Author: callmemaybe32

Moving Forward

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After the OVS football team came home with an outstanding victory in Lee Vining, that winning streak did not continue this past Saturday.

After our return we had a week to prepare for our next game against Hillcrest Christian of Thousand  Oaks, California. During this week practice seemed to be filled with not only focused faces and hard work, but excitement and laughter after the team had just broken a new Ojai Valley School record of being the first team to win a varsity football game.

It seemed that the win may have gotten to the heads of some players, myself included, and that if we beat that team, that we would probably be able to carry that win into the next game.

Although the game did not put another W on the Ojai Valley School’s standings it did teach the team a valuable lesson, a lesson our coaches were trying to instill in us all week.

Yes we won, but that is just one game, and that while we should be happy we won, there was still plenty of work. In practice Coach D said that yes we did play well, but we need to be better, the word better was repeated over, and over, and over, but apparently in this game our opponent ended up with the better score, which means, they won.

While many of us wanted to walk off of the field with our heads down, we had to keep them up, and come back to our next game playing even better than the first and second.

This past loss has given the team a reality check that while we did play well the first game, and this is not to say we did not play well on Saturday, that we do indeed need to be better.

Our next game is Saturday night against the Maricopa Indians.

This game will be very special for the team because we get to play in the Indian’s stadium arena at night under the lights.

This next coming week of practice is going to be tough, but it will only give us more time to sharpen our minds, and sharpen our plays, because come Saturday it will hopefully be time to put another win up on the boards for this team of new records.

Hopefully we can show everyone that we do deserve to play, and shatter the harsh words that some put on OVS football, like the program should be cancelled because “we aren’t good.”

To all of the people who doubt our team or speak I’ll of us, I ask you to come out and try to do what we do everyday, and see after that what you think about the fact that we aren’t good or that we don’t deserve to play.

If you have to win all the time to be worth it, than sports would not be what they are, nobody would ever win because everyone would be just as good as the other. And if we are to follow in this thought that winning is the only reason to play, than nobody would be able to play because winning would become impossible.

Empty Stadium

If any of you would like to know what it is like to go through what a football team goes through together, I beg you to come out on to the field everyday, put on your helmet and pads, run around in the heat, get beaten and battered, and then return from a loss, and hear, “wow who could have seen that coming,” in a sarcastic tone.

Hopefully we can better ourselves from this game and have the season of all seasons. If you can come out and support at any of our games it would be greatly appreciated. And to all of you who doubt us I really hope we can change your minds at some point, and if not try and keep it to yourself.

Behind the Scenes of the Lee Vining Live Blog

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Hello all, we are finally back from our football road trip where we came out victorious against the Lee Vining Tigers, putting us 4th in our free lance league, and currently putting us in an undefeated position with our 52-28 win.

Now, if you are reading this post I hope you have read our Lee Vining updates where the whole trip is laid out day by day, highlighting major moments and fun times.

What you as a reader get is different than what I as a writer experience on a day to day basis. Some of our readers may envision students and teachers alike sitting in an office or classroom that is well groomed and maintained, writing on computers in newsrooms like those portrayed on TV and in movies.

It is actually quite the contrary if you are reading our blogs from the Lee Vining trip. Our three  journalists on the Lee Vining trip were me (Keaton Shiffman), second year journalist (John Olivo), and first year journalist and photographer (Nicholas Giannetti).

It may seem obvious that trees and bushes do not output a strong WiFi signal, rather, none at all. So every night of our trip after all of our camp business was done, and food was taken care of, the journalists along with Mr. John Wickenhaeuser travelled down the road into the small town of Lee Vining.

Lee Vining is not the most normal of towns, because as it currently states on its welcome sign, it has a population of 398, which could have varied from the first time this sign was put up.

The first night of blogging was done from a Mobil Gas station, which also supplemented as a restaurant, gift shop, and convenience store. John, Mr. Wick, and Mr. Craig Floyd, all sat outside on the picnic style benches this gas station had to offer, and used a phone’s internet to post our Lee Vining: Day 1 post. John and I sat outside in the cold writing on the computers to inform our readers of how the first day and night had gone so far. This blog can be found on John’s profile, backinphilly, where we co-wrote the first story.

After about an hour of blogging John, our faculty supervisors, and I headed back to camp to find all of our teammates and remaining coaches asleep.

The next morning was the game which can also be found on the “backinphilly” blog. This day turned out better than expected with a great victory, but we played against a team with such great work ethic, and even better sportsmanship. Read all about Day 2 in Lee Vining @ Lee Vining: Day 2. This blog was written in an even more unique spot than a gas station diner, a McDonalds PlayPlace.

After our first varsity victory, the team enjoyed a fantastic meal at Giovanni’s Pizza in Mammoth Lakes, CA.

After dinner, we once again ventured out to a new blog spot, and it turned out that McDonalds had accessible WiFi, so we hopped on that opportunity.

