The Opera class is one fantastic gem among the wide variety of arts-related classes available at Nova. This class provides an excellent opportunity for students to learn about all facets of opera. The student teacher, Shirah Orzech, has led the class in learning about voice types, need-to-know vocabulary, and the origins of opera. Students are also responsible for watching or listening to an opera a week, in order to supplement what they learn in class. One of the most recent in-class activities involved writing leitmotifs for each of the students’ coor teachers. A leitmotif is a sort of theme song for a character, or object, which develops throughout an opera. It can be a simple tune, only a few seconds long. Shirah said that the activity was a fun way to “deepen understanding of Wagnerian opera”.

The class particularly focuses on experiencing the wonderful local opera scene through Seattle Opera’s season performances. This year, their season includes three Verdi classics, La Traviata, Il Travatore, and Falstaff, as well a world premiere, Amelia. In preparation for October’s La Traviata, students watched excerpts from two different stagings, reviewed the plot, and listened to a guest speaker from the company. The majority of the opera class attended a dress rehearsal of La Traviata through Seattle Opera’s Experience Opera program. The Experience Opera program is aimed at getting more high school students interested in the art form. In fact, Shirah is working closely with Seattle Opera’s education associate, Seneca Garber, to help revitalize the program with a more youthful perspective. Currently, Shirah administers the Experience Opera Facebook page, which features upcoming events and updates on opera productions.

Currently, the opera class is raising money to purchase fifteen extra tickets to Il Travatore for interested SBOC students. Two weeks ago, the class cooked a lunch of spaghetti, garlic bread, and salad for Nova students. This lunch earned over half the funds necessary to purchase the tickets, and the class plans to cook lunch again in order to raise the rest of the money. This is an excellent project designed to foster connections with SBOC, and introduce more youth to opera.

For students who are interested in opera, Shirah suggests becoming a fan of the Experience Opera Facebook page (link). Students can also attend dress rehearsals at Seattle Opera (talk to Barbara Osborne about getting tickets) or join the Teen Tix program. The Teen Tix program allows teenagers to get $5 tickets the day of the performance in arts venues throughout Seattle. For those who want to watch or listen to operas at home, Shirah notes that “Barbara has great opera resources” and that the Seattle Public Library “is a good place to start”.

Nova is famous (or perhaps, infamous) for our strong smoker culture. As a school that believes in personal freedom, it seems only right that we should not stop students of a legal age from purchasing and smoking their cigarettes, provided they stay in the designated smoking areas, and respect community property. (Students illegally purchasing cigarettes is another issue, one that the school is not responsible for policing if it occurs outside of school hours only.) Freedom to control substances in one’s body is a personal liberty.

From the outside, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with students smoking at Nova. It is an example of the freedom allotted to every student here that can be seen from across the street. But concern has been expressed by some students and staff that this open policy regarding smokers has led to more students taking up smoking than do at an average high school–for reasons of wanting to fit in, or because smoking is made out to be “not a big deal” at Nova. I interviewed various members of the Nova community (smoker students, non-smoker students, and staff members) and found that feelings about smoking at Nova are all over the map, so to speak. Here’s an example of some opinions that I collected.

Other schools’ smoking policies

“They don’t really have a smoker policy [at Roosevelt], because you just have to go across the street. Here there’s kind of an understanding between teachers and students that smoking is okay, and at Roosevelt it’s looked down upon, so there’s less smokers…[because] they care what their teachers think.” – Chris Cohen (smoker student)

“I think it installs a belief in anti-authority, and I feel it causes kids [who smoke] to be later to class .” – Shauna Adams (smoker student on how policy affects smokers at other high schools)

Taking up smoking after starting at Nova

“I quit and then started again [when I came to Nova].” – Gavin Stone (new student and smoker on when he started smoking)

“I’d probably say generally, yes, [new students who smoke are more common here]. For example in my little 9th grade Coor group, it’s about 90% smokers.” – Jay Stickler (staff member)

