In the history of video games, few franchises have been around as long as the Super Mario series. Few have been as influential. For a series that not only saved the American video game industry from extinction, but codified its genre twice (Super Mario Bros. for side-scrolling and Super Mario 64 for 3D platformers), any new game in the series will have a lot to live up to. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (NSMBW), Nintendo’s latest entry in the series seems to succeed in just that… mostly.
First things first: NSMBW is a sequel of sorts to New Super Mario Bros. on the DS. The older game was praised when it was released as a return to the classic Mario side-scrolling that made the series famous. NSMBW contains much of the same feel, but adds quite a few new elements to the gameplay. For example, in addition to the venerable Fire Flower, which allows Mario to shoot fireballs to instantly defeat most of his enemies, Mario can now find and use the Ice Flower, which he can use to freeze enemies, the Penguin Suit, which allows better control on ice and in water, and the Propeller Suit, which enables the player to send Mario spinning upwards by shaking the Wii remote. NSMBW also adds some new stage elements, like large spinning platforms and view-obstructing clouds, that weren’t present in the DS game.
Another much-talked-about feature is the introduction of cooperative multiplayer. For the first time, multiple players can complete a stage at the same time. Player 2 takes control of Luigi, while Players 3 and 4 control blue and yellow Toads (little people wearing mushroom clothing). Although this can be fun for patient players, or for an experienced player to show another the ropes, the game is clearly designed as a single-player experience, and it shows.
Also, this game is hard. Even experienced players will likely have a tough time making it through a few of the stages, particularly the later ones. To help alleviate this, Nintendo included the controversial “Super Guide” feature. After failing to complete a stage eight times, a green block will appear at the beginning of the stage. Hitting the block will show a video of Luigi playing through the stage. If the video is watched to the end, the player will have the option to skip the stage. Although this has been controversial, it should be noted that the feature is completely optional, and that a level “skipped” can be visually distinguished from a level properly cleared.
So, is this game worth the $50 price tag? For the old Mario crowd, it is clearly a must-buy. For others, it depends. While the game is sheer platforming gold, a lot of it is recycled. Much of the music and almost all of the graphics are simply the cleaned-up DS New Super Mario Bros. music and graphics. The music that isn’t carried over from the DS is almost all remixes of older Mario tunes. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing–hearing the old airship music from Super Mario Bros. 3 is just plain awesome–it does result in a bit of déja vu. A few other things could have been improved as well–the game allows the player to carry an inventory of power-ups to use on the world map, but the only mini-game to get those items gets old really fast. Mixing it up with a couple different mini-games would have been a big improvement. Ultimately, though the game is good enough that it’s worth a try from anyone, it has enough flaws that for anyone besides a Nintendo fanboy, there is no reason to feel bad about missing it.

Welcome to week seven! Are you still fighting for your exams or papers? Throw your books away for a couple of minutes and enjoy another culture shock!
I hope you guys liked the Traditional Chinese Medicine articles I wrote the past two weeks. There is still lots stuff to talk about, but due to my knowledge limitation I have to stop there for now. Traditional Chinese Medicine is still a developing technology and it is borrowing knowledge from Western medicine. We do have some medicines that combine Chinese and western medicines together. They work efficiently on your body and don’t have many side effects to other organs.
Before starting this week’s topic, we need take a quiz first. Have you guys ever noticed that there are two words very similar to each other? China and china. Do you know how this came to be? In ancient China, China was famous for china and silk. They were exported by enormous amounts every year. Because of they are so popular and the way to make them is so unique, mid-eastern merchants named china from the country that made it. However, the Chinese meaning for my country is not just a kind of porcelain. In Chinese, it means the “the center of the world”. Maybe it sounds arrogant, but it does tell something about China 600 hundreds year ago.
During the 14th and 15th century, when North America was still a mysterious land, China was the most powerful country in the world. It was the economic center of East Asia and its products were shipped to the entire world. After a couple hundred golden years, the leaders of the Chinese empire were too self-confident to learn new technology from other countries. When western countries were having an industrial revolution, China was still making handmade silk and china.
The efficiency of machines made a huge challenge for Chinese traditional manufacturing. Compared to western advanced technology, our own technology seems to be falling behind and the production speed is much slower than machines. Many of the manufacturing business went bankrupt and lots of traditional manufacturing skills were lost. My grandma was a tailor, but she lost her job after companies imported machines. When she lost her job, her fantastic sewing skill was also lost and didn’t get a chance to be passed to others.
As China becomes more and more involved in worldwide business, the Chinese culture is changing slowly year by year. At the beginning of 21st century, China began to worry about losing her traditional culture. Nobody wanted to learn old-school stuff anymore. The Life style has changed and the culture is becoming more and more westernized.
Culture shock is everywhere and it is somehow changing the world. People from different cultural backgrounds respect each other and make their life better by taking benefits from other living styles. I think the diversity of culture is the key to making the world colorful. Do you agree with me?

