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Mr. Manuel

Meet the newguy in town

page 3November 4, 2011 Kingston High School, 403 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401 www.kingstonhighlights.com Volume 81, Issue 1

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For the second year in a row, the Class of2013 held a Halloween dance. On this night, thespookiest and best dressed students came inhopes of being the best dressed, and the best onthe dance floor. Each year, the students try to outdo one another both in costume, and in spirit asHalloween is the one time of year that everybodycan get together and be goofy! Some come asbunnies, some come as prisoners, and somecome as themselves, but the Halloween spirit runsrampant through them all.

(Counter-clockwise from top right to bottom right. HalieBrennan, Micaela Ryan, Rachel Wyncoop, and SalinaDeCicco all came in black. Mary Mahoney, Alexis Perry,Joan Mena, Luisa Costrillon, and Katherine Perez all seemto be having fun at the dance. Look at Alyssa Stenta andZachary Teague-Bundy getting it on at the dance floor.Alyssa Stenta and Konnor Williams hug it out at theHalloween Dance. Kylie Jurgeleit and Brianna Egan showtheir pride for their country.)

Halloween Dance a howling good time

2 EditorialHighlights November 4,2011

HIGHLIGHTSHIGHLIGHTS

StaffWilliam Martin

Lyric BlanchCody NaccaratoAlexis Parkhurst

Nate RingRobert Pugliese

Joe PuglieseNate Ring

Justina SchoutenJohn Villielm

Maria WhitcombKira Wilson

EditorCody Naccarato

Club PresidentJohn Villielm

Club TreasurerLyric Blanch

AdviserTed Leach

Editorial Policy: Highlights is afree and open forum for studentexpression edited entirely bystudents. The views expressedhere do not reflect the views ofthe Kingston City SchoolDistrict. Letters from readers arewelcome. All letters must besigned. The staff reserves theright to edit letters for lengthand clarity. Letters may be sentto Highlights, Kingston HighSchool, 403 Broadway,Kingston, NY, 12401, or bedelivered to Room 204.

Memberships: Highlights is amember of the NationalScholastic Press Association.

Advertising: To advertise inHighlights, please contact us atthe above address or telephone(845) 331-1970, extension 7686.

Some content courtesy of AmericanSociety of News Editors / MCTCampus High School NewspaperService

visit us online atKingstonHighlights.com

The biggest controversy inschools nationwide is the usageof electronics, more specifically,cell phones.

As you walk into the halls,it's not the first bell ringing, it'snot you're teacher taking atten-dance, but it's hearing "Put thatcell phone away!" that really sig-nifies the beginning of theschool day.

For the past few years now,there's always been a major tran-sition at the beginning of theschool year about the electronicspolicy. An example would belast year's, where students wereno longer able to use theirphones in the cafeterias; A rulethat the students probably wouldhave been adjusted to by now,had it been enforced for longerthan three days.

This year, instead of havingto find out that cell phonesweren't allowed in certain areasthe hard way, a brand new elec-tronics policy has been created totell students when they areallowed to use their cell phonesduring the school day, and whathappens if they are insubordinateto the rule.

In the PowerPoint presenta-tion, shown to the students nearthe end of September, the fol-lowing was stated.

Students are NOT allowedto have their cell phones out inbetween the time periods of7:15 A.M until 2:11 P.M. If theyare seen, they will be confiscat-ed, and the student'sparent/guardian will have topick it up at the conclusion ofthe school day.

With the A.P contact, comesa verbal warning and confisca-tion of the phone.

Second contact, the studentreceives detention and confisca-tion of the phone.

Third contact, three days ofdetention and confiscation of thephone.

And the fourth contact, ameeting with the students' par-ents, ISS/OSS depending on theinsubordination of the student,and confiscation of the phone.

These rules may seem harsh,but it will be enjoyable to wit-ness how well the new policy isenforced, or to see if it willrepeat history and not even makeit to see October.

It doesn't matter who youask, it seem that each student hashad a moment in which theyhave felt an injustice with cellphones through the years. Stories

have been told where, cellphones were taken away whenthey weren't even visible, but theoutlining of the device was seenthrough the pocket of the person.

On another occasion, it'sbeen told that a student wasmerely checking what the timewas, when a monitor approachedthe student and told them to putit away. And this is where theline between enforcement of apolicy and totalitarianism isdrawn.

If a student is blatantly tex-ting or talking on the phone, thenthe reasoning of the confiscationis justified, but if a student is justusing it to check the time in thesplit second that they take it inand out of their pocket, the mon-itor could wait to see what theyare going to do with the device,before they attack the student.

Technology has alsoimproved a lot over the past fewyears, and with students beingcapable of going onto the inter-net or having an app about a cer-tain topic/discussion, teachingcould be taken to a new level.

