Monthly Archives: October 2018

Event Recap: Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions (9/30/2018)

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What a game. From the opening kick to the dying minutes of the game, there was intensity– enough to keep anyone on the edge of their seats. Bouncing back from an absolutely horrendous stretch of play, Quarterback Dak Prescott did just enough to push the Cowboys to a victory of 26-24. However, there is no question that the best player in the stadium was Runningback Ezekiel Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys. Leading the Cowboys in both rushing (152 yards off 25 carries) and receiving (88 yards off four receptions and one touchdown), Elliot was the engine that breathed life into an offense that has seemed dead the past couple of weeks. Though QB Prescott did help the Cowboys with timely throws and solid decision-making, there should be no doubt that the Cowboys would have been going home with their third loss of the year without a career day from Elliot.

On the other side of the field, the biggest question coming into this game was if the Cowboys could manage the loss of Sean Lee. The answer? They could. Though RB Kerryon Johnson of the Lions made his presence felt on a couple of big runs, the Cowboys mostly bottled him up on the ground (55 yards off 9 carries and one touchdown) thanks to solid days by linebackers Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander-Esch. A bigger concern, however, was WR Golden Tate’s field day. Though the defense has been playing well this year (ranked at 3rd entering this year), the secondary seemed to be unable to do much to stop Tate (132 yards off eight receptions and two touchdowns). A catch-and-run specialist, Tate slipped coverage and tackles all day, and would’ve been the most impressive player had Elliot not had an amazing day himself. In the coming weeks, it remains to be seen whether or not Dak could do enough to put the Cowboys in position to win once again, and whether this defense is more of their Week 2 performance against the Giants or their Week 4 performance against the Lions.

-Kobe L.

Hamilton: An American Musical

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Mostly everyone has heard of the musical that has swept theatre geeks off their feet when it first came out in 2015. Yes, I’m talking about Hamilton. If you don’t love it, you’ve heard of it. If you haven’t heard of it… you’ve come to the right blog.

Hamilton: An American Musical was written by Lin-Manuel Miranda who has had experience in writing a musical with In The Heights. He co-wrote the songs from Disney’s Moana. But, Lin-Manuel Miranda is most popular for writing Hamilton.

Hamilton is a perfect combination of spunky, fast-moving rap, and slow, sweet, and sad melodies. I’ve listened to the music over and over, until it’s been ingrained into my memory, like the true geek I am. Unfortunately, this means I have physically lost the power to cry over ‘It’s Quiet Uptown’. Now, listening to the soundtrack on YouTube and watching the musical are two very different things. I had the privilege to go see it at Segerstrom Theater. I think when we entered the waiting room to buy tickets online, it was the most stressful 43 minutes of my theatre life. And that’s saying a lot, because I’ve had to wait a week to get my part in multiple musicals. When I was watching Hamilton, it was different from listening, partially because it wasn’t the original cast (I wish it was!), and of course they sounded different. But, watching the actors pour their souls into the life of a man who lived centuries ago.

If you were to ask me who my favorite character was, or who stole the show, I wouldn’t say Angelica, Eliza, or even Peggy (although she was amazing). King George was a showstopper. Though he stood in one place for the remainder of his songs, something about him, singing about death, completely calm, just made everyone laugh. In the beginning, he stood calmly, but in the second half of the show, King George, just like in real life, started to go mad. His eyes were wild, and his laugh maniacal. He completely stole the show, in my opinion.

Hamilton: An American Musical, is something me and my theater friends bond over. Before rehearsals, we could be heard singing Farmers Refuted, or Cabinet Battle #1. Hamilton is the perfect mix for anyone, whether you like rap, or slow, sweet songs, it has it all.

-Sophia D.

William Stokoe: The Man Who Changed the World

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William Stokoe is known throughout the ASL community as the “father of ASL linguistics”. Some might consider him a hero. He was the man who researches about the language and proved that sign language is an actual language. Even though many people doubted him and didn’t support him, he pushed through and ended changing the world with his success.

At the beginning of the research, he had little to no experience with Deaf people, their language, and the culture around them. Regardless, he began his research at Gallaudet University, a private university for the deaf and hard of hearing. After observing the students for some time, Stokoe noticed that sign language contained the features of an actual language. Even though he claimed that sign language is an actual language, his associates completely disagreed with Stokoe’s idea. Despite the lack of support, he continued with his research. After years of careful studying and observation, Stokoe was able to contradict his colleagues’ ideas of sign language not being a language. He ended up writing a paper called Sign Language Structure. His paper ultimately changed the ideas of language not only logically but also scientifically.

Essentially, he gave life to a community that wasn’t that well known or appreciated. He shined a new light on the language and culture and because of that, ASL is no longer a joke. Even when he retired, later on, he continued to work in the SIgn Language area, lecturing students, writing novels, and editing papers.

The creation of sign language has completely changed the world and how it functions. If you turn on the news, sometimes in the corner, there’s someone signing so that deaf people can understand what’s going on. There are even videos on the internet of singers having people who sign at their concerts so that they can enjoy the show just like everyone else and won’t miss out. Nowadays there’s sign language almost everywhere, it’s absolutely incredible.

-Phoebe L.