In the spotlight: Marisa Meyerwitz

In the spotlight: Marisa Meyerwitz

By Cheyenne Cheathem

Marisa Meyerwitz is definitely someone cool to hang out with. Born in Coral Springs, Florida, this chica has the sunny personality to match the sunny place where she was born. Her favorite color is pink and she considers her own personal style to be girly but edgy. She's really determined and dedicated to her schoolwork and has had a natural affinity towards writing and Language Arts. One can easily tell from just talking to her for a few seconds that she's a kind girl and has a fierce passion for journalism. This chill girl has a job at Delia’s, which she enjoys very much and likes to hang out with her friends and spend time with her family. She wants to model her life after Lauren Conrad of the TV series “The Hills”. Marisa says that Conrad is her role model and she likes her style.

Her favorite childhood memory is when her little sister was born. She says “Even though I was only three years old, I can vividly remember being the first one to hold my newborn sister after my mom.”. Another favorite memory of hers was this past Valentine’s Day when she and her boyfriend of three months went out to dinner and she made him see Dear John and the two of them had a fun time together.

If you were to pick up Marisa’s iPod you would probably see a song listed on the Top 100 list. This is a girl who likes popular music but likes being introduced to new music as well.

Not only does she have good taste in music, but she has good taste in food too! Marisa’s favorite food is sushi and from the way she described the taste I feel like I have to try it at least one time. She says “Even though most people think it’s gross, I absolutely love it!”.

When asked what she wanted to be after college she didn’t hesitate to tell me she wanted to be an editor of a fashion magazine. I must admit that I’m not surprised. She’s fashionable as well as a great writer so editor of a fashion magazine is a perfect fit for her!

In the end, this edgy girly girl can do anything she puts her mind to and will definitely go far in life!

My buddy Lisa!

HED: Who said teens aren’t giving? By: Ke’Ana Clark When someone thinks of a teenager, they think of someone who is selfish for the most part. Or they may think of someone who only thinks about facebook, texting, and the opposite sex. However, one teenage girl from Marietta, Ga., is the complete opposite. It would be a complete understatement if said Lisa Dinh is very remarkable. She is extremely remarkable. Dinh is a 16 year old, Vietnamese girl who goes to Campbell High School. She is vice president and co-founder for her school’s club Habitat for humanity. She is apart of the Model United Nations, which is a mock version of the United Nations. She is also an active member of the school’s Earth Club. Dinh is the right defender on the soccer team. During her free time, she loves to paint sketches, read fiction books, spends time with her family, and exercise. “I feel that the most interesting thing about me is that I am very considerate of others. I don’t like to say anything bad about other people.” says Dinh. Outside of school she is also an active member in her community. She loves to help other people no matter what it takes. She helps out at the World Peace Cafe as a waitress. She helps with the Hands on Atlanta organization. She helped load and categorize books sent to African school children for Books for Africa. Dinh reads books for children at the library as well as developed a brochure children’s book. She also helps out at the Children’s Peace Center. “My sister is very giving and she wants me want to give also. She is very kind and caring. So I try my best to be just as kind caring also.” said Dinh Dinh truly is an all-around wonderful person. She is a very giving and unique teen. She’s already accomplished so much over the years, and she isn’t finished yet! She plans on going to college after she graduates in two years. She plans to teach biology. She wants to join the teachers without borders, teaching les fortunate kids in different countries. Lisa Dinh is a truly remarkable teen. She is the most generous, giving, kindest and caring teen I have ever met. She made me feel very unaccomplished! She also made me want to help out in my community way more!

Shrek Forever After

The book finally closes on the unique fairytale with everyone’s favorite ogre. Shrek, Donkey and Fiona return in “Shrek Forever After,” the fourth in a series that first stole the world’s hearts in 2001.

Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) returns in this delightful comedy as a father to three ogre babies, a doting husband and a celebrity, and instead of dodging torches and pitchforks—he’s signing them. He feels that he isn’t a real ogre anymore and longs to have those times back for just one day. After leaving his children’s birthday party he runs into the ultimate fairytale swindler, Rumpelstiltskin (Walt Dohrn).