Say there's a question thatthe teacher isn't sure about whatthe answer is. Instead of himusing class time to go to hiscomputer, look up the question,and spend five minutes findingthe answer, he could tell Jim todo it on his smart phone, theteacher could continue on withthe lesson, and when Jim findsthe answer, the teacher, or Jimcould then share it with the class.

This is just one example ofhow beneficial cell phones couldbe in the classroom. Andalthough it'd be great to thinkthat students could one day usephones for this purpose, the mat-ter of the fact is that it's a realityjust a bit too far out of reach,because students would be tootempted to text their friend,instead of using it for educationalreasons.

And it's the same studentswho continue to text in the hall-ways, in the cafeterias and evenin class that cost others theopportunity to be able to usephones for a greater purpose.They also don't realize that bycontinuing to be insubordinate,they only make it harder for stu-dents to gain the rights of beingable to use cell phones in thehalls or in the cafeteria.

There is a reason why thepolicy was created, and byrespecting and engaging in thechange, then those who created

it may be a little more lenient,and allow students to use it inplaces they weren't able to whilethe policy was in effect. But, bydisregarding what they say, andto continue texting when themonitor tells you to put it away,will only make it more difficultand will only make the rulesstricter.

There's also the occasionwhere, a student decides to stayninth period, or practice got can-celled, or they're going to the Yafter school, etc. so they have tocall or text their parent/guardianto tell them, so they decide inbetween classes to do so.

This is the exact wrongthing to do, because you'reputting your cell phone at riskby walking through the halls tex-ting, and unless you want it tobe confiscated, this certainlyisn't the best idea.

A bit of advice would be, toask the teacher of your previ-ous/next class if you could textyour parent/guardian and if theyrefuse, ask if you could use theirclassroom phone, chances arethey will let you.

Not only does texting in thehalls raise the confiscation possi-bility, it also slows down thehalls. And practically everyonehas had an experience wherethey have to go from the mainbuilding to MJM and there's aperson walking incredibly slow-ly, due to texting, making youlate to class. So instead of beingthe person everyone hates, justwait until you're on your owntime to text.

Everyone hates being toldwhat to do, and when they canor can't do something. But try

putting yourself into the otherperson's shoes; also, when you'rein class, and texting, your atten-tion drifts from the teacher, andmore importantly the lesson.

So, not only is it a matter ofrespect for the teacher, but thenwhen time comes for that bigtest, and you don't know any-thing about the chapter, thinkabout whether it was worth it ornot to text in class.

It's a very notorious time,we have generations who haveundergone two extremely differ-ent lifestyles arguing over therights and privileges that shouldbe allowed, the two realities arecolliding, and until one sidegives in, it's going to remain thisway.

The students have theirpoint of the usefulness of tech-nology, in a sense that it benefitsthe learning process, and is nec-essary to ensure their safety, andto make sure that they have aride home, theirparents/guardians know wherethey are, etc.

But, the faculty also hastheir side of the argument, whichis the rebelliousness of the stu-dents, and how they choose notto use the technology in a bene-ficial way. And it's clear thatthey cannot stop the problemcompletely, but they can try tocontrol it, which is what they'redoing.

Just remember, buckingauthority won't earn the studentsany rights when it comes to cellphones. The best way to get asystem changed is to follow therules, and respect and engage inthe change, whether that changeis positive or negative for you.

Editorial: Cell Phone rules create controversy

Kudos Congratulations to the Varsity Football and Girl’s Varsity

Swimming team for defeating Newburgh.

Cheers to Reason and Rhyme for winning an award.

Cheers to Korey Jubie for kicking a 48 yard field goal

Cheers to our new principal Adrian Manuel

Know anybody that’s done anything outstanding lately? Bring yoursuggestion to room 204.

News 3Highlights November 4, 2011

By Joseph PuglieseHighlights

As many of you havenoticed, the winds of changehave been blowing rapidlythrough the halls. One of thebiggest being; the new principal.

Adrian Manuel, a Kingstonnative (Was bornacross the street),actually attendedthis school, andhad a couple ofthe same teachersas you.

Ever sincehe was a child,his father was hismotivation tocontinue going,and to reach hisfull potential. His dad taughthim to be a leader, more specifi-cally, a humble one. The person,who really shaped his career,would be his father. Teachinghim that education is what canreally empower a person, andalso, to fight for what hebelieves in.

His dad pushed him to pushhimself, showed him how to behumble, treating everyone as anequal, and to listen to what theyhave to offer.

Other people who have cre-ated inspiration in his life weremen such as Gandhi, MartinLuther King Jr., & NelsonMandela. Leaders who were ableto do great things, without beinga dictator.

