Badminton

Badminton, a two to four player racket sport, first originated from British India. The court is rectangular shaped that's separated at the middle by a net. When a singles court is produced, the doubles court is also produced on the same court by adding a few extra lines outside. When playing a singles game, the players have to ignore the doubles line; and when playing doubles, players must forget about the singles court unless otherwise serving. Badminton is pretty much the same as tennis but a few slight changes; the racket, the "ball", and the rules.

The basics to playing badminton are the following: having a suitable shuttlecock or birdie, racket(s), and some kind of scoring system. There are two kinds of shuttlecocks or birdies, feather and plastic. I prefer feather because I'm use to it, but for beginners i would recommend plastic. Feather shuttlecocks can be ruined if not taken care of or played by correctly. Beginners who aren't going to take badminton seriously shouldn't use feather because it'll be a waste of money. Feather shuttlecocks are bought at double the price than plastic ones. Intermediates and professionals should purchase Yonex or Aeroplane shuttlecocks because they last longer and flies more smoothly. There are other brands that fly even smoother in their opinion but Yonex and Aeroplane is my opinion.

Racket(s) are the most important part of badminton, because without them you can't play this sport at all; without shuttlecocks you cant play either, but i think racket(s) are more important. Badminton racket(s) come in a huge selection according to power, control, speed, and even strength. For power players, i would recommend Yonex MusclePower 100 because the energy transfer through the racket won't waste your energy and it also helps you with tension. This racket helps players who are learning how to smash or to clear cross the court. For players who want control, i recommend Yonex Armortec 30, which comes with a control support cap for a nice tight grip. Speed players should use Yonex ArcSaber Z Slash (Arc-Z for short), it's the new modified version of Yonex ArcSaber 10, it allows more speed in smash (up to 4% more than usual). Strength players should use NanoSpeed 9000 because it's made with a special carbon fiber layer to improve accuracy and high strength. Currently i'm using Yonex ArcSaber 7 because i don't really stick with a position, i'm more of an "all-around" player and i really like the yellow and white coloring on the racket. Teehee.

Badminton's scoring system is based on a 21 point system for each game. There are no special rules for this part of the subject but there is one you should remember, left is for odd numbers and right is for even numbers. Everyone who plays badminton for competition should get this and players who just play for fun should somewhat get it.

One final rule... try to have fun, competition or not. Oh wait i lied, that wasn't the last rule this is don't play outdoors.

Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy first originated by Hironobu Sakaguchi and is developed by Square Enix, or Squaresoft. It all began in the year 1987, which was created to save Square Enix from bankruptcy. The series mainly focuses on science-fantasy; it is also known as animes, motion pictures, printed media, collectible figures, and also RPG's. RPG is also known as role playing games where you take the life of a character and become him/her. The collectible figures are based off of the animes and games. Final Fantasy is known as one of the best-selling franchises. Square Enix achieved from bankruptcy to one of the most successful gaming company throughout the world.

There are way too many seasons and chapters in the game and anime, so I'll only talk about one of them, Final Fantasy XIII. Final Fantasy XIII is the latest out of all the series. The main point of this series revolves around fal'Cie, which is formed in a crystal residing in the characters. Whoever is marked with the fal'Cie has to fulfill the goal that the fal'Cie wants them to succeed in a certain amount of time, however the people who are marked doesn't know what the goal is so its a very difficult task for them. What will happen to the marked character? You ask. Well if the character dies or unsuccessfully achieves the goal then they or their corpse becomes a "Cie Corpse." The fal'Cie is a really powerful substance.

The main character in this series is Lightning or also known as ライトニング (if you can read Japanese). Lightning has long strawberry-blonde hair and is 177 cm tall, which is approximately 5'10. No one knows her real name because after her parents died she changed her name into Lightning. According to my research, Tetsuya Nomura was asked to create a female version of Cloud Strife, who was from Final Fantasy VII. Lightning is described as not-so-ladylike; her weapon of choice is a combination of a gun and sword. During battle, she uses agility and acrobatic tactics.

Final Fantasy XIII is the anime and game that millions are waiting to watch and play.

Fanime Part Two

Number Five: Don't cancel your reservations and Fanime pass at the last minute. Even beginning to make reservations, you have to be dedicated. Dedicated to it 101%.
Now it's time for stories!
At 5:17 PM, the parent who was driving me arrived in San Jose. During the car ride, I had fallen asleep which was a disappointment, because I didn't get to see the scenery. When the car arrived at the hotel, we hopped out, grabbed our bags, and walked towards the front door of the hotel. Once we walked in, we were greeted by Sophie Zellick's father. He asked for our names and handed us the room pass. We then headed to the elevator, pressed the "3" button, and waited. There was a signup sheet on who we wanted to room with, but I didn't know anybody in the club who were girls, so i left it blank. I was then put into a room with people who I don't know.
I stuck the key pass into the door and opened the door. There stood two people, one who was a junior at AHS and the other who was in college at some place, majoring something. In the beginning, I barely talked to them, but then later on I became friends with them. Now we keep in touch.
I dropped my bags at the vacancy spot on the floor, and tried to get comfortable in the room since I would've been staying there for two nights and three days. I then grabbed my wallet and the key pass, and walked out the door with a wave of goodbye. I ran to the convention center hoping that there wouldn't be a long line to get the Fanime pass. When I finally got there, there was a huge line going out the door. But I had no choice but to stand there and wait.
I dropped my bags at the vacancy spot on the floor, and tried to get comfortable in the room since I would've been staying there for two nights and three days. I then grabbed my wallet and the key pass, and walked out the door with a wave of goodbye. I ran to the convention center hoping that there wouldn't be a long line to get the Fanime pass. When I finally got there, there was a huge line going out the door. But I had no choice but to stand there and wait.

