World Cup Prospects

by Dario

The long road of qualification to World Cup 2010 South Africa has proved to be full of surprises, with the failure of teams such as Russia, Croatia, and Egypt, to qualify. Now that it is over, it's time to pick who we think the winners and losers will be. The 32 teams are sorted into eight groups, from which the top two will advance to the final tournament.

My Predictions: (December 09 World Rankings)

Group A. 1st France (7) 2nd Mexico (17) 3rd South Africa (85) 4th Uruguay (20)
Despite a shaky qualification, in which France finished behind Serbia, France still is easily the best team in this group, and should finish first. Mexico also, has made it to the second round in the four last World Cups and a fifth trip is very possible. Le Celeste (Uruguay) and Bafana Bafana (South Africa) are the outsiders in this group, but one of them will probably advance if Mexico drops a game.
Game to Watch: South Africa vs. France: 12 years ago, World Cup Hosts France defeated South Africa 3-0. If South Africa can pull off a win or at least a tie, it will spell trouble for France's hopes of advancing.

Group B. 1st Greece (13) 2nd Argentina (8) 3rd Nigeria (22) 4th Korea Republic (52)
Argentina is full of big names, but recently they have not been able to translate it into wins. Nigeria, on the other hand lacks the depth it had in its last World Cup outings. Greece is the only team in this group that was impressive in qualifying, and the Euro 2004 champions should advance at the top of the group.
Game to watch: Argentina vs. Nigeria: These teams will both be battling for second place; the first game of Group B will decide which will advance.

Group C. 1st England (9) 2nd USA (14) 3rd Algeria (26) 4th Slovenia (31)
England is overwhelmingly the favorite to win here, and the USA actually now has the depth and experience to advance to the second stage this time around. Both Algeria and Slovenia barely squeezed into the cup, but they will looking take advantage of every oppurtunity the English-speaking favorites give them.
Game to Watch: England vs. USA: The USA is a better team than it was when they upset England in the 1990 World Cup. This is England's toughest match in the group if they lose, will not take 1st Place.

Group D. 1st Germany (6) 2nd Australia (21) 3rd Ghana (34) 4th Serbia (21)
One of the tougher groups in this cup, Germany will be looking to win, but all three of the other teams will be realistically aiming for 2nd Place. All of the teams in this group finished in 1st place in their respective qualifying groups.
Game to Watch: Any, really.

Group E. 1st Netherlands (3) 2nd Cameroon (11) 3rd Japan (43) 4th Denmark (28)
Netherlands won all their games in qualification, but against teams like Norway, and Scotland. Both Denmark and Japan had solid qualifying campaigns, but look to highly ranked Cameroon to advance.
Game to Watch: Netherlands vs. Denmark: Denmark has won five of the last six encounters with The Netherlands, who had an extremely easy qualification group and will have to prove they can win against a World Cup opponent

Group F. 1st Italy (4) 2nd Paraguay (29) 3rd Slovakia (33) 4th New Zealand (82)
Italy is looking to win the cup again, and will probably not drop any games here, while Paraguay has a talented squad that finished with ten wins in qualification. Slovakia, competing for the first time not as Czechoslovakia, and New Zealand, absent since 1982, are the outsiders.
Game to Watch: Italy vs. Paraguay: The group favorites play in the opening match, and the losers will face pressure from Paraguay.

Group G. 1st Brazil (2) 2nd Cote d'Ivoire (16) 3rd Portugal (5) 4th Korea DPR (86)

Brazil should win this extremely tough group, and Cote d'Ivoire should also advance, unless Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) can make a difference. Korea DPR was lucky to make into the tournament and unless they can bring back the power that led them to the quater-finals in 1966, should make an early exit.

Game to Watch: Portugal vs. Korea DPR: In 1966 Korea DPR led 3-0 in a match against Portugal before giving up five goals. If Korea DPR can beat or even tie Portugal, the Portuguese will not advance.

Group H. 1st Spain (1) 2nd Chile (15) 3rd Switzerland (18) 4th Honduras (37)
Spain, #1 in the world, will advance without complication. It is then up to Chile and Switzerland to fight for 2nd place. Honduras does not have the wealth of talent of the other teams, but is no pushover at this level.
Game to Watch: Chile vs. Switzerland: Whoever wins here will probably get 2nd Place.

