La Cima El Paisano Rio Hondo College

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A Gamers Guide to E3 P. 6 The Bay Area P. 12 Online Dating P. 16 Finding a New Comfort Zone P. 32 The Magic of Disney P. 38 2015 -2016 La Cima Rio Hondo College

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La Cima Magazine, El Paisano Newspaper, Rio Hondo College, Whittier CA

Transcript of La Cima El Paisano Rio Hondo College

Page 1: La Cima El Paisano Rio Hondo College

A Gamers Guide to E3 P. 6

The Bay Area P. 12

Online Dating P. 16

Finding a New Comfort Zone P. 32

The Magic of Disney P. 38

2015 -2016

La CimaRio Hondo College

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This past summer has been a summer thatI will always remember. Words have always res-onated well with me and expressing myself hasbeen one of the greatest gifts that I have ever re-cieved. In this magazine, all of the writers expressthemselves and share their passions with words.

It starts with finding what you love, andsticking with it. The group of writers who helpedput this magazine together took the time to sharetheir passions and to utilize their voices. Thismagazine has stories about self discovery, travel-ing, entertainment and even fitness. It’s all in hereand it’s all ready to be shared with everyone whotakes the time to read it.

Now that my career at Rio Hondo College isoffically over and my next journey will take placeat the University of San Francisco, I take tremen-dous pride in this magazine and the content in-side of it. My future will hopefully consist ofcovering sports stories but until then, I will reachfor the stars as I know all of the writers in thismagazine will too.

None of this would be possible without thehelp and guidance that I have received fromJohn Francis, James Tapparo, Robert Holcomband Sue Christopher.

“May God bless and keep you always, may your wishes all come true. May you

always do for others & let others do for you. May you build a ladder to the

stars & climb on every rung. May you stay forever young”

Letter from the Editor

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LA CIMA STAFF

John FrancisAdviser

James TapparoTechnical Adviser

Robert HolcombDean of Communications

Abree DominguezEditor in Chief/Layout Design

Angela HernandezLayout Design

Alejandro SimentalLayout Design

AARON VALDEZ

ALEJANDRO SIMENTAL

AMANDA YONG

ANGELA HERNANDEZ

ASHLEY LOZANO

ARMAND SANTOS

DANNY CELIZ

DANIEL CRESPO

D.M LOZA

EILEEN GAETA

GABRIEL PRECIADO

LALIG TARBINIAN

PETE ESCOBAR

RYAN GUERRERO

SHUNXING ZHANG

STEPHANIE LOPEZ

VALERIE TU

YIYUN ZHANG

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A Gamer’s Guide: E3 6

The Top of the World 8

Beauty vs Cruelty 9

A New World of Fantasy 10

The City by the Bay 12

Let’s Get Fit 14

Online Dating 101 16

Around the World in a Tank of Gas 18

Do it for the Vine 22

DIY: Sculpting 24

The Truth About Youtubers 26

A New Generation of Music 28

Small Flame, Big Burn 30

A New Level of Comfort 32

Anime Expo 34

Chilling nights at the Queen Mary 36

Mickey, The Magic & Me 38

La Cima cover photo was takenat the Business building of Rio Hondo

College by Gabriel Preciado

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: ABREE MONTANA DOMINGUEZ

LA CIMA IS PRODUCED BY STUDENTS ENROLLED IN JOURNALISM 230 OFFERED AT RIO HONDO COL-LEGE IN WHITTIER, CALIFORNIA. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT LA CIMA OR FUTURE ISSUES, CONTACT

JOHN FRANCIS AT [email protected].

OPINIONS AND STORIES IN LA CIMA ARE THOSE OF THE STUDENTS ENROLLED IN THE JOURNALISM 230 COURSE AND DO NOT REFLECT THOSE OF THE RIO HONDO COLLEGE STAFF,

FACULTY OR THE DISTICT

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STORY BY: DANNY CELIZPHOTOS BY: JESUS DELAGO

For the vast majority of people, Juneis the start of summer. For peoplethat can classify themselves as

gamers, June can feel a lot like the holi-days. The reason being – June typically isthe start of the Electronic EntertainmentExpo or E3 for short.

For the past twenty years, gamersfrom around the world travel to the LosAngeles Convention Center to spend fivedays indulging in the newest video gamesas well as getting to see the world-premieredebut of new projects in the works.

E3 is known for showcasing tons ofgames at once which can be overwhelmingto non- gamers.

To make this article easier, the follow-ing will be the top three games at E3. Whilethere are tons of other contenders, thesefollowing take the lead for their creativityand uniqueness. For these reasons alone,make sure to check these games out whenthey release in the near future.

Walking around the center, there werelong lines at booths for some of the mostanticipated games, such as Call of Duty:Black Ops 3, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate,Star Wars Battle Front, and, of course, allthe newest iterations of sports titles fromEA.

The lines for those games required anhour-long wait to have the chance to playthem, I really lacked the battery life on myphone and patience to want to wait thatlong.

So, while others waited in long lines, Itook that opportunity to play some lesser-known games with shorter wait times.While in line with unhygienic people,everyone asked if anyone had the chanceto play the latest indie game Cup Head.Cup Head is a typical side scrolling shoot-ing game in the same context of the oldgame Contra.

The uniqueness of Cup Head is in theart design of the game. The game uses the

same art style of those found in the latetwenty's cartoon shows.

This art style is something never seenbefore in the gaming community that gath-ered both hard core gamers as well as car-toon lovers together. Combine the art withfun game play, this is a game worth keep-ing an eye out for in the near future.

After scrolling past Cup Head, I sawover the crowds a familiar company logo.

It was the Harmonix booth, a com-pany known for different video games thatadd music as a huge component of gameplay. Harmonix is most known for theirRock Band series, a game in which youand up to three other players use plasticreplicas of the instruments to play popularmusic.

Harmonix showed off the next install-ment of the franchise, “Rock Band 4.” Inthis version of the game, the graphics aregreatly increased due to the power of nextgeneration consoles with better flowing

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E3 WILL TAKE PLACE IN 2016 FROM JULY 14-16AT THE LOS ANGELES CONVENTION CENTER

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A GAMERS GUIDE: E3Harmonix showed off the next installment of the franchise,

“Rock Band 4.” In this version of the game, the graphics aregreatly increased due to the power of next generation consoleswith better flowing game play.

Harmonix showed off their newest upgrades to the instru-ments. The microphone was built to replicate a real microphoneand handle more vocal pitches. The drums are now made with amore durable material that not only helps the drums last long,but much more quiet.

The guitar is about the same any other plastic one, howeverthe strum bar is much more sturdier.

Harmonix was only mentioning one new feature at E3 andthat was custom solos with different instruments. The micro-phone now has the ability to put some originality into each someand gets rewarded for creativity.

Drums, bass, and guitar now can play solos however theplayer wants. Players still have the ability to play charted notesif they want or just hammer away at the frets only during solos.

If anyone loves the series or if you are looking for somethingfun to play during parties, this is the game to pick up this holidayseason.

One can not complete a trip to E3 without visiting the fatherof gaming companies, Nintendo. Everyone was gathering aroundNintendo's newest video game,

Super Mario Maker. The hour line wait was sure worth thewait to play Nintendo's newest masterpiece.

Everyone should know how a typical Mario game plays, andif you do not, all you do is guide Mario though platforms andjump over enemies to get to save the princess. This concept hasbeen used for more than twenty-five years, so instead of havingpeople wait for the newest game, this game has players maketheir own stages and place them on the Internet for players toplay.

This game had me really happy because of the amount ofcontent that will be put out in the coming months.

In the demo gamers had the chance to play some really hardcustom levels that the programmers boasted they created in justunder an hour.

I had the chance to try out the stage creator mode which hadtons of tools to create just about any level I wanted. The toolsmade it easy to make a simple straight forward run and jump tothe finish line stage.

Of course, there is the ability to make the stage filled withnothing but harmful creatures that can instantly put a stop toMario in just one hit.

Needless to say this game has tons of replay value thanks tothe creative mode plus with the ability to post creations online,the amount of stages are endless.

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The Top of the World

The sun is going down, time is running out, and you have one goal -sunset at the “Top of the World.”

Tucked away in the hills of the San Gabriel Valley, in thesmall quaint town of Walnut, California, stands a yellow sign thatsays, Schabarum Trail. Beginning here is a small dirt road that leadsup into the steep hills of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Roughly measuring up to 4 miles roundtrip, the trail boastsa picturesque escape all the while being easy to access. The zigzagsof the trail present itself as a minor challenge, but relatively easy withthe right pair of shoes.

The trail breaks off in the middle into a nicely paved andfenced version of itself; there begins the journey behind the huge es-tates of Three Oaks, a newly built neighborhood for the relatively

rich. But despite the large estates, the main focus is the breathtakingview of the valley below. At the highest point of the trail, a large hilllooms above the others.

Which the residents of Walnut claim to be the “Top of theWorld,” the perfect place for watching the setting sun while enjoyingthe cool breeze and instagramming the impeccable view.

From here, the trail continues to carry itself through theneighborhood of Three Oaks, and loops down to Amar Road, leadingall the way back to the starting point. The trail is hard to come by – a blink of the eye in a passing car couldmean a complete miss – but a here are a few pointers to make the ex-perience stress free:

1. Park at Westhoff Elementary, (1323 N. Country HollowDrive, Walnut, California), and walk towards the start of thetrail that begins on the side of Amar Road.

2. Bring water, and a sunhat; the amount of sun from thetrail is no joke.

3. You will NOT want to forget your camera.

4. A flashlight might come in handy when the sun has com-pletely set.

What are you waiting for? Get up, get out, grab somefriends, and get going.

STORY BY: VALERIE TUPHOTOS BY: PHILLIP SOBRETODO

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TO COVER

STORY BY: SELENA GONZALES / PHOTOS BY: KRYSTYN BRISTOL

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Many associate makeup withtrends or superficial means, but there aremany major issues relating to the distribu-tion of cosmetics. These issues involve ani-mal testing and whether it is ethical andmoral to carry out deadly testing on animalsfor cosmetic purposes.

This controversial topic has beenaround for a long time and has a pertinentrole in society today. Students, especiallyfemales, can gain insight on this topic andlearn more about how their makeup is beingmanufactured and doled out across theworld.

