Staying with the same, upbeat pop-rock style, there is almost no departure from former releases. The single almost echoes the feeling of their last studio album. This leaves me sensing an air of discomfort and reluctance to change and evolve, something that any band should wholly embrace in order to succeed.

However, to any musician (including myself), there is a fine line between ordinary and pushing the limits. You cannot help but feel a bit of respect for a band who, through everything they’ve been through, can keep making the type of music that they love, regardless of critiques from fellow musicians and disgruntled ex-fans (like me).

It’s clear that, by their reluctance to follow the influence of pop culture in music, they are not only attempting to succeed; they are attempting to create music that portrays who they are and what makes them happy. This, a trait nearly non-existent in most popular bands the last decade, earns them my respect. Beauty is most always in the eye of the beholder, and even though I may not like the particular style of music The All American Rejects finally found comfort playing, they still remain, in my eyes, one of the most talented and influential active bands from the former decade; and, to my dismay, will hopefully continue playing the music that they love.

“Well…why?” Brigham stopped for a short moment to think, “I knew at the time that they weren’t the best thing to be drinking, but the taste was just as good, if not better than, any soda. I didn’t really need the energy on a daily basis either, but it was nice for a quick boost in the mornings since most days we’re in class learning before the sun even comes all the way up. Sooner or later, I guess it got to me. I could only take so much of the stuff before it began to build up without me noticing.” 

Not long after the chronic headaches and intense nausea became almost too severe to even stand, Brigham decided, as a last resort, to go to the doctor’s office to find out what was causing such extreme and erratic symptoms.

“I didn’t ever have any type of virus so there was nothing in the way of special medicine or stuff like that that I could just take to get better, you know? We just had to conclude that it was the crazy amount of energy drinks I drank, mixed with the stress of starting a new year in a new school that finally just pushed me down and let me get so messed up…physically and mentally,” he said.

Decisively, Brigham’s father banned Monster and other similar energy drings from Brigham’s diet so he could recover. Not a week later, he was functioning to near perfection and the illness seemed like it had never even occurred.

“Of course, I still drink them once in a while. Who can resist, but it’s definitely a lot less; maybe only once a month, even. We all need a treat now and then, right?”

Registered nurse Christine Climer, however, doubts whether this should be considered a treat, or a harmful chemical cocktail.

“Teens shouldn’t necessarily even be drinking them. Their stimulant effect can have negative outcomes on a child’s cardiovascular system and inhibit abnormal brain function,” Nurse Climer said. “The benefits simply don’t outweigh the risks, as is obvious here.”

It’s very easy: buy a plain tee, come up with something to put on it, then design. I usually start with a white, crew neck shirt and I have these fabric markers that don’t wash out to draw on the cloth. The one drawback with markers is that it looks really unprofessional, which I don’t like. But until I learn how to screen print I’m stuck with this method. Colorful tie-dye also looks very cool on shirts, but working with liquid dyes gets messy. I’m also very lazy.

Dreaming up a design is the most fun part of making a T-shirt because there are literally endless possibilities. Come up with whatever makes you happy and then wear it. You get to show who you are on a canvas that will be displayed for all to see. I usually keep it simple and interesting. A word in Japanese, lots of pink diamonds covering the entire front of a shirt, a green alien. Things that are straightforward and fun to look at.

My favorite part of this whole process is finally wearing the shirt. Having the design in your head and picturing yourself wearing it is one thing, but actually putting it on is another. They usually turn out better than expected and it feels good knowing that I made something with my own two hands and I get to use it. These t-shirts are also really good conversation starters; people always ask me where I got them and are interested when I say I made it.

Designing your own t-shirts is a cheap and fun way to change up your wardrobe while still looking sharp. Try it out the next time you’re inspired.

These bills caused a lot of buzz around the Internet and on Jan. 18 hundreds of websites participated in as Internet wide “black out” which means that the sites altered their normal design in some way, incorporating black, to show their opposition to the bills. This was the largest Internet strike in history.

The protests proved effective because as of Jan. 20 the bill’s fate has been pushed back indefinitely and Congress is unlikely to be back for voting.

These bills have been called unnecessary and garnered a lot of negative attention. Even the Obama Administration did not approve of the passing of these laws. More than a million citizens have sent letters and spoken to senators in opposition of these bills. That’s why so many people have rejoiced in the fact that these bills have been shot down.

