Jewel shares Christmas cheer in Pure Joy
By Brittany B.
Entertainment Editor

To keep with the holiday season, a Christmas album seemed great to review, so it was off to Best Buy. The shelves were stocked for the approaching holiday with numerous albums, but none seemed too interesting.

Except for one, Joy: A Holiday Collection brought to you by the folkie herself, Jewel. It was like a breath of fresh air, and like a loyal Jewel fan, I purchased it.

Joy, like many Christmas albums, includes such classics as "Joy to the World," "Winter Wonderland," and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing." But unlike many other CDs, Jewel creates a different sound and puts a different spin on traditional carols. Take, for example, Joy's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which includes a very jazzy scat.

Jewel also included a few original songs: "Face of Love," which she composed for the movie, Romeo and Juliet (1996) but which was not included, "I Wonder as I Wander," and a Christmas version of "Hands."

There are also two songs in Latin, "Ave Maria," and "Gloria," which you don't have to understand to love.

Joy: A Holiday Collection is filled with songs that will really get you in the spirit of the giving season, and some that you will enjoy all year long.

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Guitarist makes students peppier
By Victor R.

Joe Satriani, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Vai, they all have one thing in common: they are all great guitar players. But does the name Matt Cinatl ring a bell? Probably not, if you weren't at the girls' basketball pep rally. When I asked him why he wanted to play he responded, "I just wanted to give the pep rally a twist, I've heard people complain about the music before so I figured why not do something about it."

Well you might have seen the silver voting box where you could cast your vote whether Matt C. should play at the next pep-rally. There were thirty yes votes and only five votes against Matt performing again. If the Student Council agrees, Matt will probably play at the next pep rally.

According to Matt, he plans to play some Limp Bizkit and Korn at the next pep rally, as well as some of his own compositions. He said, "when I was on stage, I was just kind of making it up as I went along, I didn't decide what to play until five minutes before."

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What's hot - a historical perspective
By Ashely S.
Op-Ed Editor

What are the top five movies, CDs, and TV shows of the past twenty years? This was kind of a stupid question now that I think about it. I'm an editor and I came up with this question without remembering that the people I'd be interviewing would not be older than thirteen! That's why all of the answers I got were so current.

The answers were ranked by the five most selected titles from the nine people who were polled. If what I just said makes absolutely no sense to you than ignore it!!

CDs
1 Backstreet Boys
2 Limp Bizkit
3 KORN
(I can't make backwards R's ok?)
4 Blink 182
5 Lou Bega

Movies
1 Austin Powers
2 007
3 Big Daddy
4 Superstar
5 Mighty Ducks

TV Shows
1 Dawson's Creek
2 Boy Meets World
3 Charmed
4 Headtrip
5 Home Improvement

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Top Ten
By Natalie G.

1. "Larger than Life" Backstreet Boys
2. "Falling Away from Me" Korn
3. "Bling Bling" BG
4. "What a Girl Wants" Christina Aguilara
5. "All the Small Things" Blink 182
6. "N 2 Gether Now" Limp Bizkit and Method Man
7. "Back that Thang Up" Juvenile
8. "Candy" Mandy Moore
9. "Bugaboo" Destiny Child
10. "No Leaf Clover" Metallica

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Tree Guys is kid friendly restaurant in Itasca
By Kyle A.

Tree Guys, at 101 East Irving Park Road, is a nice quiet Italian restaurant. I have100% experience that the hamburgers are really bad, so don't order them. The chicken fingers are, however, pretty good.

The pizza receives eight stars out of ten, but it is very, very hot when you first get it. While you are there, make sure you try a side order of mostaccioli or spaghetti. My Mom said that the BLT was really good.

Don't go to Tree Guys on Fridays though, because it is so busy. Their mozzarella sticks and nachos are really, really good. If you collect fifteen big coupons you win a free large pizza. You can find these coupons in your local newspaper and other advertisements.

If you would like to go to Tree Guys Pizzeria, the hours are Monday, 5 - 9 PM, Tuesday-Thursday 11 AM - 9 PM, Friday 11 AM - 10 PM, Saturday 4 - 9 PM. They are closed on Sundays.

Weekday delivery hours are as follows: 5 - 11 PM, Saturday, 4 - 11 and Sunday, 3 - 9 PM. Tree Guys' phone number is 773-4990.

