As we draw the curtain on another year, as we wrap it up, place it carefully into a nondescript wooden crate, and forklift it to a government warehouse filled with countless similar crates so that the nazis can never uncover its sacred secrets again, we look back on the very best pieces of Art and Entertainment that 2011 had to offer. Your beloved A&E staff has compiled their favorite things, and offers their eloquently-stated opinions for your enjoyment. Don’t agree? Screw you!

I kid, I kid. If you don’t agree, share your opinion! Get off your lazy rear end and write a letter to the editor, you bum! We’ll gladly publish anything you throw at us, no matter how abusive, how cruel, how biting. Just pick up a pen and wing that sucka over to room 118! Stat!

With eternal love and respect,

Jack Dunnington
A&E Editor

Best Public Event
The Marriage of William and Kate

It should be hard to pick one single event out of an entire year… but it’s really not. The marriage of Kate Middleton and Prince William warmed the hearts over two billion people. It dominated TV, radios, magazines, and newspapers for weeks before and after the actual event.

Despite all you cold hearted loners out there shaking your head, it is absolutely undeniable that this was a moment in history. Whether you wanted to or not, witnessing at least some part of the wedding was inevitable. No one will ever forget the magic of that special day, nor the weird hats.
–AC

Best Restaurant
Pike Street Fish Fry

Did I just die of clogged arteries and go to a very fried heaven? Yes, and I love it man, I love it!

Fish Fry has brought the beachy Fish N’ Chips life to the city, putting an ultra-hipster, cheap-ish spin on it, and boy, do they make it work.

Squished into the plaid-dominated Pike Street scene, stands the scrawny little Fish Fry in all of its glory. But the robust flavors of the fried catfish, oysters, calamari and link cod would make up for any size issues, and that’s not to mention their signature fried lemon (and grilled items if you are feeling rather healthy).

Winner of Seattle Weekly’s 2011 Best Fries award, and winner of Lauren Schechter’s Most Unbelievable Restaurant of the Century, Fish Fry is the only place to go. I will see you there.
–LS

Best Album
Section.80 — Kendrick Lama

After a few memorable but scattered guest appearances, Kendrick Lamar burst onto the scene this year with an album reminiscent of the west coast 90s scene.

In Section 80, Lamar flows effortlessly, backed by simple yet powerful production. Lamar sounds like one part Kanye and two parts a strange younger brother of The Pharcyde, but never fails to bring the music into the the new decade, providing a hazy soundtrack to the mixed up world we live in today.

Kendrick Lamar isn’t trying to start a movement, he’s just a member of the new class of rap — introverted and somber, or as he says on his song “Kush and Corinthians,”  “a youngun with lack of guidance.” But he’s emerged as the clear frontrunner, the voice of our generation.
–GK

Best Movie
Contagion

The world-devestating microbe in Steven Soderburgh’s film about a worldwide pandemic holds the record for the most effective size-to-scare ratio since Leprechaun 2: Back 2 Tha Hood.

In true Soderburgh form, the film is packed full of A-list actors for no apparent reason, but each character’s five minutes of screen time put a familiar actor in an unfamiliar role, breaking the mold of Hollywood typecasting.

Contagion excells not because it is magical cinema or because the acting is always perfect but because the film has the sheer audacity to predict a devestating disease as it would appear in real life: clinical, detatched, and terrifying.

Side note: Matt Damon gained 20 pounds for his role in  Contagion, but for no real good reason (guess he just wanted an excuse to eat some poutine).

Baby it’s Cold Outside — Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Jordan
This is probably the classiest pick up attempt you will ever witness. If you find yourself needing a reminder of the pluses to cold winter weather, give this a spin.

Christmas Is — Run DMC
This classic Christmas jingle will appeal to all generations. It has the similar heart warming effect as sharing warm cider by the fire with your loved ones. The eloquent lyrics include my personal favorite, “give up the dough, give up the dough, give up the dough on Christmas, yo!”

How Do You Spell Channukkah? — LeeVees
I have dealt with this problem so many times… It’s nice to know I am not alone. This upbeat account is a refreshing break from the bajillion Christmas songs played everywhere, everyday, all day.

