The Beijing Olympics National Stadium By Benedict

The Beijing Summer Games are starting! Some of the main athletics and soccer games will be played inside the newly made National Stadium. This year, the Beijing government made a goal to make Beijing into a cleaner city by the time the Olympics started. That’s why all the new stadiums are eco-friendly and inspired by nature. The Stadium is 330 meters long by 220 meters wide. It is also 69.2 meters tall. There is a usable space of 204,000 square meters. The whole Stadium and the area it’s on is 258,000 square meters. The bird’s nest (National Stadium) construction cost up to about 3.5 billion yuan which is about 423 million dollars and 340 million euro. The new stadium was built on the Olympic green park where some of the important stadiums were built. The bird’s nest can hold up to 91,000 people. Herzog & de Meuron designed the birds nest. Almost every game in the summer games will be held in the birds nest. If you want to watch the Olympics on TV, get NBT or TV Pool to see the Olympics in Thailand.
The opening ceremony was already held inside the bird’s nest with a bunch of songs and dances. There was also a spectacular firework display when the torch was put on fire. The Award Ceremony is going to be held inside the Bird’s Nest. It will be awarding about 302 awards to winning athletes at the end of the Olympics. The Bird’s Nest will make Chinese people proud.

Book Review "Pendragon" by Shawnie

-Bobby Pendragon is a normal kid, when he discovers he’s a traveler. A traveler is a person that is able to travel all over the universe through tunnels called flumes. He needs to stop Saint Dane (the bad guy) from destroying the territories. The series includes these books:

Book One: The Merchant of Death

Book Two: The Lost City of Faar

Book Three: The Never War

Book Four: The Reality Bug

Book Five: Black Water

Book Six: The Rivers of Zaada

Book Seven: The Quillan Games

Book Eight: The Pilgrims or Rayne

Book Nine: Raven Rise

Book Ten: coming out soon!

For the people that have read it, you know how awesome it is!!!

This in Pendragon’s official webstie: DJ MacHale :: Pendragon Adventure : Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space

I like this book because it has a very good plot about how a fourteen year old kid tries to stop a worldwide bad guy, which has powers to transform into any person he wants. So you never know who is the bad guy or good guy. People who read Harry Potter and Artemis Fowl will enjoy this book as much as I did. His characters are really cool, each character has a special talent. Hope you guys will like this book!!!!

Cyber bullying by Raimy

Have you ever been cyber bullied? Most people are afraid and don’t want to go through the trouble of getting cyber bullied. When you get cyber bullied, the first thing that comes to your head is, ‘Who is this guy and what did I do to him to make him do this to me?!’ You feel angry, maybe a little scared. Then, if it keeps continuing, you’ll get frustrated and depressed, and worst of all, you start believing what he is saying. For example, if the bully says that you are ugly, first you won’t believe him. However, as time goes by, you slowly start to think he is right. Try not to. The bully is only trying to intimidate you for some inexcusable reason. Whatever reason he has, it doesn’t mean he gets to cyber bully you.

If it happens, you should:

‧ Try to talk to the bully and tell him to stop, and say it firmly.

‧ If that doesn’t work, ignore him and don’t reply or take any notice of him.

‧ Talk to a counselor or a parent or whoever you can trust in. The bully doesn’t need to know you told, but the person you talked to should be able to monitor the bully’s behavior both online and offline.

Once the bully stops, you will feel safe and happy again, but it won’t happen immediately. You can take some time to recover. Everyone deserves to feel safe online.

Remember, getting cyber bullied is not a fun feeling for anyone, so don’t be a cyber bully yourself!

A New Season, a New Start

Win E.

With all eyes awaiting the Olympics in China, few have remembered that the European football season is starting up very shortly. Among them is the English Premier League, Spanish La Liga, Italian Serie A and the German Bundesliga which are some the biggest and most expensive leagues in the world. With great new player additions to many teams, many of the title chases this year will be wide open. Big clubs and the smaller ones will just have to fight it out.

During the summer, clubs embarked on shopping sprees which saw many big-names switch teams. With the Olympics kicking in action this August, many skilful young players have departed big clubs to play for their countries. It will definitely spice up the competition with the big clubs missing stars. 2008-09 promises to be a great season.

Here are the starting dates of each of the leagues:

· English Premier League- 16 Aug

· Spanish La Liga- 30 Aug

· Italian Serie A- 31 Aug

· German Bundesliga- 15 Aug

· French Ligue 1- 9 Aug

Other than professional soccer, the sports in ISB are also starting. Coming up very soon is the basketball season along with the BISAC basketball teams. The actual soccer season itself is going to start in late October with NBSL and our BISAC teams. Go tryout and get involved!!!

