Horror movies not scary anymore by Hannah Valdez

Slight scare after slight scare, ghoulish scream, after ghoulish scream- do we really get the same effects after watching the same types of horror movies over and over again? This time of year, there seem to me so many repetitive movie ideas. The viewers are not very amused, which brings us to the question: Should modern movie directors take notes from the older, classic horror movies? The viewers are not getting as scared as before, so the directors are doing something wrong. 

Recent horror movies have been based on the same paranormal, demonic idea. Jenna Refuerzo, a Breakthrough student, shares the same view. "Modern movies are so predictable. They're scary, but can't beat classically suspenseful Hitchcock films." The whole idea of a horror movie is to scare the viewers, but what is the point of making the same movies over and over again? 

Old horror movies like "Psycho" or "Vertigo" definitely scare audiences, but have rather simple concepts. Today's horror movies have too much going on and too much for the viewer to keep track of to be truly scared. 

"It's not how much blood, guts, or jump scares it has that make a movie terrifying, but rather the idea, and the way the idea is perceived." says Esfuerzo. Today's horror movies are becoming too boring. We want a horror movie revolution, and we want it now. 

UHD TV by Minh-Tam Doan

Ultra High definition (Ultra HD)--four times better resolution than full HD--is a true breakthrough. LG brought the first Ultra HD TV into the market last fall and has just developed second generations.

These new TV’s are un astounding 2160p give a resolution four times better than full HD. The second generation LG’s are going at a retail price of $5999.99 for a 55-in. and $7999.99 for a 65-in. display.

As Taylor says, “As screen sizes get larger and as consumers buy larger and larger screens, they are going to demand more resolution.” This means that Ultra HD, or 4k, will enable bigger screens at clearer resolution.

The 4k TV sets will upscale most HD movies, and Hollywood is already developing their movies in 4k too. To add on, 4k cameras and camcorder are now on the market allowing the production of 4k films and clips.

Currently, Sony has a $24,999.99 84-in. Ultra HD TV as well as a 55-in. at $4999.99 and a 65-in. at $6999.99. Along with this Sony has a 4k media player preloaded with 10 4k films and a unlimited 4k download service at around $7.99 to $24.99 a month.

"Ultra HD TV also provides greater depth to picture quality, giving a more immersive experience," says Sweta Dash, senior director of display research and strategy at research firm IHS. " And with upscaling technology, consumers can see better picture quality even when watching (current) HD content. Learning from past experience, many TV brands are actively working to provide Ultra HD content, either through upscaling or through the creation of proprietary UHD content."

Ultra High Definition TV’s really do hold the future for HD TV’s.

Gold Cup by Angel Gonzalez

The Gold Cup 2013 started on July 7, 2013.  It started with 12 teams: U.S., Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti and Martinique.  They started with a rough start, but as the tournament progressed, 4 semifinalists have emerged: Mexico, Panama, USA, and Honduras. 

These 4 teams are doing their best with good passes, good strategy, and good players. The favorites for the finals are Panama and Honduras.  Both coaches of these awesome teams are trying to do their best to do what the people want.  For the Gold Cup, the teams are playing only in US stadiums as opposed to global stadiums. 

The reigning champion is Mexico with 2011's winning goal. This year's final is on July 28, and will e  either at Soldier Field in Chicago or Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Cali.  For this story we interviewed a literature and scrapbooking teacher at Breakthrough Silicon Valley at Hillbrook, Jennifer Cruz. Cruz has a long history with soccer. 

"I played soccer for 2 years when I was around 12 years old," said Cruz. "I love watching soccer with my dad; it's like a father and daughter bond."

Who do you think is going to win! Leave a comment below!

Shark Attacks by Esmeralda Mendoza

            You are enjoying the fresh, cold waters at a beach, when you feel a smooth, hard object touching your skin. You don’t mind cause you think it is nothing. Little do you know, that “nothing” was a shark, and you’re about to fall prey to a shark attck. There are over 100 shark attacks a year that happen worldwide.

            There are three sharks that are considered dangerous near humans and one of them is the tiger shark. Tiger sharks usually live in tropical and temperate waters, especially common around central Pacific islands. They tend to stay in deep waters, but it does move into channels to pursue prey in shallower waters.

            In October 2003, a tiger shark attacked 13 year-old Bettheny Hamilton, an American surfer. The shark bit off her arm near her shoulder. Later on, a large tiger shark was hung and killed; Based on its size and bite pattern, it was presumed to be the shark which attacked Bethany.

