Apple Event 2019 recap: iPhones and iPads and Watches, oh my!

By MITCHELL COTE

Staff Writer

On the 10th of this month, Apple held its 8th annual September Apple Special Event. Topics discussed in this year’s event included Apple Arcade, Apple TV+, new iPads, Apple Watches, and, of course, the new iPhone 11.

Before hardware was showcased, Apple thought it would be a good idea to touch on software. Apple Arcade, the company’s new game subscription service, was shown. Games showcased included Konami’s Frogger in Toy Town, a typical excursion into the Frogger mold with a few twists, Capcom’s Shinsekai: Into the Depths, a thrilling platformer set in an underwater world, and Annapurna Interactive’s Sayonara, Wild Hearts, a music-driven driving game with combat segments and a delightful neon-based art style that will also be launching on the Switch and PS4. The service will launch on September 19th in over 150 countries and will cost $4.99 a month on a family subscription, although the first month would be free. Apple TV+ was then touched upon. A trailer for the Jason Momoa-led series SEE, a series set in a post-apocalyptic future where almost everyone has been rendered blind – except for our lead’s twin kids – was showcased. This service was announced as launching on November 1st in over 100 countries and will also cost $4.99 a month on a family subscription. It was also announced that one free year of Apple TV+ would be bundled in with any new Apple product sold from that point on.

Following this, the seventh generation of iPads was unveiled for the very first time. This new iPad, described by Apple’s vice president of product marketing Greg Joswiak as “designed to make the most out of iPadOS,” features a 10.2-inch Retina display, an A10 Fusion chip, and a Smart Connector. This new seventh-generation starts at $329 (or $299 for the education sector) and will start shipping on September 30th. After that presentation was a segment on the Apple Watch. Apple’s vice president of health Dr. Sumbul Desai was called up on stage to talk about the Apple Heart Study and how it’s success led to the other studies unveiled at the event, like the Apple Hearing Study, the Apple Women’s Health Study, and the Apple Heart & Movement Study. Following this, Stan Ng was brought on stage to announce the new Apple Watch Series 5, which now has an always-on Retina display, an ambient light sensor, and a compass. The new Apple Watch starts at $399 ($499 for cellular models) with a launch date set for September 20th.

The next, and last, product to be unveiled was the iPhone 11 family of smartphones. Kaiann Drance, senior director of product marketing for the iPhone, was brought up on stage to explain. She talked about the new features, like the glass on the phone, which she referred to as “the toughest ever in a smartphone”; the 6.1-inch Liquid Retina display; the new dual-camera system at the rear, which includes a wide camera and an ultra-wide camera with a 120° field of view – both able of recording 4K 60FPS video; and the A13 Bionic chip that the phone will run on, which she said was “the fastest [CPU & GPU] ever in a smartphone”. The now-prerequisite deluxe edition, the iPhone 11 Pro, was introduced following this. Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing, was then brought onto the stage to showcase this new product. Features he touched on included the case, which is made of a “surgical grade” stainless steel and features a single piece of glass on the back; the 5.8-inch Super Retina XDR display, upgradable to a 6.5-inch on the Pro Max; the same A13 chip you can find in the iPhone 11, which leads to a better battery life than the iPhone Xs; and a three-camera system incorporating both of the cameras seen on the iPhone 11 with an added telephoto camera. The price starts at $699 for the base model, with the Pro and Pro Max extending the price to $999 and $1,099, respectively. They all start shipping on September 20th. The last big announcement was that the Fifth Avenue Apple store would reopen on, well, September 20th.

Apple has made a little niche for themselves as “the product for the discerning customer”, and these new products just continue to feed into that notion. Phones may all just be rounded rectangles with screens by this point, but Apple strives to make sure their rectangles are set apart from all the other rectangles. And with each new generation, they manage to make them just that bit more fashion-forward.

Tennis: The After Results

By: DIANA HERRERA

Staff Writer 

Our girl’s tennis team gave its all with an impressive game, even though they lost. With their score being 2-6 they have lost, but they showed Miner pride. Some of our players couldn’t play since Mt. Whitney’s team was smaller but our players got in more practice for their next game. 

