The Budget

Maddie & Mara’s rediscovering Lawrence: psychics

emagerl — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:31:47 +0000

“Apple, sacred fruit of the Goddess, With this gift, I do caress
The pimple that brought me shame. I banish this zit in your name.”

In case you were wondering, we just cast a witch spell on you. You can thank us for your clear skin later.

This is the sort of stuff we saw at the Village Witch store in North Lawrence, 311 N. 2nd St. We parked in a sketchy gravel parking lot behind the building. Maddie was perturbed by the sign that read “Unaccompanied under 18 are welcome if they are carrying a $100 bill.” Maddie took this quite literally.

No worries though, we got in just fine. The staff was friendly and helpful and answered our questions when we asked them.

The first thing Maddie saw was a cloak, which gave her the heebie jeebies. Mara didn’t notice the cloak and went to look at the rocks. There were tables and tables covered with bowls of rocks. The rocks are believed to have special properties such as health and wealth. There were also rocks for each astrological sign. In addition to the special properties, the rocks are believed to be alive. We found a sign that read “Play with the rocks, they love that!”

Ha.

OK, so we kept looking around and we started to find this stuff pretty interesting. We found a witch starter kit that included: candle holders, a wand, mortar and pestle, altar tile, salt cellar, book, altar cloth, charcoal tongs, charcoal, bells and a chalice censer.

All we needed to do was buy the kit and we were well on our way to becoming legit witches!

We went to the bookshelf next and perused the shelves. The majority of the books were spellbooks, duh, and some other books just about being a witch. We flipped through some of the spellbooks and found some strange stuff. But hey we were in a witch store, so what do you expect?

Maddie was fascinated by the wands we found. They were locked up in a display case. The wands looked fragile and were fairly expensive. We also found brooms for sale. It felt like we had stepped into the world of Harry Potter.

Probably one of the neatest things we found was an altar in the corner. It was pretty much a bunch of random objects such as keys, candy, stuffed animals, etc. We’re not one hundred perfect positive but we believe that you leave behind an item at the altar to receive prayers and blessings.
Anyway, we enjoyed our time in the Village Witch a lot more than we thought we would. We were impressed with how many different products they carried, but the store seemed a bit cluttered and disorganized. The staff was friendly though. Bonus: it smelled really good in the store.

Overall Grade: A-

OK, so later that night we visited the Metaphysical Psychic Shop on Massachusetts Street. It was interesting to say the least.

It took us several attempts and awkward phone conversations with the psychic to get an appointment. Maybe it was her psychic abilities that made her socially awkward? I guess we’ll never know.

Anyway, we went to her shop only to discover that the door was locked. Huh? So we knocked and knocked and finally she answered the door. We were greeted by her little fluffy dog. The dog was more friendly than she was. We sat on the couch and waited while she prepared herself.

Finally, she came in and asked what reading we wanted to have done. We told her we wanted a palm reading ($35 per person). Mara got up and Maddie asked if she could come along. The psychic curtly told Maddie that readings are private and she couldn’t come along. This made us super uncomfortable.

Mara was led into a tiny back room. She sat opposite of the psychic. Her little dog sat by her feet.
The psychic asked her to lay her hands on her legs facing upward. She asked Mara to think of two wishes and tell her one of them. Then the reading began.

The psychic told Mara lots of things, some which seemed to fit her and others which did not. She incorporated Mara’s wish into her reading. The psychic also asked questions throughout the reading. Our general impression was that she used the wish and questions you answered to make the reading fit you better.

While Mara was in the back room with the psychic, Maddie was unsure of what to do. Downtown shoppers frequently looked through the psychic store building and were surprised to see someone in there. Apparently, no one ever goes in that building. She browsed through some magazines and took the opportunity to take some creeper pictures. It felt like an eternity but finally, Mara was done.

When the reading was over, the psychic asked if Maddie was getting a reading done also. Maddie made an executive decision from the look on Mara’s face when she was done, and said NO WAY.

