests and gain bells (the currency) as well as supplies that are needed to craft what you want. You level up by gaining hearts through getting the daily tasks being completed that fill up the bar. That process is also shown in the photo of gameplay, on the top left corner.

 

The original Animal Crossing games allow you to be a part of the town as the mayor, and the objective is to cater to the people and have everyone be happy, which equals a successful town. Pocket Camp was switched to have a slightly different story, how you are placed in a campground instead of a random area with homes. You get to name your character and design the way you look, but the animal characters are specific and made for the game. Previous characters (cats, dogs, birds, etc) from other games are set in the game randomly and there is no way to select one to come to your town.  

 

The first one was on the GameCube, and the other was on the 3DS. I was lucky enough to have the chance to play both of the games throughout my life. They all have had the same plot, in the sense that you’re helping out citizens and making your town more beautiful. The original animation and design have stuck throughout all of the games, and in the app, it shows the highest quality of graphics than ever before.

 

I really enjoyed this reboot of Animal Crossing, because Pocket Camp lets you add your friends, and visit their camps and get inspiration for how to setup your site. The only other way you can interact with friends is by being able to sell and buy items they put up in their mini-market.

 

I’ve always thought that the animals and characters were cute, so I’m really glad that Nintendo decided to keep it the same throughout the years without making any drastic changes. So far, I don’t have any complaints or complications involving the gameplay, I thought it would have crashed due to the number of people logging on but it has been handled pretty well.

 

When writing this review, I was surprised how many people had never heard of Animal Crossing at all. I recommend the game to you if you like to have constant movement and a constant list of things to do in a game because there is so much to do while playing Animal Crossing.

If you want to add me, here’s my friend code: 7100 9202 769

 

 

Naima DeBrest

Staff Writer 

Imagine paying almost $10 to sit in a dark room with 100 strangers for 2 hours, simply for fun. In theory, the idea of going to the movies sounds less than desirable and very awkward. However, the idea of going to the movies has been engraved in American culture since the early 1900s. Americans have made it a common family activity to see the newest blockbusters in theaters and people have even waited hours in line to see the long-awaited features. Even though this tradition seems so important in the eyes of our culture movie theaters have taken a serious hit in the last couple of years. The summer of 2017 was the worst attended season in 25

years, leaving movie making and hopeful American wondering if movie theater will be around in the coming years.

 

Even though the business of movie theaters have slowly begun to decline the amount of movies watched in the United States has stayed at a constant high. People still love movies and the creative outlet that they provide is highly regarded and appreciated. In a survey of SLA students, 11 percent said that they had seen a movie in the last month, 66 percent said that they had last seen a movie in the last week, and 22 percent said that they had watched a movie last night. However, in that same survey, 77 percent of said that they had been to a movie theater in the last month. At first glance, the math doesn’t add up. How have people been able to watch movies every week but not go to the movie theaters?

The answer to this lies in another innovation of our society: movie streaming services. These services such as Netflix, Hulu, On Demand and Amazon have made it easier than ever to watch a movie in an instant and they have done it for a fraction of the price. Home has been fully equipt with personal movie theater whether it be on a television or on a computer screen.

People fail to realize that being in a movie theater is equivalent to being in the movie itself. The surround sound allows you to hear every word of the characters. The vulnerability of sitting amongst strangers is exhilarating. The smell of freshly buttered popcorn engulfs your nose. This period is a crucial time of self-reflection on how people interact with what society presents to us. You sit in a room and laugh and cry with countless strangers. This is an important human connection that must be kept around.

Based on a survey the main reason that people, specifically kids at SLA, don’t go to the movies on a regular basis is that of money. I recognize that we are kids and the shelling out money every month might not be an option, but this problem is not just affecting kids but adults too. When movie theaters first opened the ticket prices averaged at a humble 7 cents. Now tickets can run you upwards of 10 dollars. According to data from the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) ticket prices have risen 25 percent in the last 10 years and 60 percent since the year 2000. There is no denying that something has to be done about this problem if the movie theaters want to remain in business.