Unfortunately, there are somemakeup companies who are not honest totheir consumers. This includes Avon, whichclaims to not test its products on animals,but allegations have revealed that some ofthe company's products have undergone ani-mal testing. Dr. Dan Lyons, of the animalwelfare group Uncaged stated “...the firm,makes more than £6 billion a year in salesaround the world, of ‘falsely trading on acruelty-free image’. He said: ‘Whateverone’s opinion about animal testing for cos-metics, any decent person would agree thatwe have to have honesty in the market-place.’

This type of circumstance raises is-sues of not only animal testing but also mis-

leading and essentially lying to consumers. The main argument for those in

favor of animal testing is the medical bene-fits that result. Animal research has allowedcancer patients to have higher survival rates,and even lessened threats of harmful dis-eases such as AIDS. Diseases that havewere extremely detrimental and deadlyyears ago are now moderate and can be han-dled with prescriptions, giving those in-fected a chance to live somewhat normallives. Vaccines have also resulted from ani-mal testing, which have become an essentialin human lives.

Lastly, animal research that lead tovaccines has helped to eradicate certain dis-eases, such as smallpox. Quotes from some renowned people whosupport animal testing include:

“Americans are living longer,healthier lives and we owe much of thatsuccess to biomedical research,” Dr. RobertPalazzo, president of the Federation ofAmerican Societies for Experimental Biol-ogy.

Animal research and testing hasplayed a part in almost every medical break-through of the last century. It has saved hun-dreds of millions of lives worldwide . . .”Former UK Home Office Minister JoanRyan.

These beliefs can also be applied to cosmet-ics. It is unknown if certain skin products oreye makeup can cause skin diseases or harmour skin. Animal testing gives insight onwhether or not makeup products are safe todistribute. Animal rights activists feel animals have aright to their life and believe it is unethicalto torture these innocent animals to death inorder to gain profits. Some even believe thatmakeup or certain brands are not worth put-ting out into the world if it means animalswill be forced under a telescope and stuckin a laboratory.

Many do not realize the severity ofanimal testing. For example, the Avon con-troversy revealed a small part of their cos-metics were tested on animals. Even thoughthis was considered a small percentage, Dr.Lyons said ‘Given each product or ingredi-ent could be tested for about 15 differenttypes of toxicity, and just one of those testscan involve poisoning and killing over1,000 animals, they must be causing a lot ofunnecessary animal suffering.’ Somethingthat seems so miniscule can cause a lot ofharm and damage. This issue of animal test-ing also prompts the question: What giveshumans the right to test on animals? Don’tanimals have rights as well?

Beauty vs. CrueltySTORY BY: AMANDA YONG

For infomration regarding products and companies that do not harm or put danger towards animals visit the humanesociety.org

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Whether you’re a nerd, geek, movie buff, or just aneveryday average Joe, San Diego’s annual Comic-Conis definitely the place to be, but is the overall experi-

ence actually worth it?Every July, San Diego prepares itself for one of the most pop-

ular conventions in the entire world. Thousands of people of allages, genders, and ethnicities flock to the city to attend this ex-clusive event. As their mission statement suggests, the Comic-Conis a “non-profit educational corporation dedicated to creatingawareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popularart forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions andevents that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution ofcomics to art and culture.”

In simpler terms, companies big and small come to promoteand advertise their product to the masses, whether it be originalcomic books, movies, video games, or television shows. Comic-Con began in 1970 when it was solely used for promoting goodold-fashioned comic books. However, over the years, mainstreammedia and pop culture has leaked its way in, which has greatlyexpanded the fan base, thus attracting more people to buy ticketsthat sell out very quickly.

These predicaments, along with several others, have causedquite a great deal of speculation that brings up the question, “IsComic-Con really worth it now?”Many longtime fans who pri-

marily come for the comic-books would agree, saying that theconvention has lost most of its charm ever since it became moreabout movies, TV shows, and video games.

According to Comic-Con’s official website, attendances cansometimes reach up to 150,000 per weekend making it a real has-sle to enjoy some of the fundamental amenities the conventionoffers. Panels, for example, are special and exclusive presenta-tions about an upcoming comic book series, or film, TV series.Fans, of course, can attend these panels in the hope of watchingtheir favorite icons interact and discuss plans for their project.

Unfortunately, these panels are practically impossible to getinto, due the massive number of people. This has upset many fanscausing them to resort to camping out overnight outside of thehall to obtain a seat. The dreaded “Hall H” is definitely the roomthat crowds the fastest as the hall is known to host most of themore popular panels of the convention.Naturally, the demand forthe experience that has skyrocketed over the years has causedadmission prices to rise, as well. The price for the four-day 2015San Diego Comic-Con was $50 per day, with an additional $35charge for preview night. These prices might sound a bit hefty,but they are nothing compared to those of the scalpers, who tryto sell tickets online for $100 plus, just for one day.

Preparing for comic-con is a big inconvenience, but once youget past all that, the experience is surely like no??? other. Comic-

STORY AND PHOTOS BY: AARON VALDEZ

Comic Con

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A New World of Fantasy

Con will always provide attractions to satisfy any interest a personmay have.

Comic-Con has presented thousands of special guests at its con-ventions over the years, bringing comics creators, science fictionand fantasy authors, film and television directors, producers, andwriters, and creators from all aspects of the popular arts.

It is also a cheerful sight to behold all of the full-grown adultsdressed up as their favorite characters as they pose for pictures withfellow fans. Some costumes turn out to be very extravagant, cap-turing the attention of practically everyone nearby. Also, it is a goodidea to always be on the lookout for celebrities in disguise, who areknown to walk the floor, wearing their own costumes. BryanCranston from "Breaking Bad," Daniel Radcliffe, also know asHarry Potter, and most recently, Dwight Howard, of the HoustonRockets, have all been caught attending Comic-Con in their uniqueget-ups.

Upon entering, attendees will receive free items, including aComic-Con-themed bag, posters, and brochures. Bags come inhandy since they will help you to hold all the free flyers and gadgetspromoters will pass out throughout the day. The brochure containsa schedule showing when and where all the panels will take place,along with other special events

Once inside the exhibit hall, you will be astounded by the elab-orate exhibits companies use to advertise their product. From per-

sonal experience, it takes at least 3 hours to check out every nookand cranny the hall has to offer.

One of the perks of attending Comic-Con is that you most likelyhave a chance to see exclusive content. Special movie trailer pre-mieres always seem to hype people up the most. The video gamecommunity is also exceptionally present at the convention as big-name gaming companies such as Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoftshow off their exclusive and graphically advanced trailers. Not onlythat but for the most part, fans will get to play the demos for thelatest games as well.

Along with the conventions center itself, the whole town seemsto be buzzing from all of the Comic-Con noise. Almost everywhereyou look in San Diego, people, stores, and restaurants will be in theComic-Con spirit.

San Diego is such a beautiful city, anyway, that even if Comic-Con didn’t turn out to be enjoyable, there would still be so much toexperience in and around the city. With its fabulous beaches, diverserestaurants, and lively nightlife, one could never go wrong with atrip to San Diego.

To answer the question from earlier, Comic-con’s worth highlydepends on the person. If you’re a person who even at the slightestcan enjoy comics and popular art forms and can tolerate the mod-erate costs and massive crowds, Comic-Con should be on your sum-mer bucket list.

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THE CITY BY THE BAYThe Golden Gate Bridge has been the welcoming landmark of San Francisco, even

though there are mornings when everything is dark because of the fog, there will alwaysbe a bright rest of the day in the city by the bay.

STORY BY: ABREE DOMINGUEZPHOTOS BY: GORDON MACK

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The coldest summers and frigid winters make this city aunique place to live, it’s a place like no other and it’s known as, thecity by the bay. The fog filled skies and culturally diverse lifestylesallow San Francisco to be recognized as one of the most magicalcities in the world.

While walking to streets of Haight & Ashbury the averageperson may see tourists, locals and the occasional hippie from whatis left of this historical hippie area. The sixties made San Franciscoknown as the stopping ground for peace and flower power. Now it’sthe home of some of the most powerful teams in all of professionalsports. San Francisco is filled with fans who love their teamsthrough the championships and losing seasons.

For a city being filled with so much pride, it’s easy to rec-ognize that throughout the years many people have gone to livesporting events and shared their devotion throughout the wholecity. When the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in MajorLeague Baseball in 2014 the city became baseball heaven and the

fans celebrated. In 2010, 2012 and 2014 the Giants became WorldSeries Champions and it made the fans full of pride and devotion. AT&T Park is now one of the most beautiful baseball parks inAmerica. It’s in the center of San Francisco, five minutes awayfrom Union Square, two miles from Golden Gate Park and less thana 5 minute walk from the Bay Bridge.

The Bay Bridge is one of the most historical landmarks inCalifornia and it also happens to be what connects San Franciscoand Oakland to each other. It took forty years but now the GoldenState Warriors and the National Basketball Associaton Champi-onships.

The city of San Francisco has adopted the Warrirors andthe city has shown pride for their basketball in many ways. FromCity Hall being lit up in Gold and Blue to fans wearing jerseys allup and down Fisherman’s Wharf, the devotion from these Bay Areacitizens hasn’t gone unnoticed.

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The city of Oakland has allowed the Bay Area to embracethe magic that comes along with winning an NBA title and War-riors players have connected with fans throughout the Bay Area tothank them for their support.

San Francisco is a city that is filled with a variety of mul-tiple cultures within districts that separate the city. The Castro Dis-trict is known for it’s tolerance and acceptance.

The Castro has allowed same sex couples, those whoidentify themselves as transgender or even people who are differ-ent, somewhere to live and be themselves. It is the discrit that hasgiven people the chance to express themselves, be prideful andlearn to love who they want to love. There is no judgement or hatewithin any part of San Francisco and the Castro District is a primeexample of equality and love.

The Mission district celebrates Hispanic culture throughtheir lifestyles and daily routines that they live by daily, Chinatownshares Chineese culture with those who go to explore the area,

Richmond shares the beauty that stems from the Russianlifestyle. The Sunset district is home to the Golden Gate Park andalso the home to many families that chose to live in it’s suburbanareas. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone in the city.There’s life, culture, colleges and freedom.