I hope all of you had an awesome Winter Carnival last week and are ready to switch the gear back to studying. I know this week and the week following are exam weeks for most of you. Work hard and get a score that you deserve to have.
I apologize that I didn’t have time to continue my column last week. I was busy with my school stuff and tried to finish them before Winter Carnival. Are you ready for this week’s?
When I was in class last week, I felt a little bit sleepy and took out a small red container. “What’s in it?” my friend asked.
“Smell it.” I open the cap and handed to him. He smelled it and bent his brows.
“What is this? It smells weird,” he asked again.
“My mom sent it to me. It is a Chinese medicine. It can help you stay awake. You want to try it?” He gave it back to me with his head shaking. Are you curious about this? This is just an example about Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
China is a country with 5,000 years of history. Medical care is a big reason that China has survived in East Asia for thousands of years. Much of the philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine derives from the same philosophy that influences Taoist and Buddhist thought and reflects the classical Chinese belief that the life and activity of individual human beings have an intimate relationship with the environment on all levels. Based on this, Chinese academics of various schools have focus on the observable natural laws of the universe and their implication for the practical characterization of humanity’s place in the universe. Chinese doctors usually spend their whole life trying to discover new medicinal plants. They travel through the whole country and test unknown plants on themselves. Some of them even lose their lives because of poisonous plants. The most famous Chinese index book of herbs is Bencao Gangmu. It includes over 3,000 plants with their drawing and medicinal functions.
Even now, TCM is still popular in China. Approximately 500 Chinese herbs that are in use today, 250 of them are very commonly used. Rather than being prescribed individually, single herbs are combined into formulas that are designed to adapt to the specific needs of individual patients. An herbal formula can contain anywhere from three to 25 herbs. This is a complex theory. We even have TCM major in Chinese medical colleges.
Compared to western medicine, TCM is a long-term treatment. However, because it’s 100 percent natural, it has fewer side effects to the human body. Western medicine can heal your body very quickly, but those combined chemicals will stay in your body and harm your organs, especially the liver and kidneys. My grandma has had nephropathy since her 40’s and she has been taken prescription medicine for 20 years. Her kidneys are still in a good condition and haven’t had any more trouble.
The Chinese medical care system is a combination of science, philosophy, and culture. Herbal medicine is just a small part of it. To most Americans I think acupuncture is most familiar. Want to know more about it? I will follow up the TCM in the coming few weeks. I really want to introduce this great culture to you guys. Hope you like it and I will see you next week!

Dear Sassy,
It has only been a few weeks into the new year and I cannot seem to keep my resolution to exercise. I promised myself that I would work out at least three times a week and I have yet to go to the gym once. How can I motivate myself to make a new me?
Sincerely,
Renegade Resolutionist

