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Column: I Just Can’t Wait Until 8 O’Clock

November 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Gabrielle Kreidie

Close view of a collection of VOTE badges. 3D render with HDRI lighting and raytraced textures.

Guest Writer

We are here, the day of the Presidential Election. After over a year of non stop media obsession, months of countless candidates during an unforgettable primary season, and weeks of surprise after surprise for the two top party candidates, we are days away. Days away from electing the 45th President of the United States of America and our country couldn’t be more tense.

The surprises started after a flawed debate performance from the Republican nominee when a few days later, a sexist video representing Donald Trump’s past comments on women began circulating. It seemed like from that day forward, Mr. Trump had no path forward to the highest office in the U.S.. That changed with the Wikileaks investigating into the emails of Clinton’s long term aide John Podesta, released in a segments for the last few weeks ago. These new batches being released daily, show more and more deeply concerning communications, bribes, and possible flawed decisions from an already imperfect Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and her defective circle of top aides filled with billions of secrets and inconsistencies. These leaks simply continued the dishonest and skewed thoughts millions of Americans have for a person they think embody everything that is wrong with the political world today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Though these Wikileaks findings were digging close into the heart of a majority of Americans views on Secretary of State Clinton, there were no deep poll numbers or bumps in her campaign. That was until Friday October 28th, which could have been the large turning point for the election. October 28th, 2016, could very well be one of those dates that everyone will remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. The words through my mind and I’m sure many more, was “not more Clinton emails!”.

After months of the nonstop scandalous depictions of Mrs. Clinton’s emails, the FBI and Justice Department were unable to find reasonable evidence to serve Hillary with criminal charges. FBI Director James Comey found that Hillary’s decision was “extremely careless” but gave no indication of charging the Democratic nominee. We all thought that that would be the end of the emails… but then Anthony Weiner happened.

The disgraced, sex scandal complete former Congressman and candidate for NYC mayor, was discovered to have messaged lude comments to an underage girl. The FBI began investigating Mr. Weiner immediately after the accusations were brought to their attention. As soon as the story came out, Huma Abedin–Mr. Weiner’s wife and long time aide to Hillary Clinton– announced her plans to divorce her shamed husband. During the investigation into the messages, the FBI came across the device that was shared between Weiner and Abedin. This device stored emails related to Hillary Clinton that had not been originally looked at in the first investigation. The FBI obtained a warrant and now are searching those emails. Up until Saturday November 5th, it seemed like the investigation would go on for weeks but finally a follow up of the words heard in July came out and Hillary was cleared. From that point forward, Hillary Clinton has had the easier fly to the White House.

So here we stand. Two weeks ago, it seemed like Hillary Clinton was on her way to the office she has obsessively chased for decades and could still very much get there with 320+ Electoral Votes. But you can never trust or call victory to a Clinton to early. With the ever present lack of trustworthiness and lies that follow the Clinton’s and their team everywhere they turn, there is a possibility that this election may not be hers. National polls are closer than ever. State polls are so inconsistent within each other that now pollsters are saying that states that were once seen as Clinton (Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin) bets could go either way. With hours until the election arrives, and with Clinton and Trump just about tying with dishonesty and unpopularity nationwide, the election is seeming more and more like a tossup. Today is the day. These have turned out to be the most stressful days for the American people and surprises could be lurking around every corner throughout the day. Nothing can happen, everything can happen, anything can happen. The not knowing and the inconsistencies of a Trump presidency are growing by the hour. And we are voting today, we are voting TODAY.

Luke Cage Review

November 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Meymey Seng

Staff Writer

On September 30, 2016, Netflix recently put out Marvel’s first TV series starring a black superhero. He goes by the name of Luke Cage, and has special abilities, such as unbreakable skin and super strength.

He was first seen in Marvel’s Jessica Jones, where he was the owner of a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, New York. In that series, he had a relationship with Jessica and was determined to help her take down a villain named Kilgrave, but that’s a story for another time.

Their relationship did not last, so he decided to move to Harlem, New York, which is where the Luke Cage series began. Wanting to live a normal life, he becomes a janitor at Pop’s barber shop, and a dishwasher and bartender at the club “Harlem’s Paradise”.

Of course, things are not as calm as expected, and a lot of crimes are happening all throughout Harlem. Luke wants to stay out of it, although Pops, the owner of the barber shop, pushes the idea that he should make use of his abilities and help.

With the convincing from Pops, Luke decides to take action and is awarded the title “Hero of Harlem”. He denies being a hero, claiming that he just can’t sit back and watch the chaos happening around him. The rest of the season follows that theme.