Links:
Matchlist: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html
Tournament Bracket: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/kostage.html
Calendar: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/calendar.html

Exceptional and Extraordinary: Avatar

by Niti

As we look out and around we see technology improve at an astonishing speed, making what seemed impossible a reality. To close out the decade, Avatar, a highly anticipated movie with exceptional graphics was released in December of 09. Although the movie lacked star power, it was directed by a widely known director, James Cameron. The Canadian Film director has a spectacular resume, as his works includes The Terminator starring the current governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

As James Cameron’s reputation in the cinematography proves he is worthy of great works in art. He surely did not disappoint the world with his latest creation. Avatar takes place in the year of 2154 on a moon called Pandora, where humans are mining for a precious mineral for a source of energy. A vast amount of the precious minerals called unobtainium is located in a tree called the “Tree of Souls” where the native population of Pandora resides in. In order for humans to interact with the native population known as the Na’vi, they must use genetically engineered bodies as the humans are unable to breathe the air in Pandora. As the humans are on the mission to exploit the unbotainium, they are forced to destroy parts of the Pandorian ecosystem, and the Na’vi resist the expansion of the humans. Even though warned by a researcher that if they were to destroy the “Tree of Souls”, they would as a result destroy the entire ecosystem of Pandora as the ecosystem is interconnected, the head of the military unit chooses otherwise and goes forward his plan in search for unobtainium.

Avatar has a very intriguing yet complicated story line, but that simply is not the reason for the vast amount of praise for this dazzling and exceptional work of art. With a budget of 237 million dollars, it is truly a work of beauty. The Pandorian ecosystem is exceptionally stunning and striking with colors unthinkable and unimaginable and the landscape is simply extraordinary, as the floating mountain were inspired by the Chinese Mount Huang which is huge tourist attraction in China. The organisms in Pandora seem to be a mix of the many creatures we see today. The organisms themselves seem so real due to the exceptional graphics, and the addition of 3-D effects simply makes this film a must see.

To date, Avatar has reported 5.54 million dollars in United States alone and has grossed in 1.859 billion dollars internationally making it the the highest grossing of all time in the world. Cameron’s Avatar overtook his other brilliant piece of work Titanic, which was the highest grossing of all time which was released in 1997 and grossed 1.844 billion dollars. However, Avatar sill needs another $45 million to beat the Titanic’s domestic gross of $600 million, which is predicted to be accomplished in the next two weeks. Avatar has been number one at the box office for six weeks since its release, and won a Golden Globe earlier this month for Best Picture, Drama. A few reports have also said that Cameron has in fact confirmed the possibility of a sequel to Avatar.

Avatar has impressed the world with its exceptional and extraordinary graphics and 3D effects. However, it just maybe only a preview to what the Cinematography industry has to show us. Be prepared to be dazzled once more.

The Decade’s Top Ten Influential Moments in America!

by Abin

As everyone is getting settled down after the excitement of a new year and a new decade, I began to think of what this previous decade gave us. This is what I came up with.

#10: Bush v. Gore

(http://cynicsparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/supporters.jpg)

The decade definitely started out with a bang. The first leader of the United States of America in the 21^st century was to be decided by this election. It certainly wasn’t the simplest presidential election in American history. The Florida recount was the hurdle that stood in the way of one of these men. Eventually, the Supreme Court settled the issue and Bush was elected president. However, the Florida recount still stands as one of the most controversial reelection processes. Maybe, this was a sign that this decade wouldn’t exactly be a smooth ride.

#9: The New England Patriots

(http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2006/01/10/1136936399_5724.jpg)

The patriots definitely were the team of the decade. It’s a title that they very well deserve. Tom Brady led his tem to four super bowl appearances and won 3 of them and being the second team to ever do so in just four years. These achievements don’t exactly influence the world as some of the other events in this list have but they certainly awe any football fan.

