for runn r

For runn rVol. VII, No. 4 / November 30, 2006 / Effi ngham County High School / 1589 Hwy 119 South / Springfi eld, Georgia / Free / echspress.com

or runn runn rPirates sink Rebels’ playoff ship

By Becca [email protected]

After a great season of memorable wins and hard fought losses, the 2006 Rebel football season has come to an end. On the fi nal game of the season, the Effi ngham County Rebels faced off against the Brunswick Pirates.

Not only was the night signifi cant because it was Senior

Night, but this also happened to be the game that could have possibly advanced the Rebels to state playoff s.

Th ough they played their hardest until the very end, Effi ngham fell short to Brunswick with a fi nal score of 9-7.

“We played the best we could, but we just weren’t as prepared as we should have been,” senior Rusty Beasley said. Beasley is a

wide receiver and kicker for the Rebels.

Contributing more than half of the 230 yards gained throughout the game was Antwan Wright with 20 carries netting 138 yards. Running back Anthony Wright had 15 carries for 69 yards.

In the fourth quarter, Anthony was able to score the Rebels only touchdown with a four yard rush into the end zone.

Rusty Beasley added to Anthony’s six points by successfully kicking the PAT. Senior running back Jason Scott was able to help ECHS with 16 yards and four carries.

On the defense, the rebels worked hard to keep the pirates from scoring. Senior Kevin Hedrick along with juniors Emir Davis and Daniel Mungin each had 6 unassisted tackles.

Not far behind were DJ

Collins with fi ve unassisted tackles and Eric Maxwell with four unassisted tackles.

Defensive linebacker Kaleb Writch had three unassisted tackles and three assisted tackles. Senior Alex Hall had four punts for a total of 132 yards.

“It was an emotional game, but our defense played well. Th e coaches were like second fathers to us, and they will be missed,” Hall said.

12/1 - SEHS - 3:30/5:30/6:00/8:0012/2 - Groves - 2:00/7:00/8:3012/12 - BC/St. Vincent’s - 6:00/7:3012/15 - Screven County- 6:30/8:001/12 - Brunswick - 6:00/7:301/20 - Glynn Academy - 6:00/7:301/23 - Sav Country Day - 6:00/7:302/3 - Ware County - 6:30/8:002/6 - Wayne County- 6:30/8:00

Home Basketball Games

Photo by Ranie HarperRichard Daughtry makes a fl ying attempt to take out the Pirates’ running back.

Photo by Ranie HarperAnthony Wright tries to truck his way through fi ve of Brunswick’s defensive players.

Baby Boom occurs at ECHS, p. 3

Megen Smith signs with GSU, p. 4

Meet break-out artist Regina Spektor, p. 5

November 30, 2006 / News / page 2

News

By Candice [email protected]

After nine months, 39 sessions, and four defense lawyers, Sad-dam Hussein was found guilty of crimes against humanity for the killings of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail in 1982. Th e Shiites were suspected of an attempted murder on the former president of Iraq. Of those, an estimated 50 died during interrogation before they could go to the gal-lows. Children were among those who were hanged. Hus-sein was sentenced to death by hanging. Along with him, seven other people were convicted and sentenced. Barzan Ibrahim, for-mer intelligence chief, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former head of Iraq’s Revolutionary Court, were both sentenced to death

by hanging as well. Former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan was convicted of premeditated murder and was sentenced to life in prison. Abdullah Kazim Ru-wayyid, Mizhar Abdullah Ru-wayyid, and Ali Dayih Ali were convicted of torture and pre-meditated murder and sentenced to life in prison. In Iraq, death sentences automatically go be-fore an appeals panel. Th ere are nine judges, and they have un-limited time to review the case. If the verdicts and sentences are upheld, the executions must be carried out within 30 days. During the trial, there were several times when Hussein has outbursts and/or was defi ant. Initially, he refused to rise, so two bailiff s had to literally pull him to his feet before the judge. Although he did remain stand-

ing, he wagged his fi nger at the judge repeatedly. When the ver-dict was read, he cried out, “Long Live the people, and death to its enemies. Long live the nation, and death to its enemies.” And, when the sentenced was an-nounced, he yelled, “God is great.” After the news was an-nounced there was a mix of emotions across the nation. People in the streets of Dujail celebrated and burned pictures of their former president. In Baghdad, gunfi re rang out in celebration. But, in Tikrit, which is Hussein’s hometown, lots of people defi ed curfew and car-ried pictures of Hussein through the streets, shouting “By our souls, by our blood, we sacrifi ce for you, Saddam” and “Saddam, your name shakes America.”

Hussein sentenced to death by hanging

By Patricia [email protected]

Haunted houses are a Hal-loween tradition with fl ash-ing lights, spooky cold rooms that send chills up and down your spine, the sound of people screaming at the top of there lungs, and chain saws echoing across dark rooms. Our ECHS band decided to do it all again. After last year’s success with the haunted house, they im-proved and came up with some new ideas to horrify us all. Th e new rooms were Freddy Kruger, Hostel, Sleepy Hollow, Jeepers Creepers, Michael Myers, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and the Amityville Horror. Th is year the band also got help from South’s chorus to run the haunted house

while they were cheering on the football players Friday night and on Saturday when they were per-forming at the Statesboro com-petition. Th e house opened on Oct. 25 and ran through the 31. On opening night, there was major achievement. “Th e band got really into it and people were defi antly scared,” said Joseph Hasty. Th e money the students collected went to accounts in the band program for their uses in band activities, and the money that was made at the door went to the band program as a whole. Senior Billy Tyson said, “I en-joyed setting up the Haunted house with my friends.” Geof-frey Horton, a sophomore, said, “I had a whole lot of fun working and scaring people and can’t wait ‘till next year.”

