Some have described the 2023 Super Bowl Halftime show, featuring Rihanna, as one of the best halftime shows to date. In my opinion, the show left much to be desired and was far below the expectations of viewers. It is perhaps one of the worst halftime shows that I’ve witnessed.
The show was exceptionally low in entertainment value. Rihanna performed on a levitating platform that resembled a scene from a video game. She did not move very much due to her pregnancy, and her movements did not match the energy level of her backup dancers. While the movement of the backup dancers was high tempo, Rihanna was more or less static, merely swaying from side to side. This created a huge imbalance in the aesthetics of the overall spectacle.
To provide maximum entertainment, previous Super Bowl halftime show headliners have invited other stars to complement them. However, Rihanna chose to perform solo. Performing solo meant there was no wardrobe, or elaborate stage manipulation. The only “change” was when the levitating platforms rose or fell. Thus, the show was rather flat and lacked attention grabbing activities.
To a wholesome and impressionable person, Rihanna’s show would be considered “not ready for prime time.” It is not surprising then that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) received over 100 complaints that some of the dance moves were “patently offensive and completely inappropriate for children.” Some even commented that her inappropriate movements were not suitable for broadcast!
In sum, it is necessary for future Super Bowl organizers to endeavor to recruit performers who will entertain and keep the attention of the entire audience, old and young. Performers, who will not only present a varied and diverse show, but who will respect the sensibilities of the game’s diverse audience. This will keep future shows from being lackluster.
Why do so many people fuss about a carbon footprint and global warming? Our Carbon footprint is problematic because we are the primary source of manmade global warming, contributes to urban air pollution, and contributes to oceanic and coastal acidification. Although there are no ways to reverse or stop the effects at this point, there are ways to alleviate its effects to make it possible to mediate the impact of our industrialization. We might even make somewhat of a recovery.
A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emissions caused by the entirety of mankind, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent. Every individual, event, organization, service, place, or product. The usual suspects of greenhouse gas emissions are transportation, industry, and electricity production. A carbon footprint is bad because it contributes to climate change. Climate change fully encompasses drastic weather events such as toxic and acid rain, ocean acidification, melting of glaciers and icebergs, and urban air pollution.
According to epa.gov. , The cars and buses we drive account for 27% of greenhouse gases, as of 2020. This is the largest portion of recorded emissions. These gases were counted as the by-product of burning petroleum-based products such as gasoline and diesel from an internal combustion engine. Passenger cars, trucks, utility vehicles, pickup trucks, and mini-vans. These means of travel account for over 50% of the transportation sector’s emissions. The remaining portion is commercial means such as aircraft, ships, boats, and planes. Ways to alleviate the effects of this form of emissions is switching fuels. Things like switching from gas to electric or hybrid and using renewable energies. Even prioritizing public transportation. Using buses and limiting vehicular usage on roads. Another method is lessening travel demands. Optimizing city plans, allowing for easier use of sidewalks and bike paths, and allowing access to pedestrian programs benefits low-emission transportation.
These contributors are more than enough to cause major problems regarding our carbon expulsion. Every day in transportation and industry, we burn fossil fuels, getting to work and working in factories, farms, etc. Our daily lives are made up of the extreme usage of carbon-emitting devices. Should we, too, be asked to change our way of life in the name of the planet, or should we accept that our lifestyles have exceeded the appropriate bounds of earthly resistance and resources?
Caleb Smith-Sims is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.
A new year means a fresh start and new goals to be accomplished. New Year’s resolutions are goals that people make to achieve within the year. These goals can be changing a bad habit, continuing a healthy diet, maintaining or losing weight, or exercising daily. New Year’s Resolutions were first created 4,000 years ago with the Babylonians when they celebrated their first barley harvest. These goals might seem easy to keep up with, but how many people achieve their New Year’s resolutions?
Around 39% of the US population make New Year’s resolutions, 59% of them being between the ages of 18 and 34. In 2022, 48% of people wanted to exercise more, making it the most popular resolution. In 2023, the three most popular New Year’s resolutions are improved mental health, improved physical health, and losing weight.
