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Mount Hood

This week in completely made up horoscopes

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”]

[fruitful_tab title=”Aries 3/21-4/19″] The perfect horoscope doesn’t exi-… oh wait, Sagittarius knows what’s up. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Taurus 4/20-5/20″] We are but specks of dust to the universe. Live life inconsequentially. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Gemini 5/21-6/20″] The stars watched as you did homework for a full two minutes, opened a new tab, and started looking for hotels and flights for a spontaneous vacay. Stay focused, Gemini. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Cancer 6/21-7/22″] -_- < 😀 [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Leo 7/23-8/22″] Treat yourself! Go make yourself some skillet potatoes. You will never regret it. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Virgo 8/23-9/22″] Don’t forget to eat breakfast. Otherwise you’re gonna be that one kid whose stomach rumbles really loudly in class and you’ll play it off really awkwardly like, “what was that noise??” but in reality we literally all heard it come from your stomach, Virgo. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Libra 9/23-10/22″] Don’t look at the stars like that, Libra. We didn’t tell you to start your essay at 11 p.m. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Scorpio 10/23-11/21″] You’re already procrastinating on your homework, Scorpio? You really are on another level. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Sagittarius 11/22-12/21″] The stars demand that you get more than five hours of sleep this week. But this is definitely one of those “do as we say, not as we do” moments… [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Capricorn 12/22-1/19″] Remember that movie “Surf’s Up” with all those penguin surfers? Me neither. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Aquarius 1/20-2/18″] Way to keep up with all your work this first week Aquarius! Now you only have 10 mo— wait, where are you going? Aquarius?! [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Pisces 2/19-3/20″] Just because there is a free big gulp behind 7-Eleven doesn’t mean you should take it, Pisces. [/fruitful_tab]

[/fruitful_tabs]

 

Opinion: Higher taxes for the rich is what we need

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Since the swearing in of the new Democrat majority into the Congressional House, there has been one congresswomen that has seen a near constant stream of headlines — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the representative of the 14th District of New York. One of the largest headline grabbing moves of Ocasio-Cortez has been her radical tax idea. On Jan. 5, Ocasio-Cortez proposed an idea that set many right-wing economists and republicans ablaze — tax the ultra-rich 70%.

At first glance, a tax of 70% sounds absolutely absurd. The lyrics “that’s one for you, nineteen for me” from The Beatles “Taxman”  start to seem all too real. However, actually understanding the proposed plan and not just adhering to a knee-jerk reaction in very important.

The mere thought of a 70% tax bracket sounds like — dare I say it — socialism. The government stealing money from hard working Americans. But in reality, this plan would only be for individuals making over $10 million annually.

One might think that, if the government taxes the rich that much, they might raise the middle class tax percent. This idea in and of itself is ludacris. Taxing the rich helps raise government funding without hurting the economy due to the ultra rich being able to afford the added tax. Raising taxes for someone making $60,000 annually will hurt their disposable income, thus lowering their spending and hurting the economy.

While it might be easy for staunch capitalists to adhere to the belief of “there’s no way this high of a tax would work in America,” it would be important to know that good-ole capitalist United States of America also had taxes this high and at one point, higher. In 1917 the highest tax rate was 67% for those making over $1,000,000 annually ($21,000,000 when adjusted for inflation) per taxfoundation.org. The highest rate was during the second world war were the rate was 94% for those making over $200,000 annually ($2,900,000 when adjusted for inflation) per taxfoundation.org.

At the surface level, it might seem that taxes this high would cause people to go broke with the extreme tax burden. But just remember that unless you win the Powerball, you likely will not find yourself in this tax bracket anytime soon.

Lastly, the idea of taxes being a horrible, overbearing government stealing for the masses is just simply not true. Many countries have high taxes and because of them, don’t struggle with outrageous healthcare costs like America. A large number of European countries tax their citizens large percentages and in return everyday people get to enjoy things such as: being able to visit a doctor without fear of their healthcare provider not covering it, going on vacation for more than a week a year, and being able to go to college without burying themselves in debt. Crazy, right?

Overall, just remember that when we pay taxes, we are paying for things. Things like roads, bridges, a military, and maybe one day, universal healthcare. Ocasio-Cortez’s idea is just asking the rich to stop hoarding money and pay their fair share to society. You might not agree with how and where our tax money is being spent, but that’s why you vote. And in a world where our President seems to only help the rich, it’s refreshing to see someone in power fight back.

 

Contact the author at llarsen13@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Great places to eat in Salem

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

One of the upsides of living near Western is the proximity to cities like Salem that offer an abundance of options for going out. However, this can also mean an overwhelming amount of options when faced with making a decision of where to go. To simplify this problem, I’ve compiled a list of hidden gems to consider when going out in the state’s capitol, both for dinner or for breakfast/brunch.

 

Gamboretti’s

Located near Salem’s riverfront, this Italian restaurant is a great place for people in the mood for Italian cuisine at a reasonable price. The warm ambiance, variety of dishes and delicious food are all reasons to try out this location.

Location: 325 High St SE.

