Top 10 summer movies 2013

Written by: KDA

Ah the summer. What a wonderful time of year. Beautiful weather, no school and happy times.
Best thing is, when summer arrives, blockbuster movies come along with it.
MARK MY WORDS, this summer is going to be HUGE for the movie industry. Here are my top 10, most highly anticipated movies of the summer.


10- Monsters University (June 21)

Its unclear exactly how long before Monsters Inc that Monsters University is set, but it'll see Mike and Sully meeting for the first time in college. Billy Crystal and John Goodman are reprising their voice roles, with Dan Scanlon directing. This film has 'massive hit' stamped all on it.

 9- Despicable Me 2 (July 9)

"Despicable Me" was an all around, great movie. This one looks amazing as well. Unsurprisingly, in the teaser trailer, the role of the minions is already being played up, and by choosing a big, bold summer spot, Universal might just have pole position here.

8- After Earth (June 7)

The movie is After Earth, a mix of science fiction and action, in a post-apocalyptic environment, which sees Smith appearing alongside his son, Jaden.  I suggest that After Earth may be a movie worth keeping your eye on. 

7- The Hangover-Part 3   (May 24)

This isn't a trailer of the movie, just an inside look. But who needs a trailer in order to know how good it's going to be. Anything associated with the "Hangover" is a sure-blockbuster hit. If this one goes over well, be prepared for a "Hangover Reunion" in the next 10 years or so. 

6- This is the End   (June 14)

This movie looks absolutely hysterical! The lineup of cast members in this sets the bar for the summer for comedy films. Alot of movies this summer are taking on the Apocalypse theme, but this one sure does take the cake for me. It’s about a pair of guys who fake the world ending, and amongst the names appearing are Danny McBride, Jonah Hill, James Franco and Rogen himself. Comedy Gold....

5- Star Trek 2: Into Darkness (N/A)

If your a die-hard fan of Star Trek, then this should be your #1 movie you must see this summer. JJ Abrams is back with another action-packed film. Plot details are thin on the ground, and the production is being kept as secret as possible thus far. Expect the movie to be a smash hit and a half, though.

4- Iron Man 3   (May 3)

Iron Man was incredible. Iron Man 2 was a step down from the original. I expect Iron Man 3 to knock the ball out of the park. As the first Marvel film post-The Avengers, it'll be interesting to see just where and how it picks things up... Expect big things from this movie.

3- Pacific Rim  (July 11)

Monsters fighting robots...what's not to love? There hasn't been a monster movie since Godzilla, and I am really looking forward to this one. It’s a big science fiction blockbuster. Everyone must see this.

2: Man of Steel  (June 14)

Superman is always a hit. It takes Superman back to his roots, with Henry Cavill donning the blue tights this time around. It’s already being set up as the film to beat in the summer of 2013. Fingers crossed that this Superman reboot works a bit better than the last…Superman Returns was nothing more then an OK movie. MAN OF STEEL.

1- World War Z   (June 20) 

This was a tough one... as Man of Steel could of easily took the #1 spot on this list. However, my guts told me I had to give World War Z the spot.It’s one of the most genre-specific blockbusters of the season, but the presence of Pitt should help put some bums on seats. It’s set in a post-apocalyptic, zombie-ridden time, and the film is already in post-production. It’s also planned to be the first of at least three movies, although Paramount will have to flex its muscles to sell this one. 

Brad Pitt + Zombies = Huge Success

Those were my top 10 movies for the summer. Feel free to comment below if you disagree.  

A Far too Short Wrap up of Rap

Written by: Dylan Williams

A Far too Short Wrap up of Rap

(Of the past decade)

            When NAS famously proclaimed, “hip hop was dead,” in 2008 he was definitely on to something.  With the gradual conformism towards radio driven songs, it was imminent that true hip-hop fans lacked a wide scale of ‘real’ artists.   One of today’s most successful artists today has changed greatly.  Lil Wayne, the self-proclaimed “greatest rapper alive” was once in fact thee greatest rapper alive.  He was everywhere, from features to albums to mixtapes.  In just 3 years, he provided over 6 free mixtapes to the Internet.  But as many things are, it was too good to be true as he experimented with rock albums, auto tune and the vast takeover of corny punch line rap.

