September 29, 2006Why do astronauts' muscles get weak when they have been in space?Byron Lawson | Northside High School Question: Why do astronauts' muscles get weak when they have been in space?
 "The Guardian": standard-issue and flavorlessDavid Germain | Associated Press Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher's Coast Guard adventure drags on like a slow boat ride to Anchorage, its standard-issue heroics and flavorless dialogue gone stale long before the movie arrives at the big, valorous finish. Director Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive") crafts hearty action sequences of men hurling themselves into peril to save others in Alaska's churning waters. But the drama and emotion behind the action is so frosty, you could die of exposure by the time the movie lumbers to its climax after well over two hours. Costner plays a legendary Coast Guard rescue swimmer who takes on a temporary assignment training recruits, with Kutcher as his arrogant but promising protege. The Guardian (2006) "Can anybody tell us why smoking isn't stupid?"Katy Allamong | Giles High School You’ve seen the crazy "Y Do U Think?" commercials about why smoking is stupid, maybe even ran into a Y St. event while it was happening. Now is your chance to become a member of one of the biggest youth movements in Virginia. Before you start thinking, "Now why would I want to go to training to learn how to tell people smoking is stupid," you should know that Y St is different -- we tell incredibly random facts about smoking that actually pertain to teens. To become a member, visit ystreet.ydouthink.com and sign up. Once you’re accepted, you’ll get information about training. When you go, you get free food and cool prizes. You get to play games and meet tons of cool people -- all while learning about how to go about being a Yst-er. After you become a member, you can check out the exclusive Y St member message boards, go to awesome events for free, --like concerts -- and get free gear. It’s also a great activity to put on your college applications. I’ve been a Y St member for two years, and I absolutely love it. It’s a great way to make new friends, boost self-confidence and to see if anyone can actually tell us "why smoking isn’t stupid." If you are looking for a new group to join this school year, be sure to keep your ears and eyes out for upcoming fall trainings, or check out the website and sign up at: ystreet.ydouthink.com. Take it from me, -you don’t want to miss it! On the Web: Portion Size MeLaura Conte | Patrick Henry High School So I, Laura Conte, being of sound mind and slightly chubby body, have decided to take on for a whole week eating a strict diet of correct portion size. Yup, what have I gotten myself into? If you have ever seen that crazy controversial movie called “Super Size Me”, well, this whole experiment has been dubbed “Portion Size Me”. I actually kinda like that title, it is cheesy but appropriate. So, anyway, here is a really brief beginning to this controlled endeavor. I am a swimmer generally all year round, so I tend to eat more. This ought to be interesting… Check back soon to read Laura's updates on her progress as she controls her food portion sizes! September 26, 2006`Heroes': Fresh and Skillfully ExecutedFrazier Moore | Associated Press A man throws himself from a 15-story building in downtown Manhattan. He survives the fall (as he was sure he would) thanks to a timely display of human levitation. After school in a small Texas town, a teenager still in her cheerleader's uniform takes a fall of her own, then dashes into a burning building. Within moments, her broken bones and sizzled flesh repair themselves, confirming her fearful suspicions. A nerdy Tokyo office worker convinced he's meant for better things is training his mind for higher functions. One grand day he teleports himself to bustling Times Square. What do these people have in common? For starters, they're characters on the new mystic thriller "Heroes," which premieres at 9 p.m. EDT Monday on NBC. But they're not the only ones. A drama that rightly bills itself as epic, "Heroes" is loaded with seemingly ordinary people from all over who bear out the theory of a genetics professor in India. His Human Genome Project declares that minute variations in genetic code are exhibiting themselves more and more - and turning more lives upside down. A Las Vegas stripper and single mother discovers that her reflected image in mirrors has startling secrets to share. An artist is haunted by the realization that he can paint the future. The professor was working on a systematic formula for identifying these "special" people. But then he is murdered by villains who are out to use his research for their own evil purposes. Now they are after his defiant scientist-son. Who are they, and what's at the root of their sinister mission? Will it put the people who