Nigohosian 1 - The Joker: A Broken Man

Over the weekend, I watched the Joker and have many thoughts on the film. The Joker is a grim film about a man named Arthur Fleck and his plummet into hysteria and delusion. This movie breaks the conventional mold of the Joker and his previous characterizations, which makes it a highly unique film. Joaquin Phoenix was attracted to the role for this exact reason, and he fits it perfectly. The setting of the film starts in the 1980s in a disheveled Gotham City where the streets are riddled with crime and covered in garbage. The story is centered around Arthur Fleck, who struggles with his job at a clown agency and lives with his ill mom in an apartment complex. Arthur Fleck is presented as a mentally troubled individual, but the extent of this illness is not apparent at first. After being attacked by some teenagers on his job, another clown offered him a gun for protection. Little did he know, this gun would change the life of Arthur Fleck for the worse. As the movie progresses, Arthur’s thoughts and actions become more erratic. The first time that this is presented is when Arthur has a relationship with Sophie Dumond, the beautiful neighbor that lives down the hall. Arthur is shown having a blooming relationship where he went on many dates with her. With this relationship, Arthur’s life seems to be going well until it comes to a screeching halt. Arthur became devastated when he realized that his mother adopted him and he was abused by his father when he stole records from the mental institution. He found out that he was constantly lied to by his mentally insane mother. To cope with this pain, he decided to visit his girlfriend, who was frightened to see him in her apartment. This is the moment where both Arthur and the audience realize the relationship was a figment of his imagination. As Arthur stops taking his medication, these hallucinations only worsen to where the audience can not distinguish reality from fiction. At this point, Arthur’s true mental illnesses come to light. He is shown to be suffering from the pseudobulbar affect, a mental condition where Arthur suffers from uncontrollable laughter that doesn’t always display his emotions, and this affect is a direct result of being abused as a child, which caused him to be stepped on in the course of his life. Being tired of his troubled life, Arthur decides to lash out on society, killing anyone that opposes him, consisting of the elites of Gotham and his enemies. He even kills the man that he looked up to for most of his life, Murray Franklin. He had done these actions because he said that society looked down upon him as a clown. The lower class related to Arthur and revolted against the upper class, and Arthur became the icon of the revolt. This movie shows the small events that can change the character of a person with large implications.

Gianna 1: Does November Really Mean No Christmas Music?

Now that October, and along with it, Halloween season has concluded, it’s time for the rest of the holiday season to continue. Every year, November is a highly controversial month in terms of what holidays are appropriate to celebrate during this time. For many Americans, the next major holiday on their calendars is Thanksgiving. However, we all know that December’s Christmas tends to be the shining centerpiece of the holiday season. November 2019, in particular, seems to be an extremely tense time for the folks who adamantly demand that no one shall celebrate Christmas prior to Thanksgiving, and the ones who don’t mind starting early on Christmas. The controversy this topic always stirs up has really caught my attention this year, as I found myself in the debate. Already this year, I’ve gotten into several arguments with multiple different people on why I shouldn’t be listening to Christmas music now.

I love Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I love and appreciate Thanksgiving fully, but there’s just something really uplifting about the Christmas season. Christmas rolls around when school is getting in deep waters. It’s a much-needed break for many people, and it’s typically something to look forward to (all those days without school just seem magical themselves). Additionally, how much can you really celebrate Thanksgiving? I give Thanksgiving my full appreciation on its day, but there’s just no hype in the build-up to this holiday like there is with Christmas. Cranberry sauce and the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special all have a special place in my heart, but it’s really only enough to last one day of celebrating. 

For me, every year I find it harder to get into the Christmas spirit. 25 days of December and maybe the last few days of November has just proven that it is not enough time for me to really feel the spirit of Christmas. By the time Christmas Eve and Day rolls around, it doesn't even feel like Christmas. As busy high school students, I’m sure most can agree that it’s hard to find time for enjoying the little things. However, listening to Christmas music is such an easy way to get into this holiday feeling. So why not start a little early? 