“ALL ABOUT MY RICHES, MY NAME SHOULD BE RICHARD”-Lil Wayne

Some, however stayed true to their sound (for the most part) in the examples of Jay Z, Andre 3000, Kanye West (besides 808’s and Heartbreaks) and of course the numerous underground rappers.  However.  To those that follow rap as much as I do, punch lines of all but ruined the genre. 

              listen to soulja boy at 1:32….

There are always those on the rise though.  In this case the vast takeover of NEW SCHOOL RAP.  JCole, Kendrick Lamar, Wale, Macklemore, and some other honorable mentions have helped restore mine, as well as various others’ faith in hip hop.  They refer to it as a revolution.  And it seems like it to me.

                                   Peep the new school revolution:

Macklemore: Thrift Shop

Kendrick Lamar: B*tch Don't Kill My Vibe

 

J Cole: Visionsz of Home

      

Aaron Lennon

Written by : Gabe Buhse

As a fan of soccer, I’ve loved to watch Roma in the past years, but after seasons of frequent disappointment I turned to look to the Premier league since to me and according to a lot of other viewers its one of the most competitive if not the most competitive league in the world. Tottenham Hotspur is a team that I’ve come to know and love and will be a fan to the day I die. And the beauty of loving a club is being able to love its players and the player that I look up to goes by the name of Aaron Lennon.

Standing at 5’’5’ his presence on the pitch makes him out to be much more than meets the eye. I try to watch his movements, skills and vision to better suit my game since height is a factor. Aaron is a tremendous player, being the youngest player to be sponsored by Adidas for his boots and the youngest player to play in the Premier League (16 years 129 days). Yet people tend to shadow him and look past him which to me is a mistake. His form this season is one that should be remembered. Already he’s reaching his break out 09’ seasons stats with 3 goals and 6 assists, two more assists to match his past record. It is because of him that both games against Manchester United were won and tied this season. His speed and creativity is something to watch for though he’s no Messi or Ronaldo, he fits and stands out in his position as a right-winger.

Another area in which he has improved on is in his vision this season he has been spot on and a lot of teams, coaches and critics have noticed it as well. All combined he terrorizes defenders and he is creating a winning mentality within himself and within the ranks of Tottenham itself.

People tend to criticize his consistency in form but if one were to look over again he had many injuries he had to recover from. On current form, Lennon should walk in to the England team. He is possibly the most underrated player in the top flight at the moment as the likes of Bale hogging the headlines at White Hart Lane. Lennon is taking the responsibility and role as a senior player at the young age of 25, which is impressive.

As a Lily White fan, I’m thankful to have such a loyal and fantastic player staying with the club and giving his all. Aaron Lennon is a name people should be looking out for, hopefully all of Europe will notice his name and presence next season as Tottenham are in the hunt for a champions league slot. 

New Orleans is no longer the Hornets

Written by: KDA

It's about time....


The New Orleans basketball team have been the "Hornets" for too long now. After there movement from Charlotte back in 2002, the team haven't considered a name change to the franchise until this year. It looks like the New Orleans Hornets are finally getting a nickname that is unique and fitting for the location and area that the team represents in the NBA. 

                The Hornets are now the PELICANS.

Despite heavy critisism from many people around the league, especially from fans, the change of mascots actually makes sense. Being the Hornets has no relevancy to the city of New Orleans, or Lousiana in general. The Pelican makes sense for being their mascot, as the brown pelican serves as the state bird and is found in Louisiana's nickname, "The Pelican State." Many fans believe that the team should make an offer to the Utah Jazz in order to aqcuire the rights to the "Jazz" name back because, as many of us know, Jazz music was originated in New Orleans. 