display these eerie gifts in danger - and mobilize them to fight back? The first episode of this fascinating series sets forth its trippy premise and introduces a number of its newly empowered (the huge ensemble includes Adrian Pasdar, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Milo Ventimiglia, Ali Larter, Santiago Cabrera, Masi Oka and more). What happens next, and how the paths of these chosen might cross, are questions left hanging by the premiere. And they're delicious ones to ponder. "Heroes" is, on the one hand, a meditation on unsuspecting humans who, to their delight or horror, are vaulted to extraordinary levels of potential. How will they cope with it? How will they make use of it? Is this some sort of legion of superheroes in the making? At the same time, their process of self-discovery appears to be unfolding in an apocalyptic context. Something bad seems to be on the horizon. Are they meant to be a global rescuing force? There seems plenty in just the first hour to snag a viewer's interest - and start the questions flowing. And at least one dandy twist will whet the appetite of conspiracy theorists in the audience. The expansive vision and population of "Heroes" offers boundless promise for what may lie ahead. It's a show whose freeform, existential mysteries could trigger scores of fan sites. Something fresh and skillfully executed, "Heroes" is like nothing else on TV. Unless it's an obsessed-upon ABC hit about a large group of people likewise trying to make sense of their world under pressure. With "Heroes," could NBC have found its "Lost"?
Five Things That...you and a date can do for under $20Logan Aker | Glenvar High School 1. Rent some movies and order a pizza. Five Things That...are cool jobs you can get with any undergraduate degree (or none at all!)The Edge Staff 1. Cruise Ship Master of Ceremonies (Can you pull off an accent?) September 25, 2006What was the rocket that is housed outside of the Roanoke Transportation Museum used for in real life?Byron Lawson | Northside High School Question: What was the rocket that is housed outside of the Roanoke Transportation Museum used for in real life? Answer: The infamous 'Roanoke Rocket' is factually not a rocket, but a missile. The missile, a Jupiter missile to be exact, was used in a series of sub-orbital test flights in the late 1950's. After it's final test runs, it was given to the museum in 1965 by councilman Jim Trout. It was then placed in Wasena Park for approximately twenty years up until the flood of 1985 swept away the original museum. Today it stands next to the current museum in downtown Roanoke. (303 Norfolk Avenue between 2nd Street and 5th Street, SW.) The Gay Marriage Amendment: ReloadedJordan Fifer | The Roanoke Times Our first comment came in today all the way from Midlothian, VA! "Jordan – this amendment makes perfect sense. Other than possibly some of the hyperboles Mr. Garnett includes ("...as the bigots they are"), I couldn't agree more. September 22, 2006The Gay Marriage Amendment: Part IIJordan Fifer | The Roanoke Times I'd like to start off with the last point of my previous post, which was: why? Why is this proposed amendment necessary at all? It's not. There is no reasonable basis for this amendment, whether it be here in Virginia, or nationally. Now, it's true that there is a moral and/or religious opposition to gay marriage. Conservatives -- namely religious ones -- argue that homosexuality is immoral, and that they have a choice in their lifestyle. Though I do not agree with this idea in any way, I respect these religious beliefs and the religions that set them as standards. I do not believe, however, that religion is an adaquate or even constitutional basis for legal indoctrination -- and apparently the writers of our Constitution agree, as they write in the First Amendment: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion..." The relgious/moral identification of homosexuality is purely based on...well...religion, as well as sociological norms and accepted cultural ways. It is not, and never has been, concurrent with scientific and medical research, nor any legal precedent. Religious morals are certainly to be appreciated, as many, if not most, of our current laws are based on Christian teachings. But those laws, such as prohibition of murder, perjury, robbery, and adultery -- to name a few -- also have valid societal reasoning behind them. There is no reason to ban gay marriage. Other than religious beliefs, there are few arguments against gay marriage left. One frequent idea that Republicans like to push is the notion that gay marriage somehow undermines heterosexual marriage, and love in it's broader form. I'd like to quote my brother, David Fifer, in response to this argument, because he phrased it quite nicely: To conclude I guess I have to say: I don't know what to say. I have no other argument against an amendment