The Paw Print

A news publication created by Baruch's College Now high school journalism class

Culture and Entertainment

Why “Lesbian Jesus” aka Hayley Kiyoko is a Queer Icon

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“Lesbian Jesus,” also known as Hayley Kiyoko, is an LGBT icon in both music and TV. She is an idol to many young queer girls including myself.

Growing up, I did not know what the word gay meant. When I heard the word gay it was used as an insult. Gay was a bad word, I did not want to be known as a bad word, I tried to avoid the word or anything related. But during my early adolescence, I began to realize I was interested in girls. I thought about girls the way a boy thinks of them. As much as I wanted to display these feelings I could not, I wanted to keep this part of me locked up forever. 

 

I did not know anyone who was gay, my religion told me it was wrong, my parents would have cast me out, and most importantly, I had no support, no one who understood. It was not until I heard Hayley Kiyoko’s music that I found what I was missing- support, acceptance, and understanding. 

 

She is known for her songs “Girls like Girls”, “Cliff’s Edge”, “Sleepover”, “Curious”, and “Feelings.” Her songs took the gay community by storm. The lyrics represents lesbian love, equality, and acceptance. Kiyoko’s music inspires people to be their true selves. She inspires people to live for themselves. She has become an icon for the community by advocating for LGBT rights and providing the normalcy most of us do not have. During an interview with Refinery 29, Kiyoko, said, “I’ve had several music industry execs say, ‘You’re doing another music video about girls?’ I looked at them and was like, um, yea…Taylor Swift sings about men in every single song and video, and no one complains that she’s unoriginal.’ I’m not over-sexualizing my music. I make out with women because I love women, not because I’m trying to be sexy. That’s not to turn heads—that’s my life.”

 

Kiyoko has become “Lesbian Jesus” due to her advocacy and musical representation of lesbians and other members of the LGBT community.The need for more LGBT representation is more than to diversify the media it is to provide support for developing adolescents questioning their sexuality. Having icons such as Kiyoko telling us it’s okay, creates a positive impact. She proves it’s okay to be yourself, she provides positive reinforcement with her music and advocacy. That is what makes her iconic-positivity and importance for what she stands for. When asked “ As an artist and as someone who has been really open about their sexuality and experiences, what’s the most meaningful reaction you’ve ever gotten from a fan? ” by Lana Kaplan during a Billboard, interview Kiyoko said, “ I think the most meaningful reaction is when I go on tour and see 12-year-old girls at my show being proud of who they are and with their parents at my shows. When I was 12, I was like, ‘I’m never going to be happy until I’m 30’,because I was struggling with my sexuality. Seeing everyone be 15 or 16 and seeing this community of support has been really meaningful because it shows progress and change within our generation. We still have more to go, but to see what has been awesome.”

 

Even if it is not Kiyoko’s music it is the love, compassion, and support, she shows, that makes her Lesbian Jesus, an advocate for all.

 

Effects of social media on young people

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Do you use social media, apps or Youtube? Life seems easier with phones in our hands where we can communicate with whoever we want and when we want. But is social media safe for young people?

With new studies and reports raising questions about mental health and vulnerabilities that affect young people, there have been a lot of worries about adolescents and social media in the past couple of years.  But are there more bad than good?

Adolescents are very curious and with phones in their hands, nothing can stop them from learning and having new experiences and learning about different aspects of life.

Young people get support by using social media, according to Andrea K.Mcdaniel, an author of an article in the ELAnews. She pointed out that some research has found that social media can be a resource for teens to find social support when they are struggling with life issues and that they can use the different online platforms to express themselves.

A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research of teens aged 13 to 17 found that most teens value the feeling of connection with friends and family that social media provides. Social media is not just useful for passing time when they’re bored time as others might say, but is used to connect families and friends around the world.

Many risky behaviors have dropped sharply among teens. Cigarette smoking among teens is at a historic low since peaking in the mid 1990s, along with alcohol use, teen driving fatalities and teens pregnancy rates. All these changes are due to the reliance by teens on social media which keeps them occupied and out of it.

It may look as though teens are wasting a lot of their time hanging out with their new media, whether it’s texting or watching videos.”But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page,” according to the New York Times.

Some people might say that social media hurts young people more than it helps. But that’s not the case at all. For example, a 2012 study conducted by psychologists at the University of California at Berkeley found that sending and receiving text messages boosted texters’ moods when they were feeling upset or lonely.

As long as it’s used in a healthy way, social media is helpful for young people and help them emotionally as well as mentally.

 

Brandy Melville’s unique and often biased hiring method

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Throughout the city, businesses from ice cream shops to clothing stores delve into hundreds of job applications filled with resumes and references from teenagers hoping to bring in some money for the summer. At Brandy Melville, they ask for your Instagram. 