“Staff at Nova would never encourage smoking. Every time it is brought up in staff meeting we talk about the concern we have for the young people who are smoking. When we go on to ask ourselves whether we should legislate this situation, we almost all agree that at Nova, we do not make rules, we create community and we influence one another. I try whenever I can to influence Nova students to quit smoking and certainly never begin.” – Debbie Cherniak (staff member)

Pressure and social circles

“I’ve never felt inclined or pressured, really…I spend time with smokers.” – Leroy Miller (non-smoker student)

“Yeah [I've felt pressured]. But at the same time, I’ve had smokers tell me, ‘do as I say, not as I do.’ [Smokers don't have better social circles], but at the same time, that’s not what I thought before I started smoking.” – REL Gross (ex-smoker student)

Looking at the various opinions expressed by the above members of the Nova community, and others, it would seem that there is no clear-cut answer to this issue. Social behaviors of students are not something that can be easily measured and analyzed. One student may react to peer pressure differently than another. Some students never feel the urge to pick up a cigarette even though all their friends smoke, yet others feel that smoking is a way to bond to other Nova students.

How do you feel about smoking and social influences at Nova?

In 2001 the Legendary Electronic artist Aphex Twin released a 30 track double album stock full of genius. The album is absolutely brilliant; it expands on all the Aphex trademarks, pushing this album over the edge of absolute beauty. Each one of the 30 songs on the album leaves its own impact, every one of which, owning a different beauty about itself. The album has compositions rivaling any arrangements I have ever heard, but this is nothing new for Aphex Twin, this is only the latest installment of his genius.

1. “Jynwythek Ylow”- A track on prepared piano, the melodies swirl beautifully. You can hear all the noises being produced by the piano, not only the notes but the noises the guts make while operating. A truly gorgeous composition.

2. “Vordhosbn”- Flows incredibly, the melodies mellow out, sifting perfectly, while the drums chaotically push everything into a new dimension.

3. “Kladfvgbung Micshk”- The prepared piano sets the mood, while the normal piano creeps ominously in the back. The rhythm created is incredible; it carries the song fantastically from start to finish.

4. “Omgyjya-Switch7”- Fast paced, it retains the amazing glitch beats Aphex Twin has pioneered. When it slows to fall into place everything established is perfect. Every little noise is fantastic, working were it’s supposed to and fading away at the perfect moments.

5. “Strotha Tynhe”- An absolutely brilliant piece of piano work, fusing Avant Garde into the melodies. The song is refreshing as a piano only instrumental and sets the mood for the next song.

6. “Gwely Mernans”- The drone of the background beat makes the melodies swirl even more over my head than they would if left alone. Not much changes throughout the song, but I couldn’t imagine it any other way.

7. “Bbydhyonchord”- Fades in with the rhythm pumping genius into my ears. The come down off the bass drum soothes my ears, until they are ready once more to be brought ahead. The notes fade away, leaving only the rhythm to keep everything at the right level until it finally drops me off at the end of the song.

8. “Cock/Ver10″-An unforgettable treasure. The noise at the beginning lets me know already lets me know how great the rest of the song will be. When everything kicks in all is right in the world. The song keeps flowing and flowing, surrounded by catchy melodies, even the topper most of the popper most would wish they had thought of this song.

9. “Avril 14th”- This song is a piano composition to rival any classic, everything about it is gorgeous, and the melody shines happiness and beauty.

10. “Mt Saint Michel + Saint Michaels Mount”- Everything about this song is brilliant, the patterns working alongside the extremely fast drums, the soundscape produced as the song flows. The sounds are so pleasing to hear, especially the child’s voice. It feels much shorter than the full 8 minutes it is.

11. “Gwarek2″- Creepy in the best way possible, all the screams create a really nice atmosphere.

12. “Orban Eq Trx 4″- Great trance track, locking down with the solid beat, and being expanded on with the synth.