Blue Christmas — Elvis Presley
Listening to Elvis’s sexy voice is like a Christmas present of its own. While he is crooning about a rather sad circumstance, I can’t help but smile every time I hear this song.

Winter Wonderland — John Legend
And here is another man with a beautiful voice. Legend’s crystal clear vocals add the perfect touch to his jazzy take on a classic.

All I Want For Christmas — Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Karen Oh is insane. This is reflected in all of her music, but especially in this jem. Only a loony could come up with this tangled mess of fluctuating vocals and echoing guitar. It’s great.

Hanukkah Oh Hanukkah — Erran Baron Cohen Feat. Jules Brookes
What do you get when you combine classic Middle Eastern instruments with some Jews who have a whole lotta swag? This crazy song. The funky clarinet is great, but the Hebrew/Yiddish rapping is what seals the deal.

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus — Amy Winehouse
Winehouse’s soulful voice eliminates my original annoyance with this song. Her classic style adds just enough flair to make me forget to be horrified by the subject matter.

But hey, who says you have to buy all of those presents? Lucky for you, I have paired up with professional craftmaster Isabelle Marshall to bring you a few homemade gift options that just might prevent you from breaking your bank this holiday season.

Car Scenter

This festive and natural take on those nasty air fresheners is something any car owner will enjoy. This could also double as a nice ornament for your mommy.

Materials:
– 1 satsuma, or small orange
– a jar of cloves (you’ll need a lot)
– 20 gage wire, about 5 inches
– wire cutters
– 1 pair of pliers
– 1 bead, medium to big, glass or wood
– around 10 inches of ribbon

Time: 10–20 minutes
Stick cloves into the tangerine. You can create any pattern you like, or you can just cover the entire thing. We chose to make a spiral, but faces are a great choice too!

Stick wire into the bottom of the tangerine, all the way through, and out the top.

String a bead onto the bottom of the wire. Use pliers to fold wire over bead.

Bend wire on the top of the tangerine into a loop.

String ribbon through wire loop. Tie a bow on the top, leaving a loop so that you can hang your tangerine on the rear view mirror.  You can curl the ends of the ribbon for extra flair.

Votives

Candles are relaxing, great smelling, and sexy. Who wouldn’t want to get one this holiday?

Materials:
– clear glass jar, small (like for jam or baby food)
– Modge Podge (if you don’t have any you can mix a little water with Elmer’s glue)
– tissue paper
– hot glue gun (optional)
– rhinestones, beads, glitter (optional)

Time: 30 minutes
Paint a coat of Modge Podge over a small part of the jar. Place a small piece of tissue over it. Paint another coat of Modge Podge on top.

Repeat as many times as necessary until the jar is fully covered by tissue. It’s fine to layer the tissue, but try to keep it thin so that the candlelight can shine through. You can also stick tissue over the lip of the jar to keep it neat.

Paint one more coat of Modge Podge over the entire jar.

Once Modge Podge is dry you may use hot glue to attach beads, glitter, etc.

Feather Earrings

Feather earrings would be a great gift for a fashionista. Buuuut, the cost can range from 10 to 25 dollars. Why not just make them, for much less, on your own?

Materials:
– 2 earring hooks
– 6 foldover crimps
– 6 feathers
– about 20 inches of a narrow chain (we used silver for all metals, but you can use gold)
– 6 small jump rings
– 2 large jump rings
– 1 pair of scissors
– 1 pair of needle-nose pliers (optional)
– 1 pair of pliers
– 1 pair wire cutters

Time: about 30 minutes
Cut down all six feathers to the size you want, make sure that the stem is narrow

Place feather inside of fold over crimp. Use pliers to fold over the metal tab on one side of the crimp, and squish it down. Fold over the other tab of the crimp; squish it on top so that the feather is caught in between the crimp’s layers.

Take one of the small jump rings, open it slightly with the needle-nose pliers, and slip the crimped feather onto the jump ring through the opening. Cut the chain into a 2–3 inch section. Slide one ring from the chain onto the jump ring as well. Close it with the pliers.

Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the rest of the feathers. If you would like to, you can vary the length of the chains for each individual feather.

Open up a big jump ring. Choose three different feathers (that go well together) and slip their chains on. Slip on the earring hook. Use pliers to squeeze the jump ring closed. Repeat using the second big jump ring and remaining feathers.

Even though it was published a lengthy twelve years ago, Chbosky’s well crafted tale has found its way back into the spotlight, this time in the form of a screen adaptationion scheduled to be released sometime in 2012.

The book is a series of letters, written by a boy named Charlie to a stranger he decides to trust with all of his inner thoughts and feelings. As he goes through his first year of high school, he deals with way more problems than any kid should have to.

Just before the letters begin, Charlie’s best and only friend commits suicide. This leaves him completely alone to deal with the scariness of high school. He stumbles through the year as an avid observer. He is, as the title states, a wallflower. Charlie is a witness to life. His never ending mental commentary and naive questions hold up a magnifying glass to the flaws of society. He inadvertently reveals just how terrible the world actually is.

When two seniors take Charlie under their wings, and his language arts teacher tells him to try to “participate,” he begins his attempts at what we would consider a normal life. He goes to football games and  dances, and even occasionally tries to talk to people.

Charlie immediately falls in love with one of his new mentors, Sam, and his guilt, prompted by his unbelievable innocence, leads him to reveal to her his exact feelings. This type of behavior becomes his signature as he goes through the ups, and tremendous downs of freshman year. His problems go much deeper than unrequited love. I can’t even begin to grasp what he went through during that single year of his life, let alone the 15 years before.

On top of  dealing with high school, Charlie faces his extremely dysfunctional family,  and most of all, the crushing grief of the loss of his beloved aunt. The effect of this grief is evident throughout the tale.  It haunts him every second of every day.

Charlie sees the world through eyes so open and so untainted, it’s almost painful to behold. He doesn’t judge; he doesn’t attempt to alter or hide what he sees. He is, essentially, the perfect wallflower. But no one can live that way.  This book is the story about what makes a wallflower and how one learns to live.

I can’t go into any more detail without ruining the essence of the book. I will tell you, though, I cried three times while reading it, and I read over half of it in one day. It is amazing.

With the film’s release drawing nearer and nearer, I am terrified that it will turn out to be some quirky, light, Junoesque take, completely destroying the book’s dark, painful truth. My only solace is that Chbosky wrote the screenplay, as well as directed the film.

Please, please, read the book before you watch it. It’s worth every second.

This pass lets you purchase a day-of-show ticket, for only five dollars, at any of Teen Tix’s 38 participating organizations, including Book-It Repertory Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera, Pacific Science Center’s IMAX & Laser Dome, EMP, and  the Seattle Children’s Theatre.

“If Seattle culture has a future, Teen Tix is at its heart,” said Stranger Theater editor Brendan Kiley on his profile.

“My Teen Tix pass saves me lots of money when my I go the Seattle Opera,” says Junior Laura Bedalov, who often visits the opera with her dad. Bedalov is not alone; many Garfield students use Teen Tix to get discounts on shows.

Sophomore Violet Brown uses Teen Tix to watch IMAX films at the Science Center. “I just recently saw Happy Feet 2 at the IMAX. The penguins were so cute! Plus I saved money with my Teen Tix pass so that was cool too,” Brown said.

One Sunday per year, the Pacific Northwest Ballet lets kids use Teen Tix passes to see the Nutcracker. Every year, freshman Lilia Deering and her sister Anya wait in line to see the Nutcracker for only five dollars. “I got there at around two and waited in line with a couple of friends, my sister, and her friends. We stood for two and a half hours in an insanely long line. We ended up getting dress circle seats which are normally over $150, in the first row of the first tier. The show was amazing and, of course, totally worth the five dollars,” says Deering.

“My favorite part of the EMP was this room full of instruments. My friend and I spent so long in the room with the guitars and saxophones. I almost felt bad because my friend had to pay fifteen bucks while I got in for only five,” says sophomore Ilana Mass. “At the EMP there was one of Jimi Hendrix’s guitars and it was so cool because I knew he went to Garfield,” Mass told me.