Clothing store Brandy Melville launched stores in the US in 2009 and quickly became a teen hotspot. They have four locations in New York City filled with teenage girls looking for new clothes and others working at the cash register. The brand continues to gain popularity having an annual profit growth between 20-25%, according to digital marketing expert Jeff Bulla. As loved as the Italian clothing brand is, they have been criticized for scouting primarily young white employees.

Girls often get hired by being asked in the store if they are interested in working at Brandy Melville. If they say yes, the employee proceeds to ask for their name, availability and Instagram handle. 

“I was hired because they asked me in the store but I’ve noticed that they rarely ask girls of color to work when they’re in the store,” said one employee. To her knowledge, all of her colleagues were asked to work at Brandy Melville. “Applying has a much lower rate of success,” said the 16-year-old. 

Many shoppers experience seeing a flock of young, thin, white girls working at Brandy Melville. Their body types are a result of Brandy’s one size fits all clothes. This is an aspect of the store that faces criticism but ultimately, works in their favor. Justina Sharp, a 17-year-old fashion blogger described it to the Huffington Post as an exclusivity thing. Knowing that not everyone can wear the clothes makes more girls inclined to wear them. 

The company defended this choice saying there is something for everyone because they offer stretchy and loose items. In regards to the lack of racial diversity in their models and staff, the brand has not released a statement. 

15-year-old Isabel Greider talked about her sister’s experience working at Brandy Melville, saying, “Girls would get paid different wages (which my sister said was often racist).” 

Although there has yet to be other reports of racial bias in wages, the lack of diversity does not go unnoticed by shoppers, especially non-white ones. 

 “The employees are kind of rude…..I don’t see any black workers. I want to shop at a store where it’s diverse,” said one Google review. 

Greider elaborated on her sisters experience working at Brandy, “They took pictures of all the workers every day.” They were never told why. 16-year-old Gracie Paulson goes through a similar thing while shopping at Brandy Melville. Employees often ask to take a picture of her when she is wearing a vintage t-shirt. She believes it is to ‘steal’ the design. 

The brand had multiple lawsuits involving them stealing clothing designs-including one with Forever 21. The sales associates are also part of the brainstorming team and most likely photograph shoppers clothes for inspiration. 

In Brandy Melville’s New York City locations, the Google reviews are filled with comments complaining about the staff. “I’m so disappointed to give Brandy a 3-star rating (as I love their clothes), but I can’t lie. The staff there aren’t the sharpest tools in the shed and are extremely rude,” said Marie Khoury about the Soho location on Broadway. 

Despite review upon review of customers having trouble with staff, Brandy Melville has made no change in the way they pick their employees. Why? 

Lawyer and founder of The Fashion Law, an independent source of objective fashion law and business analysis, Julie Zerbo dissected the method to Brandy Melville’s madness. 

 The employees play a multipurpose role by not only looking the part but also acting as ambassadors, explained Zerbo. It is not uncommon for brands to use their employees to get input on what clothes they should make. 

It is more cost-effective to hire teen girls than to hire consultants; teenagers are content with minimum wage. Most importantly, the employees succeed in suggesting clothing designs that please the consumers. 

In regards to asking for employees Instagrams, the power of social media continues to grow. Brandy Melville wants girls with a strong following and an Instagram that reflects their brand. 

“It’s hard to say that it’s not kind of brilliant business,” said Zerbo.

XXL Freshman Review

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 In the year 2019, we have watched upcoming artists blow up with multiple billboard hits, record selling albums, and maybe a one hit song. The following artists are ranked from the best substance of music to the worst. 

 

