 The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, is a prestigious event, that every actor and cinematic maker look up to. It all started on May 16, 1929, when the first Oscars were first held. Ever since it has held such a high holding to earn an award.
Who are the judges you may ask? Well, there aren’t any, it is run by a democratic system of 6,300 eligible voters that are part of The Academy. The Academy of Motion pictures Arts and Sciences is a group of people who have been nominated for an Oscar or received an endorsement from a member, who is eligible to nominate the winners for the Oscars. To become a member you have to be invited by the board of governors, of the academy. The members can only nominate in their own branch. For example, a sound editor cannot nominate someone for costume design, for the lack of expertise in that arena. First, they are sent a ballot to nominate the film or person in their branch. Then, the votes are counted by the accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers in a system called “alternative voting” which is when the voters in the voting system “rank the candidates in order of preference” according to Britannica.The films that have at least more than three votes have a secured nomination, and the ones with a low amount of votes are eliminated. Next, a second ballot is sent out with the nominated films and the members pick the preference winner in each category. It can even branch out to pick one that is not generally inside their branch, but it is discouraged since they don't have the eligible expertise of that branch. Whoever has the highest votes overall, they win and are presented with an award in a ceremony. How to be eligible for a nomination The Academy members inside each branch of categories choose the best out of the rest of potential nominees. This is an inside look on how they judge the eligibility from the following categories: Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Supporting Actress, Directing, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Original Score, Costume Design, Makeup, Hairstyling, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Foreign Language Film, Short Film, Scientific and Technical awards. For example, for in these two categories you can see the requirements, they have to have to be eligible. Film:
Story by Doni Palma Works Cited Garofalo, Alex. “Oscars 2016: Who Votes For The Academy Awards? How The Winners Are Chosen.” International Business Times, 27 Feb. 2016, www.ibtimes.com/oscars-2016-who-votes-academy-awards-how-winners-are-chosen-2325441. “How Oscar Winners Are Decided.” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 21 Jan. 2015, www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2015/01/21/how-oscar-winners-are-decided. “How the Oscars Work.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 10 Jan. 2018, entertainment.howstuffworks.com/oscar3.htm. “What Makes a ‘Best Picture’?” The Economist, The Economist Newspaper, 26 F  Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this game has an average score of 9.2 which, right there, you would instantly think the game is amazing. While you’re not wrong, let’s sill look at some pros and cons of this ultimate crossover.
To get us started, as the game constantly reminds you “Everyone Is Here!” From Mario to Bayonetta, every character from previous smash games is in this game. With a total of 79 playable characters by the end of 2019, this is literally the biggest gaming crossover of all time. Now that you know a bit about this game, let’s get into what you should know before you buy this game. Let's start off with some pros of this game, first obviously it's a new game, so everything has improved from the graphics to the gameplay. Also, the game’s menus have been updated to have a way more dynamic appearance. The game has also added a number of new features, most notably Spirits and World of Light. World of light is this game's story mode. Galeem, Lord of light has taken control over the fighters turned them into his own puppets. All but Kirby have been taken over. Spirits are all the non-playable characters that were destroyed during Galeem's attack. These Spirits can help you fight against Galeem's puppets by giving you certain buffs or giving your enemy debuffs. As for the cons, there actually aren't that many but still a few to address. First, a drawback of having so many characters unlocking all of them can become a chore. Another flaw with unlocking the characters the difficulty of the CPU you have to fight to unlock that fighter can range from completely ignorant to "I will completely annihilate you and no one will ever find a single trace of your body." It's extremely inconsistent with the difficulty levels. Another flaw in this game is that the developers didn't really put too much effort into changing the format to fit multiplayer in the Nintendo Switch's handheld mode. This game was mainly meant to be played on a TV screen. The game's brightness level can really affect gameplay with more than two people at a time. I have not mentioned every single thing great or bad about this game, but I recommend this game immensely. But the choice is up to you. Story by Juvae Mullings Sources Gamespot Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct 11.1.2018 Image link  After a long year of amazing movies, we can expect even more for 2019. From Frozen 2 to The Avengers: Endgame, the number of anticipated movies for 2019 are endless. With this list, you can be sure to be caught up with what is to come.
