The Hunger Games Movie

     Raking over $400,000 worldwide and challenging Twilight and Harry Potter for box office records, The Hunger Games was an immediate sensation.

      Fans of the books and non-readers alike enjoyed the exciting story of Katniss Everdeen, played by Jennifer Lawrence, fighting for her life and for the honor of District 12.

     The premise of the book is that 24 teenage participants are forced to fight to the death while the citizens of Panem are required to watch. The Capitol has imposed this punishment as a reminder of their complete control over the people following a crushed rebellion that ended in the demolition District 13.
     Senior Anna Woodruff recommends seeing the movie, even for those who have not read the books.

     “It is still a good entertaining and quality movie,” Woodruff said. “I think they did a good job with the movie. The difference is all the books are from Katniss's point of view, so you miss some things that really made the book awesome. Things like relationship development and whatnot.”

Junior Stephanie McCann, who has already seen it in theatres twice, agrees that the film is worthwhile. 

     “I think the film adaptation of the book was really well done. The film did a good job of capturing the overall mood of the book. I saw it the day it came out and again a few days later. The book version of any story will always be better than the film adaptation.”

     Part of the excitement of this movie, especially for girls, is watching Katniss’s love life unfold. Hollywood hunks Liam Hensworth and Josh Hutcherson play Katniss’s love interests, Gale and Peeta, respectively. Both McCann and Woodruff root for Peeta.

     “My favorite scene was the riot scene in District 11. I was really glad that they showed that the people were beginning to turn against the Capital. My favorite aspect of the movie is how it ‘watches.’ It has a lot of ‘indie’ film qualities that makes it feel like a much more intimate experience and less like a beginning to another crazed book and movie franchise,” McCann said.

     Though The Hunger Games will soon leave theatres, fans can look forward to the sequel to the film, Catching Fire, which will be filmed in the fall.

Written by Angie Stewart

Spring Break Baseball Trip

     The Gahanna Boys baseball team dedicated their Spring Break to get their season off on an early start.

     Through the long winter months, students begin a countdown for the long awaited Spring Break.  This year the baseball team gave up their week off school to playing baseball.

     The boys headed down to Vero beach, Florida in hopes of bringing the team closer together and coming home with some wins to add to their season.

     “We went 4-2, which is pretty good for having a conceivably 'young' team per say. We competed in every game and never gave up,” junior Alec Tuohy said.

     Not only did the team play in six games, but they also had hitting practice each night to prepare for any differences in competition and for their season as a whole.

     “The pitching was the biggest different in competition, that and everyone can play defense. It was not something that surprised us at all. We are playing against the best that each school has to offer and that’s to be expected. I think that we were prepared very well for the change and it showed with our record,” Tuohy explained.

     Even though there were countless hours of baseball, the team still had time to enjoy the beach and relax.

     “When we were not playing, we would normally hang out in our rooms with the team, go and get lunch with our parents, or go to the pool,” junior Dakota Cararo said.

     After a week of baseball games, the boys got a chance to go to the beach before heading back home.

     “The last day at Vero Beach was awesome. We all played shuffleboard and went down on the beach as a team. It was just a good bonding day,” junior Shawn Martin said.

     The trip started out the season, brought the team closer together, and allowed for a great Spring Break.

     “The best part was getting to spend a whole week with the kids on the team and also getting to play against teams from all over,” Cararo said.

     Not many school teams get the opportunity to travel so far together for a week’s time. The trip was also beneficial for the Gahanna Athletics program as the team showcased the schools baseball talents out of central Ohio.

     “Traveling with the team is a great experience because we get to leave our home and get out of our comfort zone and just play baseball together with nothing else to worry about,” Martin said. 

Written by Anna McCloud

Improving Economy

     Since the economic crisis of 2008, many people have been pinching their pennies and throwing out the phrase, “these tough economic times” nonchalantly when, actually, the economy is not half bad right now.

     For those who avidly watch the stocks, the improving economy can easily be seen there.  Recently, NASDAQ, the American stock exchange market, recently broke a record high of 13000.  This means that stock trading and selling has led to a value of over $13,000.  This has given an unprecedented value to our stock market.

     For those who are seeking jobs, the improving economy can be seen in the availability of jobs and employers’ readiness to hire.  Unemployment rates have fallen from 10% in 2009 to 7.8% currently. 
     For those who may be interested in real-estate, the improving economy can be seen with the recovery of the housing bubble.  Real-estate is one of the first marks of a falling or rising economy; currently, the number of building permits have rose, as have the number of houses being bought and sold.  This shows how consumers are feeling confident enough with their dollar to spend it on long-term items such as houses. 
     Signs of the improving economy can be seen everywhere; people may need to just pause and take notice.

