Alex Rodriguez- Journalism II- Editor in Chief

All Editors MUST comment back to this by 5/27/08

May 27, 2008 · 3 Comments

The Beachcomber’s final issue will have an editorial based on the vandalism that has occured in the school recently. I need to know what you guys think about this issue. Any raging thoughts, sources of information you think I should go for, anything you think would complete the piece, let me know!!! Please comment back with specific ideas (ie, not “talk to sidener”). Keep in mind that this editorial represents the Editorial Staff as a whole, so the majority opinion will rule.

 

Please be prompt!

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Pay no attention to this

May 20, 2008 · 1 Comment

Iron Man

 

            Iron man, the Marvel super hero has flown out of the comics and into the movies!        The movie came out May 3nd and was expected to wow the crowds with its run time of 2 hours 6minutes and budget of $135 million. It all starts off with billionaire and genius weapons technician Tony Starks [played by Robert Downey Jr.] being escorted in military hummers and is bombarded [with own weaponry] and kidnapped by terrorists in Afghanistan. BOOM!!! Then the director tries to be cute and has a 36 hour flash back in which Tony is awarded an award but he plays craps instead, meats Christine Everhart [played by Leslie Bibb] whom which he has a sexy make out session with at his crazy pad with the mind of a computer who becomes Tony’s assistant when he is iron man! Tony, after his wonderful night, travels to Afghanistan to unleash his latest weapon…the Jericho missile, which is a bunch of super powered missiles in one that resemble Armageddon [special effects kicked ass in this scene, u felt the whole room shake and u saw the massive power able to push the army men from like 1000ft away in distance].

The terrorist see it and kidnap tony so that they can acquire the deadly weapon for themselves. He is then stuffed in a cave in which Dr. Ho Yinsen [played by Shoun Toub] is his fellow captive which ties him to a battery to make an electro magnet preventing shards of metal (from previous terrorist explosion) to reach his heart. With his stay in the terrorist land he sees that Raza [played by Faran Tahir who kidnapped Tony] has a bunch of his weaponry and he realizes he is not protecting people but harming them. Tony sparks an idea to make a mini “arch reactor” [fictional power source that Tony created at a much larger scale and in a lab not in a cave]. Raza gives Tony and the doc all the weapons they need and with they make Tony the reactor to keep the metal from his heart and to power his make shift iron man suit! In the process Dr. Ho dies but he avenges him by destroying all STARK INTERPRISE weaponry and getting home.

Press conference and some dialog which includes Tony’s decision to stop making weapons. Instead he begins work on a new sleeker iron man suit made not of iron but of titanium alloys that are super strong and can support a tanks missile, demonstrated when he goes back to Afghanistan to whoop some tushy. That was iron mans first mission, to

 

Sweeney Final

                Sweeney Todd has been a British boogeyman since the time of the penny dreadful, a term for 19th century fiction.  In 1973, a British playwright named Christopher Bond wrote the first play adaptation of Sweeney Todd. Instead of making Sweeney the murderous, soulless creature that he was portrayed as in the past, he was given a motive; revenge. This is where the modern story of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was born.

                Having seen Bond’s play, playwright Stephen Sondheim and author Hugh Wheeler adapted the story to Broadway in 1979.  Starring Len Cariou as Todd and legend Angela Lansbury as Mrs.Lovette, the play was an immediate success. Cariou’s voice carried throughout the theatre and Lansbury’s dramatic acting delighted all who saw the play. The entire performance was enhanced by how the audience was laughing nervously as Mrs.Lovette dealt with the cadavers…while singing. The play won eight Tony’s (the Pulitzer for plays and musicals) along with many other awards.

                In the true chain of music, director Tim Burton was inspired by Sondheim’s adaptation of Sweeney Todd. In December 2007, Burton released Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street starring Johnny Depp as Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett. In this adaptation, Todd is a quiet, brooding character and the whole dark comedy of the story has been dulled. Incomparable to the original Broadway play, the movie was a success in its own genre, that of Hollywood.

                Beside small details, the show was amazing. The whole set did not change.  What was there in the beginning stayed there until the end?  Each part of the set was used for various purposes, from a chair to a chariot. The actors’ voices were boisterous and carried to the back of the balcony.

                What differentiated the movie from the play were the very small details. Like Johanna’s apparent insanity and Sweeney’s humanity. Johanna seemed very eager to move away and to kill Turpin. Sweeney laughed and joked, he groped Mrs.Lovette, something that wasn’t even insinuated in the movie.  The Beadle had a more developed character and Lovette was insane. She would laugh and make these wisecracks that weren’t supposed to be laughed at.

                The one thing that differentiates this play from the others is that the actors are the orchestra. Each actor plays at least two instruments, they are right in front of the audience, playing their instruments. The piano player switches as each one plays his part and goes back.

                The play certainly requires imagination as the set is generic and a multi-purpose set. The actors talk to each other while facing the screen. The table was used as a chair, a stage and so many things that it was hard to follow at times. The subtle references to rising power, like a change in costume, alerted viewers to the progression of the story.

                It is definitely a show to see. The story line is morbid, tragic and shows the ignored side of humanity. The story of Sweeney Todd is definitely one that will survive for a very long time.

 

 

&&&&&&&&& MBRC winners article

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Reflection (4th Quarter)TBC

May 20, 2008 · Leave a Comment

It is finally the last quarter of the 2007-2008 school year and here I am being asked to write my final reflection piece for the class. It has been an eventful year yet I am glad that summer is on the rise. I did not think that we would all be able to pull off a third issue, yet as it seems to be coming along, it looks like it’ll be pulled off. My year

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for weiss

May 12, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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Weight Watchers

May 8, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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the editorial startssss

April 18, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Editorial Topic: State-wide budget cuts

 

Deadline: ?

 

To gather information, I’ll need to interview people who have specific background knowledge about the topic in question.  Two people who know specific facts about this topic are:

 

First Person’s Name: Alberto Carvalho (assoc. Superintendant for intergovernmental affairs) 305-995-2532, UTD (Coach Sims), School Board Member- Martin Karp, elected state legislature- Dan Gel (or maybe Commissioner Richard L. Steinberg).           

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this didn’t take long at all……..

March 27, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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Edited Editorial

March 27, 2008 · Leave a Comment

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Around the World w/ Alex Rodriguez Issue 2

March 26, 2008 · Leave a Comment

around-the-world-with-arod-issue-2.doc

 I tried to make them a short as possible.

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School’s Outs

March 25, 2008 · Leave a Comment

alex-julia-easy-way-out.doc

ummmmmm, does julia get credit on this? you guys decide

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