“I have been to Santa Cruz beach and its beautiful but I am afraid to swim in the beach, knowing the waves can drown me or a shark can attack me,” said an anonymous female Breakthrough student. While staying close to shore is okay, those who swim further out are in danger of being attacked.

            

Career Speakers' Day by Eduardo Soria

On July 21, 2013 many people from many different careers got to visit the Hillbrook Breakthrough campus to talk to Breakthrough students about their different careers. The visitors explained what their careers were all about and how they got to where they are. As students, we also could ask them any questions we had about their careers or their lives. Some of the people whom we met worked in the corporation SAP or at Silicon Valley Bank.  

Also, for Breakthrough students it was a day in which they could help Breakthrough with their goal of getting every Breakthrough student to a 4-year university by showing the people  their determination for going to the university of their dreams. Many of the people that came to visit the Breakthrough campus gave us really good advice for us to succeed in life. 

An anonymous speaker advised our group that "if you have something new to do and you don’t understand it don’t give up and if you get really good at it try something new." This really relates to many of the students in the program because we all study really hard and when we know something really well we change our subject. 

We were able to interview one of the career speakers. His name is Jason Mok and he works in Silicon Valley Bank as a banker. The first question we had for him was what he thought he wanted to be when he was a little boy. He responded by saying, “When I was small I wanted to become a professional soccer player or I wanted to become a video game designer”. 

The second and last question that we could ask before he left was what he thought was the part of finding job. He responded by saying, “The hardest part of finding a job is a job that you like and that balances your life”.

Travyon Martin Case verdict by Adal Zeratsion

In Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012 George Zimmerman killed a 17-year-old boy who was walking back to his house.  Trayvon Martin was a football player for his school and George Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator.  Martin’s English teacher described him as an A and B student.

           As Martin was walking home he was wearing a hoodie.  George thought that he was a robber/murderer so he decided to follow Trayvon.  As this is all happening Trayvon is talking to his best friend on the phone, Rachel Jeantel.  They were talking about their future and what they were going to do with their lives.

 

            Later on, Zimmerman was still following Martin, so Martin told Jeantel about it. Within a couple of minutes, Martin and Zimmerman had started fighting.  Zimmerman ended up pulling out his gun and shooting Martin near the heart.  George ended up with a few scars on the back of his head and a swollen and bloody nose.  Two days later Rachel heard about Trayvon’s death, and she couldn’t believe it.

            Zimmerman received murder charges, and his trial started on June 10, 2013. Zimmerman told the court that it was all self-defense, and that Martin attacked him first.  The defense were against Jeantel’s testimony for a while because of all the phone records that she had with Trayvon.

            Some people may of thought that Zimmerman should go to jail and be guilty and others thought that Zimmerman was just using self-defense and should not be guilty.  The verdict made a decision and they said that Zimmerman is not guilty.  The verdict believed that Zimmerman was using self-defense to protect himself from Trayvon Martin. 

“Zimmerman should have gone to jail,” said Thomas, a cousin of mine. He thought that Zimmerman should have been guilty and should have went to jail, which did not happen.

 Most people thought that Trayvon’s family was going to win the case, but unfortunately they didn’t.  Many people also thought that Trayvon’s family didn’t have too much evidence.  “I think it was because they had a weak lawyer,” said Thomas.

            There has been some protesting but nothing is getting out of control in terms of violent behavior.  Trayvon’s parents are heartbroken and don’t believe what has happened is fair.

XBOX 1 vs. PS4 by Kevin Vo

Just when you though it was over, the console war rages on as Sony and Microsoft unveil their newest creation the Xbox1 (Microsoft) and the Playstation 4 (Sony).

The Xbox1, a revolutionary gaming console that was announced on May 21, 2013. is scheduled to be ship out in November, so there’s an idea to go on your wish list. The Xbox1 is the third member of the Xbox family and will be directly competing against the PS4 and the Will U. Even though the Xbox1 is a gaming console it also features TV entertainment so it will also compete against the Apple TV and the Google platform. The Xbox1 has many new features such as voice command, in-client Skype and it features an expanded Xbox Live service, better Kinect functioning, and cloud computing. The Xbox1 controllers is smaller and the directional pad has been change into a four-way design and each trigger has impulse trigger. 

What is an impulse trigger, you say? It includes directional vibration, which means that if you get shot your controller vibrates at the direction where you get shot at. If you want to buy it the introductory price for the XBox1 around $500. 

