Page 10Omaha Bryan high SchOOl

The OraTOrFeBruary 14, 2014 enTerTainmenT

Page 11Omaha Bryan high SchOOl

The OraTOrFeBruary 14, 2014

What’s your Ouija experience?

Conjuring spirts becomes a chilling pass time for many

Conjuring spirits who have crossed over reminds many of chilling movies that can leave them with night-mares. Many, however, feel that they have experienced this in real life with the help of a Ouija board. A Ouija board, sometimes called a spirit or talking board, is a piece of cardboard or wood with the alpha-bet, the numbers 0-9, the words “Yes,” “No” and “Goodbye” printed on it. It is used to summon and communicate with spirits that have crossed over. To use the board, one must place their fingers on the planchette, the movable indicator which spells out the spirits message during a séance, and ask the board questions. It is said that if the operator believes in the board’s power, the planchette will move on its own to spell out their response or message. The board is quite controversial. Some would swear by the board’s powers to communicate with the dead while oth-ers believe that it is simply a child’s game to play at sleep-overs. For those that do believe, there are many stories to be told. One of the most mysterious stories of the boards power is the chilling story of Patience Worth. In 1919, a woman named Pearl Lenore Curran wrote a beautiful collec-

tion of poems. The only problem was that Curran was an illiterate housewife who dropped out of school, While many women during war-time found comfort in writing, for Curran it was a miracle that she could even write a full line of words, let alone entire poems. Curran decided to try a talking board. She was channeled by a woman by the name of Patience Worth, a long dead English Puritan. Worth dictated po-etry, essays and plays for Curran to write. The literature was well written and described places in Europe to a T. Besides Curran’s lack of education and inability to write well on her own, she had never been to the countries of which she was writing about. Curran scribed multiple volumes of Worth’s work and published them under Worth’s name. Those works are on display at the Missouri History Museum. The evidence of this experience is so strong and unflawed that many be-lieve in the power of Ouija boards purely because of this story. Ouija boards are sometimes left up to interpretation based on the wide number of stories like these that float from person to person. Besides out-right not believing, there is much more controversy when it comes to these boards. For example,

there have been many cases where two people are using the board and one of them doesn’t believe when the other does. The non-believer sometimes takes advantage of this and plays a trick on the believer by moving the planchette themselves, leaving the believer to think that the board is moving it. Then, later the non-believer admits to the trickery, causing the believer to loose their belief in the power of the board. Even though there is plenty of scepticism about Ouiji boards, many staff and students have tried to reconnect with the dead for pure entertainment at slum-ber parties or small get-togethers. Others have tried to reach out to loved ones who have passed on. Whether or not it’s real is a matter of experience and in some cases, a matter of mind set. Anne Savery, assistant prin-cipal, has never touched a Ouija board because of a story her grandmother told her. When her grandmother was young, she and her friends were playing with a board in the basement of her house. Her grandmother asked it what her middle name was since she was certain that no one she was with knew it, and the board spelled it out. She was so spooked by this that she took the board to the backyard and burned it, which is what legend says to do to get rid of the spirits.

There are many other legends that accompany these boards. For in-stance, if you don’t properly say goodbye to the spirits you are giving them free will to haunt you. According to junior Al-exander Lizdas, his dad knows firsthand. While he was in Illinois, he and his friends decided to pass the time during a thunderstorm by playing with a talking board. The talking piece actually moved, but everyone thought the other was just messing around. They put the board away and went outside, when they came back in, it was lying open on the kitchen floor. Lizdas didn’t properly say goodbye, and feels that he still has spirits following him around even though he’s back in Omaha. Ouija boards have caused dif-ferent beliefs and conspiracies among people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds and religions. No matter who someone is or where they come from, Ouija boards can create an eerie ripple of emotions throughout a person. Whether it’s true or not, just the idea alone of speaking with someone no longer living in our world can be spooky enough.

