Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor Content warning: this article contains spoilers, mentions of sexual assault, abuse, drug and alcohol use and violence Amazon Prime is no stranger to streaming shows based around angels, demons and the redemption of sordid characters. When Neil Gaiman’s “Good Omens” premiered on the company’s streaming service, Prime Video, it quickly gained notoriety among subscribers. Prime’s newest show, “Hazbin Hotel,” has been met with similar excitement since its release. In its early days, “Hazbin Hotel” was first posted on a YouTube channel run by the show’s creator, Vivienne Medrano, who went by the handle @vivziepop. Since its initial release on Oct. 28, 2019, the pilot has garnered over 97.1 million views. In 2020, film studio A24 earned the rights to fund and produce the series, but it did not find a home company until Prime Video picked it up for partnership. “Hazbin Hotel” follows Charlie Morningstar — played by Elsie Lovelock — as she attempts to rehabilitate sinners in her hotel. Working at the hotel with her is the enigmatic Radio Demon, Alastor, bubbly one-eyed Nifty and alcoholic Husk, who act as the hotel’s business partner, housekeeper and bartender respectively. Together, they work to better the souls of p**n star and addict, Angel Dust, and the loveable loser, Sir Pentious. While attempting this, the hotel residents must prepare to face the coming exorcism, led by none other than the first man himself, Adam, or “the original d**k” as he calls himself. The show’s first season runs eight episodes, with a runtime of 25 minutes and two songs per episode. It also boasts a well-known cast...
Entertainment
Sustainable masterpieces
Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor In Campbell Hall’s Cannon Gallery, several artists came together to share their mixed media artworks. The art pieces portrayed different stories of their creators and displayed a wide range of styles. Cannon Gallery currently houses collages, vibrant paintings and elaborate 3-D art. Put together by Linn-Benton Community College faculty, Western’s campus gallery had something new and exciting with every turn. From sexuality and religious imagery to defunding the police, each artist had a unique message to share. Daniel Lopez, an art teacher at Linn-Benton shared his methods of creating minimalistic yet deeply meaningful pieces. “I didn’t buy any of the materials… it’s just recycling… that’s definitely a big philosophy with me, is to keep things as sustainable as possible,” Lopez said. All his acrylics were gifted to him, and he recycled canvases students had left behind. Lopez then shared his advice for anyone who wants to pursue the world of art — “As long as you care about art, you’ll feel the need to do it. The best thing to do as an artist is to live outside of the art. The more interesting of an artist you are, the more interesting your art will be.” Jill R. Baker followed another sustainable route by reusing chicken wire and fabric cording for her multi-colored 3-D pieces. The mixed-media materials made for an eye-catching display. Baker utilized the accessibility of the Oregon rain for her sunshine pieces by allowing the water to make an organic design with the watercolor pencils she used. In the Pacific Northwest, sometimes vitamin D is hard to come by....
Valentine’s with a sprinkle of angst
Written by Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor Tired of the lovesick wailing on every radio in the first two weeks of February? Try this playlist for a refreshing taste of upbeat and rocky Valentine’s Day angst. “We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monáe)” — fun., Janelle Monáe “Thnks fr th Mmrs” — Fall Out Boy “Applause” — Lady Gaga “New Romantics (Taylor’s Version)” — Taylor Swift “Blow Me (One Last Kiss) – Radio Edit” — P!nk “Mr. Brightside” — The Killers “Friends” — Band Of Skulls “Hello – Acoustic” — GROUPLOVE “So What” — P!nk “Under You” — Foo Fighters “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” — The Wombats “Shake Me Down” — Cage The Elephant “Crazy Youngsters” — Ester Dean “Kiwi” — Quarters of Change “The Middle” — Jimmy Eat World “Governess Shadow” — July Talk “Mistakes” — Sharon Van Etten “Cough Syrup” — Young the Giant “Seventeen” — Jimmy Eat World Contact the author at...