13. “Aussois”- 7 seconds of people talking.

14. “Hy A Scullyas Lyf A Dhagrow”- Another prepared piano track. The percussion coming off the piano is amazing, and sets the mood so well.

15. “Kesson Dalef”- A short but sweet Piano song, it moves fast but commands my attention with each step.

16. “54 Cymru Beats”- This song is ambient music at its best, the samples are incredible and have been chopped to perfection. The beats move everything along forcing everything to the point, leaving no time for pit stops.

17. “Btoum-Roumada”- The sound of the instrument shimmers so perfectly. The reverb helps it surround me.

18. “Lornaderek”- A recording of a voicemail his parents left him on his 28th birthday.

19. “Penty Harmonium”- A song featuring only a Harmonium. All the notes paint pictures full of different colors and subjects leaving me ready for what’s next.

20. “Meltphace 6″- This song runs through itself leaving behind beauty I could never have dreamed of. It is great to relax and listen to, with all the different layers to each one of the sounds.

21. “Bit 4″- A lone synth playing maybe two notes, 10 seconds long.

22. “Prep Gwarlek 3b”- Prepared piano at its finest, giving a different vibe than the other tracks. Nice from start to finish.

23. “Father”- A random assortment of piano notes seem to fly through this lone minute track, Very cool sounding.

24. “Taking Control”- This track blends so many different noises, to make a truly unique and wonderful song. A robotic voice repeats “I’m taking control of the Drum Machine.” A really cool track, something to rock your head to.

25. “Petiatil Cx Htdui”- Yet another gorgeous piano track, this one is my personal favorite. It seems to blend emotions on all sides of the spectrum together for something truly fantastic.

26. “Ruglen Holon”- A prepared piano track that reminds me of a factory in the best way.

27. “Afx237 v.7″- The song starts with a glitched out voice that leads to a fantastic head bobbing phenomenon, full of stops and starts. This song uses some of the most interesting noises I have ever heard. Great from start to finish.

28. “Ziggomatic 17″- The longest song on the record. It kicks in with a bass sound to die for, and then shuts itself down only to start up again. Keeps the trend going, adding more and more pretty noises along the way, finally ending itself in a gorgeous orgy of beautiful sounds.

29. “Beskhu3epnm”- A great piano melody, translates very well on prepared piano with the percussion sounding amazing.

30. “Nanou2″- The best closing statement I have ever heard, the piano is gorgeous and seemingly whispers “goodbye” into the ear ever so soothingly.

This album is a brilliant piece of art to be cherished forever, well worth the double album price. Hopefully soon the world will see another Aphex Twin release.

Every student at Nova has experienced the orientation process; it’s a requirement to be enrolled at this school. An orientation is an eighth grader’s first taste of what education is like at Nova, and our goal is to make sure that they see or feel that there will be a place here for them to learn and grow. The people behind the orientations, tours, and the annual Exhibition Night is the student-run Recruitment Committee. I’m sure you have witnessed the frenzied and frazzled members running around the school right before an orientation, or the calm and collected tour leaders. Either way, these students are responsible for representing and properly educating people about Nova.

So, what happens when an orientee doesn’t feel welcome at our school? Do they find another school or take a chance on our small community, hoping to find their space? Luckily a few students did take that chance and brought it up with Recruitment. Now the committee that was stretched to a mere six people, has inflated to fifteen. With the help of principal Mark Perry, we are attempting to rediscover how to truthfully paint a picture of what life is like at Nova. Are we free of cliques and social hierarchy? No. Are students given absolute freedom? No. But, are we more so when compared to other schools? Most would say yes. So why have we been boasting of a footloose atmosphere with equal respect among our strong community when it’s not completely true? We want people to love our school just as much as we do, but somewhere along the line our selling spiel became stodgy and repetitious. We had lost the lively spirit of orientations and prospective students.

