Initially, St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated as a religious holiday and feast. It became a public holiday in 1903 by the Money Bank Act. The public celebrated with a feast and traditions, which culminated into the shamrock and green-riddled holiday we know today. Even though it is celebrated by 6 different countries, it is not an official holiday.

    There is such a varietyof different dishes because it started as a feast. Most of the meals include meat, cabbage, and potatoes. Some of the things that are eaten during this time are corn beef and cabbage, and brown soda bread.

     Nowadays we just drink ’till we drop and dye stuff green.  Every year the Chicago river gets tons and tons of green food coloring poured into it.  Can’t imagine how happy the fish are, right?  Besides making the enviroment look like a sea of shamrocks, we pinch people if they dont wear green.  Fun fun!

     So remeber, wear green and don’t be suprised when the oceans turn a crisp green on the 17th.

by Cami B.

While looking up the definition of the two words, cocky and confident, I was interested to see if one of these words was used in the other’s definition.

Cocky: Arrogant; pertly self-assertive. Confident: sure of oneself; having no uncertainty about one’s own abilities, correctness, successfulness, self-confident; bold.

When neither of the words were, I asked myself, “How much alike are these terms really?” Then I realized that if two words were truly alike, they would be synonyms, so I looked up the synonyms of cocky and confident. 

Cocky: arrogant, brash, certain, conceited, confident, egotistical, positive, presomptuos, sure, and vain.

Confident: bold, brave, convinced, courageous, dauntless, fearless, high hope, hopefull, intrepid, positive, presumptuous, sanguine, sure, trusting, undaunted, upbeat, and valiant.

As you can see, cocky and confident have qiute a few words alike in their list of synonyms, but it’s only cocky that has confident as a synonym.

Are you cocky or are you just confident?  There are people here at Howard that swear they’re the best at this, and the best at that.  But are they being cocky or confident?  Some people think there is a difference between the two words, but is there really?  I feel there is a difference, because when you’re confident, you don’t go around show-boating about how you’re the best at something.  However,  if someone challenges you, it’s okay to show that you are smart or good at something; that is confidence. 

When you’re cocky, you just pop out of nowhere and brag about how good you are at something, while bringing others down.

For instance, in an imaginary game of basketball, Bob will be the confident person and Billy will be the cocky person:

 Bob and Billy were walking in the hallway, talking about the Magic game.  Bob says, “I was shooting baskets yesterday after school and I only missed 3 out of the 12 shots, we should play later on.” “You really want to play me? I don’t want to beat you that bad. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I was shooting hoops just last week and made all of the 15 that I shot. So are you really sure you want to play me still?” Bill said in a cocky reply.

Tiffany from Page 15, who also comes to help the Hype staff, even gave her opinion on being cocky and being confident, “ …cocky lends to someone bringing another down in order to seem better: usually involves smack talk, bragging or boasting. While confidence is: reserved, modest and diplomatic. Confidence comes from within and is about being self assured, while cocky is usually a mask to cover up insecurity by trying to make others seem as if they are less… “

So which one are you?

by Alexis R.

   This isn’t the first Andreau Yankton family problem.  His ex-wives had filed injunctions against him.  An injunction is a court order basically saying that you can’t do something ever again.  Also, he had a child with Anicia that is now five years old and in the Philippines.

   This is a very scary event in my opinion.  My father works at a Publix and I’m just glad this didn’t happen at the Publix he is at.  Plus, it’s scary that this could even go on in this day and age.  There are ways to get out of a marriage and Andreau chose the wrong way.  

 To read more about this, click here.

by Sam H.

Scientist from NASA said on Monday that the earthquake in Chile shifted the Earth from its axis about 3 inches from its normal location and therefore shortening the days by 0.00000126 seconds!  This change occurred because the Earth’s mass was shifted.  Think of the Earth as a spinning top: because the Earth is not a perfect sphere, sudden changes in mass can shift where the actual ‘top” is. The result, is a change in speed from the Earth’s original rotation.  In this case, the speed of rotation increased, so now we have shorter days.

Scientists believe that this wasn’t the first time the axis of the Earth has been altered or shifted.  The Sumatran earthquake in 2004, which set off a deadly tsunami, was a 9.1 on the Richter scale and may have moved the axis 2.76 inches and made the days shorter by 6.8 microseconds (a millionth of a second). 

However this isn’t the end, the Earth can also increase the length of its days.  The moon recedes from Earth at a rate of 3.8 centimeters per year, increasing the length of days (we’re saved)!

