The King’s speech leads the field with twelve nominations including best picture, best director, and actor in a leading role. The Social Network has eight nominations also including best picture.
True Grit, Black Swan, and the Fighter are also nominated for best picture along with Toy Story 3, Winter Bone, The Kids are All Right, 127 Hours, and Inception,but all are a long shot to take home the most coveted award in film.
The battle is really between The Social Network and The King’s Speech. Early indicators have The Social Network winning due to its wins at the Film’s Critic Prize and the Golden Globes.
The King's Speech is nominated for Best Picture. Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company
Some Penn Manor students are hoping for the upset though.
Junior Brandon Schuman thinks that “True Grit” should win because “Jeff Bridges is a hoss,” said Schuman.
After rethinking Schuman decided on Black Swan “It touched the core of my sole,”said Schuman.
“I think Inception should win,” said Junior Mitch Domin.
Junior Alex Cummins agreed with Domin by saying “Definitely Inception it was freaking amazing.”
Surprisingly no students picked either The Social Network or The King’s Speech as the winner.
Best actress is foregone conclusion giving it to Natalie Portman in Black Swan as a ballerina obsessed with being perfect.
The most interesting battle will be for Best Actor. There is an extremely strong class this year. Jeff Bridges(True Grit), Jesse Eisenberg(The Social Network),and Colin Firth(The King’s Speech) are headlining the group.
The Social Network Nominated for Best Picture photo Courtesy of Sony Studios
More and more teenagers around the globe are exploring energy drinks and using them as pick-me-ups in the wee hours of the morning.
Energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster, AMP, Rockstar, Jolt and Nos are some of the most popular energy drinks but medical experts have concerns about their health values and whether they are dangerous to the young people who consume them.
Different brands of energy drinks. Photo courtesy of hometestingblog.testcountry.com
According to Dr. Steven E. Lipshultz the chairman of pediatrics at the University of Miami, on healthnews.com, the high-caffeinated drinks pose more of a danger to people with heart abnormalities, ADHD and other health or emotional problems than people with good health.
“No, I feel like they’re not healthy,” stated Penn Manor senior Taylor Breidenbaugh.
An 8-ounce energy drink could contain hundreds of milligrams of caffeine, as opposed to a regular cup of coffee containing 100 milligrams.
With the high amounts of caffeine and sugar, the drinks could negatively affect children with diabetes and seizures.
Children are at a higher risk of heart palpitations and other problems than adults because their bodies aren’t fully developed.
The FDA has a limit on the amount of caffeine per serving, but most companies get around that limit but labeling their product “natural”.
Cody Goldberg, a senior at Penn Manor doesn’t like to drink energy drinks, “they make me sick and there’s too many side affects.”
Senior Patrick Jones doesn’t drink them that much but if he does, his drink of choice: Monster.
The MTV show Skins is about nine teenagers with different personalities who have come together to have fun and make new memories. Sounds simple, right? Not quite.
Skins contains a lot of underage drinking parties, drugs galore and sexual scenes. Some may say that this is a normal teenage life behind the scenes, but is it?
“The show is not realistic at all,” said Nick Hartley, a senior at Penn Manor.
MTVs Skins Cast. Photo courtesy of Teen.com
The new MTV series Skins has been characterized as child pornography and criticized for showing too much for uncensored TV. The new series was based on an original show aired in the UK and is now being shown in the US. The premise of the show is the same but with some U.S. modifications. While the UK version shows nudity, the American version is more toned down with no nudity.
People are split about their feelings of the new series.
“I have never been to a party where people bring out a bag of pills,” Hartley said, recalling a drug scene from a previous episode of Skins.
“I don’t do anything like Skins. Not the bad stuff they do,” said Maddy Hess.
Skins may not represent a normal social life of a teen.
Senior Cidney Rupp said, “Me and my friends do everything on the weekends except what Skins does.”
“Me and my friends just go to the mall, see movies and have sleepovers,” said Hartley.
Emily Hutchinson, a senior at PM had strong feelings about Skins, “The show is bizarre.”
Some people find the show enjoyable to watch because it is such an ongoing exaggeration from their real lives.
“I don’t think it is realistic because it is about like really scandalous stuff,” explained senior Elena Hart.
Hartley said, “Not all teenagers are like that. It is just Hollywood people.”
In one corner we have the best friend at 151 pounds facing the boyfriend at 150 pounds. Who will win the title?
