Spyglass

"Another Side of Bob Dylan"

By Katie Cooper, Op-Ed, Local & World Editor

On Tuesday October 14, one of my life aspirations was fulfilled as I swayed to the live music of the 1960s music legend and icon, Bob Dylan.

The concert, which was held at the Hollywood Palladium, was a much different experience than I had anticipated: Dylan’s voice was much lower and raspier, the audience consisted almost solely of adults above the age of 50, and my back was killing me from an overload of dancing. However, none of these surprises impeded my enchantment of the night.

Frail-framed Dylan had an unbelievable amount of energy to perform onstage for about 2 hours as a 68-year old. His song selection was diverse, and also different from the other 2 nights he performed at the Palladium. Ignoring his latest songs, especially those from his newest Christmas album, Dylan stuck to many of his classics, such as “Highway 61 Revisited,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Jolene,” and “All Along the Watchtower.” Most of his classic hits were unrecognizable, as his songs have had to be altered to fit his lower vocal range, and also probably with an intention of keeping old songs fresh. While I was initially disappointed with the extreme change in his voice, my overwhelming elation to just be in his presence erased all of my nostalgic emotions.

A sense of camaraderie among the audience formed over everyone’s mutual love for Dylan’s music. As some of the only younger people in the crowd, my friends and I chatted with the elderly people around us, discovering some had been to his concerts back in the 60s, and a few others that were following him on his current tour.

After a tiresome, yet exhilarating 3 hours of dancing to the voice of Bob Dylan and his band, my friends and I piled into my car, and headed to rejuvenate ourselves with a midnight snack at the famous Mel’s Diner. Unfortunately we had to end the night at home working furiously to finish up last-minute homework at about 3 am. But not even this could bring our spirits down, as we had just seen “Another Side of Bob Dylan.”

A Look at the Annual Halloween Assembly

By Sarah Jackson '12, Staff Reporter

One of the most highly anticipated spirit assemblies of the year, the Halloween Assembly on October 30 started off with a bang. Portraying an array of 90’s cartoon characters from Doug to Pikachu, the seniors introduced the theme, One Saturday Morning: 2010 Way Back Then. As the crowd grew wild with anticipation, costume categories were announced and the annual costume parade began. Miranda Holmes, dressed as a figment of the imagination took the gold for scariest costume along with Kenna Dworksy, unrecognizable in her goblin mask. Zooming by the judges’ table, a group of roller derby girls based on characters from Whip It , took the prize for funniest costume amidst peals of laughter from the audience. In addition to the usual categories, MVP was added to the list this year. Winners of the other costume categories were asked to stand up and strut around the gym one last time as the judges chose a grand prize winner. This year, the lucky winner was came dressed in a fantastic penguin costume. Happily for the Romans, she gained 15 points for them. Let’s not forget Thing 1 and Thing 2 who stole the show with their adorable red costumes. Wrapping up with a challenging jelly bean eating competition, the assembly left us feeling pumped up for Halloween and ready for all the excitement the actual night would bring.

Crop Walk by the Numbers

 By Kelley Riffenburgh '11, Assistant Editor

 

Hundreds of walkers participated in the annual Pasadena CROP Hunger Walk on October 18, 2009. The event raised over $30,000, of which Westridge walkers contributed $5,200. Westridge also donated 97 bags of canned goods.

Here's the breakdown of walkers by grade, according to the Greek and Roman footprints in the Main Hall:

Fourth grade: 1 Roman walker
Fifth grade: 8 Roman walkers, 2 Greek walkers
Sixth grade: 2 Roman walkers, 2 Greek walkers
Seventh grade: 5 Roman walkers, 4 Greek walkers
Eighth grade: 6 Roman walkers, 5 Greek walkers
Ninth grade: 1 Roman walker, 2 Greek walkers
Eleventh grade: 7 Roman walkers, 4 Greek walkers
Faculty and staff: 4 Roman walkers, 3 Greek walkers

And the grand total?

34 Roman walkers and 22 Greek walkers.

Halloween League Finals

By Emily Honn '10, Sports Editor

Have you ever woken up at 5:30 on Halloween? 10 Westridge girls did this past Saturday. The day usually dedicated to candy eating and dressing up was postponed a few hours while the Cross Country girls ran their final cross country meet of the season at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. A small team plagued by injury throughout the season, Westridge’s 8 girls suited up. The JV race began at 8:40 and the Varsity at 9:35. Kelley Riffenburgh ’11 celebrated her 16^th birthday and had a breakout race , slicing her time down to 20:22 on the 2.87 mile course. That means her average mile time ticked 7:06! We came in 4^th in the league, behind Chadwick, Mayfield, and Flintridge Prep. There are three seniors on the team, Melina Soto, Katie Swarts, and me. The usual roses with green tissue paper were given an hour before the races began, finally putting through our heads that this is our last race! All three of us will miss the team dearly. The team is a great group of girls ready to always laugh and make memories, even as the dreadful next set of mile repeats is about to start!

Photos of the League Finals:

http://gallery.me.com/liveoak314#100435

Creating the Perfect Homemade Halloween Costume

By Sarah Jackson '12, Staff Reporter

 Halloween is quickly approaching, and here's a scary thought, you don't have a costume yet! Don't panic, tons of us are in the same position. With everyone trying to have the most creative costume, it can seem difficult to find one that suits you. These creative spins off traditional costumes provide quick, affordable ways to create that perfect look.

Modern Vampire

If you want to be a Cullen, this costume is quite simple to make and requires very little preparation.

Materials

1.     Dark clothing (Dark denim jeans and a dark colored tank top)

2.     A light shade of makeup foundation

3.     Lavender eye shadow

4.     Red lipstick

5.     Vampire fangs (optional)

Preparation

Dress in simple, darker toned clothing. Clothes can be left plain, or contain rips throughout for effect. Next, apply your makeup. The skin should look light and pale, but not necessarily white. Apply a foundation one to two tones lighter than your normal skin color. If you want to your skin to have a sparkly tinge, a shimmering body lotion will work well. Use a lavender or purple eyeliner or eye shadow on both the top and bottom eyelids to get the classic vampire look. A touch of red lipstick finishes the costume off.

80’s Pop Star

This version of the traditional pop star costume takes little time and allows you to be creative.

Materials

1.     Bright colored skirt

2.     Old sweatshirt (that you are willing to cut)

3.     Tank top

4.     Colorful tights or leggings

5.     Sparkly makeup

6.     Chunky necklaces

7.     Brightly colored bracelets

Preparation

Put the skirt on with the leggings and tank top. Next, take the sweatshirt and cut a wide hole where the neck is. This whole should be big enough for the sweatshirt to fall slightly off one shoulder. Put your hair in a side ponytail. Wear bright bracelets, chunky necklaces, and sparkly eye makeup.

Greek Goddess

This costume is simple in design, but allows you to personalize it.

Materials

1.     Old white bed sheet

2.     Brooch, preferably gold colored

3.     Braided belt

4.     jewelry

5.     Gladiator sandals (ballet flats if it’s cold)

Preparation

Take the white bed- sheet and wrap it around yourself length-wise one and a half times. Then take the rest of the fabric and throw it over your shoulder. Secure the fabric over your shoulder with the brooch. Then take the braided belt and cinch in your waist. This keeps the toga from coming undone. At this point, customize your costume with jewelry. If you want, glue fake ivy to a skinny headband or drape some over the shoulder of your toga.