Mara isn’t supposed to tell you what happened during her reading, but we’ll tell you this: Mara is going to have a very lucky week at the end of July.

Of course I just told you that, so now it’s not going to happen. Dang.

Overall Grade: C

xoxo
Mara and Maddie

Mass Effect: video game review

emagerl — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:29:48 +0000

Storyline: Mass Effect 3 is the final act to the Commander Shepard’s story arc. In part three, the malignant space machines known to galactic civilization as the reapers, have returned from dark space to harvest all organic life. Earth has been taken and the rest of the galaxy may soon follow. As Commander Shepard your task is to unite the galaxy under one banner while dodging landmines, literal and political, in order to retake Earth. Mass Effect 3 continues the series staple of importing save-games from the previous title in order to change the storyline. Unfortunately the majority of these decisions have no real effect on the finale’s story. Characters that may have died in a previous game are simply replaced with random no-name characters, and in the worst case scenario characters only briefly reference past decisions. Despite these unfortunate design choices, fans may want to play the game twice in order to get the full experience, that is if they can suffer through the ending. Mass Effect 3’s story is enthralling up until the last half hour in which the story seems to be a bit of an afterthought. The ending feels as though it was mocked up at the last minute with its numerous plot holes, deus ex machina plot device, and lack of closure.

Gameplay: The Mass Effect series has always teetered between the RPG genre and third person action leaving one side favored more than the other. Mass Effect 3 leans more toward third person action, but is the most balanced in the series. Shepard is far more agile in the third game with the ability to dodge during firefights. Shepard is also far better at moving in and out of cover. One issue that arises from these enhanced controls is an overtasked A button. The mechanics of Mass Effect’s combat has changed as well. All weapons that Shepard acquires have a weight and this weight controls the cooldowns for powers. The lighter the weapons Shepard carries the faster Shepard’s powers regenerate.

Presentation: The textures and character models show little improvement over those in Mass Efffect 2. The overall art design of the game remains the strongest part of the visual presentation as it was in the previous games in the trilogy. The lighting system still has a tendency to black out characters faces in and overuse the lens flare effect. The scope of the battles and their size have been increased over the previous entries in the trilogy but the universe is at its most constrained in this entry it continues to limit the focus of the game from the open worlds that could be explored in the first game to the scanning of planets in the second the focus has narrowed and as a result the game has a smaller and more polished experience presented.