In conclusion

movie theaters are vital institutions in American history. They have provided almost a century of joy and continue to cultivate imaginations across the country. In the long run, I believe that movie theaters should be kept around in order future generations to see.

Lauren Nicolella

Staff Writer 

 

Jingle Ball, Powerhouse, Made In America — one of the best things about being a teen in Philadelphia is that big concerts bring all the biggest stars to local venues. But are the shows worth the price? Do they live up to the hype?

Powerhouse has a roster of chart-topping rappers, such as Philadelphia-native Meek Mill. Other rappers who attended were Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, and Nicki Minaj. The concert took place on October 27th, which was hosted by the Power 99 FM radio station at the Wells Fargo Center.

Junior Darlenny Rodriguez attended Powerhouse for the first time this year. It was easy to get a pair of tickets online, and the only difficult part was printing out the tickets since she lost it at first.

Her favorite performance was Cardi B: “I only went there for her, because she’s Dominican. Her boyfriend Offset proposed to her” during the performance.

However, Rodriguez felt uncomfortable with the number of people who were indulging in drug use. “Almost everyone was smoking weed and it was like a huge hotbox.”

 

One concert that does not have this indoor problem is Made in America, since it always takes place on Labor Day Weekend, planned as the last hurrah for before school starts. The area around the Art Museum is shut down to allow enough room for fans to extend down the Ben Franklin Parkway. The scene is two full days of music and plenty of American flags being proudly worn and waved around.

Senior Tamir Harper arrived mid-day Saturday to the festival and attended the entire next day.

Despite J. Cole being Tamir’s favorite performance, he thought Jay-Z killed his performance. The Brooklyn rapper rotated around to different stages then surprised the audience with the appearance of hometown hero Meek Mill. Mill rapped his infamous song Dreams and Nightmares while the crowd chanted it with him word for word.

“Jay-Z left one stage to go to a different stage and brought out Meek. He was saying some of the lyrics with Meek, but it was just a cool atmosphere to them both together on stage.”

However, Harper did not think the show was all positive. He does not do well with large crowds, so if you are the same way, that is something to expect at Made In America. In addition to large crowds, many of the older members of the crowd are intoxicated.

“At times we were in mud because it rained the day before. You had drunk people, people pissing in the middle of where you are trying to walk through, giving you elbows,” Harper explained.

Jingle Ball is always the first Wednesday in December, consisting of a lineup that includes mainstream and upcoming popular artists. The event is hosted by Philly’s Q102 radio station. Philly’s Jingle Ball typically has fewer big-name performers than other big-time concerts in places like New York and Los Angeles. Last Year’s Philly Jingle Ball was headlined by Shawn Mendes, Fifth Harmony, Charlie Puth, etc — by contrast, the New York one was headlined by Justin Bieber, Niall Horan, Ariana Grande, and more.

 

Senior Jhazzelle Majarucon went to Jingle Ball last year for the first time after her friend had asked her to go last minute.“I’m actually thinking of going to the next one in December because it was really fun. I liked the atmosphere and how it was organized.”
Q102 radio hosts were out announcing the next performers, sticking to the previously advertised lineup.

 

Lots of SLA students did not attend Jingle Ball last year, but Jhazelle said that she noticed after the event people were interested in what happened. It’s either a hit or miss, depending on the lineup as well.

Junior Meymey Seng has not yet attended one of these big concerts, but desperately wants to. She sees all of these concerts going on in Philly but is always devastated that she cannot attend. She wishes she could see Chance the Rapper, Taylor Bennett, Ed Sheeran, and many more.

“It’s not because of distance or price, it’s the idea of me going to a concert makes my mom very nervous, which I do appreciate, but it’s just harder when the tickets are on sale for your favorite artists of all time.”

So, are the downsides to big concerts worth the price of entry? You are paying one amount to see multiple artists at once, which can make it even more special, but that doesn’t always guarantee a good time for you and your friends. You may enjoy the show itself, but not the atmosphere or others surrounding you.