Band haunts for dollars

Walz sings his way to be top ‘Idol’By Alexa Orndorff aorndorff @echspress.com

Th e fourth annual Effi ng-ham Idol took place on Nov. 4 in cafeteria at ECHS. Th irteen students from both ECHS and SEHS, who made it past the previous auditions on Oct. 17, swallowed their fear and sang their hearts out. Th e judges were a playoff of American Idol, with Zachary Pitts performing the very truthful Simon Cowell, Natalie Baldwin as generous Paula Abdul, and Eric Scott as the fair Randy Jackson. Th e 12 contestants that performed were a melting pot of musical taste. Th ere was anything from coun-try to pop to R&B and even an a cappella. After the fi rst perfor-mance, there was a brief inter-mission for voting, which would result in the top fi ve. Voting was a fairly simple process. You were given two tickets upon entering to place in the contestant’s can of your choice. Chris Walz, Ki-sha Bell, Brandy Brooks, Kendra McDaniel, and Jabari Rushing all made it through to the next

round. Th ese lucky contestants once again braved the stage and were each greeted with vari-ous cheering, clap-ping, and screaming by an enthusiastic audience. After the second intermis-sion, a young girl named Emily Hen-drix provided en-tertainment. Now, this girl had a voice that almost seemed impossible to come out of such a small body. Hendrix re-ceived practically a standing ovation. It was soon time for the winners to be announced. Th e crowd could practically feel the anticipation sweating off these young stars onstage. Brandy Brooks looked pleased as she became 2nd runner up, and Jabari Rushing had a huge smile as he accepted his gift bag as the 1st runner up. And then, when it seemed no one could

take the wait any longer without getting up and screaming, Chris Walz was announced the winner of this year’s Effi ngham Idol. He will make various appearances around the county as this year’s Effi ngham Idol, and he also re-ceived a trophy. All in all, the Ef-fi ngham Idol was an even bigger success the fourth time around.

ECHS Bands and Choruses pay tribute to veteransBy Chris [email protected]

Th e ceremony began with a presentation of the colors by ECHS’ JROTC and was fol-lowed by the Rebelaires’ per-formance of the Star Spangled Banner. Th is was followed by Es-prit De Corps performed by the Wind Ensemble, America, Th e Beautiful by both the Band and Chorus, Who Are the Brave by the Men’s Chorus, Homeland by the Women’s Chorus, American Pageant by the Wind Ensemble, as well as In Flanders Fields and Th e One Who Stands Alone by

the Rebelaires. Th e tribute was concluded by a compilation of the fi ve service songs, Armed Service Salute, performed by the Band and Chorus. Each service song is steeped in its respective service’s honored history, and as the Chorus came to each service, veterans of that service would stand and be honored by those in the audience. “I was very appre-ciative of the Band and Chorus taking time to honor America’s veterans, and I thoroughly en-joyed the concert,” said Major Danny Burgstiner, a veteran himself. “Th ey did a great job and it was very entertaining.”Courtesy of pixels.savannahnow.com

Chris Walz

November 30, 2006 / News / page 3

NewsStork visits ECHS once more

Chloe Ruiz VanderhookDaughter of Heather Vanderhook

DOB: 10/26/2006Length: 16 in.Weight: 5 lbs., 1 oz.

James Everett FinleySon of Dawn Finley

DOB: 09/27/2006Length: 20.5 in.Weight: 8 lbs., 5 oz.

Holt: Prince of TiesBy Morgan [email protected]

It’s doubtful that anyone who’s ever been in one of Brian Holt’s classes has failed to no-tice his abundance of ties. With a collection now reaching an even 150, Holt has a tie for al-most every occasion and holi-day. His collection started when he first started at Crisp County High in Cordele. “All the males had to wear ties, so my friends and family started buying me ties at Christmas and my birth-day. When I came to ECHS in 2000, ties weren’t required, but my family just kept buying them for me. The majority of them I didn’t buy myself,” Holt said. He stores all of his ties on six racks in his closet. Each morn-ing, he looks at which tie is next in line to be worn, and that’s how he determines which shirt he wears that day. With close to 25 Christmas ties, Holt be-gins placing his holiday ties into

the circulation about two days before Thanks-

giving. “The ones that I wear most often are the ones that current or former students have given me.” Last year, for Holt’s birthday, the newspaper

and yearbook staff gave him a tie-themed cake. It was a vanilla cake with butter cream icing in the shape of a tie. He said that it was definitely one of the neatest

birthday cakes he’s ever received. To date, nothing else tie-related has tried to compete with the cake, just the ties themselves. Holt’s compilation is truly unique, in that not many people share his collection. It’s difficult for students to imagine Holt

without the ties. And, it doesn’t seem like he’s going to put a stop to his collection any time soon.

Seniors, don’t forget to check out www.echscounselors.com for all your college information!

Photo by Nancy HoltHolt hangs up his Scooby Doo tie that he wore on Nov. 13.

ECHS’ very own Euro-Trip

In the last issue of the Forerunner, we regret-fully neglected to add Lauren Spradley to the list of Governor’s Honors Program nominees. She was nominated in the area of science.