Life lessons with Harry Potter
Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor I, alongside many others, spent my childhood looking through the lenses of the main characters in the novels I read. Having pored over the “Harry Potter” series since third grade, I got to experience a large portion of my developmental years from the perspective of the Chosen One, Harry Potter. “Harry Potter” is a distinct pop culture personality, who openly defies the government, fights prejudice and is fiercely loyal to his friends. J.K. Rowling also creates a wonderfully dimensional character profile for everyone in the book — rather than making the characters one-dimensionally morally sound or evil, she creates multifaceted characters that make mistakes, have moral gray areas, apologize and evolve as people. “Harry Potter” makes a relatable variety of mistakes throughout the series, and while being an astute and stubborn personality, also admits when he’s wrong and works to make things right. Coming from an unsavory background as the humble punching bag of the Dursley family, Harry Potter had the beginnings befitting of a supervillain. Facing daily roadblocks and abuse with no connections or friends, Harry became self-reliant and resentful of his life. He eventually gained status as a wizard and escaped his life with the Dursleys to attend Hogwarts, a similar path to Voldemort’s. However, Harry chose to defend those less fortunate and befriend characters like Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, who were not the most popular or influential characters but were genuine friends. He rejected the Sorting Hat’s offer to place him in Slytherin despite being offered power and influence. Throughout the series, he makes conscious decisions to defend...
Soft rock for the soul
Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor “Everlong” — Foo Fighters “Photograph” — Nickelback “100 Year” — Five For Fighting “Where The Streets Have No Name” — U2 “Lovers in Japan – Osaka Sun Remix” — Coldplay “My Hero” — Foo Fighters “Stop and Stare” — OneRepublic “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)” — Train “Use Somebody” — Kings of Leon “Viva La Vida” — Coldplay “Bitter Sweet Symphony – Remastered” — The Verve “Sweet Disposition” — The Temper Trap “Wonderwall” — Oasis “Yellow” — Coldplay “For the First Time” — The Script “She Will Be Loved” — Maroon 5 “With Or Without You” — U2 “Iris” — The Goo Goo Dolls “Clocks” — Coldplay “Wherever You Will Go” — The Calling “You And Me” — Lifehouse Contact the author at...
Most anticipated reads of 2024
Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor If you’re a reader who’s looking for new books to add to an already-long reading list, here’s a few more to add that are being released throughout the year. “Dungeons and Drama” by Kristy Boyce — Musical lover Riley has aspirations to become a director on Broadway, and Nathan is a nerdy employee at Riley’s dad’s game store. When Riley is grounded and has to work at her dad’s store, she doesn’t realize it meant joining Nathan’s D&D game… or flirting with him. Look for this new release on Jan. 9. “The Color of a Lie” by Kim Johnson — In the 1950s, a Black family passes as white and moves to a “Whites Only” town. Caught between two worlds, teenager Calvin puts his family at risk as he uncovers the racist secrets of the suburbs. Look for this new release on June 11. “These Deadly Prophecies” by Andrea Tang — Tabatha Zeng, a sorcerer’s apprentice, finds herself caught up in the sorcerer’s death — that he predicted. In order to prove her innocence, she must solve her boss’s murder. Look for this new release on Jan. 30. “Tehrangeles” by Porochista Khakpour — The four daughters of wealthy reality-TV stars are on the verge of landing their own TV show — until they realize their deepest secrets are about to be revealed to the public before the cameras even roll. Look for this new release on June 11. “Just Another Epic Love Poem” by Parisa Akhbari — Mitra’s two best friends are Bea and the journal they share, containing an epic, never-ending...
Netflix policy change causes chaos
Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer Netflix is an American subscription streaming service that was created in 1997 by founders Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. By 2007, they launched their streaming service to compete with Blockbuster which implemented several different family plans. Recently, Netflix has been cracking down on their single household and password sharing policies — making it an absolute nightmare for travelers, large families and especially college students. The cheapest plan is the standard plan with ads which allows for two devices to watch TV shows and movies for $6.99. The standard plan is ad-free, full HD, allows for access among three devices and has the option to add an extra member– for an additional cost of 7.99 a month. The premium plan is also ad-free but offers ultra HD, is accessible on four devices and has the option to add two extra members for $7.99 each. The new ability to add members at an extra cost has encouraged Netflix to crack down on password sharing outside of a single household. This means that if one attempts to log in to their Netflix account outside of the designated household, it will log out all other members; regardless of if it is still within the device limit. This policy seems to be a desperate money grab, as it forces members to either buy more expensive plans or pay additional costs. Why is this a game-changer for so many? For many students, the full college experience includes living in the dorms, but that also means all funds usually go towards those expenses. Tremendous amounts of students report being...