Recriutment Committee has been having a discussion on what we want orientees to understand about our school, which resulted in similar answers such as that there is freedom, but that is not synonymous for cutting class and passing anyway; there is equal respect among students and teachers which means that you have to respect them as well; and that although there is drama, we have an extremely caring community. We’ve also been putting ourselves in their shoes, and trying to figure what they want to know: such as our discipline system, how GPAs work, and what on Earth is up with Wednesdays.  With every answer, Mark responds with the same question, “And what does that look like?”

As a part of the Nova community, what do you feel should be understood by potential students? What would your ideal orientation look like?

MWF2

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision, released on November 10, 2009 and became the most successful video game launch date in history.  The game was already topping pre-order records days before the official launch day.

Modern Warfare 2 is an obvious buy for anyone who knows Infinity Ward’s previous works with the Call of Duty franchise.  This time you play as a British SAS member named Roach and just like every other Call of Duty game you play through the perspective of multiple people.  Each person tells their own version of the story so you should expect some old favorites to show up.

For some people the intensity of the game might be too much to handle.  This is most evident because the game looks so real, feels so real, and deals with real issues.  Terrorism, international intrigue, political maneuvering, and betrayal are just a few of the 21^st century “real issues“ you’ll experience that contribute to the intense feelings that most video games just aren’t equipped with.

Just in case you don’t feel right about jumping into foreign countries and shooting up the place there is an option at the beginning of the game to skip the more graphic parts of the game.

Modern Warfare 2 now has a driving mechanic which is something most first person shooter games haven’t done very well in the past.  I had more fun driving in this game than I have in every race car simulation game I’ve ever tried.  Infinity Ward also made sure to get rid of the infinite enemy spawns during the campaign that made sure you never had that lonely feeling you got making a game world feel empty and artificial.  Infinity Ward’s decision to get rid of the infinite AI spawns also made infamous Veteran difficulty a lot easier.  Don’t worry if you survive the campaign still thirsty for a challenge, you can try out the new special ops mode where you and a friend can play through short challenging missions that become very difficult.  Fans of the series should be use to recycled maps from the single player campaign and the Call of Duty Modern Warfare but, to be fair, special ops was only included because Infinity Ward felt that making the campaign cooperative would break the flow of the story.

Modern Warfare 2’s multiplayer is loaded with new features that can be fun but also keep the game balanced.  Features like Death Streak gives the player special bonuses if they have gone three lives without scoring any points.  That way even when you are playing your worst you can get a leg up.  Along with custom weapon classes, you can now customize your kill streak rewards with anything from the classics like UAV’s, airstrikes, and attack helicopters to tactical nukes that can completely change the outcome of a match.  When it was announced that the game would include a 3^rd person mode, most people questioned what direction the game was going for, but surprisingly Modern Warfare 2 does 3^rd person better than some games designed specifically to be played in 3^rd person.  And you never have to worry about finding other players to play with because Call of Duty has one of the largest online communities out there, but it is definitely a case of quantity over quality because the game attracts some of most foul-mouthed gamers you’ll ever meet.

This game has plenty of content and is well worth buying, whether you’re connected to the Internet or not there is definitely fun to be had.  And who knows, maybe this is the game that will finally get you playing online.

2006 saw Thom Yorke step out of Radiohead for a few moments to record an album of his own. He and long time Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, pushed a totally different sound than Radiohead, with a much more electric sound usually reliant on the beats or the texture the beats created. This became known as The Eraser. The album is absolutely fantastic. It shows Thom in a different light. There is a certain fragile beauty to this record; from start to finish it is the most beautiful piece of glass you could ever put your ear to. It paints colors both dark and light with its fast soundscape. The tracks are arranged perfectly, and each one flows to the next one like a plastic bag floating in the wind. It’s a short but sweet record, with only 9 songs, each song only lingers as long as it is supposed to. Something to truly lose yourself in.