Correction


Twenty-nine juniors and se-niors plus chaperones will be spending twelve days of the summer traveling to London, Paris, and Rome. Keith Martin is the head advisor of this trip. He said, “I’ve taken groups be-fore, and I’ve been all over Eu-rope. It’s a good experience for students, and they enjoy seeing the places they’ve studied.” Mar-tin chose this particular itinerary because he thinks that all first-time travelers need to see those places. The group will be leaving out of Jacksonville around May 22 and returning June 2 or 3. The first main location will be London, England. While there, they will see the sights of Big Ben, Hyde Park, Buck-ingham Palace, and Piccadilly Circus. Junior Jonathan Duff said, “The highlight of my trip will be London because I want to mess with the guards out-side of Buckingham Palace.” The next stop will be Paris, France. The group will visit the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Ca-thedral, the Louvre Museum, and Versailles Palace. Senior Andrew Blankenship said, “Paris is my highlight because it’s the birth place of Liberalism.” Another senior said her highlight would be Paris, too, but for a much dif-ferent reason. “My highlight is Paris because I want to go shop-ping there,” Heather Dasher said. Finally, the group will go to Italy. They’ll stop over in Flor-ence for one day and two nights

on their way to Rome. They will also stop by Pisa on their way to Rome to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa. In Rome, they’ll visit the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, and St. Peter’s Ba-silica. They also will be going to Sorrento, Pompeii, and Capri for two additional nights. Mar-

tin said that he would expect the highlight of the trip to be “Pompeii and the famous island of Capri”. Senior Emily Davis said, “The Italy parts of the trip will be my favorite. I’ve always loved Italy.” And, junior Chris Boyett said, “Pompeii is what I’m looking forward to. I want to see all the petrified people.” The trip has many different points of interest for different people, but everyone agrees the worst part will be the travel-ing. They will spend the good part of a day traveling to Lon-don from Jacksonville, and they will have six hours of jet lag to deal with when they arrive. And, they will have an even longer trip home from Italy.

Caroline Jane BlandDaughter of Retta Bland

DOB: 10/27/2006Time: 2:27 p.m.Length: 20 in.Weight: 8 lbs. , 1 oz.

Joshua Dixon FordSon of Yancy Ford

DOB: 11/02/2006Time: 2:15 p.m.Length: 19 in.Weight: 7 lbs., 10 oz.

Courtesy of krtcampus.com

November 30, 2006 / Sports/ page 4

By Amber [email protected]

The Lady Rebels are getting ready to kick off the 2006-2007 basketball season. After a week of tryouts , cuts were made by Head Coach Nate Hayes. This year’s varsity roster is: Utivia Barnes, Aishia Brown, Ma-rie Fogle, Sierra Goldwire, Amanda Young, Kyana Barber, Shelby Duff, Iesha Reese, Jasmine Wallace, Skky Bean, and Alyx Pitts. The girls are ready and determined to have an-other successful season. They plan to get better with every practice, make playoffs, and build on the foundation of the past teams. With these goals set, look out for the Lady Rebels this season, they are on fire and ready to dominate the court.

Rebels demolish Panthers

Hoop time

By Amber [email protected]

The football Rebels traveled to Augusta to face the Lakeside Pan-thers on November fourth, and re-turned home with a victory of 41-0. In the first few minutes of the game, Vince Munch put the first six points on the scoreboard by catching a suc-cessful pass from quarterback Chris Hamilton, and scoring a touchdown. The offensive attack was led by An-thony Wright, who had nine rushes for 101 yards and a total of three touchdowns. Jason Scott followed closely with 12 rushes for 103 yards and a total of two touchdowns. In the first quarter, the Rebels scored a total of 21 points, followed by seven points in the second quarter, 13 points in the third quarter, and zero in the fourth quarter. Emir Davis lead the Rebel defense with five unassisted tackles and one assisted tackle. D.J Collins followed closely with four unassisted tackles and seven assisted tackles. The Rebels defeated Lakeside with a final score of 41-0, and added another win to their record (7-2).

Smith to soar with EaglesBy Becca [email protected]

After 12 years of hard work and dedication, the blood sweat and tears have all paid off. With family, friends and faculty looking on, senior softball player Megen Smith signed a full scholarship to Georgia Southern University. “I am excited. This has been a dream of mine since I was little,” Smith said.

Megen will begin training at GSU in the fall of 2007. Not only does Smith have an opportunity to pitch for the Lady Eagles but she will also play centerfield for them as well. “We are all very happy and proud for Megen. She has worked hard to accomplish this goal. She couldn’t be going to a better school,” Assistant softball coach Matt Huntley said. Huntley is an alumnus of GSU. Smith appreciates all the help and support she has gotten. She said, “I thank my family, coaches, and teammates for all the support they have given me.”

Photo by Brian HoltMegen Smith and her parents sign the scholarship form.

By Mike JensenThe Philadelphia Inquirer(MCT)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - For Ohio State, there’s one game to play, but can it feel any bigger than this?

Ohio Stadium looked like a moonscape after Saturday’s victory, with dozens of chunks of turf - huge ones -torn up and taken away, to be replanted all over the state.

Buckeyes quarterback Troy Smith said that smile plastered on his face would stay there for at least a week.