The PS4, the successor of the Play Station 3, was unveiled on February 20, 2013 and it will be released to the public in the fourth quarter of 2013. For this new console, Sony plans on making the PS4 more social so they added a share button on the controller. The PS4 is the fourth addition to the Playstation family not counting the PsP (Play Station Personal) and the PsP Vita. For the controller it will be using Dualshock 4, which, like Dualshock 3 includes Bluetooth to connect the the console without a cable. The new things about the Dualshock 4 are that it includes pressable touch pads, non removable lithium-ion battery. 

The controller has featured several output connectors such as the stereo jack, a micro USB port and it can also be charged with a micro USB,  charging station or you can charge it on the console even when it’s off. Like I said before about the share button, with it you can share your gameplay experiences so that’s a cool add-on if you do game plays on your youtube account. Another, amazing feature on the PS4 is suspended mode, what it is that when you need to end your game on a short notice the PS4 will lower it’s power state so that when it’s full power the game can resume. If you want the PS4 the introductory price will be $400.

 Edwin a breakthrough teacher who is also a gamer said that he is excited about the two new consoles and that “it will revolutionize how we play games." He also said that he is going to buy the Xbox1 because he is an Xbox type of person

There you have it gamers, vote which console you thinks is better in the comments below!!!

PS4       VS          Xbox 1

YOU DECIDE

2013 Hillbrook vs. Evergreen Basketball Game, by Eduardo Soria

        “There goes Evergreen, then Hillbrook intercepts the ball. There’s the shot and. . . IT’S IN!!”

That was one of the first moments of the spectacular and entertaining basketball between Breakthrough Silicon Valleys two groups: Hillbrook vs. Evergreen. This incredible basketball game happened in July 19th, 2013 in Evergreen High school’s basketball gym, during the annual Breakthrough Olympics.

The Breakthrough Olympics are a competition between every crew that the program sets up. Each branch goes against the crews in their branch. They go through both mental and physical challenges. The first part of the Olympics is the mental challenges. In the end both branches complete a physical obstacle course to see who wins this year’s Olympics. Some of the events for the obstacle course included Leap Frog, Wheelbarrow, and Word Search, all while protecting the crew’s egg. After the Olympics the basketball game began.

First, all of the players were warming up for the big game. Both teams had practiced very hard in the days before the game. The coaches for the Hillbrook basketball team were Ramon Gomez, Rahul Singireddy, and Michael Augustine. The Evergreen basketball coaches are unknown to our reporters. The referee was our very own Hillbrook teacher Jordan who teaches 7th grade biology. In the beginning of the first half Evergreen managed to get the ball and they tried to make a point, but they missed. They tried again, but they missed again, but this time Hillbrook caught the rebound and shot, but they missed. They caught the rebound though and then they made it!! When Evergreen started the game again they tried to make a shot they did not make it. Hillbrook caught the ball and they made the shot! That was their 2nd shot! Throughout the first half Hillbrook made 2 more shots to equal ten total points in just the first half.  

In the half-time show Hillbrook’s dance squad, yoga, and volleyball class danced for the entire Breakthrough program to “Beggin’” by Madcon. Hillbrook dance teacher Joseline Gonzalez choreographed the routine. In the 2nd half, Evergreen started with the ball. Evergreen tried to make a point, but they threw the ball outside the boundaries. When Hillbrook got the ball they managed to pass the ball to an open player who was left alone and he could make his shot. Then finally Evergreen made their first shot. Then Hillbrook made 2 more shot and Evergreen made 1 more shot. In the end Hillbrook won with the stunning score of 14 to 4.

On the Hillbrook side there were two MVP’s. They were Daniel Gonzalez and Sergio. We were also available to interview MVP Daniel Gonzalez.

When asked if he thought that this was a hard game he said, “ No. This was an easy peasy game for me.”

Also when asked if he practiced enough he responded, “ I practiced every day for 4 hours for the game.” This was an interesting game and we can’t wait for the next one.     

REVIEW: The Last of Us Video Game by Kevin Vo

The Last Of Us, a video game published by Naughty Dog and by Sony Computer Entertainment, was released on June 14, 2013 only for the PS3 (Play Station 3). The game is set in a post- apocalyptic world in which a character name Joel and a girl named Ellie travel across the U.S to find this group called the “Fireflies,” who want to find the cure for the plague. I do not want to give away spoilers so if you want to you know what happens you have to play it yourself. 