When we first arrived, briefcase in hand, covered in dirt, sweat, and tears, I would have expected an unusual look from the staff, but maybe that was normal for them.

What really should have provoked a look was the fact that when we could not find any power outlets, we set up shop in the middle of the napkins and straws. And even at that no McDonalds employee minded the fact that we had set up our computer at a random condiment counter in the middle of their restaurant.

While writing we had a few visitors trying to find a straw or a napkin to wipe off their hands. Even at that nobody really wanted to question the two large teenage boys sitting and writing on a laptop in the middle of a McDonalds in Mammoth.

About 30 minutes into our writing one employee finally decided to tell us there was a power outlet under a seating area in the front lobby of the establishment. We picked up and moved there, and in this area there was a PlayPlace located conveniently on our left.

While we wrote on the couch like seat, we had to seize a great photo op in which John and I sat in the PlayPlace finishing our Day 2 blog.

I now see why these play places are made for children and not grown adolescent boys who have heights that exceed 6 feet.

This blog spot provoked a few laugh after an amazing and exhausting day.

We once again packed up, got in the car and headed back to camp, where once again we found a campground in a slumber after a day of hard work.

This really shows the dedication of our Journalists, and the want to let our readers  know how we do what we do.

I hope this shed some light on what really goes on behind the scenes in the life of an OVS Journalists, and what it is like blogging on the road while playing one of the most memorable football games any of us will ever take part in.

From Keaton “That Guy” Shiffman, back in Ojai, I bid you good evening.

Also, contrary to popular belief apparently, I was not stuck in the slide at the PlayPlace, I was merely lost in the ever so confusing maze of tunnels that I may or may not have been to large to have been crawling around in.

Stuck

Lockouts Hurt, So Does Getting Smashed Into the Boards

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Just last night at 12am ET no more negotiations had been made on the NHL’s CBA or Collective Bargain Agreement. The issue at hand is the fact that the owners of the hockey franchises want to reduce the amount of Hockey Related Revenues that the players receive from 57% to 46%. Within the current CBA this negotiation cannot be made, and neither side of the argument is willing to budge.

This affects many people, not only the players, but their families, and all the people that work behind the scenes in the professional hockey world. If there are no games — and currently there won’t be any — the players will not receive any HRR, the arenas will not sell tickets, which means they will not make money, which means they cannot pay their employees what they should be getting paid. As it is seen here it is a never ending spiral of horror for employees and fans alike. While this lockout will not effect my wallet in a negative way, rather a positive way, I think I can speak for myself and many others that this lockout is going to make this a very boring 9 months or so. Usually during this time watching my beloved Los Angeles Kings play a few times a week keeps me going through the ever so long week. Just one game makes me week so much better, and I feel that many would agree with me.

Hockey photo

If this blog could reach Gary Bettman, commissioner of the NHL, I would just want him to know that myself and fans alike would like him to re think his actions in the negotiations that started on September 15, 2012. Please Mr. Bettman, end this lockout, and LET MY KINGS PLAY. Go Kings Go!

The New Realm of Music

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As an enjoyer of many things musical, I have a very opinionated view of where the music scene is going. More recently the electronic/house/trance/dubstep/(or whatever you may call it) scene has been making its appearance.

This certain genre of music started off on the wrong foot in the eyes of the society it was breaking into. Underground raves were popping up all over the place, and kids were dying because of drug overdoses, kidney failure, liver failure, and all things linked to drinking and drugs. It is because of this rocky start that electronic dance music began to make a bad name for itself in the music world.

This music has just started to break the mold it was forced into because of stupid actions of crazy teens and young adults.

There are artists such as Skrillex, for example, who have completely changed their lives because of this music. Skrillex, or Sonny John Moore, was homeless just a year and half before accepting three grammies at the 2012 show. He is now one of the top recording dubstep, progressive, and electric artists that exist. The bad name that this music has been given is being erased with all of the success it has been bringing about.

Just as I am writing this post a song by Skrillex has come on through my headphones, and it gives me a certain feeling. A head bobbing that is uncontrollable, a foot tapping that is contagious, with my headphones in I am in my own world, but others around will know that I am enjoying what I am listening to.

Now, while this music created by artists like Skrillex, Bassnectar, Deadmau5, and many more, it is not created with the traditional drum, guitar, and bass. Rather, it is created with a computer to simulate these sounds, and also to give them a completely different sound. This is not to say that these electric songs can’t have real instruments in them.

In fact the very song that has inspired this is a new single released by Skrillex and the Doors, called “Breakn’ a Sweat.” This track features the traditional Skrillex sound created by computer software, mixing boards, turntables, and midis, with the sound that the Doors have created for years with keyboards, drums, guitar, and bass. The track also features vocals from Skrillex himself and the members of the Doors.

This video features a little bit of what went into making this track.