Spring sports see new coaches

emagerl — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:27:28 +0000

LHS has found itself at the beginning of its spring sports season.
Along with the new season, teams also have a few new faces joining the teams.
This year LHS has a gained a several new coaches. The school has a new girls’ soccer coach, softball coach, swimming assistant coach, and diving coach.
For the soccer girls, this isn’t a new experience though.
“This is [the team’s] 3rd coach in 3 years.” New Head Varsity girls’ soccer coach Janna Kepler said.
Kepler has coached swimming, soccer, and basketball for several years. But her true passion is soccer.
“Soccer is my love,” Kepler said. “Watching the girls come together is great. Teaching the girls about soccer and seeing improvements is even better.”
With Kepler being the third new coach for this team, there have been a few bumps in the road.
“Breaking into a new environment is always a challenge.” Kepler said, “However, when you really love what you do, the challenge is rewarding.”
The team has also faced a few difficulties with yet another new coach.
“I have a different system than previous coaches.” Kepler said, “A new coach gets a lot of ‘That’s not how we did it before.’”.
Despite these challenges, Kepler expects good things from her team.
“Our team goal this season is to communicate and to leave it all on the field.” Kepler said, “The girls know the competition in the Sunflower League. We expect wins.”
Although Kepler has only been a part of the LHS community for a short amount of time, she has enjoyed her time here.
“There is a certain energy around LHS.” Kepler said, “Not all schools have it. LHS does.”
The softball team has also had to make the adjustment of having a new coach.
“When the opportunity came up to lead another athletic program at LHS I couldn’t pass it up.” New Head Varsity softball coach Nicholas Wood said.
Wood has been a volunteer graduate assistant for Kansas State’s basketball program, assistant varsity boys basketball coach at Free State, JV boys basketball coach at Eudora, and the Head Varsity Girls Basketball Coach at LHS.
The softball team also experienced a few difficulties adjusting to a new coach.
“Anytime there is change, there are going to be some speed bumps along the way,” Wood said. “A lot of individuals are used to doing something a certain way.”
Wood himself has also had his own difficulties taking up this position. “The most difficult part about being a new coach is just figuring out all of the little things that go into making the program successful like fundraising, paperwork, bus requests, fundraising, etc.” Wood said.
Despite the difficulties, Wood expects the team to work hard and do their best. “It is my hope that at the end of the season we have maxed out our potential.” Wood said, “Time will tell where that potential lies.”
New diving coach, Mallory West, is also another coach joining LHS athletics. “Diving is a sport I am very passionate about.” West said, “It gives me tremendous joy to share my knowledge and strategies with high school students.”
West has coached gymnastics and cheerleading at LGA, and diving at both Freestate and LHS. “I started teaching diving and swimming lessons the summer of 2008 when I became a lifeguard.” West said.
The transition of becoming a new coach was fairly easy for West. “I had dove for LHS for the 2005-2008 seasons.” West said, “So I knew the sport, I knew the high school rules, and I knew LHS.”
West did however come across a few challenges. “The most difficult part about being a new coach was knowing the entire rule book for diving.” West said.
West has also been the diving referee for meets at LHS. “It is a lot of responsibility to undertake during my first season.” West said, “I have had coaches with thirty years of experience that want to challenge the calls I have made when their divers fail dives, and I have to stand behind the rule book.”
This season, West expects her team to continue to improve. “My divers will continue to improve and have a higher degree of difficulty at each meet.”
West has enjoyed coaching a team that she used to be a part of. “My favorite part of being a coach for LHS is representing the school that I love.”

How to with Kendra and Ashley: Healthy Cookies

emagerl — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:26:14 +0000

As obesity is increasingly becoming more of a concern for Americans, Many people have became concerned that their favorite sweets and treats are no longer worth the calories. However, this problem does have a solution: healthier versions of these beloved desserts.
This recipe is an excellent alternative to the empty-calories present in the chocolate chip cookies we all know and love. While certain ingredients are high in saturated fat content, substitutes were used to create a healthier version of the cookie.

In this recipe, milk chocolate is replaced by dark chocolate because of the health benefits to the heart: milk chocolate lowers high blood pressure. Almonds are a preferable alternative to peanuts because one ounce of the nuts will provide half of your necessary Vitamin E for the day. Butter is composed almost entirely of saturated fat, so it is replaced with its healthier counterpart: margarine. Although this recipe can replace the typical chocolate chip cookies for a special sweet treat, individuals should watch portion sizing to maintain a healthy diet.

How to: Make Healthy Cookies
1 cup margarine
1 cup artificial sweetener
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup egg whites
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp hot water
1 tsp salt
2 cups dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚.
Combine the margarine, artificial sweetener, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir the ingredients until the consistency is smooth.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add the vanilla in.
In hot water, stir in baking soda until it dissolves.
Next, add the baking soda and salt to the batter in the mixing bowl.
Now add in the dry ingredients: flour, chocolate chips, and nuts.
Scoop spoonfuls of the prepared batter and place them on pans. The pans should not be greased.
Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Once the cookies are ready, you may either place them on a drying rack to cool or serve them warm.
Once the cookies finished cooling, they are ready to enjoy!

Lions pull of last minute victory against crosstown rival

emagerl — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:35:23 +0000

Despite senior KJ Pritchard going on the injured list just before the game on February 24th, the Lions pulled out a victory over Free State with a last-second shot.

Junior Shane Willoughby made a layup just in time to put the Lions up 38-36.