Many of my friends are firm believers that Christmas music has no place in November. However, I still stand firm that I, and others, should be able to listen to our holiday jams when it feels right to do so. These debates have made me think quite a bit about why such a topic as silly as Christmas music can become as controversial as it gets. If something makes you happy, why not enjoy it? Even if someone else finds joy out of something you don’t, it doesn't make their enjoyment wrong or invalid. No matter how many arguments my friends and I may get into over my Christmas music habits, I will still enjoy my holiday season as I see fit. 



When do you start listening to Christmas music, if at all?

Alicia Zhang 1- Here Comes the Sun

Now before you read, I recommend you listen to this song as you do so. 

    Today, the bright sun peeked through the curtains to meet my sleepy eyes. In the waning hours, it disappeared from my eyes for the starry night to take its place. And for the next several billion years, it will only continue to become brighter and brighter, until all life on Earth ceases. Eventually, it will turn into a red giant star and consume the Earth in its entirety. If humans have not become technologically advanced enough by then to escape this inevitable doom, they will either have already died of numerous other causes, or have to resign themselves to this fate. It's probably difficult to imagine this scenario in the first place, since it is so far off, and the sun has long been beloved and worshipped by humans since time immemorial. However, my point still stands. Without the sun, humanity is ruined, for all life on this planet depends on its warm light, and for all our advancements, we are no different.

     In horror movies, the big baddy is almost always a gruesome evil of unnatural origin. It plays to our fears, of sitting in the dark alone at home and hearing someone whisper to us. How does the sun factor into this though? It's a comforting presence, and nobody's going to say they're scared of the sun of all things. That's exactly why it is so formidable, if properly used as a horror element. The sun is both our creator and undoer, our savior and our destruction if that far off doom scenario plays out. What if that very sun ceased to be our source of light and instead something much worse? Most everybody would not be safe from it, and preparations for zombie apocalypses or Armageddon would be rendered moot. I would really like to see the sun used more often as an element in horror movies, considering how much potential lies there creatively. What element do you guys and gals wish you could see more often in the horror genre in general?

Muskan Week 1 - Just Another School Shooting...

Earlier today, I read an article on yet another school shooting. Honestly, I’m not at all surprised to see this in the news, which isn’t a good thing. It saddens me to see that more and more children are dying because of school shootings, and it's fazing our society less and less with every incident.

School shootings have become like tallies. We see a story of a shooting and immediately add it to our mental lists of all the other times. Columbine, Sandy Hook, Lake Worth, Parkland, others and our newest shooting, Santa Clarita. When reading this article, it scared me knowing that after bringing a gun to school and shooting classmates of his, the shooter shot himself in the head.

What bothers me the most, though, is how the government sees these shootings and just sits there waiting for the next one to happen before doing anything to help the situation. They’re watching countless students die and won’t do anything to fix the problem. 

So many ideas have been passed around to help. Improving gun regulations, for example, which I believe would help improve the situation but wouldn’t solve the problem completely, having teachers keep guns on them in case of emergency and banning guns from citizens completely are all ideas that have been thrown around. Even though all these ideas have been discussed and brought up, the government has yet to decide what they will do about this major national issue. In the meantime, more children and even school staff will die while those up in Washington D.C., possibly, contemplate what the nation should do. How many more children have to die before this situation is seriously taken into account?

Alora Kutzler 1 "My Job Shadowing Experience"

 Alora Kutzler 1 “My Job Shadowing Experience”

On Tuesday I went to my job shadow, I shadowed my Aunt who is a Registered Nurse at St. Luke’s West Allentown Primary Care. I spent 8 long hours in a doctors office. Now maybe it's just me but that alone makes me yawn. I started off my day watching my Aunt take phone calls and call back patients with their results. This lasted 3 hours.

Finally I was able to go with the Medical Assistants and talk to some patients, most of the time they were coming in to get their flu shot or it was the occasional elderly lady who complained of “pain” just pain, couldn't point it out to any specific area or describe it. She was just in pain. So after about 15 flu shots and the occasional urine culture i decided to take lunch.

Granted it was like 5:30 at night, so let's just say it was a late lunch. I really couldn't wait to get out of there. Honestly I have never really been interested in the medical field. Until I started watching Grey's Anatomy. But let me just tell you. Real life it nothing like Grey's Anatomy. My parents wanted me to be a nurse for the longest time. But I have always wanted to be a teacher. So we have always bumped heads about it. So I just went on this shadow to make them happy.