The battle continues for high school students in relationships. They struggle to find the equal balance between time with friends and time with their significant other. At Penn Manor High School sometimes the balance seems to be tipping more to one side.
Significant others are seeing all hearts and love.
“When it’s a close friend and we make plans and they ditch me I get really mad,” Adam Swift, high school senior, said.
Swift expresses his frustration when his close friends put their girlfriends before him. Its a tough situation, teenagers in particular find it difficult to find the time for both sides. Swift admits to favoring his girlfriend over his friends.
“When a bunch of my friends go on group dates, me and my girlfriend split up from the group sometimes,” Swift said.
Even those with someone special get angry when their other friends with relationships spend more time with their girlfriend or boyfriend. Brian Dunne, a senior at Penn Manor, speaks from both ends of the deal.
“I used to get mad before I had a serious relationship,” Dunne said,”but now I understand.”
Dunne expressed regret about spending so much time with one person unlike before his relationship where he hung with friends everyday. So are the friends getting the short end of the stick? For one senior his best friend is his girlfriend.
A group of friends divided by a relationship. Taken by Robin Green
“I spend every minute with Jill,” Greg Gydush said,”but that’s my choice, she’s my best friend.”
Gydush gets the best of both worlds, but you have to wonder how it got this way. Being best friends with your significant other is all peachy keen but what about before the relationship?
“My best friend and I don’t hang out as much as we did before she started dating her boyfriend,” Sam Eshleman said.”But everyone does it at some point.”
And it’s true, teenagers are selfish for a lot of the time. Try to keep that in mind the next time your friend makes plans with their boo over some girl time or guy time. But it’s harder than it looks. Neither friend or best friend will be taking the title for the win.
“When it comes down to it, you can’t make everyone happy,” Eshleman said, ” you have to do what makes you happy.”
Studies show diet drinks may be more harmful than what was formerly believed.
Previously linked to diabetes, diet soda is being questioned by medical researchers about its health values.
But the information comes out as schools are getting pressured to lower calorie counts for students.
“There was an effort to promote diet soda due to calorie content,” said Randy Wolfgang, Director of Support Services for Penn Manor, who had not yet had a chance to study the new research.
Results of a large study, just presented at the American Stroke Association Stroke Conference, showed diet soda drinkers were 61 percent more likely to have cardiovascular complications than non drinkers of soda.
Penn Manor's soda machines come stocked with certain diet drinks.
Researcher Hannah Gardener, from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine reported there was no increased risk of cardiovascular disorders when non-drinkers of soda were compared to regular soda drinkers.
But diet soda drinkers are the ones at risk.
Penn Manor High School offers diet Pepsi in most soda machines around the school. The soda machines are on during lunch, giving students free range throughout the day to get diet soda whenever they want.
Randy Wolfgang was interested in hearing more about the study.
“We’ll have to get more information,” he said, although he said he thought access to vending machines were limited throughout the day or should be.
Even after hearing the news, some Penn Manor students just aren’t ready to give up their diet drinking habits.
Courtney Huyser, a ninth grader at Penn Manor drinks diet soda two to three times a week.
“I prefer diet Pepsi,” she said. “I’m used to diet, I prefer it.”
After hearing the news about the study, Huyser claims she will continue to drink diet soda, anyway.
“I don’t drink it very often.”
“Soda should be an every now and then treat,” said school nurse Anne Butterfield. “There’s nothing nutritious about it.”
Butterfield said she feels there is no benefit to soda. Diet soda lacks the nutritional value young people need for growth such as vitamins and calcium, she explained.
“A lot of empty calories,” Butterfield said.
Penn Manor student athlete Mark Curtin said, “All soda is unhealthy, diet or not.”
Curtin keeps soda out of his diet as best he can, trying to stick to the healthier water, juice and occasional Gatorade.
Longtime athlete, coach and teacher Erick Dutchess claims you should stick to moderation when drinking diet or regular soda.
“Stay with the more natural drinks such as water and juice,” he said.
New, revolutionary 3D technology will display the three-dimensional effects without the aid of 3D glasses. Although 3D has been a hit with some, not everyone thinks its a good thing.
Called 3DS – for three dimensional properties (screen), Nintendo is in the process of finishing up their brand new Nintendo DS system, planned for release on March 27, 2011.
But Nintendo has issued a warning that the new device should not be used by children under 6 while in 3D mode.
The company posted a notice to its website, warning that the device could cause children “under the age of six” to experience “a potential impact on the growth” on their eyes.
