Time for Sentiments

As yearbook signing season reaches its peak, I am always bound to write sentimental and emotional messages in peoples' books. After all, it is most likely my last impression. I have been rather resistant towards that request because I feel emotions flow too freely and are expressed too easily. But lately, I have come to think that that outlook is wrong.

Why? And why now?
I am writing this merely a few days before my graduation. My entire life up to now has been defined by the daily trudge to school, punctuated by holidays every now and then. It is likely, after graduation, that I will never see some of these faces again. That in and of itself is a huge part of why I am embracing sentiments. But more scarily, after graduation I will be thrown into a whole new game. It's like getting out of bed on a cold day -- you don't want to leave the nice and warm bed, but you have to.

What sentiments?
Though I will be missing most of my classmates, I want to give a shout out to two in particular. Cari and Elaine have dragged me through this year in TPP with their incessant nagging and making me correct all their layout issues. I'll be missing them both next year.

Any last thoughts?
I wish the best to Tonya, Sophie, and Zean as they deal with the many-headed Hydra that is TPP. The Hydra can be tamed, and I know that you are all competent enough to get your issues out on time with few mistakes. Good luck. Have fun.

Emotions' Spring Show

The Emotions Dance Company held their spring show recently featuring modern and hip hop dances. This year's theme took the audience on a journey back in time. Each dance was stylized to resemble a certain period in history from the French Revolution to the present. The show was bitter-sweet as this was the last time the seniors will dance under the Emotions Dance Company name.

Hannah Tang

Sense of Place

          “There is just one life for each of us; our own.” This was said by Euripides, a Greek philosopher that believed everyone’s life was their own. Therefore everyone has their own life and individuality, which was obtained by their “Sense of Place”. One’s “Sense of Place” is how their life affects who they are, and where they believe they belong in this world. Everyone’s Sense of Place is different, due to the paths that lead their lives, leading through and to different places. Therefore I believe that my Sense of Place is dictated by my culture, environment, and influences in my life.

            Before one is even born, their family’s culture is already in existence. Unlike other factors such as where you live, your culture will always be definite, as it is passed through family and will always be a factor that affects you as well as those who preceded you. For example, my parents are from Thailand, and the culture that we display and practice is that of Thailand. Like the majority of the population of Thailand, we practice Buddhism, as it is part of my culture and the culture of Thailand. It is culture that affects your customs and attitude towards others. Such as the culture for people coming from Thailand or other Asian countries towards the elderly is extremely different than the culture of people in America. In America, there are a large percentage of people that send their parents to nursing homes due to the fact that they’re too lazy to take care of them. At the nursing homes the elderly people sometimes even abused mentally, or even physically. However in Asian cultures, Asian families usually take care of their parents until they die, without having a thought about sending them somewhere else to be taken care of. That is why I believe that culture is a very large part in your Sense of Place.

            One’s environment also dictates the way they react to situations among other factors. The definition of environment ranges from your climate, to the people around you, to pretty much anything that is around you. To first look at climate, the climate obviously affects factors such as what you wear to what temperature that you like putting your thermostat to. In terms of where I live and have lived my whole life, Houston, it has always been hot. Therefore it leads pretty much everyone in Houston to wear shorts, and a t-shirt in order to adjust to the temperature. However during the winter, when it can get to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, everyone suddenly piles layers of clothes upon themselves. In terms of the weather in Houston, 60 degrees Fahrenheit maybe be cold, but compare that to the weather in a place such as New York, in which on normal days, the weather would be 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As stated earlier, another element of your environment is the people that live in it. Houston is an extremely diverse city, housing multitudes of different people of various races, cultures, and customs. Compare this to Topeka, Kansas in which the diversity is very low, the majority of the population is Caucasian. Therefore one’s environment largely affects the way that their Sense of Place develops.

             Much like Euripides said, everyone’s life is their own and is different. Everyone’s Sense of Place is different because of their culture, environment, and influences in their life. It is these things that I believe influenced me the most in molding who I am today. So in conclusion, my life is my own and is unique because of my Sense of Place. 

