Skins

The Conservative Parents Television Council has stated “Skins” is the most dangerous program that has been foisted on your children, but the question that arises is “It dangerous or just a harmless television show?”

The show does cross a boundary when it comes to TV depictions of sex involving minors, but any kid who has been to a Judd Apatow movie has seen worse. Today’s teens have easy access to internet, pay-cable, shows and other entertainment offerings that scandalize today’s teens. Of course that does not entirely excuse the network, which is canny about its practices. MTV claims in a release that “Skins” is meant to be viewed by adults, and to prove it the channel airs the show at or after 10 p.m. Eastern time and has slapped a TV-MA rating on it, meaning it is theoretically unsuitable for those under 17.

The thought of adults actually watching this show is a little laughable. Many teens at Creekview had quite a lot to say about Skins.

“’Skins’ is a joke. The show is making teens look a whole lot worse than they actually are. None of that stuff happens to a teen in one day or even a week,” exclaimed junior Sarah S.

What Sarah is talking about can all be seen in the first episode of “Skins”. By the end of the first episode, the characters have partied themselves into a numbness, crashed a stolen Escalade into a river and owe nearly a grand to a drug dealer. Most real-world teens do not even make $1,000 drug deals, prostitute their friends, and steal cars. When asked, three out of 25 teens have never even bothered to watch “Skins” or even have no idea what it is.

“I saw the commercial on MTV, laughed really hard and turned the channel to Jeopardy,” sighed senior Chase B.

32 out of 50 teens at Creekview thought “Skins” may be the most unrealistic show on television. Is this true? On “Skins”, the characters do drugs, have sex, and have a deep core of sadness, but the sadness does not stay long due to the outrageous things they do and the drugs they abuse. The show lacks enthusiasm but has great amounts of wooden acting, lazy writing, predictable plot points and a general snarkiness that makes the show unpleasantly smug about itself.
It is always hard to find realistic characters and storylines in television shows, but in the unfortunate case of “Skins”, the creators have crossed the line of believability by focusing on what they assume will get the most attention: hypersexual teens and drugs. MTV omitted the more serious and tougher issues of teenage life and made a point of exploiting them.
Written by: Tenniea Martin

25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

On October 14, 15, and 16, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee took place at Creekview High School. The play was a hit, and most people seemed to love it!

Although Mr. Tamanini, the drama teacher, got a lot of complaints about the play. It is PG-13 for sexual content and language, so some of the audience members were complaining about that kind of play being shown at school.

Danielle, a junior, said, “The play was awesome! I was basically laughing the whole time. Plus, a lot of my friends were in the play, so that’s what drove me to go see it.”

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is about six teenagers that have entered into a spelling bee, competing to win a cash prize and bragging rights. There was also a twist to the play that left it more and more interesting each night; two members of the audience also volunteered to participate in the spelling bee.

In the play, there were six contestants: Oliver, William, Logainne, Marcy, Leaf, and Chip. All of the contestants had their unique quarks about them that made them really funny. Oliver, the newcomer to the competition, is a very shy girl who, throughout the play, is waiting on her dad who never shows up to watch her.

William was a Putnam County Spelling Bee finalist last year and only lost because of an allergic reaction to peanuts. His “magic foot” was the key to his success in winning the spelling bee.
Logainne, the youngest speller, struggles throughout the play with her two homosexual fathers who are pushing her to her limits to win the spelling bee.

Marcy seems to be the smarty-pants of the six contestants; she speaks six languages, is a member of the all-American hockey team, a championship rugby player, and only gets three hours of sleep at night due to her studying.

Leaf is the second runner-up in his district, and only got to go to the spelling bee because the first place winner could not go. He does not seem very bright, but whenever he spells a word, he goes into a trance and gets them right.

The sixth contestant, Chip, is a boy scout and the champion of the 24th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. By the rumbling laughter in the audience, the funniest part of the play is when Chip has an issue with his male body part during the competition which causes him to misspell a word and lose his title.