This city really gives a new meaning to the word magic.There’s magic in the parks, there’s magic in the schools and there’smagic everywhere. Feeling at home somewhere that wasn’t origi-nally home may be a daunting idea but this city makes everyonefeel at home. There’s something about the air and the passion thatkeeps people coming back.

People travel from all over the world from many differentbackgrounds and find something in San Francisco that makes themfeel like they belong there. This city is magical and experiencingmagic as an adult may seem childish and complicated but it’s easywhen you’re here.

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According to the United States Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention, more than one-third of the population is obese.That’s a life choice that people force upon themselves, while eatinghealthy and being fit is a lifestyle.

Most Americans lack time and will cut corners when itcomes to what they consume; however, when people consciouslythink about the long-term effects a diet has on their health, theymight spare the time to prepare homemade meals instead.

Learning some simple facts about what types of foods peo-ple should consume, incorporating small exercises into the dailyschedule, and creating a weekly planner are small steps people cantake in order to live a healthy life.

In order to reach your goal, let’s consider the followingitems:

•Avoid genetically modified organisms•Avoid produce meats that are treated with antibiotics and

growth hormones•If labeled ingredients don’t sound familiar, don’t buy it.

•Organic products are higher in nutrients and vitamins, andare not treated with chemical pesticides

oThe National Academy of Sciences reports that 90 per-cent of the chemicals present in foods have not been tested forlong-term health effects

•The main produce items that should be purchased organi-cally grown include: Strawberries, apples, grapes, spinach, cucum-bers, squash, cherry tomatoes, celery, and potatoes

oThin-skinned produce has the highest concentration ofpesticidesNon-organic goods we should consider:

•Onions are treated with low pesticide levels because sub-stances are not sprayed onto the soil

•Avocados have thick skins that protect the flesh inside•Asparagus plants face few threats from pests •Sweet peas are the least likely to have residue •Pineapples have a tough barrier •Bananas and watermelons also have a protective skin

Let’s Get FitSTORY BY: STEPHANIE LOPEZPHOTOS BY: ANGELA HERNANDEZ

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Experts suggest that people need 45 minutes to an hour ofphysical exercise a day; however having short bursts of activityspread throughout the day seems more reasonable. For example:

•When around the house oTake a 5-minute power walk around the block

oTry doing jumping jacks or jog in place when your showis on commercials

oWhen washing the dishes, try to do squats at the sametime

oWhen waiting for something to boil, do wall push-ups oPlay your favorite song before a shower and have a ran-

dom dance off in the mirror (incorporate the abs)•While at workoTry to park the furthest from your location to get the heart

pumping oIf dining out for lunch, set aside some time to walk it off oOn breaks, spend 10 minutes climbing stairs oWhile sitting in your chair, lift one leg and tighten it, then

raise the other. Do these in repetitions of 15 in sets of 3 or 4 oSet an alarm to remind yourself to stretch your spine after

an hour has passed

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Have you ever won-dered how people startto use an online dating

service or just how people canmeet online and begin to dateout of the blue? Of course youdo, we’re all a bit curious ofhow it works and how it endsup working out for these twostrangers that meet over simpletext and not through actualwords—only pictures no phys-ical form.

Don’t get this confusedwith a long distance relation-ship; I’m talking about these“hot local singles in your area”kind of thing.

Technology has changedand so have we, differentmediums of meeting new peo-ple have also given us ways todate in a new way. I know afew friends with a similar ex-perience who have started a re-lationship online.

Perhaps you won’t findyour “true love” but you candefinitely meet some people

who you can relate to.Personally I never wanted

to do the online dating thingbecause of the possibilities ofmeeting rapists but my curios-ity got the best of me and ledme to start the search.

It started on Tumblr, avery easy place to befriendpeople where you’ll meet allsorts of people including nicepeople, creeps, people withstrong opinions and memes.This experience takes place in2012 when I was 19.

For those who don’t knowhow Tumblr works, its basi-cally blogging (mostly, but notlimited to, through pictures) oryou could think of it as themixture of Facebook and My-space before it went main-stream. You have a profilewhere you can add a musicplaylist and make your ownthemes if you know how tocode.

Instead of having friendson this social media network

you instead have followerssince these are people youdon’t necessarily know. Thekey towards gaining followersis to be funny and that’s ex-actly what I did, within threeweeks I had about 300 follow-ers.

Keep in mind that thesepeople can also message youand it took me about anothertwo months for people to beginwarming up to me and begin tomessage me and some becamepeople who I still regularly talkto up to this date.

Fast forward a bit, I meeta girl from Ohio who mad mis-taken me for a friend with thesame name.

I ended up having feelingsfor this girl, which wasn’tsomething I hadn’t planned;we talked and texted for manyhours. It was weird how I sud-denly felt very connected tothis girl whom I had never met,I listened to her problems andshe listened to mine soon after

she confessed she had feelingsfor me as well.

However, This wasn’t arelationship. We lived far apartand it took us a short time torealize that it was nearly im-possible for something to hap-pen between us. Her name willforever linger, Johanna.

I knew she was a girl be-cause we occasionally Skyped,always verify that you’re talk-ing to who you think you’retalking to. The most effectiveway would be video chat or aphoto of them doing some-thing you tell them no matterhow strange that may sound.

My next experience waswith a girl from Indiana, It wasa similar experience but it was-n’t really romantic but insteadof an intellectual accidental in-fatuation. Jacqueline and Ishared a similar mind; weweren’t really in love just atemporary cure for loneliness.

However, I can easily getattached to people especially

Online Dating 101Story by: Alejandro “Danger” Simental

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those who are hard to get. Inorder for myself to become un-attached to her to hate metherefore I could live in a real-istic world where I had to finda girlfriend within my range.

This final girl was the onewho ended my search for an“online partner in crime”.Sarah Christie was my firsttrue love, the first actual girl-friend I had and who didn’tlive in “Neverland”. Eventhough we were only togetherfor five months, it was a greatexperience. True love? Perhapsnot but I had a great time lov-ing her.

It was the first time weboth experienced what felt likelove.

You shouldn’t be a skep-tic, go on and try this—youcould end up liking it and per-haps even meet “the one”.

Michelle, a close friend ofmine, met her current

boyfriend on the Internet with-out having those intentions.The way her story started wason Twitter, just liking someonephysically and looking for anew friend.

It started with a retweetthat popped into her feed; she

had seen him before aroundcampus. He had a girlfriend atthe time so she wasn’t on thepath towards becoming ahomewrecker.

Some time after, Brandonand his girlfriend split whichwas when Michelle took achance and asked for his num-ber

After succeeding, they

vented to each other abouttheir experiences with exes andthereafter Michelle let out herkiss to Brandon.

However, if you do end uptrying to meet up with some-one, be sure to take as manyprecautions as possible. Meet

up somewhere in public andduring the day, you wouldn’twant to be the victim in a pos-sible rape scenario. Be sure toalways tell someone, if not aparent then a friend.

There’s also the kind ofrelationships where peopledate over the Internet withoutactually seeing each otherphysically.

I’ve seen this in TV shows(Catfish) as well as real life.

Only recently I talked toanother friend, Raymond, whoI hadn’t seen in some time andasked him all the questionspeople make when you haven’tseen someone in a very longtime, Including, “hey who’sthat girl you’re with?”

He didn’t really hesitateme and told me that he had metthis girl over the web and hadnever physically seen her. Hesaid “ Although she isn’t here,it feels like she’s there for mein times when I need her”.

Even though this is a dif-ferent experience from mine, Iknew how he felt. Perhaps atemporary cure for depressionbut it’s better than never curedat all.

Only the names werechanged to protect the lives ofthe not so innocent.

“Although she isn’t here, it feelslike she’s there for me in timeswhen I need her”- Raymond

“I never thought or imagined we'd ever be together, it just sort of happened in its ownway. ”- Michelle

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Southern California natives don’t realize how lucky they are.From the mountains, to the desert, to the ocean. Hollywood, OrangeCounty, and Beverly Hills. Almost everything to see or do is aboutan hour away, without traffic.

The movie industry was born here, California car-culture ofthen-1950s transformed the global automotive industry, and thelaid-back California lifestyle inspired groups like the Beach Boysand the Eagles to create a whole genre of music.

Disneyland and McDonald's are American Icons known acrossthe globe, and both are products of Southern California. Millionsof people come from the four corners of the earth every year to visitthis oasis that we call home. They come here to experience a placeand a culture that is definitively American, but at the same timeuniquely Southern Californian.

The great majority of tourists and many SoCal Natives don’trealize that Southern California, itself, is an international themepark, that a single tank of gas is all you need to take a trip aroundthe world, right here in our own backyard. We’re not talking abouttourist spots, such as Chinatown and Little Tokyo, or the Ameri-canized versions of world culture you find in Downtown Disney orUniversal CityWalk. We’re talking ethnic neighborhoods hiding inplain sight, where first, second, and even third generation immi-grants congregate and keep their cultures alive and almost un-touched.

A word of caution. Truly experiencing another country’s cul-ture requires going native, and that takes a lot more time than the

average American “tourist” can afford to commit. Some of us haveactually traveled around the world and done the “tourist” trip, whichis a sanitized (a five-star resort in a Third World country is defi-nitely not going “native”) version of travel that exposes us to noneof the actual culture that makes other countries unique. This is NOTthat kind of trip.

Some of these places will shock the uninitiated (think huge,decapitated fish heads gulping spasmodically on a table in the mid-dle of a market). Maybe even seem unwelcoming (many localrestaurants don’t even have English signage or menus), but this isa true peek into foreign cultures. These are places that cater specif-ically to people of a singular culture. They do not operate with theaverage American as their consumer, and that is what makes themso enlightening, enjoyable, and authentic. After 10 minutes in mostof these places, you forget that you are still in California.

So, leave the international food courts behind, and savor thecultures of foreign lands -- like a native -- by hitting these SoCalethnic enclaves. This is as close as you’re going to get to actuallytraveling the world without hopping on a plane, and you can drinkthe water.

