Clear and Present Damon: Doctor Who: a Celebration:Part 1 ; the 1960's

Who would have thought that a low budget show about a 900 year old alien would last so long and touch the lives of so many Sci-fi fans across the globe.

For 47 years now, "Doctor Who" is the longest running Sci-fi show in history. Portayed by eleven actors, all British, The Doctor is a 900 year old alien from the planet Galifrey. The Doctor ran away from his planet, in his time travelling TARDIS, which stands for time and relative dimensions in space. First landing in England of the 1960's, the TARDIS disguised itself as a police box and it has remained one ever since. The Doctor is likely to take with him companions that he shares his adventures through time and space. Because of it's long history, this fast history lesson on the show will be split into volumes according to decades. This examines the first decade. The black-and-white filmed years in the 1960's.

The Classic series lasted from 1963 to 1989 and the lead role was played by seven actors. William Hartnell played an elder grandfatherly Doctor for the first four years of the shows history. In fact in the storyline, the Doctor was a grandfather. His granddaughter Susan tried to blend in as a regular teenager. Unfortunatley this failed and curious teachers Ian Chesterton and Barbara Wright stumbled upon the TARDIS while following Susan home from school. The Doctor was portrayed with a grumpy attitude in the first season and at first did not like having the two teachers travelling with him, but he eventually grew to be very fond of them. In the first black an white adventures the Doctor encountered many popular monsters and villains, including his greatest enemies, The Daleks from the palnet Skaro. It was fighting the Daleks when at the end of the serial "The Dalek invasion of earth" that the Doctor parted ways with Susan. Several episodes later Ian and Barbara also left, leaving Hartnell as the only cast member from the original first season.

After travelling with various companions, it was in 1966 because of ill health Hartnell decided to leave the show. The writers found an original idea. That the lead character, being a time lord, could regenerate into a new body if mortally wounded. In the debut story of the Cybermen called "The Tenth Planet", the regeneration was put to the test as the First Doctor regenerated into the Second Doctor played by Patrick Troughton.

Troughtons Doctor was more of a "Cosmic Hobo" called that because of his tattered costume. Troughton played the Doctor for three years until he too left the show in 1969. His regeneration involved him meeting with his own people the Time Lords as they exiled him to Earth and forbade him from travelling at the end of the ten part serial "The War Games". The Troughton era would be the last era of the sjow to shot in black-and-white film. "Doctor Who" would switch to color film as it's most populer decade approached.

Fanatical Faith: Behind the scenes[=

Usually I like to keep my stories a secret until they're fully processed. In fact, it's usually hard for me to explain what my story is about until it's finished. However, this time, I feel like my story is coming together quickly so I'm going to share my process with you.


I'm writing 2 stories for the Stagg Line's next issue. First, I'm going to write for our front page. I'll be doing a mini story on the student reaction to the Radical Reality assembly along with how some freshman coped with going to the heart wrenching assembly AND Point Break.


The 2nd story I will be doing is an opinion story on the argument for gender seperation at two of our local elementary schools. So let me tell you how each of these is going:


For my news story, I started by talking to lots of freshman, and I still have quite a few to go. So far, I've been hearing that it was sad, and that a few people actually left with a lot to think about. I was glad to hear that it was inspirational.


I know it was for me, at least. I walked out of the gym almost in tears and wanting to turn my life around, even though I really had nothing to change. I'd never let myself get involved in the world of drugs and alcohol. Yes, the speakers were really that powerful.


Anyway. I plan on going to talk to some sports fans and getting their reactions. So, if you're into sports (especially you Dallas Braden fans) , you should let me know. I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say.


Let's not forget about my other story, though. Ugggh! Gender seperation in schools... Can the district get any more ridiculous? How do they expect students to be okay with this? Scratch that... How can they expect parents to be okay with this?


The district wants to make Nightingale elementary an all-boy's school and make Monroe elementary an all-girls school. This is to improve test scores. Do you think it would improve anything at all?


