The holidays – our favorite time of year is finally right around the corner. Hannakuh has begun, Christmas is only two weeks away, the weather is cold and snow has already begun to fall (on Sidekick online, of course).

Make the most of your December and let the cheer last with a few simple and fun ideas to look forward to:

1. Decorate- it’s one of the easiest things you can do to get into the mood of the holidays. If your parents aren’t in charge of this already, switch out some of the usual decor of your home with something more jolly: place a pointsettia plant as your centerpiece at the table or out on your porch; brighten the yard with some festive lights; most importantly — decorate your tree and enjoy doing it.

2. Dress and act the part — you have to walk it and talk it before you are IT, before you can become part of the holiday spirit. Find your red and green toe socks or your Santa earrings and wear them to school! Don’t forget to partake in the Ugly Christmas Sweater Day at CHS

Though today was cloudy, dreary and cold (not to mention exceptionally stressful), I still enjoyed it, mostly I think because it is my favorite commercial free music Monday on Kiss FM.

 On the way home from school, I bopped to the music on the radio, and I listened closely when the song ended for the DJ’s transition into the next: “Because new music helps your day go faster.” It was the Black Eyed Pea’s new single, my new favorite song to dance to, so I turned the volume up and let a smile spread wide on my face as I let my school stresses melt away and bathed in the simple pleasure of listening to this rare tune. But wait a minute -I had just realized what I had heard. Because new music helps my day go faster. I had to think really hard about that phrase before I realized that I didn’t agree. Why would I want my day to end faster? Though there are 24 hours in a day, we as students know best that the day never seems to last.  If anything, I’d wish for the day to go by slower, letting me savor each aspect, including this song. Even on the most ordinary or miserable of days.

Caught up with homework, projects, tutoring, test preperation, college applications, sports, church, family, all the while trying to juggle a social life, it is so easy to lose ourselves and forget who we are and why we do what we do. Why do you study so hard, or play hard on the field or court, or love hard? Our daily actions continue without true purpose or passion -we eat simply to fuel ourselves through homework and late nights, sleep to be able to get up for classes at 8:20 a.m., and do homework so that we don’t get zeroes in classes. Isn’t there a bigger picture? We lose meaning of what each day should be and who we should be.

Through learning to take each moment slower and embrace and savor each experience, we will learn to appreciate the strangers that enter and leave our lives each week, the weather outside, our family and friends and most importantly our time. We will learn to stop doing thinks for the sake of getting them done and instead begin to do things in forethought of the product and impact it will create. Through finding appreciation again in the little things, a genuine motivation will soon take over our hearts and a true passion will be again ignited to drive our actions in life.

Don’t let the start of the third six weeks burry you in a flurry of work, work, work. Find time to play, meditate and truly unwind. Fully enjoy your midnight snack, the music you listen to tonight and studying for that math test because you know that the reward is worth your efforts.

Check out this link for quick tips on how to juggle all your tasks and stay healthy (this applies to all people, not only programmers!).

Keep in mind that “everyone dies but not everyone lives”, and I hope you enjoy the week!

As part of the spooky holiday that originated in Europe centuries ago and has been widely celebrated in the United States since the early 20th century, haunted houses are wiggling their way into pop culture and tradition and providing the perfect alternative to the high school trick-or-treating.

The Metroplex area alone hosts over twenty five haunted houses, the most popular of these named Cutting Edge, the world’s largest walk-through haunted house (with numerous stories and themes) and voted top 10 in the nation for scariest thriller that is located at a 100-year old meat packing plant in Fort Worth that had been historically known as “the devil’s half acre”.

“I went because I heard it was the scariest,” senior Priyanka Krisnamurthy said. “It was entertaining and a lot of the parts were just plain cool just because of the sheer unexpectedness. It definitely epitomizes the scariest haunted house imaginable.”

Cutting Edge, one of the countless haunted houses in DFW, scares thrill-seekers with props, animatrons and (everyone's favorite) real live actors. Photo by Aditi Shrikant

Cutting Edge’s features such as live actors, bubble machines, spinning walls, bridges and animatrons name only a few of the elements that haunted houses nation-wide have to keep up with. Expensive technology such as animatronics and special effects keep this seasonal industry competitive and ticket prices high, ranging anywhere from $20 to $50 per ticket.

