MY TOP FIVE SUPERHEROES!!!!!

By Reydi  Ventura

Right now, the Eagle Express has a top five villains post, written by Miles Graham; but there can’t be a top 5 villains post without a top five heroes post!

5: Batman Batman is the best detective ever known. His parents died right in front of his eyes, and he wanted that to never happen to anyone again. He became Batman to save people, and swore to never kill when he fights crime. Batman’s arch enemy, the Joker, is on Miles’ page, too. Joker has taken Batman to his limit were he almost killed Joker because he brutally tortured Barbra Gordan AKA Batgirl, and made her paralyzed because he shot her in the spine. Batman has defeated the justice league several times that’s why he’s here on my list.

4:Sentry Sentry is the most powerful superhero you could ever know. He ripped Ares in two, and didn’t need any effort to do it. Sentry was once a part of the Avengers, and saved them from a man named Michael Korvac who was mind-controlled by a mysterious man. Sentry’s real name is Bob, and his arch-enemy is the Void, who tries to take control of Sentry to make him fifty times powerful than usual. He ripped Ares apart, so imagine how powerful he is!

3:Spider Man Spider Man is one of the first superheroes created by Stan lee. Spider Man’s real name is Peter Parker, and his parents died in a plane crash with a doctor named Curt Conners, who becomes The Lizard and tries to kill Peter many times. Peter has lived with his uncle Ben and aunt May; they took good care of him, but Ben got shot by a man named Flint Marco who later became Sandman. If you want to know more about Spider Man, read Robert Brown’s post The Lessons of the Spiderverse.

2:Arrow Arrow, aka Oliver Queen, protects Star City with Black Canary aka Laurel Lance, White Canary aka Sara Lance, and John Dingle. Olly (which is his nickname on the Arrow TV show) saves the world from numerous villains like Damien Dark who tried to kill Laurel but failed many times. Olly has also tried to defeat a villain (he’s a villain on the TV show, but in the comic he’s a villain who sometimes acts like a hero) named Death Stroke, but has failed at that, too. Oliver was once stranded on an island, an experience which taught him to become a superhero.

1:Flash The Flash, aka Barry Allen, is a forensic scientist in Central City who was struck by dark matter in lightning form. The next day he found out he had super speed, and he went to the place that caused this: Star Labs, where there was a particle accelerator explosion. Barry fought many meta humans (humans with special powers), like Zoom and Reverse Flash, and he fights them to this day. To learn more about Flash, check out my other post, The History of the Flash, in a flash.

Skate 3, Tricklining, and Skate 4 Rumors

The cover of Skate 3 for Xbox 360.

By Caleb Myke

One of my favorite video games is Skate 3. Skate 3 is a skateboarding simulator game for Xbox 360 and PS3. The Skate franchise has sold over 1.5 billion copies altogether; but of all three of its games, Skate 3 sold the most with a whopping 9.2 million (and counting) copies in the U.S. alone. Skate 3 came out on May 11, 2010, and lots of YouTubers like PewDiePie, Rise Albert, and JackSepticEye play it to this day.

The game starts off with a tutorial called Skate.school. In Skate.school, the characters who help you are named Coach Frank and Benny Fairfax, and they basically teach you the controls. Once you finish the tutorial, you go into a Free Roam where you can do different challenges–like deathrace, where you have to race against automated players. In about 2012, Rise Albert created a game mode called tricklining, which is easy to do but hard to time so that you don’t fall.The game mode includes learning how to manual,transfer,and manual revert. You also need to learn how to do these specific tricks 360 hardflip darkcatch, kickflip darkcatch, and 360 inward heel darkcatch. One of of the upcoming trickliners are Future Revertz and Rise AyeDuceces. Black Box and EA Sports (a developer and publisher) added lots of cheat codes and glitches, like the bounce glitch and the mcfly cheat code (hoverboard).

Eventually, in April 2013, Black Box shut down, along with the skate.ea website where you can download and create your own graphics. In early 2016, an Australian entertainment website named  JB Hi Fi leaked a possible Skate 4, with a cover and a release date of August 23 2016. I think that Skate 4 might come out; EA Sports has a convention coming soon to New York, where I believe they will confirm Skate 4 and confirm a developer for the actual game. Then again, it might not come out because Black Box shut down–so if Skate 4 does come out, it’s probably going to be bad. Do you think that it will come out? Answer in the comments section below.

Lion King Review

Miles Graham

We all know the Disney movie, the Lion King. If you do, then you probably know that it is also a Broadway show. I went to see it not that long ago, and it was good.