Before watching Luke Cage, the show that got me hooked onto the Marvel TV series was Jessica Jones. Personally, I was never a huge fan of Marvel. I could recall watching Spiderman a bunch of times, although I can never remember actually watching the full movie, along with other Marvel productions. So, when my friend recommended Jessica Jones for me to watch, I was very hesitant. They say never to judge a book by it’s cover and this is also true for TV series.

After a couple weeks of pushing this show to the back of my mind, I decided to try it. I clicked the first episode, expecting not be to be into it and I was most definitely wrong. The ending of the first episode caught me off guard and I had the urge to watch episode two. This craving continued and I finished the season in three days. I immediately started Luke Cage right after.

Although Luke Cage is an amazing show, I have to admit, it starts off slow. The first episode was an intro to the show, describing everything. It starts off with Luke, Pops, and the customers discussing basketball. The slow pace continues until halfway through the episode, when the three boys that regularly goes to Pop’s barbershop: Chico, Shameek, and Dante, steals money from Cottonmouth, who is the owner of Harlem’s Paradise.

To conclude, with the humor, history, romance, action, and suspense of this show, I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good watch. Some of the actors that I really liked in particular were Mike Colton who played as Luke Cage, Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth, and Alfre Woodard as Mariah, who was the councilwoman. What I liked about Mike Colton was his realistic acting and determination. In order to fit the role of being a very masculine man, he changed his diet and workout plan, resulting in gaining thirty pounds of muscle! Also, Mahershala Ali was able to convince me into believing that he was a ruthless character, until seeing his backstory. His backstory made me wonder if he is fully at fault for his actions if that was how he was raised? I also really enjoyed Alfre Woodard’s acting because she was able to make me hate her character and I constantly had to remind myself that she is not the actual character.

Now, my perspective has opened and I’ve learnt to not judge a show just by what it’s apart of. It turns out that I’m actually very intrigued with these Marvel productions. I can’t wait for the following series of Luke Cage to come out, which is called Marvel’s Iron Fist. This is said to be released on March 17, 2017.

Review of Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence

November 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Mekhi Granby

Staff Writer

It felt like I was right there with Geoffrey Canada as he told his story in Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun: A Personal History of Violence.

Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence is a memoir by Geoffrey Canada, an American social activist. Beacon Press published the book on January 31, 1995. Publishers Weekly praised the book, commenting that, “A more powerful depiction of the tragic life of urban children and a more compelling plea to end ‘America’s war against itself’ cannot be imagined.” In the mid-2000s (decade), Beacon Press began considering publishing an alternate graphic novel version. Illustrator Jamar Nicholas and editor Allison Trzop created Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence (A True Story in Black and White), which was released in stores on September 14, 2010.

Canada takes readers way back to the childhood of his youth to narrate multiple stories from his point of view about growing up. It was a rough journey which taught Geoffrey a lot along the way.

The story takes place in the 1950s and 1960s, when Canada moved to an inner city neighborhood in New York. South Bronx was the new home of Canada at a very young age. Canada lived with his younger brother, older brother, and mother. There was no father figure present. His mother was a hard working single mother forced to provide alone for her three children. The story provided insight on the norms of bad neighborhoods and also gave Canada’s perspective about things.

Not all bad comes from Canada’s moving experience, the neighborhood he moved to taught him multiple lessons that will stick with him for life.

The experience that Canada had growing up is something that I can relate to and I think many other young African American males in Philadelphia can as well. It’s crazy to see that things haven’t changed as much in the African American community regarding male youth. To this day I know people and have friends who don’t have their fathers in their life, or have never even met their dads, and are living in poverty.

The effect of this is clear: children are negatively affected by default from their adolescence. It’s sad to say that this is how things are and I personally don’t see a change anytime soon; this book has opened my eyes tremendously to the issues in my community. I have my own personal history of violence and I’ve had my fair share of fights growing up. This book made me realize that things aren’t so different in other places from my own.

Canada began his life’s work helping children who, like himself, grew up in poor, distressed neighborhoods. Canada is the president of Harlem’s Children Zone which supports kids from birth through college in order to break the cycle of poverty. Geoffrey Canada is an American educator, social activist and author.

Mr. Canada has written two books: Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence in America (1995; reissued as a graphic novel in 2010) and Reaching Up for Manhood: Transforming the Lives of Boys in America (1998). A strong voice in public debates on education, he also has written for a number of publications, including op-eds for The New York Times and Daily News; gave a TED Talk on our failing schools and the need for innovation that was broadcast on PBS; and has spoken to audiences around the world about what it takes to help children succeed, from evaluation to early childhood education and beyond.

