The wind ensemble director cares more about how the music sounds and feels rather than the ratings provided, which is to the and student’s benefit as they are learning to produce good music based on sound and not based on the judge’s ratings at UIL competitions. UIL is for band members to perform in a group and follow along correctly together to create a symphony and a continuous beat to appeal to the judges.

There is also symphonic band and they are the intermediate band and they play easier and less complicated music than wind ensemble, at UIL competitions. Symphonic wind is a larger group of band members that play the music but they are not as advanced as wind ensemble. There is a UIL sight reading group where band members are given a new piece of music they have never seen before and they have to play it and read it as they go along, and there is one judge that will give them a rating based on how good they performed the piece.

Have you ever thrown a Superbowl party? Made a Fantasy Football team? Caught a baseball at a game? Sat courtside for your favorite basketball team? When it comes to being a sports fan we can all get a little crazy. Following sports is a big deal in today’s society. Many watch sports to look cool or genuinely because it’s good entertainment. Most of us will watch sports on TV or our phones, hosting a party to watch it with friends.

According to ‘CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll’ 63% of Americans watch sports regularly. That is over half! Not surprised, Statista came out with a survey in 2017 revealing that sports were broadcast for 134,000 hours on regular television. Also, The 2016 Olympic games were the most-watched of all time with 3.6 billion watchers… that is a lot of people! But Why so many? In the Columbia research review, science writer Jonah Lehrer discovered mirror neurons. Lehrer states, “Mirror neurons undoubtedly play a role in interpreting the action you see on the field… Mirror neurons can explain why you put yourself in the shoes of the players on the field. But they cannot explain why you put yourself only in the shoes of precisely half the players on the field—your favorite team.” You want to be in the other person shoes, be the one playing the sport.

Sports are entertainment for the human eye, that is why we are so engrossed in it. It allows you to shut out the world and focus in on something you wish you could do. Does our obsession stop there? No, it has become very popular to gamble on sports in today’s society. According to Reap sports statistics “26% of male athletes reported that they started gambling prior to High School, 66% began in High School.” Wow. That 66% of men started gambling in high school, that’s where we are today. “Sports betting is the most popular form of gambling among youth 14 – 22.” Again you see that this problem is the core of youth and upcoming adults. Why? Well, it’s easy to believe in the aspect of luck, LUCK is what gambling is. You have to be lucky and at a young age and especially being male there is a commonality of a whole lot of pride. They believe they know everything, winning a bet will boost their ego. And being lucky with a big ego equals being popular.

Here at Westside, many students have reasoning for being such big sports fans. Senior Ethan Doan, expressed his participation on the Westside Wolves basketball team for his freshman and sophomore year. He elaborated that this spiked his interest in sports, mainly basketball. “I have played hundreds of games, practiced for hours and days, and dedicated my free time into anything basketball related.” Ethan Doan is a huge Basketball FAN per his experience. Fortunately, Doan was willing to tell us about the few times he gambles and why. He bets on the Superbowl every year! “because of the thrill and adrenaline that comes along when you put your money on a team winning.”  THRILL and ADRENALINE, these are good words to explain the feeling you get when you gamble. Doan also adds, “It makes you more attentive to the game,” so putting your money on the line makes the game more interesting. That is an interesting way to put it.

Senior Justin Gomez, participated in sports, like baseball and soccer. However, he extends his love and passion for Football. Specifically the Houston Texans NFL team! Gomez states, “I have always found the game intriguing and entertaining. From the performance of the players to the on-field coaching.” Justin is entranced by the organization and abilities of the team members.

In the end, sports are a dominant source of entertainment in human life and will always be. We also know that being an obsessed fan can become dangerous, leading to bad gambling habits. Being a sports fan is like freedom from the busy world, so yes, be a sports fan. However, don’t gamble on it. Even if Westside student Ethan Doan says there are good reasons. It doesn’t have to be harmful but the best choice is to never start gambling in the first place.

From the perspective of a Houstonian, this second tour will be a new experience as during Scott’s first tour, he hosted a festival rather than an indoor concert as he did for the other cities. With Houston being Scott’s hometown, the festival was to distinguish and isolate the city of Houston with an exclusive and adventurous opportunity to see him and many other big artists perform. In regards to the second tour, Scott will perform an indoor concert at the Toyota Center. It is unannounced if Scott will bring other artists out to perform at the Toyota Center but what is certain is that he will put on a show that Houstonians will never forget.

The cities Scott will be performing at for his “Second Leg”/”Reverse” Tour include (in order): Vancouver (01/25), Portland (01/27) , Tacoma (01/29), San Diego (02/04), Las Vegas (02/06), Los Angeles (02/08), Tulsa (02/11), Houston (02/13), Kansas City (02/17), St. Louis (02/18), Indianapolis (02/20), Chicago (02/21), Milwaukee (02/22), Columbus (02/24), State College (02/26), Buffalo (02/28), New York (03/02), Brooklyn (03/03), Montreal (03/05), Toronto (03/07), Hartford (03/09), DC (03/12), Jacksonville (03/14), Orlando (03/15), Tampa (03/17), Nashville (03/20), Atlanta (03/22), and Charlotte (03/24).

The songs that are intended to be performed are: Stargazing, Carousel, Butterfly Effect, No Bystanders, Don’t Play, Sky Fall, Through The Late Night, Upper Echelon, Drugs You Should Try It, Mile High, 90210, Skeletons, Astrothunder, R.I.P. Screw, Houstonfornication, Stop Trying To Be God, NC-17, Zeze, Beibs In The Trap, Yosemite, Can’t Say, Antidote, Goosebumps, and Sicko Mode.

