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Claire DeFrancisci, News

Winter Percussion, Emerald Guard place at Tri-State Championships

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By Claire DeFrancisci

The Emerald Guard pose with their first place medals. Photo by Andrea Estar.

This past Saturday the Emerald Guard and Winter Percussion both medaled at the Tri-State Championships at Ryle High School in Union, Kentucky. They both competed against teams from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio. Both of the groups had previously showcased their performances at the pops concert in February for FC students and family.

Winter Percussion placed third with their performance of “Robots vs. Teddy Bears.” Instructor Hank Rothrock first pitched the idea for the theme. The students thought of it as a joke at first, but then they began to to take it seriously and turned it into a show.

“I was really nervous going into it, but when they announced that we got third place I was just ecstatic because then I knew that all of our hard work had paid off. It was a great feeling,” said senior Carmen Schreiber.

The Emerald Guard finished off an undefeated season by winning the gold medal and their first championship.

“The best part of that day was performing for a huge crowd of people who enjoy your show. It’s a great feeling when you walk past someone and they look at you and say ‘I loved your show! It was really good,” said senior Jenna Scharfenberger.

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Natural ways to alter hair color

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By Blake Dykes
When it comes to beauty and appearance, my philosophy is natural. Why put harmful chemicals on your body when there are more organic, beneficial ways to alter your image?  To obtain beauty there are more secrets than most are aware of. Starting off with one of the most expensive beauty products, hair dye. I watch people dye their hair once a month and see how their hair loses all of its beauty and becomes fried.  I understand people want to change things up. Different is fun, right?  But why take something beautiful and destroy it instead of spicing up the color giving it a more natural effect?With summer well on its way, lighter hair color is usually wanted. Here are some ways to lighten hair chemically free:

1. Take a cup of lemon juice and mix with ¼ cup of warm water. Mix well in a spray bottle, and spray all over hair. Use your fingers to really smooth the mixture through hair well. Then sit out  in the sun for an hour.

This trick will make blonde hair blonder and lighten dark hair, bringing out hidden highlights.
Hint: The longer you leave the lemon juice in the hair the lighter hair will become.
I have light brown hair, and after using this mixture my hair got several shades lighter, bringing out the blond.

2. Another way to get the sun bleached color many people look for is by using Chamomile tea or the flower itself. Either item works effectively for this process. First, boil approximately two cups of water. Next, add in a cup of flowers or five tea bags. Then, let the mixture cool completely (you do not want to put a boiling liquid on your head). Once cooled, get hair damp and scrub liquid into hair. Then sit out in the sun and allow hair to dry completely. This is the same as the lemon juice in the aspect that the longer the mix is in the hair the lighter the hair will become.

Although lighter hair is typically wanted, dark hair is becoming more popular this season.

1.  Take ½ to ¾ cups of brewed coffee that is completely cooled and rinse over whole head. You can also take the coffee grinds and rub into hair. Once hair is saturated, cover with a shower cap and leave for an hour. Repeat process three times a week to get the darkest color possible.

2. Mix two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder with a palm full of shampoo and rub together in your hands. Scrub into hair and leave for five minutes. Then rinse thoroughly.
Tip: This routine can be repeated every day if desired and is more of a gradual change.

The final tint is red. Even though not as many people are dying their hair red, many people are getting red highlights and red undertones.

1. Take ¾ cups of beet juice and ½ cups of carrot juice and combine together in bowl. Rinse ingredients through hair and let air dry while sitting in the sun.

2. This process involves directions similar to the cocoa powder. Put two tablespoons of cinnamon and stir two tablespoons of conditioner with it. Next, shampoo hair as normal, and then apply cinnamon mixture. Massage through head and wrap in a towel. Let air dry in sun then rinse hair. These steps can also be repeated on a daily basis.

Caution: Be sure to be careful with cinnamon because it can easily create a mess.

Extra: Besides bringing out the red/auburn tint in your hair, this treatment will also soften hair and leave it smelling great.

This also works better on lighter hair such as light blonde because it is able to dictate the color better rather than darker hair, which is harder to stain.

Hint: The more times these routines are performed the more effective the results will be.

Eli Bolus, Features

Gaming: the ever-changing medium

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By Eli Bolus and Chase Gosman

By 1972, one of the first home video game debuted.  Pong soon became a household name.  The creator of “Pong,” Bushnell, only produced 150,000 units initially. It was a treat to have a friend or neighbor with a copy to play with. Today video games have taken a new form; with the iPhone and other mobile devices, gaming has been forever changed.  More people want to be entertained on the run instead of sitting down at home for an intense gaming session.

“I like mobile gaming because it provides a distraction and it is on the go,” said sophomore Garrett Glass.

Instead of being a huge event to get to play a new game, usually accompanied by hours of continual playing, it is now a quicker “on the go” event for many.  While there are still many gamers who play for hundreds of hours, the majority prefers the more casual approach.

Freshman Jody Schmelz has a balance between the two. Schmelz plays more on his Playstation 3 than he does on his phone but usually has several games of “Words with Friends” going on at one time. This is a prime example of a mix of serious and casual gaming.

Also, instead of gaming being a solitary sport pitting man against the computer, it is now an incredibly social event with games like “Words with Friends” and “Draw Something” topping the charts on iTunes App Store.

Though some do one-on-one competition, others go for a more global approach.  People like sophomore Mackenzie Power compete on a larger scale, battling for the top scores on games like “Temple Run” where the objective is to get the largest amount of points possible while dodging obstacles and collecting coins.

Many people enjoy posting high scores on Facebook, in hope of impressing friends who also play “Temple Run.”  Power, for example, has a high score of 13,905,202 points.

Even though this score may seem impressive to some, it comes to Power quite easily. It is simply something to pass the time.

“I don’t play it that often. Maybe once every two days. It’s just all skill.”

Everyone enjoys it for their own reason. Power said she likes “Temple Run” because it is addicting and she feels like the person in the game.

“I live vicariously through the football player,” said Power about one of the playable characters in “Temple Run.”

Not only is mobile gaming a fad among high schoolers, but it has spread to adults also. Senior Kelsey Moburg said her mother has a passion for gaming. “I like ‘Angry Birds,’ but my mom is addicted to it.”

Other people like junior Gordon Heltzel prefer mobile gaming for social reasons, “[‘Words with Friends’] gives you a chance to interact with people from school outside of school.” Heltzel also said he has upwards of ten active “Words with Friends” games at one time.

In this changing world, one thing remains the same, people want to be entertained, be it on the go or at home.

News

NJROTC helps recovery in Pekin

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By Jessica McNally

On Wed., March 14, FC and Lanesville NJROTC went on a trip to Pekin to help a local farmer clean his land. His farm was one of many that were affected by the EF4 tornado that came through the area on March 2. Cadets lined up across the field to look for debris. Seniors Kyle Creech, Marissa Sammons, and sophomore Nathan Cabral lead their fellow cadets during the clean up. Cadets found roof tiles, insulation, boards, nails and branches, among other pieces of debris.