Fanime Part One

Fanime, a social convention for both animation lovers and collectors. Fanime is created by anime clubs all over California, and is also the largest convention in Northern California. FanimeCon is held in San Jose every year during memorial weekend. Many wait an entire year for it to happen, but once that weekend is over they head back to their ordinary lives and wait for the next years'. During Fanime people of all ages dress up as an animation characters from either their favorite shows or movies. The people who created this also created a term for it, cosplay. Cosplay is short for costume playing.
Last year I went to Fanime, it was my first year at an actual convention. I was clueless on what'll happen, so I asked my brother (who went to the 2008 and 2009 one.) He didn't help me, all he said was "You'll see for yourself." In the beginning I didn't know anything, but now I'm well experienced enough to tell others about the wonderful times I had, and what they would do if they went. Last year, I went as Haruhi Suzumiya from the anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Even though I was unexperienced, I still tryed to be the best cosplayer. Here are some advice for any new cosplayers or new FanimeCon attendees.
Advice:
Number One: Register for Fanime ahead of time, atleast six months ahead.
Number Two: Upon registering for Fanime, also place a reservation for the hotel across the street, The Sainte Claire Hotel.
Number Three: Optional: Pick out a cosplay to wear. Just because you like an outfit, doesn't mean it'll look good on you. So pick wisely and carefully.
Number Four: When you've finished with all the registrations and so on. Now you must constantly check http://www.fanime.com for any new updates on the celebrity guests and new merchants who will be joining in the year you're participating.
Number Five and some of my Fanime stories will be continued in next week's post or some other weeks'.

Beverly Daniel Tatum, Ph.D.

(12.) Certainly some people are more prejudiced than others, actively embracing and perpetuating negative and hateful images of those who are different from themselves. When we claim to be free of prejudice, perhaps what we are really saying is that we are not hate-mongers.[10] But none of us is completely innocent. Prejudice is an integral part of our socialization,[11] and it is not our fault. Just as the preschoolers my student interviewed are not to blame for the negative messages they internalized, we are not at fault for the stereotypes, distortions, and omissions that shaped our thinking as we grew up.

Comments and Annotations:

This paragraph is really important to the whole article, because in the beginning they talked about how most people were exposed to stereotypes. In the third paragraph they talked about how they interviewed preschoolers. Preschoolers aren't aware of stereotypes and prejudice, their education isn't as advanced as highschoolers to know that we are shown to prejudice and racism. But other than their education, little kids are still aware of stereotypes and prejudice without them knowing.

Annotations: I underlined the following words, "negative and hateful images," because some people who are more prejudice than others are just wrong and mean. I also underlined the words, "not to be blame," because the preschoolers who are unaware of prejudice aren't at fault. Prejudice makes our world go round and unique, but sometimes its just a hateful thing.

The Melody Part 2

A mysterious voice was heard.

“Suicide Song, my dear,” a little voice whispered.

“Wh-who a-are y-you?” Sydney frightened.

“I am your mother, sweetheart.”

“B-but my m-mother d-died a y-year ago.”

“I’m her soul and ghost, I have come to explain to you why the people around you die. You’re the cause of all this.”

“M-my fault?”

“Why yes, dear.”

Sydney didn’t believe her, and hopped onto her bike. She rode to the other side of town. Sydney went up to an unknown man and asked him a question. “What is your name?” He stood in silence. “It was the Suicide Song!!!” She screamed it, and everybody heard her. Now they all heard the sweet melody. It was caused by her voice, when she speaks to someone. They hear that melody.

“Okay, okay come on out. Tell me why I’m cursed with this horror.”

Her mother appears in front of Sydney. “I’m the one who sang you that song, when you were a child.” You were supposed to die like your brothers and sisters, but you didn’t. Instead you enjoyed it.

“Only one thing can stop this madness!” Sydney said with a crazed look in her eye.

“Sorry darling, you can’t kill yourself until you find that one person who will not die from it.”

Sydney ran into the closest cutters store, ignored the bodies, and headed towards the knives. She grabbed the biggest one she could find, and cut herself, right in the throat. *Thud* Her head dropped to the floor. “Sydney, dear. You’re still alive, even if you did cut yourself in the neck. Your head will just live without a body.”

Mysteries in life should stay a mystery forever. Will the madness stop? Will everybody die from natural cause or die from the Suicide Song? *Eerie music in the background* *The music fades*