" The Hunger Games" Review



             The Hunger Games is the first novel in the popular book series by Suzanne Collins. The popluarity of the novels have led to a successful movie franchise and the first movie has just come out on DVD. The story is set in the future and in this future there are twelve districts in the United States. There were thirteen districts, until district thirteen rebelled and the capitol destroyed them. Ever since then, the capitol has a "reaping" every year. This is where the capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district, to fight for their lives in an arena. This is to prove the power the capitol has over the twelve districts. The tributes are sent into the arena with nothing to help them along the way. While in the arena they have the oppurtunity to fight other tributes for rights to food and supplies. Katniss is the main character. She is a strong-willed, determined young lady who stands by her beliefs. Originally, Katniss' sister Primrose is chosen as tribute. But, according to the rules of The Hunger Games another citizen can volunteer as tribute in place of the other. Katniss volunteers as tribute, in order to save her sister. Peeta Mellark is the boy tribute chosen from district twelve. Katniss uses her strengths with archery in order to stay alive in the games. Peeta secretly helps Katniss along the way. In the end, though, only one tribute can survive.

Reviews

David Edelstein of New York magazine writes, "Watching The Hunger Games, I was struck both by how slickly Ross [the director] hit his marks and how many opportunities he was missing to take the film to the next level - to make it more shocking, lyrical, crazy, daring."

Ross, of The New York Times, "has a way of smoothing even modestly irregular edges. Katniss, who for years has bagged game to keep her family from starving, was created for rough stuff -- for beating the odds and the state, for hunting squirrel and people both -- far rougher than Mr. Ross often seems comfortable with, perhaps because of disposition, inclination or some behind-the-scenes executive mandate."

Katniss and Peeta during The Hunger Games.



Katniss using her archery skills to before the games.



Backyard War: Mosquitoes Are Taking Over!

 

     If you're planning on going outside anytime soon, you just as well bathe in bug repellent first. After the warmer than usual winter of 2011, experts and pest controllers everywhere predicted a very "buggy" summer. Anyone that's been outside this year will know they were right. According to the American Mosquito Control Association,  there are over 3,000 different species of these pesky insects, and at least 200 of them can be found in the United States. Mosquitoes are annoying, nasty, and very dangerous insects.

     To start with, mosquitoes, in my opinion, are the most annoying insects known to man. But hey, if you enjoy blood sucking, miniature flies buzzing around your head while you're trying to enjoy the great outdoors, that's completely your decision. I'm not judging the mosquito lovers out there, I'm just saying I'd rather be able to mow the lawn in peace, instead of running the lawn mower into the creek while trying to scratch all those little irritating bites. To be such a small creature, mosquitoes are great at ruining afternoon leisure time. You may even go as far as saying they're professionals at it. Wouldn't it be great to have a nice family cookout without those uninvited, bloodthirsty guests?

     These things are downright nasty. Worst of all: They often like to travel in groups. Hundreds of filthy mosquitoes, buzzing around every inch of your body, just waiting to strike. For those of you that live on farms, you may have noticed they love to hang around ponds and livestock. Have you ever looked out the back door, to find that your pond has disappeared into a swarm of thick blackness? Not only do they make themselves at home on your cows' backs, they feed off them as well. Do you really want to drink the milk of an innocent cow that's been sucked of it's blood by these disgusting pests?

     Sure, they're annoying. They're gross. As if this isn't bad enough, they're also lethal. Mosquitoes carry tons of diseases, the most common one known as the West Nile Virus. This virus can be transmitted to both humans and farm animals. If you happen to cross paths with one of these disease ridden bugs, I wish you luck. You can expect to break out into a painful rash, followed by severe headaches, vomiting, and diarrhea. In extreme cases, one tiny, itchy bump can even result in death. Now, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm simply trying to encourage you to drench yourself in bug spray before you leave the safety of your home. Although bug spray is sticky and smelly, I think we can all agree that it's better than laying in a hospital bed. Right?

     There are simple ways to protect yourself and your livestock from the latest mosquito outbreak. There are many different types of spray you can apply directly to your body. Don't want to feel sticky? Repellent can be bought in a spray that is to be used in the air around you, rather than on you. As far as livestock and pet protection, minimize the amount of time they are exposed to mosquito infested areas, and reduce the amount of standing water near your home. With these few, easy precautions, you can win the war against mosquitoes! 

Nicholas County Football

Captains getting ready for the coin toss.

      The Nicholas County Bluejackets opened their season on Saturday August 18th against the Lewis County Lions. The game was played at Montgomery County in the 65th Recreation Bowl. The Recreation Bowl is the longest bowl game in the state of Kentucky. The Bluejackets jumped out to an early lead and held onto it the whole game. At halftime, they were winning 20-0. After the break, the Jackets had a turnover and Lewis County scored on that pocession. The Lions converted the two point conversion to make it 20-8. The Jackets scored two more times in the game, as the Lions could only score one more time. The final score was 32-16. Austin Allison got player of the game.

Jackets taking the field.

     The Bluejackets traveled to neighboring rivals Fleming County this past Friday. The Panthers scored a touchdown midway through the 1st quarter. The following kickoff was returned by Carl Hurd to the Panthers' 8 yard line. After the Jackets scored, the Panthers never looked back. They scored four more touchdowns before halftime. The score at halftime was 34-6. The Jackets were looking to turn it around to start the second half. That did not happen. The opening kickoff of the second half, being returned by Nicholas, was fumbled and recovered by the Panthers. The final scoe of the game was 53-14.

