Isabella Wren '22 On Dec. 12, 2021, the 70th annual Miss Universe Pageant was held in Eilat, Israel. Beautiful women from all the countries around the world showed off their achievements and gowns to win the prize of becoming Miss Universe.
Winners of the contest get a large amount of money and an all-expense-covered trip to New York for a year. Along with many sponsorship opportunities and inherited fame for being crowned, she would also travel the world speaking about injustices or problems in countries that are suffering, as well as talking on television. Harnaaz Sandhu, the winner of Miss Universe 2021, will spend most of her time speaking on the issue of climate change and how it is a real threat. She also speaks about the youth of the world, and how young women are so worried about pleasing the beauty standards when everyone is unique in their own way. “I always choose strong characters because I want to break stereotypes of what women are and what they can be,” stated Sandhu on Shethepeople.tv news. Her first live interview was the day after the event on Good Morning America. The runners-up were Nadia Ferreira of Paraguay in second place, and Lalela Mswane of South Africa in third. The next Miss Universe 2022 will take place in San Jose, and Harnaaz will respectively pass the title to another contestant. This pageant is not only a tradition that has been going on since the 1900s, but gives women the opportunity to have a voice and make a real difference in the world. Congratulations Miss Universe 2021!
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Giana Capialbi '24 Genius fashion designer Virgil Abloh died on Sunday, November 28th. He passed after a two-year battle with cardiac Angiosarcoma, at age 41.
He was the founder of Off-White, and the first black artistic director of Louis Vuitton Menswear. He is considered groundbreaking and transformative: the definition of a true designer. He successfully combined hype beast culture and the high fashion world, and reinvented what we’ve already seen and made it new and relevant. Not only did he achieve all of this but was a DJ and furniture designer. He was described as a “workaholic with a punishing schedule,” who referred to himself as a “maker,” not just a designer. Being promoted within LVMH (a group of luxury brands including Louis Vuitton), he was the most powerful black executive in the world’s most powerful luxury group. He didn’t formally study fashion, but actually civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and had a master’s degree in architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology. His mother was a seamstress, and taught him about fashion. When you look at his work, you can see all of these influences and inspirations in it. Many people in and out of the fashion industry have shared their condolences on social media. Vogue Magazine said that, “Abloh’s ascent from show-crashing fashion tourist in 2009 to the very apex of the global luxury industry at the time of his passing is arguably the defining fashion story of the 2010s. Abloh was the seminal boundary breaker in a notoriously bordered business. His influence, however, will also be remembered well beyond fashion.” Supermodel Naomi Campbell shared in an Instagram post, “Your impact your reach your influence captured a culture across the world, whether it be street fashion, high fashion, skateboard community, music world design and Art world mentoring students all over the world at Art schools or DJ'ing for us all to enjoy, the diaspora of Africa, And the great Continent of Africa of which you were a Proud Ghanaian. YOU REACHED!” [sic] The Hadid sisters shared their condolences as well, with Bella saying, “Even when the world felt sad, he brought laughter and color and beauty. The way he made a positive impact on anything he touched, and always pushed for his culture/the world is the reason why he was an angel on earth and one to so many.” Abloh’s final Louis Vuitton show was released on November 30th, in Miami’s Maritime Marina. Kanye and Kim Kardashian West, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky were all in attendance, with a light display spelling out “Virgil was here.” He is survived by his wife, two children, parents and sister. Abloh was a legend, and he will be remembered as such for the rest of time. by Giana Capialbi ‘24 Chloe Gong’s Our Violent Ends recently came out, the sequel to her first book, These Violent Delights. The story is a Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with a monster tearing through the city. The heirs to rival gangs, Juliette Cai of the Scarlet Gang, and Roma Montagov of the White Flowers, have to work together to stop the madness.
