The Long Beach Poly Marching Unit competed at Huntington Beach High School last Saturday, Nov. 1, against five other bands, including Millikan. Edison High School hosted the competition.
This was the first time in marching band history that Poly has competed against Millikan in a field show tournament. They have been at tournaments together, but never in the same division.
During halftime at the Poly/Millikan football game, the marching band performed its entire field show better than it ever had before, according to Director Chris Stevens.
The field show this year featured the music of Elton John.AP Chemistry teacher Casey Gillett and Stevens teamed up to build a bright red Styrofoam piano. The Polyettes (color guard) and junior trumpet soloist Hunter Davis used the piano as a prop during the performance.
However, during the first movement, “Funeral for a Friend,” the flimsy piano collapsed in the gusts of wind and broke into pieces that knocked into various members of the band and color guard throughout the show.
Each band member handled the mistake with grace by recovering from trips and falls while continuing to stay in step. Of course, some band members were hanging their heads low in spite of the high level of performance that was maintained.
The biggest worry after the piano fiasco was how it would affect the scores. In prior competitions, Poly had scored 53 and 56 out of 100, which placed Poly’s band second and first.
Especially because of the competitive nature between Poly and Millikan, band members began to get anxious after the show. Millikan exhibited great skill with the drill they had been taught, and performed their music with great aptitude. This only increased the worry of the Poly band members.
Rivalry is especially tough in the marching band world, which many people fail to realize. Millikan and Poly performers exchanged taunts, while band veterans attempted to stop the shenanigans.
Soon came the time for the awards. In the bitter cold sat all 93 members of the Poly Marching Unit, freezing cold and absolutely crazy with nerves.
When the judges reached Poly’s division and the scores began to be read, each member of Poly and Millikan became squeamish with anxiety and anticipation. The judges reached second place and exclaimed, “Jackrabbits of Poly with 72.5 points!” A sigh of disappointment from Poly mingled with the victorious cheers of Millikan.
However, Millikan was in for a surprise when their score was read, they learned that they had beaten Poly by only .15 of a point.
Both Poly and Millikan exhibited great improvements from prior years and competitions, and the rivalry will undoubtedly continue.
Category: Arts & Culture
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Plastic Piano Pelts Poly Players
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Back to 1989
When Taylor Swift dropped the lead single from her fifth studio album entitled 1989 on a late-August afternoon in 2014, it was not simply a song release—it was a global event.
This may sound like hyperbole to many, but it is hard to deny that Swift (love or loathe her) stands unrivaled in terms of mass musical appeal while she maintains a deeply personal lyrical method to her work. So when Swift announced during her livestream that 1989 would be her “first documented, official pop album,” she did so with exuberant confidence.
Swift knew that she had the power to goose those dog days of summer back into a fever pitch merely by exhibiting pictures of accidental Polaroids and gushing about red lipstick. To be candid, her elopement to pop should not have come as a surprise; in her 2012 blockbuster, Red, she had already been flirting with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback in a crossover effort to distance herself from her humble country roots while making for the canopy of the charts where she always seemed to have been destined. This time with 1989, Swift boldly doubles down on her investment and, to her credit and the delight of her listeners, she earns it back thirteenfold.
The album opens with “Welcome to New York,” an immaculately polished synthpop number in which Swift declares, “it’s a new soundtrack / I could dance to this beat forevermore.” It is a song that the gals from Sex and the City would have on their iPods, you know, if they had those back in the eighties.
On that note, Swift and her producers do a superb job in bringing that decade’s sonic palette to the album, but they still manage to keep the proceedings distinctly modern. “Out of the Woods” and “I Wish You Would,” two tracks that Swift co-penned with fun. frontman Jack Antonoff, most triumphantly accomplish this endeavor.
Elsewhere, it is clear that Swift borrows from the best of her contemporaries: with her clipped vocal delivery, “Blank Space” screams Lorde while “Wildest Dreams” is completely à la Lana Del Rey.All the while, Swift still manages to make those songs her own. Even the most seemingly impersonal song on 1989, “Shake It Off” has all the trademarks of a Swift number: an inimitable girlish effervescence, a subtly sublime spoken-word section, and sly ex-boyfriend bashing. And least we forget those hooks—catchy is indeed a gross understatement.
1989 is not a perfect album (“How You Get the Girl” and “This Love” are relatively unremarkable), but it comes pretty darn close. The album closer, “Clean,” in which Swift describes the sobering recovery from a past romance as “a wine-stained dress I can’t wear anymore” is the most mature track that she has ever recorded.