Whether we are saving for a higher education or just looking to blow a little cash on a dinner date with that special someone, we teenagers are always looking for ways to save money.

As Mass says “Teen Tix is awesome!”

From Drake to the late Amy Winehouse, these artists have released some of the best albums of their career. Or have they…?

Amy Winehouse — Lioness: Hidden Treasures

What’s an artist without a back-from-the-dead album? Unfortunately, during her life, Amy Winehouse was known primarily for her drinking problems rather than her talent. However, the few pieces Winehouse left behind, compiled into her very last album, are some of her best ever.

Released Dec. 5, Lioness: Hidden Treasures showcases Winehouse in the best of lights.

Her soulful voice and jazzy influences create an amazing album, and it’s about time, too: there has been a five-year gap since Winehouse’s last album, Back to Black, released in 2006.

The album also includes featured artists such as Tony Bennett and Nas, creating a refreshing contrast of songs.

I don’t care how you do it, but whenever you get the chance, go listen to her cover of Our Day Will Come,  originally done by Ruby & the Romantics, on the new album.

All I can say is Duffy: you have some big shoes to fill.

The Roots — Undun

Pink Floyd released The Wall and The Who released Tommy; both albums will forever live in the rock opera hall of fame. The Roots have taken this genre to the next level by introducing a new creation: rap opera.

Their new album, Undun, released on December 6, tells the story of fictional character, Redford Stephens.

The album starts with Stephens’s death at age 25; the album becomes the story of his life narrated backwards in time. The plot is fascinating and the lyrics allow you to piece together the story, one song at a time.

It isn’t just the story that makes this album so brilliant, it is the rhythms with jazz, R&B, hip hop, and catchy choruses. The songs are short, sweet, and to-the-point, leaving you eager to listen to more.  They even throw in a little unexpected twist, with a  guest song by Sufjan Stevens. Didn’t see that one coming, huh?

Undun could very well be their best album to date.

The Black Keys — El Camino

I have never been the biggest fan of The Black Keys; nonetheless, their new album El Camino, released Dec. 6, 2011 shows a new, crazier side of them. While still  keeping their classic bluesy vibe, they have managed to create something a little wilder, and I kinda like it.

Unlike their last, calmer album, Brother’s,  The Black Keys have decided to turn up the amp and create something that you can really rock to.

This change may very well be due to their new producer, Danger Mouse (the other half of Gnarls Barkley). My friends, this is a head banger album. Usher makes me want to dance, The Black Keys make me wanna dance too, and by dance I mean flail my arms while running around my house.

You have to be in the mood for this album. If hip-hop is the life for you, stay away: this is rock n’ roll babay, rock n’ roll.

El Camino takes you back to the 70s man, groovy. This is some psychedelic stuff. Tighten Up’s poppy but soul filled sound makes me want to go to a party with Van Morrison or…John Travolta.

Drake — Take Care

It has been a while since Drake roamed the Canadian halls of Degrassi, and let me just say that I always new that he and his Jewish self had more potential then any of those other co-stars. That being said, I still don’t think he is great.

Take Care, released Nov. 15, is Drake’s second official album. Different from Thank Me Later, his last album, Take Care seems to be more thought out, showing a new sense of maturity.

Unlike Thank Me Later, this new album incorperates many different artists such as Stevie Wonder, Niki Minaj, Andre 3000, and of course his big brother, Lil Wayne.

The songs in Take Care have the tendency to sound the same, and Drake’s whiny voice doesn’t help matters. Despite all the cameos, this album ranks up to nothing fantastic.

So there you have it: albums upon albums, upon albums. For the most part, these artists have done the music industry  good by ending this year with a final solid bang. Hopefully, there will be more  meodic tunes to follow.

