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-Opinion-


The Eagle Flyer


Better than the av-er-age remake H


By Ryland Talamo, Staff Reporter


ow many movies can Hollywood make that follow the same old


“good guy, bad guy” plot? As usual, the lights dimmed, the chatting ceased, and the Warner Bother’s logo appeared on the screen. I went into the theater expecting the stereotypical animated film in which the main characters fight against the big bad antagonist. I was only half right in my expectation. Even though the movie followed the orthodox plot line, it was an extremely creative take on the classic car- toon. I would definitely recommend this film for any young viewer, as well as any Yogi Bear guru! For most adults and a select few young


adults, the television cartoon Yogi Bear holds a special place among television shows. It first appeared in 1958 as a part of The Huckleberry Hound Show and be- came one of the most popular TV shows of its time.


Stepping forward to the present, War-


ner Brothers released the movie Yogi Bear on December 17, 2010. As a twist on the old TV show, this modern version strove to recapture the fun and sarcasm of the characters Yogi and his sidekick Boo Boo as they wreak havoc in the one-hundred year old Jellystone Park. The voices of Dan Aykroyd (Yogi Bear) and Justin Tim- berlake (Boo Boo) recaptured these ionic characters. In this live action /animated film, Yogi and Boo Boo help Ranger Smith (Tom Cavanagh) save Jellystone Park. A movie, even a re-creation of a classic,


is not complete without a romantic angle; this film does not disappoint. A young filmmaker, Rachel Johnson, played by Anna Faris, visits Ranger Smith and he is immediately tripping over his own tongue. Together, they fight against the conniving Mayor Brown (Andrew Daly) who strives to have Jellystone divvied out to logging


Family Dinners:


Making time makes a difference


By Juliet Mullen, Senior Staff Reporter


baseball practice, Tracy has a dance class, Lisa has piano practice, and both parents are working at jobs 100 miles away from everyone else. By the time everyone is at home again, there is no time for a sit- down family dinner, since the kids have homework and the parents are too tired to do anything else. So, dinner is free-for-all, everyone is on there own and hopefully, they’ll find something. Or maybe on the way back from picking up the kids, par- ents swing by a fast food place and grab something for dinner. This is a typical fam- ily night, and a family dinner is nowhere on the list of things to do. People are too busy and can’t seem to squeeze it in any- where. After a long day of work, the last thing a parent wants to do is cook a meal in front of a hot stove. They just want to kick back and relax. Besides, it’s easier to pick something up from a restaurant while in the car going home than it is to stand in the kitchen for 20-45 minutes cooking din- ner. Time makes it hard to bring everyone together for a fun family dinner. According to a new Rasmussen reports,


T


national telephone survey, “Sixty-five per- cent of Americans say they only eat din- ner with family members at least twice a week.” Two out of seven days in a week is not encouraging. Family dinners are a time to rejoin with each other after a long day at a job or school. It’s not a torture one has to endure every night. Instead, view it as a reconnection period with siblings and parents. At the dinner table is a great place for


family members to help one another if they had a bad day. Dinner is not just a time to share one’s thoughts, but a time to re- connect with each other. Eating dinner as a family helps to bring everyone closer together. The tighter knit a family is, the better they will understand and love one another.


ime. Most everyone wishes that there was more time in the day. Jimmy has


Also, a survey by New Columbia Uni-


versity gave results that “Teenagers who eat with their families at least five times a week are more likely to get better grades in school. ” This shows just how important family


dinners are! They are fun, help teens do better in school, and keep them away from the wrongs of the world. “In families that ate at least five meals a


week together, teens were much less likely to drink alcohol, or smoke marijuana,” said an ABC news report. Overall, family dinners help teens with everything they do, which is why they’re so important. By having dinner with their family every night, teens are helping them- selves in the long run. The problems of time and who will


make dinner are excuses not actual issues. Try slowing down the day by not doing so much. Drop a sport or extracurricular ac- tivity if it prevents family dinner. If that is unimaginable, then try cooking dinner for a change. Teens 14+ should have the ability to read directions and cook a meal for the family. Not only does this give a family time to eat together, but it is also a wonderful skill to know, learn, and practice for the future. Sacrificing the time to make dinner for the family is caring, loving, and mature. It means that instead of goofing off or watching television, teens took time to do something for the family. Be encouraged to have dinner with


family as much as possible. The dinner ta- ble is a great opening to catch up with each other. Family won’t always be around; op- portunities come and go, so enjoy what time there is with family members. Ten years from now the kid that took the time to make a meal, sit down, and spend time with his family won’t think, “I’m still mad I missed the new show I wanted to see.” That child will remember the time he spent with the people he loves, and his family will remember it too.