Perhaps the biggest concern Swift’s fans had with the new album is that the intimate songstress would lose herself in pop and become as faceless as her contemporaries: Katy, Miley, et al.
On the contrary, they can shake those worries off because 1989 is not only Swift’s best work to date and an excellent album in general, but also the one in which she finally found herself. -
Recent Faves: Horror Movies
The Conjuring
If you want to wet your pants, go watch this movie! Carolyn Perron is possessed by a witch known as Bathsheba who sacrificed her 7-day-old baby to Satan and possesses every mother who lives on her land forcing them to kill their children. Carolyn nearly murders her daughter but is saved by paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren. Her memory for the love of her family pushes her to fight and be saved.
Annabelle
Creepy dolls–fear them all. A young girl (Annabelle) known to be missing, comes home to murder her parents as proof of her love for Satan. She then terrorizes the neighbors in the form of a vintage doll that will give you nightmares through Christmas. Who can save the neighbors from this horror?
Oculus
You will never know what you are really looking at until it’s too LATE! Tim and Kaylie try to prove that an antique mirror is the reason for the murder of their parents and the horror of their childhood. But the plot twists when history repeats itself. The ending may make you angry and strangely dissatisfied because the simplistic resolution is overly predictable.
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Fall into the New TV Season
Fall is a great time of the year! Halloween, Thanksgiving, cooler weather. But for me, fall is all about television. After their usual summer hiatus, the hit television shows have returned with a bang, as well as some very anticipated new shows that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.
I made it my mission to go around campus and ask 150 Poly students what shows they are looking forward to watching the most this fall. I came up with 10 shows for this fall that seemed to be the most popular with the general public. These 10 shows are: 1) NBC-Scandel, 2) CBS-The Big Band Theory, 3) FOX-Gotham, 4) CW-Arrow, 5) AMC-The Walking Dead, 6) BBC-Doctor Who, 7) FOX-Glee, 8) CBS-NCIS, 9) NBC-The Voice, and 10) CBS-Two and a Half Men. Lastly, I included a category for “Other.”
As I predicted, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” took the crown. The wildly popular Zombie Apocalypse show is in its 5th season. Coming in second place was the “Other” category. I was given many different shows for this category, some of the popular ones being “American Horror Story” and “South Park.” Rounding out the top three would be the only new show on this list, FOX’s “Gotham.”
In terms of genre, Action/Adventure was the most popular among students, with the strong combination of the previously mentioned “Walking Dead” and “Gotham,” along with CW’s “Arrow.” The second most popular genre goes to the CBS comedies “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men,” which happens to be in its final season.
The poll’s only reality show NBC’s “The Voice” did relatively well in comparison to a couple other shows. Most of these shows received their fair share of votes, but there were some that faltered. In a tie for last place was CBS’s “NCIS,” and FOX’s “Glee,” which I find surprising, considering “Glee’s” massive popularity just a couple of years back.
So, to conclude, the students of Poly have spoken! “The Walking Dead” takes home the gold and is officially Long Beach Poly’s most anticipated show of the 2014 fall season. Happy TV watching, Jackrabbits! -
AP Teacher Leads Double Life
For a student, seeing a teacher outside of the school setting can be strange, but the students of David Burns, Poly’s Advanced Placement Psychology teacher, have to get used to it.
Mr. Burns teaches part time, coming every day for first period, and teaching seventh and ninth periods every other day.
During the time when he is not at Poly, Burns plays guitar at Disneyland in a Celtic bluegrass fusion band called Sligo Rags.
Burns’ life as a musician began a little less than forty years ago. “I actually learned to play the banjo [first]. When I was fourteen, I played bluegrass banjo, so I took lessons, I got pretty good at it, and my teacher decided that he had taught me everything he could,” said Burns. “He decided that it was natural that I progressed to guitar, so I did, and the rest is history.”
Mr. Burns feels extremely lucky to be living the life that he is. His two passions throughout his life were music and psychology, and he gets to do both.
“It’s getting paid for doing something that you love to do, something that you worked really hard to get good at, and something that you got into because you had a passion for it,” says Burns.
Being a musician and a teacher is like living a double life, Burns says. So students, don’t just assume that your teacher goes home every day thinking about his classes and grading homework. It may be surprising, but teachers have lives, too. -
Triumphant Choral Concert
Long Beach Poly held its annual Fall Choral Concert on October 15 at 6:30pm in the auditorium. As usual, each group performed splendidly, from Chamber’s intense “The Word was God” to Grace’s energetic “Ooh Child.”