I find it annoying and ignorant that everyone keeps arguing that the (Utah) Jazz should give New Orleans their name back. We're talking about a team the only had the name for 5 years (1974-1979). The Jazz have been in Utah for over 30 years now. GET REAL. 

Quick recap of the teams' performance:
 The Hornets are a team on the rise, but there are still few to many obstacles this young team must overcome to reach its full potential. The team have had a solid January so far, going 7-5 this month after starting the season going 7-23. As of Jan. 23, New Orleans finds themselves tied for the worst record in the Western Conference with Phoenix (14-28) and is seven games behind the Houston Rockets for the eighth seed. The Hornets' woes are a combo of the lack of expierence and its unlucky timing of injuries. Anthony Davis is an up-and-coming NBA superstar, as he is paired with the talented (but injury prone) Eric Gordan at SG and a quick Grievis Vasquez at PG.


I personally like the Pelican name, as I believe all teams should have a mascot that some-what represents their destination. Sure I agree that the Jazz are the most ideal name, but the Pelicans are certainly a huge step up from the Hornets and bring some local flover to one of America's most unique cities. Whether you love or hate the name, or wish the Anthony Davis' unibrow would of been chosen as the new face of the team, the new name and logo will take over at the start of the 2013-2014 season. 


The new colors will be Red, Blue and Gold. Hopefully, this nickname will hellp rejuvenate this once-proud franchise and give players another reason to fight hard in the 2013-2014 NBA seasons. 

NOLA. 

Revolution of House

Written by: KDA

Back when I was a freshman in high school, roughly 4 years ago, everyone had been introduced to this up and coming artist named David Guetta. He seemed to be a relitively new name to the world of music, or at least I thought. He was just new to the United States but has been a large name worldwide for the past 20 years. He is 45 years old and finally I was introcduced to his music.  David Guetta, who has since become the ringleader for the house music phenomenon sweeping across the world, is just one of the many large names in the House Industry. In the Documentary “Nothing But The Beat”, Guetta says “I wanted to create a bridge between Europe and America,” and he accomplished his goal. He didn't look at house music as a way to distinguish himself from others, he viewed house music as a way to bring urban and white culture together under one roof. Now signed to the famous EMI Virgin Records, Guetta has proven that house music is here to stay.

House had a good start in society after enjoying underground and club-based success in Chicago from the 1980s onwards. After, it ended up emerging into the UK maintstream pop market in the mid-to-late 80s. Popularity quickly followed in the rest of Europe, and it became a global phenomenon from the early-to-mid 90s onwards. Over time, more mainstream pop-infused variation grew increasingly popular. 

Guetta is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to big name producers.  Here's a list of my top 10 DJs  and my favorite song(s) by them. 

1-Avicii : "Levels"/"Seek Bromance"

2-Tiesto- "We Own the Night & Wolfgang Gartner ft. Luciana"

3-Skrillex- "Bangarang" 

4- David Guetta - "Titanium ft. Sia"

5-Steve Aoki-"Ladi Dadi ft. Wynter Gordan" 

6-Afrojack - "Cant Stop Me"

7-Swedish House Mafia - "Greyhound"/"Dont Worry Child"

8-Hardwell- "Apollo ft. Amber Shepherd"

9-Dada Life -  "Kick Out the Epic Motherf*cker"

10-Wolfgang Gartner- "Redline"

House has officially revolutionized 
music

Frank Lampard to the MLS ?

Written by: KDA


If you haven't heard yet, Frank Lampard is might be heading to the LA Galaxy. The Chelsea star's contract expires this summer and it seems Chelsea doesn't have any intention of the 34 year old staying on the roster. What better place for a out-of-prime player to go to then the MLS. It seems the MLS is just the dumping ground for old players to go and retire at. This is why the MLS doens't get the respect it deserves. The league itself is competitive in the US but is seen as a mediorce division worldwide. Frank follows in the footsteps of David Beckham and Tierre Henry, 2 of the all time greats, of course when they were in there prime. The major cities of NYC and LA have been popular teams to go to for these stars because of the primetime living conditions. David Beckham had gone to the LA Galaxy a couple of seasons ago and has recently left. Frank seems to have the desire to destroy his soccer legacy in order to move to LA.


