Ms Emily Goes To The Movies

What better way to open up the topic section then with Ms Emily's first review as a High School Student, assuming she passed.

Superman Returns
Review by Emily Trosprel 9th Grade BHHS
Senior Entertainment Editor

Return he does and with quite a bang in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns- a sequel of sorts to Superman and Superman II made more then twenty years ago. It may have been over two decades since the Man of Steel was last on the big screen, but in the movie his absence has lasted only five years. After spending that time searching the remains of his planet Krypyon, Superman (Brandon Routh) along with his second identity Clark Kent return to Earth and finds just how many changes there have been. One of the most devastating for him is that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), who is now a Pulitzer Prize winner for her piece "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman”, has moved on and gotten herself a young son and fiancé. However that’s only one of the hero’s troubles for the moment because Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is out of jail and at his nefarious schemes again. This one involves, you guessed it, world domination, and you guessed it again, only Superman can stop him.

Director Bryan Singer’s reverence towards Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman is obvious from the start. We are immediately treated to John Williams' score from the original, the familiar swooshing opening credits, and borrowed footage of the late Marlon Brando as Jor-El. Then there’s also the fact of Brandon Routh's resemblance to Christopher Reeve. On the matter of Routh, he has perhaps one of the hardest jobs which is recreating the role of the Man of Steel himself. Routh certainly doesn’t fail and brings believability to both the mild-mannered Clark Kent and the heroic Superman. The rest of the cast is a mixed bag. While Kevin Spacey seems to revel in the evil nature of Lex, Kate Bosworth lacks any real pizzazz as Lois. At 23 years old in real life she also looks too young to be either the mother of a five year old son or a plausible Pulitzer Prize winner. The special effects are as spectacular as anyone would expect, and in a way the same could be said for the movie. However, as sleek and beautiful as it is, Superman Returns can’t quite call itself perfect. We’ll just have to wait for the inevitable sequels.

Three and a half stars out of four for Superman Returns

Its Only A Couple of Weeks

So don't let this area become another Indiana while the topic section is under repair. Hoosiers don't have a place where you can call your neighbor an idiot without reprecussions. They have to resort to old fashion hand painted signs to express their feelings for their fellow citizens. More

Notice: Topics Closed For Repairs

Will be shutting down the comment section till July 1st. The duct tape holding the database together is starting to wear down. You will still be able to read just not comment. Have to shut it down to make necessary repairs and our underage illegal immigrant workers who once toiled tirelessly (as immigrants should) deep in the belly of the beast are too worried about the federal crack down to do any serious work. We managed to hire the only escapees from Red China that are bad at math and spelling.

Beyond Hysteria

A Wall Street Journal article The Brain Workout- In Praise of Video games
OpinionJournal - Taste: "The truth is, critics are often ignorant of the moral universe of video games--violent games included. Yes, the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto series, in which the gamer plays a criminal on the make in the big city, is pretty amoral. But most violent games put the player in a familiar hero's role, notes Judge Richard Posner in a 2001 Seventh Circuit appeals-court decision overturning an Indianapolis anti-video-game ordinance. 'Self-defense, protection of others, dread of the 'undead,' fighting against overwhelming odds--these are the age-old themes of literature, and ones particularly appealing to the young,' Mr. Posner observes"

Just Because You Maybe Getting A Little Older

Doesn't mean you can't have fun at the expense of some young whippersnapper.

