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The Remake of ‘Boys Over Flowers’ Everyone is Anticipating

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By: Nayely Deleon

When Shancai, the female lead of Meteor Garden, entered college, she never thought she would get caught up in a love triangle between two of the most popular guys at school.

Meteor Garden is a Chinese television series based on the wildly popular Japanese manga series, Hana Yori Dango, which has been made into Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese television series. It first aired on July 9, 2018 and is available on Netflix with new episodes released each week. Over 40 episodes will be released by the end of the summer with subtitles available.

This highly anticipated drama does not fail to capture the hearts of many fans, including mine.

The show revolves around a girl named Dong Shancai who begins her college journey at the elite Mingde University where she majors in nutrition. After standing up to F4, a rich and powerful group of 4 seniors, she gains their respect and captures the leader of the group, Daoming Si’s, attention.

The show follows a Cinderella-like love story. Daoming Si, who comes from a wealthy and renowned family, risks his life to win over Shancai, who comes from a working class family.

Although Shancai is portrayed as painfully dense and is often put through various unrealistic situations, she values friendship and is protective of her friends. For example, after hearing that her best friend, Jiang Xiao You, was last seen outside during a blizzard, Shancai rushed out and spent hours trying to find her despite nearly freezing to death.

Even though not all the scenes are very realistic, this is what classifies the show as a drama. Without these dramatic scenes, the plot would be boring and dull.

The acting—although a bit overdone—is fairly impressive and makes it easy to understand how the characters are feeling. The camera angles, quality, and cinematography are also top-notch. In a must-see scene that continues to baffle me, Shancai sends a flying kick to Daoming Si’s head. The shot freezes their positions and the cameras move around them, making it seem like time has stopped.

“What I love is that—in this version—I can actually tell that the male lead really likes the female lead… He’s clearly got personality issues and doesn’t know how to communicate (not a surprise if you’ve seen the other versions), but I find myself liking him a bit more,” said a fan on My Drama List’s review section of Meteor Garden.

Some may argue that the show’s plot progresses very quickly in the first few episodes, however that “prevent[s] it from being draggy and we [are] already met with iconic scenes in just the first episode… [these changes] actually made it better,” says Gab Agar from Drama Panda.

Since the show has not finished airing, it has lots of potential and many fans—including myself—sit at the edge of our seats waiting to find out what happens next. So far, Netflix has released 20 episodes. New episodes are released Tuesday-Thursday.

Americans do not usually watch Asian dramas. Whether that is because the drama is in a different language, the plot is too traditional, or simply because the program was not produced in the U.S, people are definitely missing out.

We are the Youth and We Speak for the Trees

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By: Sage Moccia

“Children are the future” is the platitude selected to pressure the young into making a change, but it is also a solid point. Throughout the centuries, human-related climate change has been noticeable, but recently the consequences have grown far beyond our dismissive tendencies.

According to NASA, from 1900-2000, Earth’s average temperature increased by two degrees Fahrenheit. While two degrees might not seem critical, Earth’s average climate had been stable for centuries prior. A minute change in heat will result in huge dilemmas to come.

Because some don’t see it affecting them anytime soon, or they just don’t buy it, many individuals do not take a stand against climate change. However, negative shifts from climate change are self-evident in our everyday lives, such as more intense heat waves, increased precipitation, and worse to come hurricanes.

But kids around the country aren’t standing for it. Teenagers have been taking a stand by conducting youth-led movements and marches to spread the much-needed word about encouraging change. While they may seem to be working on borrowed time, giving up is not an option.

Zero Hour is a youth-led, climate oriented, organization created by 16-year-old Jamie Margolin to speak up for the Earth. She and five other fighting activists have spent the last year creating this movement. On July 21, 2018, Zero Hour protested at the National Mall in Washington. They’ve also met with 40 federal lawmakers to discuss their platforms.

Young activists bring an advantage to physical movements that common marches don’t have. Bringing people so young to fight for such significant matters also brings more merit to the causes themselves. Adolescents now are the ones who will have to live with the consequences of climate change within the next ten years, and then continue to pass those consequences down to generations to come. This is not a trait that we will let be prominent on the face of the future.