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companies in order to create revenue for the city and help his campaign for governor. If a person is okay with viewing just another romantic com- edy, mixed with the formulaic good defeats evil plot, this movie is cer- tainly worth the viewing.


The screenwriters did an excellent job of incorporating several of Yogi’s iconic sayings such as, “smarter than the av-er-age bear”, “pic-a-nick baskets”, and “snack-type goodies.” So even though the movie includes many of the new cinematic elements such as 3D, excellent CGI, and live action/ animation, it was still able to retain much of its charm and likeness to the old animated cartoons. Even though Hollywood is notorious for modernizing classics, this movie was a great twist on the old cartoon. Yogi Bear is a great movie for both the Yogi lover of the 1960s, as well as for any unfamiliar viewer.


Narcissism: Thy name is


Facebook or Twitter By Matthew Kettle, Business Manager


ocial networks thrive on narcissism. Everyone has a bottled up sense of


self-admiration, and Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and other social sites thrive on people unleashing it. Members post when they win, lose, pass, or fail, and they want people to comment, like, or read it. Who would pass up the opportunity to brag about their lives publicly? Ten years ago, no one had ever heard of Facebook. And “tweet” was only a word associated with birds. Now, Facebook has over 400 mil- lion active users – that’s right, 400 million! The average user is on for 55 minutes a day, and EVERY day there are over 60 mil- lion status updates posted. And Twitter us- ers tweet (yes, now it’s a verb) an average of 55 million tweets a day. And what are all these tweets and updates about one may wonder? Me, of course. That’s correct. This generation, more


than any other, is enamored with self. So much so, that they want everyone to know, comment on, “like,” and share every mo- ment of every day. Not only is it foolish for security and safety reasons to share in- timate details of your daily life and routine, it is incredibly self-centered. And honestly, most people simply don’t care about every little thing that happens during your day. It is not surprising that movie stars and Hol- lywood A-listers keep their adoring fans up to date on every self-tanning session and new break-up, but is that appropriate behavior for Christians? I think not. Our mission is to be others-centered, and we need to examine our use of social networks to be our own personal cheering ground. On the bright side, the “new and im-


proved” entertainment and technology industries make it easier to connect with family and enjoy their company. Through


texting and social networking, people can connect with their friends whenever and wherever they choose. Grandparents who live far away can view pictures of their grandchildren, and college students can easily keep up to date with their family back at home through social networks. It is a quick, effective way to communicate and keep in touch. Although all of that is true and accu-


rate, how many of the under 25 set actu- ally uses their Facebook page or Twitter to keep in touch with Grandma? Or any fam- ily, for that matter? More often than not, teens update their statuses to inform their 237 friends of their dinner plans, their cur- rent crush, or their latest accomplishment. Sadly, sometimes they even use their status updates to embarrass or bully others, and very often they use them to gossip. This needs to change. Furthermore, electronic communication often hinders people from learning appropriate social skills. They can text or tweet for hours on end but can- not hold a conversation in person for more than five minutes. So should everyone up and delete their Facebook page and ban Twitter? No. Just examine how, when, and why it is used. Like everything else, it is simply a tool, and it can be used both to have fun AND to benefit others. It can be such a benefi- cial tool if you use it wisely. Choose your friends on social networking sites as care- fully as you choose your actual friends. Re- member that NOTHING you post is private information once it is posted. Share others’ accomplishments. Encourage each other. DO keep in touch with family. Share your faith. And always remember, it is more im- portant to build true relationships than your profile page.


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