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Quantum theory opens a whole new avenue of thought and a way to view the universe. We can play with ideas concerning our existence. On a subatomic level, matter does not exist absolutely but it shows tendencies to exist. Gloria Alvino said, “Physicists found that particles can simultaneously be both waves and particles. In effect, they are saying there is really no such thing as a thing. What they used to call things, are really events or paths that might become events. The universe is thus defined as a world of wave-like patterns of interconnectedness, a dynamic web of inseparable energy patterns, a dynamic, inseparable whole that always includes the observer.
We are not separate from the whole. We are the whole”. I interpret this as an idea that there is essential one form or energy from which we all materially manifest in a fashion that appears separate. Here is Michael Faraday and James Clerk Maxwell’s Electromagnetic Waves Field theory, which is “the concept of the universe filled with fields that create forces that interact with one another”. After reading the two previous quotes, one can begin to view that we could all be connected quite intimately. To enrich our understanding of how we would exist as energy, I suggest you think of the Holographic Theory theorized by Pribram and Bohm which states that, “Our brains mathematically construct ‘concrete’ reality by interpreting frequencies from another dimension, a realm of meaningful, patterned primary reality that transcends time and space. The brain is a hologram, interpreting a holographic universe”.
We are as unsure as ever of what we really are, where we came from, and why we are here. We have abandoned the absolute theories of Newton and began a new search for truth and reality. It is obvious however, that we have simply ignored valid information that has been evident to people throughout human history. Two interesting examples are the ancient practices of Yoga and Qigong. To me, these are obvious examples of how our bodies have energy and our lives are dependent upon the balance of that energy. Once we think of ourselves as a network of paths for energy to flow through, we can begin to feel ourselves radiate. It begins to make sense that we are all connected. When one person is angry, it can act as a trigger and make others angry. This could be viewed realistically or metaphorically as a fluctuation in the energy flow that disrupts others. Through this mentality a sense of respect and appreciation for others can be gained simply because the energy in one person’s body is the same energy as in other living things. Whether or not the concepts are completely grasped, this ideology can change life experiences for the better. One can then give and know they will receive because of the positive energy one puts out into the larger whole.
The application of this information is significant because it affects everyone’s life. As stated by Dr. Don Glassey, all of the body systems are composed of cells, which consist of molecules. The molecules are always in motion and this movement creates an electromagnetic energy field of various frequencies that emanates from within the body that can be seen with Kirlian photography. Glassey says that in order for the body to physically heal and regenerate itself, the cells must be “charged” with life energy. He goes on to explain in his article “The Nerve, Meridian and Chakra systems and the CSF connection” that healing arts, such as chiropractic and acupuncture, are not about an individual healing you but an individual opening up paths so your life energy can flow and self-healing may take place.
The current ‘Yoga’ that many are familiar with is the Americanized version of a 5,000 year old tradition of India. They used the word prana to describe energy as the universal source of all life. Those who did not have technology and lived spiritually lead lives made the realization of energy as a life-giver. So, through scientific experiments and spiritual realizations, humans have discovered that we are surrounded by energy and that we are energy. Ultimately, we are all the same energy.
Dr. Don Glassey is proposing that what we call cerebrospinal fluid is the physical manifestation of prana. Count Von Reichenbach showed that the right side of the body is a positive pole and the left side is the negative pole, which agrees with the Chinese principles of yin and yang used in Qigong. Rosalyn Bruyere saw that auric colors correlate with the same frequency wave patterns in her experiments. Indian chakras are assigned certain colors and are said to control certain aspects of the human body.
New types of medical treatment can be derived from the location of meridians, chakras and other maps of energy activity of the body. There are numerous studies done on the relationship between health and energy. Past research can broaden our horizons so that we may begin to grasp the concept of energy in our own lives today. This concept of life energy and a universe centered on energy is an old field of study renewed. The leaps that individuals have made and the experiments performed thus far are amazing and make your mind jump.
The goal, however, is to be a happy person. It is in my opinion that keeping the idea in mind that positive energy breeds more positive energy is a key fact to gaining success and happiness as well as influencing others. It is an interesting notion to offer for thought and perhaps it is something each of us has just forgot.

Back when we were all kids, we had a variety of television shows to choose from. Nickelodeon was first hitting its stride, providing cartoons and entertainment toall who grew up in the 1990’s. These were the good old days, long before Nickelodeon became the network of incessant Spongebob reruns. Shows like The Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life and Hey Arnold! graced the airways daily, entertaining the world’s youth.
Other shows included the ones on public television, most notably Barney, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow. Fox provided us with Power Rangers and Bobby’s World. All of the forementioned programs, however, pale in comparison to the most prolific children’s television show in history, Sesame Street.
This Tuesday was the 40th Anniversary of Sesame Street’s first episode. The show debuted on November 10, 1969, and has been a mainstay on television ever since, ushering the world’s youth during this time from childhood to adolescence (myself included).
For obvious reason, this anniversary went off with much fanfare. Google, for example, devoted an entire week to Sesame Street characters on their main website page. First Lady Michelle Obama, who was five years old upon the show’s original debut, was the guest on the debut episode for the show’s 40th season, helping Elmo show kids that by sowing seeds into the ground, one can grow vegetables.
Sesame Street was originally born out of an idea by Joan Ganz Cooley, who believed that it was possible to provide an educational show on television. At the time, this was a somewhat revolutionary concept, as television had not been used previously as a means for youth education.
Originally hired in 1968 by the Carnegie Institute to study the feasibility of using media to educate young children, she was given an $8 million dollar grant to start the Children’s Television Workshop. More investment came, most notably from the federal government, who viewed the program as an option for public television.
In the summer of 1968, Cooley met with puppeteer Jim Henson at Harvard University, which led to him becoming part of the project in 1969. Henson would arguably become the most visible person associated with the program, creating long lasting characters such as Big Bird, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and many others.
In the 40 years since, the show has become an extremely influential part of many American children’s childhood. It has provided a great service, introducing young children to reading, spelling, arithmetic, and science, while at the same time maintaining a sophisticated style of writing relevant to people of all ages. One hopes that this program will have many more successful years ahead of it and that Sesame Street will continue to educate.