#8: Bugatti Veyron

(http://www.dragtimes.com/images/10048-2006-Bugatti-Veyron.jpg)

At a top speed of 255 mph, over a 1000 horsepower, and a 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds, this car broke barriers that people deemed unbreakable. It did the same as what the internet did to communication, what the television did to media coverage, what the invention of guns did to modern warfare. It is a huge engineering milestone, a concord of precision and beauty. There will be others that perform better but none of them would have been possible if it wasn’t for the Veyron.

#7: Michael Jackson

(https://www.stanford.edu/group/ic/cgi-bin/drupal2/files/thriller-michael-jackson.jpg)

The death of the “King of pop” certainly took everyone by surprise. He was a true legend and a music icon. He influenced the world in a way that no entertainer ever has. He will forever live on through his music.

#6: Natural disasters

(http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/usa/Images/hurricane-katrina-category-5.jpg)

2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake: This earthquake created a tsunami that killed nearly 230,000 people. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters recorded in history.

2005 Hurricane Katrina: One of the biggest natural disasters that have ever hit the United States hit New Orleans, Louisiana the hardest on the 29^th of August in 2009. The hurricane left at least 1,836 dead and thousands homeless.

#5: Our oldest ancestor: Ardi

(http://manhattangathering.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/ardi_ar_ar.jpeg)

In 2009, scientists found a nearly complete skeleton of Ardipithecus ramidus or simply “Ardi”. Ardi overtook Lucy as our oldest ancestor. Ardi is 4.4 million years old. Scientists have concluded that Ardi could walk on two legs and was a skilled tree climber. This clearly is a great find towards discovering the true nature of our ancestors.

#4: Swine flu pandemic

(http://topinews.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/what-is-swine-flu.jpg)

The outbreak started in the state of Veracruz, Mexico but soon became a worldwide epidemic. It became one of the biggest concerns in peoples’ minds. How to avoid it? What are the symptoms? A panic rose through out the world. People were right to panic as it resulted in over 14,000 deaths worldwide.

#3: Global warming

(http://commonsenseatheism.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/polar-bear.jpg)

This decade has been the warmest on record. Scientists had expected melting of the glaciers but nothing of this magnitude. The environment proved to be one of the biggest concerns of this decade. The rising seas due to the melting glaciers make cities more and more vulnerable to extreme flooding. This was definitely not just a concern in this decade but also for many more years to come unless we do something.

#2: 9/11

(http://www.analogartsensemble.net/blog/2087.jpg)

Disaster! One of the worst days in American history took place this decade. September 11, 2001 is a day that no American will forget. 2,973 people died when 19 Al-Qaeda members hijacked four commercials airplanes and crashed two into the twin towers in New York City and one into the pentagon. One of the hijacks failed and crashed on a field in Pennsylvania through the brave efforts of the passengers on that flight. Many died and the tragedy left this nation scarred. However, it really showed Americans what they were made of. We united and set aside our differences for a common goal, a goal to fight and end terrorism.

#1: Yes we can!

(http://media.photobucket.com/image/obama%20for%20president/collegeboy2009/BarackObama.jpg)

This event really speaks for itself and what it means. Not a many decades ago, African-Americans were discriminated against and were victims of cruel police brutality. Now, an African-American is the president of that very nation. The day that Barack Obama was elected president of the United States, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. finally realized the full extent of his dreams. This was the sort of equality that Abraham Lincoln had pictured when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation. We found out that day that America really is the land of opportunities and the land of the free.

Advanced Placement vs. International Baccalaureate

by Steven

With two outstanding college-level programs of classes to take, Arlington students are often forced to choose between College Board’s Advanced Placement (AP) program and the IB program of international studies.

Here are a few key differences:

• The AP program allows far more class choices and is far lessconstricting than the IB. For example, the IB rigidly requires candidates to complete at least one class in each of six areas during the last two years of high school, where the AP program allows students to pick and choose which courses they do and do not want to take.
  
  
• The IB program includes internal and external testing throughout the school year, including oral exams and essays, in addition to the final end-of-the-year test. This means additional work for students, but it also means that they receive additional feedback and it decreases stress for final exams.
  