My review on Call of the Wolf by JP Nelson

I’m a huge fan of epic fantasy novels, and recently I’ve been reading a ton of works by indie and self-published authors on using the Amazon Kindle system. One of the best recent works I’ve read is Call of the Wolf. Call of the Wolf is well-written and intelligent, coming of age, high fantasy novel. The story is told from a single POV, a young half-elf called Komain (and later Sedrick and then Timber Wolf). The novel is  around 700-800 pages, easily twice as long as other indie works. It’s quite detail-oriented, but the diction is never flowery and the details come through the storytelling. The story starts slowly, with the first 100 pages or so lagging a bit, but from there the story progresses smoothly. Komain is introduced as a slave tournament fighter. The story flashes back to when he was a young halfling, living alone with his elvin mother in enslavement to humans. Our hero Komain learns and grows and goes through a myriad of experiences and adventures. The world Nelson creates is vast and developed. The dialogue is natural and intelligent (nothing that makes you cringe, nothing awkward or stilted). Komain is flawed but likable. He has no qualms about killing his enemies, but he is a generally good guy. The characters around him aren’t necessarily groundbreaking, but each has his/her own personalities and faults and the relationships and interactions Komain has with them reveals his own personal growth. Great settings and descriptions, excellent action scenes (author is a martial arts instructor, a black belt, among other things, so he knows what he’s talking about), good storytelling, rich cultures behind the different races and peoples, elves and dwarves, kings, bandits, slaves, pit fighters, pirates, princes and princesses, different types of magic, a bit of romance…what more could you ask for?

Some negatives:
There were some grammar mistakes and typos, and the text read weirdly in some parts, but that’s what you expect from a self-published work, unfortunately. In one or two parts of the novel, the level of writing decreases enough to break the flow of the story. I also felt that the some of the humor and Komain’s narration were childish, anachronistic, or inconsistent with the context. These things detracted a bit from the overall enjoyment of the book, but should in no way prevent you from giving the book a shot.

Overall I would give the book a rating of 4.25/5 stars. The main character and the narrative reminded me a bit of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles. In some instances, Nelson’s level of writing was on par with Rothfuss’s, which was very impressive.


Laurence Zhang
TPP, Editor
Bellaire HS

            Every year comes the dreaded two weeks of the entire school year: AP testing week. The long nights of studying and the endless cups of tea to stay awake begin at the start of May. A whole years worth of work all leads up to this one test that determines whether or not you’ll be able to receive college credit. This determines the difference between paying a couple of thousand dollars in college.

            As the school year starts to draw a close, I never seem to learn from my mistake of not studying early enough. It is very typical of me to not start the grueling studying process until the last couple of days before hand, basically giving myself no time and an intense amount of stress to finish reading my 500 page review book to the point where my dreams consist of me studying for my Aps. Strangely enough, I do not normally procrastinate on anything else.

            This junior year, I have a total of four Aps to take, more than I have ever had considering I only had one last year. Although I have some Aps back to back this year, a part of me has almost begun to relax knowing that I will never be able to study as intensely as I would like to.  As Aps begin, good luck to anyone taking them!

Jennifer Wang

Staff Writer

NFL Draft Pick

   

A few months ago, Johnny Manziel was a legitimate candidate to be taken by the Texans with the No. 1 overall pick. Instead, the Texans took South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney with the first pick. While some believed it was the wrong decision, others believed it was the right one and his arrogance has served him well. 
In the first picture, Johnny Manziel's body language shows one of superiority and arrogance. Even though he was the 22nd pick, his facial expression shows that he believes he is better than everybody else. In the second picture, Jadeveon Clowney's body language is one of maturity which helps emphasize that he was the better pick. 

Garage Entrepeneurs

Apple. Disney. Hewlett-Packard. Mattel. Google.

What do these companies have in common? They all started out in humble garages.

The story of the founding of Apple, Inc. is now almost an urban legend. Steve Jobs and co-founder Steve Wozniak set up shop in in Jobs’ parents’ garage in Los Altos, California and began developing and then selling the first Apple computer, the start of what would become a multibillion-dollar company. The other companies mentioned in the short list above had similar stories, all involving garages as makeshift laboratories, studios, or offices while talented individuals poured tremendous devotion into their work. Interestingly, all of the companies listed above started out in Californian garages, to be more specific: Los Angeles for Disney, Palo Alto for Hewlett-Packard, El Segundo for Mattel, and Menlo Park for Google.

