Good Eats

Miyako
-by Kim Yonick

Miyako Japanese Steakhouse, located in Great Lakes Crossing serves authentic hibachi style food. The restaurant serves a variety of different hibachi dinners such as steak, chicken and seafood. They also serve sushi along with a great kids menu.

There is a peaceful and calming atmosphere in the restaurant. Each table holds approximately nine people with a flat bed cooker in the middle. Once food is ordered, the server brought soup and a salad to the table. The soup itself was a little on the salty side and the salad has a vinaigrette type dressing served.

After finishing the soup and salad, the hibachi chef came to the table with all the ingredients for the table's order. The chef entertains the guests, putting an egg on the flat bed and spinning it, then with his spatula tossing it into the air and not cracking it. He also created a huge flame from cooking oil and also separated the rings of an onion, stacking them to look like a volcano. The sesame chicken was cooked well and served with vegetables and fried rice. For about $13, the atmosphere combined with the amount of food is incredible. Miyako comes highly recommended.

Inside Man Review

-by Kim Yonick

“Inside Man” is full of puzzling twists and turns that have the audience guessing and wanting more. Produced by Spike Lee, it shows a different side from his normal film genre, but still with the same Spike Lee flare. The film keeps you guessing, but at the same time trust levels between the characters are questioned.

The story as like many bank robbery movies starts off with the robbers using their high-tech instruments to fake out the bank’s surveillance cameras. This thus leads to a hostage situation involving the general public clinging to their belongings and life. As the plot thickens, so does the character’s roles, because Lee’s film is produced in such a way that even Detective Keith Frazier played by Denzel Washington is stumped.

The cast that was chosen by Lee is top notch. Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster’s characters play important roles but are opposite in their techniques they use in being a hostage negotiator. Owen Clive’s role as the robber is one of complete mystery. The audience is at complete dismay due to the cleverness behind Lee’s filmmaking.

While watching the film, certain filming angles and techniques have helped to increase the mysterious vibe of the movie. Throughout the movie, close up shots of Owen Clive’s character, Dalton Russell, portrays mystery and curiosity into who he is and what is his motive. Many quick cuts from the hostages to the interrogations have the audience confused on who could possibly be behind this criminal act.

This film compared to other films Lee has produced is more laid back. Many of his films portray the political sides of life, while “Inside Man” is one for pure entertainment. Like many of his films, “Inside Man” still has the heart wrenching plot that brings many audience members into the movie.
Lee has portrayed a beautiful piece of artwork with the twists and turns needed to keep the audience on their toes. “Inside Man” can now be bought at convenient stores that sell DVDs for as little as $20.

Evanescene CD Review

-by Kim Yonick

Amy Lee’s band Evanescence released their latest CD, “The Open Door” Wednesday, October 3.

Before the release, Lee split from her boyfriend, lead singer of Seether, Shaun Morgan, according to monstersandcritics.com.

However, other tragedies hit the band harder, for instance, Ben Moody, co-founder, left mid-tour and his replacement Terry Balsamo, former Cold guitarist, had a stroke the year before. Also the bassist, Will Boyd, left the group in July, according to monstersandcritics.com.

This all pushed Lee into taking time to find her inner self and move past all the disasters.

As stated by monstersandcritics.com, Lee said, “It took me a while to figure out who I was.”

Compared to her old CD, “Fallen” with its hard rock and loud lyrics, Evanescence lovers will love the new improved sound Lee has to offer.

Lee said, “I wanted to prove that not only could I do it myself, but I could make a better album than before,” according to monstersandcritics.com

Her new CD has shown a stronger and more courageous Amy Lee. It includes different ballads such as “Your Star” and “Snow White Queen” that she has written along with a softer side to her personality. However, it still packs a punch of the old fashion hard rock, but with a twist of passion and change in harmony towards the end of the tracks.

Lee’s beautiful voice will keep Evanescence listeners singing with her for years. “The Open Door” is now available at any convenient store that sells CDs for as low as $10.

Pluto demoted

Pluto: The Aftermath
It Has Been Ousted
-by Kim Yonick

Pluto, a planet since 1930, was demoted to a dwarf planet on August 24 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), thus shrinking our Solar System to only eight planets.

A week before, the IAU’s leader had suggested a different proposal on what to do with Pluto. This proposal included a new definition which would include Pluto, Charon, the asteroid Ceres, and the UB313 also known as Xena, according to CBC news.