Why parents disapprove of family guy

The kids love it the parents hate it, it’s the politically incorrect family guy.

Family guy is a show about a family that just can’t get anything right. Parents automatically dislike the show because it’s the most violent, racist, and hilarious comedy out on TV. That combination just doesn’t sit that well with the parents. Mothers especially don’t like the show. This show is more appealing to men.

The opinion of one man is that this show is almost like the Simpsons taken to another level. It probably is not suited for children that don’t have a deeper understanding of life. This show may mislead a person to believe that these characters are good role models. People that understand the concept and know that it is offensive can accept the comedy and just laugh. They understand it is ridiculous—it is satire.

In conclusion, this television show is not suited for people who aren’t mature enough or lack enough understanding. I think parents should allow their children to watch it, but monitor the viewing of this show.

If the dress fits... by Grace

Ever heard of the saying ‘Thrice a bridesmaid, never a bride’?

Well, meet Jane Nicholson.

In the movie 27 Dresses, Katherine Heigl portrays a young woman who has been a bridesmaid no less than 27 times. Jane’s agenda is filled with appointments she has to make and weddings she has to turn up for. She’s always wanted to have her own happy ending, living out the happy life that the articles in the wedding section of the newspaper dictate. However, she never seems to have the time. Kind and compassionate, Jane never seems to say ‘no’ to other people, until two things happen, which change the course of her life.

Firstly, her younger sister Tess (Malin Akerman) arrives from overseas and falls in love with Jane’s boss, George (Edward Burns), whom she meets at Jane’s work party. Jane isn’t too pleased about this, particularly since she’s harboured a crush on George for years. Jealousy grows when Jane feels that Tess gets her own way all the time- especially when George proposes to Tess, who has been feeding him lies about herself to make him love her better.

Then, Jane meets Kevin Doyle (James Marsden), a wedding critic who slowly teaches Jane how to say ‘no’ and stand up for herself. However, their slowly growing friendship is shattered when Jane learns that not only is Kevin writes her favourite, romantic wedding articles under a pseudo name Malcolm, he has also written an article about her being a bridesmaid 27 times, which appears on the front page of the Sunday newspapers.

After causing Tess’s and George’s upcoming nuptials to break off by spilling the beans about Tess, Jane slowly begins to self-reflect, and discover that maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do. As her best friend Casey said, “If it was the right thing to do, you’d feel better right now”, and miserable Jane opens her eyes to the fact that maybe it wasn’t George she was in love with all along.

In the end, Jane finds her perfect happy ending. This romantic comedy scores with a stellar cast who deliver their lines with talent. You will find yourself laughing to the witty one-liners which are dealt out expertly, and going along with Jane as she tumbles along in her fairy tale. This movie is one of my absolute favourites. To end this off, I’ll quote Kevin on this humorous statement:

“Love is patient, love is kind, love means slowly going out of your mind.”

Cast information taken from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0988595/.

Image taken from http://www.reelmovienews.com/images/gallery/27-dresses-photo.jpg

The skinny on anorexia- by Grace

Anorexia nervosa has become, over the recent years, something of a threat to our world- in particular, the younger generations, who have been exposed to a more materialistic environment during their childhood than the older generations may remember. For example, they are exposed to advertisements that frequently feature slim, tall people, possibly creating the thought that it’s best to be like them, oftentimes to gain popularity.

There are several ways to get thin. You could work out regularly to work off extra fat, if you are particularly plump, and attain a leaner figure. However, there is a more dangerous, but seemingly easier way out which more and more people are using.

People with anorexia nervosa, ‘anorexics’, have an immense fear of gaining weight and getting fat. Usually these anorexics are adolescents, or people involved in societies where being slender and thin may be prized (such as dance or theatre), and they resort to different dieting techniques to lose weight, being under the impression that they are overweight. In fact, this image of being obese may persist even when the anorexic in question is already stick-thin. Some dieting techniques that these anorexics use include excessive exercise (hey, exercise is good, but not excessively), just plain not eating, or taking dieting pills. Some anorexics also get obsessive about their calorie intakes and may start calculating the amount of calories they take in per meal.

According to ANRED, Exeter University conducted a survey in 1998 amongst 37 500 young women. The survey’s results showed that 57.5% of the young women listed appearance as the biggest concerns in their lives. This statistic may rise dramatically over the next few years- and another astonishing fact is that (according to Exeter University’s survey) 59% of the twelve- and thirteen-year-olds surveyed who have low self-esteem, are already dieting.