Captain Marvel Captain Marvel directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, is a Fantasy/Adventure film according to google. In this film, we will explore the anticipated heroine Captain Marvel and her fight for earth against two alien races. According to Imdb.com. Us Us directed by Jordan Peel is a mystery/thriller film about the struggle for survival a family faces in their beach home when intruders with masks invade their home and at last, when the people take off their masks they realize they’re their doppelgängers. Dumbo Dumbo a fantasy/Animation directed by Tim Burton is a live-action remake of the 1941 film Dumbo. The storyline is about a flying elephant who brings a circus back to life when it was struggling but when knowing that the circus wants to exploit the animal, Dumbo the elephant strikes out. According to the Hollywood reporter. The curse of La Llorona The Curse of la Llorona directed by Michael Chaves is a Thriller/Horror film, that revolves around the famously South American legend of La Llorona. This movie takes place in 1970s Los Angeles, where a family struggles to get rid of the curse, and the only way to get rid of it is to get help from a “disillusioned priest”, as expressed on Rotten Tomatoes. Rocket Man Rocket Man directed by Dexter Fletcher is a biography/fantasy that depicts the story of Sir Elton John throughout his breakthrough years. “An epic musical fantasy” as said on Rotten Tomatoes. Aladdin Aladdin a fantasy/romance film directed by Guy Ritchie is a live-action remake of the 1992 film Aladdin. The storyline is about a poor guy named Aladdin who encountered a magic lamp that has a genie and grants him three wishes. With Jafar after him and his lamp. The Lion King The Lion King 2019 directed by Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers is a live-action remake of the 1994 film The Lion King. The storyline is about a young cub that faces the real world as a king when his dad tragically dies. Once Upon a Time In Hollywood Once Upon a Time In Hollywood directed by Quentin Tarantino a drama/thriller, is an upcoming film about a former star and his stunt double try to find success in Hollywood. Avengers: Endgame Avengers: Endgame directed by Andy Russo and Joe Russo a fantasy/science fiction film, is about the return of the Avengers who fight the battle against Thanos. Story by Doni Palma Works Cited “Hollywood Reporter | Entertainment News.” The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter, www.hollywoodreporter.com/. “Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews.” Safe Haven (2013) - Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/. “Movies, TV and Celebrities.” IMDb, IMDb.com, m.imdb.com/.  The Greek Freaks Freak Season
Giannis Antetokounmpo, better known as the Greek Freak, is one of the best NBA players this year. Being considered for one of the most important trophies in all of sports this season, the MVP award. Standing at 6”11, The Greek Freak has averaged 33.5 minutes per game this season and 26.7 points. Giannis isn't only good at scoring points, he has around 12.6 rebounds per game and 5.9 assists. Giannis’s Rookie Season Giannis has been around in the NBA for 5 years, being drafted in 2013. He was drafted in the first round at pick 15 by the Milwaukee Bucks. The then 19 year old averaged 6.8 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in his rookie year. Giannis was at the top of the rookies. He was the 11th most in scoring, 4th in rebounding, and 10th in assists. Growing up in Greece Giannis was born in Athens, Greece in 1994. He has 4 brothers, who also liked basketball. Growing up, Giannis and his family were not rich. His parents struggled getting money to support their family of 8. When Giannis was a kid, people recalled him and his other brother being more entertained by football than basketball. The kids in his neighborhood claimed he wasn't very good at basketball but he had the determination and will to be good. In 2007, Giannis started practicing basketball, getting better and better by the day. His Early basketball years Giannis played in a youth basketball league from 2009-2012. He excelled, scoring 50 points in one game. His playing was impressive enough to get him onto the Greek basketball club team. In 26 games that season, Giannis averaged 9.5 points, 1.0 blocks, and 1.4 assists, and 5 rebounds. This was good enough to get him into the all-star game. The Rise Of The Greek Freak Giannis was drafted 15th overall by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2013 draft. He played 77 games that season averaging 6.8 points and had 61 blocks that season. That made him eligible for the rising stars game. He had a very impressive performance in the game which helped him make 2nd team all rookie. In his second year in the NBA, he averaged 12.7 points and 6.7 rebounds, only missing one game that season. Awards Giannis Antetokounmpo has won 8 awards in his pro basketball career including the 2017 all star team. Giannis played with people such as DeMar DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, and even Lebron James. Giannis put up 30 points and 6 rebounds, scoring the most points on his team. The only other player close to him was Lebron James, scoring 23 points. He also won most improved player in 2017. Story by Carter Marshbanks Sources http://www.nba.com/players/giannis/antetokounmpo/203507 https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/giannis-antetokounmpo-16115.php  A crowd of protesters at March For Our Lives. In 2018, there were multiple moments that showed significance in our culture. This year we included more people of all different kinds of backgrounds in media than ever seen before. We advocated for what we believed in and protested for what was right. Here are the biggest moments this year for activism and breaking barriers.
