The Smoke Signal

By: Catherine Wang
On June 13, MSJ’s Drama classes presented a refreshing spin on William Shakespeare’s play “The Taming of the Shrew” in the Little Theatre. A reversal of the original play’s gender roles, “The Taming of the Curmudgeon” featured witty wordplay, slapstick humor, and rollicking good spirits.
Drama teacher Tanya Roundy adapted Shakespeare’s play and reinterpreted the conventional gender roles for “The Taming of the Curmudgeon”. “It’s always fun to take Shakespeare and switch things up because he wrote about strong women, and to modernize the strong women and reverse the situation makes it applicable now,” said Roundy.
The…

By: Irisa Lee
If Tony Stark were here, he would probably tell you that this may be the best Iron Man movie yet.  For starters, Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is in it and he oozes a witty, cocky charisma that gives this movie the fun that so many other superhero films lack. Stark’s charm and a surprisingly cohesive storyline make for a fantastic end to the Iron Man movie trilogy.
Although it is the third movie of a trilogy, the story instead starts off after The Avengers rather than after Iron Man 2. Stark is back at home but…

By: Anna Zeng
On Saturday, May 25, MSJ’s Phoenix Art and Literary Magazine held its annual Spring Poetry Slam in the Little Theater. Along with the poetry reading, the three-hour event incorporated vocal and dance performances.
The annual event has been held, for the past six years, at Mission Coffee to promote the upcoming release of the Phoenix magazine. Due to an audio equipment malfunction at this year’s Winter Poetry Slam, Mission Coffee has requested that Phoenix supply its own audio equipment for the next Poetry Slam. Coordinating with Drama Teacher Tanya Roundy, the club opted to host its Spring…

By: Tammy Tseng
Sheryl Sandberg is most widely known for her role as Facebook’s highly successful Chief Operation Officer, but within the past month, she’s been generating buzz for another reason: her new book, Lean In, addresses gender inequality in leadership positions and how both men and women can take steps in the home and the workplace towards equality.  In Lean In, Sandberg notes that although more women than men are now graduating from college, women hold only 14% of the top corporate positions in America.  She also discusses the causes of this disparity, examines the stereotypes and challenges women…

By: Grace Wu
On February 1, Phoenix Art and Literary Magazine held their Winter Poetry Slam at Mission Coffee from 6-9 PM. Students from MSJ, parents, and people from around the Bay Area came together for a night of poetry, singing, and instrumental performance.
Senior Valerie Tsai, Phoenix Editor-in-Chief, kicked off the event with a poetry reading. MSJ’s Syncopasians took the stage next and performed a mashup of “Ordinary People” and “Save Room” by John Legend. Then Seniors Eamon Jahani and Marianna Sartori sang a duet. Two more vocal performances followed, with 8th grader Ashlesha Sathe singing a rendition of…

“FUSD: Excellence” is a CD comprised of FUSD’s vocal and instrumental artists. The profits made will be used to raise money for the school district.
CDs can be ordered here for $10:
http://tinyurl.com/OrderCDHere
CDs will be distributed by the event host from your school. For more information, contact Senior Calvin Leung.
 
Below is a sample of Senior Lucy Shen’s song, “Procrastinator,” featured in the FUSD: Excellence CD.…

Check out the editors’ favorite holiday music!…

By: Hairol Ma
 
With the frosty cold air wriggling its way into the coziest of cozy sweaters, fall is surely on its way. What better way to wage battle against numb fingers and slippery sleet than a cup of good ‘ol hot chocolate? With its new steamy lattes and mochas, Starbuck takes the traditional “hot chocolate” to a whole new level.
 
Starbucks is famous for its revered seasonal drinks: the iced summer refreshers, tingly Christmas blends, and currently, the fall indulgences. The unique aspect about their seasonal drinks is the specific syrups they employ, which can only be…

By: Anita Alem
 
We’ve all heard, learned, and memorized the story: Abraham Lincoln unified a broken nation with the passage of the Emancipation Proclamation. Yet, our history books cannot have the same impact that Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln does. In two and a half hours, the viewer gains an appreciation of our sixteenth president, and the insurmountable odds he overcame to pass an historic piece of legislation.
Lincoln begins at the end. It is the last year of the Civil War, and Lincoln is at his wit’s end. The Thirteenth Amendment has passed through the House of Representatives, and now the Senate must…

Listen to the editor’s choices of their favorite guilty pleasure songs.…