Dieting excessively is like starving yourself and you might become anorexic. Anorexics can recover from the disease, but sometimes anorexia can be fatal. For example, Brazilian model Ana Reston died on the 14^th of November, 2006, from anorexia. Many celebrities have had problems relating to eating disorders, such as Victoria Beckham (who at the beginning of her Spice Girls career was being put under a lot of pressure to stay thin) and Karen Carpenter (the sister in The Carpenters music duo died at 32 from anorexia). I feel that people everywhere –for not only adolescent girls and models are affected- deserve to feel good about themselves and not let their decisions about weight be decided by the harsh judgments of others. I sincerely hope that the number of anorexics in the world will decrease, as it might well become a rising threat to the world’s population if it persists.

Information on anorexia was taken from http://www.mamashealth.com/anorexia.asp, http://www.anred.com/stats.html, http://www.edreferral.com/Celebrities_who_died_or_have_Eating_Disorders.htm and http://www.people.com/people/article/0,26334,1560633,00.html.

Anorexia comic was taken from http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&aq=t&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGLG_en___TH287&q=anorexia+comic.

Guys have you noticed something different about computers in the Computer Lab and in the Library? Well, I have. It is the new the best and updated Windows Vista. It has the latest software which has such awesome effects which can blow your mind. The new toolbar looks so cool, has new programs and a few shortcuts. The Microsoft Office 2007 is so complicated and it looks truly bluish. It has the latest effects. The boring thing is no matter where you gaze it looks blue.

The new Windows Movie Maker is awesome looking and better than the old one. The effects are kind of changed, but most of them are same. You know, if you minimize something and get your pointer on it, it shows the small picture of that window. The cool thing is that when you minimize it, it goes to the toolbar in such a cool way that you always feel like minimizing and maximizing. But before you go try it yourself, let’s hear what some student have to say about it!

NINO: “The graphics are awesome and it looks really cool!”

VIGNESH: “Yo! It’s amazing!!!”

Windows Vista really got positive comments. The price of this excellent version of window is $59.99 only. If you want to buy the full version this is the price $300.

Advantage of Vista - Anurag

Guys have you noticed something different about computers in the Computer Lab and in the Library? Well, I have. It is the new the best and updated Windows Vista. It has the latest software which has such awesome effects which can blow your mind. The new toolbar looks so cool, has new programs and a few shortcuts. The Microsoft Office 2007 is so complicated and it looks truly bluish. It has the latest effects. The boring thing is no matter where you gaze it looks blue.

The new Windows Movie Maker is awesome looking and better than the old one. The effects are kind of changed, but most of them are same. You know, if you minimize something and get your pointer on it, it shows the small picture of that window. The cool thing is that when you minimize it, it goes to the toolbar in such a cool way that you always feel like minimizing and maximizing. But before you go try it yourself, let’s hear what some student have to say about it!

NINO: “The graphics are awesome and it looks really cool!”

VIGNESH: “Yo! It’s amazing!!!”

Windows Vista really got positive comments. The price of this excellent version of window is $59.99 only. If you want to buy the full version this is the price $300.

Vista Business - Vignesh

Hi and WELCOME back! Have you noticed any changes at school? Well why don’t you come and look at the MS computer lab. There is a new program that is installed-- Windows Vista Business. Interesting…. Well you should also know how to use it because the teachers in the lab are having a lot of problems! Forget about that. Vista is the latest program till now. It still looks cool having it. The problem is that it is very hard to login. Otherwise, it is just as same as Windows xp--there are the same fonts, but some new things also. I cannot even find the save button!L Forget all the bad stuff. This is Vista Business. It is not filled with Problems. There are a lot more good things than bad!J Why don’t you try it and see how cool it is. There is also the smart board device and even children can use it. Only if you have a smart board. There is also the new windows movie maker 2007. Also smart Ideas 5. To use these latest programs is very hard and very complicated. Do you want to order it now to use at home? Why not? I even have a website for you! (http://www.royaldiscount.com/miwivi.html?ysmchn=GGL&ysmcpn=Microsoft&ysmgrp=Windows+Vista&ysmtrm=buy+vista+window&ysmtac=PPC)

Click on it and choose which version you want!

The Big Trades by Tim

.