This is not the only youth-led movement with fiery appetites to improve something. A couple others have taken the stage and melded with Zero Hour to show the adults in charge that we won’t stand for this.

The Youth Progressive Policy Group works with a number of causes, but most recently they have been working with problems concerning climate change. They meet with political figures and try to urge them to advocate for bills to alter environmental conditions. The group’s latest meeting promoted reducing carbon emission within the world’s atmosphere. The leader of The Youth Progressive Policy Group, Sylvana Widman, has concluded that currently, fossil fuel emissions are doing the most harm, so that takes priority. The Youth Progressive Policy Group continues to fight and march at every opportunity possible.

We can’t expect to get what we want without demanding it. The youth must come together and remind the adults that we don’t have much time left.

This is our planet. This is our home. How far will we let this go?

Injured Sluggers Return: Gary Sanchez and Yoenis Cespedes

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By: Russell Stern

Ailing sluggers Gary Sanchez and Yoenis Cespedes returned to their respective lineups Friday night, as the Bronx Bombers faced off against the New York Mets before a sold out crowd at Yankee Stadium. However, while Cespedes powered the Mets to a 7 to 5 victory over the Yankees, Sanchez fizzled at the plate, leaving several runners on base in key situations.

Cespedes, who was on the disabled list for 57 days with a hip and quadriceps injury, came into Friday’s game batting .255 with 8 home runs and 28 runs batted in. Normally a left-fielder, Cespedes was instead used as a designated hitter to avoid aggravating his injury. Sanchez missed 25 days because of a right groin strain but was healthy enough to catch the entire game for the Yankees. Prior to his injury, he was struggling with a .190 batting average, 14 home runs, and 41 RBI’s.

The time off seemed to only benefit Cespedes, who appeared rejuvenated and boosted the Mets’ weak offense.

Cespedes went 2 for 4 with a walk, shooting a single into right field and smacking a home run off the Yankee rookie right-handed starting pitcher, Domingo Germán.

After the game, Cespedes said he felt well and that his timing was good, according to the Daily News.

Sanchez’s performance, on the other hand, was a different story. Out of the 14 runners the Yankees left on base, he stranded six. Sanchez went 1 for 5, stroking a meaningless single while striking out swinging two times, softly grounding out to short, and lazily popping out to second. He failed to capitalize on various opportunities the Yankees had throughout the game.

After the game, Sanchez said to a reporter through an interpreter, “Definitely don’t feel good about it. Had opportunities to help my team and I didn’t help my team tonight. I’ve got to put that aside and move toward tomorrow and hopefully find myself in a situation where I’m able to do my job tomorrow.” He said that he hopes he will be able to perform well against Mets’ pitcher Steven Matz on Saturday.

Friday’s game was the 16th Yankee home sellout of the 2018 season, hosting a crowd of 47,175 people. This Subway Series game was of particular interest to New York baseball fans because Mets’ fireballing starting pitcher, Noah Syndergaard, was making his Yankee Stadium debut. Syndergaard, whose average fastball velocity hovers around 97.9 miles per hour, also recently returned from an injury to his right index finger.

Despite not pitching at his best, Syndergaard still pitched effectively, giving up only one run on eight hits and striking out four. He didn’t walk any batters, and mostly threw strikes.

In contrast, Germán had a difficult outing. In only 3.2 innings, he allowed four earned runs on five hits. Although he struck out three batters, he also walked two.

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone commented on the young starter’s performance at a post-game press conference. “You could tell he was really struggling to find that fastball command, and if you don’t have that, you know, you’re going to be in trouble,” he said.

Boone added, however, that Germán showed potential and could develop to be a very good pitcher. He had several excellent starts with the Yankees but struggled in recent outings. On account of this, the Yankees sent him down to the minor leagues shortly after the game.

The Yankees continue their homestand against the Mets on Saturday afternoon with their right-handed pitcher Sonny Gray facing off against Steven Matz. The series concludes on Sunday with Masahiro Tanaka pitching against Mets’ ace Jacob DeGrom.