Let’s look at the top two resolutions in 2023: improved mental and physical health. According to a survey with 1,005 US respondents conducted by Forbes Health, young adults focused more on their mental health than their physical health. 20% said that improving mental health was a top priority, 16% said that improving physical health was a top priority, and 64% said they were of equal importance. 47% of women chose improved mental health as their resolution, while 40% of men chose improved mental health as their resolution. Men were more focused on improving their physical health. This is just the creation of a New Year’s Resolution, but how many people actually accomplish their resolutions?
Photo by RosZie
81% of people felt confident in achieving their goal, with men feeling more confident than women (86% vs 79%). In 2022, out of 39% of people who made resolutions, 23% failed their resolution the first week after setting their goal, 43% failed their resolution before February, and 91% failed their resolution. How come so many people fail their New Year’s resolutions? Many New Year’s Resolutions fail due to unreasonable goals. Because of unreasonable goals, 35% of people lose their motivation to continue, and 19% say they are too busy. So what did the 9% of successful people do to achieve their goals? These people are not perfect; the average amount of slip-ups is 7 per person. What allowed them to achieve their goal was their resilience and determination.
You may ask, “How can one keep their New Year’s resolutions?” Here are some suggestions:
Photo by Geralt
Use the SMART goal rule (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely)
Create short-term goals to give satisfaction to keep on going
Have someone make the resolution with you so you can encourage each other
Be fully committed to your resolution
Remember, delayed gratification!
Successfully achieving your New Year’s resolution will be a great feeling. Everyone will mess up, but are you willing to get back up and push yourself? It’s not too late to start a New Year’s Resolution!
Collin Park is a sophomore member of the Multimedia Journalism class.
Let’s be real, how many of us fake our Instagram posts, stories, and what we do daily? Hopefully, not everyone can relate, but the sad truth about our internet presence in today’s world is covered up with staged images and events. But recently, a new app that has been blowing up in popularity has the opportunity to change that, called BeReal. Whether you want to be real and show what you’re actually doing is up to you, however.
BeReal was released in 2020 by French developers Alexis Barreyat and Kevin Perreau and was available in English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, Korean, and Portuguese.
Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR
Photo by Dziubi Steenbergen
The aim of BeReal is for people to show their friends and family what they’re doing at a specific time in the day. BeReal will send you a notification anytime in the day saying you’ll have 2 minutes to take your BeReal. Everyone who gets that notification then opens up the app and takes a picture of themselves and what they are doing at that moment. You then get to see your friends’ BeReal and find out what they’re doing. Even if you miss the time frame, the app is forgiving and will let you post a late BeReal.
The app has recently gained traction over the past few months and now has become one of the most downloaded apps of 2022. Nothing like this was ever created, and it seemed like people loved the idea of it.
To see what people thought about BeReal, we asked Freshman Jace Taranto and Mount DeSales Senior Holly Bruchalski their thoughts on the app. “I only have it to see what my friends are up to,” said Jace. “Overall, I think it’s pretty fun to see what people are doing at the same time you are,” replied Holly.
While it might seem like there is an overall positive vibe that BeReal has going for itself, some other aspects were brought up. Holly stated, “at the same time, it’s kinda hard to keep up with doing it every single day cause you still wanna enjoy your day without having to post about it.” It might seem like a chore to some and, to others, a way to brag about themselves.
With it being the internet, people will find a way to fake their posts and make their life seem more extravagant just to get attention. From a man running to the Eiffel Tower to get it in his picture to a lady going out with friends and taking a picture with a guy from 7/11, or even at the mall and having an employee snap a photo.
Recently senior Harry Kennedy asked a group of students in the class to stage his BeReal to show him receiving the Bocce Ball championship award. This is a fabulous example of people willing to wait to take their BeReal to show their friends something interesting in their life.
From personal experience, it has been easy to notice scrolling through BeReal that people don’t always want to show that their life isn’t as great as perceived by others. Holly responded, “People should definitely be real with their posts since people want to know what’s going on at that given moment.” Would you agree with her or beg to differ? Does it now matter to people that the main purpose has been compromised by people who don’t want to “BeReal,” or is it still an app where people can share their lives without any filters?
Cooper Funk is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.
Jack Bieda is a Junior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.