Bo and Vine

Located in downtown Salem, Bo and Vine Burger Bar is a place for a different type of dinner, but still a unique and delicious one. Their menu, while simply split mainly into burgers, greens and shakes, still provides a classy atmosphere.

Location: 176 Liberty St NE

Best Little Roadhouse

More than a restaurant, this fun location also offers mini golf. A more casual location, their menu offers classics like chicken tenders, steaks and nachos.

Location: 1145 Commercial St SE
Annette’s Westgate Cafe

Offering all day breakfast, Annette’s is a great place for brunch or breakfast. They also offer a salad bar, burgers, and sandwiches as well as beer, wine and cocktails.

Location: 1311 Edgewater St

Word of Mouth

A small local bistro that serves breakfast and sandwiches, this location is a great place for a relaxing brunch. According to their website, hours may be shortening soon due to availability and business on the staff and owners, so visitors should check their website, wordofsalem.com, for updates.

Location: 140 17th St NE

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Stylizing learning

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

If school teaches it’s attendees anything, it’s that the same thing doesn’t work for everyone. Whether it’s studying, writing or creating presentations, different people choose to tackle the task differently. These usually relate to learning styles and how they’re used. For students, understanding personal learning style can be especially helpful when finals come around. Fortunately, there are a number of ways that learning styles can be assessed and therefore utilized.

VARK is one way of assessing learning style. According to vark-learn.com, the acronym stands for Visual, Audal, Read/write and Kinesthetic. The website offers a questionnaire to help determine which of these most effectively conveys information to different people. Though it doesn’t explain how each type should study, it does give an idea of how studying a topic might make it stick more.

For example, visual learners would learn better from charts or diagrams while a read/write person would absorb it better by reading about the topic. For audal students, they learn best by hearing information — for example, during lectures — and kinesthetic learning students benefit most from demonstrations.

Another theory is that of human behavior specialist Scott Black, according to skillsyouneed.com. This way of approaching learning styles is slightly more complicated, with eight instead of four. They are: linguistic, or writing, reading and listening; naturalist, or interacting with and observing the environment; musical/rhythmic, or using rhythms such as whistling or tapping to focus; kinesthetic, or learning by doing; visual/spatial, or using visual aides;  logical/mathematical, or categorization and finding patterns; interpersonal, which relates information to others; and intrapersonal, or processing better alone.

This longer list delves slightly deeper into psychology. While learning and separating all the terminology may be more intimidating, it might be especially beneficial to look into for students who are undecided or questioning their major or career as each learning style includes a description as the types of jobs that correlate strongly with it. For example, a kinesthetic learner might consider a job that requires hands-on experience, while a logical learner could thrive in a technical field.

College life is known by many to be a time of great stress, but also of self-discovery. For some, this just means adapting their method of studying —  for example, watching a demonstration video instead of reading more paragraphs on a subject. Once an understanding is reached on how information is best processed for each individual, it may help ease the stress that comes with acquiring new knowledge.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Simplifying resolutions

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

It’s officially 2019, and while some still have to adapt to not writing dates that end in ‘2018’, some of us are also trying to make other changes to our lives. While some don’t do resolutions, others set high expectations for themselves, and meanwhile others aren’t so sure either if they should participate in setting resolutions or question if they can be successful.

For the people who are in a state of undeciding, a good place to start is by setting the simple and easily attainable goals first and then deciding whether to work up to bigger things. These simple resolutions can be related to any aspect of life that could use improving.

Many people start with resolutions that have to do with health. While starting a new diet or a new rigorous workout regime might not be for everyone, there are smaller changes that can be made that will still improve overall health and wellness.

For example, one resolution can be merely drinking more water and staying hydrated or walking somewhere that’s usually a two minute drive if possible.

Some people resolve to make drastic changes to their diet to be more healthy, but those who might be intimidated by such changes can start with smaller ones, such as replacing one unhealthy snack with a healthier one but otherwise staying the same.

Other lifestyle-related changes that can be made can be things that are more relevant to academic or social life. Old habits may die hard, such as putting off work until the last minute, but resolving, for example, to read at least one chapter or write one paragraph everyday can help build a less stressful routine when the due date arrives.

If the hope is to create more meaningful connections or to strengthen existing ones, a good resolution might be something like deciding to explore the school’s club options or to take more initiative in starting conversations rather than waiting on others.

As usual, jokes can be expected about the New Year’s resolutions lasting only until the end of January. However, surviving the first month can be made more simple by starting small. Resolutions aren’t for everyone, but even small steps can bring positive change.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

A year in review: Movie edition

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, an average of 600 movies are released every year in the United States. Out of those movies, only a handful of them stand above the rest. Although I couldn’t have possibly seen every movie released this year, I did make it a goal to see as many as I could. Below I will discuss four of my favorite movies of 2018. Reader beware: there may be spoilers.

Fourth place: “A Star is Born”

So, in the interest of complete transparency, Lady Gaga could record herself watching paint dry and I would absolutely love it. With that in mind, I enjoyed this movie immensely. The movie is the fourth remake of the original 1937 movie starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. This new version is widely different from the previous versions, but it works.