It’s coming. The commercials are beginning to creep on television, the radio, and the Internet, calling like Sirens to consumers. Stores are plastering their windows with the signs of promised savings. Whispers and rumors of the hottest items circulate through offices and book clubs. Like the faint taste of blood attracting a swarm of sharks, shoppers are beginning to gather for the feeding frenzy that is Black Friday. It is a day that drains bank accounts, empties shelves, and even takes lives, like last year when several people were killed as a crowd stampeded into a store. The challenge Americans face is protecting their physical and financial well-being while still giving the numerous presents that Christmas obliges us to bestow on family and friends. The answer to the dilemma is a return to the homemade gifts that are becoming increasingly rare, like Tickle-Me-Elmos at Toys-R-Us the week before Christmas.
Although it may be hard to resist the shiny plastic and chrome of mass-manufactured goods and near impossible to turn away from the newest DVDs and video games, a homemade gift can say, and save, a lot.
As a young child, I recall making homemade gifts quite often. Besides having little spending money, I always considered my gifts (crudely constructed from colored paper and pipe cleaners) to be the apotheosis of a good Christmas present. My sculpture made from old paper clips was much better than a new sweater and my coupon for “one chore to be done without complaint” was far more valuable in my eyes (and in my parents’ I’m sure) than any jewelry. I turned up my nose at Hallmark Christmas cards and made my own; despite the reindeer having about twenty legs and Santa being a stick figure, I considered my homemade Christmas cards a masterpiece. The genuine pride and admiration that I had as a child for the gifts I gave illuminate the true meaning of a Christmas present. It is far better to give someone a small thing made of love, than a great thing bought out of desperation.
This year, far more Americans will be unwilling to open their wallets and exchange green for gifts. Does this mean a less meaningful Christmas? The answer is of course no, unless an individual is horribly materialistic. Some of the finest gifts I have ever received have been homemade such as a beautiful winter scarf, a warm blanket, and Christmas cookies. Not only did I appreciate the practical benefits of these gifts (warmth, comfort, and a full stomach), but I also deeply appreciated the time invested in them. Although a bit more refined that the gifts I made as a child, they mirror the same genuineness and thoughtfulness.
I encourage everyone to make a few homemade gifts this year whether they be knitted, baked, or glued. Find out a creative way to wish someone a happy holiday season. Not only will it make a meaningful lasting impression, but you avoid the risk of ending your days in the most undignified way imaginable: buried alive under an avalanche of Barbies, Transformers, and cookware at some God-forsaken department store.

Free pizza and pop in Fisher 135 tonight! It doesn’t matter what the content of the meeting is, there is free, highly-processed food available for consumption. Even the Honors Institute advertises to its members that free pizza and pop will be available at the meetings in high dosages. Talk about brain food. Let’s pump up the levels of high fructose corn syrup and bleached flour.
Processed foods are created to have long shelf life, advertising appeal and cost efficiency, but not nutritional value. Ingredients like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), bleached flour, and partially or fully hydrogenated oils have been considered as evil for a long time but they are still being consumed at alarming rates and viewed as food. Just one example, the refined fats and oils are stripped of essential fatty acids necessary for optimal mood and memory as well as other bodily functions. Of course I would settle to say these ingredients degrade your body and make you feel and look like crap, but the average person wants some sort of scientifically proved fact. These are the last things stressed students should be eating.
Besides the fact that HFCS obviously leads to a plethora of health problems including the promotion of obesity and diabetes, it has often been found to contain Mercury. Instead of considering not using HFCS at all or greatly lessening the use of fructose, it is sought out that only mercury free HFCS be used. Great, let’s complicate things further.
Not only does the food industry care more about money than it does the well being and quality of life of consumers, the same goes for school systems. We are in a vicious cycle of paying for cheaply made, unhealthy products and not considering paying even one dollar more for better produce and grains. So, when all these pizza eating, pop guzzling college students finally score the job they’ve been wanting and start making big bucks, what are they going to spend their money on? Well it most probably will not be high quality, pure food. In fact about three quarters of health care dollars are being spent on “preventable chronic disease”. And when this generation starts having kids they’re going to feed their children what they eat.
Many people discuss the need for a change in health care, but few even think about food reform in the United States. Prevention is key. If we prevent all the illnesses we can through our diet, we will feel a lot better physically, emotionally and mentally. Then we can spend health care dollars more effectively.
But the atmosphere of the college eating scene is grab-and-go. The foods that are sold in this genre of food are hardly acceptable to my standards, which are considered high. That being said, it is in my opinion that the food standards need to be raised and that can start in the college community. Instead of Health 101 and free pizza and pop we need real, useful health knowledge. There is no need to read a bunch of health articles but we do need the repetition of basic, common-sense ideas. Here is all you need to know: eat foods that are not highly processed (i.e. not from a box or cooked all to hell). Eat a balance of the natural food groups: greens, fruits, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, grains, etc. and drink a lot of water, for God’s sake. It’s as simple as that. It is important to get the idea out of your head that a good meal is a highly complex cooked meal or an expensive meal. Expensive meals can still be nutritionally worthless.
So, I have a question for staff, student organization leaders and everyone who ingests (I hope that includes everyone): when will we stop caring more about money and advertising and start caring more about health and well-being? When will we start to feed our bodies effectively so we can think effectively?
Will we ever see signs boasting free refreshments that actually provide body and mind empowering foods? Well, I guess water and celery isn’t as cool or awesome as pop and pizza.
A school system should promote health, not promote the bad eating habits adopted by so many Americans often called S.A.D. (Standard American Diet not Seasonal Affective Disorder) by many health-nuts. It IS sad that so many people, specifically a majority of college students, are eating so poorly and that “preventable chronic diseases” are becoming so common and at younger and younger ages.
Look, they’re even making a movie about it : www.imdb.com and hey, there is a wiki page: en.wikipedia.org. It is scary that the Wikipedia page for “Healthy Diet” states: ”A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve health. It is important for the prevention of many chronic diseases, such as: obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer”. So, the crappy American diet has defined what a good diet should be.
The solution is awareness, enlightening yourself and taking small steps away from what has been ingrained as your current eating habits. The solution is to not promote eating poorly whenever possible. Perhaps it shouldn’t be the norm to have pizza and pop unless we drastically change how they are produced. Perhaps we should learn to feed ourselves and others.
As always, I complain about health and food a lot, but that only because I care so much about your health.