Written by Ali McCatheren

Varsity Varieties 2012

      Gahanna Lincoln High School is made up of a large and diverse student body with many different athletic teams and clubs. Behind all of the faces you may see walking down the hallway, many students have extraordinary talents that are meant to be shown. Varsity Varieties 2012 shows the talents of Gahanna Lincoln High School.
      Varsity Varieties is one of the three largest productions performed every year at GLHS. Students audition their talent for the three directors of the show, Mrs. Macioce, Mr. Linerode, and Mr. Gregory. After the audition process, practices begin and their talents are eventually shown in a tremendous show. The show features students singing, acting, dancing, playing an instrument, and more.

            Students of all grades were involved in Varsity Varieties 2012.  Some of the freshmen included dances from Allison Matney and Kari Brown and singing from Paula Shtein. Sophomores included singers Hannah Rossio, Carly Whipple, Dounia Petunia, Mackenzie Karl, Christian Schafer, and more. Lindsay McIlwain, Julia Wolfson, and Erin Donohue were some juniors in the show. All of Performance Studio 2012, Audrey Rice, and Evan Taylor were some seniors in the show. Jalen Carter, Courtney Katzmeyer, Tyler Albrecht, Cody Troyan, Caelan Ecos, Stephanie Belz, and Sarah Kahler were all emcees of the production.

            Varsity Varieties touched the crowd once again with an outstanding production. Audiences of each performance only commented on the incredible acts, amazing affects, and total diversity of the show. Varsity Varieties 2012 was most definitely a hit.

Above: The emcees for Varsity Varieties 2012

Written by Jenna Rajcyk

GLHS Lady Lions Basketball Team

     Sweet victory. The taste of knowing when all your hard work has paid off and not only have you won the game, you beat your rivals.  This only happens once in a blue moon, but for Gahanna Lincoln’s girl basketball team, it happened Saturday March 3^rd.

     As Pickerington North has been Districts champs for the past twenty-three years, the Lady Lions were able to sweep them off their feet and knock them to the ground winning the game with 63 points (North had 46).

     Now now, I know we are always taught never to boast about accomplishments and never be a sore winner; but come on, it’s hard not to be excited. Not only did the Lady Lions beat them in Districts, they broke their eight game loosing streak to North.

     Coach Hauser said how Queirra Lampkins and Maddison Blackwell played as close to perfect games as they come and with Chrishna Butler defending North’s best player, limiting her goal to a mere one point throughout the game. Priceless.

     Although key players are graduating this year, Hauser sees potential in upcoming seasons with the younger players. Let’s not let the win against north be a fluke, let’s make it a tradition. 


Written by Lucas Horner

The Academy Award Nominees

Come February 26^th, all film fanatics will have their tv’s tuned into watching the 84^th Academy Awards this year.  Not familiar with the nominees?  Well, take a look!

For Best Picture:

·         Hugo

·         Midnight in Paris

·         Moneyball

·         The Tree of Life

·         War Horse

·         The Artist

·         The Descendants

·         Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

·         The Help

For Best Actor in a Leading Role:

    ·         Demain Bichir (A Better Life)

    ·         George Clooney (The Descendants)

    ·         Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

    ·         Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

    ·         Brad Pitt (Moneyball)

For Best Actress in a Leading Role:

·         Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs)

·         Viola Davis (The Help)

·         Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

·         Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)

·         Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn)

For Best Animated Feature Film:

       ·         A Cat in Pairs

       ·         Chico & Rita

       ·         Kung Fu Panda 2

       ·         Puss in Boots

        ·         Rango

For Best Cinematography:

·         The Artist

·         The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

·         Hugo

·         The Tree of Life

·         War Horse

Which of your favorite films will win?  Tune into ABC on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m.

Compiled by Ali McCathern 

Google +

Google +, the latest addition to the social networking phenomenon, incorporates many qualities of the ever-so-popular Facebook. Like Facebook, it includes notifications (when someone shares a post with you) and allows users to post updates. On Google +, however, these posts may be edited after they have been published. Google + also features a Stream much like Facebook’s Newsfeed. The Stream includes what appear to be status updates from the people in your circle. The user-friendly interface of Google + also makes it more convenient to share updates with only certain people. Instead of “liking” a post, users click the trademark “+1” button. And instead of adding other users as friends, users add people to their circles. 

 

Though Google + is similar to Facebook, it has several distinguishing features:

Circles. These allow you to put people into separate groups, making it convenient to share certain things with only certain groups.

Hangouts. These are video chats between a user and people in his/her circle. You may choose to allow other users to view and join the hangouts.

Instant Upload. This feature uploads photos taken from your phone directly to Google Plus, where you then decide who to share them with.

Sparks. A search engine that suggests categories or people based on your interests.

Huddle. Turns group texting into one convenient chat—everyone shares the same page and conversation at once.

For prospective users, Google + has created a helpful tour of the site that debriefs every important feature with interactive diagrams. 

 Article compiled by: Angie Stewart