Music review: Jaicko-Can I

Jaicko is an 18 year old Barbadian native with a talent for music. His debut album, which is scheduled to come out this summer, is entitled "Can I." The artist claims that his music will revolutionize music. Well he is on the right track. His style is mainstream hip hop but he tries to add an island quality to it. As of right now it would appear that he is going to blend into today's style. He sings a lot about girls and makes very nice ballads but most of it has been heard before and it's starting to get overdone. There are twelve tracks on this album and they are titled:

1. Oh Yeah


2. Fast Forward (FFWD)


3. Two piece


4. Dreaming About Me


5. Air


6. Can I


7. Caribbean Girl


8. Not Tryna Fall In Love


9. Name and Number


10. Perfect


11. About You


12. Will You Be There

Of this list the one song that stood out to me was Caribbean Girl. This song sounded very different to the songs you hear on the radio. If he wants to make an impact on today's mainstream music I think he should stick to the style in this song. This album may not top the charts but he is definitely an artist you should keep your eye on. I give this Album a 3 out of 5.

RHAM Students Visit Quebec

This past Thursday, a group of RHAM students braved for the cold in order to visit the city of Quebec, Canada. The trip was led by French instructors Madame Bender and Madame Deroy. Upon the arrival of the trip, the students had much anticipation as to what was in store for them. The group was welcomed by the staff at the Chateau Frontenac, which is actually the second hotel ever built in Quebec. This has historic significance including the planning of Operation Overlord which was the D-Day invasion of Western Europe during World War II. The students then ventured to the museum of civilization which held exhibits such as The Tomb of Eternity, The Mysterious Bog People and the exhibition displaying the treasures of China. Continuing their historical adventure, the group then made their way to St. Anne's Basillica, the shrine intended to honor Saint Anne who was the mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus Christ. The historical visits opened the students eyes to the culture that Quebec has and educated them on the different values that another nation possesses. Mike Wood, a senior who attended the trip said, "It was a great experience. I got exposed to a new culture that I hadn't had much experience with. The history of Quebec is really interesting and I feel like I learned a lot."

However, the visits to the historical sites was not the only thing in Quebec that the students appreciated. While in Canada, they had the chance to go dogsledding, snowshoeing, and tubing down a large mountain. High school Senior Gaby Levesque was pleased with the experience and definitely intends to travel to Quebec some time in the future. "It was amazing! The people there were so nice and I learned so many new things. I really had a lot of fun tubing down the mountain, it was such a rush!" Madame Bender and Madame Deroy enjoyed the students' reactions to the country and were thoroughly pleased with the trip as a whole. The historical aspect, as well as the thrill of the tundra were enough to fulfill any expectations the students may have set for the trip. Guess you could say it was a success, ey?

Death at Seaworld

This past Wednesday, February the 24th, a killer whale attacked and subsequently killed its trainer at the Orlando Seaworld. Dawn Brancheau, 40, was apparently grabbed by the ponytail and dragged into the pool where the whale continued to violently thrash the beloved trainer - a staff member known to be one of the most experienced at the park.

Following the attack, the show stopped immediately while shocked and horrified audience members were swiftly and quickly removed from the stadium. Soon after, the entire park was closed to all customers.

Further investigation has deduced that the whale apparently became startled when Ms. Brancheau made a fast and un-choreographed move in front of the whales line of vision. Without hesitation, the reportedly "highly trained whale" leaped at the trainer. Ongoing investigations hope to find more information to not only explain the tragic and horrific death, but also to ensure a similar attack never occurs again within these popular marine theme parks.

CAPT Comes to RHAM

Well, it's March again. This month marks a time of diligence and annoyance for underclassmen. But for upperclassmen, March proves to be the ultimate short term remedy for spring time laziness, a.k.a. senior-itis.

This month, for three days a week each week, students' traditional school days will be ending at 12:40. At which time, underclassmen will file into their assigned classrooms for the next hour and a half of CAPT testing.

However, while ninth and tenth graders slave away over seemingly endless pages of "paper bubble wrap", eleventh and twelfth graders get to, well, pretty much do whatever they want. If an upperclassman is lucky enough to have a car (or lucky enough to have friends that have cars) then they are free to leave school early on these assigned days, thus allowing more time for their "studies".