“The biggest game in college football, and the best team won,” Smith said last night after No. 1 Ohio State got past No. 2 Michigan, 42-39, in front of a stadium-record crowd of 105,708 to lock up its first outright Big Ten Conference title since 1984 -“the year I was born,” Smith noted.

The Buckeyes were ahead most of the way, and by two touchdowns twice in each half after a transcen-dent first half by their quarterback. They showed off their high-octane offense but had to overcome three second-half turnovers, including an interception and fumble by Smith.

A late hurry-up passing touch-down by Michigan and then an unsuccessful Wolverines onside kick finished off the highest scoring Michigan-Ohio State game since 1902, when Michigan scored all 86 points.

For certain, Ohio State will be in

Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 8, waiting for somebody else to show up for the BCS championship game. Right now, there is gridlock for the No. 2 spot, with all sorts of candidates still in contention to face the Buckeyes, including Michigan.

“There can’t be many teams in the nation better than Michigan,” Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said.

Maybe the biggest factor in Michigan’s favor is that nobody in Ohio State’s camp sounded eager to face the Wolverines again on a neu-tral field.

“I think it was a great game,” said Michigan tailback Mike Hart, who rushed for 142 yards and three touchdowns. “I think it was a close game. I think anyone could have won that game. Do I think there should be a rematch? Probably. I think we’re both the top teams in the country, regardless of what any-body says. On a neutral site, it would be a big game.”

Former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler’s death Friday added layers of poignancy and resonance to this game. He was Ohio State’s most hated rival, and most respect-ed opponent. He also was an Ohio State graduate and once a member of Woody Hayes’ staff before he went to Ann Arbor and, with Hayes, turned this game into the stuff of legend. He had addressed Michi-gan’s team the day before he died.

“It was definitely difficult for us,” said Michigan quarterback

Chad Henne, who talked about how Schembechler had built the program. “He’s just a great figure to us.”

Before the game, the crowd was at full throttle with a “Let’s Go Bucks!” when Schembechler’s im-age appeared on a big screen. It took a few seconds for all heads to turn that way, but the stadium became very quiet very quickly before a trib-ute began.

Perhaps the biggest call of the game was made by an official mid-way through the fourth quarter, when Michigan linebacker Shawn Crable was flagged for a personal foul for a high hit that cracked Smith on his helmet. Michigan had closed to within 35-31, and it looked as if the Wolverines were about to get the ball back, since Smith had just released a pass that had fallen incomplete on third down. Instead, Ohio State scored three plays later for a 42-31 lead.

The custodians of the Heisman Trophy could have saved everybody a lot of trouble and had a little cer-emony right here at halftime. At that point, Ohio State had a 28-14 lead after Smith had completed 21 of 26 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. His final numbers were 29 of 41 for 316 yards and four TDs.

Instead of using the run to set up the pass, Ohio State did the oppo-site. Early on, Smith was in mostly no-back sets. On Ohio State’s first

scoring drive, Michigan forced a third-down play three times. Each time, including a third-and-16 play, Smith found receiver Roy Hall, who had made 10 catches all season go-ing in. Michigan couldn’t cover him as a fifth receiving option. On third and goal from the 1, three receiv-ers were wide right, Hall the wid-est. Smith spotted him immediately, open in the end zone.

When they were called on, Buck-eyes running backs Antonio Pit-tman (18 carries, 139 yards) and Chris Wells (5 carries, 56 yards) showed their breakaway ability. Pit-tman had a 56-yard TD run. Wells had a 52-yarder.

But Michigan had scored first, with Henne finding Mario Man-ningham effectively, and every time it looked as if Ohio State was ready to put it away, that perception proved wrong.

Senior center Doug Datish blamed himself for a high snap to Smith in the shotgun, and said an-other fumble, also his fault, came from the ball’s being in a divot in the turf. He was relieved none of that mattered.

“This was the most fun I’ve ever had playing a football game in my life,” Datish said. “There were guys -kickers - guys who usually stand by the heaters. They weren’t standing by the heaters today. They were out there waving the towels around, get-ting the crowd going.”

Ohio St. locks up Big Ten title, spot in BCS title game

SPORTS

No. 1 vs. No. 2

November 30, 2006 / A&E / page 5

Inspire

A&E

“Every generation laughs at the old fashions, but follows religiously the new.” -Henry David Thoreau

By Kaleigh [email protected]

The first thing you no-tice about Regina Spe-ktor might be her wide-ranged voice, insightful lyrics, or her piano-driv-en music. This Moscow-born singer/songwriter/pianist extraordinaire has, at 26 years old, done more than some artists ever accomplish, and she did a lot of it on her own.

Her albums 11:11 (2001) and Songs (2002) were both self-produced. In 2004, she released Soviet Kitsch with Sire/Lon-don/Rhino, following her first

North American tour with The Strokes in 2003. Her early albums are much more focused on Spektor herself and her piano, occasionally with a few simple flourishes such as drumsticks

tapped on her piano. She also deviates greatly from ‘normal’ music, with techniques like beat boxing in the middle of

anti-folk songs. She uses many literary ref-erences and mixes sever-al languages in her vers-es, which tend to be nar r a t i ve s and stories

that she finds in-teresting.

Her early work demonstrates her jazzy voice more than her latest album, Begin to Hope (2006,

Sire) which has a more pop feel and uses more diverse tactics than just a piano, but it still doesn’t sac-rifice any of the lyrical i n g e n u i t y. Considering that she’s sold out clubs on her recent 2006 tour, she’s probably not going to fade away quietly, and

she’s doing something right like concentrating on getting her songs right, the way that makes her happy.