‘This is America’: Satirical Commentary or Subliminal Warning?

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Childish Gambino a.k.a Donald Glover

Despite the early devotion of white patriarchy to construct an ideal country, the topic of equality has always been a difficult thing to manage in the US. With women and African-Americans seeking the privileges white men have, the demand for equality has slowly, but surely been met over time.

However, racism and discrimination still linger in the world today. To counteract this, many movements started along with creations such as Donald Glover’s “This is America” released on May 5,2018 on Youtube. This satirical criticism of America’s tendencies analyzes what America has come to.

Donald, otherwise known as Childish Gambino, has used his fame to create a song that not only embodies the harsh reality of America, but uses it to help people focus on important subjects such as racism, police brutality, and gun violence. This is done through Donald’s nihilistic view on the world. He expresses this view through the choreography and lyricism of the music video.

One example is in the video where it begins in a very light tone, with repeated lyrics while Gambino contorts his body towards the man playing guitar. Donald dons gold chains, raggedy pants and an untrimmed beard. This alludes mostly to how slaves looked. His sporadic movements into smooth movements, induce a feeling of discomfort that African-Americans feel living in America while police brutality and racism exists.

At the 0:53 mark, the character Gambino plays pulls out a firearm from his back pocket and shoots the man playing guitar. This immediately catches the viewer off-guard. It completely juxtaposes the tone of the beginning of the video into something much darker. The pose he does while this occurs is believed to be reminiscent of a Jim Crow drawing.

Right after the first killing, Gambino places the gun he used carefully into the arms of a young African-American youth holding a red cloth. Two more young adult African-Americans then drag the dead body away from the camera’s perspective. This entails that whoever is doing the killing, which I believe to be America itself holds guns to be of more importance than the deaths they cause. America consistently has protected the rights of guns despite the amount of destruction they are able to do and as shown via the dragging. The youth of the country are then forced to deal with the burden and clean up the messes America makes.

Something really important to take note of after each killing Gambino is responsible for is that there are no consequences. Taking the character of America as a whole, it shows the power it holds in creating destruction and never facing no repercussions in return.

The crimes he commits result in no consequences, making him invulnerable and above the law. This is because Gambino represents white America. In the video, white America is free to kill any black man, woman, or child. It is the grim surrealism that African-American men and women have to face while living in an America where white men control almost everything happening in it.

Also showing what America has come to is the lyric, “you just a black man in the world you just a barcode”. This line references how people gain profit from barcodes. They scan them with the gun and then pull the trigger. It represents that no matter how much wealth or power an African-American may possess, white America will find a way to profit off of you whether it be through music, media, and more.

“This is America” pays homage to the insolence of white America and how the country’s foundation is built on systematic oppression of other races. We all live in the same nation, yet discrimination occurs no matter who you are. Gambino perfectly depicts this rift between races by showing the targeting of black Americans by eloquently orchestrated choreography and lyrics. The country’s alarming rates of inequality is why it will eventually implode.

 

Is ‘Thirteen Reasons Why’ Safe for Teens to Watch?

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Thirteen Reasons Why is a Netflix original series in which a teenage girl, Hannah Baker, commits suicide and leaves behind 13 tapes for each person she deemed responsible.

The producer of the series, Selena Gomez, has battled with both depression and anxiety in her life.

On one hand, the series is very gruesome and has trigger warnings for almost all episodes. On the other, it is very eye opening and sparks discussion for taboo subjects that need to be discussed such as sexual assault, addiction, suicide, bullying, sexuality, gangs, criminals, the justice system, peer pressure, PTSD, anxiety, depression, mental disorders, relationships, friendships, grief, intervention, recovery, and racism. The show sheds light on these subjects by presenting them in a sort of in-your-face manner.

It is no secret that the episodes can be upsetting to some, but it is the viewer’s job to determine whether or not to keep watching as well as which episodes to skip (if any). The writers and producers of Thirteen Reasons Why have repeatedly advised both young and old viewers not to binge, but to take breaks between episodes.