Upcoming Albums:

• 12.10 - The Dreamer, the Believer - Common
• 12.13 - Mac and Devin go to High School - Wiz Khalifa and Snoop Dogg
• 12.29 — The Return of a Heartless Monster - 50 Cent
• 1.24 - Human Again - Ingrid Michaelson
• The Stars are Indifferent to Astronomy - Nada Surf
• 1.30 - Old Ideas - Leonard Cohen
• WZRD - Kid Cudi

These days, completely original storylines are hard to stumble upon. In Time is so creative, though, that it punches you in the face. Andrew Niccol, screenwriter and director of The Truman Show, has demonstrated once again that he can create something completely unique.

In Time has all the ingredients for the makings of a great movie: a talented cast (JT I love you!!), a huge budget, and above everything else, a one-of-a-kind plot, as fascinating as it is confusing. On paper, In Time looks as promising as Inception. However, along the way something went a little wrong.

The basic plot of In Time is  genius. It takes place in a world where everyone stops aging at 25, and money is time. The essential idea is that once you hit 25 you only have a year to live; however, instead of earning money you get time (i.e. a dollar is equal to a minute), so instead of paying 4 bucks for your favorite frappucchino you might give them 4 minutes of your time.

This means that those with good jobs or people born into a lot of “time” live forever, whereas the ones with no time live for as little as a year over 25.  Still, everyone looks the same so you can’t tell how old someone really is. For example, a grandmother, wife, and daughter could all be standing next to each other and you would have no idea who was who.

So how does one differentiate the age of the characters in the movie? That is where the clocks come in. The clock is a not-so-subtle reference to the tattoos put on victims of the holocaust; however, there is not enough correlation for this to be meaningful to the viewer. It is basically a neon green digital watch put on a person’s forearm, counting down how much time they have left to live. One person may have a century on their watch while another may only have an hour, and once your clock hits zero you’re a goner.

The madness just continues as Niccol adds a whole new element to the movie by letting people steal each other’s    time. This is done by coming up to somebody on the streets grabbing their arm and turning it so that they can’t move it (kinda like a high-stakes game of arm wrestling). Then BAM! you’ve got their time, and they may only have a few seconds left to live, and then BAM! they’re dead, and you’ve got  50 more years on your hands, literaly. In the theater, I looked over to my neighbor, and challenged her to a life or death duel of arm wrestling .

The plot really begins when the protagonist, a broke Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), starts stealing time from the rich and giving it to the poor (Robin Hood swag?).

The movie was just a little too nice. A world where you basically have to steal life should be a dark one, In Time avoided the nitty-gritty and stayed shallow.  Maybe it’s the fact that everyone is ridiculously good looking, that cheesy lines are thrown around without out a second thought, or that Timberlake’s partner in crime, Amanda Seyfried, runs around in heels the entire time.  Either way, it bogs down the movie, unfortunately not allowing In Time to live up to its full potential.

The plot alone could have carried the movie. The flashy clocks and high-horsed  police weren’t really needed.  With a story so good, overcompensation with effects and fluff such as the high stakes poker games rarely adds anything… Well, I liked the high stakes poker game. But just becasue you just got 500 years, Mr. Salas, doesnt mean you have to rent out a 5 star hotel suite for a night.  These little extravegancies are just not needed.

Despite In Time’s cheesiness, I left the theater excited about the plot and ready to battle anybody for time if they came within five feet of me. The movie left me with a greater appreciation of the time that I do have. It’s nice to not have to look down at your arm and see that you only have five minutes left to live.

The Bechdel Test, created by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in her comic Dykes to Watch out For, was invented by one of her characters as a protest of the lack of strong female characters in Hollywood. In order for a movie to pass, it must have at least two female characters with names. These characters must, at some point, have a conversation together that does not consist of anything to do with a man. Simple, right?

Yet Moneyball, Shawshank Redemption, Milk, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I am Number Four, The Godfather, every movie in the original Star Wars Trilogy,  and a seemingly endless list of movies fail the Bechdel Test.

A couple of Garfield GSA members discussed this test and the issues of sexism and gender roles presented by its three basic rules.

“I think it’s pretty ridiculous that the criteria for not being, you know, horribly sexist, is having two female characters have one conversation, that’s not about a guy. One conversation, that’s hardly anything,” sophmore Kate Holmes says. What’s even more shocking, however, is that many movies don’t even get past having at least two named female characters. Two.

