Ninja Warrior

Sasuke

Sasuke, or Ninja Warrior, is a Japanese TV show about making it through an obstacle course. There are four stages. One hundred participants are given the opportunity to attempt the First Stage, a course which primarily tests one's speed. The object is to hit the buzzer at the end of the course before the allotted time expires. If a competitor goes out of bounds or comes into contact with the water in any of the pits below the course, he is disqualified. Typically, 85 to 90 of the 100 original entrants are eliminated in this stage. However, in the 4th competition, a record 37 of the original 100 competitors made it past the first stage. After the 4th, and again after the 17th competition, the first stage was thoroughly redesigned to be much more difficult and prevent large numbers of people from moving on. In fact, a G4 special inside the making of the 18th Sasuke competition revealed that the redesign of the first stage for the 18th competition was done with the intention of seeing all 100 challengers fail it. This did not happen, however, and that has only spurred the production team on to make this and all stages to follow even harder. Those with enough skill to complete stage one then take on an even more grueling set of obstacles in stage two. 283 competitors have reached the Second Stage. Like stage one, the obstacles alter throughout the competitions, but all hold to the same principle: if the competitor makes a single mistake they fall into the water below. The obstacles determine the time limit, and it is usually between 50 seconds and 100 seconds. Unlike the First Stage, which has always required the competitors to hit a buzzer at the end of the course to stop the clock and pass the course, the Second Stage did not have a buzzer at its end until the 8th Competition. Before then, the competitors simply walked through an open gate to stop the clock. From the 8th Competition onward, the buzzer opens the gate. If the competitor busts open the gate without hitting the button, they are disqualified. In addition, the course judges can hold the gates closed if a competitor committed a foul earlier in the Second Stage that would result in their disqualification, such as using the Chain Reaction gloves on the Spider Walk as Mr. "SASUKE" Katsumi Yamada had done in the 12th competition. The third stage has no time limit, allowing contestants to go at their own pace. Contestants are allowed a few seconds of rest between obstacles during which they can apply "sticky spray" to improve their grip. While the first two stages focus on speed and agility, this course almost exclusively tests one's upper body strength and stamina. Out of over 2,500 total competitors and 283 Second Stage competitors, 139 have attempted the Third Stage. The Third Stage is so grueling that, on average, someone passes it only every other competition. Only 22 individuals have ever passed it, and only four have passed it more than once. To date, the Final Stage has known three forms. Each of these shares a single, common goal: to scale the tower and reach the button at the top before time expires. If the competitor does not reach the top platform in time, the rope is cut and the competitor falls (they are caught by a safety line). Starting from the 18th competition, the rope is no longer cut. Reaching the top is referred to as kanzenseiha (完全制覇), translated roughly as "complete domination", and rendered on Ninja Warrior as "total victory".

Free will and Life

            People have free will to act however they want, but we should restrain ourselves to do what is right. Wouldn’t it be fair to be free? It is fair to be free but one must keep in mind what it means to be free. The best definition of freedom that I know of goes as follows: “Freedom is not the ability to do whatever one wants but is the ability to do what one ought to do”.  This means that thought we have free will, we are not truly free if we are to do whatever we want if we sin and weigh ourselves down. Webster’s dictionary says that freedom is, “The quality or state of being free as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or,” but if we do something that is wrong or evil we are weighed down by those actions. Webster’s dictionary describes free will as the “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior causes or by divine intervention,” but God never forced us to do good or evil. He designed it so that if we do good it’s that much grander because we choose it.

This is the same God who sometimes takes away human life in instances such as car accidents and old age. This is different since God has ownership over human life. It’s like having an ownership of a slot machine. It doesn’t do as you say but you can do as you please to it, including dismantling it. Also if the machine becomes faulty, it can break down. If someone broke it, it’s done with and is no longer useful. Some might wonder “isn’t it kind of jerkish to do things like struck by lightning or comas for long periods of time just to die without seeing loved ones after that?” Actually it might not be so jerkish. We don’t know the effects of such events will have in the future. How can we say that God taking away anyone’s life won’t have a better impact then him not taking away another person’s life? In the end it does not matter what we want but what God wants.

Meaning of Christmas

It is easy to get caught up with the festive music and Christmas shopping around this time of year but that’s not what Christmas is about. A lot of people say it’s about the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, but that’s not the whole picture. Christmas is partially about preparing for the SECOND coming of Christ. So with that in mind why do we celebrate the first coming instead of the second coming? Well we don’t know what the second coming will be like so use the first coming to simulate a possible likeness of the second coming because it’s easier. So Christmas is actually about the first and second coming of Christ. Hopefully the spiritual knowledge this article will enhance your holiday’s joy.