Anyone below the age of 14, anyone with severe depression, victims of sexual assault experiencing PTSD, anyone who does not like serious topics discussed onscreen, anyone autistic, anyone homophobic, and/or anyone with severe anxiety, should not watch the show for their own safety.

Each season consists of 13 episodes and because there is a small amount of episodes and a large amount to discuss, many upsetting things, both verbal and visual, are packed into one episode. In the second episode of Beyond the Reasons, a piggyback series off Thirteen Reasons Why, the meanings behind the episodes and the purpose of scripting them the way the writers did was a major discussion. There were also professional psychologists on the writing team because the writers needed help to figure out what was okay to script and what was not.

Triggers were also discussed during Beyond the Reasons because copycat suicides are a risk. However, the creators were trying to open people’s eyes and get them to understand that there is absolutely “nothing glamorous about suicide” and it should never be seen as an option. Brian Yorkey, the series co-writer, said during an interview. He makes it known that Hannah’s death was portrayed as a painful experience and should not be repeated by anyone in any way.

The 13th episode of the 2nd season depicted a scene of an especially brutal sexual assault and a murder attempt. A character, Tyler Down was jumped then sexually assaulted in a school restroom with a mop by a group of guys on the baseball team. He then went home and gathered a few handheld weapons to put in a car before driving to the school with the intent of shooting up the dance. He’d never gotten a chance to because another character, Clay Jensen stood in front of Tyler’s gun and stopped him from entering the school. Tyler eventually surrendered after hearing Clay out.

A couple of obvious triggers in this episode are sexual assault and gun violence. Although these are concerning for viewers, there is a clear warning before the episode starts that states, “The following episode contains graphic depictions of sexual assault & drug abuse, which some viewers may find disturbing. It is intended for mature audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.”

Watching the show on Netflix will give viewers an opportunity to choose whether or not it’s in their best interests to continue watching. The show is safe for mature teens and adults that can handle the topics being depicted and discussed in the show, being that it is rated TV-MA.

However, it can be educational to watch but also worthwhile. In the first season, the story line is more of a mystery whereas the second season has more of a “law & order” story line. This eases the tension of the suicidal background and gives a more slightly entertaining side of the story to make it easier to watch while still taking in the information the way it should be.

Making a Difference One Sandwich at a Time

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On July 19th at 7 P.M., local residents and interns of Assemblyman Brian Barnwell gathered at the St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church in Queens to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the hungry.

The program runs on donations and volunteering, according to an intern. She explained local small businesses and supermarkets give bread and other resources, but emphasized the importance of other community donations.

“You want to give back to the community,” said another intern about her philosophy. All of Barnwell’s young interns agreed that we waste a lot of food, so we should be helping people as a community with what we have.

Not only do those in need benefit from the good service, but volunteers involved share a “community bonding experience,” according to a college senior helping Barnwell. “It’s more tangible than complaining about hunger.”

Steven, who called himself the community liaison, explained the sandwiches are stored in boxes to be collected by City Harvest, a nonprofit food rescue organization. The boxes are shipped to shelters, a volunteer reported.

Another intern preparing sandwiches said he came to the space provided by the church to help out the homeless, which he tries to do whenever he can.

Crystal and Joseph, siblings who came to the event with their mother, were hard at work spreading peanut butter and jelly on slices of bread. Joseph admitted the service helped him with “getting out and doing something useful instead of doing something useless at home.”

Steven reported these projects have been held since fall, and interns want the event to grow and attract more volunteers as sessions are held in the future.

“Brian cares a lot about the community,” claimed an intern who wished to remain anonymous.

Without A Home In New York City.