“We do a lot of programming and computer animation that allows us to be more Disney-esque,” Todd James of Cutting Edge. “You want to engulf the person’s senses to take them out of reality, to transport them to a different place, so it’s real important to detail the set out. Each year we get bigger and the animatronics get cooler, but the live actors are the best of any haunted house.”

But no matter the steepness of the price for tickets or the hours-long waits, thrill seekers of all ages are willing to travel miles away from home to experience controlled fright.

“I underestimated how scared I would eventually get, but for the most part I enjoyed myself,” senior Chris Williford said. “My favorite was the start of the haunted house, because it starts off in a normal suburban living room.”

The beauty of these haunted houses as a Halloween tradition, compared to dressing up as frightening characters or watching horror films, is the realistic nature of the terror. Throughout the U.S., these haunted attractions have been set up at abandoned meat packing plants, asylums and prisons that add to the authentic and eerie mood patrons pay for.

“[Our clientele] come from all over the map, anywhere from 10 year olds to 40 year olds,” James said. “[These] people like fear. They like to get scared. It’s just like a roller coaster ride -they like the adrenaline but they want to be safe, [and] that’s what a haunted house provides.”

 “I liked the Parker House a lot because it was something different,” junior Emily Hazlehurst said. “I usually don’t get scared with horror movies, but when it’s happening to you and things are jumping out at you left and right, its way scarier. Besides, if you get too scared at a movie, you can turn it off or close your eyes, but with a haunted house you’re in it until you get out.”

               Most haunted attractions in the area are open past Oct. 31 with varying hours, and some open until midnight.

Halloween is this Sunday night, and it is time for everyone to find the perfect costume. There is an endless supply of ideas, and I have searched through the web and have compiled what I think are the most clever costumes of 2010.

To dress up as a highway dress in all black and add yellow dash marks up the center of your body to create the appearance of a road.  To add a three dimensional effect glue toys cars and road signs to your pants and shirt.

If you do not have time for an elaborate costumes try being a nudist on strike or “undecided”.  To be a nudist on strike simply wear normal clothing and attach a sign to yourself that states what you are, and to have an “undecided” costume wear plain colored shirt and tape paper question marks to it. These costumes are funny and clever, but will take no more than five minutes to make.

At every Halloween party there is always one person who dresses up as inanimate object.  If you want to be this person then you can dress as gum stuck under a table, by dressing in all pink and creating a cardboard table to wear on your head, or as a match, by wearing tan clothes and a red hat.

If you are more of a nature person then dressing up as a killer bee, a bee costume splattered with blood, or as a tornado, a gray shirt with strings attached to tiny houses and cars, would suit you.

There are endless costume ideas and each one is unique and clever, so go out and get the costume that will express you. Happy Halloween.

This year the City of Coppell is hosting another Oak Fest at Andy Brown East on Saturday, October 17.(next to the Aquatic and Recreation Center). Autumn festivities are set to begin at 5 ‘o clock and include hot air balloon rides, a laser light show at nightfall, live music by Emerald City and food. This community event will have plenty to entertain kids and parents, from crafts, a rock wall, bounce houses, , clowns, face painting and balloon artists to foods like funnel cakes, corn on the cob, BBQ sandwhiches, turkey legs and more.

Coppell High School’s tradition of a Spain trip over sping break is continuing this year. Eleven students and Spanish teacher Janine Kay will be traveling to the country of Spain for a week-long adventure.

The group has been planning for over a year to visit the Spanish-speaking country to immerse themselves in a new culture, touring, tasting and most of all speaking Spanish.

They will leave tomorrow morning on a 14-hour flight and return Sunday just before the start of school.

Planned activities include visiting museums, monuments, walks and tours, shopping and eating at restaurants. The best part about the Spain trip, aside from a grand experience in a foreign country as a high school student, is the freedom for the students to choose their own activities. The schedule is supposed to stay flexible and fun, the only promise being lots of walking.

Anybody was allowed to be in the group to travel to Spain when sign-up started last year, whether they be a Spanish class student or not. In past years, the vacation has been memorable and lots of fun, as is expected with any occasion with Ms. Kay.

Safe, fun and educational traveling to all who are going!