  
• In terms of college credit, AP is still the safest choice. Most colleges recognize and reward AP exam scores of 4 and 5 (out of a total of five points) while most colleges only give credit for IB higher level classes, which are typically a year longer than their AP equivalents.
  
  
• The IB program is more holistic than AP, including a requirement that students write a 4,000 words extended essay in their senior year. This essay is beneficial in that it provides students with experience in writing research papers for college, but that benefit is usually lost due to the thoughtless timing of the essay as students are required to piece together the essay at around the same time they are struggling to complete college applications.
  
  
• Additionally, IB, unlike the AP program, requires students to complete (and arduously document) 150 hours of Creativity, Action, and Service hours (CAS). While it seems alovely idea to harness the energy of high achieving students to something in addition to academic work, in reality the average IB and AP student will complete far more than 150 hours of sports and clubs during their time in high school, meaning that the only real effect of CAS is to create hours of work to complete the often-bureaucratic documentation.
  
  
• Finally, teachers in both programs are often comparable, and usually teachers will teach both an AP and an IB class. In terms of students, the IB program seems to have a slightly higher proportion of high-achieving students. This is mostly because teachers and administrators tend to push advanced classes of younger students to complete the IB program, not always for the right reasons – the IB program usually involves students taking more tests, which carries state incentives and the promise of a higher ranking for the high school.

Overall, it seems that perhaps a mixture of IB and AP classes would best serve the typical advanced student in terms of college credit and class selection. Those considering the full IB diploma should carefully consider what they want from advanced courses before they undergo a program that involves significantly more pointless work than the AP while providing less recognition for that work from colleges.

For information on these programs, visit:
http://www.ibo.org/
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html

Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, VA offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. Visit their site for further information.

Book Review: The Manga Shakespeare Series

Hate Shakespeare? Love manga? Consider Manga Shakespeare

by Alison

If you’ve ever had to yawn your way through a Shakespeare play, you’re not alone. It can be difficult to get through for multiple reasons, reading aloud in English class in dead monotone being a chief killer. Besides that is the language, which is not only 400 years old but also mostly in rhyming, metered poetry to boot. But the biggest hurdle is that most readers don’t feel connected to Shakespeare plays because they are so old and lack descriptive visual elements of popular prose. Getting worried? Never fear! A new series solves all these problems by putting Shakespeare to manga.

Manga Shakespeare is a series put out by Self Made Hero, a publishing company in the UK. They’ve put out 14 renditions so far, with six tragedies, six comedies and two histories. The Arlington Public Library system currently carries ten of them, including The Tempest, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet; I read all ten. Each book includes an introduction to the characters and setting in full color with key lines from the play, as well as a plot summary and short biography of the Bard. Most books have different illustrators, and the text is abbreviated, making for short but substantial reading – each takes about an hour to finish.

The series is obviously meant as an introduction to Shakespeare, blending original Shakespeare with a new, young art form aimed directly at teens. It’s reminiscent of the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, which has a thoroughly modern setting with original text as the dialogue. The graphic novels are less disconcerting, though, as they take multiple invented settings. Some, such as Much Ado about Nothing in 19th-century Italy, would be familiar to Shakespeare. Others are truly manga fare, edging toward fantastical history or post-apocalypse future. The styles also vary somewhat. A Midsummer Night’s Dream has the dreamiest illustrations, while Hamlet, with its bold black and white contrast, is edgy even to look at. Julius Caesar has the roughest style, while Othello wins the strange award, as many of it characters are furries.

Though I don’t usually read graphic novels, let alone manga, I enjoyed most of the series. I found manga a truly fitting art form for expressing the emotion and drama of the plays, especially for witty scenes with verbal dueling. But the illustrations also detracted sometimes – the Julius Caesar style was especially confusing, while Othello’s furries were thoroughly distracting. Some of the settings were also distracting, if not completely irrelevant; as someone who knew the plot of most of the adaptations I read, the futuristic settings were unnecessary and seemed like a blatant attempt at garnering interest. The texts were easier to read than the full plays, though rather less adequate for the tragedies, which proved dense and confusing.