A playlist to start 2024 off right
Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor “Darlin’ Do Not Fear” — Brett Dennen “Spice Up Your Life” — Spice Girls “Time to Pretend” — MGMT “Nothing You Can Take From Me (Boot Stompin’ Version)” — Rachel Zegler “You’re Losing Me (From The Vault)” — Taylor Swift “Now and Then” — The Beatles “America” — Simon & Garfunkel “I Love You Always Forever” — Donna Lewis “Letter To An Old Poet” — boygenius “New Perspective” — Noah Kahan “Dive” — Olivia Dean “Rubber Ring” — The Smiths “Ghost” — Arlo Parks “Midnight Moon” — The Paper Kites “Breaking Down” — Florence and the Machine “Wrapped Up In Books” — Belle and Sebastian “A Long Way Past The Past” — Fleet Foxes “First Light” — Hozier “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” — She & Him “Strawberry” — Andrew Montana “the way things go” — beabadoobee “Traveller” — Chris Stapleton “So Nice So Smart” — Kimya Dawson Contact the author at...
The Golden Globes and its miserable host
Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor The Golden Globes is an award ceremony held annually to recognize the achievements of actors, directors, composers and even the movies themselves. “Oppenheimer”, “Barbie” and “Killers of the Flower Moon” all walked away with awards this year. The awards rewarded are as follows: Best Drama — “Oppenheimer” Best Actress in a Drama — Lily Gladstone in “Killers of the Flower Moon” Best Actor in a Drama — Cillian Murphy in “Oppenheimer” Best Director — Christopher Nolan in “Oppenheimer” Cinematic and Box Office Achievement — “Barbie” Other winners include Studio Ghibli’s “The Boy and the Heron,” Billie Eilish’s original song “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie” and director Yorgos Lanthimos’ comedy “Poor Things,” starring Emma Stone and Mark Ruffalo. However, it is not the Golden Globe winners that have been generating a buzz on social media, nor is it Lily Gladstone’s acceptance speech, where she spoke in the Blackfeet language. Nope, everyone is worked up about Jo Koy and his “jokes” about “Barbie” and Taylor Swift — whose “Eras Tour” movie was also nominated. Koy’s monologue included the comparison of “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie.” “Oppenheimer is based on a 721-page Pulitzer Prize-winning book about the Manhattan Project, and Barbie is on a plastic doll with big boobies,” Koy said. Almost immediately following the slight, he went after Swift, joking that the difference between the Golden Globes and the NFL was that the Globes showed fewer shots of Taylor Swift. These “jokes” have taken precedence over the achievements of the directors and actors who worked tirelessly on these movies. Rather than celebrating the fact...
Mixed feelings on Timothee Chalamet’s new movie
Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor Content warning: this article contains spoilers Just in time for the holiday season, a sweet prequel, based on a beloved children’s novel by Roald Dahl, arrived in theaters in the United Kingdom Dec. 8 and the United States Dec. 15. French-American actor Timothée Chalamet stars as a younger version of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’s” chocolatier, Willy Wonka. “So quiet up, and listen down. Nope, scratch that, reverse it,” as Wonka says. The movie features talented actors, such as Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman and Keegan-Michael Key. Timothée Chalamet has acquired a fan base of young women from his roles in movies such as “Call Me By Your Name,” “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” Word of Chalamet playing a familiar favorite spread quickly. However, some movie-goers had mixed feelings about the new take on the classic. “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ” has already seen two adaptations, starring Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp as Wonka. Additionally, the original book has a sequel, and some fans were wondering why a prequel made it to the screen before an adaptation of the sequel did. Lili Minato, a sophomore at Western, is a film fanatic and meticulously selects her movies. She proposed a thoughtful question in regards to the new addition to the “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” universe — “I think (prequels) can be done well… but if you want to make a prequel, is it needed?” Perhaps the initial audience reaction to “Wonka” was due to its misleading advertising. “I thought it was weird that they didn’t (advertise) Wonka as a musical. People went...
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