“It’s great to see all the energy that the kids are putting into the music this year,” says Brian Dokko, Director of the Choral Department, as well as instructor of the Chorale, Cecilian, Chamber, and Jazz Groups, “It’s obvious in performances.”
This concert also starred the world debut of Kerry Marsh’s rendition of “Green Garden,” where senior Kandise Le Blanc was chosen for the solo, as well as Carl Hatch, Rex Lee, and Samantha Doloroso for other songs. “I’m ecstatic for what’s to come this year from the vocal music department!” said Le Blanc, “Every ensemble has had such a great start, and I’m sure our dedication will continue to allow us to create some fantastic music.”
“I thought Jazz 1 was great because you could tell they worked really hard to get to where they were. It was the performance I was looking forward to all night,” said senior Tanya Nguyen.
“I absolutely loved Kandise’s voice in Green Garden,” said another audience member, Senior Jeffrey Lam, “It was enthralling; the perfect way to end the concert!”
Though the later concerts will be performed at Cabrillo High due to auditorium reconstruction, they are certain to be just as fantastic as the first. -
Bros Get Smashed
Nintendo released Super Smash Brothers for 3DS, the latest entry in Nintendo’s all-star fighting franchise since 2008’s Super Smash Brothers Brawl, on October 3rd, 2014.
This fourth installment also marks the series’ first appearance on a handheld system. A home console Wii U version will be released November 21.
Super Smash Brothers for 3DS (SSB43DS) continues the trend of “guest” characters from non-Nintendo franchises, with icons Mega-Man and Pac-Man joining the fight.
SSB43DS also sees the addition of new fighters from popular Nintendo franchises such as Animal Crossing, Super Mario Bros, and Fire Emblem as well as first-time representatives from relatively obscure Nintendo franchises Punch-Out!! and Xenoblade.
Although many characters return, Solid Snake from the Metal Gear Solid series and franchise veterans Ice Climbers did not make the cut.Game director Masahiro Sakurai has stressed that the character roster and core mechanics will remain the same between both versions of the game.
However, some stages and modes will remain exclusive to each version. Smash Run is a new 3DS-exclusive mode where players scavenge for stat-boosting items in a large, pre-defined map for 5 minutes before facing off against computer players or fellow humans in a final contest, ranging from a simple battle to a race to the finish.
Along with a wealth of single player content, the game supports local and online multiplayer.
“I love how I can now smash whenever and wherever I want,” said senior Nicholas Yiv.
With new characters and maps SSB43DS seems to have earned a permanent place in the pocket of any Nintendo fan. -
Poly Marches to Second Place
The Long Beach Poly Marching Unit (more commonly known as Marching Band) placed 2nd in their first competition of the year, held at Warren High School in Downey on October 4th. Poly competed against Golden Valley High School. In the 99-degree heat, they played a four movement field show of the selective works of Elton John. This included the songs: “Funeral For A Friend,” “Love Lies Bleeding,” “Your Song,” and “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting).” The group was led by senior drum major Emily Golison and directed by music teacher Chris Stevens, Bobby Fray, and chemistry teacher Casey Gillett.
Photo Courtesy of Nancy Levy
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Tracking Papa Don
Photo Courtesy of Google Images
Don “Papa Don” Norford is the subject of the documentary created by CSO Rey Porter, Milo Meaks, and Antonio Gilbreath.Coach Don Norford was an invaluable asset to Poly sports for many years, and to fully recognize and appreciate all he has done, Campus Security Officer Rey Porter teamed up with Milo Meaks and Antonio Gilbreath to create a documentary on the legacy of “PapaDon.”
Coach Norford received awards as both top track and field and top football coach in the nation, which no other person has accomplished.
“God just brought it to me,” said Porter about conjuring the idea for the documentary.
Porter was worried Norford would not agree to having a documentary made.
“He’s a private person,” said Porter, “but he embraced it.”
“The goal is to expose the mentorship of Don,” said Porter. Norford is featured in Denzel Washington’s book on mentorship, A Hand to Guide Me.
There will be many famous NFL players in the film who were inspired and mentored by Norford. He helped his players through difficult times, sometimes offering a place to stay and providing a true coach-player companionship.
“We needed a narrator,” said Porter, “and I said, ‘Snoop!’ I called him up and told him what I was doing…he said it would be a privilege.”