No Passport Required

Opposite page from top: Always kepp your parking meter well fed when stoppingby Tochal Market & Deli in Persian Square, Los Angeles, CA; Chinese languageonly signage is quite common in the heavily Chinese populated areas of the SanGabriel Valley

Words and pictures by Armand Santos, Staff Writer

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History. The Chinese were the first group of Asians to immigrateto America in large numbers. They arrived during the 1800s and wereinstrumental in the building of the railroads. Chinese immigration toSouthern California saw a massiveinflux starting in the 1970s and thegreat majority settled in the SanGabriel Valley, particularly Mon-terey Park.

The Chinese are broken up intotwo main types, Mandarin speakersand Cantonese speakers. There arealso those who identify as Tai-wanese.

There are an incredible varietyof restaurants in the area that offercuisine from all of these groups.

How to get there. The Chinesecommunity is spread out all over theSan Gabriel Valley, but San GabrielSquare, the area’s largest Chinese-based entertainment center, is a goodplace to start. There is A lot of freeparking is provided, but it’s alwayscrowded. Be patient.San Gabriel Square, 140 ValleyBlvd., San Gabriel, CA 91776

What to do. The Chinese lovetheir tea. Black, green, oolong,sweetened, milk, flavored, even boba

(sweetened tapioca balls) – the tea choices are practically endlessand so are your choices of tea houses in the San Gabriel Valley. Oneof the most famous is Half & Half Tea House.

You will have to wait in line,but that’s part of the experience. All ofthe best places here are crowded almost24/7.

This is some of the greatest peo-ple-watching you will ever get. Makesure to save room for a meal, there are somany varieties of Chinese cuisine avail-able here. You may want to make this tripmore than once.

Be aware. If you have only hadPanda Express, real Chinese food willsurprise you. Pungent is a word oftenused to describe many dishes. Anothercaution, this area is a true full immersionexperience.

Some restaurants will have noEnglish on their menus and a small num-ber will have exclusively non-Englishspeaking staff. These are the best placesbecause they are the most authentic. Athird caution: If you plan on visiting thelocal markets be prepared for witnessinglive fish being very efficiently “dis-patched.” It doesn’t get any fresher thanthis.

History. The original Iranian immigrants came to California inthe 1960s. The Iranian community has flourished and current esti-mates place their number in Los Angeles and its surrounding com-

munities at 500,000 people. So many, in fact, that Los Angeles hascome to be referred to as Tehrangeles, a portmanteau of Tehran (thecapital city of Iran) and Los Angeles.

How to get there. The epicenter of Iranian culture in LA isthe corner of Westwood Boulevard and Wilkins Avenue inthe City of Los Angeles, an intersection the city has offi-cially named Persian Square. This borders the affluent com-munity of Beverly Hills, believed to be 22 percent Iranian. What to do. Persians have a café culture. For centuries, cof-feehouses have been centers of communication in Iran, andthis tradition continues. Café Glace is a good place to start.After a rich cup of coffee or Persian tea, you can immerseyourself in Persian art and literature with a visit to KetabsaraPersian bookstore. There are restaurants everywhere, pickone and enjoy!Café Glace & Ketabsara Persian Bookstore, 1441 WestwoodBlvd., Los Angeles, CA 90024Be aware. This leg of the journey is not cheap. PersianSquare is a swanky neighborhood and everything in that areacosts more, in general. Also, be sure to keep your parkingmeter fed or find a pay lot. Getting ticketed/towed is not partof the itinerary.

Destination: Iran (23 miles*)

Destination: China/Taiwan (12.2 miles*)

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History. Indian immigrants settled in Southern California be-ginning primarily in the late 1960s. How they came to settle in andaround Artesia is still something of a mystery. The first Indian mar-ket was opened there in 1970,and enterprising Indian busi-ness owners began openingother Indian shops andrestaurants around it. Today,Pioneer Boulevard -- from183rd Street to South Street -- is almost exclusively de-voted to Indian shopping,dining, and a variety of otherservices targeting the Indianconsumer. The local Ed-wards Cinemas in Cerritoseven releases Bollywood fea-tures at the same time as theyare released in India.

How to get there. LittleIndia is the stretch of PioneerBoulevard from 183rd Streetto South Street in the city of Artesia. You will know you’re in theright place when all you see is Indians and the air smells richly ofcurry spices. Many of the women are traditionally garbed in richly

decorated saris. What to do. Little India is as much about the shopping as it is

about the food. There is something for every budget. The convenience stores have

some really interesting every-dayitems, while the jewelry storescarry a surprising selection of high-end brands.

Be certain to sample what thesweet shops have to offer and donot miss out on a sit-down meal.You will be offered varying levelsof spicy; do not choose “Indianspicy” unless you are actually In-dian. “Indian spicy” will get yougoing in and coming out.

Be aware. Don’t forget tohaggle when buying bigger ticketitems, the savings can be signifi-cant. Cash is king here; there isoften a better price available whenpaying cash even if the establish-

ment accepts debit and credit cards. Be sure to stop by your bank’sATM before shopping, otherwise you’ll end up paying crazy inde-pendent ATM fees in the stores.

Destination: India (14.7 miles*)

Destination: Vietnam (28.4 miles*)History. The time period following the Vietnam War saw mas-

sive Vietnamese immigration to the United States, California in par-ticular. Many were refugees with no knowledge of the Englishlanguage and no friends or family al-ready in America. This caused the in-coming Vietnamese to form tightbonds with one another and to settletogether. This has resulted in modernday Little Saigon, an area in westernOrange County that largely encom-passes the communities of Westmin-ster, Garden Grove, and FountainValley. California, with approxi-mately 368,000 Vietnamese Ameri-cans, has the largest Vietnamesepopulation outside of Vietnam, andmore than half of that is in OrangeCounty.

How to get there. The center ofLittle Saigon is located one blocksouth of the corner of Bolsa Avenueand Magnolia Street in the City ofWestminster. You will know you havereached your destination when yousee that the city has erected streetsigns that read “SAIGON” (Nojoke!).

What to do. The local tourism

groups encourage you to take a walking tour to fully appreciatewhat Little Saigon has to offer. The Asian Garden Mall, located at9200 Bolsa Ave., Westminster, CA 92683, offers plentiful free park-

ing and is also a great place to start.The mall contains a plethora of jew-elry stores offering up a dizzyingarray of Asian influenced designs.Further exploration of the surround-ing community reveals an almostendless selection of restaurants, bothcasual and really fancy. Take it easyon the food, you can always comeback.

Be aware. The majority ofpeople who originally migrated herefrom Vietnam were fleeing the en-croaching communists from north-ern Vietnam, and are still verynationalistic. Saigon is the formername of the country’s capital city,which has since been renamed HoChi Minh City by the new govern-ment. This is definitely a topic tosteer clear of if you get the opportu-nity to converse with a local.

A variety of stores in the Little India district of Arteasia.

Guarded by Shi (guardian lions), the HappyBuddha and the gods of longevity, prosper-ity, and fortune greet visitors to the AsianGarden Mall in Little Saigon, Californai

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History. There have been Filipinos in Southern Californiasince the 1800s. After over 300 years of Spanish rule, the Philip-pines became a U.S. territory in 1901, with English becoming theunofficial language. This would pave the way for the success of fu-ture immigrants. America and the Philippines still enjoy closediplomatic ties, decades after The Philippines gained independence.

How to get there. Fil-ipinos are spread out allover Southern California.There really are not anysingle areas dominated bytheir culture, but the shop-ping center on the north-east corner of AzusaAvenue and Amar Road inWest Covina is almost ex-clusively Filipino.

What to do. Filipinofood is an amalgamation ofMalay, Chinese, Indone-sian, and Spanish / Por-tuguese influences. Thedifferent geographical re-gions have their own spe-cialties.

DJ BibinkahanRestaurant has a smatter-ing of all of these flavors. It is cafeteria style, called turo-turo inTagalog, the official language of the Philippines. Turo translatesinto English as point (you point at what you want, get it?!), and thistype of dining is commonplace in the Philippines. While you are in

the center check out Jollibee, a hamburger chain from the Philip-pines. This is one of the only businesses in the world to outsell Mc-Donald’s in any country, and it beats them every year in thePhilippines. You will certainly encounter some elderly Filipinos inthese establishments. They readily engage in conversations, if youapproach them respectfully. Every Filipino in America will have a

solid command of theEnglish language.

Be aware. The cen-ter itself is run-down insome areas and well-keptin others. Its parking lotcan also be surprisinglychaotic and dirty. “This iswhy it feels so much likeManila,” declares Dr.Prode Pascual, a promi-nent member of the South-ern California Filipinocommunity.

“We don’t like toadmit it, but the Philip-pines is the Third World,and most of the moremodern areas are not asclean as we are now usedto in America.”

There will also be the occasional parking lot vendor sellingany variety of local delicacies. These are private individuals andyou eat at your own peril, but that’s exactly what you find over-seas.

Destination: Philippines (12 miles*)

*All distances are from Rio Hondo College

A monument commemorating Dr. Jose P. Rizal, the Philippines’ National Hero.

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Vine, the popular app that offers view-ers short video clips, has taken socialnetworking by storm since its release

2 years ago. The app features looping 6-second long

video clips that can be seen on other socialmedia websites, such as Facebook, Tumblr,and Twitter. Vine started off as a simple wayto share video clips, but eventually grew tocreate trends, funny insiders, parodies, fanedits, comedy skits, and relatable content.

The app truly revolves around comedyand seeing which vine makes you laugh outloud and want to share it with other people.Tying in comedy and current events or situa-tions makes the app even more entertaining,since it gives you a sense of being up to datewith everything happening.

Even if the clip may be the most simplevideo, it can unexpectedly become a hit with

the audience. Aside from anyone having theopportunity to post what they please, thereare also “Viners” who are people dedicatedin bringing comedy into the app and further-ing the attention it receives by creating theirown skits. They focus on making up-to-datevines and bringing something new and freshto the app.

The unique thing about the app is thatyou're seeing people being themselves,whether if it's them making a funny face oracting an outrageous way in public, you can'thelp but laugh and become fascinated by allthese people making these videos for simpleentertainment. These Viners have even hadthe opportunity in pursuing their dreams offame by simply posting their vines.

The popularity of Vine has helped manyyoung people in achieving fame. The mostpopular Viners include: Jerome Jarre, King

Bach, Nash Grier, and Brittany Furlan, just toname a few. They have all branched out fromthe app to other big business ventures. SomeViners have had the advantage of makingvines and getting paid for how many likesand revines there Vine has received.