“A leader should be respect-

ed” Manuel said. “They should-n’t strive to be liked or feared,but respected for their leader-ship.”

A graduate of the class of1996, looking back now, Manuelfeels that he didn’t capitalize onall the opportunities available.Not because he didn’t want to,but because a majority of themwere hidden from the students,and now that he is capable ofseeing all the opportunities, he’samazed at what students can do,and wants to make sure that theydo take the advantages that hewasn’t aware of.

Before reciprocating, hetaught Social Studies, and thenmoved onto becoming the prin-cipal of a Bronx middle school.

The unique opportunity togive back to his community iswhat drove him to return. Peoplesay that they think the schoolisn’t good, many students feelthe same way, and he wants torise in a time of challenge.

As principal, he’s set goals,“To make sure that every studenthas every opportunity and the

support necessary to graduate, isnumber one.” Manuel said.

“When I was in high school,I saw some of my friends drop-ping out, and I don’t feel thatthey were pushed all the way.”He said. “They had no one totalk to about it, no one to changetheir mind.”

He also wantsto develop smalllearning communi-ties. This is a fairlylarge school, filledwith a greatamount of stu-dents, and kids canget lost in thecrowd very easily. To makeschool more individualized forthe students, and to provide foreach one’s personal needs. Sothat the students who like similarthings are in the same areas.And, to make sure each studenthas a good relationship with oneor more teachers, so that theyalways have someone they cantalk to.

Thirdly, he desires to bringthe school into the 21st century.

Since leaving in 96’, he feelsthat much hasn’t changed, whilea lot has changed technological-ly. There’s so much out therethat the school can benefit fromby using technology, and it isn’tgoing to happen immediately,slow changes may occur, but it’s

a future project.From a working

standpoint, Manuel isthe kind of person thatis open minded, he’sfocused on building arelationship witheveryone in the school,and is very passionateabout education.

He’s also very approach-able, he feels any student cantalk to him about anything,whether that be a problemthey’re having, ideas or concernsabout the school, or just to talkabout the previous night’s foot-ball game.

To use technology to helpwith work is a belief of his. Thisis not just to use it for education,but to communicate with thecommunity. An idea of this is a

Twitter account with the schoolcalled the, “Tiger Tweet” wherenews and updates about theschool would be posted to createa connected community.

Manuel isn’t just the kind ofperson whose only care is theiroccupation, while he does lovehis job greatly; becoming afather is what he is most proudof. To be able to watch his songrow, and to give his son theopportunities that he wasn’tgiven, is a top priority ofManuel.

There is no plaque, noaward, nor no certificate thatManuel feels is his greatestachievement. He believes that“Success is a journey, not a des-tination” and that if he helpsthose around him, that he’s dedi-cated to his career and lives tohelp the students, that his legacywould be his greatest achieve-ment.

When asked how he feltabout returning, Manuelresponded by saying, “To comeback to my old school, is priceless.”

New Principal: Adrian Manuel returnsto his former school with big plans

By Robert PuglieseHighlights

“It wakes her up in the morning.”said Nick Dinoris about Jane Franklin’sinterest in the club.

Does the scientific world intrigueyou? Do you like experimenting withrockets or robots that you build fromscratch? Then Science Olympiad is whereyour scientific desires can be found.

Science Olympiads has been a tradi-tion in our nation for over 26 years. Itallows students to explore from 25-30different topics that interest them andlearn more about it. With topics rangingfrom astronomy all the way to roboticarms, this is a great way to explore and

show your scientific passions and desires.It meets once every week ninth peri-

od in room 909. The instructor and headcoach of this club is Franklin.

“Science Olympiad is for studentswho live, breathe, and have any kind ofdesire to learn about science.” saidFranklin. “It takes a lot of responsibilityand cooperation in order to reach suc-cess.”

The competition takes place in thestate division first. If states is won andfirst place is achieved its off to thenationals where the team will face offagainst the whole nation. Our school haswon several times and is hoping to makethis another great year.

Greg Brooks works with club members to solve questions. Rob Pugliese/Highlights

Science Olympiads skyrocketsinterest within the students

AdrianManuel

“To make sureevery student

has every oppor-tunity and the

support neessaryto graduate, isnumber one.”

4 FeaturesHighlights November 4,2011

By Joe PuglieseHighlights

The varsity girls swimmingteam has been dominatingsports, with a current record of9-3. The team, as of now, has thehighest winning percentage inthe school, winning over 75% oftheir meets. But, there is a rea-son for this success.