 Standing at Number 1 is YBN Cordae from Suitland Maryland. Cordae is known for being in the group YBN with artist known as YBN Almighty Jay, and YBN Nahmir. YBN Cordae is known lyrically to be the best from the group, with hits Locationships( inspired by Jay Z’s song Girls, Girls, Girls), Target ( talks about racial profiling done by police),and his newest song Have Mercy( talks about life changes, and asks the lord for mercy). Listed at Number 2 is Tierra Whack. From Philadelphia, Tierra Whack is claimed to be the best female artist right now by Meek Mill, which says something because, when it comes to music Meek Mill can’t be compared to new age artist . “ Having flashbacks, Where yo’ past at?/Where the cash at? Ayo, pass that/ I will stab backs just for bags, racks, Tierra Whack said in her song Unemployed. Tierra’s starts off with vivid word play and uses something called slant rhyming. Slant rhyming is when rappers use words that don’t rhyme and make it rhyme.  Rico Nasty from Largo Maryland is listed at Number 3 . As a female artist Rico Nasty is most known for her emphasis towards black women expressing their anger. With dropping projects Anger Management, Nasty, and Sugar Trap 2 we can see what point she is trying to get across. “Yeah, your ass fat, but you a whack attack/Seek the money you can’t wait to latch”Rico stated in her song Big Titties from the Anger Management album . Rico Nasty raps about females getting attention for how their body looks ,but states when it comes to money with men they forget their value. From Houston,TX we have Megan Thee Stallion. As a Southern Rapper, Megan is known for her assured flow and sexual lyrics. Megan’s best songs are Big Ole Freak, Best you Ever Had, and her STALLI FREESTYLE. “ Come in the room and I’m givin’ commands/ I am the captain and he the lieutenant/ I need that neck like a muhfucking pendant,’’Megan stated in Big Oe Freak. From the rugged streets of Compton, at number 5: we have Roddy Rich. Roddy Ricch is known for songs Die Young, Down Below, Every Season, Project Dreams, and his latest song Out Tha Mud. One of his most known lines is, “Tell me legends always gotta die quick?’’, Roddy Rich stated in Die Young.  At Number 6: stands Da Baby from North Carolina. With collaborations from Louisiana’s Boosie Badazz, and Atlanta’s Offset, Da Baby is most known for songs Suge, Going Baby on Baby, and Next Song. When it comes to history, Da Baby shows what he knows about rap in Suge. “ I’m a young CEO, Suge( Yeah)/ Yeah,Yeah”, Da Baby vigorously repeats in his song Suge. From East St. Louis, Illinois we have Comethazine. Even though, Comethazine is listed at number 7 he stands with songs Walk, Bands, Piped Up, and 2 albums named Bawskee.

One of his most known lines is, “ I walk around like that nigga, finger on the trigger/ If a nigga want smoke, I let the chopper eats his liver(Boom)”, Comethazine vigorously repeats  song Walk. From Atlanta at Number 8 we have Gunna. Gunna is most known for his collaborations with Lil Baby, Young Thug, Polo G, Tory Lanez, Chris Brown, and etc. When it comes to Gunna’s own songs, One Call, Who You Foolin, Top Off, and Richard Millie Plan. Lyric wise nothing stands out ,but from his songs his hooks are the best. At Number 9 stands YK Osiris. YK Osiris best song of course is Worth it. In this song he talks to a girl about him being worth it because, he will give them the world. At Number 10 stands Lil Mosey. Mosey doesn’t stand at the bottom because of songs: Kamikaze, Noticed, and Pull Up. What makes him stand out is his enticing hooks, and his good selection of beats. Last but not least we have BlueFace. Although, BlueFace has songs: Bleed it, Next Big Thing, Dead Locs, Studio and Thotiana. Besides having decent hooks, catchy beats, Blueface can’t rap on beat making him sound like he doesn’t take any of music serious. 

 

The first part  of the XXL is the rappers freestyle. In the freestyle, we get to hear the rappers, go acapella with either a written freestyle or something off the top. With the freestyle we are doing no order from best to worst just who did what. Now the first person we look at is Comethazine. After listening to the freestyle I’m impressed. Even though I didn’t expect too much from a 40 second  freestyle, Comethazine shows us he wants to be in the XXL , and raps every line enhancing. “ Niggas wonder why I’m savage, you ain’t never put your buddy in a casket”, said Comethazine. When saying this line you can tell Comethazine means it, and is saying it because he feels like it. The second person we’re looking at is Da Baby. With a 1:28 freestyle Da Baby says everything like the usual. Even though, Da Baby looks like he  just woke up from a flight, Da baby shows high charisma, and proves he doesn’t need a freestyle to prove himself, which is good. However, the only problem with Da Baby’s  freestyle is him reusing lines from a previous freestyle, with Funk Flex. The only trick with Da Baby’s XXL freestyle, is the words being said slower, and on FunkFlex Da Baby uses a faster flow when saying it. The third person I am reviewing is YBN Cordae. My opinion is that Cordae has the best freestyle right now since a few more artists need to freestyle . However, what makes his freestyle unique is Cordae showcasing his lyrical abilities, and his good flow. “ Huh, never will I ever forget beginnings/ A country boy who humble and grateful for his position/ But never satisfied or complacent, my intuition”, Cordae said. In this freestyle Cordae raps about his life, and talks about what he wants to achieve. For the fourth person we have Megan Thee Stallion. In my opinion,  Megan’s freestyle is Top 3 right now with Rico Nasty, and YBN Cordae. What makes her freestyle good is her mixture with her raps and bars. In this freestyle, Megan’s subject is mostly about topics Cardi B, or Nicki Minaj will talk about ,but she says it in a compelling way. “ They done fucked up and let Houston, Texas get up in here/ They saying I’m a freshman but I spit like I been here”, said Megan Thee Stallion. In my own words this isn’t relative to what I was saying, but this was a good way to start a freestyle. The fifth person I’m reviewing is Rico Nasty. Rico Nasty is in my top 3 because, every line she says differently, she has a fast flow, and Rico showcases her rapping skills. Her placing right now in my Top 3 is the 2nd best. In Rico’s freestyle she constantly switches from topics about modern day females, and  people playing her even though she knows she isn’t the one. “ Promise my mama that I won’t fuck with no fucking nigga/ Seems like they only pay attention to who butt bigger,” said Rico Nasty. While rapping about these things, when she freestyles you can picture the things Rico talks about, and why she said her lines so aggressively. Up next we have Lil Mosey. Lil Mosey right now is put in my Top 10 because his freestyle is trash, he recycled most of his lines from a snippet called Aye Royce, and when he freestyles I’m not even interested to begin with. For our 7th person we have Roddy Rich. Roddy Rich in his freestyle has done something other rappers have not done. In Roddy Rich XXL freestyle, while he was freestyling he made a beat by using his jewelry , and also used his melodic sound to rap.  In my opinion this freestyle is going to keep him at the Top 4. When he started freestyling, I gained an interest in listening to it more. “ You get 20 years fed time, for the 6 months you balling hard,” Roddy Rich said. In other words, I can be hustling to get money the only way I can , but that can lead to me serving long time, even if I’m doing what I’m doing. Now I am not going to review YK Osiris, Gunna, and Blueface because their freestyle isn’t out. Also Tierra Whack would probably not do a freestyle because, she wouldn’t need one. This is my prediction for the top 10 best freestyles to worst: 1)YBN Cordae, 2)Rico Nasty, 3)Megan Thee Stallion, 4)Roddy Rich,5) Comethazine, 6)Gunna, 7) YK Osiris, 8)Da Baby, 9) Lil Mosey, and 10) Blueface. 