In These Violent Delights, Roma and Juliette (who are not only enemies but also exes), reunite to eventually put an end to the first chaotic monster. It was left on a cliffhanger, with a note from the person controlling the monsters saying, “In the event of my death, release them all.” These Violent Delights is one of my favorite books ever. I loved every single character and the last several chapters had me in actual shock. I was up at 2 a.m. freaking out and aggressively turning the pages until I came up to the end. With that, I was equally excited and scared for the sequel. Knowing how Romeo and Juliet ends, I was kind of terrified because seeing bad things happen to these characters kills me. Our Violent Ends picks up a few months after the events of the first book. After Juliette sacrificed her relationship with Roma, she’s been extra careful with her gang duties so her cousin Tyler can’t take over. Roma is still getting over his friend’s death, and his cousin Benedikt is barely speaking to him. Both the White Flowers and the Scarlet Gang are getting blackmailed into giving away money and weapons, or the monsters will be unleashed upon the city. Once again, Roma and Juliette work together to find the blackmailer, even after the betrayal in the hospital in the first book. The city is on the brink of civil war, and there is never a dull moment. I read all 494 pages of this book in one weekend. I was gripped by the story from the very first page. As I came up to the end, I had the same feeling of shock and almost horror and I came to learn the fates of these beloved characters. There were so many things I loved about this book. There were even more plot twists, scandals and romance than the first one. It is a whole bunch of chaos in the best way possible. It was so stressful but so entertaining, and the author does a great job of getting you invested in all of these characters. As for the ending, as much as it hurt me, it was perfect. It made me unbelievably sad, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. It stayed true to the original work but was still original and romantic and heartbreaking. by Belinda Chan '22 If you type the six letter word “sitcom” in Netflix’s search button, you can find a number of shows, including Netflix originals. All these shows have one thing in common - a sitcom code and holiday episodes. For instance, Thanksgiving.
It’s not a comedy, it’s a sitcom. A sitcom or “situation comedy” is its own TV genre. Audiences love sitcoms for their variety, but no matter the storyline, all sitcoms involve a group of people. Whether they’re a family or a group of friends, they’re essential because they’re what audiences want to form a connection with - to relate to or feel like they are a part of such a group. Each character has a role or an archetype. Take Rachel Green from Friends. In the pilot episode, she’s the one who joins everyone together by asking Monica, her childhood friend, for help after she ran out of her wedding. She’s the protagonist, like Jessica Day from New Girl. Jessica moves into a loft after catching her boyfriend cheating on her. With her three new roommates and best friend’s help, she gets over him. The best part of sitcoms is being able to celebrate a holiday with your favorite characters. Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Christmas, and of course Thanksgiving contribute to endless possibilities of gimmicky plots. Holidays bring people together but in sitcoms, there is always something out of the ordinary happening, like forming an escape plan to get out of a Thanksgiving party, filled with chatty guests. We see this when the sitcom’s group meets up later to have their own party in the college library in “Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations” of Community. Like Joseph Campbell’s the Hero’s Journey, a sitcom follows a code or a screenwriting formula. Noah Charney, an American novelist, dissects it in his article, “Cracking the Sitcom Code” in The Atlantic. This is not a universal template but can be found in many modern sitcom shows like the episode “Parents” from New Girl. In the beginning of an episode, one to three minutes in, the teaser occurs. It’s a sneak peek to the episode's plot with a short sketch or an unrelated joke before the credits roll, and the catchy theme song plays. The New Girl episode starts with a conversation between the roommates and Cece, Jessica’s best friend. Jessica takes away Schmidt’s granola to acknowledge the two Thanksgiving dinners that will occur for her divorced parents. Her mother Joan arrives and then her father Bob, who’s early. It then cuts to the theme song: “Who’s that girl?...It’s Jess!” Next, is the trouble. This plays three to eight minutes into the episode and a new problem or goal, related to the main plot is presented. We meet her parents and realize that there was a timing mishap, but maybe it was intentional by Jessica. Flashbacks show that Jessica has tried to “parent trap” her parents in situations like locking them in a room. By inviting both of her parents at the same time, Jessica is once again trying to “parent trap” them. She tells her plan to Cece and Nick which Nick agrees to. Then there is the subplot which is introduced six