Category: journalism

Stuff having to do with the world of journalism.

Kindled Spirit

theycallmedameLeave a comment

People all around the world are raving about the Kindle or Kindle for iPad. They get unbelievably excited about reading a book off a bright LED screen, and it makes me want to cry.

Yes, the Kindle is helping reduce the amount of trees being cut down for paper, but the batteries they use will eventually die. Those dead batteries, when thrown away, will be sent to a landfill or be buried underneath some great big hill, or be disposed of by shooting them far away into the freaking space-time continuum.

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‘Art Crime’

sennymcfly1 Comment

Graffiti

Are you an artist? What’s your medium? Music? Pencil and Paper? A bottle of spray paint and the South wall of your local bank? How many times have you been condemned for expressing you art? All of these questions are risen in my mind by two words, “Art Crime.”

A photograph can be argued over because it depicts a man laying naked with another man or it shows a woman dressed in torn, wet, fishnet tights and a ripped corset with make up leaking down her cheeks, holding a bottle of Whiskey, walking down the dark streets of San Fransisco. People get offended by images that show truths that most of us are unwilling to accept. That’s called provoking emotion. That is the sole purpose of art, to provoke emotion. So why is it that some art forms are illegal?

It’s true that some graffiti isn’t very pleasant to look at like gang tags and stupid anarchy signs that morons use to “mark their territory.” But, I literally don’t see anything wrong with the graffiti art that posted around the world. I mean the graffiti that actually has meaning and shape and colors and creativity. I don’t get what the big deal is. Graffiti is just painting but instead of using a canvas you use a building or a billboard or something like that. It’s just another way for artists to express their, well…..artistry.

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Remembering James Street

pikachu04Leave a comment

Screen shot 2010-11-02 at 8.34.18 PM
As we approach graduation, I can not help but think about one person who is no longer with us, but would be graduating with our class. James Street was my classmate at lower campus for several years. He was one of the brightest and happiest people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. James had a way with making people laugh, and he could always make you smile no matter what kind of day you were having.

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America’$ Next Top Billionaire

yrreskrapLeave a comment

What do William Gates III, Warren Buffett, and Lawrence Ellison have in common? Well, they are not only America’s three richest men, but rank among the richest men in the world.

Lawrence_Ellison.jpg

Lawrence Ellison stands in third place in America’s richest men, worth $28 billion. He is the founder of the Oracle Corporation, one of the largest hardware and software corporations in the world. His successful company has over 370,000 customers, with industries in over 145 countries around the world. Born and raised in Chicago, he attended University of Chicago and studied physics. However, he dropped out and never received his diploma. Who knew that a college drop out would end up becoming the sixth richest man in the world?

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Osama’s Threat

delhigossipLeave a comment

For long the world had lived assuming that the leader of al-Quida and the man behind the crash of the World Trade Center in New York, Osama bin Ladin, was dead. However, an audio message threat to France on Wednesday, shows that the group and the leader are once again active and plan to endanger lives if the French government goes ahead with their plan of ban of the veil in public places.

In his message, Osama also mentioned that the last month’s kidnaping of five foreigners, including five of which were French, in the Sarah desert in northern Niger, was in fact a warning to the French government. The message which was only about a minute and a half long, said a lot including the fact that lives will be in danger because they are putting their women’s lives in danger. “As you wrongly have decided that you have the right to ban Muslim women from wearing the veil, is it not our right to drive out your conquerors by killing them?” Bin Laden asked. The French government is under real threat and unless chosen other-wise they want to put the law on hold till they can further settle matters with the group, however this decision relies only to the higher judges in France.

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Not Just For Practice

Paloma SpencerLeave a comment

On Sunday, October 10th, mef and OVS English teacher Brad Weidlich attended a tennis marathon at the local courts of Ojai’s beautiful Libbey Park. Playing 56 games in a matter of 4 hours deemed to be just as strenuous as it seems, but gave me an absolutely amazing Sunday morning. Competing with other players within my age range and skill level, I was able to enhance my tennis skills as well as make friendships in the process.

But these tennis matches were not just for practice.

OVYF, the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, is a program designed to enhance the lives of Ojai Valley youths through recreational activities, mentor programs, and leadership events.

Every year, the OVYF holds a tennis marathon in which both adults and children gather to compete in over 5o games of doubles, no ad scoring tennis.

But these games aren’t the only thing that makes this day special.

Before playing tennis on that warm sunday afternoon, each youth player was required to raise a minimum amount of 150 dollars while the adults took on the even bigger challenge of raising a minimum of 350 dollars. With the help of relatives, friends, and the Ojai Valley School, Mr. Brad Weidlich and myself were able to raise a total amount of 650 dollars that directly benefit the youth of Ojai.

Mr. Brad Weidlich, a wonderful English teacher with a genuine desire to help the local Ojai community, inspired me to go out and make a difference. And just like that, we did.

My Passion for Volleyball

pikachu04Leave a comment

Volleyball has always been a passion of mine. I love the sound of tennis shoes scuffing against the waxed gym floor, the feeling you get when you celebrate a victory with your teammates, coming into the center of the court to cheer each other on, the release you feel when you snap that ball down onto the other side of the net, and then quickly prepare for it to come right back. I love that in volleyball, you have to always be on your toes, low and ready to play every ball. The trust and relationships that develop between you and your teammates is something truly beyond words. I cannot express the love that I have for each and every girl on my team. Volleyball is all about team work and always trusting your team mates to do their best with every ball that comes their way, but, if they make a mistake, you are right there to tell them “shake it off, we got this, good try.” I know that this sport will always be a big part of my life and i am happy to share my experience with other girls at OVS.

Only Here

theycallmedameLeave a comment

I, unlike many of my peers, have never been to public school.

I have never walked large halls, I have never seen a fellow classmate and not recognize him or her.

I went to a Montessori pre-school, and then went to Calmont School my kindergarten year.

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Faith

smackyjackjack3 Comments

A new study suggests that Atheists, or somebody who does not believe in the existence of God, know much more about religion than people who are religious. The study says that this happens because atheists usually like to know more about religion, and why they do not believe.

But the greater reason is because once somebody starts to believe in religion, then they stop questioning their faith. This is a very dangerous concept because one cannot blindly follow a religion that they know nothing about.

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Beverley Knowles

weirdjenny4 Comments

During the past week, many OVS students received a friend request from Beverley Knowels on Facebook. Some of the students added her as a friend, but some of them have questioned who she is, and they rejected her request.

Beverley Knowels stated that she is an alumni of OVS. However, some students have realized that there is no such a person in OVS history. In the boys dorm, we even had a dorm meeting about this issue. The faculty and student leaders  told students not to add her as a friend.

Some people think that the definition of “friends”  has changed a little bit since Facebook has become popular. People accept people they don’t really know. They accept their friend requests just because they both have mutual friends or they just want to have more friends on Facebook.

It is very dangerous to add someone who we don’t know on Facebook, because other people will know all our information. This is now a very serious problem for everyone who uses Facebook.