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Last week, I wrote about the large amount of political power held by the tobacco industry and how they use it as a means to achieve their goals. This week’s message will have a similar theme, however, the topic will be about one of the greatest tools used by the tobacco industry to create and foster addiction to tobacco. The weapon of choice, of course, is menthol-flavored tobacco products, such as menthol cigarettes.
So what makes a menthol cigarette so bad? Is it the mere fact that there is a minty flavor attached to the act of smoking?
Well, that’s a part of the reason. However, the much larger concern is what the minty flavor allows the smoker to do while smoking the cigarette. Due to the flavoring, it allows the smoker to drag (or puff) a cigarette for a longer period of time, allowing more inhalation to reach the lungs. Because the smoker is taking in a larger amount of tobacco while dragging, it strengthens the addiction to tobacco.
Naturally, it would appear that this particular cigarette additive is the proverbial cash cow for the tobacco industry. However, upon the inauguration of President Barack Obama, it appeared that there, perhaps, would be a new bill to place regulations on the tobacco industry while effectively banning flavored tobacco products. On June 22, 2009, this became reality, as President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Control Act of 2009. On the surface, it looked to be a huge win in the fight against tobacco use. However, upon looking closer, the gain is much more modest. While the bill effectively banned all flavored tobacco products, it did exempt one particular flavored tobacco product. This product is menthol tobacco. Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, during a CNN appearance on June 12, 2009, expressed this concern about the then-pending bill before Congress.“One additive that has particularly been exempted is menthol, and that bothers me, because it serves as a gateway to kids,” said Wigand. “It also has been targeted primarily to African-Americans. And we also know menthol changes the metabolism of nicotine.
”So, in essence, we have learned that the bill meant to curb the use of flavored tobacco products by the tobacco industry to create tobacco users out of youths and minorities excludes the single-largest flavored tobacco product marketed by the tobacco industry. Needless to say, there is something wrong with this picture.
Of course, this is not to say that the bill signed into law won’t be effective. Any piece of legislation that allows the FDA greater access to the tobacco companies should be considered a good thing. However, without banning the use of menthol, it’s simply impossible to take this particular bill seriously as something that will make a large dent in the tobacco industry’s use of flavored tobacco products.
The fact of the matter is it will take a long time to turn the tide on menthol cigarettes. There is a strong lobby for keeping menthol legal, something, which in turn, creates political pressure for those in Congress to exempt menthol. Nonetheless, the fight will continue to be waged, and perhaps there will be success in the future in eliminating menthol products.

Last Wednesday, participants organized by Taxed Enough Already Concerned Citizens of the UP gathered at the Houghton County Court House for a demonstration coinciding with others around the country rallying against financial policies of the state and federal government. A number of picket signs conveyed disagreement with the recently-passed stimulus bill and policies of the Obama administration.

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