 

The last part of the XXL is the cypher. In the cypher, the rappers are grouped together based on their rap skills, and how they fit together. I will not be reviewing the cypher because, it is not out at this moment , but I will show my prediction for the  groups. Group One: YBN Cordae, Tierra Whack, and Rico Nasty. Group 2: Megan Thee Stallion, Da Baby, Gunna, and Comethazine. Group 3: YK Osiris, Roddy Rich, Lil Mosey, and Blueface. Overall, the XXL 2019 Freshman is better than last year ,and have more to give. Even though, the list could’ve been better, the artist in 2019 have shown their skills, and what they can do.

The Marvel cinematic universe is the most cohesive and effective universe of any genre

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(Spoiler Warning)

This July, Marvel fans crowded dozens of movie theaters, eagerly awaiting the first instillation of the franchise after “Iron Man” Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. The movie was received well in the box office, earning a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossing $580 million in the first two weeks. The actor who plays Spider Man, Tom Holland, has only been in the Universe for 5 movies (out of 23), yet he’s made an emotional connection with viewers and become an immediate fan favorite. This is a high contrast with Sony’s Spiderman, whose last movie earned a 63% on rotten tomatoes and is generally known for being a boring and cliche franchise. 

This disparity of praise between Marvel and Sony’s Spiderman and difference in reception has nothing to do with the character, or even the production company- the secret lies within Marvel’s complex and brilliant cinematic universe.   

Compared to every other superhero or science fiction franchise, Marvel takes every installment, even seemingly benign “filler” movies, and connects them in a way that serves the overarching plot. With other franchises based around one character, such as the original Spiderman and the infamous Hunger Games, each new movie seems to have unnecessary conflict and comes off as choppy. We never see any character development or growth between movies. With every film, the stakes are raised so quickly and randomly that the characters are rarely given time to reflect on their experiences and emotions. With Marvel’s movie structure, we are given time to see the effects of character’s actions on others lives and how their personalities change as a result of this. We see these effects when you least expect them- in movies not centered around a “serious” threat, a.k.a “filler movies”. 

 Filler movies’ goal is to focus on character development  and to take a break from the seriousness of the main plot that strings each movie together. In Marvel’s case, this is Thanos: a supervillain set on destroying half the universe to stop overpopulation. A filler movie done right will not distract the viewer from the overarching plot- but provide a B-Plot, with characters that were previously ignored, which gives viewers time to digest the ramifications of the last movie, while enjoying some more lighthearted Marvel content.