I think that they should definitely do something about the low test scores, but i don't think seperating males and females would help at all. In fact, it would probably be more of a distraction because it'd be so wierd.


Well, I don't want to give away my stories, so I'm going to shut up before I do. Don't forget to read the next issue of the Stagg Line Newspaper! It'll be out on March 04 2011. Read all about it[=

That Religious Guy: All the world in your webcam!

..... Whoever said that one couldn't see the world while staying at home was definitely living under a rock.
..... But of course, if he was living under a rock, he probably couldn't see the world, so we'll forgive him this time. That's the beauty of aboveground housing: Internet capabilities. As in many posts, I tend to digress and meander, making my way by some sheer luck to the whole point of why I'm writing... Skype!
..... Skype is not only a great way to distract friends from home work on a Saturday afternoon but is also a tool to get to know people from other countries. I've met a few individuals online on forums and Facebook groups myself. It's one thing to talk to someone online via IMs or e-mail but it's another thing to actually speak face-to-face. Of course, I don't recommend simply going online and meeting total strangers. Get smart before you Skype with someone!
..... There's basically two different ways to use Skype: the call function and the video call option. The former is basically a hands-free telephone; you'll be talking to the other person using you're webcam's mike. This is probably the safest and less expensive way to get to know people from other countries. No more racking up the phone bill with calls to France... In order to utilize the video call function, one needs a webcam however. This feature allows you to actually see the person you're conversing with and so it's like you're speaking to them in person. I do want to stress once again that people should be familiar with Internet etiquette and such before meeting random people online!
..... From speaking with "foreigners" (a word which I place in quotation marks since it's sounds negative) on Skype, I've learned a lot about how others perceive America and our values. Practically everybody I've met from the UK to Canada loves Barack Obama... One also gets to hear different accents and forms of slang (i.e. in Canada, people say "settle your kettle" to say "calm down"), which is something we language nerds love! All in all, Skype allows people to become well-rounded in terms of knowledge about the world. You also get to appreciate fun facts you pick up along the way like how the British refer to AP Calculus as Further Pure 1-2. Sounds so futuristic right?
..... Any technology like Facebook and Skype, however, has it's cost: safety. Be sure to get to know the person you want to talk to on Skype before actually calling them. Anyways, one can always have fun simply speaking to friends from school so people, Skype on!

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Fanatical Faith: "The Dei Rossis"

Yes, that's what our wonderful Stagg teachers, Erica and Kyle Dei Rossi, are often called- "The Dei Rossi's." And personally, I think they are grouped together this way because they are so connected. If I didn't know any better, I'd think they were the same person.

For the most recent issue of the Stagg Line (Distributed January 28th) I decided to take on the story of the Dei Rossi's for our features page. I went into the interview thinking it would be a simple love story about how these two teachers came to be together. Once they started talking, I immediately knew it was going to be much more. I quickly noticed how perfect this couple was together, and it made me further realize the importance of compromise and understanding. Not only in a romantic relationship, but in a friendship as well. In order for people to get along, there has to be that sense of "give and take."

The Dei Rossi's are a perfect example of this: Erica doesn't mind doing laundry if Kyle prepares their lunches. And even though she's not the biggest sports fan, Erica agrees to grade students work while Kyle cheers for his teams.

Though these may seem like small things, they're extremely important in any kind of a relationship. These kinds of agreements, combined with a great deal of unsderstanding, make for a more mutual relationship. With this sense of togetherness, it's almost inpossible to feel controlled.

Even our high school couples could benefit from trying to compromise. Rather than seeing the chick flick that the girlfriend wants to see, or the horror film that the boyfriend wants to see, why not see a comedy?

Small compromises like these can help a relationship better than you'd think. Always having one person make decisions, or having everything going one persons way is no way to have a relationship. If one of them feel like they have no part in the relationship, they may not be happy in it, and they may feel controlled.