Despite the potential health risks, Nintendo has been working with their dual screen hand-held console series for a while now.
First the DS, then the DS lite, the DSi, DSi XL and now the 3DS.
But not everyone is ready to run out and get it.
Jerome Lynch who is a senior at Penn Manor said, “3D has potential for exciting future technologies, but for now it is simply a gimmick.”
The 3DS will not only feature a 3D screen though.
The Nintendo 3DS. Image rights owned by Nintendo.
It will contain:
-A 3D camera
-An Internet browser
-An analog stick, along with the regular “D-Pad”
-A motion sensor
-A gyro sensor
-Memory card support
-Backwards compatibility
-Streetpass™
Along with many other positive features, there is still the eye damage issue.
“I would definitely not get it for my child if I had one. Why not get a regular DS instead?” said Penn Manor senior, Steve Eckles.
“I wouldn’t care, I am not under 6 years old so I just don’t care,” Said Lynch.
The 3D Slider to change the intensity of the 3D effects. Image by Nintendo.
But Nintendo wouldn’t be this successful if they didn’t plan ahead.
Nintendo designed a way for their customers can turn off the 3D effects via “3D Slider.” They expected the “hardcore gamers” to not enjoy certain titles in 3D, for example Street Fighter.
Some people aren’t too keen on 3D technology.
Joe Gordon, a Penn Manor senior, said, “No, when it comes to 3D I would not click ‘like’ on Facebook.”
Sony is working on their own project, the Sony NGP (Next Gen Portable), which is the next version of their PSP (PlayStation Portable).
“I always buy PlayStation.” Said Penn Manor senior Trevor Troup, “I’ve always been loyal to the Sony brand.”
The Nintendo 3DS is going to retail for $249.99 in the USA, while the Sony NGP is expected to retail for $299.99.
Super Street Fighter IV for the 3DS. Image owned by Nintendo.
Sony’s first generation PSP retailed for $199.99 on its initial release.
GameStop has their own deal for the 3DS.
If one was to trade in their Nintendo DSi XL, they can get the 3DS for $149.99, the DSi can get you the 3DS for $174.99 and the DS Lite for $199.99.
But the deal only lasts until February 20th and is only toward store credit on a reservation of the 3DS.
Lynch is prepared to spend that amount, “I was willing to to get the PSP when it released, it’s worth it.”
The Sony NGP is Sony’s step into developing touchscreen systems. The original Nintendo DS was one of the first to introduce the complexities of a touchscreen into a major game system.
But questions still remain, will the 3DS’ three-dimensional properties keep it ahead of others?
Will the possibility of eye damage for children under 6 years old make the system lose sales?
Although it is simply a line from a mainstream pop song, it packs a lot of meaning.
It’s no secret that we live in a highly superficial world. From a young age, girls are driven to believe that they should look a certain way in order to be successful in the world.
“The media portrays impossible standards,” Penn Manor senior Veronica Willig said.
Even though young girls are well aware that the glossy photos they see on the pages of magazines are extremely airbrushed and unrealistic, they still have mixed feelings about what their physical appearance should be.
As a result, many girls resort to forms of beauty enhancements, some very extreme.
Girls use tanning beds despite warnings about skin cancer. Photo courtesy msnbc
Recently, 20-year-old Claudia Adusei from London died after complications from a cosmetic surgery procedure. Adusei traveled to Philadelphia to get her buttocks enhanced and was injected with illegal silicone.
“I believe that people should do what makes them happy,” Penn Manor senior Hannah Willet said.
Still, she knows that public opinion plays a major role in how people view themselves.
“I feel like society is what makes people do what they do,” she said.
Plastic surgery is an ever-growing trend among men and women of various ages.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, over 13 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2010. Nearly 210,000 cosmetic plastic surgery procedures were performed on people age 13 to 19 in 2009.
Despite the high numbers, girls in Penn Manor don’t seem to be in favor of procedures that alter one’s physical appearance for superficial purposes.
“I feel as though plastic surgery is only appropriate for people who have been in horrific accidents and have serious tissue damage,” Willig said.
“It’s a waste of money. It’s inhumane,” Olivia Hertzler said.
“It’s so unnecessary,” Katie Maisel added.
Interest in cosmetic plastic surgery procedures is on the rise. Photo courtesy Beverly Hills Cosmetics
Still others believe that if it’s going to boost your self-confidence, you should go through with getting a cosmetic procedure.
“[It] depends on what it is,” said Ella Perry.