minutes in. This can involve multiple characters who have supporting roles or a portion of the main group. We meet Schmidt’s cousin, Big Schmidt. They have a competitive relationship with each of them trying to undermine the other. Cece and Winston, known for the show’s ongoing joke: “a classic Cece-and-Winston-Mess-Around,” propose a contest to find who’s the manliest of the two, declaring the winner “the one true Schmidt.” Now, it is getting near the middle of the episode. Eight to thirteen minutes into the episode is the Muddle. The plan that was made as a solution to the problem has failed and a new plan of action is needed. While the subplots are still being explored, at eight to nine minutes, the story returns to the main plot. Then at nine to twelve minutes, the muddle for the subplot enters. Back to the main plot at twelve to thirteen minutes, the main problem of the episode is then headed to a different direction. The timing slots of this episode don’t meet Charney’s code, but it still works. Nick is having a hard time connecting with Bob. After her mother’s makeover, Jess tells Nick to make her father jealous by flirting with her mother. We return to the Schmidts. It is getting increasingly more competitive with each character saying, “I can do this all day,” while continuously doing the wheelbarrow exercise. In the background, Nick is helping Joan in the kitchen. Her father catches on and Jess calls the “parent trap” plan off. Nick admits to feeling affection for her mother. This is when the muddle starts happening. In response, Jess starts tugging at the turkey baster that Nick grabs which splurts on Bob. Her parents exit to clean his shirt in the bathroom where Jess finds her plan working. Now, we are at the twelve minute mark with the subplot. The Schmidts have done all the physical challenges and now they are in round two of the competition - cooking skills. The subplot and the main plot tie in at this point. The rest of the characters are waiting for the food to be done by the Schmidts. In the kitchen, Big Schmidt asks, “Which one of these platings is more masculine?” Cece tells them what the ultimate test is - to prove that they are secure in their masculinity by kissing Winston. At the dinner table, Jess comes to the conclusion that her parents are never getting back together, despite sharing a kiss earlier. A broken-hearted Jess dumps the turkey into the sink. Finally, the episode is minutes away from the ending. The kicker plays where the aftermath of the events is shown. Some sitcoms include another sketch, like the teaser in the beginning. Joan has a touching conversation with Jess in her room and tells her that she doesn't have to worry about following her parent’s footsteps and ending up alone. She assures her daughter that she will always be there for her and they can live together. The Schmidts attempt to complete Cece’s challenge. Hesitantly, Big Schmidt does it and for a moment he’s filled with excitement, but then his mood drops. He reminisces over his ex-girlfriend and the two cousins acknowledge that they can both be Schmidt. The charm to sitcoms come from moments like this. The audience sees a realistic situation pan out in a comedic tone but at last, we can learn from these characters and their flaws. Here’s a guide to some Thanksgiving sitcom episodes:
by Zoe Yung 23' Korean music has been a lot more popular in America since BTS, the Bangtan Boys, has blown up! If you listen to Korean pop music, you might have heard the group, Twice! They are a girl group of 9 members, Jihyo, Momo, Jeongyeon, Nayeon, Sana, Dahyun, Tzuyu, Chaeyoung, and Mina. They debuted in 2015 with the song, Like Ooh-Ahh! Ever since they have been very popular with their charm and preppy style. Since their debut, they only came out with Korean and Japanese songs with a few English versions, however never came out with a full English single. On October 1, 2021, they came out with The Feels, their first full English single! Along with that, on November 12, they released their 4th full album, O+T=<3, Formula of Love along with a music video to the title track Scientist. This included a few more English songs such as Icon and Moonlight. This entire album includes a lot of upbeat and catchy songs!
by Linda Diaz 24' From doing covers on youtube to creating her own music, Tiffany Day managed to move from Kansas to California at the age of 16 to pursue her music career. Tiffany Day started her covers in the year 2016 on youtube. Her first cover being “Breakeven”, by the Script. Since then she has been singing covers for many popular songs until 2018 when she sang her own original song. “So close”, was her first song that she published on youtube with her playing the guitar. However, it wasn’t until 2019 she released a collaboration song with Lucian called “Crush”. This was one of her first hits that would begin her relevance to her music career. Since then she has been writing her own songs with a growing fanbase that supported her. Her first album was “The Recovery Project”. It came with 5 songs with the first one being “Pretend”. A great title right? She has made songs in a mix of indie, bedroom, and electronic pop. A clash between these genres has made her music have a unique style.