It was around 7 at night when I left, and I couldn't wait to go home. Yes it was a very insightful experience and I did learn a lot from it. But it made me realize that I need to do what I know will make me happy, regardless of what my parents want in this case.

Caleb Johns 1 Thanksgiving

It seems clear nowadays that holidays have evolved to become materialistic and commercial. So much so in fact that we have an entire shopping season dedicated to some of these holidays, and they have become more about the gifts that are given rather than the times that are shared. But there is a holiday we celebrate that hasn’t fallen under the spell of retailers and online shopping sites, and that is Thanksgiving.


Thanksgiving is a holiday in which your not thankful for the gifts given but rather the whole family coming together, spending time with one another and catching up on life. I can just imagine it now: the whole family gathered around the table, a turkey straight out of the oven right in the center, and my dog lying underneath waiting for any food to fall to the floor. The conversation at the table always begins with what everyone has been doing for the past year. Then it transitions to any future plans anyone may have. And finally, someone introduces a controversial topic and it quickly escalates to a screaming match before someone storms out of the room. Then we move to the living room and eat pumpkin pie as we watch the football game. And as we watch the game some random sports argument gets brought up between the cousins and someone of course storms off.  And the next day, everyone wakes up miserable and leaves. And we all let out a sigh of relief. It's a simple formula that we have been following for years.


And now that I think about maybe what we should be truly thankful for on Thanksgiving is that we don’t have to see these people on a daily basis. Maybe instead of spending time with family we should just get people gifts and call it a day.

Megan 1 - Am I Really Sorry?

Today, I apologized to a chair. I bumped it on the way to my room, and, being my non-confrontational self, I rushed to apologize before realizing that the victim was, in fact, an inanimate object.

I apologize a lot. (And not just to chairs.) When I have to say no to an invite, I apologize. When someone bumps into me, I catch myself apologizing. If I cause the slightest inconvenience, (you guessed it) I apologize.

A friend pointed out to me last week that I say “sorry” an awful lot. I laughed it off, but for the last seven days, it’s really been bugging me. Why do I apologize so much? What does that say about me?  Is apologizing constantly really such a bad thing?

When I have to miss a friend’s soccer game because I feel overwhelmed and exhausted and just need to take care of myself, I apologize profusely. But what am I truly apologizing for? Taking care of myself?

When a freshman walks right into me while staring down at her phone in the crowded hallway, and I apologize, what I am apologizing for? Existing?

And if I’m constantly apologizing for taking care of myself and simply existing, how can I live a purposeful life with confidence and direction?

I don’t think I can if I’m not willing to break the bad habit of habitual apologies.

It’s time I make a change. Going into the new year, I am going to quit apologizing for the things that don’t warrant apologies. Instead of expressing constant regret, I’ll express genuine gratitude.

Instead of “Sorry I won’t be able to make it,” I’ll say, “Thanks for the invite. I wish that I could come.”

Instead of “Sorry I’m late,” I’ll say, “Thanks for waiting for me.”

This New Year’s resolution won’t change the world, but it may change my mindset. And I don’t want to live in constant regret anymore.

I know that I’ll mess up a million times as I work to break this habit, but I’ll be patient with myself as I build a habit of gratitude. And when I do mess up, I’ll understand that it’s nothing to be sorry about.

Nathan Schmidt 1: The Immigrant

The Immigrant

Nathan Schmidt

I have had the opportunity to work with a number of professional actors and directors with the American Monarch Theatre Company.  I am helping out as co-stage manager for their production of The Immigrant.  This musical will be performed on Saturday and Sunday at the Sigal Museum in Easton and I highly recommend that you all go see it (details on the Sigal Museum website).  I am writing a brief description of the show and the part that I found was most meaningful to me.  But whether you intend on seeing the show or not, don't worry, I will do my best to avoid any spoilers.