“Snoop scheduled an album photo shoot at Poly and…[afterwards] I miked him, began interviewing him, and a crowd circled around us…He did an amazing job.”
Snoop contributed to more than just the narration. “[He] set us up with his people in Hollywood at Paradigm Entertainment,” said Porter.
They ended up meeting to work on the documentary for more than three hours.
The documentary is only a small part of a full-scale project.
“We’re doing three things simultaneously,” said Porter. “We’re doing the movie script, the documentary, and the book.”
Help with the documentary came from various faculty members, a student from the USC film school, and all the people touched by Coach Norford.
The documentary will feature Norford’s exploits as a mentor as well as detail his major national coaching awards and his approximately fifty championship rings.
The rough cut for the documentary has already been previewed at CSULB, and a ten-minute sneak peak can be found on YouTube under “PapaDon Sizzle.mov.”
Currently, Porter, Meaks, and Gilbreath are working to update everything, condense it from ninety to sixty minutes, and convert it to HD.
Porter revealed that the documentary should be finished by January of 2015.
Coach Norford has contributed much to maintaining and building upon Poly’s reputable image. -
His Opinion on “Her”
Spike Jonze uses technology and its seemingly infinite possibilities to reveal poignant truths about love and intimacy in his new film “Her.”
Set in future Los Angeles, Joaquin Phoenix takes on the role of Theodore Twombley, a bespectacled, lonely man emotionally distraught from his recently failed marriage. His coping mechanisms include video games and salacious phone conversations, none of which provide the affection and happiness he so actively craves.
He finds newfound hope through Samantha, a super intelligent operating system who serves as his trusted confidant and adventurous friend. Voiced by Scarlett Johansson, Samantha has a profound presence in the movie, despite her disembodied nature. What she lacks in physicality is made up for by her undying intellectual curiosity, more specifically her interest in learning and adopting human ways.
It is this trait that sparks an instant attraction between the two, and leads to the formation of a relationship deemed slightly idiosyncratic but socially acceptable by his peers. Inevitably, they encounter issues stemming from her virtual nature and resort to various options as an attempt to solve them, such as hiring a surrogate to act as Samantha, but to no avail.
Though extremely unconventional, Theodore’s relationship is still at the mercy of love and its complications– the passionate sentiments, constant sexual tensions, and unfortunately, the possibility of discovering irreconcilable differences. Samantha’s limitless capacity to learn entails her constant evolution into something more advanced and developed than ever seen before, with abilities unable to be comprehended and accepted by Theodore.
This is one of the few movies where I can wholeheartedly say that the roles were perfectly cast. Phoenix plays the role of Theodore with such emotion that I couldn’t help but feel his pain and anguish and relish in his excitement. Johansson does what few can do: entice and captivate in a disembodied state. Even the minor characters have their distinct personalities to them, from the eccentric and crazed best friend Amy (Amy Adams) to the self-deprecating, almost ethereal ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara).
Jonze masterfully portrays a future dominated by technology, where social interaction is an alien concept and mental absence from reality is considered normal. People are so enveloped in their virtual conversations that public spaces are obsolete, merely serving as passageways for the absentminded. It comes to a point where gadgetry is so advanced that it crosses into the realms of humanity and takes personification to a literal level, as manifested through Samantha. Though at times slightly unsettling, the film does not fail to provide an eye-opening perspective on our increasingly growing dependency on technology.
It also exposes the unified nature about love, contrary to society’s beliefs. Everyone has this perception of love being one-of-a-kind and relative to the individual, but upon further analysis, this movie proves that the majority long for the same things, like physical attraction, compatibility, and acceptance.
One of the truly noteworthy aspects of the film was its cinematography. Hoyte Van Hoytema creates a cold, distant backdrop of glass and steel, juxtaposed with pops of reds and blues, conveying a sense of warmth amid the futuristic. In addition, the movie’s use of familiar sites, like Santa Monica Pier and the Walt Disney Concert Hall, elicit visual familiarity, and consequently, conceived presence.
A refreshing take on the romantic comedy/drama, “Her” lives up to its numerous accolades and honors. Provocative yet endearing, it will surely be an emotionally appealing watch.
Grade: A
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Poly Pride Extends To Poly Burgers
Since its creation in 1995, Poly Burgers has played a pivotal role in Poly’s off-campus culture.
The burger joint, located two blocks to the right of Poly, frequently attracts students with its inexpensive, salty fries and student-friendly atmosphere.