The movie is directed by Bradley Cooper, who also plays the troubled Jack, and making her film debut is superstar Lady Gaga as the ingenue, Ally.  “A Star Is Born” was highly anticipated. It has received high praises from audience and critics alike. Nominated for 20+  major film and music awards, it finally scored with an Oscar for Best Song with the breathtaking “Shallow”, written by Lady Gaga.

This popular movie is the 4th version of the story.  The last starred Kris Kristofferson and Barbara Streisend, featuring the masterpiece “Evergreen”.

sung and recorded live for the movie.  Like “Shallow”, this song won the Academy Award for best song.

An emotional story, everyone can relate to, “A Star is Born”, is timeless, and enjoyed by generation after generation.

The song starts out with an interpolation of the song “My Favorite Things” from the musical “The Sound of Music” originally sung by actress Julie Andrews. On the track, Grande discuss “how global success has allowed her to enjoy the finer things” (1). Grande described the song as a “friendship anthem” that “evolves” from the previous single “Thank U, Next” while embracing a new chapter in life. She opens up about how her break-up with Pete Davidson led her to “treating her friends instead”. (2)

A visual accompanying the song was released along with the song the same night. The music video, directed by Hannah Lux Davis, features a pink-colored theme while Grande and her friends party in a mansion while sporting their diamond rings

Billboard magazine noted it’s “the most hip-hop-leaning song Grande has released in the post-Sweetener era yet, with Grande almost rapping the song’s verses”.(3) This song shares a similar cadence with other songs by the artists Soulja Boy, Princess Nokia, and 2 Chainz. The choruses are so similar that the singer was accused of biting off the other artists’ flows. Princess Nokia publically accused Grande of plagiarizing her song “Mine” in a video posted on her social media pages, but later deleted the post after Grande released a remix of the song featuring 2 Chainz.

(1)(2)

(3)

Following the tragedy at her Manchester concert in May of 2017. A bomb explosion injured over 500 of her fans and killed 22, including the assailant(2). She returned to Manchester in June for a special tribute performance for the victims.

She was virtually silent for the next year besides teasing new music. Then, on April 20th, 2018 Ariana released the first highly anticipated single from her fourth album “No Tears Left to Cry”. Shortly after she announced her latest album “Sweetener”

“Sweetener” was released on August 17th, 2018 after singles “The Light is Coming” and “God is Woman” consecutively dropped. During this time she also announced her engagement to comedian Pete Davidson. This 15-track project produced by Pharrell and Max Martin also went No. 1 within a week on the Billboard 200 chart(3).

Grande’s 2018 quickly turned sour when her ex-boyfriend, rapper, Mac Miller suddenly passed away due to a fatal overdose in September. The two had broken up shortly before she became engaged to Davidson. Adding on to the already devastating event, Ariana received a lot of backlash from Miller’s fans. They blamed her in part for his death and even sent her death threats.

Despite all this Ariana continued to press on. On November 3 she released her iconic single, breakup anthem: “Thank U, Next”. The upbeat song about resilience and self-love was co-written by the singer and her best friends Tayla Parx and Victoria Monet.(4)

After posting images and teasing for weeks, Grande dropped the visual for the single. The video was everything fans expected and more. Grande reenacts scenes from popular early 2000’s romantic comedies, Mean Girls, Legally Blonde, Bring it On, and 13 Going on 30. The legendary montage included cameos from her own friends, social media stars, Kris Jenner, and even cast members of the movies she featured.

As 2018 came to a close Ariana Grande received Billboard’s 2018, Woman of the Year award where she embraced all the love and loss she’d encountered that year and makes it clear that in 2019 she’s focused on loving herself.

(1) https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5687364/ariana-grande-debuts-at-no-1-on-billboard-200

(2)https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/world/europe/ariana-grande-manchester-police.html

(3)https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8472196/ariana-grande-sweetener-number-one-billboard-200-chart

(4)https://www.billboard.com/articles/partner/8489029/billboards-2018-woman-of-the-year-a-timeline-of-ariana-grandes-big-year

Sandra Oh was the first person of Asian descent to not only win multiple Golden Globe Awards but also the first person of Asian descent to host the Golden Globes. During her acceptance speech, she gave a heartwarming thank you to her parents in Korean that took over entertainment headlines.

“Bandersnatch” follows a young man named Stefan Butler as he follows his dream to work for the great video game creator Colin Ritman by helping him create new games, including his first underdeveloped game called “Bandersnatch” which is based on a book that has many different endings by each choice you make while reading by the author named Jerome F. Davies who apparently felt that he was not in control of his life and ended up killing his family.

Stefan starts to feel the same way, as if people are controlling his every move, and the film is like a big metaphor because the character feels the same way as the author who killed his family felt. The film has five alternate endings which you could play to watch and each ending is shown based off of each choice you make when they pop up on your screen. This film truly is the future of the movie industry, imagine being able to choose how each film you watch ends, because that opens up such a big role for the users and you could talk to your friends about your ending that you chose and what you did when you yourself watched.

Everything is bigger in Texas, and this motto is exemplified when Houston’s massive livestock and rodeo come to town. In addition to the world’s largest rodeo, Houston hosts the biggest and best livestock show. You can go to the petting zoo and interact up close with the animals. Not only that but inside, Capital One features a birthing center where visitors can watch calves, lambs, and chicks enter the world.

From eating the best fried Oreos or a fried Twinkie, there are many things to do. Especially at the carnival that opens at 4 p.m. and runs to midnight on weekdays, and on weekends the hours are 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Saturday morning at 10am, when tickets went on sale, many people were angered at the fact that the website kept on kicking them out before they were able to purchase tickets.