She counts something like a nose job as being acceptable if it is going to make a girl feel prettier, but getting breast implants as shallow.
A major beauty enhancer that many girls and women are in favor of is artificial tanning.
“Tanning hides your blemishes and makes you feel good about yourself,” Emily Hutchinson said.
Others feel that it is appropriate for certain occasions.
“I’m for tanning for special occasions like prom but not all year round,” said Jackie Schmalhofer.
“[I support tanning] from time to time. Like if you have tan lines from sports and you want to look good for prom,” said Hertzler.
Some girls feel obligated to tan and ignore the harmful effects that tanning poses.
“I do it. I need to because of my pale complexion,” said Perry.
“I think it’s great. You’re going to die either way so why not look good?” a source who wishes to remain anonymous said.
Not all young girls here favor tanning however.
“Tanning is an excellent example of women harming themselves to fulfill a superficial image,” Willig said.
Penn Manor psychology teacher Maria Vita understands how much a person’s culture influences their perspectives on beauty. She teaches her psychology classes about different cultures and what they perceive as beautiful.
“Every culture values a different kind of beauty,” Vita said. “I don’t get too fanatical about opinions.”
Vita however is not too into forms of beauty enhancements herself and doesn’t wear makeup.
“Personally, I don’t want to modify the body. I would never tan. I just don’t make time for stuff like that.”
Regardless of what stands people take on beauty, it’s clear that there are always pressures to look a certain way.
As spring comes closer, that means one thing – baseball season will be here soon.
School-age kids have been waiting all winter to play baseball again, going to the batting cages or throwing inside whenever they can, to make sure they can have successful season.
Well more people than just the kids, and the professionals have been training for baseball over the winter.
What about the oldsters? That’s right, the drive to play America’s favorite game doesn’t go away when players hit their 50s, their 60s, would you believe their 70s!
Penn Manor alumnus Fred Funk searching for prospective players for his team. Photo by Taylor Groff
Penn Manor resident Fred Funk is one such Penn Manor veteran ball player. To help others stay in the game, Funk started teams for 50, 60, and 70-year-old people who have a love for the game and who wanted the chance to keep playing the game.
“The whole idea is to have fun without getting hurt,” Funk said. “But,” he added, “don’t think it’s not competitive.”
The players go down to Florida in March for a week of “spring training,” to get ready for their 22-game season, along with playoffs. The season even includes an all-star game or, as Funk said with a laugh, an “old star” game to raise money for charity.
The three leagues start at various times this summer with the 50-and 60-year-old league games starting the first week of April and the 70-year-old league starts the first week of March.
“They don’t like cold bats,” said Funk of the 70-year-old group.
According to Funk, the leagues play doubleheader games on Saturdays and practice Mondays and Wednesdays.
The 50-and 60-year-old leagues play by modified softball rules, while the over 70 is a slow pitch softball style, Funk said.
The 60-year-old league has been around for 20 years but the 50-and 70-year-old leagues are new this year. Funk said he decid
Funk looked through old Penn Manor yearbooks to find players. Photo by Taylor Groff
ed to start the new leagues because of the number of people that approached him about playing who were under the age of 60, and not eligible to play.
One of those people was Steve Moore, a Penn Manor alum, who even had knee surgery to prepare himself for his first season.
Tragically, Moore died this year before he had a chance to play.
To find people who could be interested in playing in the league, Funk spent the day in Penn Manor’s high school library looking through old yearbooks at find former baseball players. He said of the people that he contacted so far, most of them were “maybe’s ” to play in the league.
No matter what age, the leagues will see a lot of exercise, effort and exhilaration.
“This is the big kick-off to a year-long celebration.”
The small town of Millersville, Pa., is celebrating 250 years on the map starting February 26th of this year.
Millersville is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year.
‘Dancing Through the Decades’ will be held at Pucillo Gym Saturday as the first event of many that will be held throughout the 2011 year to celebrate Millersville as being one of the first towns established in Pennsylvania in 1761.
The series of celebratory events has been chaired by members of the Penn Manor School District and Millersville community.
Ellen Pollock, assistant superintendent at Penn Manor, is serving as an events co-chair for the anniversary. Pollock said she is looking forward to this event in particular because it is the “kick-off” of an entire community celebrating its history, and there will be many highlights to the evening.
Dancing Through the Decades is themed by growth throughout generations. Pollock said there will be professional ballroom dancing demonstrations throughout the night, featuring time-period costumes provided by former Penn Manor student Christina McSherry.