From time to time, they are seen postingand advertising for big companies like Mc-Donald's, Jolly Rancher, Coca-Cola, and evenother apps and games. The amount of moneythese viners make, depends on the numberof followers he/she has, advertising brands,or simply endorsing the name of a big com-pany.

The money they receive varies from afew hundred dollars to thousands of dollars,depending upon who they are and on what theviner ultimately charges to have brands fea-tured on their Vines. Not only do they getpaid well but they have also gained entry to

Do it for the Vine

Story by: Ashley LozanoPhoto courtesy of Vine

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big events, such as movie pre-mieres and awards shows andsome have been extras in moviesand music videos.

Working with Vine hasmade these once-ordinary peopleinto instant stars by just makingsimple videos. Many are evenseen hanging out with celebrities,such as Justin Bieber, Josh Peck,Kevin Hart, and others. Whoknew that downloading an app,using a 6-second time frame, andsimply being yourself could getyou so far into the entertainmentbusiness.

Most Viners dedicate hoursmaking a simple 6-second vine,they buy equipment, create story-boards, and rehearse their lines,then their are viners that just goout to the world and make vinehits without even trying, JeromeJarre is a perfect example of thatkind of Viner. He is notably fa-mous for his high-spirited vines,which include him spreadinghappiness and love across theworld. His vine about why every-one is afraid of love, was one ofthe first viral vines for the app,which eventually lead him tomaking an appearance on "TheEllen DeGeneres Show." Jarretook advantage of his successwhich lead him to co-founding

Grape Story, a talent agency forVine stars.Another well-known Viner, KingBach, has been officially namedthe “King of Vine,” having hisfollower count up to 13 million.He has gained much access to theHollywood lifestyle, appearing inmany TV shows, such asMTV2’s Wild 'n Out and Houseof Lies, and hanging out with A-list celebrities.

The original most-followedand popular Viner was NashGrier, before King Bach tookover, and was the first Viner to beoffered job opportunities and thefirst to be interviewed on televi-sion. Grier took his start of fameall over the U.S., touring forMAGCON, a convention of fa-mous teenage boy Viners whoperform live comedy skits. Griermade many guest appearances ontalk shows to speak about Vine.With the popularity of manyvines expanding into other enter-tainment areas, these Viners stillmanage to dedicate time to post-ing vines and continue to makefunny relatable videos.

With all the variety of Vinesand Viners, there's no doubt thatthe app will continue to evolveand continue to bring laughter tothe audience.

Andrew B. Bachelor better known as ‘King Bach’, King of Vine

Famous viner Jérôme Jarre

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Opening the Doors toYoung Sculptors

Sculpting has always been a fascination ofmine, being one of the most ancient art forms.When I press my hands into the soft clay, my

mind instantly traces back to the origins of myroots . . . the possibility of a thousand formsand shapes appear in my head . . . the 2D im-

ages of my imagination brought to life . . .sculpting brings such joy to me

”Young artists often begin

their interest in art with the ba-sics of sketching and coloring.And with the advanced tech-nology nowadays, computerdesigns have become ex-tremely popular due to thehuge variety of tools and sim-ple accessibility. Nevertheless,sculpting is an extraordinaryart form for all artists. It opensthe doors to another dimensionoutside of paper. As an artistbecomes more advanced, it isan excellent opportunity forone to start exploring newfields of art.

As a lover of hands-on artand an interpreter of humanfeelings, 16-year-old RachelZhang from Adam Fan’s ArtClass (Phillips Ranch near the60 Freeway (626)780-1966)continues to make sculpturesbecause she likes to observedifferent people and capturetheir emotions. She enjoysfinding little unnoticeableclues such as the bend of aneyebrow or the curve of asmile. Through sculpting, sheis able to bring to life theimage she observed. Zhang be-

lieves that sculpting has madeher much more attentive to thedetails of the world around her.

On the other hand, manyart students view sculpting asa simple hobby for fun. Ac-cording to student Iris Huangof age 18, she choose to try outsculpting because she “feellike (sculpting) adds differenttypes of projects to my portfo-lio.” As a huge fan of 3D de-sign and computer animations,Huang is not extremely fond ofsculpting but believes that it isinteresting to play with. Afterall, all forms of art are related.

However, due to the highcost of clay and the tools,many young artists do notwant to learn sculpting, espe-cially beginners. However,such a problem can be solvedusing a few easy tips. For in-stance, Zhang said, “I spentabout 6-8 pounds of clay forthis one project I did of anangry old man.” Make headsusually costs a large amount ofclay especially for beginnerswho tend to make a lot of mis-takes. Thus, it is very impor-tant to recycle and save clay.

One easy method is to placeuseless dried clay into a pot ora bucket, add water, and thenseal the bucket with a lid tokeep the air out. After a day ortwo, the clay in the bucket canbe taken out to be reused.

For students who want totry large projects that are morecomplicated, a common prob-lem that many encountered isthat clay breaks easily, espe-cially when the project is dry-ing. The sculpture often

– Dianna Rogers (Teacher of Adam Fan’s Art Class)

Written by Cindy Zhang

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cracks, and a nose or a ear fallsoff the face. To counter this,Maria Swanzo, college studentat University of Parsons, has asuggestion to help protectthese works from breakingdown. According toSwanzo,“My projects alwayscome out clean and nothingfalls apart with this technique.”First, she strongly emphasizesthat all projects must have avery sturdy base. To hold aproject in place securely, thestudent should built up a“skeleton,” or a foundation,with metal stands or wires.Then, the student should wrappaper (preferably useless wastepaper to recycle) around themetal skeleton and tape themtogether neatly with duct tape.Lastly, when leaving clay todry, Swanzo suggests that theproject be placed on a flat,

moist, surface, and studentsshould double check to makesure that the whole project ispressed very, very tight. Whendries, the work should turn outto be completely in tact.

For beginners, or studentswho are interested or alreadyinvolved in pottery or sculp-ture, local museums offer freeactivity days when visitors cango and mold clay. The Ameri-can Museum of Ceramic Art inPomona (399 N. Garey Ave.,(909) 865-3146) has studiosand programs for local artiststo get involved. For example,it offers parent and child daysthat allows parents to bringtheir children to mold and cre-ate easy projects together, suchas a goofy dog or a quackquack duck. With so many op-portunities, why not try outsome great clay art?

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What is a YouTuber?A YouTuber is also known as a Creator, it is anyone who

knows how to use YouTube. This includes viewing, uploading or commenting on videos.

You first have to create a YouTube account to which you can up-load your own videos and subscribe to different channels. YouTu-bers are people just like you and me who want to show otherstheir talent, whether it’s pranking, baking, gaming, beauty, skitsor just vlogging (video blogging) their daily life.

I have heard many YouTubers say that they have use theirvideos as an escape from depression or insecurities.

The Truth about YouTubers

How can you make money as a YouTuber? There are different ways you can start making money as a

Creator. You can start by having YouTube pay you directlythrough their monetization program. You can join the AdSenseProgram if you have, at a minimum, one video that has alreadybeen “monetized.”

To receive money, you will have to link your YouTube ac-count to the AdSense program. YouTubers also get paid based onthe number of people who view ads, before or during the videos,and if someone clicks on an ad, the Creator will be paid more.Many YouTubers also get paid by sponsor, brand deals or theysell their own merchandise. Also, you do not need a certain num-ber of subscribers to get paid. Anyone can upload a video andget paid, as long as it is not copyrighted.

What is VidCon?VidCon was first created in July 2010 by the VlogBrothers,

John and Hank Green. This duo started VidCon as a place wherepeople who associated online could now associate in real life.

VidCon is one of the largest events for all Creators. Thou-sands of supporters in the online video community have attendedfor the fifth year in a row; this includes YouTube Creators, vlog-gers, fans and more. By attending, people will have the chanceto meet, create, share and participate in every event that makesthis medium of entertainment.

Hosted at the Anaheim Convention Center from July 23-25,VidCon will feature a cast of popular YouTube stars and industryprofessionals. Attendees will have the opportunity to attend pan-els where their favorite YouTube personalities will share what ittakes to do what they do.

Article by: Eileen Gaeta

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Lilly SinghSingh is a 26-year-old comedian who isn’t afraid to pull

funny faces and open up for the camera on her YouTube channel,IISuperwomanII.

Her personality has gotten her channel more than 6.1 millionsubscribers and over 700 million views in less than five years.Born to Punjabi parents in Ontario, Canada, Singh started makingvideos in 2010, and she was definitely not the only one trying tobreak into the vlogging world.

What set Singh apart from the crowd was that she was mak-ing videos about being a brown woman. Her indian heritage was,and is, an important part of her brand. But that doesn’t stop herfrom drawing fans from all over the world. Singh also has a vlog-ging channel called SuperwomanVlog were she records her dailylife.

She has more than 800,000 subscribers and more than 64million views. She has been in movies like Dr. Cabbie, made amusic video, done stand-up comedy she has currently finishedher first world tour A Trip to Unicorn Island which included 11cities in North America, India, United Kingdom and more.

Roman AtwoodAtwood is a professional prankster who has turned his gift

for causing mischief into a profitable business, gaining more than6.8 million subscribers and over 1 billion views on his channel,RomanAtwood.

He has worked with prankster’s hall of famers and celebri-ties, such as Steve-O, The Dudesons, Howie Mandel and manymore. Atwood has also flown all over the world to cause chaoswith his pranks.

He likes to make people laugh. He has even started a cloth-ing line called “Smile More,” because he said he believes that iswhat people need to do. Atwood has also started a daily vloggingchannel called RomanAtwoodVlogs where he has more than 3.1million subscribers and more than 500 million views.

PrankvsPrank PrankvsPrank is a YouTube channel created by Jesse Wellens and Jeana who are also known as YouTube’s “craziest couple”

since they have been pranking each other for eight years. It all started in 2007, when Wellens tricked his girlfriend Jeana into eating a spoonful of cinnamon. Her reaction was captured

on camera and uploaded to YouTube. Both Wellens and Jeana have become more imaginative with their pranks, sometimes spendingdays preparing for them.