The necessity of a mobile phone has become more important in an ever-changing world of technology. With this, people want the best phone in terms of longevity and features. Most people believe the iPhone is the most quality phone, as around 50 percent of mobile phone users have an iPhone in the United States. But maybe the iPhone isn’t the best mobile phone. Many people can admit to having an iPhone solely because others around them do, but this prevents the user from being informed about other mobile phone companies. In this piece, we will compare the features of the two new cell phones, the iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and decide which top-notch phone is the better.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in burgundy color Photo credit: Zana Latif
Size and Looks
The iPhone 14 Pro Max and the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra are the largest and newest of each company. The size of the phone is a significant factor when buying phones. The iPhone is 71.5 x 147.5 x 7.85mm (width x height x depth) with a weight of 206 grams and a 6.7″ (diagonal) screen. On the other hand, the Samsung is 77.9 x 163.3 x 8.9mm with a weight of 229 grams and a 6.8″ (diagonal) screen. Although the Samsung is bigger, the con is that it is also heavier but only has a 23-gram difference. Aside from the dimensions of the phones, the looks of the phones are very different. The iPhone has flat edges and 4 colors: Space Black, Silver, Gold, and Deep Purple. The Samsung has more rounded edges and 7 colors: Phantom Black, Phantom White, Green, Burgundy, Graphite, Sky Blue, and Red. Looks are mainly on preference, but Samsung is the better option if you want a bigger phone.
Black iPhone Photo Credit: Miguel Tomás
Specifications and Features
Both phones have similar specifications, but they have several unique features. Both phones have face recognition, a rated IP68 (splash, dust, and water resistant), a 120Hz refresh rate, and three storage options: 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB. The differences are that the iPhone has a brighter screen of 2000 nits than the Samsung, which has 1750 nits, the battery on the iPhone can last up to 29 hours while the Samsung can last 18 hours, and the Samsung has the option to come with an S pen, while the iPhone does not have any pen option. These phones have unique features, but the features and specifications come with preference.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra with S Pen Photo Credit: Zana Latif
Camera
Without a doubt, Samsung has a better camera option than the iPhone. The Samsung consists of 5 cameras on the back: a 12MP (megapixels, which equals 1,000,000 pixels) ultra-wide camera, a 108MP wide-angle camera, a 10MP camera, and 2 telephoto cameras with 100x Space Zoom. It also has one 40MP selfie camera. The iPhone only consists of 3 cameras with 48MP. Although Samsung has better cameras, the iPhone has more features like deep fusion, more video resolution options, retina flash, Animojis, and more. Samsung does have some of the options on the iPhone, but the iPhone has more. Photos can be edited from both phones, so some of the features on the iPhone photo can be applied to a Samsung photo through editing.
iPhone’s cameras Photo credit: TheRegisti
Cost
For both phones, the cost depends on the specific phone’s storage space. However, the lowest starting price for an iPhone 14 Pro Max is $1,099. The starting price for the Samsung S22 Ultra is $750, but it can cost up to $1,500 with other accessories. Generally speaking, iPhones have been more expensive after a new release than Samsung phones. Samsung has had 40 different model S22 phones, with 6 being over $1,000. iPhone has 6 models for the iPhone 14, with 2 being over $1,000. Regarding cost, when initially released, Samsung was traditionally the more affordable mobile phone.
With all this being said, the question remains; What mobile phone is the best? Well, it all comes down to preference. Some people like the features the iPhone provides, while others like the features that Samsung provides. We suggest narrowing down what feature is most important to you in a mobile phone and seeing which product offers the best version of the feature. It is hard to decide which company makes the best mobile phone, but we can make an opinion based on what we as buyers want.
Stephen Avara is a junior member of the Multimedia Journalism Class.
Collin Park is a sophomore member of the Multimedia Journalism Class.
Chicago rapper Kanye West has grown to be distinguished as one of the most talented musicians of our time. From The College Dropout to Donda, Kanye’s musical skillset and pure talent injected into his albums have made him millions. However, with Ye’s recent anti-Semitic tweet, his legendary reputation is hanging by a thread.
Following a separation with Gap, Inc., Kanye has tweeted that he is going “Death con 3 on Jewish people.” West’s scuffled with celebrities and politicians, but anti-Semitism is new for the rapper. He’s been under fire from fans, journalists, and politicians alike (rightfully so). Kanye is in the most significant controversy of his career now, and that’s saying a lot.
(Above) Kanye famously found himself in controversy when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s Video Music Award acceptance in 2009 and said Beyoncé should’ve received the award instead.