Overall, she’s definitely worth a listen or five or while pulling an all-nighter.

Hear Regina Spektor

Photos courtesy of www.reginaspektor.com

By Megan [email protected]

Named for the co-owner, Yuko’s Restaurant is located in the heart of Rincon next to Food Lion, Domino’s Pizza, and French Connection Salon and Tanning.

Yuko’s serves traditional Japanese-style food with distinct notes of American taste and flavor. Yuko’s also offers healthier alternatives to less healthy dishes with the majority of menu items grilled and flavorfully seasoned.

With its fast, friendly service and homey ambiance, Yuko’s Restaurant provides the feel of a family atmosphere with quality food and Japanese-American flavor.

Taste Yuko’s


Most of you probably know the story of Babel, but for those who don’t, I’ll give you a very quick personalized version of my take on the story. A long time ago, everyone spoke the same language, and one day a bunch of people joined togeth-er in an attempt to build a tower that would lead to the heavens. God didn’t like that very much, so he destroyed the tower and cursed everyone involved with new “tongues” (different lan-guages) so that they couldn’t band together again. Well, the movie Babel is kind of like a second part to that story. It’s set in modern times, and it basically follows four sets

of people that are all connected across the globe. The movie’s stars, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, play two Amer-ican tourists on a trip in Mo-rocco. Their characters, Richard and Susan, have two kids who are being taken care of by their Mexican nanny while their par-ents are on the trip. Then, there is a Moroccan family with two boys that are essential to the story. And, finally, the last set is a deaf-mute Japanese girl and

her Japanese father. I can’t tell you how they are all con-nected because it would give away parts of the story. Ok, so anyways, back to the story of Babel. Remem-ber all the different languag-es? Well, that’s where the English, Arabic, Spanish, and Japanese (or lack there-of ) comes into play. There’s not much else I can say about the plot of the movie because it would give away some major aspects of the movie, but it’s safe to say that despite the language

barrier, emotions, especially pain, hurt, anger, and grief, are univer-sal. You don’t need to speak the same language as someone to understand emotions, feelings. In fact, you don’t need many

words at all. Personally, I loved this movie. It was a deep, thought provoking story, just the kind I like. But, if you’re not in a philo-sophical mood, there’s a chance you may not like the movie. Also, as a forewarning, it’s rated R for a reason.

See BabelPhoto courtesy of krtcampus.com

Photo courtesy of krtcampus.com

Photo courtesy of krtcampus.com



November 30, 2006 / Opinion /

Op in ion

My thoughts on the lunch optionsBy Kaleigh [email protected]

What’s your favorite class? $5 (…in hypothetical money, of course. I’ve spent all mine on food.) says at least half of you are going to say ‘lunch’. That’s cool with me, since I’m usually a pretty big fan of lunch, too. Lately, though, it’s just been a stress factor. See, recently, I’ve stopped eating beef. I’ve never like seafood, and I stopped eating pork years ago. That makes me a

minority here, which is also cool with me. I wouldn’t presume to tell you what to eat. The problem I do have is that I have to either buy everything at lunch, or starve. Or, well, get a salad. Salads get old, man. Some days, I just want some fries. Issue: You can’t buy just fries. As the New Kid, I can only refer back to experiences at my old schools. There, you could either buy the whole meal at a fixed price ($1.60, if you’re curious) or, you could pick and choose for say, $0.35 a ‘snack.’ This makes much more sense to

me. You only buy what you want, and don’t waste money or food because you’re not going to eat something. Yet, when I ask for just fries and explain myself, I get informed that we don’t do it that way here, and get a slightly intimidating lecture of sorts. I either buy everything or nothing. I don’t like it, but at least I was given a good explanation. The lunch ladies tell me that we have to buy a complete meal. Like… it’s a nutrition factor. I get that. We’re battling kids living off junk food. Sophomore Brandy Brooks

thinks, “…Lunch should include everything made for that one day. If it is made that day then it should be with that lunch …because some people can’t afford to buy stuff separate.” Again, good point. My point, though, is not everyone can afford to buy things that they don’t want when it all comes together. Would you go to the store and buy your least favorite food? Probably not, it’s a waste of money. All I’m asking for is more options. The option to pick and chose what you want for lunch, a la carte style.

Have something to say? Email us with your opinions at [email protected]. Anonymous letters will not be printed, so sign your name and speak up!

By Courtney [email protected]

“Oh I wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner. That is what I truly wish to be. Because if I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner, every-one would be in love with me!” Sound familiar? Chances are it does. It is statistically proven that commercials with catchy jingles are the most effective. Have you ever gotten one of those silly jingles stuck in your head? It just keeps playing and playing over and over in your head all day long.

Although they may seem an-noying at times, jingles are one of the most effective ways of ad-vertising a product. Tell me this, say you just went out and bought a new car, you have to do all the essentials, one of which is get-ting car insurance. Any jingles come to mind? How about “1-800-SAFE-AUTO; play it safe,

SAFE AUTO!” Or when your drains get clogged who do you think of? “Roto Rooter, that’s the name and away go troubles down the drain”. See what I mean? Jin-gles rule our subconscious, you may not think they affect you, but they do! Especially the really annoying ones that are on TV 24/7, even though they are the ones you try to forget you just always seem to remember them. Let’s play a game, you have 3 seconds to think of a jingle for each word below and then com-pare your answers with mine… here we go!