Their PrankvsPrank channel has more than 8.5 million subscribers and has over 1.3 billion views. Their vlogging channel,named BFvsGF, has more than 7.3 million subscribers and over 1.9 billion views.

Yousef Erakat Erakat is a 25-year-old YouTuber who started his fousey-

Tube channel in 2011. Erakat started his YouTube career makingparodies of his Palestinian roots.

His most recent prank, called Street Fighter Elevator andposted on June 21, has over 5 million views and became the No.1 video worldwide on YouTube. He is not only known for hispublic pranks, but also for his social experiments.

His most recent experiment, called The Bald Experiment!Do girls care?, was uploaded on June 7 and has over 3 millionviews. Erakat has a total of four channels; his first channelfouseyTube has over 6.5 million subscribers, his second channelDoseofFousey has over 1.3 million subscribers.

His third channel is MORNINGSwithFOUSEY with morethan 200,000 subscribers. His fourth channel, GAMINGwith-FOUSEY, has more than 200,000 subscribers. He is currentlymeeting with networks in an effort to sell his television showideas.

He also has currently signed with one of the biggest Holly-wood agencies that will be managing his career.

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Social media has drasti-cally changed the waypeople live and their

methods of communicatingwith others. People all aroundthe world are now able to haveconversations and share thingswith one another faster thanmail correspondence.

This technological im-provement has also reformattedthe way film, art, and music ispublished and shared with therest of the world.

New websites such asSoundcloud and Bandcampallow users to publish and selltheir music online; allowing onethe opportunity to become asensation overnight, or over thecourse of a few months.

20 years ago, the only wayto get published and distributemusic was through a recordlabel and dealing with A&R's,as well as having to establishconnections with people in themusic industry.

However, around 2004MySpace began to slowly estab-lish itself as a premier socialmedia platform, allowing artiststo upload their music, which ul-timately helped the careers ofmany popular musicians today.

Once Soundcloud was es-tablished in 2007 by Swedishsound designer AlexanderLjung and artist Eric Wahlforssit became much easier for artiststo share their music and gainpopularity.

By 2012 the site announcedthat it had reached over 10 mil-lion registered users.

Today, Soundcloud is theleading online platform forartists to publish, share, andstream one another’s music, es-tablishing an online music com-munity and creating a wave ofworldwide young producers.

Following in the footstepsof popular producers such asShlohmo, Cashmere Cat,XXYYXX, and RL Grime, afrenzy of producers haveemerged over the course of 3years, resulting in popular buzzand attention.

Many of these producersare from all around the worldsuch as Oshi (London), Misogi

(Dubai), and Sam Gellaitry(Scotland).

Others are based locallysuch as Cavalier (Long Beach),BLVC SVND (Los Angeles),and Disfnk (Whittier).

Almost all of these produc-ers are under the age of 21, andare fully independent, recordingtheir music in their bedroomstudios – with many of themgaining a following of over20,000 followers from aroundthe world and inspiring others.

The Soundcloud commu-nity grows on a daily basis andwhat makes it special is howclose producers are with one an-other – even if they have notmet in person.

Most producers on Sound-

A New Era and Generation For Music

Young phenom producers BLVC SVND and Cavalier performing back to back in front of friends and fans.

Story and photos by Ryan Guerrero

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cloud will collaborate on trackswith one another and will some-times play live shows together.

Most recently, Cavalier andBLVC SVND performed at astudio warehouse in DowntownLos Angeles where the venuewas jam packed with youngteenagers, friends, and evenfamily.

Cavalier and BLVC SVNDare both 17 and are currently inhigh school while putting outinstrumental beats that featureheavy kicks and snares, as wellas a signature gliding 808 bassthat has become a distinctivesound in the Soundcloud com-munity.

BLVC SVND (NaiserMcKay) recently released an EPentitled "Nag Champa", and iscurrently available for purchaseon iTunes.

"It's the name of an Indianincense fragrance. My momused to always burn it when Iwas young”, said Mckay whenasked why he chose that name.

Mckay began makingmusic when he was 13 years oldan d hopes to produce an albumone day with Young Thug, Fu-ture, and Snoop Dogg entitled,“Simp Pimp”.

In regards to the Sound-cloud community, Mckay said,

“It’s dope cause I can releasewhatever I want and people willlisten to it, but at the same timeit’s lame cause some peopledon’t want to make music. Theyjust want 5 seconds of fame.”

Cavalier (Tyler Cleave-land) has quickly emerged intoone of the most popular produc-ers in the Soundcloud "scene”,gaining over 50,000 followers,and working with other popular

Soundcloud artists such asNight Lovell, Fifty Grand, andGRXGVR on his EP last fall,“PIETA”.

Cleavelend also performeda show earlier this year withpopular radio show/music labelSoulection.

Soulection (founded by JoeKay who graduated in 2007from Los Altos High School)started as an underground radioshow in the den of Kay'sgrandma's house and eventuallyprogressed while Kay was thestudent program director forKBeach Radio at Cal StateLong Beach.

Kay ultimately began up-loading weekly radio shows andconducting interviews with spe-cial guest artists.

Soulection eventually rosein popularity and branched outinto an independent music label,creating a genre of its ownknown as "The Sound of To-morrow.”

Today the label is com-posed of established Sound-cloud producers such as Esta,Mr. Carmack, Sango, and Ta-Ku; all of which perform fromtime to time with the rest of theSoulection team at their world-

wide events.Soulection is a prime ex-

ample of how music can gainpopularity through Soundcloudand eventually direct itself in adifferent direction as most re-cently it was announced thatSoulection Radio would now bebroadcasted through Beats 1Radio on the newly formedApple Music.

With the utilization of othersites such as Bandcamp, youngartists can now sell their musicand create their own full-lengthalbums and EP's without deal-ing with record labels – and canmake a career in music, all fromhome.

Soundcloud continues toexpand by the hour, makingway for producers and artists ofall sorts to establish connectionsand form mini collectives andlabels.

Soundcloud is a virtualworld of its own and cherishesthe numerous independentartists subscribed to the site,sending a message to big labelsand groups, such as Warner andSony, that a new generation ishere to take over.

BLVC SVND smiles towards the crowd as he performs his 45 minute set consisting of his ownoriginal productions and remixes at KESSPRO Studios in Downtown Los Angeles.

BLVC SVND, left and Cavalier trading off sets to end thenight.

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A“gig” or “show”can almost bereferred to as aconcert. The dif-ference is that

the event is held at someone’shouse, usually in their back-yard, or at a low-cost venue.

Sometimes the gig is aDIY (do-it-yourself) event,which can be held anywhereelectricity can be tapped, anda bit of space can be had. Suchperformances are held at amuch cheaper ticket price,rarely higher than $5 per per-son, and the musicians per-forming will not likely showup on a radio station’s Top-40list.

Throwing one of thesegigs is not necessarily a diffi-cult task; keeping one undercontrol might be more of anissue, but all you would needto present one is an openbackyard, some willing ten-ants; it usually doesn’t matterwho it is, just as long as theywant to run the gig, and a fewbands to perform. However,there is a lot more than meetsthe eye or ear when hearingabout or seeing one of thesebackyard gigs in action. And,there are probably some mis-conceptions about them, aswell.

What many probablydon’t know is that these gigscan and do serve a purpose.People have created produc-tion companies that revolvearound hosting gigs. Theseproducers usually aim at ahigher goal, and rather thanjust making money, they

strive to make a difference. Ittruly is a wonder to take alook at the hard work andcommitment these producersput into making these gigshappen, and looking into whythey do it, as well. Some peo-ple run their own productioncompanies, either in an effortto help the scene, help thelocal musicians grow in popu-larity, help the communitygrow, all of the above, orsomething completely differ-ent (such as spreading femi-nist ideologies through music).

A production companythat goes by the name of“Music for Change,” run byKarina Trejo and Melissa Pal-raza, aim to organize musicevents as well as art shows inan effort to help the needy. Allof the money they makethrowing shows will be giveneach time to a different char-ity or cause.

For their first shows, onaugust 14’th and 15’th, Trejostated, “We are donatingmoney to make care packagesfor the homeless, we help not

only the artists, but the com-munity as well, and that’swhat we are all about. Wewant to make a difference inpeople’s lives through arts andthrough the community.”

Production companiesthat reach for higher goals likethis help the local music scenegrow. Both Trejo and Palrazaare striving to turn Music forChange into a non-profit or-ganization in the near future.Music for Change definitelyshines a light on the wholescene, which might be per-

Story by Pete Escobar

Rene Sanchez/La CimaLocal music lovers eagerly await for the next band to begin in Fontanta, CA.

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ceived as only for “losers” or“low-lifes,” and goes to showwhat great contributions thesegigs can make.

Of course, these gigs wouldnever be made possible withoutwilling and uniquely talentedmusicians. It is more than justa hobby to most of the bandsand their members. It is a full-blown commitment, and eatsup most of their time. Time thatcould be spent having mindlessfun is instead spent practicing,recording, scheduling gigs, andcreating new content – all ofwhich require a lot of hardwork. Let us not forget that thiscommitment is not usually fi-nancially rewarding from themusician’s standpoint. Most ofthese musicians do it solely fortheir love of sharing music. Jacob Sahagun, who plays leadguitar for the band Gold Vine,is one of these musicians.

Sahagun stated, “There arefew things more satisfying thanseeing people enjoying anddancing around to the musicthat we create and share. And,I think I can speak for all of uswhen I say that when you lookinto the crowd while you areplaying and you see people’sfaces light up when they hearyour music, you know you aredoing something right.”

These musicians are com-mitted to spreading their musicto other people, in hopes of atleast having somewhat of animpact on their lives. Althoughthey can find personal satisfac-tion in this, this is nowhere neara selfish endeavor.

If there is one thing I couldtell you about these gigs, it isthat they are probably likenothing you’ve ever experi-enced before. The bands getgoing and the crowd gets mov-

ing; whether it be danc-ing to the flow of themusic or a full blowncircle-pit of peoplemoshing, the musicbeing performed neverfails to energize thecrowd.

Being a part of thecrowd at a gig can turna 20-year-old man 12again, and I mean thisin the best possibleway, of course. Whenthe music starts play-ing, there is no judge-ment, no hate, onlyhype and energy, andunder these conditions,people can find them-selves shoulder-to-shoulder, moshing withcomplete strangers allbecause of a catchy surfrock tune, as I havemany times before.

