It’s nice to see you guys again! How was your Halloween weekend? Hope you guys didn’t do too many crazy or silly things. However, I did hear some funny stories about my friends. It’s understandable. Halloween is one of the biggest party nights during the whole school year. You guys deserve to have a good break from a stressful college life.
This week, I’m going to talk about some difference in food between America and China.
First of all, we don’t eat raw vegetables. During the first week of my new life here, I couldn’t swallow salads at all. Unfortunately, that’s the only way to import vitamins into my body. Even now, I eat salads only because they are nutritious instead of tasting good.
Secondly, I don’t have too many chances to have fresh water products such as fish and shrimp. My hometown is located close to the downstream of Chang Jiang River, which is the third longest river in the world. This river feeds millions and millions of Chinese people who live along it. The water is used to irrigate farms. Also, it provides hundreds of water species for us to eat. Compared to here, Michigan is famous for her Lake Superior, which is the biggest lake among five great lakes. However, I haven’t seen any fishing boats on the lake yet. Is this a fish-free lake then? Chef Eric from MUB dining service told me that they do have a fresh fish market up the hill over Hancock when I complained about this to him. I think I should take a look sometime. Oh, by the way, cheese is another incredible food for me. I can’t imagine that there are thousands of kinds of cheese. One of my friends even says that he cannot survive without cheese! Hope it doesn’t make you fat pal!
A year of dorm life made me begin getting used to American food. But now I live off campus, which gives me a chance to cook some hometown dishes. In China, our main food is white rice. Cooked vegetables are also a big part of daily food. We separate meat into two kinds: red and white. Red meat is like pork, beef and lamb, while white meat is like fish and shrimp.
I believed everyone knows there are two Chinese restaurants in Houghton. One is Ming and the other is Hunan. One is named after a powerful dynasty in Chinese history and the other is the name of a province. What do you think of the Chinese food there? I can say that food is 90% close to real Chinese food. One of my housemates is working in the Ming restaurant right now. He says they have a pretty good business here. It seems Americans like Chinese food. I wish I could have learned some cooking skills before I came here. Otherwise you could come to my house and have a Chinese dinner with us. I can teach you how to use chopsticks too.

When Tiffin’s David Singleton hauled in a four-yard touchdown run not even five minutes into Saturday’s contest between the Dragons and the visiting Huskies, and the Huskies threw an interception on the following drive, Michigan Tech fans must have been thinking, “here we go again.” Michigan Tech had given up the first points in a game five times this year, losing all but one of them . Fortunately for the Huskies, Tiffin was a far weaker team than recent opponents, and Tech’s comeback was successful in a 21-14 victory in the last road match of the year.

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Many people celebrate Halloween with candy and costumes, parties and horror film marathons. This can be seen in cities all over the US, but where did Halloween really come from?
It is believed that Halloween began with a harvest celebration known as Samhain. This celebration went with their new year established on Nov. 1. This transition from summer to winter was thought to be the time when the lines between the world of the dead and the world of the living were blurred together. It was believed that on this night, spirits who had passed in the previous year were able to communicate with the living. On Oct. 31, there were large bonfires built to make sacrifices to the spirits. During this celebration, the Celts wore costumes made of animal heads and skins and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Those who were uneasy with the roving spirits dressed as demons and witches to frighten them away.
This ritual was then transitioned when the Romans had conquered much of the Celtic territories.  Roman celebrations of harvest then became intertwined with the Celtic celebration of Samhain. The first was Feralia, which is when the Romans celebrated those who had passed. The next was a festival of Pomona, the goddess of fruits and trees. This has been accepted as one of the orgins of bobbing for apples.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the influence of Christianity, Pope Gregory IV designated the first of November, All Saints Day. This day was also referenced as All-hallows, which made Oct. 31 All-hallows eve. Trick-or-treating however doesn’t have a direct influence. Historian James Appleyard writes, “Some people would hold parties where ghost stories were told. Following earlier traditions, some would go house to house looking for food.”
In the 1800’s Halloween lost much if its religious overtones and became a community-oriented celebration. This progressed into Halloween, as we know it today. This now commercialized industry is worth nearly $7 billion dollars annually according to The History Channel.