Also, on Saturday, November 6, Creekview hosted a competition between 6 schools to compete for the region title. Creekview performed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and 4 of the actors in that play were named All-Star Performers of their region. Those people are: Ryan Sowala, Stormy Gayton, Jacqueline Abernathy, and Madeline Rice.
Written by: Sammi Urban

Xbox or PS3

It is 4:00 and most kids are just getting home, and most want nothing more than to escape everyday life and enter a world where anything is possible. To do so, many take comfort in one one area: video games. So chances are you own a gaming system. You may still be playing your older brother’s or sister’s Sega, or maybe even the Nintendo 64, but the majority of gamers have fallen to the new high tech game consoles.

Some say, “It is the most important time in my life.” Freshman Justin claims, “It is my Call to Duty.”

So what is everyone talking about? Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s XBOX360. The owners of these gaming consoles tend to defend their system to the death, so the argument over what console is better tends to be brutally biased.

“It has everything you could ask for in a system” says junior Nick about his PS3.
The phrase “you get what you pay for” is classic to the argument over the extravagant price of a PS3. The 250 gigabyte PS3 will put you out $350 and its 120 gigabyte counterpart is $300. Do not throw out your mountains of Playstation 1 and 2 games, the PS3 is backward friendly with Sony’s other two systems. Gamers can play any classic Playstation game on the PS3 while also using the exceptional characteristic of the built in Blu-Ray DVD player.

“My dad and I can play for hours,” junior Michael says. “All Xbox games are good.”
The Xbox 360 transcends the average for the basic console. Microsoft’s one of a kind ability to take the graphics of the PS3 and the family/party games for the Wii and put it all in one package sets it apart from its competition. Another plus of this great console is that the Xbox will not break the bank as it runs from $150 to $300, depending on how much memory one needs.

“Each day, I am astonished by Xbox live. I love having the ability to virtually shoot people from all over the world.” Junior Stephen said “I would give my left arm for a subscription to Xbox live if I did not have it. Although, that would [make it] difficult for me to actually play Xbox live.”
With the high-intensity graphic processor of the PS3 and the well rounded fun for everyone in the family Xbox, this is one argument that might never be determined.
Written by: Tenniea Martin

What Do Creekview Students Think About the iTunes Music Charts?

Music is a very diverse topic. Everybody has a different opinion about what their favorite type of music or favorite song is. So how does iTunes choose what the top 20 songs are without surveying the population as a whole? Not only is it hard to get everyone’s opinion on the best songs, but they all seem to come from the same genre.” Alex said, “They only list R&B/Rap songs, not any from other genres where there are better music.” Many students agreed with her saying they don’t agree with the top 20, because it does not have many of the other genres. And a few students said, “I like most of the music but it needs more country.”

While the majority of the students said that they didn’t agree with the lists of songs, some did. One student said, “Yeah pretty much spot on giver or take a few, but G6 is the bomb.” And, “These songs are great and rhythmic, so you can dance away.”

At the Homecoming Dance last weekend, a lot of the top 20 songs were played. Such as: “Like a G6”, “Bottoms Up”, “Just a Dream”, and “Take it Off”. Proving that a lot of these songs are very popular and the perfect songs to dance to.
Sammi Urban

Is Katy Perry Trashy?

Katy Perry is very well known as a music artist gaining almost every teenager’s attention with her new album “Teenage Dream.” In the album Perry decided to write about her childhood days and her difficult teenage years, and she added a little pop sound to it; Perry has everything it takes to be today’s leading female pop star. She wanted her new album to be diverse, and she wanted to write various songs that would catch people’s attention and make people move.
She wrote each song with an intention and is holding nothing back, and as soon as her music starts to play hearts start racing and people cannot help but to dance. She managed to show her personality to everyone by writing fun, flirty love songs. She definitely taps into every scenario a teenager would go through from the sweet love song of “Hummingbird Heartbeat” to her very daring lines of “Peacock.”

However not everyone thinks too highly of Katy Perry; some people think she is too straight forward or even obscene. A junior, Alex says, “Her music is just too loud and obnoxious, it is a little tasteless.”

Alex is not the only one that feels this way. A senior, Nikki, also feels the same way but feels a little stronger on the topic. She said, “Katy Perry is way too offensive and I have never liked her style.”