Surely, CAPT testing is one of the few perks upperclassmen actually get to experience here at RHAM High. Personally, I am looking forward to a whole lot of Wendy's for lunch. Sorry underclassmen.

[CAPT testing is the Connecticut state standardized testing of sophomores. -Ed.]

Miss RHAM

Mr. RHAM is a tradition that extends back before any current student can remember. But now, the senior class will attempt to make a new tradition with the first annual "Miss" RHAM pageant.

The seed was first planted last school year when the then-junior-class sponsored a "Prom Fashion Show." Even though monetary proceeds were mediocre at best, it was undeniable that all participants and audience members thoroughly enjoyed themselves. The show consisted of two halves of a fashion show featuring prom dresses and tuxedos, split by an auction for various prom apparel and accessories.

These sort of events can be expected in this years "Miss RHAM" along with the usual tomfoolery associated with Mr. RHAM. The event has been suspect to much criticism however, as students question whether the level of hilarity captured by a female version of Mr. RHAM can ever meet the level established year after year by its traditional counterpart. Only time will tell whether this fundraiser will be fun - or a flop.

Music Ensembles Visit Disney World

Over February Break, the RHAM music ensembles took a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. The trip, lasting a total of 5 days, was a great success. Upon arrival, both choral and instrumental groups headed straight to EPCOT to enjoy the park for the afternoon until they split up for workshops that night. The workshops, sponsored by the "Walt Disney Magic Music Day" program, lasted two hours and were a great success.

The following morning pertained strictly to performance. Both ensembles dealt with extremely windy conditions at the band shell. A few stands were blown over and some music scattered subsequently, but all in all, the ensembles looked past the adverse conditions and both had stellar performances.

After the performance, students were shipped to Animal Kingdom for the rest of the day and spent the following two days touring Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.

Origami: The solution to sufficient energy production?

It has long been debated which method to conserve and produce energy works most efficiently. Researchers and the public have held much speculation as to whether or not electrical and gas power are beneficial in producing commensurable amounts of energy and power. However, a new innovation, or depending on how one may look at it, a "traditionally redesigned" custom has been largely considered in order to aid in panel productivity. Origami solar panels have been introduced as the new version of a solar panel and could greatly decrease the environmental issue of generated power.

These origami panels are three dimensional and multidimensional, and are arguably more conducive in terms of limiting the amount of financial labour that typically goes into constructing the more oblate solar panels. With the redesigned Origami version, researchers are led to believe that the dimensions will in fact absorb a much greater amount of lighting, in return generating a sufficient amount of energy for a home. However, the contrary to this thinking, is that complanate solar panels are 1. easier to install on the rooftops of houses, and 2. allow for more absorption to due the absence of dimensions. Many think that the dimensions of the Origami model will prohibit the amount of light absorption through shadows created by all of the various proportions. But despite these observations and concerns, researchers have a firm belief that the multi dimensional solar panels would be more gainful than useless.

A flat solar panel would generally produce approxiamately 50 kilowatts daily, but when compared to the revolutionary Origami style paneling, it barely stands. Researchers clustered triangular formations together in order to capture light from all different angles. Some may be simplified versions of the intended structure whereas other designs may pose as more complex in their creation. The smaller, simpler devices respectably generated a total of 60 kilowatts daily, and designs that were over 33 feet high were reported in generating 120 kilowatts a day. Jeffrey Grossman, a theoretical physicist at MIT says, ""I originally thought that such structures would only be useful in situations where area is at a premium — for example, roof-tops," In addition, these solar panels are far more appealing to the public and could have the potential to absorb light from areas where flat panels are unable to reach such as the ground and trees. Although this idea may seem far fetched, and the researchers are still in skepticism over the flaws and/or actual efficiency of the modules, it is an innovative idea for a traditional custom that has the ability to eliminate the public concern of energy production. "...We have been exploring more and more directions for ideas that may make 3-D structures more appealing than flat panels even when area is not limited." Grossman says.

source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35593146/ns/technology_and_science-innovation/