Despite the interesting similarities between these companies, the correlation between garages, California, and successful entrepreneurial companies should not be taken too strongly. The creation of multimillion-dollar corporations is not done through a single magic formula with what seems to be just the right ingredients. However, with a willingness to take risk and to remain determined and passionate in pursuit of a goal, success may just be around the corner.

Jason Weilee
Centerpiece Editor

Appendix is an extra organ that hangs off the large intestine. It doesn't have a specific job to itself but it can be inflamed. This condition is called appendicitis. It is very common in the United States. 1 out of 15 people have this health problem. Appendicitis is caused by the blockage of the appendix. Symptoms of appendicitis are stomach ache, nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite. If not treated, the appendix can explode and spill bacteria inside the body.

Appendicitis, which was solely operated trough surgery in the past, can now be treated with antibiotics. An experiment was performed on the patients with appendicitis to see the affects of antibiotics on the appendix. 12% of them did not benefit and were immediately taken to the surgery while 88% cured without the surgery. 

Instead of cutting open the abdomen to prevent further complications , the infected appendix can be fixed with treatments.  Traditionally, appendicitis was treated with immediate surgery in order to prevent swelling and leakage to the abdomen cavity. But some people can now be cured by medicines. 

Physicians believe that treating the appendicitis with antibiotics is more effective with the least harm and pain.

Sabika Rehman 

Irony in popular television

The hit show "Breaking Bad" captivated audiences around America. "Breaking Bad" highlighted the story of Walter White. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, White, a high school chemistry teacher, began making meth with a former student to guarantee his family would have money after his passing.

As the AMC series came to end, the network held a contest for avid fans. The winner had the opportunity to fly to Los Angeles and watch the "Breaking Bad" finale with the cast. Winner Ryan Lee Carroll won the contest, attended the finale party in Los Angeles, and met the cast members.

Carroll was recently arrested in Florida for possession of synthetic narcotics, possession of controlled substances without prescriptions, and keeping a vehicle for dangerous drugs. Police discovered Carroll was running a synthetic drug distribution operation in Lee County. Police suspected Carroll used a cement mixer to create the drugs and shipped the drugs to other states through the U.S. Postal Service.

Throughout the series, "Breaking Bad" focused on the risky industry of drugs. Even watching the violence and gore fictionally on the hit television show did not deter people like Carroll who continue to make and sell illegal drugs. "Breaking Bad" did not persuade people to avoid the drug industry; instead, it highlighted it and made ordinary people interested in it.

Sophie Daily

Three Penny Press

Reasons why classic rock is just so much better

In this day and age of modern technology, a new favorite song is hardly hard to find. A plethora of archives exist in both physical and virtual format, ready for perusal and critique. Options exist from all genres of the musical spectrum- from the bluesy-soulful Norah Jones to queen of punk pop Avril Lavigne. If you're angry, there's a song for that. If you're sad, there's a song for that too. There is simply no form of human expression that can't be covered by a song.
And then, there's rock.
We all get that feeling every once in a while, when the wind's blowing a certain way and everything seems to be going right for us for once. It's a mystical, whimsical feeling that is truly unexplainable- that is, until you listen to classic rock. Classic rock is a dying culture, the echoes of an era gone by. These days, the name Led Zeppelin or Lynrd Skynrd is met with a confused glance and "huh?" rather than the high pitched squeal of a teenager, screeching "those are my favorite bands!" Guns N Roses has morphed into the Black Eyed Peas. Who are Simon and Garfunkel? "Is that a restaurant?" A typical teenager today might ask. And then there are those people- those few, sad, miserable people- who know nothing about the Beatles.
The pounding, crashing chords and synthetic overlaid beats of pop music are the symphony of the 21st century. Pop is the anthem of technology; it is the sound of modernization. But does pop music mean anything? I mean, sure, I want to just dance, it's gonna be okay, dada doo doo. But the lyrics pouring forth from our pounding boomboxes serve little purpose other than getting us to jump around and sing along. Case in point: The Will.I.Am smash "Power", featuring teen heartthrob Justin Bieber, encases such gems as the hook "Imma take it higher/and high, high, higher/ I stay in my attire." What does that even mean? Nothing, as it turns out. Compare that to the haunting, ten minute long "Stairway to Heaven" (Led Zeppelin) which opens with spine-tingling guitar chords as lead singer Robert Plant croons "There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold/and she's buying a stairway to heaven." Man, I get chills just thinking about it.
The difference between classic rock and modern pop is surprisingly simple: emotion. Pop has none and classic rock almost has too much (note the key word almost). The purpose of a pop song is to inspire dancing and fist pumping and cheesy sing-alongs with hairbrushes as microphones. Pop is sugary and sweet, like a store-bought cupcake. Classic rock is like cigarette smoke, dripping and swirling with anguish and swagger and intoxicating guitar bridges. Rock reverberates in the soul.