This year, we saw the representation of different ethnicities in the entertainment industry. The Marvel movie Black Panther was released in February and has received a wide range of positive feedback. According to TIME, the movie highlights the issues of black people in America and Africa. It is also one of the first Hollywood movies to have both an African American director and a 90% black cast. We also saw an increase in Asian Americans in Hollywood films, in roles other the stereotypically nerdy overachieving student. Some of the said films include Crazy Rich Asians (featuring an all Asian cast for the first in a Hollywood film in 25 years according to Slate), Lana Condor in All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, and Hasan Minjah in Patriot Act. In addition, we have seen an increase in diversity in politics. On May 19th, 2018, the world watched as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows in St. George’s Chapel. According to CNN, Meghan became to first biracial person to marry into the British royal family. In February, former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama revealed, their official portraits, painted by African American artists Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald, a first in American presidential history. The results of this year’s midterms revealed at least 100 women serving in the House of Representatives, a first in history according to the New York Times. The results also included more openly LGBT+ people than in any other previous elected. Ilhan Omar Rashida Tlaib became the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress. Following the Parkland shooting in February were the nationwide gun control protests. March for Our Lives occurred on March 24th. It is a student-led protest advocating for stricter gun control policies. Thousands participated in Washington D.C and similar marches were held across the United States. The second annual women’s march was organized on January 20th and was held worldwide. Its purpose is to advocate against discrimination of all forms according to the official website. Story by Erin Chen Image Source  We all love a delicious taste of chocolate. Whether it's a nice hot chocolate during winter or chocolate ice cream in the summer. Apparently so did many other people in the history of the world.
Chocolate could be traced all the way back to the Olmecs. Although it is unclear whether they used the chocolate bean or just the fruit. According to khan academy the Olmecs were one of the first civilizations in Mexico and they were the first big civilization. The Olmecs than passed their knowledge of chocolate down to the Mayans. The Mayans Enjoyed chocolate as a drink that was thick, and frothy. They would than flavor this drink with chili peppers, honey, and water. If you didn't know, the Mayans where a large civilization in Mexico and Central America. Mayan chocolate was available to everyone and enjoyed at every meal. The Aztecs also enjoyed chocolate. Unlike the Mayans, the Aztecs gave chocolate to the upper class. Aztecs believed chocolate was given to them by gods and used it as currency. Montezuma II enjoyed chocolate more than all other Aztecs. Montezuma II was the ruler of Aztecs when they were taken over by Hernan Cortez. It is said that he drank 2 gallons of chocolate a day. According to TripAdvisor, there are 3 top places to get chocolate in Asheville. The top place is french broad chocolate factory. The second place is The chocolate fetish. Followed by Asheville chocolate. Story by Anabel Kehoe Image  2018 was a jam-packed year! This year was full of ups and downs, not just in Asheville, but around the world. Here are a few of the good things that happened around the world last year:
1. North Korea and South Korea decided to end the Korean War. The war has been happening for a prolonged 65 years. Leaders, Kim Jong-un (North Korea) and Moon Jae-in (South Korea), shook hands on April 24, 2018, ending the war permanently. 2. Meghan Markle became the second woman of color to join the Royal British family. This is a big breakthrough for Britain. The newest duchess to the royal family is African-American which has only been done once before. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry got married May 19, 2018, and are expecting a baby sometime in the Spring of 2019. 