The team’s practices, whichstarted in mid August, normallyconsist of half an hour of dryland exercises, which includecardio, abdominal exercises, etc..And two and a half hours ofswimming, which totals up to5,700 yards per practice. Puttingin on average 18-20 hours perweek in the pool and exercisingis without a doubt a major partof the reasoning, and they haveshown the rewards of their hardwork.

So far in the 2011 season,the team has defeated ValleyCentral, Marlboro, New Paltz,Cornwall, Minisink Valley,F.D.R, Middletown, andNewburgh, who is the defendingsection IX champions

There are 35 students on thevarsity team, 33 of whom areswimmers and three of whomare divers. And even with a largeamount of people, with everyrace, the entire team is standingpoolside, rooting each other on,chanting “Go! Go! Go!” and “2-3-4!”. This, along with the pan-

demonium filled crowd, isenough to give even the specta-tors an adrenaline rush.

“Team spirit has been anincredible motivator,” said teamcaptain, Kristi Luongo. “It’s ahuge part of what enables us todo so well.”

Recently, the standards tomake state qualifiers becameharder to achieve, with therequirements becoming any-where from 3 seconds faster, asin Olivia Reinhardt’s case, tohaving to score 13 points higherin 11 dives.

But the team still doesn’tlose hope. “Itgives us some-thing to worktowards, it’s agreater chal-lenge.” Luongosaid.

And thechallengeshaven’t stoppedfor the team yet,having facedtheir toughestopponent,Washingtonvillein mid October, they came fairlyclose to defeating the, “strongestin the league” having a finalscore of 109(Washingtonville) to77(Kingston).

“The bar has certainly beenset high for next year” statedteam captain, Olivia Reinhardt.“This is the best the team’s done

in the past fiveyears.”

And the barhas been setexceptionallyhigh forReinhardt, havingcompleted aspira-tions that veryfew, if any get tomeet in their var-sity swimmingcareers. In a meetlast Friday,againstNewburgh,Reinhardt

reached agrand totalof 1,000+points scored for theTigers.

With a present goal ofwinning the section IXchampionship, the teamcontinues practicing on analmost daily basis.

“Swimming usesevery muscle of the body”Luongo said. “We can’tstop to take a quickbreather during a race, if

you miss a day or two of prac-tice, you become out of shape.”

Head coach of the team,Christopher Sammons isextremely proud of the team, butalso knows how much workthey’ve dedicated. Having beena former member of the Boysswim team, he can easily relate

to the thrill of victory, and theamount of effort it takes to getthere.

“The transition from swim-mer to coach is definitely a dif-ferent type of excitement.”Sammons said. “ Being able tosee the fruits of the athleteslabor and the smiles on theirfaces is an adrenaline rush of itsown.”.

The swimmers find outwhich stroke they are going tobe using ten minutes beforehand. Which isn’t much time toprepare, but the adrenaline keepsthem going, and because of allthe practicing the team hasundergone, they are capable ofadapting to any specific scenariothat they might have to competein. Whether it be the breast-

stroke, backstroke, butterfly,freestyle or relay, the team isready to race at all times.

“When you hear the buzzerand dive in, there’s a bolt ofenergy that runs throughout yourbody.” Luongo said. “The onlything on your mind is winning.”

And that is what the girlsvarsity swimming team hasadapted to. With the highest win-ning total of all the fall sports, itseems that success as becomesynonymous with the team. Asthe season comes to an end, withthe heat of the room flowingthrough the air, and the thoughtsof hope running, or rather swim-ming, through their minds, thegirls varsity swim team will con-tinue to do what they do best,win.

Swim team enjoys swimming success

“It givesus some-thing towork for, itsa greaterchallenge”

Looks like somebody is preparing to take a dive! Joe Pugliese/Highlights

How video games affect an average student life in high schoolBy Rob PuglieseHighlights

When asked the question,do video games affect a stu-dent’s academic or social lives ina negative way? People mostlikely say it does. Well accord-ing to Quinn Simek and BrandonMurray, it does not.

Quinn Simek is a junior thatplays games 12 hours plus onschool nights and 20 plus onweekends. When asked how hedoes academically Quinn saidthat games have had no affect onhis academic and social life butin fact made it better.

Quinn is into first personshooters and role playing games.He also enjoys games that arehard and challenging.

“It didn’t bother me muchbecause I didn’t block every-thing out.” Quinn stated. “It’swhen you obsess over it andblock things out where itbecomes a problem.”

Quinn has good grades andnever really experienced prob-

lems except once. He forgot thathe had a test the following dayand stayed up till 12 playinggames. His morning was roughand he forgot all about it.

Luckily for him it was a halfday and he managed to pass it.Quinn let his games get beforehis academic life and he almostsuffered the consequences for it.School does have its limitationsand requirements. These thingscannot be ignored.

As far as his social life,Quinn has tons of friends thatare into the same games he is.