This show takes place in the 1900s and it follows the life of Haskell Harelik, a Russian immigrant who came to America in search of a better life.  He starts this journey by selling bananas in the town of Hamilton, Texas.  It is there that he finds Milton and Ima Perry, a wealthy couple living in the area.  Ima, seeing that Haskell is poor, wants to give him a place to stay for a few nights, and after some convincing, Milton agrees.  The couple, however, starts having second thoughts about this decision after learning that Haskell is Jewish.  The couple, never-the-less, decides to help Haskell.  The story that follows involves Haskell's attempt to start a new life in an area where others do not care for the place where he came from and the religion he believes in.  The theme buried within that topic is certainly nothing to overlook, but I felt captivated by another part of the story.

Throughout the story, Haskell credits Milton with saving his life.  Milton gave Haskell a temporary place to live and helped him grow his business.  The friendship between the two characters grows stronger as the show progresses.  During one scene in the show, Haskell and Leah (Haskell's wife who also immigrated from Russia) invite Milton and Ima to dinner.  What started as a friendly get-together progressed into something far worse when the two men started discussing the forbidden fruit of dinner topics: politics.  Haskell, a Jewish man, believed that the United States should get involved in the Second World War to save the lives of people being oppressed by Germany.  Milton, however, was worried about the economics of the issue and believed the United States should not get involved in a conflict that did not pertain to them.  What started as a friendly conversation evolved into politicals discourse, which passed on to personal insults and attacks between the two friends.

So why did I find this so captivating?  Well, I cannot think of a more relevant topic of discussion then that example right there.  We are all individuals with different beliefs and ideas, and that is what makes us so great.  A problem arises when we look at others who disagree with us as enemies.  The moment that people attack others based on different political beliefs is the moment that democracy is ruined, friendships are broken, and families are destroyed.

Madson 1- The Madson Genes

My great-grandmother lived in Wilson, Pennsylvania for over thirty years. I would go over to her house every Thursday night for dinner. My second cousins, Robin and Stephanie would also come visits often, although they lived much farther away. My great-grandmother passed away almost two years ago. Through her, my family became very close to Robin and Stephanie, my dad’s cousins. Their father also passed away a number of years ago.

This past weekend, I attended Robin’s wedding. My dad was asked to officiate the wedding and my younger brother, Cooper, was asked to be the ring bearer. Because they were a part of the wedding party, my family was invited to the rehearsal dinner. I was very excited to meet Robin’s family at this dinner. When we arrived, everyone was so welcoming. Hugs came from everyone as did many great conversations. Most of her family is international, living in France, Holland, Germany, and Vietnam. Her mother, my Aunt Jane, is one of seven siblings so there were a lot of families anxious to meet us.

Along with all the hugs and kisses, there were also tears. My family represented my Uncle Bill to most people there. My Aunt Jane kept telling all of us how much it meant to her that we were there. The night of the wedding, my grandfather, Uncle Bill’s brother, was there. When people who knew Uncle Bill saw my grandfather, they immediately burst into tears. Everyone said how much they looked alike. Stephanie and Robin shared a long, long hug with him after the ceremony, all three of them crying. Everyone missed Uncle Bill so much and had nothing but kind words to say about him and us for that matter.

I never really realized what we meant to Robin and Stephanie. I always thought of them as my older sisters I never saw. And they thought of me, of us, as their link to their father. That makes my connection to them so much stronger. Throughout the wedding festivities, a common phrase that was used is "The Madson Genes." This means something special to me. I have never been prouder and more thankful for my family.

MaryJo 1: College is Stressful

As I am getting further into my junior year, I am slowly becoming more aware of how little I am preparing myself for my future. Every time I hear my friends talk about writing their college essays, visiting universities, and job shadowing, their conversations also unintentionally become harsh reminders of how little I’ve done. Even the moment my parents mention college at the dinner table I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach similar to when I can't feel my phone in my pocket. I’ve grown very comfortable living every day as it comes to me. When was I supposed to grow out of that? Confronting myself about my own unpreparedness makes me feel ignorant and embarrassed, so I cope by not thinking about it at all and in result worsen my biggest anxiety.

The fact that I am halfway done with high school doesn’t even seem real to me. Seeing people I’ve grown up and been in school with since kindergarten driving and working at restaurants I go to still doesn’t register correctly in my head. I feel childish and almost immature for not reaching the same stage in my life. I could have started driving even before my sophomore year, but to this day I still don’t have my license. Obviously driving and all the freedoms that come with it is irresistible to any teenager, but I still didn’t care enough to get my permit. Did I want to focus on other things in my life as I told myself, or was I too scared to move on from the entire life I led not being able to drive? It would also be nice to get a job and be able to buy whatever I want with money that I earn, but am I ready to leave behind the comfort of being unemployed while I am able to have it?