3. SpaceX broke records of the largest satellite rise-sharing mission and the most crowded sing mission in U.S. history by sending 64 satellites into space. Company owner, Elon Musk, launched the satellites in California on December 3, 2018. This marked the company’s 19th launch last year! 4. Texas elected the first openly LGBTQ+ African-American woman to judge. Shannon Baldwin was very shocked and proud to find out that she had been elected as the judge for Texas November 6, 2018. Joining Shannon are 16 other women who were elected for very important roles as well, such as winning seats in the Senate and other judge positions. One of the women joining Shannon, LaShawn Williams, said, “This election is still sinking in, I am speechless and overjoyed by all of your kind words and powerful actions to help us make a court system which ensures that everyone will be heard.” 5. Ireland repealed its abortion ban. Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, has just informed the people of Ireland that they are passing a bill on abortion December 13, 2018. Lots of women around the country are excited to know that they now have choices for their lifestyle and their future ahead. The bill will finally become in law sometime in early January 2019. 6. For the first time ever, women in Iran were allowed to attend men’s sporting events. Before this came in to place, women would be arrested and fined if found at a men's sporting event. During this certain sporting event women were allowed to go to, Iran won the World Cup for the first time in 20 years. 7. A Brazillian woman gave birth to a baby after getting a uterus transplant from a dead donor. The woman, her identity remains unknown, had a very uncommon disease called Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome, where a woman's uterus and vagina do not fully develop. She was 32 when she received surgery in 2016 for her transplant. The woman is now the proud mother of a 1-year-old baby girl, born December 15, 2017. 8. Scientists have found a way to lower cancer risks. ORGANIC! The study was published October 22, 2018, by a team of scientists in France. Julia Baudry, the leader of the study, calculated cancer risks to discover that the answer was eating organic. 9. 157 new animal and plant species have been discovered in Southeast Asia. The World Wildlife Fund was thrilled to find new species of animals and plants in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some of these creatures and plants were even found in rough terrains like high mountains and dangerous forests. 10. A record number of openly gay athletes competed in the Olympics. Eric Radford, a freestyle Canadian Olympic skater said, “So proud to be wearing these medals and showing the world what we can do!”. This has set a huge milestone for 2018 and the years to come. Story By Iris Schreiner  Me above, wearing the ugliest sweater I could find. Also on the AMS Instagram site. The first thing that comes to mind when someone says ugly sweater is Christmas… Why is that?
There are many different types of ugly Christmas sweaters, there are ones with tinsel, fairy lights, and even ginormous bows. There are experts actually assigned for the job of telling you what kinds of ugly sweaters to wear on each day of Christmas, if you want to read more, click HERE! What other kinds of weird Christmas traditions are there? One of the by-far weirdest traditions of Christmas is Krampus day. Krampus originally had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas, just the time of the year, and Christmas was founded after Krampus was a thing. Krampus is a demon from hell, and was brought up by the gods to scare children that were naughty on the night before Christmas. He usually comes around December 5th, which is the day i'm writing this article! Go check out the original article I got all this information from! The link is right HERE! If you scare easily… proceed with caution! What weird food traditions around the world are there on Christmas? Australia: The most common food to have on Christmas is cold ham and turkey. Because of the hot weather year-round, Aussies compliment their cold ham and turkey with fresh seafood, and mince pie. For snacks, they munch on rum balls, gingerbread cookies, and Christmas pudding. Peru: The main course in Peru is roast turkey, stuffed with ground beef… Sounds filling! The turkey is served with applesauce, and roast potatoes, for desert, its pantone, (Fruit cake) and a nice cup of sipping chocolate. Japan: Who would want fast food for Christmas? Well, if you go to Japan, you’ll be eating some not-so-homecooked KFC! That’s right, in Japan, for Christmas you’ll be getting a bucket of warm, greasy chicken, served with a complimentary side of cake and champagne. But you will need to get in line about 5 hours