1.”The Eraser”-The chopped piano takes hold of me the second it starts, with the awesome beats right behind it. When Thom’s vocals come in, a smile comes to my face–it’s absolutely gorgeous–the vocal melody dances with the lyrics to shine through the music. The song is delicate swirling around in circles to surround the listener, and then at the bridge a new heavy synth steals my attention, floating above the rest of the song, doing so so well my jaw is left open, never wanting the moment to end; finally, the synth sweeps the song to an easy ending, touching down as if falling slow motion onto a mattress.

2.”Analyse”-Takes off in a new direction. The whole song comes in abruptly not dilly-dallying to grab a hold. A piano takes the main melody, backed by synth sounds and beats that hold the piano so high above their heads. Thom sounds great on this track, singing poetry nicely above the perfectly painted wall bellow. The song has enough parts that you can sit and try and find all of them, each little part is its own little treasure. The song climaxes perfectly, with the end pulling you right into the next song.

3.”The Clock”-An awesome melody cracks in right away, much faster paced than the previous songs. The song features beat boxing solidly holding up the layers of sound. The bass works the melody, and keeps everything riding. Thom’s voice comes in yet again, ever so delicately, this time flowing in a completely different way, almost preaching to listening ears; I can’t tell what the message is but funny enough I feel as though I agree with it. The humming highlights the vocal performance hanging over top of the noise beneath. The song, once again, ends perfectly, bringing the next song up in its fall.

4.”Black Swan”-The beat rolls in establish ing the song, until the guitar makes it something entirely different. The song rolls really well from start till end. In the back of all the noise, a synth can be heard, until finally making its way to the surface to end the song.

5.”Skip Divided”-Kicks in straight away, with a whole new vibe. The background vocals keep everything steady as everything else delves deep into chaos. The main vocals establish most of the mood of the song and seem as though they are the main instrument. More and more happens in the background as the song draws to a close, ends as fast as it started.

6.”Atoms for Peace”-The calm after the storm, incredibly beautiful, brings the album back to the fragile beauty it started off as. The bass screams nostalgia of my childhood to me. Thom’s vocals are gorgeous and branch higher. The beat is fantastic and lets everything roll to an abrupt close.

7. “And it Rained All Night”-Fades in and takes a while to establish its mood, so I have a few seconds of beautiful confusion that I sit through. The beat is dancey, something Thom has not been known for.

8.”Harrowdown Hill”-Incredibly gorgeous, the bass is bad ass repeating the line that works so well over and over, the synth is ravishing, the vocals lead the song forward until the piano bridges to the perfect outro. An absolutely stunning song about the supposed suicide of the Bio Weapons expert Richard Clarke.

9.”Cymbal Rush”-My Favorite song on the record, the beginning beat is outstanding, until the synth comes to set the whole song up. The vocals are incredible, the lyrics are incredible. As the Rhodes Piano fades in the song notches itself at an entire new level, and stays there, until the outro brings it even higher. The outro is the prettiest melody I’ve ever heard, and the drums are perfect.  It closes the album perfectly.

An excellent album, and fantastic to own, because the cover art and booklet art are just as amazing as the songs.

Race for the Galaxy

Race for the Galaxy is a card game in the top fifteen on boardgamegeek.com. What is board game geek, you may ask? It is a website that people, such as myself, who play large amounts of board games, visit. We aren’t talking about D&D or role-playing games, just board games like “Settlers of Catan” and “Monopoly”. Anyway, board game geek is a site where people such as myself rate the board games we play. This means that board games are criticized by thousands of people leading to the result of its score, thus determining its overall rating in the world. It is currently number 13, which is an amazing spot out of the thousands of games rated on board game geek.

Why do I like Race for the Galaxy so much? It can easily be played by two to four people, or one to six people with one of the two expansion packs. It provides a good minimum number of players, resulting in there not being so many people that it gets confusing. Another reason why it is rated so highly is because the game only takes a half hour–if you don’t have to teach someone the game–which means it’s the perfect game to play at lunch. Once everyone gets how the game play mechanics work, it gets rather competitive. In the group I play with, we have a high point’s champion, which is the person that has gotten the most victory points in a single game. The title is currently being held by Reed Charlop with 53 victory points.  As the name of the game implies, it is in fact a race. You cannot affect what your neighbor is doing, there is no trading, there is no pillaging. You build and trade within your own galaxy as fast as you can possibly do that. The more you build, the more goods you produce, the more victory points you collect.