Suspicions aroused over controversial game

enTerTainmenT

How to blow her mind with out blowing your budget

Local Diners, Drive-ins and Dives stop leaves much to be desired

By: Jessica CoxReporter

By: Jessica CoxReporter

If it had not been for Amato’s being featured on the hit show ‘Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives’ on the Food Network, I probably never would have consid-ered this Mom and Pop breakfast place, but in the end I’m glad I did. The atmosphere is a bit dingy and dirty before you even walk in. Inside, the dining area was definitely dive-ish and it was particu-larly crowded for a Saturday morning. However, the rush made it look like it was go-ing to be really worth it. Regardless of the overflow of people, we were seated within ten minutes. The service was nothing special, which was understandable with the numerous other customers to take care of. But the 15 minutes to fill a drink order was ridiculous. We were seated faster than it took for us to get our simple ice water and coffee order. The cute mix and match coffee mugs with wit-ty sayings on them did earn some points, though. I got the one with a picture of a

squirrel and the words “I’m a little nutty without my cof-fee” printed around it. While that does ring true, there is no way anyone would be able to wake up even with an entire pot of their weak and watery coffee. Shortly after our start to not-so-good service, the waitress came back in a hurry and took our food order. She rushed us along a bit so the order ended up being a smorgasbord from the a la carte menu. Our food came quicker than expected given the service that far. I really wanted to try the Italian biscuits and

sausage, but there was some miscommunication in the kitchen and they never got brought out. That was okay though because the other food was plenty enough and I saw an employee warm the gravy up in the microwave. The food is pretty good and the portions are generous, as they should be given the steep pricing for this dive. The atmosphere was a mixed-bag so it’s easy to see why someone would be turned off by the experi-ence. If you can get past the look and feel of the place, the food was definitely worth coming back to.

For many teenag-ers high school is a time for relationships. Whether they’re falling in love for the first time, casually dating or trying to impress that special someone, the responsibility of planning dates usually falls on the guy. The task can seem daunting at times, but there are tons of dates one can take their girlfriend on that are fun, original and won’t empty your wallet. One of the best and easiest ways to make a date way more special for a girl is to keep it a surprise. Just text her or call her and say “I’m picking you up later; we’re going out.” This gives a guy the freedom to do anything he wants and his girlfriend will look forward to some kind of surprise. It doesn’t even have to be any-thing fancy or extravagant. A simple walk downtown is a sure way to put a smile on her face. As long as you put more than 30 seconds of thought into planning the evening, she is sure to appreciate your efforts. Other simple and cheap dates that can make

a night special for a couple can be found all over the metro area. Some people think that there’s nothing fun to do in the winter months, but they are sorely mis-taken. Sledding, getting hot chocolate, building a snow-man and ice skating are all affordable date ideas to take advantage of in the winter. You can go ice skating, grab some hot chocolate and then walk around the old market all for under $20. There is a much wider selection of activities to take your date on in the spring and summer months. Going swimming, getting ice cream, picnics, scenic walks and going to different festivals and shows are just a few of the many possibili-ties. Many different firework shows are held throughout the summer, especially around the 4th of July. There are also a lot of random things like outdoor movies that are held throughout the community. You just have to be on the lookout for fliers, billboards and other signs that adver-tise these events. If you’re willing to spend a little bit

more money, there are a lot of restaurants that offer a unique experience, as well as good food. Hu-Hot Mongolian Grill is a buffet where you pick all of your uncooked ingredients, hand them to the chef and watch them cook it right in front of you. The food is great and the experience is even better if you’ve never been there before. Ragazzi’s is small pizza joint in Ralston. They offer authentic tasting, Chicago style pizza, good prices and a casual, and welcoming environment. Dinner at either of these places can be followed up with a cheap movie from a local RedBox, which can be found all over the metro. Hopefully these ideas are appealing to you, but if not they should inspire you to think a little outside the box when plan-ning a date for that special someone. A little thought and effort can go a long way when it comes to trying to turn and ordinary evening into a fun and memorable date night.