Unlike a concert, there isno need for any backstagepasses to meet the musicianswho are creating the musicthat people love. Most of thebands are relatively localones, and stick around to seethe gig end. Most musiciansspend a lot of time with thepeople at shows instead of dis-regarding them, as more well-known performers mightwhile on tour.

This, alongside the factthat the music in generalhelps bring people together,creates a friendly, productive,and thriving community ofpeople who all support eachother, as well as loving andenjoying music. A l t h o u g hthe average person might betotally unaware of this scenealtogether, this does not meanit isn’t thriving or having ahuge impact on people’s lives.

“There are few things more satisfying than seeingpeople enjoying and dancing around to the music

that we create and share.”

Pete Escobar/La Cima

Pete Escobar/La Cima

A small audience ejoying The Bonseye Blues Band at the crystalgallery.

Members of Gold Vine Patrick Moreno and Jacob Sahagunentertaining the audience with an acoustic set in Covina,CA, after the cancellation of their set

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Outside of the Comfort Zone

The best thing I’ve donein the last few years isstep outside of my com-

fort zone.The comfort zone is the

one place no one should eversettle for. It gives us a falsesense of security and tricks usinto believing it is enough. It’snot.

I can’t blame anyone forenjoying the comfort zone. Ilike staying home and readinga good book with a cup ofchamomile tea nearby. How-ever, I am twenty-three andstaying in every night is nothealthy.

This is the time to dis-cover who we really are. Areyou the type of person to gowith the flow or do you need toplan everything out? Are youthe type of person who needsto express their feelings or doyou bottle them all up? Do youlike having a big group offriends or do you

prefer to keep it at the bareminimum?

There isn’t anythingwrong with choosing one overthe other, what is wrong is ifyou don’t take the time to findout.

For a long time I boughtinto the idea that living a hum-drum life couldn’t possibly bea bad thing. My grades wereoutstanding, I was as rested ascould be expected and I didn’thave any insurmountable prob-lems to complain about.

This was my comfortzone.

I didn’t believe it neededto be changed, what could Ipossibly be missing? DrinkingSaturday nights until I threwup and parties where I didn’tknow a single person?

Surely, I could skip thepartying of my twenties with-out missing out on any reallyimportant information I mayneed in the future. Television,

movies and music convincedme that at my age I could onlybe one of two possible collegestereotypes, the party animalor the book worm.

I was wrong only I didn’tknow it until I stepped outsideof my comfort zone.

It wasn’t intentional, I wasmore than surprised when Icame to the realization that Iliked Korean pop music. I wasastounded when I made the de-cision to major in journalisminstead of literature.

A friend of mine intro-duced me to the new style ofmusic and I joined the schoolpaper to show I had been pub-lished if I was ever asked. Ididn’t plan on any of thesethings changing the way I livedmy life.

Now I listen to kpop on adaily basis and becoming ajournalist has motivated me ina way my literature majornever did.

Why is Kpop important inthe scope of things? It openedmy eyes. I would love to visitSeoul South Korea,a place I

didn’t know existed until thisentire music scene wasbrought to my attention.

It may seem silly to anumber of you, but I was veryhappy with the idea of neverstepping outside of US soil myentire life. Mexico would al-ways be three hours away if Iwas suddenly in the mood togo on a road trip.

However I had been thereas a child, I grew up with themusic, the food and the lan-guage, none of it was reallynew. Very abruptly I became aperson who wanted to see theworld. I hope to some day visitSouth Korea, China, Japan,Ireland, Germany, Russia,Norway and expect the list togrow.

In the process I learned Iwould love to learn a multitudelanguages. I’ve helped a nu-merous amount of people withthe two languages I alreadyspeak, I can’t imagine havingthree or four under my beltbeing a bad thing.

This one step outside ofeverything familiar to

me created a

Articles and Photos by: Angela Hernandez

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ripple effect I could not haveanticipated.

Being a journalist givesmy passion for writing theideal outlet while leaving thedoor open to an endlessamount of opportunities.

Ever since deciding onjournalism as my profession Ihave found myself excelling atall of my endeavors. My con-fidence level has gone up andI look forward to continuingmy education; instead of fum-bling in the dark and hoping Iwould end up where I was sup-posed to be.

I now reside among hard-working people who are aspassionate about their careersas I am about mine and are al-ways willing to lend a hand.

Each one of them moredetermined to persevere thanthe next and inspiring me atevery turn.

Many people feel their lifewill begin when they graduatecollege and enter the workingforce with a degree in theirback pocket. In reality, thiscouldn’t be any further fromthe truth.

Life begins when we findour purpose and in attemptingto live out our dreams we find

who we are.The biggest reason most

people rebel when it comes tostepping outside of their com-fort zone is because it requiresthe person to face their demonsand overcome their fears.

I believe our fears to bethe primary reason we boxourselves in. The fear of fail-ure, of disappointing oneself orothers and countless otherfears are what hold peopleback from achieving their ab-solute best.

When I finally decided tomove forward instead ofdwelling in familiarities andstood outside of everything Iabsolutely knew, I experiencedfirst-hand what it’s like to faceyour fears.

I came to the conclusionthat there was no basis for anyof them.

Perhaps I had had genuinereasons for those fears in thepast but over time they becameunnecessary. There was noth-ing to indicate I was incapableof doing anything I wanted todo.

At times I doubt myself asmuch as anyone else and won-der if I’m running off in theright direction. I question if the

struggle I am about to take onwill be worth my time and ef-fort at all. I wonder if I haven’tmade a mistake somewherealong the way that could bedetrimental to my future.

Then I remember that inthe middle of making a deci-sion I could very well loose theopportunity that could changeeverything.

While dusting myself offand forcing myself into unfa-miliar situations isn’t alwayseasy, I remind myself that it inmy own benefit to do so. I be-come a better version of my-self every time I do.

I became accustomed tomy surroundings and my newway of life. Things that hadpreviously intimidated mewere now a cake walk andwhen I look at the person I wasa year ago I await with greatanticipation to see who I am ayear from now.

If you take anything fromthis let it be that there is no bet-ter time than right now to stepout into the unknown, dosomething for the first timeeven if it scares you, breakaway from the herd and be-come the person you’ve al-ways wanted to be.

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Anime Expo Los AngelesArticle and photos by: Yiyun Zhang

For every anime lover, Anime Expois definitely an event worth goingfor.

Each year it attracts more than100,000 people to attend this fascinatingevent in order to celebrate many recentlypopular animations, games and manga.Located in the Los Angeles ConventionCenter and held in early July for 4 days,Anime Expo is also considered the largestanime convention in North America.

Ordering tickets to this exciting eventis quite easy, a person can either purchasethe ticket online or choose to buy it beforehe or she enters the convention center;however, many attendees would ratherchoose to order the tickets online becausethe prize is much cheaper than purchasing

them on site. Also, there are several tickets op-

tions available, for the people whoare enthusiastically looking forwardto this event can choose to buy a 4-day pass or a Premier Fan packet,which allows the attendees to havethe front-of-line privileges, discountson purchasing certain products, andearly access to many locations suchas Exhibit Hall, Entertainment hall,etc.

On the other hand, if a persononly wants to participate in theAnime Expo for one day or he or shecannot make the event for the whole4-day, 1-day pass is certainly ideal forhim or her to have.

In addition, the anime expo of-fers tickets for children at a lowerprize as well, so if someone wouldlike to attend the event with his or herfamily, the prize is not too high to af-ford.

Furthermore, Anime Expo in-vites many famous guests to this con-vention every year as well. Theguests ranges from cosplay Senpai,Japanese and American voice actors,music bands, to producers and cre-ators of currently popular anime;therefore, it is essential for every at-tendee to know who would they liketo meet during the expo because it’san important opportunity that every-

one cannot miss in order to get autographfrom famous singers, voice actors and pro-ducers. Sometimes getting the autographfrom one’s favorite is hard.

Many attendees often choose to wakeup early in the morning and wait in theline in order to make sure that they can getthe autograph tickets of the person theywant, which in most cases the autographtickets run out pretty quickly every day soit’s quite necessary to arrive early for theones who’d like to get autographs.

In the Main Events Hall located onthe first floor of the convention center, it’sthe place where hundreds of cosplay sen-pai gathers together with their costumes.Everyone can find cosplay of their favoriteanime characters and ask them to takephotos with. Also, one can dress up astheir favorite anime character and invitesothers to have photos taken with him orher.

Next to the Main Events Hall, the En-tertainment Hall offers the attendees toparticipate in gaming tournaments withother game players. In addition, the animeexpo provides a free gaming area foreveryone to try the recently released andpopular games in different gaming plat-form such as PC and arcades, and there isa wall available in the Entertainment Hallfor attendees to mark their comments ordraw some art work at Anime Expo inorder to allow attendees to express theirfeelings and communicate with other peo-

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Anime Expo Los Angelesple during the convention.

The food choices during the anime expo are widely rangedand tasteful. Inside the convention centers, the cafeteria offerstraditional American food such as hamburgers and French fries,along with choices of Japanese Cuisine like sashimi and sushirolls.

Also, there are many food trucks right outside the exit ofconvention center that sell Mexican-style tacos and burritos, Ko-rean barbeque, Thai food, Indian Curry and so on. Though oneserving of food usually costs above 10 dollars, it definitely is themeal that everyone would enjoy.

Despite those activities and events to attend above, the mostexciting event happens in the Exhibit Hall. Not only some fa-mous Japanese anime industries such as Bandai Namco andCrunchyroll would be introducing their newest creations and sell-ing their game products such as Blu-ray CD and anime figuresduring the Anime Expo, but also hundreds of artists of animechoose to participate in the anime expo by selling the prints oftheir recent drawings and acrylic straps or buttons of some animecharacters.

Everyone who visit the exhibit hall certainly can find theproducts of their favorite anime and, most importantly, meet the

people who share the same interest and compassion as he or shedoes.

It is certainly obvious that Anime Expo is not simply a goodchance to buy or sell anime-related items, but it also offers a greatopportunity for the attendees to communicate their ideas and in-terests with each other. That is surly and mainly the reason whythe anime expo is such an ideal place for every anime lovers togo to.