Right now, if a website in the U.S. is found to be distributing copyrighted materials, the Department of Justice can shut it down, but if that domain is overseas, the U.S. government can’t do anything about it. But if SOPA or PIPA were passed the authorities here can crack down on foreign sites.

When these bills were first drafted the authors, Representative Lamar Smith from Texas (SOPA) and Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont (PIPA), indicated that websites found not in compliance with the bills would be blocked by Internet service providers, but had since removed that bit.

Personally, I’m very glad the bills were stopped. The freedom of thousands was potentially at risk and now that they have been thrown out, internet users can breathe easy, knowing that the information they have access to is not in jeopardy.

Although Internet piracy and counterfitting should not be supported, hindering internet users of current freedom is in violation of the First Amendment, which gives all citizens of the U.S. freedom of speech.  And even if these bills were passed, there would have been a slim chance that they would have actually been effective. We, as the people of the United States of America, had our voices heard.

Rowlett is enjoying a good run of form, winning their last six games, leaving teams like McKinney Boyd, Lakeview and Sachse in its’ wake. The Eagles have so far an overall record of 16-6 and a district record of 6-1, losing only to the Naaman Forest Rangers.

The Eagles will have a chance at revenge in their next game hosting Naaman Jan. 24, followed by a Jan. 27 road game at Sachse.

An RHS student went hunting the night before, forgetting to remove the dead ducks from the back of his truck. Another student then found the ducks and placed them on cars in the student parking lot as a prank.

The ducks have since been removed and the incident is still under investigation.

There are a ton of youngsters out in the world who strive to be great musicians, but only a few actually have talent. In their first recorded cover, 16-year-old Kyle Barker and Jacob Parrish show that they are among the few who legitimately have what it takes to ‘woo’ a coffee shop crowd. The cover is a little rough, but it doesn’t blot out the skill of Jacob’s fast-moving fingers on the guitar or Kyle’s vast vocal range.

It’s unfortunate that they have no intention of writing music of their own anytime soon.

He’ll be playing his own rendition of the song “Rocketeer” by Far East Movement with fellow sophomores Jacob Parrish and Kyle Barker.

“I played a middle school talent show in 8th grade and it was a blast,” Cunanan said. “But this will be the biggest crowd I’ve ever played in front of.”

Playing guitar for more than two years now, he feels he’s got the talent to win over the judges.

“I decided to do the talent show mostly because of all the fun it can be and just having the chance to be presented in front of such a huge crowd,” Cunanan said. ”I’ve played guitar for so long, and it always feels great showing people the talent that I’m truly blessed with.”

Other than being a bit nervous, Cunanan seems to be pretty excited for the whole experience.

 ”I’m just looking forward to getting up on stage and playing in front of everybody I know and every stranger I’ve never met. I’m hoping it’ll get the word out about my musician’s page,” Cunanan said. “I’m also stoked to see all the other acts and all the talent Rowlett has.”

Headlining this year are The Black Keys, Radiohead, and finally, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg. As I read down the list of acts making an appearance a second time, I was pumped. Well-known acts are lined up this year and some bands that many fans like me were hoping to see didn’t make it on. None the less, those who are lucky enough to get their hands on tickets, will be able to see Florence and the Machine, Miike Snow, Girl Talk, Bon Iver, Yuck!, Neon Indian, Feist, The Horrors, The Vaccines, The Shins, Arctic Monkeys, and many more.

The art and music festival opens on April 13 in Indio, California, a city located in the Palm desert. The whole festival has a desert theme every year which means stages are named after places like the Gobi and Sahara. This legendary festival has been held annually for the last 13 years, providing people of all ages with quality music, arts, and food. One of its main goals is to be as sustainable as possible. This is achieved by getting the attendees to carpool and doing lots of recycling and integrating arts into it. Also, a portion of ticket sales benefits the City of Indio.

Personally, I’d kill for a chance to go to Coachella. It’s the perfect festival and it’s right up my alley. You enjoy days of music and fun while being environmentally friendly and charitable.

You can view the entire line up here!

“[I became a reverend] because a friend wanted me to marry them,” Creel said.

Creel became a reverend for free online. He may now legally officiate marriage ceremonies, funerals, park in clergyman parking spaces and do whatever a minister can do.

“I think my favorite part is being able to officiate my friends wedding,” Creel said.

His friends wedding in March will be his first job as a reverend.