With the arrival of spring, Urbana High School’s Drama Club is beginning to prepare their annual spring musical: My Favorite Year. Students of all grades and genders auditioned over the course of a couple days, testing their vocal, acting and dance prowess. My Favorite Year is the tale of Benjy Stone (loosely based on Mel Brooks) , an up and coming comedian writing for the King Kaiser Comedy Cavalcade, a live televised comedy program. Benjy meets an assortment of characters, while also balancing his hectic family and falling for “Breck Girl” K.C. Downing. The production is chocked full of laughs and supported by a beautiful score, so take some time to come out and see the musical May 6, 7, 8, 14 and 15.

Cast List

Benjy Stone: Sean Smith
King Kaiser: Sean Grady
Sy Benson: Taylor Seten
Alice Miller: Amy Shea
Herb Lee: Sam Warren
K.C. Downing: Maura Kinney
Leo Silver: Nyankuru Ogegea
Alan Swann: Noah Gehrmann
Belle May Steinberg Carroca: Joanna Nowak
“Rookie” Carroca: Carson Lewis
Tess: Abby Taylor
Tess’s Classmates: Laura Herrera, Maria Mendoza, Nicole Clabaugh
Uncle Morty: Jad Terrell
Aunt Sadie: Elise Ellinger
Dancing Corps: Lizzy Harden, Macy Sanford, Lexi Johnson, Lily Smith, Kate Srikant, Beth Sampson, Rachel Warren, Asha Brown
Maxwell Girls: Hannah Gottlieb, Katie Odom, Lizzy Harden, Lisa Pham,
Secretary: Emily Warren
Studio Worker: Stephanie Tuttle, Ashley Panenhanouvong
Male Dancer: Tertius Washington
Princess Veronica: Annie Valocchi
Roquefort: Meaguel Gaines
Stage Hands: Miranda McCarthy
Floor Manager: Greg Morris
Grips: Lauren Gabra
Cameramen: Nate Olvey
Brooklyn Neighbor: Carmelita Gonzalez
A Doorman: John Seyler

BEST Sugar Cookies and Oh! So easy

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 cups flour

1) First preheat your oven to 400F.

2) Then cream the butter and sugar, next beat in the egg and vanilla.

3) Third mix the baking powder and flour, then add to the creamed mixture one cup at a time, mixing after each addition.

4) The dough might become very stiff. If dough becomes too stiff, add water, a teaspoon at a time. Next blend the last of the flour in by hand.

5) Next roll out dough on a floured surface.

6) Then cut out cookies in floured dipped cookie cutters.

7) Finally bake cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet on the middle rack of your oven, for 6-8 minutes or until the cookies  are lightly browned.

White Glaze

1/8 cup water
1/8 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon almond
2 cup powder sugar
Assorted sprinkles
Food coloring

1) Mix all the ingredients together (except sprinkles) and if you wish you can die the glaze to make it different colors.

2) Last decorate the cookies with icing and sprinkles and enjoy!

Photo Credit: Meredith Headtke

Nelust Wyclef Jean, better known as his stage name Wyclef, was born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, on October 17, 1972.  He is now 37, but when he was thirteen Wyclef moved to Brooklyn, New York. Within the same year, he moved to northern New Jersey.  Wyclef later married designer Marie Claudinette in 1994. They adopted a child in 2005 named Angelina Jean.

In 2005, he started the Yele Haiti Foundation. This foundation was dedicated to providing scholarships to Haitian children. In 2005, after hurricane Jeanne, 3,600 children in Gonaïves, Haiti received scholarships from Yele Haiti. Now, Yele Haiti’s mission is to raise money for a School of the Arts, a sports center, a cultural center and an internet café. Now, with the recent strike on Haiti with earthquakes, he called upon the world to donate to his charity.

Born in Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti, he was adopted by a pastor and soon moved to Brooklyn, NYC. From an early age, he showed signs of talent, along with promise as a soloing musician. Soon after he left hone, he joined Ruffhouse Records, and the Fugees. With the Fugees, he made his debut album Blunted on Reality. The album sold badly, but it was just the beginning of the Haitian’s career as a music artist.

