Hamilton for HamilTEENS!
July 12th, 2020
Hamilton came out in 2015, however I learned of it in 2019 from once of my close friends.
Hamilton was created by Lin Manuel Miranda. I started listening to the songs sometime in March 2019. After listening to the songs, obsessing over them, and playing them “Nonstop” in the car, I decided that I needed to “Take a Break” from them. Fast forward to 2020, I started listening to the Hamilton soundtrack again. Little did I know, Hamilton would be coming to Disney Plus on July 2, 2020! Once my friend and I learned about this, I started playing the Hamilton songs all the time! My younger brother, who HATED Hamilton when I first started to listen to it, started to enjoy Hamilton in 2020! He would sing the songs in the shower, and we would sing together in the car and anytime we wanted to do some karaoke. I learned that Lin spent 6-7 YEARS writing Hamilton!
The musical consists of 46 songs, 47 including Lauren’s Interlude. Some of my favorites are “Wait for It”, “Schuyler Sisters”, “We Know”, “One Last Time”, and basically all the songs. If a song is boring to me, it’s because I’ve heard to it too many times because I LOVED IT. There are also Hamilton cut songs that you can listen to on YouTube as well, some being “Congratulations” and “Let it Go”. These cut songs are also very enjoyable to listen too.
There are many different genres of music in Hamilton, like Rap, R&B, and Hip-hop. So for those of you who are into musicals, history, or just enjoy music, Hamilton is a great musical for you!
If you want to watch Hamilton now on Disney Plus, use this link! https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/hamilton/3uPmBHWlO6HJ
If you want to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack on YouTube, use this link! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLV78EPlNCZ5B1vHkRicCAdpbDqZ1DpLgM
If you want to listen to the Hamilton cut songs, use these links!
https://youtu.be/EZkANYGycNU
https://youtu.be/BjWKjUrf6dU
by Anandi Durgam
The Cubing Experience
July 12th, 2020
Cubing is a worldwide activity that many people believe to be extremely difficult, but actually isn’t. The cubing community is very welcoming and there are many people that are joining each day. Here’s why.
I started “The Cubing Experience” in 2019 knowing absolutely nothing. I had a Rubik’s Cube that I had never solved before. I decided to watch a YouTube video on how to solve it step by step. I had a lot of difficulty even though the instructions were right in front of me. Eventually I was able to solve it a few times. I was so excited! Since then I have been solving the cube and trying to improve. My best is 18.47 seconds. But enough about me let’s talk about everything else!
Cubing is shown to improve memory and problem solving abilities. It can also teach perseverance and patience (which I definitely don’t have). Learning how to solve it may take some time. It took me one or two weeks. But I was able to teach some of my friends and they were able to learn in under a week. Improving is the hardest part, but if you are addicted to cubing, like I was, you will improve fast. Some of the best cubers in the world are Felix Zemdegs, Max Park, and Mats Valk. Search them up!
The reason cubing hasn’t got old and boring is because there are so many different types of cubes. There are triangles, rectangles, and even circles! Also there are different sizes like 2x2, 4x4, 5x5, and even 16x16! There are also new cubes coming out for many different companies (mainly from China). There are so many new innovations such as magnets and springs. Some of the best companies for cubing are GAN and YuXin. You can be a collector or a speedcuber.
Some Fun Facts!
- The world record for cubing is 3.47 seconds (wow!) by Yusheng Du
- Cubes can get up to $60 and sometimes even more expensive
- There are even Bluetooth cubes that can be up to 100 dollars
- I own the GAN XS (which is 60 dollars)
Overall cubing is a very fun hobby or just an activity that can get you a long way. There is a great community surrounding it and I think it would be a great experience.
Useful Links
This is a great website for learning: J Perm
Where I get all of my cubes: SpeedCubeShop
How I learned how to solve a cube: How To Solve A Rubik's Cube
by Akhil Durgam