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Every year more New Yorkers find it almost impossible to live in the city. As affordable housing has become  more difficult to find, it’s affecting lower income classes to be homeless.
In the last 20 years the number of homeless persons has quadrupled from 15,000 homeless people in NYC to 60,717 in 2017. These statistics only document homeless people living in shelters, which doesn’t include the homeless people living on the streets or subway stations. New York has reached its highest homeless population since the Great Depression in 1930.
In the last ten years the cost of housing has doubled in all areas of New York City, which has impacted poorer communities.The Coalition for the Homeless has conducted a study that over 22,000 families are homeless, which is more than the amount of single adults who are homeless in NYC.
The question is what is causing so many New Yorkers to become homeless in this century?
To take an example from the app Trulia, rent for a simple 1 to 2 bedroom apartment anges from $2,000 to $6,000 in Brooklyn; while a 1 to 2 bedroom apartment in Furnace, Pennsylvania  ranges from $500 to $2,000.
New York City is one of the biggest cities in the world with a population of over 8 million people. It is understandable why it’s so expensive to live in. But In this political climate rates of affordable housing in not only New York City but in other places all over the U.S will soon increase.
“I’m here everyday the same routine, I come here and play for everyone who want to listen to me play.” said a homeless man who plays the guitar at the Lexington Ave/53rd Street subway station. He said he comes to that station almost everyday to play music to make every penny he can to get food that day.
He also said that with his old age and not being able to hold a job that he isn’t in a financial state to own any type of housing.
“Dollars here and there help me to get something to eat but not enough to put a roof over my head…and shelters nowadays are way too crowded so this is all I can do” he said.
Many homeless New Yorkers are in the same situation as this man. Lack of affordable housing in New York has put more people into shelters; making homeless shelters population increase by 76 percent in the last ten years.
Poorer neighborhoods in NYC have higher rates of homelessness because rent is increasing each year. The lower class neighborhoods consist of mainly African American and Latino/Hispanic people, so they’re affected by homelessness the most.
If the number of people becoming homeless in New York keeps increasing, the possibility of a decrease is very unlikely in the near future.

 

Momix Dancer-Illusionists Blow New York Audience Away

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Momix dancers received a standing ovation as their show came to an end July 12 at the Joyce Theater as the dancers stood there with sweat dripping down their faces,

The audience clapped with enthusiasm rewarding the dancers for their impressive performance. All the clapping recognized the infinite amount of hard work the dancers had to put in toward performing well.

The Momix company was created 37 years ago and has been traveling the world showing off its skills ever since. The founder and artistic director is Moses Pendleton.

He has been managing dancers and their shows all over the world for about 40 years including the Opening Ceremonies for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Now, people line up in front of the theater in Chelsea waiting anxiously to see his artistic creation.

The company considers itself to harbor a new type of dancing known commonly as dancing-illusionism. As they’re performing there is a strange type of music playing in the background.

At this specific show, named “Opus Cactus”, the music was of a Middle Eastern and Indian style but it had no words. All the music consisted of was instrumental sounds and vibrations.

It is almost impossible to describe the crazy movements that go on upon that stage.The dancers pretend to be animals and then the curtain closes. When the curtain reopens the dancers are swinging from ropes all over the stage with a huge skull moving around behind them. The stage glows with dim lights and the muscular performers move the audience using only their bodies and their imaginations.

 

A Hindu Community Celebrates Prabhu Jagat Bandhu

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On July 15th, 2015 a community of Hindu remembered Prabhu Jagat Bandhu on his birth anniversary celebration at Bangladesh Hindu Mandir, a Hindu temple in Elmhurst, NY.

A lady who went there said that the celebration started at 7:00 pm and ended at 9:30 pm. Two or three priests arranged the veneration. They had decorated the entire room with flowers. The Gods’ idols were offered fruits, flowers, and foods. According to Hindus, these fruits and foods are called Prasad (sacred offerings).

The priests were worshiping the Gods by singing Kirtans, songs which are sung to respect the Gods. They talked about the great deeds of Prabhu Jagat Bandhu, a religious saint who spent his life singing Kirtans of Lord Krishna and Chaitanya.

Many people were part of this celebration. They were attentive to the priests when they spoke about Jagat Bandhu. After the veneration, everybody went to have the Prasad.

An authority and one of the trustees of the temple said, “It is one of the greatest occasions of Hindu religion.”