See what I mean? Jingles are made to be remembered. So next time you get one stuck, good luck trying to get it unstuck. Here’s a real test for you. What product is the below jingle for?

E-mail your guesses to [email protected] the first person with the correct answer will win a super-fan-tastic prize!

You know what? Grass is fabulous. It’s soft and kind of squishy when you go barefoot. It’s also the most perfect shade of green, which happens to be my favorite color.

But wouldn’t it be cool if it were, say, pink with purple polka dots? Or purple with pink polka dots. I’m not picky. It’d be interesting, at least. Green grass is okay, but it’s not the only possibility.

It’s like that with a lot of things in life. If you do noth-ing but agree with how things are right now, it gets pretty boring. How about brown and pink striped air? (Yes, the sort that you breathe.) No…you might have trouble seeing while driving.

You don’t always have to agree with the ideas presented. Clear air probably is the best way to go about this whole “air” business.

What if…what if air-planes integrated with Apple for your iPods? They’re work-ing together in certain airlines now, and I’m willing to bet that those of you with iPods think that’s a pretty cool idea.

Somebody out there wasn’t happy with the way things were and came up with a new idea, and that is actually an okay thing.

By Kaleigh [email protected]

Jingle Mania

“Dum-da-da-dum Da-da-da-da-da-dum Dum-da-da-dum Da-da-da-da-da-dum”

An interesting life

So how’d you do? See if your answers are close to mine.

1.*“The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup!” or possibly

*“Maxwell House good to the last drop!”

2.*“Charmin ultra, less is more. Cha-Cha-Cha Charmin!”

3.*“Lucky Charms, they’re magically delicious!”

*“Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!”

4.*“Built Ford tough.”

* “Chevy like a rock.”

5.*”Cambells mmm mmm good”.

6.*”My bologna has a first name it’s O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name it’s M-A-Y-E-R. Oh I love to eat it every day, and if you ask my why I’ll say, ‘cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A!”

1.Coffee

2.Toilet Paper

3.Cereal

4.Major Car Company

5.Soup

6.Lunch Meat

FeaturesBC-CPT-OKEEFEGAMES-EX-TRA:MCTReviews of new video game systemsBy Billy O’KeefeMcClatchy-Tribune News Service

SONY PLAYSTATION 3Price: $599/$499 (20 GB)

Available: Now (if you’re lucky)Sony’s Playstation 3 will force

you to use your mind, body and whatever courage you have to en-gage the enemy in ways you never imagined possible. And that’s just to get into the line to buy one.

Impervious to learning from past mistakes, Sony has once again refi ned the art of how to screw up a console launch. As scarce as the Playstation 2 was in 2000, the PS3 promises to be even harder to fi nd. Not only is demand higher _ the industry hasn’t exactly suff ered in the last six years _ but Sony ap-pears to have failed to meet its already-bleak target of 400,000 North American units at launch by as much as half or more. Unless you have an eBay account and $3,000 lying around, you might have to make like the Cubs and wait until next year. Remember when $599 seemed expensive?

To Sony’s credit, that $599 gets you a lot of system. Th e higher-end PS3 includes a 60 GB hard drive, SD and Memory Stick slots, digi-tal/AV/HDMI outputs, four USB ports and built-in Wi-Fi. Th e sys-tem is a beast, but the power sup-ply is encased inside, making it less clumsy to set up than, say, the Xbox 360. Th e slot-loading drive supports Blu-Ray, DVD, PS2 and PS1 discs (though you’d be wise to fully test the latter two before giv-ing your PS2 to the little brother). Th e thermal-activated power/eject buttons functional like any power/eject, but their slick execution only adds to the system’s sophisticated allure.

Th e $499 model is comparable in quality but does not include built-in WiFi or memory card readers and comes with a 20 GB hard drive. Th at kind of storage doesn’t go as far here as it does on the 360 _ “NBA 07’s” save fi le, for

instance, demands a whopping 3 GB all by itself _ but the drive is upgradeable should you opt for this model (or have no choice).

As much as the 360’s dashboard has matured over the last year in terms of functionality, it remains a continual reminder of just how lousy Microsoft is at designing an organized interface.

Th e PS3, by contrast, is as sleek on the inside as it is on the out-side. Sony’s menu system for the Playstation Portable was a primer on how to present a multi-tool sys-tem _ video, music, pictures, Web and of course games _ in a way that neither skimped nor overwhelmed, and the PS3 pretty much lifts it with great success. Compared to the 360’s candy-coated mess of styles, the PS3 makes it easy to tap into features you know and don’t know lie within. Given Sony’s appetite for system updates _ the PSP has “enjoyed” more than its share in the last couple years _ it’s a safe bet more features will reveal themselves as time goes on.

Th e Playstation Store _ Sony’s answer to the Xbox Live Market-place _ is similarly polished, re-sembling the iTunes Music Store in how it presents demos, multi-media and downloadable games and eschewing an unnecessary points system in favor of dollars and cents. Th e online suite includes centralized support for friends lists, instant messaging, voice chat and more. Sony has pledged not to charge for online play, though time will tell whether this promise holds up.