“I was trying to draw a foul,” Willoughby said. “But the ball went in.”

Lawrence High had the ball with 5 seconds left, and took it in for a quick lay-up for the lead. Free State had no time left for another possession, and the game was over. With the victory over Free State, Lawrence High is on its way to sub-state to play Olathe East in the first round. Tip off is at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 1st at home.

“I think we’re ready,” Willoughby said. “We’re excited for Olathe East, and I think we can pull a win.”

How To With Ashley and Kendra: Braids

emagerl — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:19:59 +0000

Braids have been woven into hair for centuries, dating as far back to the fifteenth century “when braided hair was used as a means of communication, so individuals could distinguish whether someone was married, mourning, or of age for courtship,” Ayana D. Byrd and Lori L. Tharps, authors of Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair In America said. It could also indicate one’s status in society and which tribe or nation they belonged to. Men braided their long beards as well as the hair on their head. Today, men and women alike often braid their hair to make it look stylish. Provided below are some interesting and unique ways you can braid your hair.

Basic Braid

Divide your hair into three equal strands.
Hold two strands in the left hand and hold the third strand in the right hand.
Rotate your left hand at the wrist to cross the two strands one over the other, bringing the outside strand to the center.
Bring the single strand over and cross it over the middle of the two strands.
Repeat the process, bringing the outside strand of the two to the middle by rotating the wrist.
Weave the single strand on the right again into the middle of the two left strands.
Repeat this process all the way down the length of your hair.

French Braid

Separate out a section of hair where you want to begin the braid.
Section of the very top layer of your hair into three equal strands, as you would in the Basic Braid.
Take a one inch section of the hair on one of the outer sides of your braid that is not already included in your braid and add it to a section of the braid on a nearby side. Cross over these combined sections as you would in the basic braid.
Take the other outer-side of your three strand braid and again, take a one inch section of hair not already included in the braid and add it to the braid with its corresponding section.
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all your hair has been gathered into the braid.
Once you reach the nape of your neck or run out of hair to add to your braid, you can finish braiding with the technique used in the Basic Braid.
Make sure to secure the French braid with a hair tie at the end of the braid.

Dutch/ Reverse Braid

Take a section of hair from the top of your head and divide it into three equal pieces.
Continue on as if doing a French Braid, but bring the strands under the center piece rather than over.
When you have reached the nape of your neck continue with leftover hairs the Basic Braid.
Secure the hair at the end.

Fishtail Braid

Split your hair into two large sections.
Take a one inch lock of hair from the outer half of one of the sections and cross it over to the other side.
Take another one inch section of hair from the outer half of the other section that you initially divided and cross that small hair section over to the other side.
Continue steps 3 and 4 until you reach the end of your hair.
Secure the Fishtail Braid with a hair tie at the end of the braid.

Snake Braid

For this hairstyle, simply braid a small section of hair as you would in the Basic Braid and braid all the way down your hair shaft.
Take the middle section of the braid and slowly push up on the braid until the interesting braid reaches the root of your hair.
Loosen the braid so that the snake effect is evident.
Bobby pin back this braid, so that the snake shape holds throughout the day.

Headband Braid

Part your hair to one side and start the base of your braid by taking a 2-inch wide section of hair next to your ear: either your bangs or your shortest layer of hair in the front.
Braid this section as if you would in the French Braid, making sure that you are pulling tight.
Braid until you reach your ear on the other side, and braid as if you are doing the simple braid.
Secure your bangs or this small section of hair with a bobby pin.

Technology Unplugged with Weston Norris

emagerl — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:09:14 +0000

Whether you are looking for a serious tablet with a great processor and a wide variety of professional apps or one solely for entertainment purposes, each company promises that their product is the one for you. With almost every company producing a tablet to call their own, how do you choose which one to buy in the end?

