Opinions February 22, 2017

Guest Contributor: Mock NFL Draft

Guest contributor Jared Miller joins the Phoenix Inquirer staff from time to time to report on the latest developments in professional sports. Now that the NFL season is over, everyone is looking forward to the next season. Even sooner, everybody is looking forward to the 2017 NFL Draft. The draft is taking place on Thursday, April 27 at 8:00 PM ET. In this article I will be giving you my predictions for the top 7 picks. Number 1 (Cleveland Browns): Deshaun Watson (QB) Deshaun Watson is a QB from Clemson who was a junior. He can analyze the field very well. He will fit very well into the Brown’s play scheme. Number 2 (San Francisco 49ers): Myles Garrett (DE) Myles Garrett is a DE from Texas A&M who was a junior. He is a great pass rusher and some people are comparing him to Julius Peppers. Number 3 (Chicago Bears): Leonard Fournette…

February 22, 2017

Video Game Facts: The Madden Curse!

The Madden Games. Who doesn’t know Madden? This popular football game first released in 1988 with John Madden as Electronic Art’s (EA) “cover player” to sell more games, and John Madden’s Football was an instant success. But did you know when EA replaced John Madden with other players, that Madden cursed the series? So, for those who do not believe in curses at first (such as myself), here is some evidence about how Madden will be cursed forever! It all began in 1998, where Garrison Hearst was racking up points for the San Francisco 49ers. EA liked this player, and when they offered Hearst to lead the Madden series, he agreed. Almost immediately after the offer was accepted, Hearst broke his ankle and could barely play at all that season. But maybe it was just one time, right? Wrong. When Madden NFL 2000 was close to releasing, EA thought of…

February 22, 2017

App Unwrap: Swift Playgrounds

Today we are going to highlight an App(le)* that teaches you Swift for free, called Swift Playgrounds. Swift is the coding language that Apple uses to make many of their apps and operating systems, including Playgrounds itself. A coding language is a special type of language that computers understand. Different coding languages do different things. For example, HTML and CSS can create websites, while JavaScript and C Sharp are primarily used for making video games, and so on. This is the home screen. It shows all of the “playgrounds” that you have. A “Playground” is basically an area to experiment with code. I have downloaded many from the store, but we’ll get to that later. Click on the + to create a new blank playground, or click on one that you already worked on to open it. If you don’t know how to code using Swift, no problem! The “Learn…

Opinions February 15, 2017

Quarantined: How to Deal with Toxic Friendships

We have experienced our fair share of friendship problems, as we think many (if not all) people have. We didn’t have a lot of guidance while dealing with these, so we were sort of just left to float there. Like sad little plankton. So, we sought out some help. We learned quite a few things about detecting toxic friendships, fixing issues, and in the end, if there is nothing to be done, how to end a relationship cleanly. We realized that without the tips that we got from our friends, our parents, etc., we never would have figured it out on our own. We’d still be there, stuck in the middle of the ocean, screaming, “Swim away,” whenever we saw a whale. (This metaphor is more about our undying love for Nemo, but it works.) Here are some of the tips we used: Detecting a Toxic Friendship   This can…

News & Features February 15, 2017

What’s Happening in the White House?: The Last Two Weeks

Hi, I’m Dylan with Riley here and these are the things President Trump has done in the past two weeks. He has greenlighted the Dakota Access Pipeline, started planning how to build the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, and started to dismantle Obamacare. Michael Flynn’s resignation and the Trump campaign’s contact with Russian intelligence during the election have been in the news this week. Last Week Trump signed three executive orders to benefit oil pipelines and remove Obama’s environmental protections. The Dakota Access bill says that the pipeline is “90 percent complete,” and only needs to get the permits and government approval to “construct and operate the DAPL, including easements or rights-of-way to cross federal areas.” Trump also signed an order demanding that the Secretary of Commerce make a plan ensuring all pipelines are make of U.S. iron and steel. There are “yuge” questions about what the orders will actually mean,…