Anyone who steps into Poly Burgers on a weekday afternoon can observe the swarms of Poly students laughing and sharing their paper sacks full of french fries, burgers and sandwiches.
Yukon Oh originally bought the building as “Tomy Burgers,” but changed the name of his restaurant when he found customers were confusing his business with a franchise of the same name.
“I thought about many names, and since this block of businesses is often called the ‘Poly Plaza.’ I asked the school if I could use the name Poly Burgers, and they said yes,” explained Oh.
The name change simply labeled the business’s already well-established relationship with Poly students, and gave it stronger ties to the school.
“I come here four to five times a week,” said junior Jimmy Ruiz, as he sat with a few of his friends at one of the tables outside of Poly Burgers. “It’s convenient and you get a lot [of food].”
When asked about the nature of a restaurant where the main customers are students, Oh answered with a smile.
“Since the beginning, students respect Poly Burgers, they listen if I request something, they act respectfully, just like they do in school. Customers think they look wild, that they look eccentric, but they don’t harm anybody.” Thank goodness for that, since
Poly students are Poly Burger’s most loyal fans. Poly Burgers has a culture of its own. One woman, whom everyone knows as ‘Mama G,’ sports a black security jacket and calls herself the protector of the students who come to eat at Poly Burgers.
“Mama G is our protector. She takes care of us,” explained senior Amanda Martinez, a regular of the restaurant.
Oh estimated that Mama G has been visiting Poly Burgers for more than 10 years. Her presence adds to the idiosyncrasies of Poly Burgers that make it an integral part of the Long Beach community.
Poly Burger has also given back to the Poly community.
“Over the many years, I’ve tried to support Poly by donating to the ethnic clubs, football, baseball, basketball, and track,” said Oh, “It’s not much, but I try.” In fact, every year Poly Burgers donates a $1000 scholarship to Poly students.
Regardless of whether it’s the food or the faces, the students keep coming back.
“I’ve always considered it a must if you go to Poly,” said junior Maria Palaroan, as she licked a soft-serve ice cream she had just bought from Poly Burgers.
“Yea, if you go to Poly, you go to Poly Burgers,” chimed in junior Jeffrey Lam, waving a fry.
As much as Poly Burgers is loved for its consistencies, Mr. Oh said he is trying to improve his menu with the addition of healthier options.
“Now many people look for healthy food- we have chicken salad and veggie bowls,” said Oh.
While Poly Burgers may be including new items on their menu, it seems as though Oh is confident that his business doesn’t need to drastically change. He knows students will keep coming back for the food they’ve always loved, and Poly Burgers will continue to be an iconic tie between the school it’s named after and the surrounding Long Beach community.
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The Downfall Of The Book
Since the age of Gutenberg, books have been a prominent part of the world’s history. Books have engaged us, educated us, and have enlarged our imaginations. However, with the arrival of highly popular e-books, kindles and iPads, words written on paper are now being classified as old and outdated.
Electronic books, or e-books, are defined as digital book-length manuscripts and are produced on a computer or other electronic devices. In 2007, a device called the Kindle was released in the United States and produced by Amazon, which launched a competitive movement to deliver e-books and other written materials in a convenient, inexpensive way that fits more comfortably into today’s modern digital age, as opposed to physical books.
“Device book viewing is inevitable. All or most paper written books will be replaced by reading via e-book,” said Pamela Oehlman, who is Poly’s librarian.
EBSCO, a company that provides an array of online text books and audio books, is now an option for students attending Huntington Beach High School. This company has created an alternative to the hassle of checking out library books. With the spread of EBSCO, many students and faculty members believe it is only a matter of time before E-books are integrated into the Poly system.
“Within ten years common library books will be substituted with devices that contain text reading material. The only problem is, some students will not have access to such device,” said Oehlman.
Although the use of reading devices might solve issues such as book damage, check out hassle, and an overall loss of interest, students who do not own any of these devices will be at a significant disadvantage. If reading devices are offered at libraries as opposed to books, students who do not have access to these devices will have to check one out, posing new costs and expensive fines.
iPads and Kindles include gaming apps and other forms of entertainment which uproots the question of whether or not integration into schools is actually beneficial.
“These reading devices will be a distraction and will add to problems with classroom retention,” said senior Chris Adams.
Times are changing and older resources are shifting into the new, digital age. Although reading via digital device is probably a part of our future, whether or not this idea will benefit schools seems to be strongly questioned.