Column: The Final Hours Before Election Day

November 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Chiara Nemati

Opinion Editor

As we head into Election Day, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump pull out all the stops to sway their voters to go out and vote.

Hillary Clinton held a rally tonight at Independence Hall. Chelsea Clinton, Bill Clinton, and the Obamas were present to share their final remarks on this election.

The wait to get in was a long and cold one. I arrived around 5:30 and did not pass through security until about 7:40. Even in the line excitement spread all over. No one could wait to hear the Clinton’s and Obama’s.

Chelsea and Bill focused on Hillary as a mother figure and all that she has done on in her past, while the Obamas made the message clear. No one is more qualified to run this country, we will break barriers and continue our path forward. Through these strong words, the air at Independence Hall was filled with hope. The Obamas were able to stress the importance of this election, Donald Trump’s downfalls, and Hillary’s character and passion all into one captivating speech.

My hope tonight is that those who can vote will make the decision to go out to their polling place. That just like all of the tens of thousands of people who showed up to Clinton’s rally will have the patience and willpower to go out and vote. Because as each of the speakers stressed tonight…this is an important election and every and any vote counts.

While I can not vote, I enjoy any moment I can spare learning about our country and the people who have an influence in changing the policies that affect me. So I also urge all of you who can vote to go out and vote.

Pick Up a Game!

November 8, 2016 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Fatu Castillo

Staff Writer

If you haven’t had the pleasure of playing a Nitrome game then you’ve done yourself a great disservice. Do yourself a favor and hop over to Google Play Store or the App Store and download as many Nitrome games as your device can store. If that sounds too extreme, lame, or you don’t have the time to play all their games then just drift your eyes downwards and let me pick for you. Because I, a Nitrome devotee, have played all their games and know which ones are the cream of the crop.

Leap Day

The energy this game gives me made me either want to run a mile or commit a murder. From the bubbly music that plays in the background to the chubby yellow character I started out as, ironically named Yolk, I always walk away feeling like a kid after Halloween.

Leap Day is simple to get the gist of, not like I got any instructions anyways, since there’s only one jumping mechanism. I have tons of hyperactive fun jumping my way up level after level whilst avoiding giant flaming skulls and weird tomato-looking monsters with whip-like tongues.

A new level is uploaded to the game everyday, one of the most charming mechanisms about the game, so getting bored of playing the same stage is never an option. Every day I get to bounce around as Yolk avoiding new monsters, looking at a new background, and listening to a new song. Though it doesn’t really matter what song plays to what background, the same game over buzzer sound plays when I die.

In lieu of that, constantly losing and hearing a stupid game over buzzing sound does really clear my mind to anything stressful.

Ultimate Briefcase

When I first started playing Nitrome games, back on Miniclip in Middle School, a signature feeling that I got was the feeling of utter confusion. Nitrome never tossed any guidance my way, I always got slammed into the middle of chaos. So I don’t know why I expected to get a tutorial with this one.

Basically, I avoid bombs falling from the sky from a armored warcraft. The thing I adore about the game is all the characters I can play as and their unique ultimate abilities. My personal favorite Jeff-Jeff, a trigger-happy dumpster dweller. He can wield a machine gun and shoot bombs out the sky. When I’m feeling more cowardly I play as Tucker. He’s the average Joe (pictured below) who can hide under his briefcase which, miraculously, is explosion proof.

There’s actually a plot too, another thing I enjoy. When I manage to survive through each stage, ranging from alleyways to football fields, a videotape would land among that bombs. Every tape, from every stage, was a slice of a story that told why an armored aircraft was randomly raging on a city.

Green Ninja

This one is my favorite to play out of the three. As a puzzle game, I get to attempt to wrap my head around what moves would get me to the next stage. Each stage is set in a pixelated dojo and epic action music plays in the background while I wreck house, or dojo in this case.

It doesn’t have a variety of playable characters, something I find disappointing, so I’m stuck playing as a frog. Yes, the title is very literal. My slimy character, who I have named Guppy, plows through each level beating the stuffing out of our shared ninja enemies. If I had to praise this game for one of the things above, it would be the satisfaction I feel each time I knock a ninja off a level. It may seem sadistic, but after the second level or so their smug faces really ignited a burning rage inside me.

The actual game mechanics, like in most Nitrome games, are pretty simple to understand. Guppy will kick or punch his way through just about anything but can only do so in a straight line. I can’t count the number of times I messed up a stage and couldn’t finish off the last ninja because they weren’t in my range.

They may not look menacing above, or smug for that matter, but believe me when I say they had it coming.

So there you have it, since you didn’t want to download all the games Nitrome has developed, still lame, you get to play the best three.