A great example of this is in the characters “Hulk” and “Thor” in a recent Marvel filler movie, Thor Ragnarok. Although clearly a Thor movie, whose actions are canonical (actually occuring in the series)  and would influence the events in later movies, (i.e Thor’s home planet being completely destroyed and its people marooned on a spaceship- setting up their encounter with Thanos later),  Ragnorok focuses more on the relationships Thor and Hulk have and how their motivations and powers have changed. With Thor, you get even more insight on his child-like, blase behavior, and how he uses it as a way to escape the literal “god-like” responsibilities he has. He would rather fight weak enemies and half heartedly work on his own than lead his people or fight alongside the Avengers. The movie forces Thor out of his comfort zone, destroying the last physical crutch he had- his hammer. This allows him to unlock special powers within himself, and preps him for EndGame by making him less self-motivated. With Hulk, in previous movies, you can see his emotional torment with him not being able to balance the two sides of himself, Hulk and Bruce Banner. This cumulates into him being unable to control himself and fighting Iron Man in Avengers: Age of Ultron– which ultimately gets him sent away and lost in space. Although Marvel could’ve devoted another movie to him, Thor Ragnorok was supposed to focus on Thor’s turmoil, yet  they reintroduced an uncontrollable Hulk- leaving Thor (who he wasn’t even too close with at the time) to remind him that he’s not just Bruce Banner or Hulk- he’s uniquely both, and doesn’t have to suppress one or the other. This also primes Hulk for Endgame- temporarily ending his internal conflict and preparing him for his one-on-one fight with Thanos. Throughout the movie, we’re given comedic breaks as well, reminding us that it’s not another “fate of the world” scenario, it’s a silly movie to explain Hulk and Thor’s characters, and why they were absent in previous movies. Every action still matters and affects the plot, but is not as heavy or dramatic- which is a relief.

This strategy Marvel uses works great in referencing older movies and moving the plot forward in an elegant way, but also makes sure that the relationships between each character are defined. Each super hero intertwines with one another- they come together when it makes sense and fight when their feelings are hurt. The biggest problem with other cinematic universes such as DC is that their content is extremely formulaic and disjointed. At the end of each movie, the characters learn nothing about themselves, show little reflection, and the threat is always specific to the character. When crossover movies like Justice League are created in these universes, the characters cannot grow together. The movie ultimately fails because it seems like just a bunch of individual superheroes forced to fight crime together one time, and never have it mentioned again- similar to a group project you don’t want to do. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the movie feels like humans with emotions who also happen to have superpowers- evolving together and learning how to use each other’s strengths and work with different situations. 

New themes get tested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe never seen before in superhero movies. They explore themes like government interference in superhero business when too many civilians get hurt in the crossfire. They also create laws concerning when you can use powers and when you can’t, ads and merchandise made for superheroes, their civilians over glorifying them, and recently in Spiderman: Far From Home, what happens when people look to superheroes more than traditional law enforcement. 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is able to kill one of its most loved and longest standing characters (Tony Stark) because it makes sense to the story and the threat that’s been building up, Tony Stark has been given time to develop so his choice to sacrifice himself makes sense, and most importantly, the grief the world and his fellow superheroes feel is palpable in the latest movie. It drives the plot, gives a sense of permanence and doesn’t seem like a cheap way to shock the audience.

Spiderman: Far from home did not disappoint, showing how deeply Peter Parker feels for Tony, and how his death affected him and the world. It sets the tone for a slew of new movies to come such as Dr.Strange 2 and a new Black Widow movie. If it’s anything like the Marvel I know, be sure to bring some tissues, and count down the days until the next installment comes.

The aggressive criticism of offensive humor and why it will never change comedy

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Performing in the visiting show ‘Set List’ at Chicagos Lincoln Lodge, as part of the 2012 Just For Laughs Festival.

The pressure to be politically correct is overwhelming and ineffective, especially in comedy. 

Everyone can criticize what they think of as poor comedy. However, the way people express their opinions is creating toxic outcry on social media targeting comedians with an edgy style, and resulting in no change. 

When I think about the jokes my friends and I have made, a lot of them have the potential to start an uproar on Twitter. Yet, that would have little to no impact on what we find funny. Shaming people into censoring their jokes does not work because what is deemed problematic humor is subjective. 

As much as people enjoy feeling victorious after going to social media to write a long paragraph with buzzwords depicting a comedian as evil incarnate, it has very little impact on fans. Although being forceful and claiming a comedian does not deserve a career because of their jokes is not illegal, it is counterproductive. It provokes anger in their fans causing them to be hostile and refusing to recognize why certain jokes may be offensive. 

Before a very public breakup with Ariana Grande, comedian Pete Davidson joked about a touchy subject for the popstar. According to CNN, People reported that during a stand-up performance Davidson said, “Britney Spears didn’t have a terrorist attack at her concert.” This is in reference to a bombing at one of Ariana Grande’s concerts in 2017. Many people took offense to this and rightfully so. However, across social media people encouraged everyone to boycott the comedian and used other examples of his dark humor in hopes of convincing the public that he is a terrible comedian. 

Pete Davidson did not joke about the bombing again, most likely recognizing that it was crossing a line. Yet, people still went on social media in hopes of ending his career. After Grande and he broke up, many joked about his career being dead and him finally getting what he deserves. The reality is he still has a job on SNL, he is consistently selling out stand-up shows and once The Angry Birds Movie 2 (a children’s film) is released, he will have been featured in two movies in 2019. 

Davidson is doing more than fine careerwise. The idea that his taste for dark humor could end his career completely ignores all of his fans with the same taste. SNL surely does not care and neither do other sources of entertainment. 