before Christmas starts, because they’ll sell out fast! And...The US: On Christmas in the US, there is a thing called a Turducken… It is a very fatty dish, basically it’s a chicken inside of a duck, inside of a turkey, disturbing, right? Or the second most popular thing to eat is ham, and roast beef. To go along with the meat, is corn, green beans, pumpkin pie, sugar cookies, and mince pie. Click HERE for the original article! I hope this inspires you to try something new for dinner! Merry Christmas, and happy new year! Story by Ciella Steury  Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, a holiday favorite of families across the world, has recently been receiving backlash from parents and teachers for promoting bad themes. People have recently been called out for having bad themes about bullying. In the movie, Rudolph is chastised for his glowing red nose by his peers until he saves Christmas. Parents say that this movie is teaching kids that it is okay to bully people and tear people down for how they look or act. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is also a movie for kids and is played for most children when they are still young. Kids start basic comprehension after 9 months, this may seem early for comprehension to start. At 9 months the child's understanding is very acute but they can understand words like "no" and "bye-bye". Children start to remember things at age 3 when is the suggested age to be shown Rudolph the red nosed reindeer.
Common Sense Media says that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is an "old-school, heartwarming classic for all ages." Common Sense says that the Christmas classic is for ages 3 and up which is when children begin to remember things. Common Sense says that " Rudolph's story has a great message, just be yourself, don't worry if you don't fit in, get the support of other "misfits," and you'll find that there's strength in numbers." It also says that parents should know that "Even the show's "scary" antagonist, the Abominable Snow Monster (or "Bumble"), seems harmless." Even though the movie has light-hearted animated characters and settings, the childhood favorite's themes are less than that. People that enjoy Rudolph’s tale may be old souls that don’t see the bullying piece. The movie was produced in the 1950’s when bullying was not understood as it is now. Another point that moviegoers make about the movie is that everyone's favorite, Santa, is downright mean. On multiple occasions, characters in the movie make rude comments towards Rudolph and people associated with him. In one scene Santa says that Donner, Rudolph's father, should be ashamed of himself referring to the fact that Rudolph is his kin. In another scene, the reindeers' coach encourages the other reindeer that were bullying Rudolph saying "from now on we just won't include Rudolph" which is simply heartbreaking for the poor reindeer to endure. This Christmas movie may be a classic and a merry tradition, but families watching the classic may want to find a movie with merrier themes. By: Stella Coffee Common Sense Media Web MD  The Kawah Ijen volcano in Indonesia isn't special because of its lake, or sulfur chambers, it's special because of its blue lava. The lava in the Kawak Ijen volcano is blue, but is it really?
The lava in the volcano only looks blue when it mixes with the sulfur. All lava emits flames, in this case, it's the flames that perform the magic. When the flames hit the sulfur in the air they appear blue, but only in the absence of light. Surrounding the volcano there is a large caldera lake. A caldera lake is a lake that surrounds a volcano in the spot where the lava once was. This caldera lake is the worlds largest and stands at 1 km wide. More on the topic of the caldera lake, it is also very high in acidity. If you put a soda can in the lake it will begin to bubble and deteriorate. How does the sulfur get into the air? The sulfur enters the air through the many holes drilled in the mountains by sulfur miners. The miners solidify the sulfur and sell it. They walk 3 miles every day to get this sulfur to markets. They each carry 16 pounds worth of sulfur every day on this journey. When the sulfur mixes with the oxygen at 350 degrees Celsius it makes the flames appear electric blue. In daylight, however, the flames and lava appear normal. To conclude, the Kawah Ijen volcano is very special. Not because of the worlds largest caldera lake, or the sulfur tunnels. It's special because of its blue flames. Not blue lava. By, Anabel Kehoe Picture credit, Olivier Grunewald |