The tweet was targeting the execs of Gap. Kanye explained his frustration with the company to CNBC: “Sometimes I would talk to the guys, the leaders, and it would be like I was on mute or something.” Kanye believes that the high-ups in corporations that control artists and athletes are primarily Jewish; this anti-Semitic theory is no stranger to the world and can be traced back to Hitler.
It’s human that Kanye would feel frustrated—he’s had to separate from a brand that helped him achieve his dream—but threatening an entire race and accusing them of corruption is dangerous. It’s happened before and had horrible consequences: six million Jews were killed from 1939 to 1945 in the Jewish Holocaust. And already Nazi hate groups have rallied with the tweet, hanging a banner over a Los Angeles freeway falsely claiming “Kanye is right about the Jews” while raising Nazi salutes.
Several people are seen raising their arms in a Nazi salute as they stood behind the banner hung on a bridge over the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles over the weekend. https://t.co/LOPW8eyiKo
What’s upsetting is that the situation could still be salvaged if Kanye apologizes and denounces his words. Kanye’s already lost his “Donda Academy” private school and his partnership with Adidas, so he needs to act quickly before losing more. But for someone with a severe arrogance problem, it will be a struggle. In mid-October, journalist Piers Morgan interviewed Kanye West to attempt to give him a platform to explain his perspective and apologize for his harmful comments.
And, of course, Kanye barely apologized. Sure, he said he was sorry for the people he hurt. “Hurt people hurt people, and I was hurt,” he explained. However, Kanye still admitted upfront it was racism. Morgan told Kanye the tweet was as racist as anything Kanye had been through, but Ye simply laughed it off. It seems like Kanye is trying to make a point with his recent comments, but he is acting racist nonetheless and is doing more harm than good.
“Millions of people have had DEFCON 3 on their contracts. I opened it up. I didn’t say that then, but I said it now. If I am going to apologize for the tweet, this is what has to happen first: I need all of the top executives in Hollywood, the NBA, and the NFL, and I want the top executives in music – dealing with publishing, Spotify, Apple Music, and Universal Music. I want to look look at the top ten earners in each of those contracts and compare and contrast the contracts. We need to open that conversation, live, with lawyers asking questions – and we’ll have the top lawyers looking at all the contracts together. After that moment happens, I will apologize.”
-Kanye explaining his tweet
Personally, I think Kanye is a genius – he is adept at challenging the status quo both in music and general – but the issue with him, as many put it, is that he knows he’s brilliant. His self-involvement has hurt him many times already – and, with recent anti-Semitic accusations, it could hurt many others. Before any more wrong is done, Kanye needs to find mental help.
Mr. West is no stranger to mental health issues. Following his embarrassing interruption of the 2009 Video Music Awards, Kanye disappeared and fell into his first significant public downward spiral. Later, in 2010, the unreleased track “Never See Me Again” was leaked to the public and quickly framed as a suicide note written by Kanye; it has grown to be considered one of his best pieces.
And, when the musician later announced his diagnosis with bipolar disorder in 2016, he quickly cleared it up for many as to why he had grown to be such a controversial figure. West described his episodes as “you can’t trust anyone,” and the rapper signaled a new era of awareness for men’s mental health.
Unfortunately, following his separation from Kim Kardashian in 2021, Kanye began to act erratic. It was apparent when he released the abstract Donda 2 single “Eazy,” carrying disturbing cover art and lyrics threatening Kardashian’s boyfriend at the time, Pete Davidson. Kanye later severed his friendship with fellow rapper Kid Cudi publicly on Instagram for associating with Davidson.
(Above) Kanye West pictured with his former wife, Kim Kardashian. Kardashian is often credited with helping Kanye deal with his bipolar disorder.
And now, following an unrelated separation from the company that helped him finalize his dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and designing his own shoes, he has nearly lost it all.
If Kanye is going to fix his mental health and save his reputation, he will have to take some time off and recover. The rapper has had to split paths with his wife, friends, and dreams, all within a year, and now he’s taking out his pain on the world. Before anyone is hurt – because his tweet was truly anti-Semitic – Kanye needs to prioritize his mental health. For now, Kanye’s future is looking grim, but if he can work on himself and give an honest apology, the chances are high that he can recover his legendary reputation.
Jude Danner is a Sophomore member of the Multimedia Journalism class.
The Student Newspaper of Mount Saint Joseph High School
The Quill 