This girl has Spirit

By Brittany B.

If there’s one thing the music industry has learned, it is not to underestimate a girl in her twenties. Jewel Kilcher, better known as Jewel, has come a long way. Born in Alaska, she lived in a cabin, without running water. From there she lived in a car, working in a coffee shop in California just to make it. She sang sometimes, and that is when she was "discovered." Just a few years ago, she released her first CD, Pieces of You, which brought to her a lot of fame with "You Were Meant For Me," and "Who will Save Your Soul."

Jewel also published an amazing book of poetry, A Night without Armor, and she has now released her second CD, Spirit, with the first single "Hands." On Spirit, she thanks VH1 and MTV, and all those who helped her, but really, her success is all a product of her own ability. Jewel’s amazing voice is so pure, and has a childish tone to it, which makes the CD that much more desirable. Unlike Pieces of You, Spirit includes many more instruments: drums, piano, bass, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar. The sound is different and catchy on the second CD, but still has that innocent "Jewel" touch. No wonder millions are rushing to pick it up.

Her talent is totally unbelievable. She surpasses any Celine Dion wannabe or any Spice Girl for that matter. Jewel seems untouched by the fame thing. She commented recently that though her voice brought her all the fame, her first love is writing. "I’ve learned that not all poetry lends itself to music," she explained in the introduction to her poetry collection. "Some thoughts need to be sung only against the silence." A Night without Armor caught the eyes of millions including Oprah Winfrey.

What can we expect next from Jewel? "A country album," she told MTV VJ, Carson Daly. Jewel, please stick to what you do best.

The return of Star Wars - Are you excited?

By Jeff R.

Ever since the movie trailer for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace came out, excitement has been building for fans. It is not coming out until May 21, 1999, but people are already buying collectibles and surfing web sites to find out about it. The results of a recent poll of Peacock students and teachers show that about 50% of people are looking forward to it and 50% aren’t. Surprisingly, no one I interviewed was just fairly excited to see it. Below are some students’ and a teacher’s comments about Episode I. For all of you who can’t wait to go see it, check out www.StarWars.com for news and info concerning Episode I.

It will be the most anticipated movie event in history, and people who don’t want to see it should realize that. The characters and special effects are really cool. Once again, George Lucas has created a masterpiece. And Titanic will no longer being the highest money-making film. Mike M.

I can’t wait until next summer when it comes out. It will be the Titanic of 1999. The only movie that could top Star Wars would be the sequel to Austin Powers. Scott P.

Star Wars stinks and Grease is much better. It will be a big waste of money for all of the people that go and see it. But don’t quote me on that. Michelle B.

Star Wars will give new meaning to the word ‘groovy.’ I’ll pay a lot of money to see it. I can’t wait until it comes to the dollar show so I can see it for the first time. Joe K.

I’m going to skip school that day to see it. We’re going to buy tickets early and see the first show. Anonymous and his friend

They can never make the new movies as good as the originals because they were too good. The only way it will be better is with the good special effects. Kelly D.

"I prefer historical movies to sci-fi stuff. It’s not that I don’t want to see it, but I prefer other things to science fiction movies. Mr. Scaletta

A family visit to the theatre makes a great holiday tradition

By Mike M.

There are 5 major performing arts theaters in the Loop area that will be open the week of December 20. They are the Auditorium, Opera House, Shubert, Chicago and Oriental (now re-christened the Ford Center for the Performing Arts). This is just in time for the holiday season.

The Palace and the Goodman Theater are planning to renovate and restore their theaters in the year 1999 and 2000. With all this revitalization downtown, Chicago will be the definite hot spot for theater-goers.

Don’t let your holiday season go by without seeing one of the many holiday shows that Chicago has to offer. Who knows, you might start a new family tradition?

You can see A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theater, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular Rockettes at the Rosemont Horizon, and Harlem Nutcracker at the Chicago Theater. You might recall I wrote in one of my recent articles that the Oriental Theater was showing Ragtime. In the week of November 16-22 they grossed $907,000.

Horoscopes by the Great Ginni Huddini

By Gina M.

Hallow peoples!!! and happy day to you all. It is I, the great Ginni Huddini speaking. I am here with great magical powers. Powers so remarkably astonishing that you’ll drop down as if you had been hit over the head with a HUGE hammer. So, I am here to share with you my magical powers, well actually I’m just going to tell you, then you can claim that you have magical powers to see the future also, cool huh?

So, I, the great Ginni Huddini, shall tell you something so shocking and hopefully true. This is such a big moment. I think I’m going to cry now, tissue somebody!!