DIY February 13, 2017

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow! In my family, we have a tradition where the guys cook a dinner and the girls buy presents on Valentine’s Day to celebrate. Then, the next year we switch tasks and celebrate again. I would like to share a few recipes for Valentine’s Day. Sorry for any vegans/vegetarians out there, as this list will contain meat and other animal products. Appetizer This is a Blue Cheese and Steak Crostini with Balsamic Vinegar. It only takes about thirty minutes to complete. I cooked this for a Valentine’s Day dinner in the past and I can confirm it is quick, easy, and tasty.   Entree The Filet Mignon with a Rich Balsamic Glaze continues the trend with additional balsamic components, but that doesn’t make this any less delicious. The filet mignon dish also contains string beans/asparagus and roasted potatoes to balance out the intense flavor from the meat. Considering this recipes…

Art February 8, 2017

App Unwrap: Procreate

Many people are making the switch to digital art. It’s lighter, costs less overall, and a new interesting medium. Most people will know Adobe Photoshop, the lead program in digital art. Other less known programs include Paint tool Sai, a iOS app, and other professional programs. At first, the idea of a well made drawing iOS app will shock most digital artists. iPads and iPhones aren’t exactly rebound for their artistic capabilities, however the iOS app Procreate  is an accessible, cheap, intuitive, and easy to use. Procreate is an extremely well made and capable drawing app. Unlike sketchbook express and other drawing apps, it has professional grade tools for a low low price. You are able to create up to thirty three layers, there are tons of textures and “supplies”, selection and transformation tools, a useful color wheel palette (plus the ability to create your own palettes) a video recording…

Opinions February 8, 2017

You Decide: Are eSports a “Real Sport?”

Hello, everyone! Luke here, with Jacob, and this is a new series called You Decide. We will have a small debate, and then ask for your answer. Our first You Decide is about whether if eSports should be considered a “real sport.” When you think of sports, what do you think of? Tennis? Basketball? Soccer? Well today, Jacob and I will show you a new type of competition: eSports. eSports are, long story short, competitive video gaming. In this article, we will debate whether eSports should be considered a real sport. At the end, we will ask your opinion, and you can drop it in the comments section below. So let’s get started. So… Jacob will be arguing for conventional sports and I will be arguing for eSports although we both enjoy eSports. Luke: So let’s start with a question: What is a sport? Technically, according to Dictionary.com, a sport…

DIY February 8, 2017

How to Square Anything

First, a disclaimer. This method is meant to be a trick to show off to people and make you seem really smart. This will not save you time on a test over multiplying the number by itself, especially with numbers that are three digits or more. You also need to be fairly good at multiplication. (A number and then ^2 is that number squared; 8^2 is 8 squared.) To use this method, you need to know the squares of the numbers 1 through 9, and the square of higher numbers may be helpful as well. (The square of a number is the number multiplied by itself) We’ll start with two-digit numbers. I’ll split all two-digit numbers into several categories. Numbers that end in 0. Square the first digit and stick 00 on the end. Example: 80^2. 8^2=64. 80^2= 6,400. Numbers in between 11 and 29 (inclusive). Knock the units digit off…

News & Features, Opinions February 7, 2017

Oscar Nominations and Reflections

So, it’s official! The Oscar nominations have been released, and there are some huge surprises. It’s mostly how I expected (many are indie dramas) but there are some nominations and lack thereof that took me by surprise. Here is the official list of Oscar nominations: Best Picture Arrival Fences Hacksaw Ridge Hell or High Water Hidden Figures La La Land Lion Manchester by the Sea Moonlight Best Animated Feature Film Kubo and the Two Strings Moana My Life as a Zucchini The Red Turtle Zootopia Best Actor in a Leading Role Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge Ryan Gosling, La La Land Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic Denzel Washington, Fences Best Actor in a Supporting Role Mahershala Ali, Moonlight Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water Lucas Hedges, Manchester by the Sea Dev Patel, Lion Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals Best Actress in a Leading Role Isabelle Huppert, Elle Ruth…

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