Lady Gaga’s talent makes the film. I believe that many people went into theaters not expecting much from Gaga, as I did myself. I was very surprised to find, however, that she matches veteran Bradley Cooper’s acting skills. Her singing skills, however, blow Cooper’s out of the water. In my opinion, the only detriment to the movie is Bradley’s mediocre singing.

But where Cooper’s musical skills fall behind, he makes up for with his directorial vision. The cinematography is beautiful and accentuates the chemistry between Gaga and Cooper. Not only is the acting full of emotion, the way the movie is shot accentuates that emotion and drew me into the film.

Overall, I would give the movie a four out of five stars.

Third place: “BlacKkKlansman”

I consider this movie in my top four of 2018 not because it was fun to watch, but because it was hard to watch. The movie was difficult to digest because while it portrays the prevalence of the Klu Klux Klan in Colorado Springs in the 1970s, it connects the the present, in which racist rallies are still being held.

The movie was so impactful in my opinion because although it ends with a victory for the main character (based on a real person), there really is no happy ending. The movie ends with four minutes of video of the racist rally in Charlottesville in 2017. It really accentuates the political tension we are feeling in America today; it made me wonder how far we have really come.

I would rate “BlacKkKlansman” four out of five stars.

 

Second place: “Hereditary”

The release of “Hereditary,” I believe, raised the bar for the entire genre of atmospheric horror cinema. As someone who enjoys horror movies that do not rely too heavily on jumpscares (I have a higher tolerance for body horror, and I think less of movies that use jump scares as a crutch) I enjoyed this movie tremendously. Every element of the film came together perfectly and was executed with a level of skill that I believe is hard to match. The acting was superb (Toni Collette, you’re doing so good sweetie), and the use of color, depth of field and the development of three-dimensional characters combine to create a movie unlike what the horror genre has ever seen before. The film is a slow burn; a descent into madness.

The movie tackles so many complex things and weaves a story that isn’t too cluttered or too simple — easy mistakes to make in the horror genre. It is rare for a singular movie to change the landscape of a genre forever, but I believe that is what “Hereditary” has done.

Overall, I would rate this film five out of five stars.

First place: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

I didn’t expect to be impressed by this movie, much less find it to be one of my favorite movies of the entire year. I’m not even much of a Spider-Man fan. But aside from the plot or characters, the animation alone would have shot this movie into my top four. I felt like I was inside a comic book. The animation is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and the pure artistic talent within the movie is astounding.

Even though I am fairly new to the Spider-Verse, the movie was easy to become involved in, as the storyline is pretty accessible to people new to the Marvel universe. I even caught on to some of the smaller details from watching other, smaller Marvel shows, such as Daredevil. The Spider-Man humor is right up my alley and watching all the Spider-People interact was incredibly fun. John Mulaney is in it; who wouldn’t love that?

Overall, I would give this movie a five out of five stars.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of livenationproductions.com (“A Star is Born”), focusfeatures.com (“BlacKkKlansman”), sonypictures.com (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”)

Analysis: “Birdbox” vs. “A Quiet Place”

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

In early April 2018, the box-office hit “A Quiet Place” premiered in theaters around the country. According to Forbes.com, the post-apocalyptic film made over $213 million dollars in less than a month.

Ushering in the end of 2018 was another movie about the end of the world along the same vein, “Birdbox.” Since its release on Dec. 23, “Birdbox” has been watched by 45 million Netflix accounts, according to Forbes.

Both films entertain the idea of an apocalypse in which humanity has to adapt to the “loss” of one of their senses; in “A Quiet Place” it’s hearing or sound.

“Many people in the deaf community (myself included) are cheering the film on…’” commented Pamela J. Kincheloe in her guest article on the Huffington Post website. While the movie is a refreshing take on horror, popular criticisms of the movie cite the fact that the film is catered only to hearing audiences.

“The scenes with ASL are captioned for the hearing audience, but the spoken scenes were not captioned for the deaf audience,” said blogger T. Frohock on his website tfrohock.com.

Another criticism of “A Quiet Place” centers on the closing scene of the film. In the end, mother Evelyn and her daughter Regan discover that the secret to killing the bloodthirsty aliens lies in Regan’s cochlear implant.

“It is the implant, not the signing deaf person, that is heroic,” said Kincheloe.

The biggest difference shown in “Birdbox” is that blindness, in the end, is seen as a true advantage in the new world. In this way, blindness isn’t portrayed as a disability, really. But where “Birdbox” improves upon “A Quiet Place” in certain arenas, it still falls flat in some ways.

“Instead of killing themselves in gratuitously gory ways… people with mental illnesses become literal agents of evil, obsessed with carrying out the monsters’ mission to destroy humanity,” commented writer Jess Joho in her Mashable article. So it seems that while “Birdbox” portrays one disability as a positive, it throws a whole other set under the bus.

While “A Quiet Place” and “Birdbox” are audience favorites, the way they portray disability leaves some wanting more.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of netflix.com (“Birdbox”), paramountmovies.com (“A Quiet Place”)

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