If you are going into college in the next two years, tablets, as well as laptops, will become a normal sight. For some, laptops are the best option because they are mainly taking notes and writing papers, but for the others a laptop may not be enough to get the job done. For students majoring in subjects such as journalism, music or art, the tablet is revolutionizing the way students can complete projects and assignments. This still raises the question “which tablet is right for me?”

Students who are looking for tablets that can provide entertainment during downtime should look into the following:

The Amazon Kindle Fire
Pros:

This amazon branded tablet provides entertainment in the form of a 7.5 by 4.7 inch tablet.
The option to download hundreds of apps and books in the palm of your hand anywhere with a wi-fi signal.
Low price compared to other tablets.
You can download your school textbooks onto it.

Cons:

Performance is very sluggish.
The interface has some bugs.

For the price of the Kindle Fire, it is worth the money. I would not, however, recommend it to any students who are taking classes that they want to be able to use apps with. It would be great for students who want to save a little bit of extra money on books and lighten the load on their backs.

For students who are looking more into the education part of tablets, here are some products that will provide an expansion for you schooling.

Apple’s iPad 2:
Pros:

Massive amounts of memory.
Millions of apps to download, as well as movies books and music.
iTunes Connectivity.

Cons:

Very expensive.
Connectivity options only include Wi-Fi and 3G with plans.

The Apple iPad 2 provides everything the Kindle Fire has and then some. With the ability to download books and apps that are useful during classes, the iPad is an all around great choice. Despite the price and connection plans, it is well worth the $499 dollars you would be spending.

Paraguayan exchange students get a taste of Kansas

emagerl — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 18:05:11 +0000

Two students visiting LHS get to experience an American high school and the major cultural differences between Paraguay and the United States.

Traveling abroad can be both an exciting and scary experience for exchange students. They have to cope with speaking a different language, adjusting to the customs, meeting new people and even living with people they’ve never met.

But for Paraguayan exchange students Tatiana Noelscher and Amy Alvarenga, the experience has been quite enjoyable.

Noelscher and Alvarenga are both from Encarnación, Paraguay. They, along with 10 other students from Paraguay, decided to make the long trip to Lawrence.

While visiting, both girls have noticed major differences between their home town and Lawrence, one of them being fashion.

“The people in my city wear all the same thing,” Alvarenga said. “But here, the people just wear what they want, and I like that”.

The weather is another major difference the girls have noticed.

“Kansas is very beautiful,” Noelscher said. “In Paraguay we don’t know when it’s winter or summer because it’s always the same.”

The main similarity that both girls have noticed between Encarnación and Lawrence is the people.

“The people are very nice here and in Paraguay too,” Noelscher said

One difficulty Noelscher and Alvarenga both face as exchange students is speaking in a foreign language.

“You have to start speaking English, and maybe your English is not that good so you are a little shy,” Alvarenga said.

Helen Hawkins and Evelyn Morales, the host students, have found ways to help Noelscher and Alvarenga adjust to the language.

“We just speak slowly so we can understand each other,” Hawkins said.

Hawkins and Morales have also found being in Spanish five quite helpful for hosting. “Since I speak Spanish, she (Alvarenga) sometimes doesn’t know how to say a word so she’ll say it in Spanish,” Morales said.

Both the hosts and exchange students agree that they will take great relationships away from this experience.

“I love them,” Morales said. “Amy is like my little sister now.”

“[The hosts and exchange students] get to see how very similar they are in spite of language and cultural differences,” Spanish teacher Karen Hyde said. Hyde is one of the teachers who assist with this exchange program.

“I love seeing them all eating lunch together at the same table,” Hyde said.

Hawkins said her favorite moment with Noelscher so far has been taking her ice skating.

“It was fun because it was something that she’s never done, and she liked it,” Hawkins said.

Another new experience has been navigating through the halls to each class.

“I like it,” Alvarenga said. “And for me, it’s really big, and I always get lost inside.”

Despite some confusion, both girls have had good experiences with their first adventure through American high schools.

“It’s a beautiful school, I love it very much,” Noelscher said. “I love this school.”