Many people like him becausehe plays the games they like andthey can play online togetherand hang at school. So does itaffect his social life in a ngetaiveway? The answer is a definiteno. And his academic life? Onceevery blue moon.

The other student whotalked about his opinion on thistopic was Brandon Murray.

Brandon is a seniorthat is infive AP classes. He has notplayed a lot of video games sofar in his life. At the mostBrandon has played at least five

hours worth of games his entirelife. “I never really had time toplay games.” Brandon stated.“Some people can but me, no.”

Brandon has very highgrades and good hopes for col-lege. He said that even if he didplay games it wouldn’t affecthim academically anywaybecause he wouldn’t put it first.“It’s all depended on time man-agement and responsibility.”Brandon said.

He also states that all videogames “time fillers.” Meaningthat when there’s nothing to do;playing a game is great for pass-

ing time. As far as his social life is

concerned, Brandon, just likeQuinn, has a ton of friends thatrespect him.

Brandon statedthat he wish-es he could play games more,but school does come first.

Both students said thatgames had not affected their aca-demic and social lives negative-ly. But it all depends on theresponsibility of the person tomanage their time wisely andaccordingly. How it affects youis up to the person and hopefullyit wont be negative.

Controller size matters. Cody Naccarato/Highlights

Entertainment 5Highlights November 4, 2011

By Cody NaccaratoHighlights

Forza Motorsport has beena staple franchise in the drivingvideo game genre for the Xbox360 platform. Among otherthings, it is one of the more pop-ular Microsoft exclusive fran-chises available (behind only thesuper popular Gears of War, andHalo series' respectively) Themost interesting thing about theForza games is that they seem toreally capture what peoplewould want in a racing game.These advancements have led tomy constant enjoyment sincepicking up Forza 4.

Forza Motorsport startedout back on the original Xboxconsole in May of 2005. Sixyears and a whole new genera-tion of consoles later, the gamehasn't stopped evolving. Aftermaking the jump to the Xbox360, Forza 2 concentrated moreon circuit races, and went theextra quarter mile to get somereal world tracks included. Thephysics were revamped and thedamage taken suddenly took ona whole new level of realism.The game however, playedalmost identically to its prede-cessor.

Forza 3 was released in fallof 2009. New to the game werethe integration of more cars,such as SUV's and stock cars. Italso introduced the now popular

in car view, which wouldallow for a more detailedlook on the inside of avehicle. The cars hadreal undercarriages, andthe cars themselves fea-tured even more realisticphysics including theroll-overs. Forza 3 waspraised by critics, where-as Forza 2 seemed like acheap imitation to theoriginal. We head forthinto the future, and allthe questions beingasked are; how doesForza 4 compare up?The answers all point tospectacular.

Forza 4 allows forusers to import theirForza 3 profiles overinto the new game. This allowsfor instant happiness when yousee the car that took you threeweeks of your life to get inForza 3 pop up in Forza 4'sgarage. The integration allowsfor players to carry over filesfrom the previous title for use inthe new games engine. Some tomost of the cars made theirexpected returns anyway, so it'scool if you didn't get the oppor-tunity to buy Forza 3 before-hand.

Forza 4 may also have theunique distinction of being oneof the first core games toinclude serious Kinect integra-tion. You can use your hands to

drive the car like a steeringwheel. Say you're eating dinnerwith your family around the TV.After dinner, don't put yourplate in the sink, use it as thesteering wheel. It also uses headmapping to be able to determinewhere the player is looking atthe screen. If the player looks tothe upper right hand corner, thein game driver will look uptowards his rear view mirror,and to the rest of his car. Suchintegration in a game not specif-ically designed around the func-tion is a phenomenal step for-ward in the game playing expe-rience.

Auto Vista is also intro-

duced. Auto Vista allows forusers to hear detailed descrip-tions about the cars that they aredriving, and take a detailed lookaround them. Clicking on someof the info bubbles will providethe gamer with all the knowl-edge they need and never want-ed to know. It's still interestingto hear some of these little fac-toids. It adds context to a lot ofthe cars that I probably willnever get the chance to sit in, inreal life. Since this is aMicrosoft product, they obvi-ously had to drag Halo into it.You can check out the Warthog,and hear all about it from JenTaylor, otherwise known as

"Cortana."The massive improvements

made over the course of thisgame's history are astonishing.To look back and think, that thegames we played back thenwere awesome. I look at thisgame, and see that everythingthat I ever wanted included intoa driving/racing game has been.I get to drive really fast cars, Ican get over-involved withmyself in my living room withmy dinner plate, and I can lookinto a billionaire's garage. It'struly a win-win situation. Withno gripes, and no notable com-plaints I give five dinner platedrivers out of five.