Although I am one of the oldest in my grade, I found out that I am one of the latest when it comes to “growing up.” I can’t drive, and I still haven’t had a job or even a boyfriend. I want to use the same excuse I could use for the past 17 years of my life (“I’m still a kid!”) until I realize next year I am legally considered an adult. I am getting older, but I am not growing up. At times I feel as if time is my worst enemy, mocking me with how fast it’s able to move and only goes faster when I want it to stop for a moment. Change has always made me uncomfortable, and I remember crying after the last day of first grade after I realized there would be different people in my class next year even after I had grown so used to my old class. Ten years later I am finding myself in the same position. How can I ever go to college when I’ve been given thirteen years to get accustomed to my cycle of going to school and coming home to my parents? In reality, 4 of these years are meant to prepare you for this transition, yet I have never dreaded something more in my life.

Even though I do have my serious doubts about where my future is headed, I still try to remain optimistic and lead myself out of my comfort zone little by little. I still barely have an idea of where I want to go for college, and I have found that my main concern has been to not disappoint my parents rather than what I actually want to go for. I obsess over my grades and work hard to get them to meet the standard I’ve set for them, but I really only do so since it is what I’m expected to do. I constantly wonder if it is even worth it or if the sleep I lose to studying would make any difference to where I end up in 10 years. As much as I am proud of how much I’ve accomplished through my studies, I sometimes wish I could care about my grades just a little less and allow myself to live and be a teenager while I am able to.

I always think about this quote by Dalai Lama: “We are human beings, not human doings.” In a world where we are constantly expected to work and catch up with responsibilities, we never allow ourselves the time to take in the world around us and just be. I know I get easily overwhelmed, and I always deal with the stress that comes from it horribly. Suddenly burdened with college applications and SATs within the span of a year, it’s really important for students to remind themselves that there is more to life than getting accepted into their dream college or the decimal value of their GPA.

Gabe 1: Why Doctor Who's Newest Season Sucks

Today I am going to tell you about the greatest TV show of all time, and why its most recent season was a complete disaster. That TV show is of course, Doctor Who.

The show follows the exploits of the Doctor and their companions as they travel across time and space to protect the universe from otherworldly threats. This format gives the writers immense creative freedom. The universe is literally their sandbox. One episode can take place on a spaceship orbiting a black hole in the far future, and the next can be in Pompeii on the day before the volcano erupts. This has allowed Doctor Who to become a pioneer of science-fiction, exploring strange new nooks and crannies of the genre that could not be touched on in any other situation.

Some people attribute the poor reception of Season 11 (the most recent) to the performance of Jodie Whittaker, who is the new actress for the Doctor as of Season 11, and also the first woman to take on the role. I disagree. Jodie is an incredible actress and is perfectly suited for the role. I believe the issue lies in the writing.

Season 11 is the first with the new head writer, Chris Chibnall. When he took on the position, he hired a bunch of new writers, none of whom had any prior experience with writing science-fiction, but instead with drama and romance, to write on Doctor Who, one of the most influential pioneers of the science-fiction on modern television.

Doctor Who has always been a very cerebral show that forces you to think. It covers mindbending topics like time paradoxes and aliens whose existence you forget about as soon as they’re out of your field of view (how can you prove they don’t exist?). But behind all the spaceships and aliens, Doctor Who is, like all science-fiction, a commentary on the real world.

The point of science-fiction is to provide the audience with a story disconnected from the real world in order to provide a new perspective of the real world that trancends political bias and gets to the heart of the issue. When science-fiction is done well, the metaphor isn’t obvious at first. It’s implied more than anything, and the audience can still enjoy the story without worrying about the meaning behind it.