You wouldn’t know it to look at it, but the PS3’s SIXAXIS con-troller is not just a PS2 controller without wires. It’s also, sadly, a PS2 controller without rumble sup-port. Sony’s spin machine claims the SIXAXIS can’t support both rumble and the new tilt capabili-ties, which is its very rudimentary answer for Nintendo’s Wii Remote (which does support rumble). In any event, the rumble is missed, and the lack of motors robs the controller of any serious weight. Th e surprising lightness initially makes the SIXAXIS feel cheap, but that feeling fades with time. And between the guide button, lack of wires and the excellent new L2/R2 triggers, we gain as much as

we lose.You might want it right now, but

even the Playstation 3 isn’t worth three grand. Th e PS3 has a white-hot future ahead of it, but a vast majority of its launch lineup is ei-ther on the Xbox 360 (EA Sports/Activision Games), awesome but similar enough to an Xbox 360 game (“Ridge Racer 7”), or solid but unspectacular (“Genji: Day of the Blade,” “Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom”). Th e exceptional excep-tion, by a wide margin, is the fi rst-person shooter “Resistance: Fall of Man,” but even a game as incred-ible as this isn’t worth dropping starving to play early. Th e PS3 is a breeze to recommend at $599, but with so few games of note surfac-ing between now and the new year, you’re smart to wait until you can get it for that price.

NINTENDO WII

Price: $249Available: Nov. 19

Anyone who laughed Nintendo out of the room when it announced the Nintendo DS isn’t laughing now: Th e left-of-center handheld, which promised to reinvent the way people perceive video games, is the best-selling gaming system of any kind _ portable or otherwise _ at the moment.

With the curiously-named Wii, Nintendo is gambling on a second lightning strike. While the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 use graphics and raw power as their sales pitch, the Wii promises an experience that not only will change common perceptions of gaming yet again, but also will compel both the ca-sual and hardcore crowd to play games in ways that previously were impossible.

At the center of this shift is the Wii’s primary controller, which re-sembles the love child of a video game controller and television remote. But rather than simply pressing the Wii Remote’s but-tons, players move it in a sort of 3D space to infl uence what hap-pens on the screen. Want to hit a tennis ball? Swing the remote like

a tennis racket, and watch your onscreen character mimic your swing. Want to drive a car? Turn the remote sideways and “steer” it like a wheel, using the buttons to accelerate and brake. By upgrading the remote with attachments _ one of which is included in the box _ you can engage in pretty much any gaming genre in exciting and im-mersive new ways.

It looks awkward until you try it yourself, but it’s second nature the moment you do. Nintendo has pol-ished the Wii Remote with such a shine that you need not even cali-brate the thing before putting it to work. As long as you follow each game’s instructions on how best to use the remote in play, its ability to mimic your movements range from amusing to staggering. Games made specifi cally for the Wii will break all kinds of new gameplay ground, but games ported over from other systems have, surpris-ingly, fared just as well thus far.

Nintendo’s ongoing Apple fe-tish is in full blast with the Wii, which borrows its packaging from the iPod and its casing from ... well, the iPod. Th e glossy white console leaves a small footprint: It’s roughly the size of your typi-cal TV-on-DVD season set, and it easily lays fl at or stands up with the included stand.

Nintendo displays a surprising adherence to standards with the Wii, which features two USB ports and an SD memory card reader. Th at adherence doesn’t translate into full HD support, but folks with HD sets can sub component cables for the included AV cables if they want a crisp picture. Th e sys-tem doesn’t sport a hard drive, but does include a serviceable 512 MB of fl ash memory storage, and the low price of SD cards means stor-age won’t be the hassle it was with the Gamecube. Speaking of which, the slot-loading drive accepts both Wii and Gamecube discs, and the Wii also has slots for up to four Gamecube controllers (Wavebirds included) and two memory cards. Full backwards compatibility with the Cube is promised, and all indi-cations point to Nintendo deliver-ing.

How ironic is it that Nintendo _ easily the least Internet-savvy of the big three - has beat both Mi-

crosoft, Sony and even Apple to the fi nish line in the living room Internet appliance race?

Th e Wii’s interface, designed around the remote, is organized in a “channel” format. You can, for instance, browse a memory card full of photos on the Photo chan-nel, or download classic Nintendo, Sega and other games on the Vir-tual Console channel. But you also can read news headlines or get a weather forecast on their respective channels. Th e Wii promises a full Web browser either at or shortly after launch, but these browser-free channels are a clever, convenient and eye-strain-free way to surf the Web on a television. Th e main in-terface features nearly four pages of blanked-out channel slots, making new channel off erings all but inevi-table at and beyond launch.

Th e Wii wasn’t able to connect to Nintendo’s server at press time, but Nintendo promises a free on-line play system that’s more cen-tralized than its somewhat scat-tered fi rst run on the DS.

No bones about it: Games on the Wii don’t look nearly as fl ashy as games on the PS3/360, and that gulf is likely to grow as developers tighten their grip on those sys-tems. Th e Wii’s launch off erings range from “looks like Gamecube” to “looks marginally better than Gamecube,” and there’s no telling how much prettier games will get over the system’s lifespan.

Th at said, the Wii’s launch win-dow lineup is impressive. Give Nintendo some credit for that: “Th e Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess” is a game-of-the-year candidate, “Excite Truck” is a riot, and the free pack-in “Wii Sports” is a simple but hilariously fun in-troduction to the Wii Remote’s ca-pabilities. But give equal credit to EA, Activision, Ubisoft, Atlus and other third-party developers who have embraced the new philosophy with inspiring levels of enthusiasm and competence. Growing pains are an inevitability for a system like this _ the DS was home to some real disasters during its fi rst year. But if the big guns’ ability to deliv-er from day one isn’t a sign of great things to come, nothing is.