Compromise takes a lot of patience and a lot of practice, but it will definitely better any kind of realationship. The Dei Rossi couple showed me that. They are so happy, and it's because they know what it means to give and take.

That Religious Guy: Perfect Rhythm

..... I have maybe the oldest New Year’s resolution in history: exercise more. Unlike previous years, however, I’m actually doing something about it. On January 2, I purchased myself some running shoes from WalMart. The only painful thing about the transaction was that I was cutting into my Christmas financial loot.

..... About an hour later, I gave my new size 11 Dr. Scholl’s Relays out for a spin. That’s right. No fancy jogging gear for me. Just some cheap footwear from WalMart which comes in a wide selection of vibrant colors: red or blue. I chose blue.

..... So for the past few days, I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few bursts of running into my daily routine. I usually run at night. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to be seen huffing and puffing. Maybe it’s because it was nighttime when I purchased my shoes. Maybe it’s a mixture of both reasons. Anyways, I simply prefer the cool, evening Stockton air when I’m running in my Stagg shorts.

..... Tonight, however, was no ordinary night. Tonight, I realized a couple of things about my personality. Tonight, I found some temporary peace in my currently fast-paced life.

..... As you all may know, the seniors have less than five months left of high school. Before you guys pat us on the shoulders and tell us how lucky we are, just remember this: once high school ends, a whole chapter of our lives does to.

..... Amid all the college applications and scholarship essays, my life has been pretty hectic for some time now. I’m experiencing a wide array of emotions, from jealousy because my friends are already receiving acceptance letters while I have yet to receive mine to fear because I’m afraid I’ll be losing some of the greatest people I’ve ever known…

..... Running tonight helped me gain some momentary peace for a while. I’ve always enjoyed running. Ever since sophomore year with the cross-country team, my passion for the activity has grown. When I run I try to achieve what I like to call the perfect rhythm. It involves maintaining a brisk speed, while inhaling through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. So when I’m running, it sounds a lot like “Sniff sniff, huff huff.” Breathing too much will give me a stomach cramp while not breathing enough will just make me fall into a dead heap. Finding a middle ground is the key, finding the perfect rhythm is my goal.

..... I guess what I’ve learned from tonight’s run is basically that I need to find my own perfect rhythm when it comes to life in general. I need to stop comparing myself to others (especially to my evil arch nemesis, Jose J., who also doubles as my best friend) and to stop overloading my plate with too many projects. Life is hard as it is without making it more difficult. All I need to do is just go through life at my own pace.

- Jeremy Dela Cruz

Clear and Present Damon: Its the most wonderful time of the year?: Part 2

Didn't Thanksgiving go by fast? Oh well, now its time to break out the Christmas lights and deck the halls because Christmastime is here again.

But it seems like more and more as the years go by, this holiday becomes more and more commercial and less and less secular. So an appropriate place to begin this column is where it all began in the little town of Bethlehem. But how do we know that Jesus was actually born in December. Actually, nobody knows at what exact time of the year when he was born, but to adhere to pagan winter solstice celebrations across the world, the church decided it was the appropriate time to put the savoirs birthday at this time. After all, there were no other holidays in that timeslot yet(besides Chaunakah, but thats another story).

Christmas was a widely adopted as a secular holiday by the Catholic church, but not all Christmas festivities were religous. Christmas festivities across Europe involved drinking and dancing, a lot of citizens went about the streets drinking and the church thought it was getting out of hand. Surprisingly, this is where we get many of our festive Christmas carols from. And you thought Christmas wasn't a big drinking holiday.

When the puritans came to the new world, they banned Christmas saying that it was too pagan along with many beloved holidays of today. Of course we know how much of a killjoy the puritans were and America soon grew out of the whole anti-Christmas thing. And America would give birth to the defining character of the holiday. The jolly Santa Claus.