My favorite part of the Lion King is the costumes. In the opening, when they perform the song Circle of Life, the costumes are amazing. One particular costume that caught my eye was the cheetah. The cheetah costume was this: the hind legs of the cheetah were the actual legs of the person in the costume, and his arms had a stick attached to the front legs. So when he would put his arms up, the front legs would go up, too. The main actors (except the kids) had hat-like things on with their character’s face on it, which was cool.

My favorite characters are Zazu (the bird) and the hyenas. I liked Zazu because he has one of my favorite traits in a character: he breaks the fourth wall (which is when a fictional character says or does something in or about the real world) multiple times. I liked the hyenas, because they were just good characters and I mostly like the villain more than the hero.

Overall, The Lion King was a great movie and a great Broadway show. It is my favorite Broadway show so far, even though I haven’t seen many. The costumes were great, and it was really on point with regard to the movie.

Rating: 5/5 stars

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hydration is very important!!!!!

by Jaden McLendon

We know most of what we need to do to keep our bodies healthy, alive, and working. I’m going to talk about what happens when you don’t do only one of these tasks, and that is keeping yourself hydrated. You might be wondering: how is hydration important?

One we know about hydration is that a person can go longer without food than water. This is because 70% of your body is water, and we need the constant intake of water to keep our body functioning properly.  Another reason is because if you stop drinking water, you will stop urinating and your body will not be able to process waste. Another effect is that your brain will shrink…literally.

Some ways that we lose water every day are when we go to the bathroom, sweat, and even when we breathe.  We lose water even faster when the weather is hot or when we are really active. Even when you have a fever, vomiting and diarrhea can lead to rapid water loss; if you don’t replace the water you lose when these things happen, you can become dehydrated.

In many parts of Africa, there isn’t much water;  this called “water scarcity.” In these conditions, sometimes people have to have to drink muddy water because they don’t have access to good water. Eventually, they can die from this.  Years ago, Jay Z went to parts of Africa that experience water scarcity, and what he saw was unbelievable. He saw a girl who had to walk a long distance just to get clean water for her family.

There are some parts of the world that don’t receive fresh, clean water. This can affect people’s health in many ways. We should build wells in certain parts of the world that don’t have clean water. We should try to make sure that everyone in the world has the ability to stay hydrated, so they can stay alive and healthy.

*FUN FACT: did you know that 30% of our bodies are made out of exploding stars, A.K.A stardust?

 

Are there other planets similar to planet Earth?

Kepler 22B.

by Miguel Garduno

We live in a world called Earth, and people think that we are not killing our world–but sadly, we are. We are killing our world by creating pollution, killing our plants, not throwing our garbage in bins, and many other ways. But many people don’t care to help save our world; if these people don’t stop and help our global community, pretty soon the world could end without us expecting it. But scientists are finding new worlds, light years away from us, that could be other types of Earths.

One example is Kepler-22B. Kepler-22B looks exactly like Earth, but it’s a few light years away from us. It was discovered in 2011, when NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) was using the Kepler Telescope (after which Kepler 22B was named) to find other Earth-like planets as part of the Kepler mission. There’s also a Kepler spacecraft, which was launched in March of 2009. So far, NASA has discovered 4,706 potentially Earth-like planets (2,326 in the first 16 months of its search).

Once confirmed by follow-up studies, these potential discoveries could continue to increase the tally of exoplanets (planets outside our solar system) over its current count of 2,056 other planets similar to Earth. Kepler-22B was the first exoplanet found to orbit in a star’s habitable zone light years away from Earth. So this means that Kepler-22B may have liquid water on its surface, just like Earth, making it the closest possible sister planet. NASA wrote this about Kepler-22B: “the planet is 2.4 times the size of Earth, making it the smallest yet found to orbit in the middle of the habitable zone of a star like our sun.”

Some scientists think that Mars could be a solution, because they believe there could be water on Mars and it’a a similar distance from the sun as Earth.

Moving to another planet similar to Earth could give humans a second chance. It will also be a responsibility, because we will have to take care of the new planet so the same problems don’t happen again. In case anyone hasn’t noticed, our world is dying. Global warming is increasing, people are still polluting are world, and weather is getting more extreme. There are many planets that could help us find a solution. It’s just a matter of time until we find one.

The destruction we cause (natural disasters)

by Melvin Prudente

People harm the Earth, but they do not realize that when they harm the Earth, they also harm themselves. One of the main effects of us harming the Earth is the increase in natural disasters, such as tornadoes, blizzards, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods and earthquakes. Natural disasters are natural events that take away human life or damage human property.

At least 80 people die from tornadoes each year, and at least 19 people die from hurricanes. According to ScienceLine.edu, “Over 1000 tornadoes occur each year mainly in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and eastern Colorado.” Scientists say that 200 more natural disasters can happen per year because of pollution, especially the appearance of warm or cold fronts in unexpected places.