For college students, getting
a genuine scare on Halloween can be tricky. The most frightening experience may be the intoxicated
students walking like the living dead on College Avenue or perhaps the pungent odor of a failed culinary experiment hovering like a ghost in your kitchenette. Besides the normal
side effects of a collegial Halloween celebration,
much of the genuinely frightening fun of Halloween is lost on college
students. In my search for a good scare, I headed to Cedar Point, the amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, to see what their Halloweekends celebrations were all about.
The normally cheery, exciting
aura surrounding Cedar Point changes somewhat during Halloweekends (held this year on the weekends between Sept. 18 and Nov. 1).
Pumpkins, gargoyles, and headstones are scattered throughout the park surrounded by fog and illuminated by an elaborate lighting set up. Prowling throughout the “Scare Zones” in the park are the “Screamsters”. Their unsettlingly convincing costumes range from witches, ghouls, half-pig people, werewolves,
and other terrifying concoctions. Their frightening appearance is surpassed only by their talent of popping up out of nowhere and extracting screams from the park’s guests. The heavy fog disorients visitors while the lighting is used to completely blind them, making visitors easy targets for the “Screamsters”.
I recall one horrifying moment as a large red light impaired my vision and a grotesque, reptilian
creature leapt from the fog and screeched in my face. I believe I broke the world record for vertical
leap.
One particularly
well-done attraction was the haunted house called Happy Jack’s Toy Factory.
Before entering, I was greeted by a giant, demonic jack-in-the-box that sprung out of his colorful
cell and grinned at the park in a sinister
manner. As I entered the haunted house, it was clear that this was a toy factory had gone horribly wrong. Headless dolls and bloody stuffed animals wandered the interior. It was difficult to tell what was a manikin and what was a human until they burst to life, cackling and starting at me. One of the most frightening “Screamsters” in Happy Jack’s Toy Factory was a marionette that shrieked and struggled to escape from her puppet-wire bonds. Another horrifying moment occurred when a girl pointed at her headless
Barbie and screamed bloody murder. The elaborate make-up and costumes were extremely convincing. When combined
with fog and strobe lights, the “Screamsters” made Happy Jack’s Toy Factory a truly genuine
scare.
The attention to detail at Halloweekends
is startling. Everything from the layout of attractions, to the music, to the décor is planned and executed to spooky perfection. And at only $30 for admission, the coasters and “Scare Zones” were more than worth the ticket.
So next year, if you’re feeling adventurous and have a desire to be deliciously scared, take a trip to Cedar Point during Halloweekends and you just might get the thrill you’re looking for.

The Cross Country teams are preparing for their fundraiser, the Muck Run, this Halloween at 10 a.m. on the Tech Trails.

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Many first-year students may not even know what downtown Houghton used to look like. Many long-time residents may not even recall how to navigate the “old” Houghton, given the past six months of extensive detours. All that will change starting today. The comprehensive project has involved the installation of a new water line, storm and sanitary sewers, a brick street, new sidewalks and street lights. Drivers are encouraged to be mindful of the changes when navigating the new-look downtown.

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What’s up folks? Are you ready for Halloween? What will you be? I’m pretty excited about this weekend because of Halloween parties, which means lots and lots of fun.
I have to say this article is the hardest one for me so far to write. To finish this article, I Googled Halloween history and even made an international phone call to my grandma to ask about China’s traditional Demon Day. Before starting my story, I have to point out that in China we have our own calendar which was made from the period of moon. For example, today is Oct. 27, but only Sept. 9 in the Chinese calendar. July is the demon’s month in China, especially the15th (the 15th of every month is the full-moon night). My grandma told me that on that day, the door of the Hell is opened at midnight. All the dead people and demons are released to this world to enjoy their one day holiday. They search around looking for their families and hometowns. Living people prepare food for them in case they get hungry. People make good wishes for their dead family members and hope they can have a peaceful life in the under world. However, this month is still a black month to most Chinese people. No weddings or celebrations will be held during this month. On the night of July 15, we set off firecrackers all night long to keep monsters away. It sounds pretty crazy eh?
But Halloween here is a totally different phenomenon. Trick-or-treating is the most famous element
of Halloween in America. It looks like a holiday for kids. There’s only happiness instead of scariness. On Halloween, people dress in their costumes as monsters
and characters in movies.
Last Halloween, my friends gave me a Mohawk haircut to celebrate it. We watched Nightmare
Before Christmas also. That is one of the best movies I have watched. “This is Halloween, everybody
make a scene/ trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright/ it’s our town, everybody scream/ in this town of Halloween.”
Is this song familiar to you?
When I was typing this article, I got some very sad news from the Program Coordinator of a hall on campus. They said that Safe House had been canceled this weekend because of swine flu. I can understand that thepublic’s
health is more important than Halloween fun. Two of my friends caught very bad flu last week. They had to stay in dorm rooms all day and wrote, “busy dying, stay away” on their whiteboard.
Maybe I should start making
a swine flu bacteria costume to scare off those bacteria in people’s
body. Don’t you think it’s a good idea?
Finally, I hope you all have a good Halloween weekend and keep the flu away from you.