Stars are out of 5
Food 4
Atmosphere 3
Service 5
Cleanliness 3
Value 4
Kid Friendliness 5
Overall Experience 4

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Enjoy a holiday snack at Gloria Jean's
By Sunny B.

If you're looking for a restaurant to spend time with your family over Christmas break, I recommend going to Gloria Jean's, in the Stratford Square Mall.

This is a great Christmas restaurant to eat at. They have really good coffee and delicious bread. I also enjoyed the milk and cookies.

The chocolate bars, brownies, and other goodies are worth the trip. Those can be great side dishes, but for a main course, you have to try their soup and pasta.

You can find Stratford Square Mall in Bloomingdale. Check out the mall map to locate Gloria Jean's. Hope you like it!

Atmosphere - 4: The place looks great!
Service - 4: It takes a short amount of time to get the food.
Cleanliness - 4: The place is not so clean if you look closely
Value - 5: You really get what you deserve from what you paid!
Kid Friendliness - 3: They really don't have a great kid menu or anything like that.
Overall Experience - 4: Overall, a restaurant that is really worth visiting.

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Toy Story 2
By Bryan C.

The toys are back, and better than ever. As you all know, the movie, Toy Story, is about a bunch of toys that can talk, move, and do many things just as a person would do. In the sequel, Tim Allen and Tom Hanks still perform the voices of Buzz Lightyear and Woody.

One day, Woody is stolen by a strange man when the toy is trying to save his friend, Wheezy. The man turns out to be a manager of a new toy store who wants to make a lot of money by selling Woody and other toys that go along with Woody.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Buzz Lightyear and his friends think of strategies to save their friend, Woody.

The rest of the movie is filled with adventure and excitement. There are also some sad parts.
Toy Story 2 is for people who want to see a funny, adventure movie. When I first walked into see this movie, I thought it was going to be pretty lame. But it turns out that it was pretty neat.

The movie is rated G, and I give this movie three out of four stars.

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The twentieth century produced great movies!
By Carl L.

At the close of the century we are reminded of the films that have entertained, humored and amazed us. These movies take us on journeys that go from deep space, to the decks of ships, and to the bowels of the earth.

The following, in random order, are a short list of those films that I, my friends, teachers and family feel are among the best of the century. What would your list include?

Duck Soup (1933)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Psycho (1960)
West Side Story (1961)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Godfather (1972 – 1974)
Star Wars – The Trilogy (1977)
Indiana Jones (1989)
Fantasia (1941)
Ben Hur (1959)
Goldfinger (1964)
Batman (1989)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Schindler's List (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Jurassic Park (1994)
Independence Day (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Jaws (1975)
Casablanca (1942)
Pride of the Yankees (1957)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
On the Waterfront (1954)
ET (1982)
Rocky (1976)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Armageddon (1998)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Ghostbusters (1984)
If you didn't see your favorite movie listed, or would just like to know more about the best of the last decade, check out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences web site at http://www.filmsite.org/momentsindx.html.

May the next decade bring us movies that make us laugh, make us cry, scare us or take us to places we can only dream about.

Pass the popcorn please!

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Arm Men: Sarge's Heroes
By Michael K.

From the makers of Army Men comes Army Men: Sarge's Heroes. The story line is very simple. You are a soldier made out of plastic and you go on a variety of missions. Along the way you can pick up weapons such as: grenades, bazookas, machine guns, and flame-throwers.

The controls are very simple and are easy to master the first time you play, so there's no need to rent it more than once to learn the controls.

It's a very simple game without many options. It's suited more for kids aged ten and younger. It would make a great gift for a younger sibling.

Overall rating: 5
Graphics: 5
Sound: 6
Play controls: 6
Game play: 5
Fun factor: 6
Price: $50-60
Number of players: 1
Difficulty: easy or hard

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Sonic the Hedgehog 1
By Melissa M.

Sonic the Hedgehog 1 is a game brought to you by Sega Dreamcast, and I have some helpful hints for playing it.

In the Green Hill Zone, remember to look in the palm trees. In Green Hill Zone don't jump on the spring; use the barge to take you across the spikes.

Then when you jump off the barge, run as fast as you can. Go until you get to a wall, then press the down button.

When you get to the end of the tunnel, jump or you'll go flying back up. Keep walking until you see a red spring and jump over it, not on it.

Fall off the ledge, but don't worry because it is not a hole, but rings and a life.

Just remember to explore a lot - there are many secrets to learn.

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