Pollution is one of the causes of global warming. The increased pollutants in the atmosphere can   damage the ozone layer. This creates the unexpected cold & warm fronts, which creates floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Scientists have collected data that the more polluted places in the USA are 20% more likely to have tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods. How would you feel if these natural disasters were to take your family member’s life?

The government has agreed to create many factories in the US that cost many thousands of dollars each. They don’t realize that the effects of pollution can cause disasters that will waste a lot more money. EF5 tornadoes (otherwise known as a Category 5 tornado, which is the strongest kind) cost an average of about 2.8 billion dollars in damage per tornado.

Aftermath of a tornado in Oklahoma.

Natural disasters affect the development, economy and society of many places, such as Japan. Japan is the main site of the 10 worst natural disasters of the 21st century. It is where tsunamis, earthquakes, typhoons and volcanic eruptions are common. Asia is one of the most polluted continents, and it is where many terrible natural disasters in the 21st century occur. More than 1,100 natural disasters have occurred in japan in the past 10 years, and their rate is increasing.

We should stop littering and creating air pollution, because in return we could have more natural disasters. We are creating a problem that we can not control at all. This is why we should stop polluting, because of the aftereffects and the fact that we’re harming the place we live.

GOING INTO MIDDLE SCHOOL!!! (part one)

by Jaden Baker

It’s hard to go into Middle School. It’s also really challenging to actually think about transferring into a new school. I will tell you about my own experience going into Middle School.

In elementary school, I was doing my work for all classes so I could get high grades so I could into a good middle school. I went to many meetings about schools but they were all so far away. I was doing my best in my classes when it came to work on the last period. Me and my mom wanted me to go to a school named ICON but our second choice was EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN. The end the school year was really close, and I kept worrying about leaving school, and moving to a new one. I missed my favorite teacher, my favorite friends, and my favorite principal.

I was in elementary school, thinking about going into middle school and getting new friends. I needed work very hard, so I would be able to go into a good middle school. My mom had told me this me since elementary school. Quickly the end of the year came! We had finished all of our activities; We had fun day, the dance, and the senior trip.

We finally got to summer, and we had to go to go to a thing called summer bridge. I  was so nervous that people wouldn’t talk to me or hang around me. I came into the building acting like I was cool even though I was really nervous inside. We started off by going into a cafeteria. We had something to eat, but I was mad that the food was cold. I met some friends and started to talk to them, as well as hang out with them. We were given strips of cloth, but I was confused and asking questions about why we have them. They told all the newcomers to tie the cloth around our eyes. Next they just took us outside. I was feeling worried because I thought they were gonna let us walk into the street.  They told us we were doing an activity called the trust test. We all had to walk blindfolded, holding each other’s shoulder while walking into the building. When we finally made it into the building, we were in the gym. We were told to take off the blindfold and stand in rows. One of the teachers made a speech saying things about trusting each other and how it is important.

Now we had to introduce ourselves. I was nervous about meeting the people in this school…

 

The search for new planets similar to our own

by Justin Mendoza

Is it possible to find a planet that has important fundamental features in common with Earth, that will allow us to live there if we have to? For example, a planet with a breathable atmosphere or resources such as coal? So when our population increases to where the planet cannot hold it, there will be a planet to fill the rest of our population in?

Well that question is unsolved. Why? Because we are still developing our understanding of other planets in this universe. As far as we still know, there is not a planet that has the salient features we need for our survival.

Normally, when NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) looks for habitable planets similar to Earth, they try to find glimpses of water; ordinarily, water indicates a possibility of life. They also look for previously undiscovered things, like natural resources or elements or substances that they’ve never seen before. They do this so we can improve our comprehension of the conditions on other planets. In addition, NASA looks at a planet’s distance from the sun in its solar system. This is because the temperature on a planet can occasionally depend on its distance from the sun. For example, Neptune one of the planets in our solar system. It is a great distance from the sun, which is why its surface temperature is -214 degrees Celsius. That is equal to -353 Fahrenheit! Planets closer to their suns, such as Earth, tend to have higher temperatures.

Much of the time, we are looking for planets similar to Earth, and there’s a chance that we have almost accomplished that goal. In the Kepler -62 system, they might have found an oceanic planet, similar to Earth: Kepler 62E and Kepler 62F. However, this discovery raises some questions worth thinking about. For example, how could any intelligent inhabitants build a technological society in an oceanic world? Also, how can we develop our knowledge of an oceanic world as we explore it?

We are still discovering new planets, and one of them could be the new Earth.

Our understanding of the universe is not even close to complete, and I don’t think it ever will be.