In your adventures, you will fight many different types of zombies ranging from natural zombies to the terrifying bloaters who can shoot “gasses” at you to kill you. The game The Last Of Us has won many awards such as “Best of E3” and the “Most anticipated game”. In addition, it has a 10/10 rating from IGN. But keep in mind, this game is also rated M and it contains blood and foul language so if you are 17 and older or you can handle this kind of stuff you can buy it at Target, Wal-Mart, or Game Stop for $60.

I asked Chris, one of my neighbors, and he said with mixed feelings of sadness and amazement “That was the best game I ever played” and that "the story line is very sad."

He also commented, “The cut scene is amazing with very real acting." The Last Of Us is an amazing game with in-depth story line and that I recommend this game to any gamers who like survival horror games.

2013 NBA Finals by Adal Zeraitson

It was Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals and the Heat was down by three in the final seconds of the game.  They have one chance to tie the game and send the game to overtime. LeBron takes a three pointer, but he misses. Chris Bosh, a teammate of his gets the rebound. There is enough time for one more shot. He kicks the ball out to Ray Allen, who gets a shot up just in time. The crowd is silent and the shot was good. The game went into overtime, and the Heat won the game in overtime. It was a very critical game for the Heat because they were facing elimination.

“I heard that the game was one of the most intense games,” said Edwin, a Breakthrough teacher. The next and final game was in Miami so it was going to be a tough one for San Antonio. Both teams accepted the challenge.  It was a hard fought game by both teams. But unfortunately, for San Antonio fans, their team did not come out with the championship. 

“The Heat are overrated,” said Edwin. “The Spurs did more than enough to win, but they didn’t win.” 

The Heat won their second consecutive title and celebrated in the locker room. And that leaves LeBron with two championships and two Finals MVP awards and leaves Dwayne Wade with three championships and one Finals MVP award.   

Preventing Touch Screen Smudges by Minh Tam Doan

A person is on an Android tablet after he eats garlic bread. His cousin manages to get ahold of the the tablet and figures out the Android passcode. He was puzzled at first, until he raised the screen into the light. He saw the smudge marks he made with the oil from the garlic bread, and wondered how to prevent this.

Because of the pattern feature of the Android lock, it is relatively simple to redo the code by looking at the smudges. In fact, you can recreate the code 90% of the time according to the University of Pennsylvania.

Of course you can use a pin code to lower the risk or go through the hassle of wiping the screen every time to prevent an intrusion. Or you can use the app called Whispercore. According to Lifehacker, “it arranges the numbers vertically and it then asks you to wipe the screen in order to unlock the phone, obfuscating the original smudges. If you use a pattern to lock your phone, after you input the correct pattern, it's a screen full of stars. Swipe the highlighted stars to unlock the phone, again obfuscating the original smudge pattern.” This then acts a reminder to wipe your screen.

Another thing you could do is to use more than four digits. For example, if you have a six digit code, you can use the same digit more than once so that the hacker will have trouble finding the amount of digits there are.

According to Breakthrough teacher Edwin, it is “an issue we should address...always make sure to erase our code.” Also, he recognizes that “in regular school, when your classmates steal your phone, they can easily hack it.” Edwin finds that this problem is common in school as this is where your phone can be stolen easily.

REVIEW: FIFA 2012 by Eduardo Soria

Fifa 2012 is one of the newer versions of the franchise soccer game. It is the nineteenth game of the whole series. On the cover, it represents the UK(United Kingdom) and Ireland by putting Wayne Rooney for the UK and putting Jack Wilshere for Ireland. This game was developed EA Canada and was published by Electronic Arts. 

 In this game there are 3 types of ways to play Fifa 2012. The first one is the regular gameplay in which you just play a quick match with the teams you choose with all the new added stadiums^[b]. The second way of playing the game is by playing the career mode in the game in which you choose a league and you also choose what team you want to be in control of and the whole purpose is to win the cup of the league. The last way to play the game is to play the online mode. To play the online version you need to be part of the Playstation Network or have an Xbox Live account to play it because you play with friends or other people around the world to see how good your skills are at playing the game. 

We also interviewed a veteran at playing the game, Mr. Ramon Gomez.

When asked what he thought of Fifa 12 he responded,”I think Fifa is is a great game; it’s really fun. It makes me think that I am great player^[c]. And in the game you have skills that you wouldn’t have in real life and it makes me feel good.”

When asked his final question about what he likes specifically about Fifa 2012 he answered by saying,” I like scoring goals and winning.”