However, the union members did not like the new proposal and started a debate.

During the IAU’s August meeting, Pluto’s dynamics were deliberated and the characteristics of a planet were changed.

According to the New York Times, the results of an object being considered a planet must abide to the new rules discussed in the meeting. These rules say the object must orbit the sun, be able to clear other things out of the way of its orbital neighborhood and be big enough for gravity to squash it into a round ball.

According to Professor Kapila Clara Castoldi, an astronomy teacher at Oakland University, the size of Pluto does not fit into the scheme of the two different types of planetary sizes, the Terrestrial or Earth-like and the Jovian or Jupiter-like planets. Pluto’s characteristics are mostly rock and ice. The planet also is the smallest planet in the Solar System.

Also because Pluto’s orbit intersects Neptune and is more elliptical this demonstrates Pluto’s differences from the other planets that do not intersect according to Castoldi.

Due to these recent discoveries, Pluto has been defined under the title of dwarf planet because of the characteristics of just having to be round, according to the New York Times.

However, Pluto is not the only planet defined as a dwarf planet, others include Ceres and Xena, according to New York Times.

“By 2005, 900 objects have been observed in the Kuiper Belt. All these objects have orbits that are very elongated, like Pluto, and are likely to have similar composition: rock and ice,” said Castoldi.

For Castoldi’s class, the textbooks ordered for this semester mention the discoveries found and show Pluto as an odd planet.

At the Cranbrook Institute of Science, its planetarium’s Head of Astronomy, Micheal Narlock, said “We will be adopting the IAU’s stance on the Pluto’s status.”

According to Narlock, he believes there will be ‘hand-wringing’ for some people who have learned of Pluto as a planet.

“Personally, I am in total agreement with their decision,” he said. “What we need to keep in mind is that we’re not hurting Pluto’s feelings by calling it something else.”

Cranbrook Institute of Science’s planetarium is going to help distinguish the differences between all the members of the solar system.

“In fact, for the past few years we’ve been highlighting the differences between Pluto and the other eight planets in anticipation for this decision,” said Narlock.

However, this decision is affecting some researchers.

Caltech researcher Mike Brown said, “Pluto is Dead,” according to Space.com.

However, for Oakland University students, the reaction of Pluto being ousted from the Solar System has been mixed.

“If they’re finding other objects with the same composition, then I agree with it,” said Emily Merrifield, 21, a senior majoring in Nursing.

However, not all students were pleased with the IAU’s decision.

“I’m sad…growing up you learn about Pluto,” said Bonnie Johnson, 24, Communications Major. “Now we have to change the acronym.”

As the universe is changing and more objects are being discovered.

“It’s important for children and adults to realize that things in science are not ‘written in stone’,” said Narlock.

Journalists vs Bloggers

-by Kim Yonick

Jay Rosen's comments:

One of the biggest challenges for professional journalists today is that they have to live in a shared media space. They have to get used to bloggers and others with an independent voice talking about them, fact-checking them, overlooking them--and they no longer have exclusive title to the press. They have to share the press with the public …

Journalists have been slow to understand why they owe a debt to bloggers. They owe a debt because the people who are developing the web as a medium for journalism are bloggers and people like them. Those who are discovering its potential -– who are developing the tools and the protocols, who are pushing forward the ideas and the practices of web journalism – are not for the most part professional journalists. They are independent authors and bloggers and writers on the web.

Breaking it down:

Before the world wide web was around, journalists did not have to worry about sharing the media with the public. The only way for a person to be heard by the public was through the columinist section in the newspaper or if they called into talk shows. However, as the technology advanced I agree with Rosen when he says that journalists now have to share the media with the public. People have the right to create blogs in order to voice their opinion. I also think that many news medias use blogs to get the opinion of these bloggers and other people who do not normally blog.

As for journalists being in debt to bloggers. I think bloggers have given journalists some advancement in trying to tell newsworthy stories, but I do not think journalists are in debt to bloggers. As the world was moving towards the world wide web, journalists themselves had to make the decision on their own to move their material to the web. The world is changing and it is not all thanks to the bloggers, but thanks to the busy lives everyone has. People these days do not always have time to sit down and read a newspaper or listen to the television, but they have those brief minutes to quickly scan through the internet to see what is happening in the world. Bloggers have helped contribute a new form of story telling and journalists should thank them for it, but they did not contribute to all the pieces which make up web journalism.