foxchasefive.com

Fiction:

What are relationships? An extension of the usual kindness? It appears that the best attempts of man, the most enlightened stabs at definition, have all rested and laid down their arms at the sacred halls of love. But even love, a definition must be had. There are two components to it are they not? First there’s the emotional, the hallowed part of it, that nobody is really allowed to touch. For fear that they desecrate something they’re not even sure may exist. It’s the same thing that happens in political elections and such. The outrage over the “bitter” remarks only occurred because Obama was infringing upon a sacred cow in the political sense. The good old days. The ones that nobody is allowed to discuss except in glowing terms. Apparently there was a time somewhere in the early 20th century that every one who wanted to could earn a living wage and send his or her children off to achieve something greater could and was even helped by the perfectly functioning government. Well, it is not my place to burst anyone’s bubble, but Billy Joel would not have had so many things to sing about in “We Didn’t Start the Fire” if the world really wasn’t burning all along. Vietnam and the reasons behind the first wave of feminism are both things that ruined the good old days that nobody wishes to speak of.

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It is March of 2008, the second half of our last year of high school, and people are passing something dangerous around the school. This hazardous item is neither drug, alcohol, nor is it answers to the final exams. It is the one, universal, and addictive combination of terms that everyone is guilty of using: students, teachers, parents, and administration alike. This treacherous evil is actually a phrase: second semester senior. This phrase commonly describes a student in their fourth year of high school, going through a time of laziness as college approaches and high school makes its way out of their lives. But few understand the true evilness of this term, and I am being serious. Read the rest of this entry »

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So it appears that Ralph Nader is making his fourth run for President, though no doubt this will be the least successful of his runs. After all, both parties have managed to put out candidates that (at least seemingly) offer substantive change. Even the fringe folks have someone to back in Ron Paul. What could Ralph Nader possibly offer?

The answer is simply that he will offer us the same thing he always has: the voice of the Democratic Party that continuously gets silenced. The people who were backing John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, and anyone else who actually believes in true liberalism will finally have someone to at least point to and support. And with Romney out of the race, not a single candidate (or if you’re a Ron Paul fan, not a single sane, intelligent candidate) can provide fiscal responsibility anyway, so you might as well go with the one whose policies would best help the nation.

Basically, only Nader is willing to both reduce our military spending and implement a single payer health care system, and that’s enough for me.
By Alex Zhao, who is foxchasefive’s self-appointed expert on nuclear proliferation, fascism, the US government, the War on Drugs, US Presidents, immigration, President Bush, children who are sick, the environment, and elections.

The Writer’s Strike is dumb.
Apparently our school has a narc.
This physics will never be studied.

The writer’s strike is dumb. The writer’s strike has been going since my childhood (that is an estimate). The end does not seem to be in sight (unless you are George Clooney). It has been way too long since my eyes have been transfixed on new episodes of The Office (a definitive fact). I believed, at first, that this call for the writer’s to get their deserved cut of the internet profit , was a justified one, and that I could go a few weeks without my favorite shows, because, hey, they deserve what they are not getting, money for their hilarious/thought provoking work. Read the rest of this entry »

That title may seem like a mouthful, and I am here to tell you, yes it is. There are two words that need go together in that title, can you find them? And there are two words that need to be left out of that discussion, can you find those two? Here lies the basic problem, many people who are in involved with the different areas mentioned in the title, cannot answer either of those two simple questions.

It was close to the end of 5th period and it dawned on me that for the next hour, I would be spending my time, in a room below the surface I stood, and that room was Hell. Well it was actually Health Class, you know the 1/4th-of-your-year-afterthought-where-you-either-do-other-homework-or-sleep? Are you with me so far? Read the rest of this entry »

I sometimes ask myself why I started foxchasefive. Most recently, as we get closer to our college days, I have had people left and right telling me to put it on my resume. I mean I think the website is great, and reached higher than I could ever believe, but I never thought of it more than a hobby at first, then something that took me away from homework. However there are certain times where I am reminded of the main reasons: free speech, and he ability for students to be heard on topics usually only discussed by the media. Any place where there is an exchange of opinions and words between two opposing sides, is a great place in my mind. Especially right now, with free speech issues dominating the news media, a place where issues run the gamut of being heavily edited or completely open. With Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s recent visit to the US, Columbia Unviersity specifically, lots of issues have been brought into question. Although I don’t agree with the leader’s opinions or actions, I do like that he is starting a debate about free speech in general. Just getiing people talking is better than before. And that is when I realize why I love this place, and sad I, and others don’t use it, a true resource for our voices. And expect more of these foxchasefive bites because, well, we have a lot to say.

By Andrew Olanoff

Let’s face it – we all do it. You’re standing in the shower with the bottle of shampoo in your hand at that perfect 45 degree angle… and you just can help it. Suddenly you’re belting out your favorite song, hoping that your family will just have to understand that even though its 6 AM, you simply had to. It’s a fact – you just sound better in the shower. But why is that?

Walls in the shower are made of bathroom tile. Bathroom tile may seem like nothing special, but when sounds hit very hard surfaces such as tile, they bounce back. A shower is closed on all sides, which creates an effect that gives your voice much more power. This also makes you sound better due to the fact that the sound wave travels much longer before hitting your ear, which gives the voice a much richer and fuller sound. Pitches in the shower also blend together, which smoothes out any variations from the true note that they might have. The shower stall also acts as a little sound chamber which helps sound to resonate, amplifying certain range sound frequencies, coincidentally one that the human voice lies in.

It’s true that some people should never sing, especially at 6 AM. However, if you have to wake up to a (slightly faulty) human alarm clock, its better that they be in the shower. The shower will save your ears, and the lock on the bathroom door will probably protect their life as well.

By,

Beth M. 

I currently believe the situation in Iraq will probably not change for some years. This is because there seems to be no clear plan on what to do next, from either of the political sides. Although the situation in Iraq does not affect me now, it will in a year or so when I am 18, and get legally get drafted. If the war continues, I could get drafted if they are low on soldiers, since Bush already got approved to send 20,000 more. I like to think I would, with no reserve, serve our great country in its time of need, but will my opinions push me to believe otherwise when the time actually comes? Will I falter in my strong decision? These are questions I ask myself as the our relations with the Muslim world seem to get shakier and shakier, since we still do not fully understand their culture but we still shove our values and ideals down their throat. I hope that the current situation isn’t dragged out for hundreds of years and even after the war is over, we have horrible relations with the Muslim world and we become a new Israeli-Palestinian-like conflict. But we entered this war with no clear plan, a lot of firepower, and a nation truly unsure of their positions and reasons for entering Iraq. Being 2007, in a year we have elections, and this is Bush’s last term, so who will this new president be and how will he handle the war? Everyone likes to talk about the war, and these great plans they are going to follow through with, after they actually create them, but so far, no one has put them in action. This irks me, because weak leadership is not where you want to be right before an election. How will American’s vote in this election, one of the most important elections we will have had in years?  Who will they decide is the best person to lead this country?  I have a vote in the 2008 elections, so I guess it is finally my time to decide.

By Andrew Olanoff