Even after those comments, when statistics came into play, over sixty percent of the people who answered if they thought Perry was trashy or not said they did not think she was trashy at all. Surprisingly because most guys enjoy Perry’s look and style, thirty-five percent of the students who said she was not trashy were girls.

“Katy is not trashy; she is just unique and will try things other people are afraid to do. She is a inspiration to many, including me,” said sophomore Jordan.

But nothing can stop Katy Perry; her style may be a little flashy but to some a little amusing. On Katyperry.com she stated, “I do not really want to come off trashy, but I want people to know I’m definitely having fun.”

In her album Teenage Dream she is letting her guard down a little and showing everyone that she too was once a regular teenager that got angry, fell in love, and the lessons learned while growing up. She has done it again and sold another top album.
By: Tenniea Martin

Uproar Tour 2010

Uproar was one of the most anticipated concerts of the summer. Being headlined by such stars as Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed, how could it not be? Popular bands like Hellyeah, Hale Storm, and Stone Sour backed up the headlining bands, each having a huge following of diehard fans there to show their support. There were very high expectations for the show. According to many students here at Creekview, it was a perfect 10 out of 10. Jessie M., a senior this year, gives Avenged Sevenfold an “11 out of 10.”

Avenged Sevenfold was playing music from their brand new album “Nightmare,” along with many of their most popular songs from previous albums. In December of 2009, the band’s drummer, Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan, passed away. Since then they have replaced him with The Rev’s all time favorite drummer, Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater. During the concert, Avenged Sevenfold did a tribute to The Rev by hanging a banner of him on the back of the stage and playing a song the band wrote for him called “So Far Away.” Every person in the crowd had their lighters or cell phone lights in the air during the performance. Jessie M. added “this was by far the best concert I have ever been too.”

Disturbed was promoting their new album “Asylum.” Being the last band to play for the night, anticipation was running high. The band kicked out all of their singles and many more from past and present albums. Disturbed ended the performance by playing their most popular song, “Down with the Sickness,” during which the entire crowd sang along, chanting every word.
Uproar Tour was considered an amazing hit by all who attended, having ratings extremely high on all poles. The bands there had a huge show-up. Everyone left pleased by what they had heard.
By: Jake Brown

Drama

What do you think of when you think of drama class? You might think of Drama class populated with out-going people who can turn into and act like any person they want, and may have some musical talent. Cearly, people with those kind of characteristics auditioned for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” were held August 17-18.

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a musical about six junior high students who are participating in the spelling bee of a life time. The musical will air in three weeks at Creekview, but this musical is also for a competition. At the competition the cast will have to compete against other high schools from all across the state.

The drama teacher, Mr. Tamanini said, “I chose this play because it’s funny, it has a small cast of only 13, it’s a musical, challenging, and a little risqué.”

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a must see because the musical has a combination of humor and catchy tune that keeps you on the edge of your seat through the whole show. It also allows you to see into the lives of the six junior high students and learn why they are the way they are. The combination of the quirky students, 4 random cast members, and the music that gives it the perfect atmosphere to have a good time and make it have some unexpected/unscripted moments. But wait. There’s a twist, but you have to come to the play to know just what that is.

Drama is a way for people to step into the shoes into another persona and transform into that person. “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” is a perfect opportunity for the cast to do that because the characters are so unique and fun.

There is a lot that goes into making a play happen, not only on stage, but as well as off stage.
Mr. Tamanini said, “It takes 3 weeks to rehearse and prepare for a play.”

That’s because the cast has to get familiar with the play, and the people behind the scenes need to get all the props, costumes, and lights ready for the musical.

So come out and watch Creekview’s version of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” and experience the fun and excitement of ‘The Spelling Bee.’

Mr. Tamanini also encourages people to join Drama Club. Its purpose is for anybody who wants to learn about theater. In Drama Club you learn about what goes on to produce a play, stage directions, design, technical background, and backstage craft; basically to learn about all that goes into producing a play. It is a fun way for people with the same interests to come together and have fun.
By: Sammi Urban