If you know anything about me, if you’ve ever ridden in a car with me, you know I have one solitary obsession. For the past 7 years or so, give or take a few, I’ve memorized every word, every harmony, every drumbeat to The Format. Arizona natives Nate Ruess and Sam Means created their indie rock band in 2001 to break away from the cookie-cutter “format” of the current musicians. With 1960′s and 70′s pop influences, The Format, though still a seemingly unknown band, took rock music as I knew it by storm.

On February 4, 2008, however, life as I knew it ended, what I thought to be, forever. The Format had broken up. Any explanation that was given to the world was this salutary statement from Nate Ruess:

“We have just put out word that we will not be making a new Format album. Please understand this was a tough decision and we’re both upset about it. While we accept there will be false speculation as to why, understand that Sam and I remain extremely close and in fact are still passing the twin peaks box set back and forth in an attempt to figure out who REALLY killed laura palmer.”

“We also want to thank everyone with and within the Format, particularly Mike, Don, and Marko, whom without, none of this would have ever even been fully realized. We both suggest you support their musical talents and whatever they decide to do. And lastly we want to thank the fans who made this the best 5 years of our lives.”

For nearly two years now, along with mourning the loss of my beloved Format, I listened and relistened to their first release “Interventions and Lullabies” and “Dog Problems”. I’ve slowly come to accept that all good things must come to an end. I will forever regret not attending a concert when I had the chance, merely assuming that I would always have the opportunity.

It wasn’t until the holiday break that I had been revitalized. When one door closes, a window opens. Ruess, vocalist of The Format, has united with Jack Antonoff, lead of Steel Train, and Andrew Dost, ex-Anathallo to form a new band called Fun.

Though Fun lacks the chemistry that The Format and I once had, it’s completely refreshing. Most songs upbeat and entertaining, Ruess’ voice carries The Format’s charm and adds flair to his new band. I am newly obsessed with Fun, but The Format still holds a big part of my heart.

Fun will be touring with Jack’s Mannequin this season, opening at The House of Blues on February 17.

Staff Writter

We live in a place full of noise. Everywhere we go there is noise. Music, sound effects, voices, clicking, typing, ringing, banging, and booming. There is a whole world of sounds just waiting to be discovered. Lucky for us, we live 40 minutes away from one of the biggest towns in America, where there are constantly places to listen to the sounds that has already been discovered. Dallas is one of the top live music places in Texas, and there is always something to listen to. The following are shows coming to Dallas in the next few months and you have my word that they will all be worth your time and money.

1. Date: Feb. 10

Show: Howie Day

Venue:  House of Blues Dallas

Ticket Price: $20.00         

Songs You’ll Know: “Collide” and “Falling In Love”

2. Date: Feb. 17

Show: Jack’s Mannequin

Venue: House of Blues Dallas

Ticket Price: $23.00

Performing With: Fun and Vedera

3. Date: Feb. 25

Show:  Tegan and Sara

Venue: The Palladium Ballroom                

Ticket Price: $30.00

Songs Covered by Other Musicians: “Walking With a Ghost” – The White Stripes and “You Wouldn’t Like Me” – Motion City Soundtrack

 4. Date: Feb. 26

Show: The Rocket Summer        

Venue: The Granada Theater

Ticket Price: $15.00

Sounds Like: Dashboard Confessional, Bright Eyes  

5. Date: Mar. 7

Show: Brandi Carlile

Venue: House of Blues Dallas

Ticket Price: $20.00

My Favorite Songs : “Have You Ever” & “My Song”

I’ll see you there.

The much anticipated Spirit of Coppell Holiday Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 5 will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Samuel and follow down Parkway to Town Center Plaza where Coppellians will meet the lighting of Town Center.

This year’s parade theme is “wreaths and trees, ribbons and bows” so expect to see festively decorated floats and parade walkers who will be passing out glowing items and candy. The night is guaranteed to be brilliant and bright with each float required to have at least 200 lights. Before the parade, floats will be judged and first and second place winners will be selected. Santa Clause and Mrs. Clause will be atop last year’s first place winner’s float.

The celebration and lighting at Town Center is an annual tradition full of holiday cheer and jolly good fun and this year will include a snow area, performances, carolers, refreshments and a special appearance from Santa Clause. Festivities are to begin immediately after the parade.

All intersections along the route of the parade will be temporarily closed for safety and reopened as the parade passes. Parking is available at the Aquatic and Recreation Center as well as the north side of the Justice Center (click for directions).