[source]

by Billy F.

1.  In New York City, approximately 1,600 people are bitten by other humans annually. (I don’t want to ask)

2.  The average 4 year-old child asks over 400 questions a day. (Believeable)

3.  There is a 1% chance that the guy standing next to you wants to kill you. (Scary)

4.  In addition, there is a 1% chance that after he kills you, he will chop you up and turn you into fancy sushi. (I think I here the Twilight Zone theme song)

5.  95.6% of people who smoke are 62% more likely than non-smokers to develop a hatred for statistics. (A very important reason not to smoke) 

6.  A “ten gallon” hat only holds 3 quarts. (Rip off!)

7.  Over 2500 left handed people a year are killed from using products made for right handed people.

8.  The farthest you can see with the naked eye is 2.4 million light years away (140,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles).  (”Hey, I can see Mars from here!”)

9.  If you counted 24 hours a day, it would take 31,688 years to reach one trillion.  (How exactly do you figure that out)?

10.  21% of us don’t make our bed daily. 5% of us never do.(That percentage is all teenagers!)

11.  Men do 29% of laundry each week. Only 7% of women trust their husbands to do it correctly. 

12.  81.3% wouldn’t tell an acquaintance to zip his pants.  (That’s just not right!)

13.  78% would rather die quickly than live in a retirement home. (Honesty is key)

14.  10% of us switch tags in the store to pay less for an item. (That’s genius…and illegal!)

15.  More people are killed annually by donkeys than die in air crashes. (Donkey’s?  Really?)

Okay, a few of those statistics scare me.  But most of them were just weird.  If you would like to read more strange statistics, please go to (click) .   But please, I cannot stress this enough, if your friend doesn”t have their pants zipped, please tell them! Please!

-Sam H.

Anorexia and bulimia are very well-known eating disorders, but what is typically unknown are the causes. What causes a person to feel the need to starve themselves for days, or intentionally vomit after every meal? There are several causes of eating disorders, but the most commonly known cause for anorexia, is negative family influences.

Our families play a big role in our life, therefore, when your family is urging you to lose weight, it eventually takes it’s toll on you. Genetic factors can also contribute to these eating disorders. Anorexia is said to be eight times more common in people that are related to others with eating disorders (click). Cultural beliefs may also be a cause of eating disorders. Certain cultures prefer a curvy woman, while others find a very thin female more attractive. The most talked about ,and controversial cause of an eating disorder, is the media.  Only those naive enough, will be manipulated into an eating disorder by comparing themselves against an unrealistic and often times, unhealthy, size two model.

Identifying the causes of an eating disorder may vary, depending on the person. The same goes for the symptoms of eating disorders. Most people with eating disorders have a distorted body image of themselves. Meaning they see themselves as overweight people but in reality, their body weight is less than average. Certain people may refuse to eat and also deny that they are even hungry. Others may show lack of emotion. But, the symptoms that most people with eating disorders share, is an intense fear of gaining weight. This fear, causes many to go to extreme measures to remain at, or reach a certain weight.  “A person with an eating disorder will often go to great lengths to hide the problem, so it’s important to know the warning signs” , says Joelle Belmonte, writer for  helpguide.org (click).

These eating disorders shouldn’t go unnoticed. Eating disorders, are unhealthy and life threatening, if they reach a certain point. Therefore, if you think you may know somebody with an eating disorder, voice your concerns. Don’t just let it continue on, acting as though it’s not your problem. Of course, most people will deny the accusations. It’s just their natural instinct. The best thing to do in a situation like that, is to avoid an argument. Don’t give lectures, just simply state your concerns. The issue won’t just go away in the blink of an eye. It takes professional help. Just do your part in convincing them to take that first step.

Compulsive eating or compulsive dieting, are issues that need to be acknowledged and resolved. Next week we’ll explore how individuals see themselves.

-Ivanna M.

To be honest I have a Myspace and I LOVE IT!!!! I believe Myspace is more for teenagers than adults because with Myspace you have more stuff to do like listen to music and leave picture comments. You can approve your comments before they’re posted, but with Facebook you don’t get to approve your comments; they are automacially there. On Myspace, you can also post pictures on other people’s pages.

Facebook is more for adults because it is less complicated and only has  game applications. With Facebook, you cannot have a graphic background like you can with Myspace (BORING)!!!!  Also, you can not put music on your Facebook page.