FAN

     Biggest Fan

            I have been a Redskins fan since my family moved to Maryland in the late 70’s.  Even though I resided in Austin, Texas for about 15 years, I was never a Cowboys fan.  Now that I live up here I am a bigger groupie and I enjoy football season every year.   I want to go to a live game at least once.  I did get to see a practice and got some autographs last year.  When I watch games at home with my housemates we usually have a snack and cheer for the Redskins.  I’m kind of a fanatic.  I always wear Redskin’s earrings and a necklace; I carry a purse with the team helmet and emblem on it.  I wear my Redskin’s sweatshirt most of the time for the games.   Also, I have two hats and a Christmas tree ornament.  I love to dress up in my gear and support the team! 

By Melanie S.

SEASONS

Seasons

 

Seasons come and seasons go so let’s get started with January. The holidays are over however Christmas and Thanksgiving still linger. Sometimes it is snowy and sometimes it is icy. One thing is to be sure, the weather is very dicey. January has come and the next month is February. It is still snowy and very icy. Let’s act like kids and be very silly. Let’s jump out of our beds and play with our sleds. Valentine’s Day is soon on the horizon, if you have a sweet tooth then enjoy a lot of candy. It is now March and Spring is about to start but don’t expect the snow, ice or rain to give up quite yet. Winter is still to stick around. Take advantage of the ice and snow.  The cold might prevent you from getting old. Spring just started and the air smells like maple so let’s move on to April. April is now here and Easter is right around the corner.  The Easter bunny is very silly and he is about to make someone a lot of money. Please give some of your money to Winnie the Pooh so he can buy himself a lot of honey.  It is now May. Memorial Day is next to the final day. The weather has started to become much warmer as vacationers are preparing for the upcoming summer. Hurry beach goers and make your motel or hotel reservations. The ocean can only hold so many. It is now June and let’s give a silent prayer as it is the Queen of England’s birthday in both Australia and New Zealand.  And let’s not forget June.  June 21st is the beginning of the summer swoon. July has just started and the Fourth of July is soon to fly by.  It is now August and some people are stuck in their office.  Labor Day is Sept the 5th so please hurry.  It is now September and Fall is about to start. Consider yourself a very elite member. It is now October and Halloween is sure to sell out all of their candy.  It is now November and Thanksgiving is about to start. Eat lots of turkey and stuffing since you only get to live once. December has just started and we are about to finish the year with a special Christmas. Please oh please. Have a wonderful New Years Eve.

By Todd I.

HUMMERS

Hummers

 

There are two Hummers that I like.  One is platinum and one is aqua blue.  Both Hummers are faster than you think.  One of the Hummer’s interior is orange and black and the other one is gray.  Those Hummers have a new navigational system in them.  They ride real smooth. One of them has ice rims, which is the color.  The other one has 5 star engraved rims, which is the style. 

By Jamar H.

ART

Vicki's Art

                Types of art that I have studied are fine art, graphic art, and art therapy. I have also worked with the computer to make a graphic design. I have studied many classes at Montgomery College in Rockville, such as, illustration, art history, and photography.  I took some classes at the University of Maryland and graduated. I took French and wanted to go to France and see a gallery called the Louvre. I am sure I would have got lost in the beauty of France, as did many artists such as Monet and his impression style of painting. Also, I would have been able to learn the language better.

                The first time I studied a figure, the woman was African-American. The professor had us working quickly so that we wouldn’t be afraid to draw the nude. We drew in short periods of time, such as three minutes each pose. The medium we used to draw on was newsprint. I did not feel uncomfortable because we were drawing so quickly.

                My style of graphic art is bright colors, lines, angles, and circles. One of my works has bright colors like crimson red, cadmium orange, cadmium yellow, black and white. Another of my graphic designs was put in the Corcoran Gallery of Art when I was going to school there. My favorite medium is acrylic on canvas because it dries quickly and is easy to correct.

                Usually, first semester is still life. Still life is drawings or paintings of an arrangement of objects i.e., fruits, glass, flowers, vases, drift wood, glass bottles, pottery. I did two murals one of which is both still life and figures on a large wall of organics style inside the cafeteria at the University of Maryland. There was a mysterious person who had painted part of my mural when I was not there, like a ghost painter. I received payment for my work.

                I enjoyed studying black and white photography for two years. I developed the pictures in a darkroom; it was interesting to see them come from nothing to an image in the trays like magic. The darkroom had to have a red light because the white light would expose the picture, ruining it. 

                I went to several schools and studied various artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Van Gogh, Escher, Matisse, Toulouse-Lautrec, and other artists’ styles in the history of art. I am currently still studying art and painting and showing my work in various exhibits that come about through St. Luke’s Studio Insight Program.

 By Vicki P.