Since his earliest days he has supported his home country, and the people who live there. He has started two foundations to support the Haitians and provide aid to the country. From making music to building schools, Nelust Wyclef Jean is dedicated to his people, his music and his ideals.

Over the years there has been some dispute over whether or not to believe in the paranormal. This is because that while most paranormal stories involve real places and things; the things that are happening to them make them seem too improbable. Like the spaceship crash in Roswell or the Loch Ness monster in Scotland. Those stories involve real places but they don’t give any hard evidence as to whether or not each one of those things are true. Here are some examples of paranormal stories

A report of a Sasquatch sighting, more commonly known as a big foot sighting, in West Virginia led an investigative team, the Sasquatch Watch, to Dolly Sods in order to obtain a foot print of the famous giant. (http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/281212)

Latoya Jackson claims to see Micheal Jackson’s ghost shortly after he died. “His eyes were open and he appeared peaceful. I turned the lights on and asked, ‘Michael, do you wish to go to the other side?’,” says Latoya. (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26257614-5012980,00.html)

A crater was found in the moon that might lead to an underground tunnel that could be able to help future colonists on moon. (http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18030-found-first-skylight-on-the-moon.html)

A Spanish women thinks she met a guardian angel on bus after a stranger tells her to get tested for acromegaly (a rare disease) which she ended up having. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6458488/Spanish-woman-thanks-guardian-angel-who-diagnosed-rare-disease-on-bus.html)

Recently Fort Knox was deemed haunted after local ghost hunters supposedly found evidence of ghosts after the base closed. (http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=110255&catid=2)

Whether or not you think any of this is real or not isn’t the point. The point is that unless you were with them when these events happened or can show actual evidence for it, then it can only be classified as paranormal.

Pre-Game Pretzels Recipe

Ingredients:

1 Pre-Packaged Bowl of Baker’s Dipping Chocolate (White)
1 Pre-Packaged Bowl of Baker’s Dipping Chocolate (Semi-Sweet)
2 metal spoons
Wax Paper
1 Cookie Sheet
One Bag of Large Pretzel Sticks
Sprinkles (Optional)

Directions:

1. Take the lid off of one Baker’s chocolate bowl. Place in microwave: set time for 30 seconds on high. After time is completed, stir the chocolate and place back in microwave. Repeat twice (so chocolate will be heated a total of three times).
2. Repeat chocolate heating with the other bowl
3. Spread wax paper on the cookie sheet.
4. Once chocolate is warm, use a spoon to ladle the chocolate over a pretzel rod. Make sure there are at least two inches of regular pretzel remaining at the bottom so you can grasp the rod without getting messy.
5. Once pretzel is coated in chocolate, you can drizzle the opposite flavor of chocolate on top of the rod for a two-tone design. You can also add sprinkles (I put red sugar on mine to give them a Valentine’s Day twist).
6. After all pretzels are coated, place cookie sheet outside in a protected area (I left mine out and they got snowed on!) so they harden.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Have you made these pretzels before? What’s your favorite game-day treat?

Confetti Cupcakes

Ever since I was a little girl, confetti cupcakes have been a staple part of our family’s birthday celebrations. They look sweet and taste delectable, but they’re very light so it’s hard to only eat one. Bake these delights to brighten your day or bring them to a party as a gift!

Ingredients:

1 Box of White Cake Mix (Read box for specific ingredients because each brand is different)
1 Large Bowl (for batter)
1 Medium Bowl (for frosting)
1 Mechanical Mixer
1 Wooden Spoon
Half Cup of Rainbow Sprinkles (Long Johns work best)
24 Cupcake/Muffin Paper Tins
3 Cups of Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Cream
1 Stick of Butter
2 Dozen-Cup Muffin Pans
Cooking Spray (I use Pam Olive Oil)
Red Food Dye (Optional)

Directions:

Cakes:

Pre-heat oven at temperature recommended on the cake mix box. Follow the directions on the back of the cake mix box to make the cake batter. Once the batter is complete, stir in the sprinkles with a wooden spoon until thoroughly distributed. Place one cupcake tin in each cup of the pans- spray lightly with cooking spray. Using the spoon, dollop batter into each tin until ¾ full. Bake the cakes according to the time estimate given on the box. To check whether the cakes are done, place a toothpick in the center of one and pull out- if the toothpick has any liquid residue on it, place cakes back in oven. Once cakes are finished, let them cool for one hour to ensure they aren’t warm when frosted.