Game play: you start the game with one of five starting planets, each having different components, thus altering the way you’ve played thus far. So if you start out with the military planet you should probably play military, if you start with old earth you should play a windfall world. Right off the bat you should be playing differently from the last time you played. Along with your starting planet you get a hand of seven cards, there are two types of cards developments and planets. Now you are probably wondering, if this is a card game and there are only two types of cards how would I possibly pay to play these goods in my hand, in order to win. Well let me tell you, you pay with cards, that’s right, to pay to play things you simply discard the amount of cards the particular card you want to play is worth from your hand. So there’s no money, the only thing you have to deal with is your hand. This leads to much simpler game play, and no banker. There are six job cards which you cannot discard; the point of them is to chose an action for you to do for the round. You do everyone else’s actions, but each job card gives you a specific thing you can do during that phase that no one else can. For example, you might draw one more card and keep one more card, or get card for goods instead of victory points.

Overall this game deserves to be in the top fifteen of all board games out there, and after you get tired of playing it, you can start buying the expansion packs and playing with more people, leading to interesting topics of conversation: like, what’s up with the intergalactic lizards on some of the cards?

Eyva's and Terrance's coors working on a project with Karen's coor.

Nova is well known for its strong community, which is uncharacteristic of any other Seattle high school. Many people would attribute this to the uniqueness of the student body, or the substantial control students have over the decisions of the school. We have gone so far as to provide specific time devoted to the bonding of students. Family Community time, or Coor time, is a weekly period wherein students spend time with their Coor group getting to know one another. Up until this year, Nova had Coor time every Monday from 1:40 till 2:25. However, this year we have seen the advent of Thursday Family Community time, a second Coor time from 2:30 till 3:55. Since then, this time has been an issue discussed often between the students. Many believe that the time could be better spent doing school work or other activities, feeling that the additional hour and twenty-five minutes is a frivolous waste of time. Others believe that the time allows the bond shared by a Coor group to grow that much more. Either way, the idea brings up strong opinions in most.

Coor time provides students another opportunity to earn a class credit each semester, which also makes it a mandatory ‘class’. However, attendance is somewhat more spotty than that of a normal class, with numerous students that simply never go. Out of ten students interviewed, only five said that they attended Thursday Coor regularly. Many interviewed also said that they feel they don’t go as often as they should or are meant to. During the interviews, many of the answers students gave were less than serious, illustrating an all around aloof attitude towards Thursday Coor.
The efficient use of time is important for students, many who need any moment available for school work and assorted extra-curricular activities. A total of two hours and ten minutes a week are devoted specifically to Coor time, a relatively significant amount. Generally, each Coor decides exactly how their time should be used, as long as it helps to strengthen their friendships with each other. The time is spent doing things like making food, working on projects together, or just relaxing and talking. However, while many students believe that this is time well spent, others are not so sure. It’s disputed that the added Thursday time is longer than necessary or even reasonable. When interviewed, second year Nova student Clare Tonelli said, “I don’t know if it’s good for other Coors, but for mine it is definitely not efficient.” She goes on to say, “My Coor is already strong enough, we don’t need this much time.” Another second year student – Chris Clinke – said, “I don’t find it constructive in any way.” Other students, while less opinionated, also believe that the time is too much. When asked if Thursday Coor should even exist, first year student Ona Kroesen responded, “Yes, but it shouldn’t be an hour and a half”.

