By Summer Levy
A simple flip of a coin does not seem so deceitful to the human eye, but that only depends on what you call. 'Heads - I win; Tails - you lose' is a simple but tricky way of saying that you've basically got no chance of winning. However, what is it that you're risking for that win?
The situation at Hogwarts' sports events has become the place to be in getting experience as a Quidditch bookmaker. Will Penshire win the Quidditch Cup again? Or will Hufflepuff surprise the crowd with a new strategy? What are the odds of each event?
While the outcomes of such popular school events are highly anticipated, students are confident enough to take the risk and 'invest' their money in sports betting. However, anything that involves money is at risk of becoming unnecessary trouble. Bookmakers may not have enough money to take that risk of taking bets, much less when the bookmaker is a student! In that case, they may resort desperately to fixing matches, a highly immoral and illegal activity.
However, in the case of Hogwarts, I think the house teams would be too proud to purposely lose the match, for the risk of their house reputation. Hogwarts is much simpler than the harsh money-driving world outside. It is better to analyze the odds through mathematical theories and divination predictions before giving someone your money. Then you'd be sure that it isn't a 'heads - they win; tails - you lose' situation. Anything that's not 50/50 is not worth your time.
By Hilary Stevens
Yeah, you are not mistaken. For the major school population who remain blissfully unaware, this is me telling you. Yes you, sitting there, reading this little article. The Art Club is proud to announce that monthly contests are back on a regular basis. For those of you who don't know how it works, basically, we give you a theme that is chosen by last months' winner. You then have to create a piece of artwork inspired by that theme. Every entry made is worth 50 points, no matter what happens in the vote! The entries then go to a vote and the winner then gets extra points along with the chance to pick the next month's theme! It's easy, and it doesn't have to be anything special. Just as long as it is inspired by the months theme. But remember, entries are key, as without them, we would have to stop running the contests. I would also like to congratulate January's winner, Jacyn Corbin of Ravenclaw on her excellent piece of work! We do have a new monthly coming up soon, so keep your eyes open! The contests are always announced on the BB, and in the Art club itself. So keep those creative juices flowing, and remember, it doesn't have to be good to be art!
By: Myrrima Goldenleaf
With Easter coming up only six days after St. Patrick's day there may be a constant flurry of activity for at least a week. Hopefully there will be an easter egg hunt like there was last year, but if nothing else, everyone can celebrate Easter in their own way and, hopefully (hehe..), with chocolate, egg decorating, and a little friend/family time. Have a happy Easter, and don't forget to keep an eye out for the easter bunny!
By Ava Black
It is that time again. Viruses are spreading like rampant diseases. You can catch them in emails, attachments, bad downloads and even clicking links on Windows live messenger. So first off � if a link comes over on messenger, don�t click on it straightaway. Ask the person that sent it to you about it. This will keep you safe the majority of the time. Also keep your virus software up to date and run it often. Don�t open attachments unless you know the source and you are expecting something. Overall just be cautious with everything on the computer. One bad virus can wipe the whole computer clean and lead to months of repair. It is better to be safe than sorry.
By Ariene Callahan
Christianity celebrates the forty days before Easter, which is called Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Sundays are not included in the forty days, mostly because Christ rose again on a Sunday. It is believed to be an inappropriate day to fast and forgive our sins, which is why Fridays during the year are days of penance. Sunday is a day to celebrate Christ�s resurrection and forgiveness of our sins. The season of Lent is called �Lent� because it is the Old English word for spring, in which Lent occurs. An interesting note, in almost any other language, Lent is a derivative from the Latin term Quadragesima, which translates as �the forty days�.
So why do we celebrate Lent for forty days? Forty is traditionally a number of discipline, devotion and preparation in the Bible. Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness praying, fasting, and preparing for his ministry. Christians imitate that forty-day period during Lent, in which we give up something we enjoy. In the Catholic Church, most fast from Friday until Sunday. Of course �fast� doesn�t mean no food or water, there are strict rules to follow when fasting, according to the Catholic Church. More information can be found on the web, using any search engine. So what are you giving up for Lent? Send in your answers to, [email protected], and next month I�ll publish what those of us at PAD�s gave up. I am giving up ice cream, soda and sweets.
by: Riley Jake
Well, as many know, February fourteenth is fast approaching, and there isn't much time left before Valentine's. It isn't nearly as big a holiday as Christmas, but the rush to buy a gift for that special someone is almost, if not just as stressful as buying christmas gifts for thirty family members.
Now, this reporter spent several hours in Hogsmeade, trying to determine what the best gift might be this holiday season, and I've come up with a few recommendations for all those confused shoppers out there.
For that special someone: flowers or jewelry, or chocolate. There are several stores in Hogsmeade that you can buy these from. You can buy flowers from Forever Flowers in the Ravenclaw Co-op, and you can buy jewelry from many different stores, such as Jaccula's Jewels and Gems in the Slytherin Co-op, or Bead it! in the Hufflepuff Co-op.
Or for your friends: Chocolate, or a hand made card. Make it personal, but not too over the top.
I hope my tips helped, and Happy Valentine's Day!
By Gawyn Crossguard
There was an announcement in last month's Owl Gazette about Cupid guest lecturing. Now, seeing as I was in a lot of trouble in his area of expertise, I decided to attend. I don't know what I expected; maybe I thought he'd give me an insight on how to apologize properly.
As it turned out, I dozed more on than off through the whole speech. It was so lovey-dovey like, it made me sick. There are only so many goggling eyes, clasping hands, and only so much of the honey-sweetened, romantic daydream voice that a man can take before it takes its toll on a poor guy.