Overall, though, the books were alternately delightful and riveting. The adaptations made the plays more understandable and enjoyable by adding emotion, actions and faces for the characters. I can’t speak for manga fans, but Shakespeare die-hards should find this series a wonderful blend of the Bard’s brilliance and manga’s intensity of expression.

Express Yourself: Through Poetry

All About My Life Poem

By: Anonymous

My tears sting, as they fall off my cheek

The feeling of the weight of the world on my shoulders crushes me

No room for air, my lungs longing for a breath

That feeling only caused by my mother’s words of insult

They hurt me; they cut deeply into my heart

Only those that come from her lips can feel so sharp and painful

I escape to the only light that keeps me warm

When I am left alone and cold, my friends, and my niece,

They make me smile, they make hope blossom in my heart

They are the twinkle in my eyes

They help me up when I’m down, and keep me going

When I want to give up and for that my love

For them overflows inside me

But when I can’t speak my mind, I spill my emotions and my thoughts

On paper, like magic, I go to a different world with my pencil as a wand

What I couldn’t say, what I couldn’t show is then known

When I write, I break the chains that bond me to reality

But in my reality there’s more night than day, more sad than happy

For my dad has tainted my life and poisoned my soul with such anger and hate

That I could not bare, that drove me away and made me fear change

But that time has past, it has gone with the wind, lost in the ocean

Never to be felt again

I’m becoming someone new, someone better, who’s going to shine as bright as the sun

And be all that I can and want

New Moon, the Movie: One Fan's View

By Niti

November 20, 2009 was the premiere of New Moon, the second installment in the Twilight Saga Film series, and also the sequel to the movie Twilight. Twilight and New Moon are both a part of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series. Twilight, the novel, was first released in 2005 after being rejected numerous times, but once released it became an immediate best seller. The noveldebuted #5 on The New York Times Best Seller List but in later months rose to #1. After tremendous success, a movie adaptation of the novel was released in November of 2008 which grossed in more than 382 million dollars worldwide. After much success in the box office, New Moon was called for a film adaptation.

Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner take stage in the Twilight Saga Series, who portray Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and Jacob Black respectively. At the end of the Twilight, Edward Cullen rescues Bella Swan by sucking the venom from her blood; the story ends peacefully when Edward takes Bella to prom. On the other hand, New Moon is more centered toward how Edward leaves Bella, and in turn Bella becomes closer to Jacob Black. Both Twilight and New Moon just have this touch of romance that tends to touch the heart of the audience whether you’re reading the novel or watching the movie.

Personally, I’m a fan, I must confess. However, I’m not a big one. The overall picture of the Bella and Edward relationship is very entertaining and sweet in my opinion. This series reminds me much of William Shakespeare infamous tragedy Romeo and Juliet, which is by far one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. Through my eyes, these two pieces of literature have many similarities since both stories have the lovers from different worlds, danger is present when the lovers are together and lastly society keeps them apart. Twilight and New Moon are simply a more modern version of Romeo and Juliet, just adapted to fit more to the current time frame. Both are marvelous pieces of literature, thus both have resulted in tremendous success. Through conversation with my friends, I feel as if I keep on hearing that they enjoyed New Moon more than Twilight. However, almost all of them failed to answer why they felt that way. It seems as if they just liked the continuation of the tale, and simply just the romance and obstacles that Edward and Bella endure. Even though the acting in the movie was not spectacular, the plot of the story seemed to override that fact. Overall, it was a well rounded movie, although in my opinion the book was better in numerous ways like it always seems to be.

In terms of the box office, New Moon has showed great success as the box office as it set records as the biggest midnight show with $26.3 million. It also set the biggest single-day opening in the U.S.A with $67.2 million beating The Dark Knight. At the end of the opening weekend, New Moon grossed in $142,839,137 domestically which is the third highest opening weekend only behind The Dark Knight and Spider-Man 3. Internationally, the New Moon grossed in $247.9 million which is the 6th highest worldwide weekend opening total.

In all, the Twilight Saga has been quite successful as it has a wide fan base, not only in the United States but worldwide as well. This ongoing saga continues with the premiere of the third installment in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn on June 30th 2010!