Welcome to the states Frank.

Harbaugh Bowl

Written by: KDA



Just a mere 7 weeks ago, on their home turf at M&T Bank Stadium, that the Baltimore Ravens had all the appearance of a team going nowhere. If you believe in teams of destiny, step right up and meet the Baltimore Ravens. 

The team that finished the regular season by losing four of its final five is going to the Super Bowl. When that day came to face the almighty Patriots, AT FOXBORO, which is extremely difficult to come out of their with a win, he ended up badly outplaying Tom Brady.


            


The Harbaugh brothers, John of Baltimore and Jim of San Francisco, will give the Super Bowl a name for themselves. “The Harbaugh bowl.” It just slips off the tongue. It was no great surprise that Flacco would have his way with the Patriots, particularly when their top cornerback, Aqib Talib, was injured early and did not return. After watching the first half, it was extremely shocking to see the aging and recently mediocre Baltimore defense shut down Brady. 
The golden one (Brady) was reduced to dump off passes to either Ridley, before he got knocked out and forced out of the game, or to Shane Vereen and couldn’t even do that particularly well against a Ravens defense that has found new life since Ray Lewis returned to the lineup. Brady completed 29 of 54 passes for 320 yards. For Brady, that’s a semi-par game. A team can never be successful when their quarterback has to throw for 54 passes and can’t establish a run game. He did not throw a touchdown pass and was intercepted twice. His passer rating was 62.3. 
By comparison, Flacco was 21 for 36 for 240 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a passer rating of 106.2.

After a lackluster first half, Flacco pretty much had his way most of the time with the Patriots secondary. By rallying from a 13-7 deficit, Baltimore became the first team to beat Brady and the Patriots after trailing at halftime at home. Brady had been 67-0 in identical situations in his past. No one other then the riskiest of gamblers and the Ravens themselves actually believed they had a chance to beat the unstoppable patriots. It’s surprising that the team is led by Joe Flacco. I say “surprising” because earlier in the season, Flacco stated in the media that he believed he was the most elite quarterback in the league. To many people, this was a subject that was highly criticized. Throughout the past 5 seasons, Flacco has led the ravens to playoff appearances in all 5 seasons he has been in the league, 2 AFC championships, and now a Superbowl. 
It’s actually crazy. No one could have predicted this matchup.

The arising of Colin Kaepernick is astonishing in the way he could take a team from his first start as a professional, and take them to the Superbowl. All it took was an Alex Smith concussion and a good first impression and the job was his. Kaepernick is a second year star out of Nevada. He played baseball as well as football in college. He becomes a social media sensation every time he flexes his bicep and kisses it, as this is known famously as "Kaepernicking."  He ended up throwing 16 of 21 for 233 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to Vernon Davis, and had them so worried about his running ability out of the spread option that Gore and LaMichael James, had plenty of room. Gore scored a pair of touchdowns, including the game-winner for San Francisco's first lead of the day. Davis scored the first TD for the 49ers on a 15-yard run. The 49ers came out on top with the final score being 28-24. 

The Super Bowl will be a matchup of two highly successful coaches. Jim Harbaugh, who succeeded to the highest potential with a Standford team, is 24-7-1 in two seasons. He has made the playoffs both years and is 3-1. John Harbaugh is 54-26 in five regular seasons. That record doesn't show his teams true ability. He’s been to the playoffs every year and has a pretty decent postseason record of 8-4. The Harbaugh brothers are two coaches that deserve every bit of respect and responsibility for making these teams into what they are today.

PREDICTION :

49ers – 28

Ravens-20