American Hustle falls short of deserving it’s Golden Globe awardBy: Alyssa Zaracki

Entertainment Editor

You know when you get re-ally excited for an expecta-tion and you’re let down? That’s what the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture, American Hustle, did for me. American Hustle is rated R for explicit lan-guage, some inappropriate activities and drug refer-ences. The story is about a con-man, Irving Rosen-feld (Christian Bale), along with his manipulating and witty British partner Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams) who is basically told to work for a FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper). DiMaso pushes the crew into a different kind of ball field where the crooks are the mayor and mafia team, engaging them in a situation where they had no idea what was coming. Jeremy Renner is Carmine Polito, the con-artist and federation official, that is caught between the decision of whether to stay on DiMaso’s side or let the cat out of the bag. Irving’s unpredictable wife Rosalyn Rosenfeld (Jennifer Law-

rence), causes their demise. Lawrence plays New Jersey woman with a screwed up lifestyle. I thought she would have had a difficult time with this since we haven’t seen her do this sort of acting before, but she was outstanding. Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper, are amazing actors and have outstanding careers, but this movie did them zero justice because the character’s didn’t fit them well. The movie needed to be more action packed less about Prosser. Prosser started off as a then slowly started to realize that she could actu-ally be something. So, she went to college and got her degree. She unfortunately didn’t really know what to do with it. That’s when the wheels turned and she started using her brain for evil. She joined forces with Rosenfeld and became the best manipulator anyone has ever seen. From that point on the movie just dragged on. The scenes were slow and the action scenes were far and few in-between. American Hustle isn’t worth watching. Apart

from the first 20 minutes, the conversations between the characters seemed really irrelevant to the big things that were going on. There were some parts that grabbed viewer’s attention with either violence or some kind of humor, but those parts were usually only two minutes long and didn’t hap-pen frequently. If you are an impatient person or have a hard time paying attention, this movie is not for you. Even with tal-ented actors and actresses in American Hustle, it was a letdown. It’s shocking that the film received the awards that it did: Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Com-edy, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture, National So-ciety of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. It may have won a lot of awards, but it didn’t deserve to. The actors and actresses however, did deserve them as they played their characters well, which may be the reason why most of the awards were given to them, not just for the story line.

Photo courtesy of: guyfieri.com

REVIEW

“Samantha Miller and I were in the basement in 6th grade. The board spelled out a name; we were spooked, but decided that it wasn’t real”

-Emily Kriegler (12)

“The volleyball team was at a sleep over. We tried it. We couldn’t sleep because the Ouija board made the lights flicker.”

-NyaJal Kuany (12)

“We tried to reach my uncle who had died. We waited ‘til 3:00 a.m., dead man’s hour and light bulb exploded so we got the heck out of there.” - Destiny Fulcher (12)

“My grandma asked the board what her middle name was because nobody who she was with knew it, and the board spelled it out.”

-Anne Savery (Admin.)

“My sister was at a sleep over. Someone’s grandma sent a message through. She has been scared to do it by herself ever since.” -Tracy Wernsman (Admin.)

REVIEW

February CrosswordCreated by:

The Orator StaffAcross1. The center of emotion2. Dating4. There’s something about ________.6. Chocolate candy that is striped white and brown.7. Gifts given on Feb. 14.8. Kiss12. Creates pollen14. God of desire15. Goddess of love20. Only month affected by leap year22. Alone23. Someone who keeps their love of someone hidden24. Top candy company

Down1. Good looking guy3. A promise5. Color of friendship9. Hearts that have messages on them for a valentine10. To seek the favor, affection, or love of11. Pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically13. Donald’s girlfriend16. Color of love17. A girl’s best friend18. This city’s motto is “The sweetest place on earth”19. Color symbolizing grace and apprecia-tion21. Traditional flowers given on Valentine’s Day

By: DJ Maldonado-ThomasReporter

40%Do not believe

50%Do

believe

10% unsure

Do you believe Ouija

boards actually work?

100 students were polled

Guy Fieri visited Amato’s and five other Omaha restaurants.

“Three years ago in Illinois, we played it. It spelled out ‘Lucifer’ and when we asked for its favorite number it replied ‘666.’”

- Alex Lizdas (10)