Gaming system for your Holiday wish list

November 30, 2006 / Features / page 7

ForerunnerThe Forerunner is produced

by the Journalism I and II class at ECHS.

Opinion articles in The Forerun-ner are not necessarily the views and opinions of the administration of Effi ngham County High School, the Effi ngham County Board of Education or other members of The

Forerunner staff.The Forerunner welcomes

letters to the editor. Each letter must be signed by the author. The Forerunner staff reserves the right to edit or refuse any letter.

The Forerunner is a member of the Georgia Scholastic Press Association. Our paper is printed by the Savannah Morning News.

Co-Editors: Ester Hartless and Becca RawskiCopy Editor: Candice HartStaff Writers: Amber Arnsdorff, Patricia Chabot, Zach Dickerson, Kaleigh Fisher, Candice Hart, Ester Hartless, Courtney Lory, Becca Rawski, Morgan Robey, and Chris West Adviser: Brian Holt

Principal: Yancy FordContact us:Effi ngham Co. HS - Room 8161589 Hwy 119 SouthSpringfi eld, GA 31329. 912.754.6404, x. 1262FAX 912.754.6893www.wectv.org

Post and share your pictures and ideas at www.echspress.com

November 30, 2006 / Health / page 8

HEALTHTake care of your body: How to alleviate a sore throatBy Ester [email protected]

As the weather changes, our bodies also change. Fall and win-ter are the two seasons that most children and adults acquire sore throats. Various things can cause a sore throat such as a virus that comes from someone coughing or sneezing, hand-to-hand con-tact with an infected person, or

sharing objects, such as utensils, towels, or a telephone. Along with a sore throat, you can also get symptoms such as having a low fever, slight body aches or mild headaches, watery eyes, or constant sneezing or coughing. If this happens, according to the Mayo Clinic, there are a few steps you can take to help allevi-ate the pain:

·Double your fl uid intake. Fluids help keep mucus thin and easy to clear.

·Gargle with warm salt water. Mix a teaspoon of salt in a full glass of warm water, gargle, and then spit the water out. Th is soothes the throat and clears it of mucus.

·Add honey and lemon to taste into a glass of very hot water.

Drinking this combo can help ease sore throat pain. Honey coats and soothes your throat, while lemon helps cut mucus.

·Suck on a throat lozenge or a piece of hard candy. Th is stimu-lates saliva production, which bathes and cleanses your throat. Add moisture to the air with a humidifi er. Th is helps prevent mucus membranes from drying out, and it can reduce irritation

and make it easier to sleep. Sa-line nasal sprays also are helpful.

·Smoke irritates a sore throat. Don’t smoke when you’re sick, and avoid fumes from house-hold cleaners and paint.

·Rest your voice. If your sore throat has aff ected your larynx, talking may lead to more irrita-tion and laryngitis, a temporary loss of your voice.

Exercise: Get a fl at stomach by dancing By Ester [email protected]

Studies show that when a wom-en sees unwanted fat in the mid-section the reaction is to hold her breath and suck it in. A bet-ter way to lift unwanted fat is to lose it. A fun way is to dance it off . Acording to the sudies of Dr. Carolle Jean-Murat, belly danc-ing burns about 250-300 calo-ries in each workout. Dancing to drum solos or fast music for 30 minutes or more can off er the same health benefi ts as aerobic exercises do. Belly dancing can stregthen cardiovasular system, ward off osteoporosis, and im-prove stamina. Of course what you eat plays a factor but when does it not? Th ere are belly danc-ing classes in Georgia, but here are a few excersises you can work out now from the health and fi t-ness section at www.msn.com.

A. To engage abdominal muscles, stand tall with feet hip-width apart, shoulders relaxed, head directly above spine. Place a hand on low-er belly, thumb in navel, and rest other arm at side. Inhale deeply so belly and rib cage expand. Pause.

B. Exhale completely so you feel waist narrow and belly fl atten, and contract pelvic-fl oor muscles as if you were stopping the fl ow of urine. Re-peat warm-up 5 times.

Twisting ShimmyStand tall with feet a few inch-es apart and knees slightly bent. Raise arms out to sides and relax shoulders. While holding abs in, rotate left hip forward and right hip back, keeping rib cage still. Then ro-tate right hip forward and left hip back. Continue rotating forward and back like a wash-ing machine for 60 seconds. Tip: After your fi rst workout, try to increase speed of shim-my.

Warm-up

Hip CirclesStand tall with feet a few inch-es apart, hands hovering be-side hips. While keeping abs tight and rib cage still, slide both hips to left, back, right, and then front, making a cir-cle. Continue for 30 seconds, contracting abs tightly at end of each circle. Repeat, circling to right.

Sliding Snake ArmsStand tall with feet almost hip-width apart, arms lifted out to sides. While keeping abs con-tracted and hips still, reach left arm to side, rolling shoulder up, and slide rib cage to left, letting right arm and shoulder dip. As you slide to right, roll left shoulder back and down, and reach right arm to side, rolling right shoulder up. Then slide rib cage back to left, roll-ing the right shoulder back and down. Imagine a string pulling shoulder and rib cage to the side so that they sepa-rate from hips. Continue side-to-side, making one smooth movement for 30 seconds.

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