A Silent Voice Review

By NATHANIEL RUIZ

Staff Writer

The movie A Silent Voice was absolutely beautiful. The film was originally a manga and was translated into an animated movie. It revolves around two separate stories: a school bully, and a hearing-impaired deaf girl. Their lives intertwine and the movie illustrates how their situations compare and contrast each other. The cinematography in this movie was incredible; the transitions were perfectly executed and give just the right amount of attention to every scene. Its delicate and cruel nature depicts the relationship that children have in school at a young age. A Silent Voice has the ability to play with people’s hearts and make them feel many emotions. It got a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and it honestly deserves it. This movie was recommended to me and now I heavily recommend you watch it as well, you can find it on Netflix. 

Lady Miner Volleyball

By ISABELLA FLORES

Staff Writer

An intensified, powerful game for all three teams against the Lemoore tigers. Watching the Frosh game first, our anxiety levels were already up, as they played to three sets. Points going back and forth as it seemed like it kept going on and on. They fought on and won, now it was our turn to sweep Lemoore off their feet.  We took the first set and we knew they would fight really hard to win the second. It was so close going on until 30 points and they took the second set. The last and final third set, our hearts were beating faster than ever, it was our most intensified game yet. The rally was going on forever, as I thought to just get perfect passes and we’d win. We just needed one more point to win, as our middle hitter slammed it right down the center for the victorious point. Feeling so gleeful, yet relieved it was finally over with. Next was Varsity as they also swept them, with all three teams winning. I’d say the Lady Miners had a great evening of volleyball. 

IT Chapter 1 and 2 Comparison

by BRINLEE VUOLA

Staff Writer

In 2017, It was released in early September. It got multiple high reviews, a total of 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned $123 million dollars in the box office on opening weekend, making it the third-largest opening weekend of the 2017 year, according to VARIETY.com. The high majority of good ratings and reviews from both fans and critics swamped the number of bad reviews. Here in 2019, It Chapter 2 was released almost exactly two years after the original after being very hyped up by Stephen King fans. In only 4 days, the movie got mediocre reviews and a total of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes; yet, it has earned a massive $179 million in the box office opening weekend. Many fans and critics on Twitter and various review sites are claiming that the movie was very much “overhyped” and that the outcome after waiting two years wasn’t worth it. However, on the other side of the spectrum, fans are saying that the film was worth the wait and it did a good job at playing a well-rounded sequel to the first. While the original movie is a suspenseful 2 hours and 26 minutes in total, the sequel is an “overwhelming” 2 hours and 50 minutes long, making some people feel like the movie was dragged on with its heavy use of flashbacks and creepy monsters keeping everything going for the time period. Scenes and scares directly to the kids in the first film didn’t go old, and the ending left the perfect mark for the sequel. Yet, while the second film is full of the same things, it can have a dull dragging feeling to some audience members as they wait for the 3 hours to end, and the calm ending scene left no mark for the third part. Each cast is different in the movies due to the giant time jump, but each one of them has an extraordinary bond with each other and help bring the characters out in their own personal way, while also following the script. The casting back in 2017 for the first film helped the movie keep its good ratings, and this year, critics cannot deny how outstanding the casting was for the sequel and how each of the actors was able to also bring out their characters for a great performance. Bringing back the old child actors for the sequel for the flashbacks proved to be a saving grace, but that, along with many other things, unfortunately, got “old and repetitive” according to reviews. While the first movie was “undeniably great” and the second was “mediocre at best” to the majority of ratings, both movies were acted out incredibly well to bring the book to life on the big screen, and overall, nothing was too disappointing to an audience who loves horror, scares, and Stephen King’s novels.

The Dangers of Vaping

By GARRET ROBINSON

Staff Writer

The newest and most popular trend that many people, especially teens use: an alternative to smoking called vaping. Vaping companies have claimed to be a safer alternative to smoking cigarettes but there has been no long term research or data to back up this claim. These companies selling Juuls and vapes make it so readily available to young kids and teens yet they don’t care about the life-threatening risks they are putting them at like popcorn lungs. Popcorn lungs is a nickname for a condition that damages your lungs’ smallest airways which makes you cough and feel short of breath, and this is caused by diacetyl which these e-cigarette companies are putting into their product. These companies are also putting in chemicals that are unknown to many people which may be the cause for everyone getting debilitated and sick. There was even a case where an 18-year-old was vaping for a long time which caused him to get hospitalized. The doctors at the hospital found out that his lungs are so badly damaged that they are similar to a 70-year-olds lung. The consequences of vaping are life-threatening to anyone who uses these machines, yet companies are trying to hide these effects and people will always fall for it.