It’s probably better for teenagers to be on Myspace because there is more entertainment available, but both  sites provide communication, which is always good.

Sometimes neither one of these websites can be good. It’s been known that there are predators pretending to be someone else on these sites. In Missouri, a woman created a Myspace account pretending to be a boy named Josh Evans. She then met a girl named Megan Meier, who was actually a former friend of the woman’s daughter. After a few weeks of chatting with Megan, she started sending her explicit messages, including one that said the world would be a better place without her, causing the young teenager to commit suicide in her own home (click).

These websites are fun to be on but you have to be careful who you meet.

Do’s and Dont’s of Myspace and Facebook:

* If you are gonna talk about somebody on your Myspace or Facebook DONT put their name! It’s nothing but drama! 
* For safety resons, you should put your page on private .
* You should also be careful what kind of information you put about yourself  on your page.

 - Ashleigh B

Americas Best Dance Crew (ABDC), is a television show where dance crews from the all over the U.S., show the world their talent and compete for the grand prize of $100,000. The show is hosted by Mario Lopez and judged by Lil Mama, JC Chasez and Omarion.

Each week, the dance crews are given a different challenge, but each one has the same general concept. For example, on the third season, there was an illusion challenge, where the crews needed to create an illusion while dancing.

What I like best about the show, are the different types of crews involved. Since there are different crews, there is always something new to bring to the table. For instance, there is one crew this season, who has jumping rope in their act, and another crew who dances using a lot of body language.

This season, ABDC has a regional competition, where crews from the East, South and the West, compete against each other.

Crews from the East are: Saltare, Blueprint, Legendary Seven, Static Noyse, and DraZtik. Crews from the South are: Jungle Boogie, Ghost, X-treme Motion, Royal Flush, and Swagger Crew. Last but not least, crews from the West are: Blended Projekt, Blended EFK, Heavy Impact, Hype 5-0, and Poreotix!

So enough of American Idol already, It’s all about ABDC now! Tune in to MTV every Thursday at 10/9c and at the end of the show, vote for your favorite crew!

-Stephanie L. (Kimmy L.)

Are you a big Magic fan and hope that they make it to the finals this year? Well, you might be in luck because the Magic have the second best record in the Eastern conference as of right now,just have a look at these rankings:

 1st. Cleveland Cavaliers (43,11)

2nd. Orlando Magic (36,18)

3rd. Atlanta Hawks (33,18)

4th. Boston Celtics (33,18)

5th. Toronto Raptors (29,23)

and the West’s top 5 teams:

1st.L.A.  Lakers (42,13)

2nd.Denver Nuggets(35,18)

3rd. Utah Jazz (33,19)

4th. Dallas Mavericks (32,21)

5th. Oklahoma City (31,21)

This is the top 5 team rankings from both conferences (East andWest divisions).The Magic are in a good place to compete in the play-offs,or even the championships this season!

What will happen to bring this relatively young team to the end of their rampage? The Magic made it to the finals twice in their 21 seasons. Again, they have proven that they’re worthy of going the finals, by working together and playing off of each other’s strengths. Three of the most noteworthy players that are tapping into these strengths are: Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and the man who strikes fear in the hearts of his opponents, the one the only, VINCE CARTER!

The Magic’s major weakness, comes from giving up in the forth quarter, when the odds are turned against them.When the Magic is in the forth and final quarter of the game, they give up the lead so quickly, that it appears as though they lack the experience of other teams, especially at away games. Often times, they fail to play as a cohesive unit and working team, therefore losing their advantage and resulting in games lost.

Who knows what will be this fascinating team’s fate this season.Will the Magic make it to the finals back-to-back? Or will they face defeat as they have never faced before?

-By Stephen Mateo

NERD glasses!!!!! I LOVE ‘EM!!!!!! These fashionable accesories are worn by a lot of people, from celebrities to students. Nerd glasses come in a lot of different colors and can go with almost any outfit,especially with skinny jeans, Nikes and sometimes, a scarf. Both genders can pull off nerd glasses.

Have you ever wondered who started the nerd glasses trend? It is said that Run DMC started it in the late ’80s! Also, Elvis Presley wore them too. You can catch some of today’s biggest celebrities wearing them at all-star games, award shows, and music videos. Nerd glasses are sold everywhere and they are even available in prescription! The price for a pair of nerd glasses ranges from $10-$15.

These glasses are very in style and thats why I think every person should have at least one pair. My friend has a pair of these glasses and I look to her as a trendsetter. 

-Ashleigh B.