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Known for its longmysterious corri-dors and its chill-

ing resemblance to themighty Titanic in her glorydays before her demise, theQueen Mary is known forhosting various attractionsthat range from celebra-tions, weddings, and vari-ous exhibits since shearrived in the city of LongBeach on Dec. 9, 1967.

Since its docking inLong Beach, rumors of theQueen Mary being hauntedstarted to surface andguests have traveled nearand far in order to catch aglimpse of an apparition,cold spots, and aromas thatlinger throughout the hallsbelonging to a different era.

The Queen Mary alsoserves as a hotel whereguest can spend the nighton board and wine and dine onone of the most beautiful, yetenigmatic ships of the 20thcentury.

It is rumored by the latepsychic Peter James, that over600 souls call the Queen Marytheir home.

As some guests havewalked her long corridors inthe mere mindset of explo-ration, they have encounteredparanormal situations thathave made many wonder, isthe Queen Mary haunted?

Known as one of the mosthaunted hotels in the UnitedStates by various online web-

sites, the Queen Mary’s his-tory is full of elegance, beauty,royalty, and war.

Her busy history is nodoubt the culprit for her resid-ual energy that is trapped andlingers aboard from deck todeck allowing not only staffmembers but guests the oppor-tunity to enhance all theirsenses the moment they stepfoot onboard.

But is it haunted?This answer was answered

in room A135. A room notori-ous for drawers opening andclosing

The room in question is abeautiful room with twin beds

on the A- Deck on the forthfloor. The room is furnished in1930’s décor including thebathroom. Since it is know fordrawers opening and closing, acamera was placed to recordwhen absent.

Besides room A135, the A-Deck has many rooms withdifferent reporting’s of haunt-ings. Room A110, has had re-porting’s of a man sitting onthe right hand side of the bed.

Guests in A128 haveheard tapping, and claimed tohave seen a little girl pop upand say “Hi-ya,” and disap-pear before their eyes. Inroom A141 a woman has been

reported seen crying by sev-eral guests, and in A207 guestshave seen chairs in the roommove across the floor.

After taking photos on thedeck at 2:30 a.m., and return-ing to the room, nothing wascaptured on footage, but theroom was colder than ex-pected. Also, after the lightswere turned off and an hourhad passed, the television wenton, only to turn itself offshortly after.

Again, nothing too fright-ening, and possibly ruled outas “electrical failure,” but stillchilling. Especially when try-ing to fall asleep in the early

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Chilling Nights at theQueen Mary

STORY BY: D,M LOZA

PHOTOS BY: LALIGTARBINiAN

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hours of the morning. Although the room wasn’t

too much of a paranormal hotspot, the ship has notoriousareas where it was questionedgoing further. For example, theB-Deck, near room B340, aroom so haunted it had beentaken off the circulation andno one is allowed inside unlessthey are guided by a paranor-mal ghost tour.

The B-Deck is definitelyone of the most haunted decksonboard. Walking the endlesshalls at night was eerie andnauseating to the point wherea few photos were taken andthe area was left by itself.

While walking around theship, even in daylight, there isan eerie feeling that followsone around, almost as if some-

one was walking right behindthem. especially around thebow where On Oct. 2,1942 it was reported that theQueen Mary accidentally hitand sank the HMS Curacoakilling 239 of the 338 passen-gers on board.

It has also been rumoredthat those who lost their liveson that tragic night still hauntthe Queen Mary's lower Bow.It is a “hot spot” for local ghosthunters that come from allsides of the globe.

Walking around the firstclass swimming pool was defi-nitely an interesting experiencethat made one wonder if therewas such a thing as a vortex in-side the ship connecting thisdimension to the spirit world.

People have reported see-

ing other guests in 1930s styleswim suits wandering thedecks near the pool.

Other guests have re-

ported seeing wet footprintsaround the changing roomsand have heard the sounds ofsplashing water when the pools

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have been empty for some timenow.

Upstairs, an attractive youngwoman in an elegant whiteevening gown has been spotteddancing alone in the corner of theroom in the Queen’s Salon, whichonce served as the ship’s first-class lounge.

In the third class children'splayroom, a crying baby has beenheard. It has been rumored to bean infant boy who died shortlyafter his birth.

These and any other haunt-ing have made nonbelievers intobelievers and continue to at-tracted guests with its growinglist of paranormal reports.

There are various ghost toursavailable ranging from $31 perperson to $129 to dine with thespirits, as well as do a paranor-mal investigation around theship.

Lastly, because Halloween isaround the corner, join in on thefun and purchase Dark Harbortickets from Oct. 1 to Nov. 1.Tickets vary, with differentthemed mazes; horrifying freakshows and lots more!

Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.queenmary.com orby calling 877-342-0742.

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mickey, the magic & memickey, the magic & me

Story by Daniel N. CrespoPhotos by Marie Quezada

“100 Dollars for a daypass?!” The grumpy fathershouted to himself. His little

daughter, dressed like PrincessAnna, clung to his arm as he de-bated on paying for the expensiveticket.

The father looked at his littleprincess, who was flashing atoothless smile, suddenly

changed his mind and paid theprice. It seems like $100 was asmall price to pay for his child'shappiness.

After all, it is a small price topay for a theme park dubbed“The Happiest place on Earth”. Itmakes you wonder why peoplepay tons of money just to visit atheme park. “Nostalgia” somemight answer, seeing how Disneyhas played a major part in mostof our childhoods.

But if you were to ask me ormy two pals, my buddy Mark andmy girlfriend Marie, we wouldsay “because there is no placeelse we’d rather be than here”.Disney and all of it’s productshave had a major impact on ourculture.

From the Marvel cinemarage to the crazy success ofFrozen, Disney has made it clearthat they will always have what ittakes to keep the magic going. It

makes you wonder, why is Dis-neyland so special?

Why do people not scoff atthe high prices and take theirbusiness to Knotts or Six Flagsinstead? These kinds of questionslingered in our minds as we en-tered the beloved theme park.Today's Disneyland goal: Findthe magic in the park.

The journey began on MainStreet. The crowds moved inevery direction leaving little

A Disney Adventure

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room to find your footing. How-ever, as you try to make yourway through a busy Disney day,you begin to hear the sweetsounds of the Dapper Dans Quar-tet singing a beautiful renditionof “sweet & lovely.”

The smell of sweet cinna-mon and caramel from GibsonGirl’s ice cream parlor fills yournostrils as you admire & take inthe beautiful scenery of MainStreet. Suddenly, you see Mickeyoff in the distance.

That same little girl that wasdressed like Anna runs intoMickey’s arms as they take aphoto. You might think to your-self, “Man, that cast membermust be terribly sweaty in thatMickey costume”, but to thatchild, it’s the real Mickey Mouse.In that moment, you suddenly re-alize that you are indeed in thehappiest place on earth.

But was the magic just inMain Street? Absolutely not. Themagic was somewhere in thistheme park, waiting to be discov-ered.

The quest for magic contin-ues into Fantasy Land, a placewhere classic Disney cartoonscome to life. One of the mostbeautiful things about this land inparticular is how it really im-merses you into the films andbooks you used to read as a child.Peter Pan’s Flight carries you on

a ship as you fly over London ona starry night.

The tower of Big Ben greetsyou as you fly into the sky andover a beautiful small scalereplica of Neverland. The feelingis so wonderful in that ride, how-ever, another ride in Fantasylandwill give you the exact oppositefeeling.

In Snow Whites scary Ad-venture, you relive the events ofthe cartoon which features mo-ments like Snow

White getting lost in a veryscary forest with a bunch of treeswith faces that look like theywant to re enact a certain scenefrom a famous 80’s flick starringBruce Campbell or travellingthrough a creepy dungeon wherean ugly witch pops out at youwhile she holds out an apple.

It’s creepy, it’s terrifying, butmost of all, it’s beautiful in howwell it captures the same feelingfrom the film we all grew up lov-ing. However, was the magic inthese rides alone? The nostalgiatrip was wonderful, but the magicdefinitely must be somewhereelse in this park.

Disneyland has a lot to offertheir guests. From familyfriendly entertainment like theirshows and musical performancesto their incredibly deliciousrestaurants (specifically themonte cristo sandwiches from

Cafe Orleans, a personal recom-mendation from yours truly).

There is never a dull mo-ment happening within thisplace. Therefore the opportunityto find the magic was always apossibility on every minute ofour journey.

Marie wanted to watch the Mickey & The Magic Map show,so we went. This show in partic-ular is perhaps one of the park'sbest offerings in terms of a “mag-ical experience”. Mickey mouseis pulled into a magical map,where he encounters many famil-iar faces from Disney history.

The show mixes live actionand on screen action simultane-ously, as characters like Poca-hontas sings while the screenshows parts of the film.

It truly is delightful to seethese characters physically inter-act with the audience, whichgives off a special kind of expe-rience that is different from theattractions. However, the magicstill had to be out there somehow.If it was not in this show, wherewas it?

After a full day of adventur-ing with Indiana Jones, Singingwith Grim, Grinning Ghosts, eat-ing spectacular food, watchingamazing shows, and waiting inlong lines, the actual answer on

where the magic lives was stilluncertain.

However, the closest possi-ble explanation comes from asimple observation: When youwatch the fireworks at night, orwhen you ride the attractions inthe park, take a look at the facesof the children. The way thetheme park impacts these chil-dren, the way they smile as theymeet Mickey mouse, or how theysay “wow” when the sky is filledwith fireworks. It truly is a won-derful sight to see. This can applyto us adults too.

If we close our eyes and letour imagination run wild, we canfeel the things that we used tofeel when we were younger.That, my fellow mouseketeers, isthe true magic. If you truly thinkabout it for a moment, it is prettymagical how the happiest placeon earth came from the dreams ofone man.

Sure, Walt Disney had help,but it is wonderful to see how faryour dreams can take you. This iscrucial for us college studentswho are really just beginning ourlives.

If we just believe and dreamfor a moment, sure we won’thave a place like Disneyland, butperhaps we can just do some-thing as magical.

“Why do people not scoff at the high prices and take their businessto Knotts or Six Flags instead? These kinds of questions lingered in

our minds as we entered the beloved theme park...”

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LA CIMA

2015 -2016Alejandro Simental/La Cima