Recently, Tiffany Day has come out with a new single. On October 27, 2021, she released the song Spoiled B. It’s available on apple music, spotify, youtube music, and iheart. Personally, I enjoy the song as the lyrics are about how she is spoiled but at least she is not waiting to have something. In the lyrics, she mentions how she has a problem with wanting and doing anything to attain it. She mentions how she is materialistic but gets bored easily. When you analyze her lyrics, you can slowly start to make theories about the meaning. It’s not only the lyrics that are alluring, I would say the background music plays a major role. The rhythm bounces from an electronic distortion to a fast drum beating. Tied together it comes as an experimental blend. However, at first I must admit, I wasn’t used to the rhythm and lyrics of this song. It took time to become familiar with the style. And when I came around, I enjoyed it. Personally, I discovered Tiffany Day only a year ago. First time listening to “I want my money back”,and, I was fascinated with her. Tiffany Day’s music helped me rush through homework, fall asleep, and keep a nice melody in the background. Some songs I strongly recommend are “Calone” and “TWFNO”. I think it's funny how she spelled Cologne as Calone. “Calone” is about how she wants to be with someone but they don’t want to be with her. It’s a complicated relationship as she wants to be with a boy, but they don’t respond in the same way. One of the lines goes like “Damn, I miss you, do you miss me like I do”. Despite the meaning of the song, the music is upbeat and could even be overlooked as cheerful. “TWFNO” stands for Time waits for no one. It is a contrast to “Calone”, as this song is about her growing away from a toxic and draining relationship. She admits it's happening to herself, so she starts focusing on herself instead of worrying about the relationship. One of the lines goes,”Compare that to the clock, I see it's not so far off. I see your time is running up”. These two songs, even though they contrast each other, are my favorite. So when you have time in your day, or just bored and looking for a new artist to listen to, I recommend Tiffany day. And luckily, Tiffany Day has released information about a new song called “Clouds” coming out December 3rd. Anita Perez '24 Taylor Swift performed the 10-minute version of her hit song “All Too Well” on Saturday Night Live, making this her fifth appearance on the late-night television show. Actor Jonathan Majors hosted the episode.
Swift released the extended version of the song with the release of Red (Taylor’s Version), the re-recorded version of her 2012 album Red. Swift’s version of the album consists of 30 songs. Swift’s extended version of “All Too Well” is already taking the world by storm; she even released a short film starring actors Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien. The short film shows the events leading to her breakup with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, whom the song is written about. She performed wearing her signature red lipstick and a black bodysuit as clips of the short film played behind her. Instead of singing two or three songs as most do on the show, she used her time to perform the entire song. Fans continue to be amazed by Swift’s writing skills, especially because she was only in her early 20s and her music career was taking off at the time of writing “All Too Well.” Giana Capialbi ‘24 says, “Taylor is such an incredible songwriter, and seeing one of her best songs in the spotlight is such an amazing experience as a fan.” She also continues to impress many with her vocal talents. Victoria Verrecchio ‘24 says, “Since 2012, she’s improved so much, as a person, writer, and singer. Her voice has gotten so much more mature and so much stronger over the years, and it really shows in her performances.” Swift does an excellent job at not only using her words to tell a story, but she also uses her voice to portray her emotions, and her audiences can feel every bit of what she is. Balancing both can be difficult to do during a live performance, but Swift proves time and time again that there isn’t anything she can’t do. The live performance even gives some people nostalgia, as fans see an old era reborn again. Fans love to see old songs be performed live to appreciate the experience of the age. Nina Shulzhenko ‘24 says, “I was young when the original version of it came out, so it’s cool to kind of be able to experience it for real this time, now that I can remember it.” It’s not everyday that an artist re-records their older work, so it’s a fun journey for those reliving it with her and for those who are experiencing the “Red Era” for the first time. Knowing she now owns this work and gets to bring her most authentic self makes people feel proud to be her fans. Seeing Swift perform the music that belongs to her shows her growth as an artist, and it offers a new perspective on an older hit song. Shannon Rose '24 With the cold weather starting, you may be struggling to find activities to do with your family and friends. The weather may change every day - it's just how it's been recent. But if it snows, there are many places to do fun snow activities such as sledding, snow tubing, snowboarding, skiing, and much more!
Winter can be fun, especially with Christmas and February break for Fontbonne students to have time off from school. Due to the cold weather and getting dark early, it could be a challenge for some. So here are some indoor activities to do! You can make hot chocolate, watch Christmas movies, make cookies, and so much more! Freeform has 25 days of Christmas, when the channel Freeform plays Christmas movies and shows every day starting December 1st and ending December 25th. This year's lineup will have famous Christmas movies like The Santa Clause, Home Alone, Frosty the Rednosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, and many more. You can find them on the Freeform website. If you miss a movie, it will be played again during the 25 days of Christmas. By Victoria Verrecchio '24 On Nov. 12, 2021, global superstar Taylor Swift re-released her 2012 album, Red, along with ten new vault tracks - including the highly anticipated “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version).”