The Bechdel test is often overlooked as another ridiculous angsty feminist critique on society. This time, however, it illuminates the hidden underside of all gender roles in society. What it reveals is pretty unnerving.

Overlooking gender for just a moment, Hollywoodized stereotypes have been a problem since the first movie was ever made. Racism was, and still can be, the most prominent and noticeable issue brought up by the movie industry. This is undeniable.

Now, consider this: students learning to be screenwriters around the world are taught to write movies that sell. They are taught to write movies with leads that are straight, white, and male. When author Jennifer Kesler studied screenwriting at UCLA she found that diversity is encouraged in the form of sidekicks, background characters, and supporting roles.  The spotlight, however, must always be on that white straight man.

“I’m not really surprised,” junior Jasmine Burr says, “because that’s what the media is kinda telling everyone. Like, you need to be a straight white male to be an official male.”

What’s even more discouraging is that, often times, movies that do pass the Bechdel test, like Mean Girls and Charlie’s Angels, are defined by negative stereotypes of women.

“If you have a female character, then her character is going to be based around the fact that she is female,” Holmes says.

Junior Amanda Triandafilou adds that the point of any role that is not a straight white male will be that they are not a straight white male. “When they throw in the designated black guy it’s super obvious,” she explains, but “with gender roles, it’s kind of the most subtle.” People don’t tend to notice that the point of most female roles is that they’re female.

In our society, Holmes says, “there are certain expectations” that come with not being the straight white male. These expectations are drilled into us with each and every movie that supports them.

“Basically,” Burr continues, “they’re brainwashing.” Gender roles have become so embedded into our everyday lives that they have become unnoticeable.

If you’re a girl, “you’re not an actor, you’re an actress, you’re not a waiter, you’re a waitress… it’s set,” Triandafilou says.  These distinct separations of men and women, according to Senior Maggie Holmes, unlike other prejudices, are impossible to fully eliminate.

She points out that all other isms, like classism or racism, are rationalized by ideas fabricated in someone’s mind and that it could be argued that, both types of people are the same. Men and women are actually different  and  always will be. “There’re always gonna be distinctions. It’s just a matter of recognizing the differences as not being worse or better.”

Senior Maggie Holmes, Kate’s sister, takes the idea of sexism further, attributing brain chemistry as a cause. “Men have testosterone, which makes them feel naturally competitive, which makes them more ambitious, which makes them naturally more likely to take roles of power,” She says, “and roles in power and leadership are what dictate society.”

Kate Holmes, in an act of classic sisterly agreement, will not accept this as rationale for sexism or gender roles. “We are evolved to the point that [we can] actually base things on our thoughts and opinions and go beyond just what our brain chemistry is equipped to do.”

The main issue here, however, is not sexism. The issue is in gender roles. To be fair, the “masculine” movies, filled with action, and excitement, are targeted to the type of audience, predominantly male, that can relate to the lead roles cast in the films. Hollywood’s sin is merely representing the demographic that it is targeted to. However, it has become generally acceptable for women to enjoy action movies as well. It has become ok for them to be a little masculine.

In this way, the Bechdel test seems to prove that gender roles affect men more harshly than women. It is much more unacceptable for a man to be a bit “feminine” and enjoy chick flicks. “Women spent the past like hundred and something years fighting to be able to be more masculine, but few guys are out there fighting to be feminine,” Triandafilou says.

Because gender roles support notions that femininity coincides with weakness, and that men should not ever be weak, it is a lot harder for a man to openly relate to those movies that include leading female roles, that are considered feminine.

Even so, stereotypes have “embedded in our minds that we have to be someone we’re not and have to act a certain way,” Burr says, but “if you really want to change something, then change it. You just gotta put your mind to it.”

More of the populace is starting to ride the wave. With an increse in comic book  interest and sales, D.C. Comics has decided to rerelease many of their most popular comics, to assist a new gereration of potential comic lovers in discovering a new passion. But comics in general are still looked down on by a mjority of people.     Why is the comic book so maligned? In movies such as “Kick Ass,” the comic book-reading hero is a socially inept, out-of-place teenage guy. This stereotype isn’t carried over with superheroes, as everyone saw “Iron Man” and “The Dark Night”, and even Vinny from Jersey Shore wore superhero shirts. So this bias is exclusive to comics themselves.