Forza 4: I’ll race you anywhere!

4 5 0 I t a l i a i s o n e o f t h e m a n y c a r s a v a i l a b l e i n F o r z a M o t o r s p o r t 4 .

By Cody NaccaratoHighlights

Good movies come around allthe time. Good movies are the kindof movie where nobody asks for theirmoney back, and the happy ending atthe end makes little children happy.Great films are like a shooting star inthe blackest of skies. Warrior is agreat movie.

Warrior plays from two verydifferent stories. The story of TommyRiordan (Tom Hardy) is one of amarine after his service in the mid-dle-east trying to keep a promise forhis fallen brother in arms. He alsoripped the door off a tank! Riordanreturns to his father Paddy Conlon(Nick Nolte)to see if he will trainhim as he did in his youth for aMMAtournament. Riordan’s brotherand Paddy’s other son BrendanConlon (Joel Edgerton) is a physicsteacher at the nearby high school.Conlon struggles to make ends meetas it is, until the bank threatens toforeclose his house. Conlon gets firedfor fighting for money, and resorts

back to MMAto save his familyfrom being homeless.

The greatest mark of this film isthe struggle. Both have their prob-lems, some more apparent than oth-ers. Tommy is the typical product ofthe Marine Corps. He’s a strong guywho is closed and shut off from anyemotion or feeling. He has hismoments but he was trained to be aWarrior. The concept of joining theMarines would only strengthen thathe is a strong individual.

Brendan on the other hand isstubborn. Brendan is the kind of guywho would do anything for his fami-ly, even if it means lying to his wifeand breaking promises. His strugglesare mostly by the people around himas opposed to Tommy who spendsmost of the film internally strugglingwith how he feels. This prevents theproblem that anybody would haveseeing this movie; there are two pro-tagonists. Which do you root for?

This is probably the greatestdevice a movie can use to makemovies come alive. Make the audi-ence really decide who they want to

win, and who they want to be tri-umphant in the end. Its more thanobvious that the two brothers willfight each other in the finale (theyeven said it in the previews). Theyboth have good reasons, and are bothgood people. More to the point,they’re both great fighters with twovery distinct styles.

The other problem presented isthat they are each other’s antagonist.For the one to accomplish his goal,he must prove triumphant over theother. And since both are Warriorsthey will leave whatever they have inthe ring, in a supreme winner take allfashion. To add even more heat, thewhole family has been estranged forsomewhere close to a few decades.The added tension makes the conflictso interesting that you will be sittingon the edge of your seat biting yourfinger nails until they’re just a coupleof bunch bloody nubs.

Paddy Conlon is the classicborn again Christian/recovering alco-holic that is asking for his last secondchance even though he really doesn’tdeserve one. Of course, this roll is

played in such a way that only NickNolte and his classic voice can pulloff without question. Paddy Conlonis the sad old man eating lunch byhimself that you can’t help but feelbadly for.

Kurt Angle is the terrifyingRussian, Koba. You might be won-dering why I put him in this review.He’s just another minute characterthat probably didn’t need any certaintype of exposure other than a defeat-ed opponent. His only purpose is toshow the struggle of Brendan ofalways being an underdog. Basicallyhe’s a plot device to prove that the

impossible is possible. He should’vebeen left out of both the movie andthis review, but oh well.

When the lights came on inthe theater, I felt like I mighthave a tear shed through myeyes. I didn’t of course, but youknow, I could have. The moviehas an amazing story told in anamazing way for one and all tosee. The movie is honestly oneof the best movies I’ve seen late-ly and my vote for Best Film of2011. Warrior gets 5 doorsripped off of tanks, out of 5.

Warrior:He ripped the door off a tank!

Entertainment 7Highlights November 4, 2011

By Rob PuglieseHighlights

Everyone was pumped for the newrelease of Gears of War 3 on September20th, 2011, I sure was. This game was with-out a doubt a definite buy. I loved this gamefor many reasons. It was a great way to endthe trilogy and answered a lot of questionsexcept the most important one, “What dowe do now?”

This game is about a character namedMarcus Fenix and his goal to save thehuman race. In the first and second Gears ofWar, Fenix and his fellow soldiers in DeltaSquad roam around the planet Sera to stopthe Locust from taking over the world andcompletely ending humanity. Unlike in theother games, the human race is nearlydestroyed. This is Marcus’ last attempt tosave humanity, save the ones he cares about,and solve new questions that arrive withanswers that are unpredictable.

One thing I liked about this game wasthe campaign. Now a days, most campaignsfor games are terrible or on the hardest diffi-culty, the easiest thing possible. Unlike inGears of War one and two, the campaign isharder then ever due to new enemies, newweapons, and more situations where quickthinking and perfect action must be taken.