AQUARIUS (January 21- February 19) You feel head over heels, because you have fallen down the stairs and are now looking at your heels. Or you are being followed by that really annoying person and you are starting to get a crush on this annoying, and maybe idiotic, person. Good luck.

PISCES (February 20-March 20) This month might be a real pain. HELLO headache city, get that Tylenol out.

ARIES (March 21- April 20) You are optimistic, generous, kind and very loving. Forget it. It seems as if you have totally lost it. Just ask yourself, "have I gone crazy?" Most likely, the answer is, "Yes."

TAURUS (April 21- May 21) You are weird. You have probably figured that out by now. Even though you’re weird, everyone still likes to be around you. Expect a surprise. I don’t have a clue about what it is, so don’t even ask me. Find out for yourself - that's why it's called a surprise.

GEMINI (May 22- June 21) Your grades will go up, your school projects will be wonderful. Watch out for your habit of not completing your stuff. It just might get in the way of your success.

CANCER (June 22- July 23) You are usually kind of quiet, but this month you are a loud, obnoxious maniac. Cool huh? Good luck dealing with yourself.

LEO (July 24- August 23) New year coming, new problems coming, and other good things hopefully coming along with that. You are also going to meet someone - this could be good or bad, who knows?

VIRGO (August 24- September 23) I have been told to write something good for this one, so, here it goes. You will have plenty of money! Sure you will, just keep thinking that. You will also get A’s on Everything you do in school...enough of that, here is your real horoscope. It will be a boring month for you.

LIBRA ( September 24- October 23) You have a bad habit. Try to get rid of it. O.k.,that's it for this horoscope, on to the next one.

SCORPIO (October 24- November 22) Gee, this just happens to be my sign. That won’t affect anything...Here comes the money. Cha ching! Great things will happen to all who are Scorpios, (isn’t that a surprise?) O.K. bye!

SAGITTARIUS (November 23-December 21) Well, let’s see, what could I make up? (oops! I shouldn’t have written that). um? You will be an extreme crab at first. You will get better, though. If you are still holding any grudges against anyone, Get rid of them!

CAPRICORN (December 22-January 20) The horoscope for this one is...um?...uhhhh? Happy Fourth of July! Wait, that's not right, here is the real horoscope. You will be bored out of your mind during half of this month. I don’t know about the other half. So, have lots of fun being bored!

The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

By Danny S.

Zelda is the most popular game among people who have Nintendo 64. Although you cannot get the special edition gold cartridge anymore it doesn’t really matter unless you are a Zelda fan. This game features Link, who must go through the many levels to try and save his city, Kokiri, as well as Hyrule city from the evil Ganondorf who attempts to get all of the spiritual stones before you do.

You must get all of the spiritual stones and gain the master sword. Then, as you get older, you must rescue all of the sages. You can ride horses, use weapons and lots more.

The game has excellent graphics for 64 and a wonderful story line. You can have up to three saving slots instead of using a memory pak. If you have Nintendo 64 this is a must have.

Overall Rating: 4

Graphics: 9

Sound: 7

Play Control: 9

Gameplay: 10

Fun Factor: 10

S.R.P. $60.00

1 Player

The challenge is not adjustable

Diablo

By Matt C.

In Diablo you play the role of a wizard, warrior, or a little bit of both. You pass through labyrinths, mazes, and catacombs. Your quest is to find your past. Along the way you find gold, spells, and mysterious clues. To survive you must have a quick wit and some luck.

I’ve only beaten the game once and it wasn’t easy. The trick is to save your big spells for the boss, Diablo. Once you learn the basics of it, try to learn the complexities. The way I won was to keep going back to the town and loading up on shield and manna.

On a scale of 1-10 I’d rate each category the following. The good thing about this particular game is that you can hook it up through the Internet.

Graphics: 8

Fun Factor: 7

Replay Value: 10

Control: 5

Game play: 8

Cost: about $20.00

Need For Speed 3

By Ryan D.

Need For Speed 3 for Playstation is a race-simulated game. It has many features, such as the "Hot Pursuit" mode and over 10 tracks. The best overall car in the game is the Diablo. But, with the help of some codes, you can unlock a Jaguar, Mercedes CLK GTR, and an El Nino. El Nino goes 0 – 100 in about four seconds with a top speed of 222mph. Be cautious, though, the faster the car the more accident-prone it is. This is a very old but still awesome game. Under your user name, type SPOILT. This unlocks all tracks and cars for you use. When you are finished choosing a car, press START, and when the RPM gauge appears, hold: Start, Select, R1, L2 – for the Power Horn; and hold: Select, Square, X – for extra weight.

Overall Rating 4/4

Graphics 9/10

Sound 8/10

Play Control 9/10

Game play 9/10

Fun Factor 9/10

$40.00

1-2 players