In case you don’t know, Swift is re-recording all of her music up until her 2019 album, Lover. When she was signed to Big Machine Records, owned by Scooter Braun, he sold all of her records to a different investment firm, Shamrock Holdings. Swift refused to sign a non-disclosure agreement with Braun, which prevented her from speaking out against him, which gave him the idea to sell her records. Now that she is signed to Universal Music Group, she’s made the decision to reclaim what’s hers and re-record all of the music that Scooter Braun stole from her. This has made her old hits new all over again, and she is now able to earn money from these streams instead of Braun making money from her music. Swift re-released her 2008 album, Fearless, on April 9, 2021 and has just released Red (Taylor’s Version) on Nov. 12, 2021. Songs like “22,” “I Knew You Were Trouble,” “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” and fan favorite “All Too Well” are now legally owned by Taylor Swift. Swift has been teasing swifties (die-hard fans), about the ten-minute version of “All Too Well” and she finally released it along with nine other new tracks. With the re-recordings, she releases things called “vault tracks.” These are songs that were meant to be put on the album originally, but weren’t. So, with a touch of nostalgia, she also adds some new additions to the albums. “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)” also got its own short film, which premiered on Nov. 12, 2021 as well. The short film starred Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien to portray Swift’s relationship at the time and the story the song is telling. Some other collaborations that were added to Swift’s discography through Red (Taylor’s Version) were “Nothing New” feat. Phoebe Bridgers, “I Bet You Think About Me” feat. Chris Stapleton, and “Run” feat. Ed Sheeran. Now that Taylor Swift has the chance to own the rights to her own music, fans can’t wait to see how she approaches her other albums. Red (Taylor’s Version) was just as big of a success as the original Red album was back in 2012. Taylor Swift continues to grow every single day, and the re-recordings of her albums are only helping her thrive more and more. By Kayla Clayton '21 DISCLAIMER: If topics such as death or large crowds cause you discomfort, please refrain from reading the following article.
Singer/rapper Travis Scott arranged the very well-known festival Astroworld. The name Astroworld comes from his 2018 album titled Astroworld. This year, the festival featured singers Young Thug, SZA, Lil Baby, Earth, Wind & Fire, Master P, Drake, and 21 Savage. Travis Scott is known for his crazy mosh pits, disrespecting the security at the venue he performs at, and more. On the day of this incident, everyone attended the festival as usual. It was said to be over 50,000 people in a 20,000 person venue. When the actual event started, so many people came pouring into the venue. People were jumping on top of each other to get to the front of the stage. When everyone was settled, and they all had their spots, and the first performer came on. Then as the other performers went on, things started to get a little rocky. People started pushing each other to the front, and bodies were crushing everyone. When Travis came on, that's when all hell broke loose. People started passing out because they were being suffocated by each other. If you have kept up with this whole situation, you might have seen videos of the piles and piles of bodies lying on the ground. When I saw these videos, I was terrified. I've heard so many stories on TikTok of what people have gone through that night. Many said people could compare the festival to a demonic ritual, and others have said it to be a sacrifice. As Travis kept performing, people were trying to get his attention to stop performing because they saw dead bodies all around them. People were falling into pits of bodies and dropping dead like flies because of heart attacks, suffocation, and being trampled on by thousands of people. People drowned in each other. One person explained that "We were being crushed so badly to the point where we were not standing. We were being moved by other people pushing to the front. Like our feet were not on the ground, we were 'floating.'" When I heard this, I had chills all over my body. What makes me so angry is that Travis Scott was 10 ft away from a body being dragged out of the mosh pit and did nothing about it. Many people claimed that he was "doing the robot" as he watched dead bodies being pulled out of the pit of people screaming for help. There was a moment where Travis heard someone scream to stop, and he stopped for a few seconds but then continued the show. One girl even got up on the stage to try and get the camera guy's attention to do something, but from what she said, he claimed that he was going to throw her off of the stage. This enrages me because how do you tell someone you're going to throw them off a stage when they ask for help because people are dying in the crowd. Today, there is a confirmed ten people who died that night, including nine-year-old Ezra Blount. Ezra's father held him high on his shoulders as the countdown began to Scott's performance at NRG Park on Nov. 5. They stayed toward the back of the crowd because his father said he thought it would be calmer. But as soon as Travis Scott took the stage, he said that's when people started pushing. He was trampled to death by the people who were rushing to the front. There were over 300 people injured and in the hospital, and so many people remain traumatized after this performance. So far, over 100 people have sued Travis over this, and others felt like suing him was pointless. Thankfully, the Astroworld Festival will likely not see its return because of this incident, and it is also clear that Travis Scott's career is pretty much over. |