that clearly has no grounds for legality, although I do invite anyone who might read this to leave a comment or e-mail me, and tell me why this amendment makes sense. September 20, 2006The Hokie Bird Hunt is OnKaty Allamong | Giles High School We’ve all heard of the Hokie bird statues being placed around the town of Blacksburg, but how many of us have actually gone to look at them? I never would have gone to track them down until my new youth group leader told us that was our first “group activity.” Needless to say, I was not very thrilled to go. First of all, I am the oldest in the group and second, my brother is also in it. Not exactly what I call a good day out. I went along anyway, dragging my boyfriend along. When I got there though, I was in for a surprise. One of my closest friends who had just started school at Tech was joining us. The week before I had created my team-“The Golden Twinkies” with the motto, “We will cream you.” Now this week I actually had a team. Gary Fields, Kaitlyn Hagreen, Kristin Fields and I made up the crazy team. Before we left we all got VT tie-dye shirts (with the exception of 2), a map, and cameras. From there we all drove to Five Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch. Once we consumed all of the food we ordered we headed off to the University Mall for a team picture. As soon as the picture was taken we all took off and posed in front of the surrounding birds. From there on out we were all on our own. It was probably a funny sight from onlookers-all of the matching shirts running around Blacksburg. Each team held on to a labeled map with each section worth a specific amount of points that ranged from 1-4. Although we planned to have a strategy to get the most points, it didn’t work because we continued to get distracted. Parking was time consuming and our legs started to get incredibly sore. Every time we saw a Hokie Bird on the side of the rode we would leap out of the car make a random pose and dash back to the car to continue the quest. This went on for almost 2 hours when we realized we needed to get back to the church where ice-cold lemonade awaited us. Luckily we were 1 minute ahead of time and got an extra point. Once all of the other teams arrived we began to add up all of the points. The team with both the youngest and oldest members somehow won. We all think they cheated for they somehow found 38 birds. My team, the Golden Twinkies, came in second “creaming” the other two teams. To recap some of the birds: there were designs on the birds that you could only imagine! We saw a key bird, a gentleman’s bird, farmer, jester, bus, harvest, and so on. I definitely suggest that everyone should go out and look at a couple. They really are amazing. Fan vs. FoeTaylor Johnson | William Byrd High School Hello fellow sports fans! To start things off, my name is Taylor. I’m pretty much a sports fanatic. I hope to become a sports commentator one day for ESPN, but we’ll see how it goes. For my opening blog, I want to know what your definition of a true fan is. Most sports fans have their favorites and despises, but what makes a person have ‘their’ team? Of course there’s the average band wagoner that just becomes a fan because they see a team with media coverage, famous players, and a good record. Then you have the true fan, the one who sticks with their true colors no matter the record, or publicity. I want to know what being a fan means to you. Leave a comment or e-mail the Edge. September 18, 2006"Accepted": Smart and funnyAmy Friedman | Patrick Henry High School What comes to mind when you see Justin Long? The gawky teenager from NBC’s hit show Ed? Or the semi-cool, semi-annoying Mac ads guy? A romping rendition of The Ramones’ Blitzkrieg Bop? Well one thing I thought I’d never associate with his name was the words leading man. Going to see Accepted I figured it’d be a modernized version of Animal House with a little bit of Warren Cheswick’s classic wit added in. So imagine my surprise when I couldn’t stop laughing, or crying. Yes, it’s true I cried; see it’s extremely uplifting. You all know the plot. A group of misfits who didn’t get accepted to college create their own, but their plans go horribly, horribly array when hundreds of students get accidentally ‘accepted’. Thus, South Harmon Institute of Technology is born (look closely at those initials). Accepted (2006) "The Last Kiss": Save your moneyAmy Friedman | Patrick Henry High School The Last Kiss takes place in an alternate reality, where pregnant women never gain weight, high schools couples stay together for ten years then simultaneously fall out of love, and beautiful college girls fall for thirty year old architects with double chins. Sound like a beautiful world, eh? Let me begin by saying it takes a lot for me not to love a movie, and The Last Kiss seemed to accomplish it with a vengeance. I have heard the plot described