Paw Prints Newsblog

by Mallory Stratton

Daniel Radcliff is set to head the cast of the upcoming New York reading of the 1961 How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the first musical for the Harry Potter star. Rob Ashford will be director and choreographer, right after his Robert Brown-Alfred Uhry musical Parade, which opened Oct. 4^th at the Mark Taper Forum in L.A. The reading is scheduled for December, with no other cast in place so far. The show is written by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser. How to Succeed shows the rise of a crafty window cleaner as he follows the advice of a self-help manual to make his way up through the World Wide Wickets Co. and get the girl in the process. The original production won over seven Tony Awards, including musical, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1962. Hopefully this new adaptation will do just as well.

by Becky Hoffman

So, this flu has been here for a year, and it is driving the world crazy. Everyone believes that this flu is the new epidemic, and it will kill off many people in the world. However, because this virus is scary to people, everyone needs to realize that this is complete paranoia.

Last week a friend of mine became ill. He had the common symptoms of a cold or flu, eventually lost his voice, and was finally taken to the doctor. His doctor told him he had a “really bad cold.”

The next week I became sick and, on the same day with the same symptoms, I was told I had “H1N1.” Because of the commonness of the symptoms, I do not believe the swine flu entered my body, and everyone had become paranoid. Where is the line between a cough and the deadly swine flu?

by Chanel Yust

Released on Wednesday,September 15th, Google stated that they will be going through an examination process. They will be testing out the new “FastFlip” format. Reading will be easier; however, there will be a charge due to the program only being able to display the first page of the article. They will be displayed on electronic pages, and you will be able to scroll through the pages by clicking on either side of of the story, but in order to finish the article, you most log onto the website.

by Melissa Reed

If you weren’t at the game a couple Fridays ago, boy you missed our best game yet. The West Hills Wolfpack going up against the Granite Hills Eagles was a suspense filled game. Within the first few minutes of the quarter, it was looking down when Granite Hills scored, leading 7-0. That didn’t even seem to faze our players: soon we were tied. Then it took a turn for the worse as Granite Hills scored again, leading the Wolfpack. Again we just picked ourselves up again and took the lead. At this point the crowd was convinced of the win. The environment was relaxed, just waiting for the clock to run down the long few minutes it held. The unspeakable occurred: Granite Hills scored again, leading us. The crowd went wild, booing the referees for any and every call against the Wolfpack. With only one minute left, the air was still and overflowing with nervousness. Some left the game convinced of a loss and others merely watched helplessly. Our team fought for one last point, encouraged every yard. Not even the crowd foretold the next incident: The Wolfpack threw the ball high and far. The crowd went wild, and the football didn’t seem to go any faster…… and it was caught!!!! The crowd roared (think I saw someone cry, but I don’t know). We had won within the last minute of the game with a last-chance “Hail Mary” pass.

by Rachel Caird

The amazing gypsy-punk band is finally coming to San Diego. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, let me give you some insight. The international band Gogol Bordello is made up of over 10 diverse members from across the globe, formed on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1999. Their sound is something of a cross between Operation Ivy and a Jewish Bar Mitzvah. Nikolai Gogol, the origin of the band’s name, served as an ideological influence because he “smuggled” Ukrainian culture into the Russian society, which Gogol Bordello intends to do with this Gypsy-Punk/ East-European music in our English-speaking world.  This unusual musical clash will make you ears do a double take.

A couple of their more popular songs are “Immigrant Punk,” which explains how they formed the band, and “Through the Roof n’ Underground,” featured in the 2006 movie Wristcutters: A Love Story, as one of the songs of a dead man’s old band.  Both of which can be heard in their set list when they play in downtown San Diego on Oct. 17^th. Don’t miss the opportunity to put your musical taste to the test!

by Mallory Stratton

Want more information on a specific college? Not yet sure what your plans are? There are many upcoming opportunities for high school students to get more information. Admission representatives from the following colleges will be visiting West Hills to answer your questions about financial aid, admission, campus life, majors and more: Saint Mary’s College of CA, Oct 28, 10:30 AM; University of Redlands, Oct 28, 12:15 PM; San Diego State, Oct 30, 10:30 AM. Sign up on the college clipboard in the counseling center to attend their presentations. Don’t miss out on these great opportunities!

by Mallory Stratton

Yesterday, a giant mylar balloon escaped from the Heene’s backyard. Richard Heene, a meteorologist who had planned to use the balloon for experiments, said he  was upset when the balloon drifted away because “the project was pretty much down the tubes because we had about a couple hundred experiments we were going to work with.” He didn’t know at this point that his son Falcon could have possibly crawled inside. Their other son, Bradford, then told them that he thought Falcon was in the balloon, beginning the family’s terror. When the balloon finally came down in the afternoon and Falcon was not inside, Heene said “it was like the worst thing I’d ever heard in my life because all I could think of was that perhaps he had fallen out.” The family was sitting together in their living room, when Falcon walked in by himself, saying he had been hiding in a box in the attic after his father had yelled at him.

In an interview that night, the Heene’s asked Falcon why he had not come out when they called for him, searching the house. His reply was “You guys said we did this for the show.” This comment sparked suggestions by some that the whole ordeal could have been just a stunt for publicity. However, Richard Heene said that his son was confused. But Sheriff James Alderden said “very seasoned investigators who are used to looking for deceptive behavior” spoke with the family that day and were “completely convinced that this was the real deal, and not a hoax, based on all of their communication, body language, their emotions that were displayed throughout the event.”

However, as investigations continued, the whole ordeal was actually revealed to be a hoax. Chargers are pending, and the parents may have their children taken into custody.

by Lauren Brown

Soft drink taxes may have slowed consumption of soda but have yet to make an impact on the obesity epidemic in the United States. Researchers have found that taxation has only a minor effect on Body Mass Index (BMI), which is a measurement based on weight and height. Soft drink taxation had the most BMI impact among people with lower incomes, females, and middle-aged and older people. But even in these groups, the effects on obesity were very small. Overall, soft drink taxation in most states is not effective in substantially changing adult consumption.

by Camille Vernon

After commanding the USS Enterprise as Captain James Kirk in Star Trek, actor Chris Pine is going to be following in the footsteps of Alec Baldwin, Ben Affleck, and Harrison Ford by playing the role of Jack Ryan, CIA Analyst. This character was created by famed author Tom Clancy in the Jack Ryan book series.
Some of Clancy’s novels that have been made into movies include: The Hunt for the Red October, starring Alec Baldwin; Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger, starring Harrison Ford; and The Sum of All Fears, starring Ben Affleck.
The new movie Unstoppable, in production, was written by Mark Bomback and is being directed by Tony Scott. Pine will be co-starring with Denzel Washington, Rosario Dawson, Jessy Schram, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Chapman, and many other actors. The movie is expected to be in post-production by 2010 and released on November 12, 2010.

by Aubrey Walford

Friday night, West Hills had a very exciting homecoming game. Not only were the king and queen revealed, our football team played their hearts out. Going into overtime, the Wolf Pack beat El Cajon 40 to 38. This was our first homecoming win in five years.

After the game, the homecoming court (Shana Ahmadian, Oscar Andrad, Kaitlin Canty, Kyle Buerger, Kelly Christerson, Endhyr Meza, Callie Davis, Danny Eisenbarth, Julie Hattaway, David Azhocar, Julia Osuna, and Alan Parks) lined up impatiently to hear who was going to be the queen and king. Their parents walked them onto the field; the girls held hands nervously– then finally ASB gave them permission to open their houses where the crowns would be. Kelly Christerson and Endhyr Meza were announced the 2009 Homecoming Queen and King.