 

 

 

Kai Bradley-Gutiérrez de Terán

Staff Writer 

 

On October 6, 2017, the BET, Black Entertainment Television network, music awards took place with wins by Kendrick Lamar for best album of the year, DAMN, and best lyricist of the year, and Cardi B. for the best new hip-hop artist. Among all the winners and nominees was legendary hip-hop veteran Eminem, who has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, with a freestyle.

Eminem’s freestyle, called The Storm, is one of the most vibrant and explicit attacks against the new President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, since YG’s “FDT” released in July of 2016.

 

Eminem, known for his angry rap style, not to mention his amazing flow and creativity with words at getting his message across, rapped “And any fan of mine/who’s a supporter of his/I’m drawing in the sand a line/you’re either for or against/and if you can’t decide/who you like more and you’re split/on who you should stand beside/I’ll do it for you with this/Fuck you,” and ended with giving the middle finger to the camera. Eminem took a risk of losing fans and supporters with this line, as he is very popular in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming, all states in which Trump won by a large majority and states which have been known for their ties to alt-right and white supremacist movements, which have since Trump’s election increased their presence all over the country. This risk increased my respect for Eminem tremendously.

 

He showed that people in his position have to take a stand for what they believe in. He even acknowledged Colin Kaepernick with the line “This is for Colin, ball up a fist,/and keep that shit balled like Donald the bitch.” Colin Kaepernick thanked Eminem on Twitter, as LeBron James, J. Cole, T. Pain, and many other Black celebrities did.

He takes a shot at President Trump, rightfully in my opinion, for his lack of empathy and respect handling the crisis in Puerto Rico after the devastating hurricane Maria. Trump suggested that Puerto Rico did not deserve the US government’s help as they had a bad infrastructure system and went on to personally attack the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, Puerto Rico, on Twitter. Eminem also mentioned in his freestyle how the hurricane Maria, which affected not only Puerto Rico and other islands in the Caribbean, but many areas of the South of the US, seemed to bore Trump as it took him almost a week to mention Puerto Rico being more interested in ranting against NFL players and teams for taking a knee during the national anthem.

One of the most powerful lines of Eminem’s freestyle, The Storm, I believe is “What we got in office now is a kamikaze that will probably start a nuclear holocaust.” Pointing out how Trump is very self-centered and is looking out for his own personal advancement.

Eminem ends the freestyle “The rest of America stand up,/We love our military, and we love our country,/But we fucking hate Trump.” Which shows that to be a patriot is not to love the president but to love the country and to care for its people. It also made a direct counter-argument to Donald Trump, as he has said that kneeling during the national anthem was being disrespectful towards the military. Trump has tried to use the idea of patriotism and love for the army in an attempt to criticize his opposers.

Eminem is and has been very respected in the hip-hop world for his flow and also because he is one of the first white rappers to be considered “a great.” He has also worked with many other hip-hop legends such as 2Pac, The Notorious BIG and Dr. Dre. Even though he is in a predominantly African-American music industry, he has had amazing success. Eminem uses his platform to criticize the president of arguably the most powerful country in the world, the US, and also the president with the lowest approval ratings in the past 50 years.

At SLA, much of the community is against Trump and his administration and what they stand for. In comparison, Eminem is widely liked by those who appreciate hip hop and rap music and even by others who understand his skill level. It is understandable because of this, that when I have conversed with classmates at SLA, the general view is that Eminem slammed Trump and put him in his place.

Being a figurehead of white masculinity and ego, which has created and fueled hate and division for centuries in this country, Eminem went completely against this hate showing that people of privilege in this country can, and should, step up and take a risk to defend what is right and be a voice for those who are not allowed to have one.

While this freestyle does a very good job of sending a clear anti-Trump message it does have a weak flow. However, a choppy rap is expected in a freestyle as Eminem had to come up with all the words on the spot, showing his creative and innovative aspects. I guess not every song can be like “Rap God,” which got him in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most words in a hit single.”

This freestyle inspires me to take a risk to give a voice to those who are silenced and to show empathy and sympathy to those being attacked in these times of division.