The movie progresses with comedy and clarity provided by 3-D animation, and although only one scene included something that jumped out at you it was well worth the $12 I spent. I laughed from start to finished and the dialogue was clever. “Shrek Forever After” was as funny as the first movie and the plot was as good as “Shrek 2.” The moral—you don’t know what you have until its gone—really resonated and was clearly the theme behind the story. The returning characters were superb and didn’t lose their flair that was seen in the previous movies. Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) still maintained his Spanish zeal while being a portly housecat.

There is additional humor and complexity with new characters, like Cookie, the gay chef with the chimichanga stand, who added a touch of realism to a kiddie movie. There are also the renegade ogres led by Fiona (Cameron Diaz), who doesn’t remember Shrek because of his agreement with Rumpelstiltskin. The writers kept Fiona’s combat skills and the movie included a romantic training scene with her and Shrek, after his failed attempts woo her. Finally, for a series based on fairytale themes, the use of the Pied Piper was genius.

DreamWorks Animation proves that it can keep up with the big dogs (Pixar) by doling out this hit. Fans will “do the roar” for this movie over and over again.

Who I Would Interview

As cliche as it sounds, I would interview Tupac Shakur. When he was alive, I always thought of how universal he was. Not only did he rap, write poetry, and act in films, but he did it with flair. His rap style was phenomenal. No one could, or, in my true opinion, can touch him. He rapped in way that made you think and feel what e was saying, and his lyrics were about more than clothes, cars, and scandalous women. Then his poetry was so beautiful. It had a way of touching you and making you feel so....free. His acting was also amazing. He could go from character to character and make you actually believe that that was the type of person he was.

Because Shakur is dead, I would probably have to get permission from God to let him back on this earth for a few days. If that was allowed, I'd meet up with him in a recording studio. That way I could do my interview and see for myself how his recording process went.

I honestly don't know what I would ask. I would just be so amazed with my opportunity that my question would flow from my heart and not a piece of paper.

I wouldn't care where I worked. As long as I'm happy and enjoy what I'm doing, that would be enough for me.

Cheetah Girl Gone Bad: Kiely Williams "Spectacular" Review

There is only word to describe former “Cheetah Girl” Kiely Williams’ music video “Spectacular”: Horrible.

Miss Williams begins the video walking down the street in what appears to be very untasteful “streetwalker” attire, wearing a hideous fur jacket, black neon-looking corset, red skirt, tights and black pumps. She then begins the song talking about how drunk she was while doing a ridiculous dance routine. She then goes into saying how she was “face down, a-- up, clothes off, broke off, dozed off.” She also says although she can’t remember his name, they could have sex again because the sex was spectacular (hence the title, “Spectacular”). She continues to describe the morning after and how she couldn’t get home fast enough in the same clothes she wore the night before. The most memorable line from the second half of the video is when she proclaims, “I think he pulled a track out while he was blowing my back out.” While the hook is going, Williams has scenes from the sex act playing for visuals and continues the ridiculous dance routine. The video ends with Miss Williams raving about how the “sex was spectacular.”

I just have to say, “What the frig was that?” This video is almost, if not just as bad, as Soulja Boy Tell’em’s 2007 video “Yahh/Report Card,” in which Soulja Boy and rapper Arab are walking around screaming “Yahh, trick yahh” to people. Not only was I dying laughing from this video, but I was very disappointed in Williams. Even in her days as a member of the girl group “3LW,” she was never this scandalous. I would honestly like to know what made her make that video because it’s really that ridiculous.

Also, what kind of message is she sending to her Cheetah Girl fans? Are you telling them that it’s OK to get drunk and sleep with random strangers because the sex is good? As a former fan of hers, I was truly blown away by her in this video.

All in all, I give this video an F in creativity, material and taste. It does, however, receive an A in hilarity because this video will keep you laughing.