Although, it may be just a little too late to save the face of the classics. Perhaps that's just the way the cookie crumbles- or should I say, the record spins.

Recently, College Board has announced that they are redesigning the SAT.  The announcement has raised a debate among middle school, high school students, high school graduates and most of all, the parents.  The new redesigned test will be administered for the first time in spring 2016, and the structure focuses more on skills that are used more often in college classrooms.  Incorrect answer choices will no longer count against you, and the math incorporated in the problems with be math that "matters most."  No longer based on a 2400 point scale, the new exam will be on a 1600 point scale and based more on real-world problems that incorporate science and history.  In a way, the new SAT test somewhat resembles the ACT.  Along with a plethora of other changes that are in favor of the test taker, the new SAT has been, for lack of a better wording, dumbed down.
Over the past years, high school students have struggled to find a way to conquer the SAT with its esoteric vocabulary words such as "bucolic" and "obdurate" and the seemingly impossible reading comprehension section questions. The new SAT will now use vocabulary that is more likely to actually be used in a college classroom and ask reading comprehension questions that aren't filled with flowery and difficult to understand answers.
The opinions on the SAT test change are controversial.  The people who are struggling right now to get a good SAT score are upset and wish the new test would go into effect now, while the current eight graders are excited to take the brand new test.  Thousands of dollars have been spent by students' families on SAT preparation courses such as Testmasters and PrepMe.  Now, it almost seems like it was a waste to some people.  In other words, the odds are definitely against the past test takers of the SAT.

Claire Weddle
Staff Writer

Net Neutrality
Iceland Vu

   We have over come many difficulties in the past regarding the state of the internet. In 2012, Stop Online Piracy Act(SOPA) and ProtectIP Act(PIPA) were the causes for concern. the vaguely written acts would cause "The bill would also cut off funding by prohibiting payment services from cooperating with infringing sites" and "require the manager of a flea market to shut down the entire market because some of the merchants were selling counterfeit goods" according to forbes.com. An argument to these acts that piracy is good for the industry because it people get their hands on let's say, a TV series, and purchase merchandise because they come to love the characters on the show.

    But now we have a huge debacle about accessing whatever website we want. The FCC(federal communications commission) want to regulate how much speed each website gets. for example, an Internet Service Privider(ISP) would have to pay more for their website to run faster because the ISP is controlling the speed of their website. If this sort of thing was to be allowed on the internet, the future of the internet would involve a fee to visit a website.

Timeless classics are always better

Jane Austen. Emily Bronte. Louisa Alcott. These amazing authors of timeless novels have contributed much to the world of classic romantic literature. However, young readers today are usually more attracted to contemporary and meaningless such as Twilight and Vampire Academy. These books might sound interesting and exciting to read; but after having a blast with intense vampire fights and sweet high school loves, these stories are soon forgotten as teen seek for more modern fiction.

Personally, I believe these new fictions are abundant in quantity rather than quality. The main reason for their appeal to teens are their thrilling story plots instead of meaningful themes. Although this might not to apply some books like the Hunger Games and the Uglies Series, most teen novels unfortunately fall into this category. As a fan of the past classics, I definitely recommend more teen to read books such as Anne of the Green Gables, Little Women, Sense and Sensibility,  and A Midsummer Night's Dream.