In all the games, there are four difficul-ties, Easy, Normal, Hardcore, and Insane.Insane compared to legendary Halo is likebig daddy to the little sisters . It is complete-ly a challenge. But just when you thinkthat’s not bad enough, it gets worse. In all ofthe Gears of War games, you can getdowned which means that you must beeither revived by a teammate or revive your-self which is only possible in some gametypes.

You can get downed in the campaign aswell. The campaign revival system onInsane was different then it is in the newgame. On insane in the old games it waspossible to be revived when you weredowned, but in the third one it is not. Onceyou get hit enough times, you will die andrestart and the last checkpoint you received.I still am trying to find time to beat thisgame on Insane but i think its fun. Honestly,I love this aspect of the game. Sometimesits extremely diffficult, but eith enough fuel

for the saw, you can do it. It makes it morechallenging and totally makes you a betterplayer.

The online multi player of this game isfantastic, except for the people who havebeen pro veterans since the first one. Withup to seven different game types, there aremany variants people can play and seewhich interests them the most. From teamdeath-match to king of the hill, it is awe-some playing with people to achieve suc-cess.

When I first ventured into the Gears ofWar multiplayer i was astonished at howfantastic it was. I came in first of my teamwith a lead of 30 kills, and two deaths. Thisgame is awesome and once practiced andmastered, the player can become unstop-pable.

Like the second game, Horde makes itsreturn and better than ever. If your a begin-ner and never played Horde, its just likefirefight in Halo. You face wave after waveof enemies getting stronger and strongerafter the last. There are 50 levels, everytenth level is the most difficult with strongerenemies that take more damage, and newerenemies with better weapons. It becomesharder after about the 30th wave. The goalto winning this game variant is to play withfriends. There is five player co-op. It’s a lotof fun either just messing around withfriends or playing seriously to stop theHorde.

You can now build barriers, turrets, andtons of new things for money received frombeating the rounds and killing enemies.While all my friends build turrets and barri-ers, I build dummies. The coolest thing

about Horde is the fact that you get experi-ence online for playing it even in a privatematch which makes it so much more awe-some. Just like campaign, horde has all fourdifficulties and can be played on any map.

One new feature that Gears of War 3created was Beast mode where the playerplays in the perspective of the Horde inattempts to blow away the humans. Theplayer can play with up to five friends, andany difficulty or map may be chosen. Youdo still get experience for playing this. Ilove the aspect of playing from the otherside. It really makes you question howstrong the humans are and how easy it isfor the Locust to almost extinct them.

From the tiniest of monsters to thelargest ones, you can pick apart the humansto reach success. But the only way to dothis is to earn money form destroyingdefenses and killing enemies. The tinymonsters cost pennies while the larger onescost thousands.

There is 12 waves of Beast mode rang-ing from one being the easiest and 12 beingthe hardest. Just like in Horde, the humanwill have defenses and heroes, which aremain characters from the campaign or othergames that make it more difficult. Beastmode is great for players who want to seehow it is to fight as the evil side, instead ofthe good.

Gear of War 3 is an absolute awesomegame. With an amazing ending that willmake you play the trilogy all over again,and several great game types, this gamewill keep you interested. I rate it four and ahalf out of five grubs. Try not to get chain-sawed.

Let’s go take out some grubs!

Marcus Fenix and his squad attempt to hold off the enemy. Rob/Highlights

By Rob PuglieseHighlights

The lyrics “Take the hand. Guide the way.Far away. Find the truth. Always. Always” arefrom the song “The Octopus has no friends” onthe new album The Hunter by Mastodon. Thealbum consists of 13 kick ass songs that willhave you wanting to listen over and over andover again.

Mastodon is a famous sludge and progres-sive metal band that has been around since 1999.With five hit albums, Mastodon has not onlygained tremendous popularity but also is able toadd classical elements to their music and basetheir album on a certain concept.

The Hunter is different than their otheralbums because it is the first album they createdto not have a specific concept. Also, it’s their firstalbum without classical elements included. Thereason why this album is special is because it’s adifferent style of music that the band incorporat-ed into their songs.

Icould notdecide ononefavoritesong forthisalbumbut I dohavethree thatI thoughtwere thebest.

“The Hunter” in which the album is named after,“Spectrelight,” and “Blasteroid.”

“The Hunter” is awesome because it hascool sounds to it and cool lyrics as well. “All thelove I've shown. Given to the ones I've known.All the love I make. Is equal to the love I take”are some of the lyrics included in the song.

The song “Spectrelight” is cool because ithas that dark vibe to it when it refers to the after-life but also involves in telling you to seek yourown truth. “Belief in power. Believe the dream.Trust your own truth.”