Frosting:

I hate store-bought frosting, so this homemade version really makes the cake!

Let a stick of butter sit at room temperature until soft (or microwave it if you’re short on time). Place the butter in a medium bowl. Put 1 cup of the powdered sugar in the bowl and ¼ cup of the cream in as well. Mix the contents on the lightest speed, adding in the rest of the powdered sugar and cream gradually. When finished, the frosting should be solid but fluffy. If you like, you can add a VERY small drop of red food dye to the frosting and mix it in, giving off a soft pink color.

Once the cakes have cooled and the frosting is finished, lightly (or generously if you love sugar) coat the cakes with the frosting. For a special touch, add extra sprinkles on top for a festive feel.

Happy Cupcake Making!

Number 7: K’naan

A relatively new artist, K’naan is a Somalian rapper who knows English as a second language. Despite this setback, K’naan is lyrically talented and he has concepts in songs that are actually relevant to the world, and reflect his life growing up in Somalia. This is mostly in English with a hint of his native language which adds his uniqueness. K’naan’s first and only studio album was produced in the house of none other than one of my idols, Bob Marley. Appropriately, there is a track on the album featuring Damian Marley (Bob Marley’s son.) I really enjoyed this album.
Although he has only released one album so far, he has a number of mixtapes. One of his mixtapes is a tribute of Bob Marley, using instrumentals from Marley himself. K’naan is one of my favorite upcoming artists and I think you should definitely check him out.

Peace.

Shout-Out : Man at the Midway Airport, Wednesday at 4:30 pm. A gruff looking college student had just settled into the table across from me at the food court. I was enjoying my meal and decided to people-watch a bit. An older lady approached his table and asked if she could sit with him (sharing tables with strangers was kind of a neccesity because of the mass of people who decided they were hungry at that moment). Not only did the man say yes, he went across the food court to get her a chair and carried it back to the table. He then preceded to make small talk with this woman. Props to you, college man for being such a gentlemen and taking time out of your day to be kind.

What kindness have you seen this week? Have you ever had a cool airport experience? Post it here!

On Friday night, I saw Neko Case perform at the Canopy Club in Urbana. Neko Case, if you don’t know already, is one of the most prominent female artists on the indie music scene today. If her soul-filled, powerful voice doesn’t release endorphins from your brain, I don’t know what does.

I acquired a press pass for the event, which meant that I could bring my camera up the the very front without getting harassed by the bouncers. I also got in for free because of the pass. Upon entering, I noticed the club was absolutely packed. Given Neko Case’s newfound fame, I was not surprised in the slightest.

The opening act, soloist Sarah Harmer, was absolutely beautiful in her delivery. She mainly played folk that mixed with soul. It was pure genius and it really got the crowd pumped.

Then came Neko. With her troup of five band members — ranging from base players, to keyboard, to cello.

She started her set with a song of her new album Middle Cyclone, called “People Got a Lotta Nerve.”

She then played on for about two and a half hours, mentioned how Champaign-Urbana has the most amount of pizza joints per capita about ten times, and then proceeded to talk about more food. I think she is in love with food.

Shout out to UHS Junior, Arianna Valocchi, for making it out to the show!

For more info about Neko Case, Sarah Harmer, and more, visit www.nekocase.com

UPDATE:

RIP Jerry Fuchs. You were an amazing drummer, and you will be deeply missed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/nyregion/09elevator.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=nyregion&adxnnlx=1257786002-I2I9LJ60fylmemkvyp8mAA