In comedian Anthony Jeselnik’s 2015 Netflix special Thoughts and Prayers, he discusses his tendency to joke about tragedies right after they occur. “The day of the Aurora Colorado Batman movie theatre shooting…I went on twitter and I tweeted, ‘other than that how was the movie.’” This year, he had another Netflix special. 

Often people say something along the lines of, if you have to make offensive jokes then you are probably not a good comedian. Comedian Hannah Gadsby shared a similar sentiment with The Washington Post, “if political correctness can kill comedy, comedy needs to harden the hell up.” The idea that PC culture can kill comedy is just a trivial as the idea that art is dying.

However, comedy owes us nothing. 

 

Who is to blame for the Mets’ disappointing 2019 season?

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New York Mets Manager Mickey Callaway (left) and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen (right)
New York Mets Manager Mickey Callaway (left) and General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen (right)

 

This article was written shortly after the All-Star Break in mid-July. Please note that this article was written at that time and the Mets have been playing much better baseball and are currently in playoff contention. 

“Come get us.”

New York Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen issued this rather bold statement in mid-January, calling out to the team’s National League East division rivals that the Mets were ready to contend and bring a championship to Queens for the first time since 1986.  

And now, in July, with the trade deadline approaching, the Mets have gone in the opposite direction, holding the second-worst record in the National League. The bullpen has imploded with a league-leading 21 blown saves, according to ESPN; manager Mickey Callaway has made several costly game decisions, and players haven’t been performing as well as they should be (with the exception of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Jacob deGrom).  Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for the New York Mets. 

“They came and got us” Brodie Van Wagenen told the media before their first game back from the All-Star Break. 

As a Mets fan, it’s been extremely painful and unbearable to watch. During their last playoff appearance in 2015, the Mets made a magical run where Daniel Murphy carried the Mets to the World Series (unfortunately losing to the Kansas City Royals 4-1 in a best-of-seven series). The 2015 baseball season will be something I will never forget and it was definitely a great time to be a Mets fan. Ever since then, the Mets have gone back to their losing ways, finishing below. 500 for the last two seasons. With the Mets living under the Yankees’ shadow for decades, the Mets have always been the underdogs and never lived up to the standards of a big-market team. 

With all this being said, who should Mets fans blame for their struggles?

Front Office

For years, the Mets have been seen as the inferior team in New York, partly because the front office has always been cheap and hesitant to sign superstar players. Instead, the Mets settle on mediocre players who play subpar baseball and when the Mets do spend, players either suffer injuries that last many months (or even seasons) or never perform at the same level they once did (a case of bad luck). 

Jeb Lund of The Rolling Stone ranked the Wilpons 14th in his “15 Worst Owners in Sports” article, mentioning how the Wilpons would “repeatedly structured deferred payments into player contracts and handed over the funds to fraudster and family friend Bernie Madoff to invest.” Ever since the Madoff scandal, the Mets have had financial troubles, resulting in having one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. 

Mets fans have been more than unhappy with the Wilpons, who have repeatedly ignored their fanbase and deceive the media by forcing their own employees to take the bullet for them. This has been the case this year with the Wilpons shifting the blame away from themselves and toward Brodie Van Wagenen and in some cases, Mickey Callaway. 

In my opinion, the Mets should have never hired Brodie as their general manager. Before, he had been an agent representing numerous players, negotiating deals with teams and making sure his clients were getting paid. It was clear that his inexperience at a team management role would be detrimental to the team. For someone to say that his squad was capable of winning a championship just months after getting the job is very puzzling. 

Brodie’s first move as general manager was the trade for All-Stars closer Edwin Diaz and second baseman Robinson Cano. However, the price was very high as the Mets gave away two of their brightest prospects for Diaz, who had led the league in saves last year with 57, and Cano, an old player who had a huge contract and was coming back from a 90-game suspension. 

And now, all the moves Brodie has made in the offseason has blown up in his face. Whether it’s free agent signings gone wrong or bad trades, the implosion of this team lies in Brodie’s hands, but the Wilpons share some of the blame as well.

Mickey Callaway

With the Mets eight games below .500, it’s hard to understand why Mickey still has a job. His management of the bullpen has been dreadful and for a former pitching coach, that’s pretty ironic. 

 

What can’t be forgotten is the whole confrontation between Callaway and pitcher Jason Vargas and a team reporter that sparked headlines across sports. In the incident, the team reporter questioned Mickey for not putting Edwin Diaz into the game which cost the Mets another game. After the interview  a shouting match erupted and Vargas threatened to beat up the reporter. Both Vargas and Callaway were fined by the team but after all this, it’s clear that Callaway can’t handle the team or the media and it’s safe to say that he has done much worse than his predecessor Terry Collins. 