On July 31^st, slugger Manny Ramirez, a member of the Boston Red Sox for over 10 years, was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three way trade. Ramirez went to the Dodgers; the Dodgers gave the Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche, right handed pitcher Bryan Morris, outfielder Brandon Moss, and pitcher Craig Hansen. All of them were new to the major leagues but were young, healthy, and fresh talent. From the Pirates, the Red Sox received Jason Bay who helped the Red Sox early with a three run homer in his first plate appearance with the Red Sox leading them to a 11 – 2 victory. Manny now with the Dodgers already has regrets about the trade as the Dodgers lost on the first night with Manny. I’d be careful because with Manny Arizona is in deep water only being two games back of first place.

Slugger Ken Griffey Jr. has just been traded to the White Sox giving them an offensive boost while weakening their defense. Griffey, although a good member to the team, will have no position as their outfield positions are filled and the DH (designated hitter) is already taken by Jim Thome. The Reds received Nick Masset the right hander with an arm and infielder Danny Richar.

After getting rid of Joe Torre, the manager who led them to over 5 World Series appearances in 10 years, the Yankees acquired a new catcher since Jose Molina can’t play 160 games by himself and Jorge Posada is old and useless. Unfortunately, they were forced to trade reliever Kyle Farnsworth for one of the top catchers in the game today, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez.

Bad Game Influences

Bad Video Game Influences

Some people think that violent video games have an impact on a person’s brain, affecting their way of thinking. I agree. Have you ever heard of the game GTA (Grand Theft Auto)? This game is violent and changes your view of the real world. Recently, on August 6^th 19 year old teenager (Polwat Chinno) who was addicted to GTA : Grand Theft Auto, stabbed a taxi driver to death. He then stole the taxi and tried to drive. The taxi driver’s son is suing the T-Rated game for the effect that it had on a teen and will have on future children and teens. It is now off the shelves of many stores in Bangkok and those stores that are selling GTA will now be fined 200,000 baht. I have asked a few students at middle school for their opinions about GTA and if it affects them in any way.

Robbie said, “It’s a really fun game and I think that it will not have any bad influences on me in the future.”

Afek said calmly, “I think that it’s a violent game, but it’s AWESOME. It’s not like I’m going to go outside and do some bad stuff!”

Tim said, “It’s a fun game and it won’t influence kids to go replicate the actions of the characters in the game”

There are millions of people around the world that play GTA and very few go out and commit crimes. If you think about it most of the crimes committed in the world probably aren’t caused by violent games. People say the GTA creators should have thought of the things that could happen. But they did! Before the game even starts it states the warnings of the game and that it shouldn’t be responsible of any act of violence in the real world. So what do you think about GTA? It’s your decision. Should it stay or should it go?

Ethan and Christian

Windows XP: How Long Will It Last? By Sasha

For what seems like an ever-lasting blaze of glory for the heavily successful Windows XP seems to be coming to an abrupt halt. What’s more, the cause of this is by the new and rapidly growing Windows Vista, which is gaining more and more attention since its first release in 2007. Though there is still a fight left in Windows XP, it doesn’t look like it will last long. As most people know, Vista was heavily criticized for its lack of similarity to the popular and simple-to-use controls incorporated into XP. However, programs more efficient and with the same capability of XP’s programs are being ported to Vista, leading to the inevitable decimation of XP’s use. People believe that XP will last until the end of the decade. 2010? I don’t think so. So let’s see what one of the many XP consumers think.

“Even with its system requirements of a Pentium II 233, 128MB RAM, 1.5GB Space plus the necessities such as the CD-ROM and sound card, Windows XP stood out among the rest in some cases, and a disappointment in other cases.

As I didn't have access to the web, I installed Windows Millennium Edition back and installed XP (using the New Installation option and my current drive) over it, hoping it has the intelligence to remove Windows Millennium Edition completely. To my horror, the Windows XP Setup created a Windows.0 folder (even though I specified C:\WINDOWS) and installed the files to it! There was some information online as I discovered later, which enabled me to install a new copy, thanks to Google.”

This was taken from the site known as ‘Book Stripe’, and the URL is www.bookstripe.com. And for the full (and unedited version) of the Windows XP review, go to www.bookstripe.com/WinXP/review.html. This is one of many reviews for XP. So in the end, XP has a chance, till maybe 2013, but it’s only my opinion.

So anyway, the problem is that the programs being ported TO Vista are being derived and edited FROM XP. It’s a big deal that XP is going to collapse. Schools have been using it for years. Actually, our school has started using Vista. But I suppose things can’t live forever! We’ll just have to see what’s going to happen. For now, at least. I give it until 2013. I could be wrong, but I just really like XP. So post your opinions! Let the comments flow…