Michigan Tech volleyball fell in four sets to visiting Saginaw Valley State University, 3-1, Saturday afternoon.

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It’s good to see you guys again! I had a very big struggle when I tried to think a good idea for my new article. The last couple weeks, I was so busy at my exams and team projects that I didn’t have time to think about my new topic. Hope you guys are all doing well. Also, I really want to save the Halloween one till next week—now you know what the next article about. Thank goodness, my ipod gave me an idea this morning: Music.
My first view of American music started from my residence hall last year. By coincidence, I was put in to Visual Performing Arts Learning Community. However, I don’t play any music. After the first couple weeks I found out almost everyone in my hall was a musician. My roommate Jacob had played piano for eight years and guitar for five years. Brock and Andy, my hall mates, played electric instruments. Alex and Spencer played guitar, Aaron played keyboard and Uzi played the cello… all in all, there could have been a couple bands in my hall. They taught me how to play guitar and piano and even wrote songs about me. We have lots of good memories to look back on.
I’m always jealous about Americans’ fantastic high school lives. My memory of high school is studying, studying, and studying. In China, we have more than seven times the population of America, but we have less than half the number of colleges. It means not everyone can get into college. For those top 10 colleges, only 1 percent of high school senior students can apply. Also, because of the score based on the grading system, we have to study a lot and try to get a higher score in exams than anyone else. I spent so much time on studying that I didn’t have time to learn other skills such as instrumental and computer skills.
After I started my new life here I think I got more chances to touch music, which I didn’t do too much back in China. I still remember that night when my friends and I went to my first concert in Calumet. Josh was so mad at me because he had to wake me up every 10 minutes. “Miles, you can’t just sleep in a concert in the front row!” he yelled at me when the concert was over. I feel so embarrassed that music always makes me sleepy (maybe because I couldn’t understand it or I’m not interest in it). Soon after that, I got another opportunity to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert last Christmas. This time, the band had a much bigger moveable stage and way more awesome laser lights and fireworks. That might be the biggest reason that I stayed awake from the beginning of the show to the end. It was too loud to fall asleep!
I went to a couple concerts at my hometown before. But they were just personal concerts instead of rock bands. When I told my friends I like pop, they thought I was an idiot. After that Christmas, I started collecting music from my friends. I begin to get used to American style songs after I tried almost all kinds of music. I do have some songs and bands that are my favorite. For example, AFI’s songs can help me stay awake and feel full of energy. If you walk by the Wads dish room, you can hear it from the front window. It’s also a dish room song.
I’m planning to learn guitar this year. Anyone interested to teach me?

Relentlessly advertised on the Sci-Fi channel, “Trick-or-Treat” promised its viewers Halloween thrills and perturbed moments saturated with gore. “Fangoria”, a magazine dedicated to the production and promotion of intense horror movies, even mentioned “Trick-or-Treat”. Being a movie buff, I was enticed by the ads.
I always begin to judge a movie by the way the introduction is composed. For instance, I can never seem to forget the intro of the1999 version of “House on Haunted Hill” with close-ups of bizarre hospital instruments and trails of blood. After the opening credits, the black and white viewing of the hospital massacre with its film scratches and bona fide ambiance, the movie had fully consumed me. Just like a good book or intriguing news story, the introduction is what draws in the reader or viewer, proving to them why they should continue on. In this case, “Trick-or-Treat” opens with meticulously-designed credits that kind of make the viewers question the contents of the storyline. It then proceeds to a typical teen-slasher death scene to begin the hellish Halloween night.
This film thoroughly confused me in some parts. There are several different stories going on at once and the film jumps around from each, back and forth. Usually, I am okay with this type of storyline. After awhile, I start to see how the stories interweave. But not in “Trick-or-Treat.” By the end of the movie, I still have unanswered questions. Some stories do not align. People kill people for reasons I do not know. Why kill someone when there is a pumpkin-headed demon running around doing it for you? Some people were kept alive, again, for reasons that apparently were not important enough to make clear to the audience.
Coming from a family of artists, special effects can greatly enhance or discredit a movie. “Trick-or-Treat” did not display horrible effects, but under the mask of the pumpkin-headed creature, I was expecting something a little more imaginative, gruesome and warped. The contents revealed from under the gunny sack were sub-par. Without giving away the rest of the film’s fascinating surprises, it is safe to say they could have done better.
Despite the twisted storylines ending in sprawled out tributaries and the less-than-impressive special effects, I give kudos to the five-minute vomit scene. I do not think my toes ever bowed so much from repulsion. I can tell you I will never again take candy from a stranger. It is little bits of the movie like this that make it worth checking out, just to kind of see what “Trick-or-Treat” is all about.