I think any guy who goes around wearing only a diaper, and sticking poor, innocent people with pink arrows, has more than a few problems, and ought to be admitted at St. Mungo's. Don't get me wrong, I've been stuck by one of those heart-tipped things, and I'm grateful for it, but I wouldn't take his job if my life depended on it.
I didn't really get any of the answers I was looking for, but that may have been because I was sleeping when he could have possibly addressed those points, and I didn't think I could stand listening to him for another minute in order to ask my questions myself, and wait for an answer. I did, however, wait in line for his autograph to give to my girlfriend. I figured it might lower my days in the doghouse from 1,000,000 years, to 999,999 years, 365 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds. I guess his appearance wasn't a complete bust, because I did manage to take my time down to 999,999 years and 362 days, which was more of break than I was hoping to catch.
I hope next year they book Eros's mom, Aphrodite. At least she's good looking...and that's an understatement.
By Gawyn Crossguard
Now, I'm sure there are a few people who have Irish in them, and because I have a sister who is really into Irish culture, I thought I'd make a list and describe some of the more famous traditions for St. Patrick's Day.
Food:
- Corned Beef: I'm not exactly sure how it' made, but I can tell you it tastes really good.
- Boiled Bacon: I'm not exactly sure what it is, but it has to be good, otherwise it wouldn't be a tradition, right?
- Cabbage: I'm not sure if there's a specific way of preparing it, or if it's just cabbage in general, but cabbage isn't too bad.
- Green Milkshakes: Just green food coloring in a milkshake.
- Col Cannon: I think my sister told me this was some kind of food, but I can't remember what she said it was (I quit listening)
- Toasts: Pretty self explanatory. There are lots of toasts given
Other Non-Food Related Traditions:
- Dye River Green: Every year, on this day, people dump lots of dye into rivers.
- Parades: There are a ton of parades on this day.
- Dress in Green: It's supposed to bring good luck.
- Irish Step Dancing: I don't know what the difference between step dancing and clogging is, but step dancing is a popular tradition on this day.
- Pinches: A person is allowed to pinch another if that other person isn't wearing green, but if that other person is wearing green, they are then entitled to pinch the pincher back.
- Stating the Irish Blessing: The Irish Blessing goes as follows:
"May the road
Rise to meet you,
May the wind be
Always at your back,
May the sun shine
Warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon
Your fields and
Until we meet again,
May God hold you in the
Palm of his hand."
There you are. Just some of the Irish Traditions of St. Patrick's Day.
By Arya Drottningu
Where I live, St. Patrick's Day is a day that you wear green. If you're not, you either get punched or pinched. The point of this was to see if other people have done this or gotten pinched or punched by someone else, and if they like this...let's say..."tradition". Here are the replies:
- I only like it if I'm not the one caught without something green on. LOL I think it's a fun tradition, but I wish it didn't mean I actually have to pay attention to what day it is so I don't come home with bruises.
- I've never really celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Probably because it's so close to our March Break that it sometimes is part of our week off. So we won't be at school, we'll be sleeping in at home, and no one would care if we wore green or not rolleyes.gif I guess this 'tradition' is fine, but it just means that everyone at my school would get punched or pinched
- We don't really celebrate it here. I mean, my school has a compulsory uniform, so people aren't allowed to wear green (unless we had a mufti day that day, but we don't get many of those). So people at school just put on a bit of green if they have it, but as soon as school starts, they put their uniform top back on.
- We kinda celebrate it here, but not really. I mean, they have 'St. Patty's' school lunches, but that's about it. People do dress up in green, but no one will kill you if you don't...
- I like this tradition even though I'm usually the one getting punched/pinched. I don't keep track if it's St. Patrick's Day, or not, so I usually forget.
- Tradition!? More like an evil way of hurting others! I do make an effort to wear green (some people pinch hard!). I think that it's not so much a tradition, but something someone started years ago, and it has now become a part of the "holiday" celebration. Interesting that it's one of the only days of the year, you can get away with pinching someone!
- At my school, it really depends on the person. I mean, like some people wear all green and go around punching/pinching people. But others just sit there, maybe wearing green, maybe not, and just ignore all the pinching and stuff. I don't really mind it, but then again, I'm usually wearing green.
- No one really does much pinching, but I think that's because almost everyone wears some sort of green, be it just a sock or a shirt, while some people even dye their hair!
By G.R.
Now then. Deathly Hollows. Joined the house of Gryffindor in late June of last year and went to the Bulletin Board in August. I am guessing you know who I'm on about? Well, I have some interesting news. Death Hollows is no more. He vanished. Yet he has been replaced by Daniel Pizarski. Some name huh? But, it seems that both boys are related in some way. This is evident, since of the evidence discovered! Yes, it seems Professor Lockhart has finally infiltrated Gryffindor! I can exclusively reveal that Daniel seems to be a 'Lockhart-In Training' if you will. The boy appears to be obsessed with his and both boys have been spotted with some of Lockhart's Hair Care products, before and after the arrival of Dan. Could it be possible that Death simply used a little too much? Could the drastic change of appearance have made him change his name? Who knows, but this reporter will try to find out for one! Signing off for now, and keep your eyes open for Dan!
By Anonymous
Back in some month that I forget, Death of Gryffindor changed his appearance from ugly to GORGEOUS! Now, the potion has gotten stronger and he has changed ONCE AGAIN! Will he EVER stop?! That's not all though! As well as his appearance, he changed his name! That's right, it's now Daniel Pizarski! What a dreamy name, eh? Well that may be so, but most people were confused with the name and [a second] appearance change. Karine of Gryffindor once asked Professor Opal who she was talking about when she said "Daniel". I laughed and corrected her. Well, that's it for now! See you next issue as we keep a look out for any other changes.