Bowling Club

By LEEANNE SLATTEN

Staff Writer

Sunday, September 8, was the first bowling session at the Bowlero. We had a great turnout with about 20 students attending. This took up 3 lanes for fun. Here one can meet new people and interact with one another over bowling; all over a similar interest. We had students who could curve the ball just right to students who needed the sides up. Every skill level was at the Bowlero and we as a club welcome even more students to join. Look for announcements in the bulletin. 

Girl From New Zealand Brings Measles to Disney

By: GRACE KONIG

Staff Writer

A teen girl from New Zealand travels to Southern California from August 11-15 for vacation. Her family and she had flown into LAX going to Desert Palms Resort Hotel for a trip to Disneyland. The average population of Disney per day is 40,000 people. She also visited California Adventure, Universal Studios, Madame Tussauds and Santa Monica pier. It wasn’t until the 14th-15th that they realized she had this air spreading virus. Public health officials are still looking for anyone who may have been exposed and show symptoms. Sixteen total cases reported by Los Angeles residents with the symptoms of measles-fever, rash, cough, & red watery eyes-. This has been the largest measles outbreak since declared eliminated in 2000. The only prevention is the vaccine and if not vaccinated they can only get medication and wait it out. There have been 639 cases of measles in New Zealand just this year. Health officials hope that if the measles virus is fully out of the U.S. by September, it will remain eliminated.

How Drugs Make a Difference

by TANIA OLIVARES

Staff Writer

Everyone goes through changes, right? It’s how we go through life, with changes. When people decide to do something different with their life it can either be a good thing or a bad thing, it just depends on what they end up doing with themselves, and how they do it. For example, people can change themselves in bad ways and could start using drugs. There can be many different reasons on why people may want to start using drugs, but with that there can also be a lot of effects when it comes to the people around you when using them. Drugs have the ability to change and destroy your life forever because of the effects it causes to one’s human body and mind. That’s why using drugs isn’t the best way to go when you need a change, because of the negative outcomes and effects it has. 

First it might be helpful to discuss why people may want to start using drugs. Often people that start using drugs start at an early age, like in their teen years. In the article (Get smart about drugs) it says “The teen years are often a time to explore and learn more about themselves as they approach adulthood. Often, this involves experimenting and testing their boundaries. The desire to do something new or risky is a normal part of teen development.” This can be something to always think about because there can be many more reasons why teens would want to start using drugs at such a young age. A couple of reasons could be that they want to “relieve boredom, feel good, forget their troubles and relax, satisfy their curiosity, ease their pain, feel grown up, show their independence or belong to a specific group” Get smart about drugs. One of the biggest reasons I feel that people or teens start using drugs can be through peer pressure since teens can be so easily convinced to try something new. When wanting to experiment or test our limits there’s always going to gonna be that one bad decision where you can go to far. For example if you start using drugs there can be a chance that you can get addicted to it, which is something people have a hard trying to give up. 

If drugs can have the effects of changing you, you can also have the effect of changing people around you. When people start using drugs and going more further into having an addiction it can vary the relationship you may have with your friends or your family. In like matter of having to either always ask for money or have lots of mood changes. The website Get the facts about drugs and just think twice it says “If using drugs starts to consume your life, your relationships become less important, and you lose interest in school, sports or work. You may withdraw from family members and activities.” I agree with this because of the effects that drugs bring to you. Drugs cause you to be like a whole other person because of the things people do just to get them and what they risk when getting them. “People who use drugs don’t see the damage and hurt they’re causing others. The whole family is affected. It hurts the family dynamics and disrupts the stability of the household” (Get the facts about drugs and just think twice it). Drugs can cost a lot of money depending on what you get, where you live and who you get them from. Often there’s people who are so desperate for drugs they steal from their loved ones which makes the situation of trust harder than it should be. When people use drugs it causes them to do thing that they would probably never do if they weren’t on drugs. For example, “Others can no longer count on you to do what you say you’re going to do you may become rebellious and defiant with parents, guardians and siblings, you may have mood swings, paranoia, and irrational anger, you may verbally and physically assault others, you may start stealing things: money, credit cards, and other valuable items” (Get the facts about drugs and just think twice it). The effects drugs can cause to ones brain is truly scary. There’s so many things to think about when a loved one starts using drugs. Like how are they going to affect the family or how are they going to change as a person. 