I personally love comic books, mostly because they’re one of the most entertaining ways to tell a story.

Because their main driving force is the artwork, the story is allowed to become a vibrant, exciting landscape right before your eyes. You can see every little detail of the characters from the ruffles on their shirt to the flecks of dirt on their faces, and their changes over time are accented in a way that very few other forms of media can replicate.

Comics also allow a story to be continued over a long period of time.

Everyone has that book or movie that they just never want to end, and when it does, you just wish there could be more. Some would argue TV shows do this, and they do to some degree, but they always come to an end eventually, whereas comics can always produce more.

To put it in perspective, the longest running TV drama in the US is Law and Order, which has been around for 20 years and has 456 episodes. Compare that to Action Comics, the original Superman comic, which has has over 900 issues and has been running since 1938, almost 75 years.

So why do comics get the bad rap?

I think it’s because big time comic book enthusiasts are really immersed in their love. More often then not, the love of comics starts when one is young, as they are easy to get into at a young age because of their vibrant images and exciting story lines.

The life-long relationship with comic books really reflects in some enthusiasts’ almost child-like devotion to their favorite heroes and villains, as shown by the intricate costumes and encyclopedic knowledge you see at huge events like Comic-con.

I feel like people are down on these individuals because they go over the top to show their fandom, and are labeled “weird” because many people would never dream of dressing up like Captain America or General Grievous.

Why is this so different than going all out for your favorite sports team or school spirit? The cause may be “manlier”, but that unexplainable, ludicrous passion we feel for random things is the same.

So look past the Superman capes and the Gandalf beards, and you’re left with a completely normal guy/gal with an affinity for great stories and diverse heroes. Comics are some of the most epic tales ever told, which is why they have such a vast and diverse following.

With DC Comics Re-releasing all of their most popular comics at issue #1, now is a great time to hop on the bandwagon. It’s one action-packed, thrilling ride.

The Twitter website defines a hash tag as “any word with the ‘#’ symbol in front of it. It acts as a keyword, which makes it easy for someone searching for a particular topic.” Twitter also explains that “people include hashtags in tweets so that others interested in that same hashtag can find them easily.”

Hashtags are supposed to be used to trend a topic. Twitter users can search certain trends on hashtags to see if they are being discussed or tweeted about. Many people misuse the concept of the hashtag by tweeting things like #honestlythisissomuchfunIcanthandleit or#whoknewsomethinglikethis couldhappentoagirllikeme (both of which I’ve seen before on Twitter).

Now, there are myriad different uses for hashtags, but the most popular seem used expressly to  describe how sad their lives are, how cool they think they are, or all their problems.

#whitegirlproblems

Lets start by taking the people who use hashtags to complain about all their problems. There are many trending hashtags about people’s miserable lives, most famous among them #whitegirlproblems, which constantly talks about how hard it is to be a caucasian female. Recent tweets with #whitegirlproblems trending include:

- I wish I were naturally tan.

- 6 missed calls.

- I literally just ate so much…water.

#firstworldpains

Another popular hashtag to complain about your problems is #firstworldpains. This hashtag includes annoying things that happen to normal people, that would seem absurd to anyone else living in a third world country.

- Taking a bath and the towel’s in the laundry room.

-   I bought an app for .99 and it sucks.

- I tried to underline something but ended up crossing it out.

#somebodytellmewhy

People often feel the need to use hashtags to make people feel bad for them or to let their “tweet fam” know how sad their lives are. Even though these hashtags are sad and pathetic, they’re pretty interesting and humorous to read. Here are some more interesting tweets I found under #somebodytellmewhy:

- I’m single, I must be really ugly

- people don’t appreciate me as much as they should.

- I’m still not famous

- Food is my only friend

- Fat people wear such tight clothes

After a few laughs I decide to log off Twitter. I now feel  a little more content  knowing that I have reached a deep undestanding for the cyber world.