“Blasteroid” on the other hand, is complete-ly different. This song is very hardcore for some-one that you don’t like. “Change your name.Change your eyes. Become the one who Idespise.”

While listening to the album I have noticedmany things. For one it was incredible. Two ithas more tracks then their last album Crack theSkye. Third is that this can be listened to playingwhile playing any game. Fourth I realized is thatit sounds somewhat like a mix of their albumsBlood Mountain and Crack the Skye. But hon-estly everything about this album is interesting.

This album is simply amazing. If you areinto sounds that will boggle your head, lyrics thatwill blow you away, or you just are a die-hardMastodon fan, then this album is for you. Withgreat sounds, sick lyrics, and many tracks, I givethis album a definite 5 out of 5 friends for theoctopus. Get this album, bang your head around,scream your heart out and don’t forget to turn onrepeat.

The Hunterbecomes the

hunted by fans

8 The back pageHighlights November 4,2011

Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill having a serious conversation. Highlights

Soda ain’t free in the club house!

Make it stop review“This message is an important and

possibly controversial topic, as the bandis not only targeting those who bulliedthese five teenagers, but anyone whoharasses someone over sexuality, aswell as the fans of the band themselves.According to lead vocalist and guitaristTim McIlrath, the song is intended to,“let our own audience members knowthat if they would make a fellow con-certgoer feel unwelcome at a RiseAgainst show, then perhaps it is theywho are not welcome at a Rise Againstshow.” This song is the second single to

be released from Endgame, followingHelp is On the Way. In the context ofthe album, Make it Stop doesn’t reallymake sense. Endgame is a pseudo-con-cept album about an impending disas-ter- doomsday. Many of the songs talkabout this danger and the problems andflaws in the world that the human racebrought upon them..While homophobiais a very important topic and a bigproblem in our world today, it is a dif-ferent type of problem, stemmed fromhate and ignorance rather than apathyand destruction.” Tim McIlrath really looks like he’s passionate.Highlights

Feeling robotically enhanced?The player encounters many tough

decisions and hard obstacles duringthis journey. You can either help peo-ple with their problems or just ignorethem and move on. With every deci-sion chosen, the game is affected.Some choices may be worth it whileothers will just hurt you by makingthe game harder. If anyone has everplayed Grand Theft Auto IV, theywould know what is meant by this.

Although the game may seemimpossible it isn’t. With the help of

enhancements, the game can be sim-pler. The player may choose betweenmany categories of enhancements tomake the game easier for them. Eithergiving Jensen the ability to turn invisi-ble or see through walls, the gamebecomes more interesting. In order toget these abilities, the player mustfind, buy, or earn PRAXIS points.From there, the character may bealtered for the players benefit. Theachievements and trophies may be dif-ficult to obtain but it’s an adventure Dues Es: Human Revolution has the coolest box art! Highlights

Mayday Parade got a new album!“Mayday Parade has a lways

had a reputat ion for their br i l l iantlyr ics and maintained that throughthis a lbum. Before this a lbum,most of the music was very s imple,and not very or iginal . As you l is-ten to the new tracks there areinterest ing solos , and general lyjust a unique sound Mayday Paradenever had before , adding to theirat tent ion grabbing lyr ics . Mybiggest problem with this bandbefore this a lbum was that everysong’s instrumental sounded s imi-

lar, but this f law has beenaddressed and completely takencare of . In my opinion even beforethis a lbum Mayday Parade took acurve downwards from the f i rs t tosecond album. This was probablydue to the loss of Jason Lancaster.

On top of the obvious setbackof losing a member, in an inter-view Lancaster s ta ted “I 'm not bi t -ter anymore and al l wil l heal witht ime, but know the bands you love,and know they aren ' t a lways whatthey seem.” Mayday Parade is back and ready to go!Highlights

What have you been missing onKingstonHighlights.com?

“...when you break down baseball,it really falls into two categories;sports and business. The sports portionis the thing that people go wild over.People flock to the stadiums to gettheir peanuts and cracker jacks! But,at its core, a baseball team is really abusiness. The goal of any business isto make money, and if you’re not mak-ing money, you can’t afford any greatplayers.

Scouts would always take thingssuch as age and good looks intoaccount. If a LHP had a constant 95

mph fastball, but he looked like heslept on his face for twenty years, he’slikely to get passed by. Another suchexample would be if he had an uglygirlfriend. If his girlfriend was ugly,then the player “wouldn’t be confidentenough.” The other thing is that play-ers need to be recognizable. Somebodyyou can stick in a commercial forsome random product. If the fansdon’t know the players, they don’tshow up to games.If fans don’t showup, the ball club loses money.”