as an honest portrayal of thirty year olds lives, and also as a coming of age story. I’m sorry, but shouldn’t thirty year olds have come to age by now? Yes, I know men are immature and all that, but so immature that they want to run off to South America? (And yes, that is part of the plot). The story centers mainly around one couple: Michael and Jenna. They aren’t married because they want to be in love forever, without feeling like it’s forced; yet they’re having a baby together. In Four Weddings and a Funeral this concept seemed cute, but here it’s just another way of showing how commitment-phobic Michael is. A beautiful college girl comes into his life and he decides to ‘mix things up’. Obviously his life falls apart, leaving him to put things back together again. Maybe I’m being too hard on it, and my hopes for it were just too high. But to me it’s a boring plot trying so hard to be realistic it leaves the realm of reality completely behind. In between plots that never completely have a point, and jokes that can’t quite seem to get off the ground it really just lets you down more every second. It’s not cute, it’s only funny when it’s trying to be serious and to me it just didn’t have a point. SO I’ll save you the ten dollars and leave you with the one line of wisdom The Last Kiss does impart: Love means nothing, your feelings only matter to you. It’s what you do to the people you say you love that counts. The Last Kiss (2006) "Hollywoodland": One of the best this yearAmy Friedman | Patrick Henry High School Okay, Adrian Brody is a genius. All the acting in this movie is amazing, but there’s something about him in this movie that really made it all seem, real. By the end of the movie I was convinced, there is no way George Reeves shot himself. Hollywoodland goes back and forth in-between two story lines. The first story takes place post George Reeves’s death. It’s about detective Louis Simo (played by the enchanting Adrian Brody) who at first is flat broke and just trying to make a buck. He starts out not believing his story, but as the evidence adds up along with the death threats he starts to realize that there is more to the death than meets the eye. The second is pre George Reeves’s murder, oops I mean suicide. It stars Ben Affleck as the struggling actor himself, and Diane Lane as his married girlfriend trying to help him on his way to fame. Although the second plot is undeniably more exciting it was the story of George Reeves’s life that I enjoyed more. Today most people regard Superman as the greatest hero in the history of out time, most men would be falling all of themselves or the chance to play him; not Reeves. How could it be that the role model of every boy in America could have so many enemies? There is a point in the movie were Reeves is giving a live showing of Superman and a little boy walks up to him with a loaded gun and asks if he can shoot him, to most kids Superman was just that real. I really don’t want to give much away because it’s truly one of the best movie’s I’ve seen all year. So go see it, watch the theories and evidence add up and make your own decisions. Hollywoodland (2006) September 12, 2006The Gay Marriage Amendment: Part IJordan Fifer | The Roanoke Times Okay, I know -- not a great title. But it's true, plain and simple. For those of you who don't know, Virginia voters will be voting on a gay marriage amendment to our state constitution come November. The amendment, in short terms, bans gay marriage (see below). If approved, Virginia would be added to the 20 states (and growing) that have such a ban. To give us all some background, here is the full text of the proposed amendment: "That only a union between one man and one woman may be a marriage valid in or recognized by this Commonwealth and its political subdivisions. This Commonwealth and its political subdivisions shall not create or recognize a legal status for relationships of unmarried individuals that intends to approximate the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage. Nor shall this Commonwealth or its political subdivisions create or recognize another union, partnership, or other legal status to which is assigned the rights, benefits, obligations, qualities, or effects of marriage." The answer is a obvious no. This amendment is based only on religious values and beliefs. And don't get me wrong -- I'm not against religion, at least not for the purposes of this debate. What I'm against is the apparent proposal (and unfortunately, likely approval) of an amendment that is one step away from combining church and state.
The Edge Blog is Online!The Roanoke Times Edge staff is proud to introduce a new feature: The Edge Blog. Featuring weekly and bi-weekly columns, the blog will cover everything from movies to politics. Check back soon for the first of many great posts! |
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