There was an actual guy called St. Nicholas who lived in what now is modern day Turkey. An old legend says that in order to save three impoverished girls from selling themselves into prostitution, St. Nicholas dropped three bags of gold down there chimney. In time Santa would downgrade from bags of gold due to budget cuts at the north pole. Hey, even he is feeling the effects of the economy. Another legend is that of Sinterklaas, a European variant of Santa. Sinterklaas also delivers toys but also has another person come with him that was lost in the American version of the Santa legend. A devil figure that comes with Sinterklaas to scare naughty children. Also due to budget cuts, the devil companion was laid off and Santa resorted giving coal to the naughty children. Don't worry about our devil friend here. I here he's open to doing the next Exorcist move.

The American version of Santa was epitomized in Clement Clarke Moores poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." You know, the one that goes "Twas the night before Christmas and all through the etc..." Also new to the Santa legend is the reindeer. Actually their described as eight tiny reindeer, which is necessary, because regular sized reindeer are huge.

As Football is Thanksgivings must watch event, Christmas is packed with specials. As a kid I used to love these. Now there all sort of humdrum to me. The most sucessful special of them all is 1965's "A Charlie Brown Christmas." Why it is so sucessful i have no idea. It has no reindeer with a glowing nose, or a talking snowman. The Charlie Brown catoons normally have him taking a lot of verbal abuse and i'm surprised he is not in a mental institution as of today, I guess because it talks more about the secular part of Christmas more tha the commercial side is what has made this special last as long as it has.

As I spend my Christmas break relaxing at home and anticipating the "Doctor Who" Christmas special, by the way, this is the first time that it will be aired on Christmas in the U.S. Usually we have to wait till spring in order for the BBC to let us see it. Anyway I wish you a merry Christmas and try to avoid last minute shopping. It's a madhouse out there. I'll see you at New Years.

Clearly Claire: Taken advantage of by my childhood

My friends and I walked into the theatre, sat down and got ready to watch some inappropriate teen movie. We sat through the trailers and at the end, there was one for "Toy Story 3." I sat feeling a strange feeling, not sadness, not joy, but something different. My friend, Sarinna, whispered in my ear, "Don't you feel so nostalgic?" Nostalgic. That was the word. I was instantly brought back to childhood and my first time watching "Toy Story."

It had been a good ten years since I had last seen "Toy Story." I had long since reserved myself from all of that. Then my littlest cousin, Santiago wanted to see "Toy Story 3." He had been begging for months and even though it looked good, I didn't really want to see it. It looked like something that would further ruin the happy image I had of my favorite toys. There is nothing worst than watching a sequel to a movie you once loved and finding it awful.

Finally, a few days ago, I broke down and saw it. I have to say, I was almost in tears. Tears from the movie, yes, but also from remembering the good times I had watching the first two with my dad. This was all before the age of 3-D and super high-tech computer animation. It was all about the art. Yet, that day and days later when I rewatched the trailers, I realized that that is what Pixar does. They play on our heart strings. They remind us of simpler childhoods times when we all believed toys were real and that we would see them if we opened our doors and surprised them quickly. Or at least, that's what I believed.

Pixar has a way of making us feel like we are home. Even the new Pixars, the "WALL-E's" and "Ups" of the bunch, really hit our heart strings. I dare anyone to watch Up without crying. This is all part of a master plan that none of us can get out of. No matter how old we get, we still feel like we are kids. I look at my cousin's youthful innocence and realize that that was once me, sitting in the theatre cheering as Woody popped onto the screen with Jessie and Buzz.

But maybe being taken advantage of by these corporate executive who know how to get us isn't a bad thing. For an hour or two you get to escape to a simpler time, a younger time, when there were no deadlines, no jobs, no homework, no essays, and you were allowed to dream.

So I would recommend watching this movie, not because it is awesome, which it was. Not because it was funny, which it was. And not because it had heart, which it did. But because it will make you believe again, even if just for an hour. --Claire Scheffer