     The Jackets will host the West Carter Comet's Friday night at 7:30.

Nichols High School Marching Band

                                            The band practicing.

                            

After many trials and tribulations, the Nicholas County High School Marching Band has started a new show for the new year. This year’s show is called, Final Departure, under the direction of the new band director Brandon Dittgen. As all of the high school know the band is very small. They are not like the size of Lafayette or Paul Lawrence Dunbar, but the band has 33 members this year.

The Nicholas County High School Marching Band is going to their first competition September 8, 2012. The band would appreciate any support at our competitions.  The competition will be at Beechwood High School. The staff of The Bluejacket Buzz would like to wish the band good luck at Beechwood.

                                         The Woodwinds going to their next set.

                              The Guard was working hard.

                                          The Pit was focusing on their music.

                                      Caleb Lewis standing in attention.                                                 

" Where'd you go, Bernadette " Review

Where'd you go Bernadette is a novel by Maria Semple. It is about a woman who is having trouble at home with her husband. She is also having trouble with other mothers in her neighborhood. To the other mothers she is a disappointment. She has a fifteen year old daughter, Bee. Bernadette decides that life at home is too difficult and she disappears before Christmas. Bee decides to look for her mother and along the way writes a book with the clues to finding her mother.


Reviews
-"The characters in Where'd You Go, Bernadette may be in real emotional pain, but Semple has the wit and perspective and imagination to make their story hilarious. I tore through this book with heedless pleasure." (- Jonathan Franzen, author of Freedom )

Brilliant, hilarious, endlessly inventive, and compulsively readable, Where'd You Go, Bernadette grabs you by the collar and never lets go. Semple is not only a masterful juggler, and an astute social critic, she is a magician!" (Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here )

A delightfully funny book, that constantly catches one by surprise, Where'd You Go, Bernadette combines a shrewdly observed portrait of Seattle-life with, of all things, a mysterious disappearance in Antarctica. A pleasure." (Matthew Kneale, author of When We Were Romans )

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette is fresh and funny and accomplished, but the best thing about it was that I never had any idea what was going to happen next. It was a wild ride..." (Kate Atkinson, author of Case Histories and Started Early, Took My Dog )

Mrs. Obama's school lunch changes = Gross!

    

     Most of you have noticed that school lunch is nastier than usual. Thanks to Mrs. Obama, all schools were required to make these changes in order to "prevent childhood obesity". After doing quite a bit of research on the matter, I have not been able to find a single benefit in the "new and improved" lunch program. Healthy food is beneficial, but you have to actually eat it to get any benefits.

     Before I go into all the details, I want you to take note that Nicholas County has an amazing cafeteria staff. It's not how the food is prepared, but rather what the food is. Let's get real. Nobody - not even the top chef in the world - could make a meal consisting of nothing but whole wheats and grain even half decent. Mrs. Obama's new changes state that all wheat and grains served must be whole, all milk must be nonfat, and double the amount of fruit must be served. Then there's the worst part: no salt. We can all live with more fruit, but seriously? Who wants to eat whole wheat biscuits first thing in the morning?

     Now that you have been informed on the policy changes, lets discuss the problems. To start with, how many people actually eat their lunch because it's good? Looking around the cafeteria today, I saw many students eating an apple. That's it. Everything else was still sitting there on their tray, lonely and cold. When discussing this with the students sitting near me, any of them who actually ate their food said they only ate it because they were starving. So, if you do eat the school's lunch and think this article is pointless or inaccurate, ask yourself this: Do you eat the food because you want to, or only because you're starving?

     In my opinion, the biggest issue with this policy isn't the food, but rather the cost. According to the New York Times, the new school lunch program has added an estimated amount of $3.2 billion to the already $11 billion cost.  This clearly means that the school will be paying more for the lunch program, resulting in the cost for students also rising. For many students that can't afford the increased price, free or reduced lunch is available. However, there is a limit on who can and can't get free or reduced lunch. Think about it this way. A family may make one hundred dollars too much to qualify for the free or reduced program. During any given school year, that family will pay much more than one hundred dollars for their child's lunch, so they're actually worse off than a family receiving the free or reduced lunch. With bills, gas, and other expenses, many people can simply not afford this.

     As I previously stated, there are no benefits that I have found in the new lunch program policies. Everyone knows that healthy food is good for us, but that only applies if you eat it. Clearly, staring at a tray full of healthy food isn't going to make us healthy, unless we have some sort of super power. The school and government is simply wasting billions of dollars on this new lunch menu. Why spend $3.2 billion more on food that is headed straight to the trashcan? Besides, the only thing this is creating is having hungry students running straight for a bag of greasy potato chips when they get home. Where's the health in that?

Earthquakes in Iran

                             The aftermath of the earthquake

Last Saturday, August 11, 2012, two earthquakes hit Iran, destroying historical monuments and killing hundreds of people. The first earthquake was rated on the richter scale as a 6.4, and the second was a 6.3. The reports on how many people were injured vary from each source, some stating from 1,800 to 2,000. The total count of damage was about 110 villages. This was one of their milder earthquakes that Iran has had. In the past, out of all the earthquakes that have hit Iran, the worse one was nine years ago that killed 30,000 people.

                              Rescue team searching for survivors 

                     A man stands on his destoryed home

                                

 The Eurasaion and Arabian Plate

For a little geography lesson, Iran  is on a major fault line. The fault line is where the Arabian and  Eurasia plates collide. 

For more information you can go to  http://newstrust.net/stories/8860361/toolbar?ref=tp .