Overall, most students interviewed took issue with the Thursday Coor time; out of ten interviewed only two said that it should even exist. Many gave their own ideas on how to improve the situation. Four different students said that Nova should only employ Monday Coor time, simply making it somewhat longer if necessary. When asked if changing the scheduled time would be beneficial, Clare Tonelli said “I think if it were a time that doesn’t interfere with Monday – Friday and Tuesday – Thursday blocks like Wednesday.” Regardless of their opinions, this debate should be carried on by students so that a proper solution can be found for this dispute. All in all, the efficient use of time is an important factor for any high school student, and we should all take it upon ourselves to make sure that our time is properly used.

For some people, video games are a simple pleasure, where they can get one every other week if they want. For many gamers they can stay up to date with the new release and content. But then there is the rest of us, the poor gamers, the ones without a job or who are not old enough to get a decent one. Some people do not have a source of income like allowance or other non-job related ways of getting money. Most of the year my only way to get money is from my birthday or Christmas, not counting the money I find on the floor. However we all love video games, but the people who make them need money too, so most games cost something. In these tougher economic times, you need all the help you can get to pay as little as possible to get want you want. This guide is to help you stay up to date with the hip, new games being released all the time.
First off, probably the easiest thing to do is to save money. Note, this is not to help you stay up to date, but you should be able to get enough to the get the game in a month or two. Not only will you have enough money to get the game, but by then it might be cheaper that it was originally.

Way to stay up to date on video games number 1. Have friends, or at least people who tolerate you and let you hang out with them. As long as one of them has the money to do it, you and everyone else should be able to play the game as long as you are nice. If you are going to use this way to get to play the newer games, remember, the games belong to someone else, not you, so if they want to play it, let them. If you break it, you are most of the time going to be forced to buy a new copy and give it to that person, so be careful. This method is a good one, but don’t be a leech, be a nice person. If they invite you to their house, offer to help clean up after the party, or help them with homework in your spare time. They let you play with their games and fancy stuff, help them out and you will get rewarded. That is karma.

Way to stay up to date on video games number 2. A group route. This is like having friends, but this time it is pooling your money together to get a game, then sharing it with each other. This is a good idea, but can have problems. One problem is sharing, that can be really hard sometimes. If one person feels like they are not getting to play the game enough, they will complain, and then other people will complain, and it swirls into chaos, like always. Another issue is that the game may be lost or damaged; with lots of people handing it around, there is a higher chance of something bad happening than if you owned the game and keep it to yourself. However this strategy works well with games that have two discs, like the Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition or Halo 3 ODST. Fallout 3’s package has a copy of the game itself, and another disc filled with all the downloads. Pop it in, then put all the DLCs (down-loadable content) on your hard drive, after that you can give it to someone else and have them do the same, you no longer need the disc to play the DLCs, however you still need a copy of the game to play. Getting cooperative games are a must with this train of thought, games like Halo 3 or newer games like Modern Warfare 2 or Borderlands, make great co-op games for lots of people to trade off and play together offline and online.

Way to stay up on video games number 3. Subscribe to a gaming magazine or store. Note this method may not get you new video games, but it will help you stay up to date on all sorts of video game related information. Magazines like Gamepro or Gameinfomer, to name two of the many various magazines, are the ones I like and think are pretty good. Not only do you know about new games coming out, but how good the games are that just came out. These tomes of knowledge will help you not waste your little amounts of money on bad games. If you join the membership at a store like Gamestop or Gamecrazy, they give you discounts and special deals that can really help you out. At Gamestop for instance, they have a good membership deal. For $15, you get a subscription to a magazine, better deals in store on trade and buying stuff, and get a fancy plastic card to show off! Gamestop also does a lot of trade ins, like two-for-one on new games. You trade in two old games you own, to get a new game for $20 or less. That is a good deal to me. Still you will need money, but not as much to actually get new games.  (A side-note: this method to staying up to date may result in you feeling even more poor than before since you will be barraged by lots of things you can’t afford to buy.)