Hannah Montana

HED: Hannah Montana

By: Ke’Ana Clark

“Life’s what you make it” “Nobody’s perfect” “The best of both worlds.” These are all words of 17 year-old Miley Cyrus. If you are the parent of a girl in between the ages of 7-14, then you should know all about the Disney Channel show Hannah Montana.

In the show, Cyrus plays a teenage girl, Miley Stewart. Stewart lives the best of both worlds—she is a pop star, Hannah Montana, who also lives a normal life as Miley. During the day, she goes to school with her friends, Lilly Truscott (played by Emily Osment) and Oliver Oken (Mitchel Musso). At night, she lives the American dream and performs in front of millions of people, but she also deals with problems with her friends, as well as the usual love issues. Somehow she still manages to find a way to deal with the stress of pop star life as well as the stress of the average teenage girl.

Some people may feel that the show is unrealistic. I agree to a certain extent. The question is “How in the world does no one recognize Miley as Hannah?” The only disguise she has is a blonde wig and flashy clothes. So yes that part of the storyline is very unrealistic. However, the show still is very realistic! She has normal teenage problems. She argues with her boyfriend. They do the whole break-up, make-up thing. What teenage girl doesn’t do that? She fights with her best friend. Who doesn’t? She dislikes her older brother, Jackson (Jason Earles), but she still loves him to death. What teen doesn’t fight with their siblings? I do! She has her ups and downs with her father, Billy Ray (played by her real father, Billy Ray Cyrus).

The fact that she is a pop star also is not unrealistic. You have to stop and think, “Hey, if I were famous, wouldn’t I want to live a normal life also?” The fact that she does find a way to live both lives just says we can all do everything we want, we just have to know how to do it.

The show has a very positive message for young girls. It says that as long as we have family and friends then we can be happy. Many people feel that the acting is horrible. However, you have to remember most of the people on the show are teens and kids. So before judging someone else, stop and think “Would I be able to do this?” I will admit some characters on the show do over-exaggerate, but overall, I like it. I’ve been watching Hannah Montana since it first aired and am still watching today.

The show has its flaws, but every show, everything and everyone does. It’s a good show with a good message. So just like McDonalds, I’m loving it.

Sex and the City 2 Review

Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Samantha (Kim Cattrall), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are back and on the prowl in their newest big screen feature, “Sex and the City 2”. Though women around the world still flocked to see their favorite gals, this movie was a flop, especially when compared to its decent enough movie predecessor and the Emmy Award-winning show.

With a very promising start, the film first flashes back to the girls in New York City in the mid 1980s-clueless, unfashionable, and fast friends. This is intriguing to old fans because of the show’s mysterious attitude toward how the girls met. When viewers are brought back to the present, however, disaster ensues.

Event after event causes Carrie and Charlotte lovers to cringe. Bradshaw’s Carrie gives off a high maintenance, showy attitude throughout every scene. After spending more than a decade getting her Mr. Big to settle down, she becomes an obnoxious, spoiled wife who ungratefully cheats with a past love in a later scene. Charlotte is unbearably high strung, overexaggerating her stressful family life and constantly worrying about her braless nanny. Yes, we realize motherhood is hard, but such a fun movie should do away with a million tiring extras. It must be noted, however, that Miranda and Samantha nearly make up for Carrie and Charlotte’s irksome attitudes. Miranda is unusually carefree after quitting her job, and Samantha is jaw-droppingly hilarious being, well… Samantha.

Everyone involved in the production of the movie should thank its costume designer, as the wardrobes are the film’s one flawless asset. Decked out in luxe Dior, Chanel, Louboutin, Yves Saint Laurent, and the attitudes necessary to pull off such expensive frocks, the girls shine. What only makes the stunning clothing stand out more is the desert filming location-the United Arab Emirate’s Abu Dhabi. In one aesthetically fantastic scene, the girls are sashaying through the sand, rainbow-colored dresses clinging to their tanned skin.

Though it’s almost a necessity for “Sex” fans to see new installments of their favorite show, they should keep in mind that the second film is only enjoyable if they focus on the extraordinary fashions rather than the drooping plot.

-Kate Foster