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With all this being said, the Mets still have a promising team. They have a great young core with Alonso, McNeil, Conforto, Rosario, and Nimmo and don’t forget the 1-2 punch of the 2018 Cy Young Award Winner Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. While this team is currently in shambles, rebuilding is not necessary. Instead, Brodie needs to be aggressive and smart in the offseason along with finding a new manager.

Review: Lunar Chronicles excels at representing women

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“Her whole body was wound up tight. She was ready to storm the palace herself – an army of one.”

The thrilling conclusion to the series The Lunar Chronicles, by Marissa Meyer wins hands down as one of the best sci-fi fantasy novels of 2015 that has just about everything you could hope for in a book. Action, romance, suspense, a diverse set of characters, a chilling villian, and more.

Picking up from the last installment Cress, the characters Cinder, Cress, Scarlet, Wolf, Thorne, Iko, and Kai, are aboard the Rampion a space pod ship. They are getting ready to hatch a new plan in order to take down the ruthless Queen Levana of Luna once and for all, so Cinder can rightfully claim her throne. Throughout the novel Cinder also receives help from Winter, a princess of Luna (a moon colony), and Jacin, a royal guard.

In Winter, the readers are introduced to the characters, Winter and Jacin, hence the title. Winter is a character undergoing a disease called “Lunar Sickness” where she experiences hallucinations, as her mental state is deteriorating. 

“…the walls have been bleeding for years, and no one else sees it.” 

Very rarely in the Young Adult Novel world are characters written with this dynamic. 

Including a character who is at the mercy of a disease, with no cure, adds a touch of realism to the book. Including a character who isn’t doing well mentally, adds representation to a large group of people, something that was needed in 2015 and still needed in 2019.

The representation doesn’t stop there. Winter is a manifestation of the tale Snow White, but instead of Winter being caucasian she is described with skin as “black as ebony wood”, and the characters Cinder and Kai, are both from China. 

What has made this series unique is its a series based off of classic fairytales, but the women are strong,  “I was always much more drawn to those strong, empowered female characters — both as a reader and as a writer,” Meyer said in an interview in the Bustle. 

Winter is the final installment in the series, where Cinder, who ever since book one, has been set with the ambition of taking down the queen, and throughout the series we see her grow with new friends along the way. The dynamic between the women in the series is what makes this book so refreshing in the Young Adult genre. These women have stuck together, and do not immediately hate each other, which is what makes them realistic portrayals of women, and therefore this series accurately establishes women empowerment. 

“When they arrived, they arrived in force- a dozen military ships surrounding the safe house, guns drawn.”

Not only does Meyer portray women relationships in an accurate manner, but she also makes them strong. Meyer makes her characters have the will to use weapons and fight, to overthrow a queen. It’s important that women read about characters who are strong, that way they believe they too can fight, and no longer be silenced. 

Even though there were many characters in the novel, 830 pages were enough to pace the story properly, which shows how well done the writing is. Each character was given a solid amount of time, for the reader to get to know, and be able to enhance the plot, leading up to the big showdown between Cinder and the queen.

Opinion: In order to solve climate change, we need to take on wealthy corporations

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It’s the middle of summer, and the temperature has been reaching almost 100 degrees. But as carbon emissions continue to rise, the planet is only going to keep getting hotter. With many attempts to prevent climate disaster being blocked or repealed, it seems what needs to be changed is not just how we treat individual corporations, but the way the economy and the system as a whole function.

 

A New York Times analysis of the policy changes under the current Trump Administration reveals that 83 different regulations have been rolled back or are in the process of being rolled back, with 22 of them being related to air pollution. This is during a time when levels of carbon dioxide in the air are at “unprecedented levels” according to a study by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. According to Erika Spanger-Siegfried, a lead climate analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, temperatures by 2050 could reach levels that “[make] it difficult for human bodies to cool themselves and could be deadly.”

 

To pin this problem solely on the Trump administration, however, would be false. An article by researchers from both the U.S. and China published in Nature reveals that more than half of future carbon emissions are expected to come from China, the U.S, and the European Union, the three highest predicted sources of emissions. Although China is the highest by a large margin, expected to emit 41% of the carbon, the US and EU are expected to make up 9% and 7% respectively, which is still a large amount. Climate change is a global problem, but the ones responsible are a few wealthy industrial nations.

 

Yet despite some of the wealthiest countries being the main causes of climate change, the ones that are being hit hardest by it are those that are less fortunate. According to a study by researchers at Stanford University in California, the wealth gap between the richest and poorest countries is 25% higher than it would be without climate change. Not only are the choices that the U.S, Europe, and China are making going to cause disaster for their citizens in a few decades, those choices are also disastrous for the most vulnerable countries right now.

 

So why is climate change still an issue? Why do we have a government that is reversing policies that would prevent climate change? The answer to these questions, it seems, is money. Think Tanks such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, which spends a large number of its resources on promoting climate change denial, receive funding from a variety of wealthy corporations.