Maddie and Mara’s rediscovering Lawrence: Bikram Yoga

Taylor Kidder — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:50:09 +0000

After our little cupcake adventure, we were ready to hit the gym. We decided to try a more unconventional form of exercise: bikram yoga.

Bikram yoga is a form of yoga from India in which you go through a series of 26 yoga positions in a heated room. The room we were in was about 105 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first thing we noticed upon entering Bikram Yoga (711 W. 23rd St.) was the distinct smell of sweat. After overcoming the stench, we were greeted by the friendly staff. The class cost $15 although we were offered a special deal, seven days of unlimited yoga for $25, upon our first visit, but declined.

At first, walking into the classroom felt nice because it was so cold outside. An experienced classmate helped us set up our mats and towels, then we waited.

As we were waiting, classmates were stretching and warming up for class. We were getting very intimidated as we watched several professional yoga competitors. How is my body suppose to bend like that? Eek! We are not that flexible at all.

The instructor finally walked into the room. Everyone immediately stood up and greeted her. She introduced herself and told the class that this was our first class. Then she told us that her only requirement was that we stayed in the room the entire time. Now we were stuck, there was no escape (okay, kidding, but it felt like it.)

We were surprised by the popularity of the class. We went on a Friday night at 5:30 and there were about 40 people. Even more surprising, to us at least, is that there was at least 10 men there.

We started with some breathing exercises, which, contrary to popular belief, really aren’t that easy. During the breathing exercises we learned that every set of positions is done twice. We didn’t start sweating until we began our actual yoga poses. Then things got real sweaty, real fast.

Half of the class consisted of standing poses and the other half was sitting poses. The sitting poses involved lots of fast movement that resulted in a very dizzy Mara and Maddie. The standing work was more tolerable, but definitely still hard.

The thing about bikram yoga is it’s as physical as it is mental. Mentally prepare yourself before taking one of these classes.

If you don’t like sweat, germs, or anything gross (like men in tight clothing) bikram yoga is probably not for you. Seriously, we’re not joking. Aside from all that, bikram yoga is a challenging experience, but you feel great afterwards.

Our only complaint was that the staff was difficult to communicate with. Maddie decided to call the studio to see what forms we needed to have for the class. She was told to stop by anytime and pick up required forms. So, we went in after school and what happened? They were closed.

Then Maddie drove all the way across town to get the forms a few hours later. And again, they were closed. This is when Maddie got angry. She called and left a strongly worded message. They soon called back and told her to stop in within the next 30 minutes. So she rushed across town to the studio and sure enough, they were finally there.

Overall, we were surprised by our experience. The class was more difficult than we had anticipated, but we liked it enough that we are planning on taking another class.

Overall Grade: B

Pennies for Patients Fundraiser

emagerl — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:53:44 +0000

Students and teachers strive to break their $500 goal to help fight leukemia and lymphoma.

For four years, LHS has participated in the Pennies for Patients fundraiser. It started in the Family Career Community Leaders of America club (FCCLA) as a community service project. Once the cost of running the fundraiser was too much for the club to sponsor (they had to pay national and state fees to gain affiliation), they had to stop.
Then once LHS began the health careers pathway, Betty Currie, sponsor, just carried the project over to those classes. “I was approached by the Kansas City office, and I thought it would be a great way to involve the whole school” as opposed to a small club, Currie said.
“Everyone always has pennies and pocket change that they aren’t planning on using, so it’s an easy way for people to contribute,” Currie said.
“To date, the winning teachers have been from the math, social studies, and english classes.” This includes Jack Hood and Stephanie Magnuson, the previous years winners.
“I pass around the jar everyday,” Hood said. “I save my year’s change (minus quarters- I use those for laundry) and donate that.”
“There have even been students at the elementary level in our community that have benefited from this foundation,” Currie said.
The fundraiser ends around spring break, unless they don’t meet the $500 goal they have in order to get prizes for the schools.