Rank & File

Rain pours down as the varsity softball team sits in their bus waiting for the verdict of whether or not they will play. After a long drive out to Stone Bridge High School, the game has been cancelled, marking the third schedule change of last week alone.

The constant change in schedule and the uncertainty that accompanies the changes has been a major frustration for the team.

“The weather lately has been more frustrating than anything,” senior Michelle Tilson said. “But weather never affects how we play.”

As their departure for college draws near, two seniors are cementing their reputation as some of the most accomplished track and field athletes in school history.

Meara Goss and Brittany Johnson continued their dominance at the TJ Penultimate Experience meet held at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) on May 8. Goss won the girls’ discuss and placing third in the girls’ shot put. Johnson placed second in the girls’ long jump.

Sophomore July Laszakovits believes that, despite the loss of these seniors, the team will be strong next year.

The days of the big steroid sluggers are over; pitching and fielding are the new skills that will bring baseball players success. Over the last few months, these are the ideas championed by the national media. Teams such as the Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners have received huge amounts of both publicity and praise for placing more emphasis on these finesse skills as they built their teams for this season.

The most recent product of the twisted mind of Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club, Survivor) employs the sense of the fast-paced, yet purposeful insanity that Palahniuk utilizes in each of his unique novels. Tell All embraces its author-mandated requirement to be utterly off-the-wall by exploring vintage Hollywood through the eyes of an image obsessed assistant/housekeeper/confidante to fading star Katherine Kenton.

In their new album, Total Life Forever, Oxford dropouts Foals create smart and polished music. Relying on keyboards, they update classic 80s pop with intricate bass-lines and manage to preserve their optimistic sound with added maturity. Their music is an acquired taste, but its oddities unite to form a sound that is pleasant and catchy.

Before I start to talk about the complete implausibility that is Tony Stark’s basement technology system, I should clarify that I’m a huge Iron Man fan. I saw the first one in theaters more times than I’d like to admit and time I watch a Robert Downey Jr. movie I envision him as Stark.

When student athletes get injured on the field, the duty falls on athletic trainer Esther Horner to get these players back into the game.

Athletic training “involves prevention, rehabilitation, emergency care and evaluation,” Horner said.

 In high school, Horner played softball and volleyball, where she first acquired an interest in sports medicine.

“I had a coach who did athletic training,” Horner said. “[I learned that the field] combines athletics with health care.”

After 13 years of education, seniors are faced with the important decision of what to do next. They must decide between a myriad of options, including continuing their education or going directly into the workforce.

Those who want to continue learning in higher education institutions have several choices before them: where they should go, what kind of school they should attend or if they should just take a year off to pursue other interests or simply consider their future plans.

Located on a side street in Georgetown, the Peacock Café is not the place to go for an intimate, quite meal. Upon entering the restaurant, there is a staggeringly noisy blend of club music and loud conversation held by people struggling to hear over the drone of the beat. The inside of the café is extremely cramped, as well. Simply going to the counter to get a table is an ordeal, as you must maneuver through hordes of tightly crammed people. On a Saturday morning be prepared for at least an hour wait. You’re in luck, though, if there’s a table available outside.

If you think napping is for toddlers, then you are completely mistaken. Due to natural circadian rhythms, people are naturally more drowsy in the afternoon, about eight hours after waking. Research actually shows that you can make yourself more alert, reduce stress and improve cognitive function with a nap. Mid-day sleep, or ‘power nap’s, mean more patience, less stress, better reaction time, increased learning, extra productivity and ultimately better health.