This, in my opinion, is exactly why Season 11 was a garbage fire. Instead spinning a story that disconnects the viewer from the real world to hint at societal issues, Season 11 makes the social issue the plot, conflict, and main point of the episode. The story, worldbuilding, and characters become secondary. Watching it was like being forcefed a poorly made cocktail of politics and time travel. Everything was shoved right in the viewer’s face, and nothing was inferred or left to interperetation. The episode that was in segregated Montgomery, Alabama was about racism. The episode that took place during a 17th century witch hunt was about sexism. Everything about the season was cut and dry and hugely disappointing for diehard fans like myself.

Jam 1: The Decade is Over???

Over the past couple of days there’s been this meme going around twitter:

Thought 1: Holy crap, a DECADE??
Thought 2: I had a baby. She died.
Thought 3: That’s it.

Those are certainly decade-defining events, if not life defining events. But then I thought, “Well, let’s see what else has happened in the last 10 years,” which encompassed my entire 30s. In no particular order, between 2010 and 2019:

- We bought a house

- We got married

- I assistant-directed two shows, was Front-of-House manager for seven more, and stage-managed one

- I earned my Masters of Education

- I taught 1,208 students (yes, I counted)

- I got three tattoos

- We adopted three cats

- I started #aplangchat and racked-up 1,418 twitter followers

- We survived two major hurricanes and a freak October snowstorm

- I gained and lost a wonderful Mother-in-Law, and I lost a grandfather. I lost several former students and some friends to suicide and addiction.

- I slept in the woods 11 times (and bought a camper to make it more comfortable)

- I read 133+ books (I only really started tracking in 2015)

- I read 16,297(ish) student papers (yes, I counted)

- I saw 44+ Broadway shows (again, I only really started tracking in 2015)

- I stood up for what I believed at the 2017 Women’s March on Washington

- I attended a fancy black-tie gala

- I had a student teacher

- I got pregnant four times, and none of them survived, while I watched dozens of friends, family, and acquaintances go on to have healthy babies

- I bought 2 subarus (not at the same time, and I only really liked one of them)

- I had five surgeries

- I went to the AP Reading seven times and scored nearly 7,000 AP student essays… and if you add those to my own students’ essays listed above…. Hooooo, boy!

- I met my best teacher friends and kept my best lifelong friends

- I traveled to Cozumel, Washington DC, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Las Vegas, Holden Beach NC, Myrtle Beach, New York City, Nashville, Point Pleasant NJ, Seaside Heights NJ, Philadelphia, Honolulu, Lahaina, Phoenix, Louisville, Kansas City, Madison WI, Sandusky OH, Chicago, Marlinton WV, Berlin, Munich, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Frankfurt, Atlanta, Lancaster, Denver, Finger Lakes NY, and before the year is over, Baltimore.

And yes, I had a baby.

And she died.

That is a huge life-defining thing. But it’s not the only thing. When I look back on this decade, it’s so easy to focus on the horrors. But look what I’ve done. Look what I’ve experienced. I am so, so, so lucky.

Hayden Week 1 "Boston Trip"

I am going to Boston this weekend to visit two colleges, Northeastern and Boston College, both of which I will be taking tours for and looking if they are a good fit for my college experience.

I am very excited for this trip. While I am nervous to go look at these colleges, because they are both big and critical schools, I am happy I get more experience in the whole "college visit" thing for the future. I will definitely take plenty of notes, and definitely take lots of pictures! Boston College has a beautiful area and campus and I am so thrilled that I get to experience it. 

To be honest I do not know much about either school, but that is the whole point about going out there to take the tours myself, so I can see them first hand. I am a very visual person and I find it hard to make a decision just on facts and websites. I can not wait to make my own opinion of the campuses and look at everything they have to offer and share with me this weekend.

My hope for this trip is to learn something about what I want from a college such as dorm space, college size, distance from college to home, classroom size and majors, and to have some fun. I also am hoping it doesn't get too cold this weekend so that I can spend some time in the outdoors and enjoy the campuses in all their glory! Maybe I will even be able to add one of the two colleges I am visiting on the list of colleges I want to apply too!

I will make a note to talk about it in my smiles and frowns come Monday or write a second blog post to highlight what I thought about the trip overall!

Here is a link to YouTube for a short video showing northeastern university in the fall

https://youtu.be/HBMG2xz_Leg

And here is a picture of one of many of Boston Colleges gorgeous buildings on campus