Millersville is famous for its swans.
McSherry said she has been involved in National History Day with Penn Manor for many years where she has made costumes reflecting historical America.
“Last year I did a fashion show display that covered ancient Egypt to the 1960s,” said McSherry. “Ms. Pollock saw the display and contacted me when they began working on the Dancing Through the Decades event and we decided that I would set up a display of historic ball gowns covering the late 1700s until 1970.”
McSherry added that she already had some gowns made from previous displays, but she has made multiple gowns and male garments for this event, coupled with time-period accessories and antique pieces.
Other students from the Penn Manor community have been eager to help with this event. Pollock explained that members of Penn Manor’s National Honors Society will be attending the event to escort and greet guests. Also, students from the Agriculture department at Penn Manor High School will be making twenty boutonnieres for select members attending on Saturday, and students from Eshleman Elementary School have been working hard at creating centerpieces for the tables.
Co-chair of the 250th celebrations and Assistant to the VP for Alumni and Community Relations at Millersville University, Steven DiGuiseppe said, “I’m looking forward to interacting with the descendants (of the founders of Millersville), and guests… The celebration as a whole.”
DiGuiseppe said the events committee is hoping to have a turnout of 150 people. Guests in attendance will be people from all over the community including borough representatives, the Herr family (of John Herr’s Village Market), donors and sponsors of the anniversary events, the Wiley brothers (of Wiley’s Pharmacy), and television’s Cake Boss’s very own Mauro Castano.
Yes, that’s right, Carlos Bakery of the TLC show ‘Cake Boss’ is coming to Millersville. Chef and cake designer Mauro Castano will be delivering the cake at Pucillo Gym.
According to Castano, the cake will feed about 200 people, and will be filled with devil’s food and vanilla cake with chocolate fudge. The design elements will be made of krispie treats, modeling chocolate, and fondant. Castano said the cake will feature aspects of the town, such as the lake at Millersville University, Biermesderfer Center, John Herr’s Village Markey, and Wiley’s Pharmacy.
“At the end of the day, we put our heart and soul into our product. Each cake is a piece of edible artwork, and we work hard to make sure there is great attention to detail,” said Castano about theCarlos Bakery, located in Hoboken, New Jersey.
DiGuiseppe confirmed that Lori Burkholder of WGAL-TV will be covering the making of the cake Tuesday or Wednesday, reporting from the bake shop in New Jersey.
Dancing Through the Decades will also feature food and drinks, music by DJ David Nye, and fireworks at 10 p.m. that will be launched from Comet Field. Tickets are on sale for $50 per ticket, and can be purchased by calling 717-872-3811. The event will be held from 7 to 10 p.m.
As we advance as a society, so do our sports. But one new fad around Penn Manor High School went back to basics -simply a seat, two pedals, and one wheel.
This technological wizardry is known as the unicycle and it’s the new craze for a small group of Penn Manor students.
“It’s about two or three years ’til it goes mainstream,” proclaimed senior Cody Goldberg, a member of the new unicycling club.
What began about two-and-a-half months ago, spawned from an idea by student Jerome Lynch.
“He’s (Lynch) has been unicycling since he was 3 or 4, and then recently Ryan Krause, Mike Stokes, Alex Murr and the rest (joined),” noted Goldberg.
The club members cycle around the school’s parking lot and Millersville and even claimed to have found some “pretty sweet” tricking spots in the area.
The specific spots weren’t mentioned because they said that they were top secret, members only.
Goldberg and fellow unicyclist Ben Crisman consider themselves average at their new-found sport.
“I can do basic tricks, but not any advanced stuff,” said Crisman, “It’s more of a hobby than a pursuit.”
There is some good-natured competition over who is the most proficient unicyclist of the group.
Goldberg said that while Lynch started the craze, has been doing it the longest and has the best overall control, he can’t pull off some of the more difficult tricks.
Crisman believes that it’s a toss up between Krause and Murr, but Goldberg believes that Murr is the best in the group.
While reflecting on their unicycling accomplishments, they also mentioned some of their goals and why they even got into the sport.
“It’s a silly sport and it’s really fun to do… and how many people in the world can unicycle?” asked Goldberg.
Ben Crisman added with a smile, “My ultimate goal is to play unicycle polo competitively in the Olympics.”
Recently a battery operated electric unicycle was released.
Might this be the future for unicycle enthusiasts?
“Oh yeah, that Japanese piece of garbage,” said Goldberg, “Yeah right.”