 Additionally, when going over the side effects of drug use there can be a lot:, from to the way you act as a person, to the way your mind functions. The list of effects that drugs bring you can is crazy because of how long it is. “The effects of substance abuse vary with the types of drugs and the frequency of use. Drug abuse can lead to alienation, anxiety, changes in appetite and mood, intoxication, impaired judgment, depression, hallucinations, immune system suppression, malnutrition, nervous system damage, organ and tissue damage, paranoia, tooth loss, severe weight loss, sexual dysfunction, violent behavior and suicide.” Many things can go wrong with how your body function when deciding to use drugs. Also it does just depend on how much you take and what you take. “The more you take a drug, the more likely you are to build up a tolerance to its effects. This can lead to the need to take larger doses to obtain the effects of the drug” (Better Health). Taking a certain amount of drugs per day can definitely mess up how you’ll think and act as a person. In the website (Better Health) it says “Drug dependence can quickly begin to affect your psychological and physical health, and can also affect your work and social life.” Not only do drugs affect your personal life but they also affect your social life. When trying to get off drugs it could be extremely hard because your body is already used to the substance of the drug being in your system. There is so many types of drugs in the world, so the effects of each one is different it just depends on what you get whether it’s illegal or not. ¨It is important to remember that illegal drugs are not controlled substances, and therefore the quality and strength may differ from one batch to another¨ (Better Health). The effects of it lasing a long time can change based on what you may take or how much you take or it could last a short period of time but it just depends. Drugs can have the power to put so much effect on the brain. Changing up how you think and to changing up your daily activities. ¨You may act differently, feel differently and think differently if you have taken drugs. And you may struggle to control your actions and thoughts¨ (Better Health). 

 Some people may agree that it’s okay to use drugs on certain occasions. That shouldn’t be the case. Though it may make you feel relaxed and take your mind off of things, there’s boundaries when it comes to doing it, there’s other things you could do instead of using drugs. Some people may rely on drugs to make them feel better but there’s different and better ways to get your mind off things and make you feel relaxed. For example writing out your feeling, listening to music, or going on a run to get your heart rate up. The use of drugs is always a bad idea no matter what type of situation you are in. The start of drug use can ruin your life because people can get addicted to it and trying to get off of it is extremely hard. Doing drugs should be the last thing you want to start doing in life, especially if your life has barely begun. The point in all of this is that using drugs has affected so many people’s lives and not for the good of it either. 

 To sum everything up, there shouldn’t be a reason why people would want to start using drugs when there so many other things they could do with their life. Drugs are just something people do as a distraction to get away from life for a little bit, but one little thing could always lead to something worse. That’s why it’s best to just stay away from stuff that can ruin your life especially drugs because there’s so much more to life than just drugs. 

Love’s Familiar Ache

By MEGAN QUEVEDO

Staff Writer

I haven’t had one of these in a long time.

Kind of headache where my bones hurt.

Slamming into my skull until I’m weak in the knees and sick to my stomach.

The kind that wake me up in the middle of the night,

And hang over my head all day like a mist.

Fuzzy little waves of emotions.

Tears fill me up as I remember the way you kissed my head and tucked me into bed.

I remember how soft you whispered my name as you wrapped me up in your arms and laid me on your chest.

Your heart beat so fast when I told you that I loved you.

You used to bring me tea.

In this cute little white cup with the daisies on the side,

And we would lay together in my lavender bed.

Sometimes I’d fall asleep,

Listening to you sing “Killing Me Softly” for the third time this week.

But when I opened my eyes…

The headache was always gone and you were always there.