I’m not going to question why you’d want to bring harm to the ruler of the enemy. I mean, I thought he was governing his half of the checkered board in a pretty shabby manner, but beating up the King? It’s a step far beyond just winning fairly. It’s winning, but it’s downright dirty. Maybe you don’t like the color of his plastic, or glass, or whatever material the little figurehead’s made of. In whatever case, putting him in check isn’t enough, and you want him to feel the same checkerboard his comrades have been slaughtered on, so here’s how you go about doing it.

When it comes to the weapon(s) of choice here, it’s all about what looks frightening. It shouldn’t have to do any damage. You could use a toy laser gun, even. However, just in case this won’t work, you’ll want something you can dish out the pain with. I’ll explain why you need these later. Oh, and you will be required to shrink yourself, and your weapon.

When it comes to the shrinking process, it all boils down to what you’ve got in your arsenal. Personally, the shrink ray and washing machine are my two favorite options. I’m sure there are many others, but those are what I’m going with here. Successfully shrink yourself to about the size of a chess piece and it’s in the bag.

Now, chances are, if this is near the start of the battle, that the enemy has their King all coddled up within the crowd of many other military units. If this is the case, you’ll have to resort to this tactic. Disguise yourself as a rook (the little castle-type thingamajig), and place yourself near the front lines, in open range of an enemy pawn. On your turn, strike one of them. Instead of bringing them to the P.O.W. camp known as “the side of the board,” sneak off with the new pawn while the commanding officer of your disguise’s color isn’t looking, tie it to a chair, and get ready for the interrogation.

If this is mid-battle instead of near the start, you’ll need to disguise yourself as a pawn that made it far enough into the enemy territory to become the new queen. If you do this successfully, quickly and stealthily make your way up to one of the King’s escorts, known as the holy bishops, and capture one of them with the method from the previous paragraph. You are a third done with your mission if these steps have been completed successfully.

The next step lies in the interrogation. Hopefully you thought to make this happen in a place where you couldn’t be seen. If not, get to some area like that with your victim now. Okay, simply put, you’ve got to start with a prop-fueled threat, with the object that, when thought of as a weapon, would be quite intimidating. The toy ray gun I mentioned earlier would work great here, as pawns aren’t quite the fastest computers in the lab, if y’know what I’m sayin’. (What? I’m pretty sure they aren’t Macs.) Make the threat, and demand you know where the King is and how to get to him. If it refuses, inflict a small amount of pain to it. This is guaranteed to make the pawn talk.

Once you have the information, the rest lies in assaulting the enemy King. Move out on the field, and assassinate the bishops and rooks with the best of your abilities. Or knock them unconscious. That works, too. Once the King is the only target remaining, pounce him in a way that will render him unable to do anything but squirm from your grasp, on the cold, hard, checkered light or dark square. Start slapping him like crazy until he falls unconscious. A stun gun is optional for use here in case you don’t feel like slapping royalty silly. If you don’t manage to do this, chances are he’ll bust out some crazy close-range kung-fu moves that not even Queens have escaped from. After the King’s been knocked down, beat him up however you like, seeing as the enemy commanding officer will probably spot you, and accuse your ally commander of cheating, when, after all, he didn’t do anything. That’s just hilarious.

Now, the final step in the matter is to somehow grow back to your original size. There is a wide variety of ways you can do this. What are they, you ask? Well, that’s a secret. You’re on your own on that one. Well, maybe, just maybe, you could use a medieval stretching machine.

Well, if you managed to kick that King square in the bum, congratulate yourself. You used an extremely-complex method to topple that wicked tyrant, although, you could have just thrown something at him to knock him over. It’s really not that hard. But anyhow, you might just deserve a medal. Well…no. People will consider you a nutsy jerk when you go up to ‘em and brag about having beat up a Chess piece. Especially when you’re gloating to the person who owns the Chess set. Ah, glad I’m not stuck in that boat. Well, anyways, congratulations on your achievement, sir or ma’am. No board game figure will stand in your way ever again.