Ninento For Physical Education Classes

Just get up off the couch and dance.
West Virginia schools use dance video game in gym class

The Invasion Of Philadelphia

(click for larger picture)

Don't Give Up On Science Over The Summer

Woot : Wednesday Web Woundup!:
"Hey, did you know that science isn't just good for boring things like curing disease and exploring space? It's true. It also comes in handy when you want to recreate Las Vegas's famous Bellagio fountain using nothing but Diet Coke & Mentos (or execute any number of other tricks with this explosive combination). Science is your friend when you want to cook an omelet in a baggie. Camera-toting bird-whisperer Richard Attenborough has long been known as one of the world's most entertaining scientific-type dudes, and his fans selected this awesome clip of the lyrebird as their favorite moment from his many documentaries. Listen in awe as this ground-dwelling Aussie bird mimics other birds in the forest, along with a camera shutter, a camera motor, a car alarm, and the chainsaws of some nearby lumberjacks. See, science can bring the thrills, too, even if these links don't justify all those hours you sat mystified in high-school chemistry. "

Feteing Fifes

Brandywine Heights Fife and Drum Leads off the Fete Days Festival at Elfreth's Alley in Philadelphia ....America's oldest residential street this Saturday at Noon.

Call ahead for tickets $15.00 or $25.00 on Saturday limited to the first 1,000 people. Ticket price includes food, private home and garden tours, music and demonstrations.

Visit their website for further information.

According to Wikipedia a Fete comes from the French meaning festival or party. In England it is widely used as an outdoor show with a variety of activities.

The Carpenters would be considered excessive force

Daggy Music To Clear Out HoonsSick and tired of souped-up cars with loud engines and pulsing music? Barry Manilow may be the answer.
Officials in one Sydney district have decided to pipe the American crooner's music over loudspeakers in an attempt to rid streets and car parks of hooligans whose anti-social cars and loud music annoy residents and drive customers from businesses.

Following a successful experiment where Bing Crosby music was used to drive teenage loiterers out of an Australian shopping center several years ago, Rockdale councilors believe Manilow is so uncool it might just work.
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Could have a lot of potential here but the ACLU would get involved.

Guess We Missed Devil Day 6/6/6

PREGNANT women concerned their children would be born on the same date as the devil's number, 6/6/06, have been put at ease by claims from a priest that the date has in fact already passed.

Dr Leonard said mothers-to-be should ignore the date, because when Christianity took over the Roman calendar, in the 4th Century, the monk who compiled the dates got it wrong.

"We assume that Satan knows that the sixth day of the sixth month in 06 was in fact the 6th June 2002," Dr Leonard said.

More

Now maybe the monk got the date right and Satan has just tried to confuse the mind of man with all this modern calculations and science stuff. If it is true then some kindergarten teacher is going to have a lot of trouble very soon.

But Can They Can Stay Awake

My Way News - Robots Help Hospitalized Students Keep Up

"VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) - Lying in his hospital room, on a mattress designed to protect his fragile skin, 13-year-old Achim Nurse poked his bandaged fingers at an orange button on what looked like a souped-up video game console.

Half a second later, in a social studies class discussing the Erie Canal, a 5-foot-tall steel-blue robot raised its hand. 'You have a question, Achim?' said the teacher.

Achim is using a pair of robots - one, called 'Mr. Spike,' at his bedside, and its mate, 'Mrs. Candy,' in the classroom - to keep up with his schoolwork and his friends for the months he will be bedridden at Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, just north of New York City."

Now we need robot teachers. One carbon based employee could monitor the actions of several of them. Just program them with dry lectures, bad jokes. Imagine the possibilities.

Very Addictive Puzzles

Fun for all ages with these puzzle pages . Just don't blame me if you lose your entire Sunday trying to unravel them.All are solvable by mouse clicking and dragging with a little keyboard.
typing. Very well done without the gliches normally associated with these programs. One tiny little problem there are no instructions but real men don't RFM anyway.

Puzzles like these could be used in schools to enforce critical thinking.

Also a good use of Flash technology instead of creating those annoying introduction pages and advertisments.

WTD

OK what do you do with paper clips in a paperless office? The first thing that comes to mind is probably not building weapons of tiny destruction, even if it does look cooler then grits.

The Office supplies trebuchet: "Bored at work? Build your own 3' trebuchet out of paperclips and throw balls of blu-tac up to an amazing 4 feet. "

OK kids summer is almost don't blow it now by building one of these in schools, wouldn't be prudent. Don't think you can get away with claiming it as a history project.