The history of the Flash, in a flash

By: Reydi Ventura and Robert Brown

Flash and Reverse Flash: the ultimate battle!!!!!

The Justice League is a team of great heroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman but the one left behind is the Flash, which is ironic because he is the fastest man alive. Barry Allen, aka the Flash, is a  superhero and a forensic scientist. When he was 11 years old, his mother died because of a yellow blur called the Reverse Flash. Barry and the Reverse Flash, aka Eobard Thwane, went back in time to kill Barry as a child. Barry stopped him by taking him away from the house, so Eobard killed Barry’s mom instead. Barry’s father went to prison for her murder, because nobody believed the Reverse Flash existed.

Barry lived with his dad’s best friend, a cop named Joe West. Barry also lived with Joe’s daughter, Iris West. Barry had a crush on Iris, but he kept it a secret. He should have told her before he was struck by dark matter in a shape of lightning, created by a particle accelerator in Central City, built by Eobard Thwane, disguised as a man named Harrison Wells whose life he had sucked away with a machine. The accelerator went off when Barry was opening the sky light, which was connected by a metal chain; since lightning is attracted to metal, the dark matter was absorbed by the lightning and it went through the chain and hit Barry. After Barry got struck by the lightning, he was in a coma for 8 months. The day he woke up, he found out that he was the fastest man alive–or was he? The Reverse Flash was way faster than Barry.

Barry tries to save Central City

As the Flash, Barry worked with people named Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon, and also Harrison Wells (who was really Eboard Thwane in disguise). They fought Meta-Humans, which were other people who had been struck by dark matter and ended up with super powers of their own. Some of them were good, such as Ronnie Raymond aka Firestorm and Oliver Queen aka Arrow. On Christmas of 2014, Barry was at home and saw the Reverse Flash staring right into his eyes. Barry ran out to a football field, where they started fighting. Barry lost the fight, but he was left with the biggest decision of his life: how has he going to get faster? Barry had the help of Caitlin Snow and Cisco Ramon to find different ways to increase his speed, so he could defeat the Reverse Flash and get his father out of jail. Barry had another decision: he had to decide whether to travel back in time, save his mom and lose his powers–or keep his powers and have his mom remain dead.

One day, Iris found the man she loved. His name was Eddie, but they didn’t know he was also Eobards  great-great-grandfather. Barry decided to go back in time to save his mom, and back in the past everybody who knew Barry was the Flash was there. Barry ran as fast as he could around the area where the particle accelerator was, and a time portal opened Barry ran into it. He ended up at his old childhood home. Barry ran downstairs and saw another version of himself–it was him, fighting the Reverse Flash! They were circling around his mom while they were fighting, and his future self told his past self not to interfere. So Barry went back through the portal and started fighting the Reverse Flash in the present time. Barry was losing, but then Eddie shot himself so the Reverse Flash would never be born.  But the portal was never closed, so it created a black hole. He ran into it to stop it, and so did Firestorm. When Firestorm entered the black hole, he became as hot as a supernova, which is as hot as the sun. As he did that, the Flash ran around to spread the fire around as his suit absorbed the heat. Flash fell out of the sky and ran down a building, and Firestorm absorbed the energy and died. This caused the black hole to create breaches around the world, connecting the Earths.

Narcolepsy can be deadly

by Jaden McLendon

We all know the common diseases known to man, for example diabetes, cancer, and obesity. But we aren’t talking about that right now; today we are going to investigate a disorder that can be harmful if not life threatening, and that is narcolepsy. Now, I will discuss what it is, how it works, and how it is harmful.

I have narcolepsy. From my own personal experience, narcolepsy is a disorder that makes you constantly go to sleep. On Wikipedia, the following definition states: “narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder involving the loss of the brain’s ability to regulate sleep-wake cycle normally.”

There are many ways in which narcolepsy can be harmful. For example, you can be walking down a hallway and you can still be walking but you are asleep and next thing you know you are flat on the floor like a pancake. For a second example, you can be driving a brand new car (or any kind of land vehicle) and all of a sudden your foot is still on the gas but your body is still asleep. These things can happen because the only thing asleep is your brain. Your whole entire body is still active, but in a matter of seconds it can be asleep. It can be very dangerous to drive if you have narcolepsy.

There is no cure for narcolepsy, but it is treatable. One medication I personally use is called Modafinil. For those who don’t know what it is, it’s a wakefulness-promoting agent used for treatment of disorders such as narcolepsy and others. Others medications for narcolepsy are Ritalin, Nuvigil and Antidepressant.

So if you do have narcolepsy, it will be better for you to go to a doctor than wait until something bad happens.

If you liked this article, I will be posting more articles–or you can tell me what you want me to write about in the comments section below.