Book Review by Zaine Ahmed (Grade 10) Surprisingly enough, I spent my hard earned winter break reading a nonfiction book for the first time in many years, frying my brain during a time when I was supposed to be resting. However, I am thankful that I finished it because it helped me understand how much is going on within this world that I was blind to before. Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis explores how the world is shifting from one fundamental dr

Opinion by Donggeon Kim (Grade 11) Hollywood often likes to play it safe. As of the past few years, reboots and sequels have dominated the box office, notably with films such as Inside Out 2 , Jurassic World Rebirth , and Zootopia 2 . As this trend continues, it feels as though the movie-making industry is more interested in playing it safe than being creative and original. From repetitive sequels like Avatar: Fire and Ash,  to live-action remakes of classic movies like the r

Opinion by Jay Cheung (Grade 11) Over the past decade, Disney has released live-action remake after live-action remake to underwhelming, and sometimes hostile, reception. This is best seen in Mulan , The Little Mermaid , Pinocchio , and Snow White . Even the remakes that performed well at the box office— The Lion King , Aladdin , and Beauty and the Beast —haven’t been without their controversies. All across the internet, fans have been echoing the same sentiment: What exactly

by Morris Tu (Grade 11) Full Metal Jacket (1987) is not an easy movie to watch, but that is what makes it powerful. It does not attempt to excite war or portray it as heroic. Instead, it shows how people are pushed, shaped, and sometimes broken by the system around them. The movie is split into two parts, and even though they feel different, they work together to show how soldiers are made and what happens to them after. The first half of boot camp is the most memorable part

Art by Bernice Fong (Grade 9)

by Morris Tu (Grade 11) Terminator 2 is one of those movies where you immediately understand why people hype it up so much. It is loud, intense, and honestly just cool the entire time. What is crazy is that it came out in 1991, yet it still feels more real than a lot of action movies today. Nothing feels fake or weightless. When something explodes, you believe it actually exploded. There is a physical feeling to the action that makes everything hit harder. Arnold as the Term

Film review by Zaine Ahmed (Grade 10) The Breakfast Club (1985) is an incredible social commentary about the hidden issues we all face, tackling themes of social inequality, anti-stereotypes, and the secret double lives we all live. Set in a mid-1980s Saturday school detention, the five main characters—who all lead drastically differing lives—are shoved together to bond after getting into miscellaneous trouble with the school.  The story leads them to slowly bond, culminating

Opinion by Matt Bailey “I should burn in hell/ But I don't deserve this Nobody deserves this” The hype is strong, but it’s also real. The omnipotent, omnipresent, stinking algorithm got a whiff of my interest and is spewing praise all over my FYP as the end-of-year lists come out. In this rare case, I can’t be mad about it. Getting Killed by Geese  hits all my marks, tickles all my fancies, and the full "rotation" (stream) of this late September release weighs heavy as Ogenes

By Jay Cheung (Grade 11) On Friday, the 29th of Thanksgiving, I went to watch Zootopia 2 in theaters with some of my friends. It cost quite a hefty sum, as I decided to watch it in 4DX, which just so happened to be 3D as well, so you could say I enjoyed the full experience. Needless to say, it was quite an amazing experience, with the 4DX making it extremely lifelike and more like a rollercoaster than a movie, though that didn’t detract from the viewing experience. That said

Review by Jason Lin (Grade 11) As an Ariana fan, watching the first Wicked movie was truly a magical experience. Hearing Ariana’s voice in such an iconic musical felt incredible, and the movie ending on a cliffhanger left me wanting so much more. Naturally, I was really excited for Wicked: Part Two . But honestly, it was a little disappointing. (Spoiler alert!) The whole situation with stealing someone else’s boyfriend was genuinely shocking, and some of the story choices fel

Opinion by Melanie Tan (Grade 11) On November 14th, for the first time in forever, our school had a full high school play – 13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview . It was chaotic, hilarious, and, for some, the most unexpected thing our school has done this year (besides the yonder pouch and elevator policy). The play is about two desperate college interviewers who need to find their last student to accept that day, or else they will be fired. But every single student tha

Opinion by Geneva Rice Change (Grade 11) For the past two months, I’ve been working alongside 20 cast members and 6 crew members, as well as our lovely director, Ms Amber Lanning, to put together the production of 13 Ways to Screw Up Your College Interview, Kaohsiung American School’s first-ever high school play. It’s been a crazy journey, from working to squeeze in rehearsals for students busy with sports, clubs, and scheduling conflicts, to trying to feed 26 hungry high-sc

Art by Chloe Lee, Grade 11

by Geneva Rice Chang, Grade 11 I bought tickets to the 8th grade’s performance of Who Shot the Sheriff? ––by Jennifer Reif––tonight without too much expectations. I’d agreed to go with a friend, but all I really knew was that I would be getting a Cowboy dinner and that the show was a murder mystery dinner, so it would be interactive in some form.  The first thing I noticed when I arrived at the venue, though, was that the set and costumes were vibrant and eye-catching, design

by Jason Lin, Grade 11 October 18th wasn’t just an extraordinary day for the people in Kaohsiung—it was a special day for the Blinks. As one of the world’s top K-pop groups arrived, more than 50,000 fans gathered at the World Sports Stadium to see the famous BLACKPINK. After being fashionably late by thirty minutes on day one, they improved and were only seven minutes late on day two. As their newly released song “Jump” turned up, the volume and the lights dimmed, thousands o

by Troy Gibson, Grade 12

By Chloe Lee

By Yangsyuan (Clarice) Fu. '27 The sound from the attic woke me in the middle of the night again. Although for my age now it takes some...

By Nina Shih '27 List of characters Elara Quinn, a woman in her 30s. Professor in linguistics.  Alden Quinn, Elara’s younger brother....

How did we get from warding off ghosts to becoming the ones people are afraid of? Lynae Munkholm ('27) & Gabriella Chiang ('27) To start...