 

The CEI is funded not only by the Charles Koch Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemicals Manufacturers, which are known for lobbying against the regulation of fossil fuels, but also by larger companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, according to the New York Times. This is because the CEI, as an Amazon spokeswoman said, “will help advance policy objectives aligned with [Amazon’s] interests.”

 

The reason these corporations fund the same organizations as fossil fuel lobbyists is that despite how much Amazon or Google may claim to oppose the fossil fuel industry, they both have the same top priority: promoting a pro-corporation, anti-regulation agenda. In the case of the CEI, their beliefs, aside from man-made climate change not being an issue, include opposing a $15 minimum wage and wanting to repeal antitrust laws, both of which are in the interests of large companies that probably would become trusts if they were legally allowed to. They may sign a declaration in support of global climate agreements, but they will still be naturally allied with the AFPM, as will nearly every for-profit corporation.

 

The fossil fuel companies themselves also have far too much influence. In Oklahoma, a state agency funded mainly by oil companies creates classroom materials and teacher training, according to the Washington Post. The goal of these classroom materials is, to downplay climate change and promote the usage of oil.

 

We cannot trust corporations to solve climate change for us. A permanent end to rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels requires a permanent end to, or at least a drastic reduction of, the fossil fuel industry and our usage of fossil fuels. If we are acknowledging and tackling the threat that the fossil fuel industry poses, then we also need to acknowledge that in this struggle, corporations are an obstacle.

 

A system that promotes corporate interests and enables companies to be as powerful as Microsoft or Google, and that enables oil companies to have power even in our classrooms is not a system that will let us solve climate change. It is a system that promotes and perpetuates climate change, causing the summers to get hotter, the poorer countries to get poorer, and the time we have left before our planet becomes unlivable shorter.

The Rise of Lo-Fi Hip-Hop

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Degraded audio signals, tape hisses, misplayed notes, and environmental interference are the key elements of lo-fi hip-hop, a chillwave music genre — and people are loving it.

Lo-fi hip-hop consists of phonographic imperfections that create a chill atmosphere that brings nostalgia you may have never felt before. It’s perfect to listen to while doing your daily tasks such as homework or even if you want to go to sleep. I for one find myself being more productive while listening lo-fi hip-hop, even though it gives lazy vibes. The irony of this music-genre is why I grew so interested in it. 

I first discovered this music genre while surfing the web on my living room couch in August heat and found myself at a YouTube channel that streams lo-fi hip-hop. “AnimeVibe” was the name of the YouTube channel, and I was in complete awe while listening to the songs they play. AnimeVibe first started its channel on October 31, 2014 and has been collaborating with aspiring artists since then. While listening to these songs, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic for rainy days with a mellow atmosphere while looking outside my window. 

The first song I heard on their AnimeVibe playlist was “rearview” by samsa. After listening to his songs, I couldn’t help but look for more songs by samsa. I became more and more interested in this type of music. And thus, I discovered lo-fi hip-hop. And it seems to be that more people are discovering lo-fi hip-hop as well. 

While this music naturally has a slow, mellow, and low-fidelity quality, it is surprisingly and subtly making its way into mainstream music. Late south Florida rapper XXXTentacion debuted with a mellow, solemn, and low quality soundtrack while rapping. Unlike the typical kind of rapper, X was following a different kind of path, changing the stereotypes of rappers in today’s society — and people loved it. When X released his debut album “17,” with track “Jocelyn Flores,” he showed affinity for lo-fi production, and people grew interested in what they were hearing. 

While lo-fi hip-hop can also be giddy and blissful, X does not portray that as his song, “Jocelyn Flores,” was about a friend of his who took her life, which makes the song very solemn and depressing. Later on in his music career, he creates more upbeat rowdy music while experimenting with the nature of lo-fi hip-hop.  

“Now you’ll find chillhop/chillwave/chillout mixes on almost every music streaming service… This could help explain why lo-fi music has seen a modern day resurgence,” says John Greenfield, who frequently writes about internet and pop culture in his article, “[Music Discovery] An Exploration of the Lo-Fi Aesthetic.” It’s clear lo-fi hip-hop has become such a phenomenon — especially on YouTube since that is where the lo-fi hip-hop community is mainly based. 

I’m glad to see lo-fi hip-hop is helping artists accomplish their goal of hitting the charts on music streaming platforms such as Spotify. The number of listeners of Spotify’s playlist “Lo-fi Beats” has risen tremendously and continues to be an inspiration for aspiring artists. 

Whenever you have the time, check out Spotify’s playlist, “Lo-fi Beats” or any YouTube channel that live streams lo-fi hip-hop such as “ChilledCow” or “Bootleg Boy,” especially when you have work to do.

Surely, you’ll find an artist with a lo-fi hip-hop to add to your playlist.