August 2014 - Shannon K Fagan`s Portfolio

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For more information contact
Shannon Fagan: sfagan@bcls.lib.nj.us
Be Ashamed of Your Existence
opinion by Jada
Gotta Cat ‘Em All, Pokemon
by R. Kushay
Fandom, Fiction and the Real World
an opinion article type-thingy by Phoebe Sykes
Attack On Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin)
by Sierra Ingram
Dear Harry
by Jada
Inter-deminsonal Politics
by Gabby Taber
Observation of a Star
by Schrodinger’s Cat
Part V
by Anonymous
(continuation from last issue’s Part IV: Stay)
Summer Anime
Always running late? Makoto does too, until she discovers she has
the power to leap back in time. But will the power be there when she
needs it the most? Join the Summer Anime club for a viewing of
The Girl Who Leaped Through Time (PG-13).
Time waits for no one.
The Maple Shade Library
Aug 22nd
2pm
Okay, stop, stop. Everyone just, for the love of your fandom JUST STOP. I'm sick of this
dreach, really I am. Three years ago the greatest fandom in the world went on hiatus
and in its absence the world decided to flip shiz and lose its goddamn mind. I am trying
SO HARD right now to stay calm but, what the hell? No really, what strange virus has
come about in the past three years to make everyone think they can get away with crap
like this? Has it been named yet? Because; if not I'm naming it, I like to think that I'm a
fairly creative person but in this case I think I'll just throw imagination to the wind, just
this once. Maybe it'll fly away to a dipshit in need. Who knows. I've decided to christen
the bastard myself. Annoying virus, you are henceforth known as ' The Dumbass Virus',
spreading ignorance and breeding puke- brains as you go. Sorry Annoying Orange
threatened to sue, so I had to think of something else. .. But in all seriousness I'm so sick
of this fandom shaming, literally, it makes me violently ill. Earlier in passing, mentioned
'the greatest fandom in the world' without ever really specifying the fandom I was talking about. I did this on purpose but if you're especially awesome then you already know
what I'm talking about. Now, it is absolutely no secret that I like Harry Potter more than
I tolerate most people. That's the fandom that I was talking about. I get a lot of crap for
being proud of my fandom, obviously not as much crap that Katniss Everdeen got for
being proud of her district (assassination of loved ones and whatnot) but it's still not
cool when it happens. Just super annoying. It is not at all awesome when a Directoner
gets called a stupid twelve year-old, or someone who is Mortally
Instrumental gets called a wannabe Twiheart. Fandoms are safe havens where people
can be themselves and bond over their mutual love of the same thing with a bunch of
different people. Used to cope with life. Check. Open to all pesons. Check. Surrounded
by people who give at least half of a shit about you. Check. A fandom is a family,
practically a religion. And no one needs you going around and ruining it for everyone. And no, I have NO IDEA how the Beliebers haven't disbanded yet, but they're still
here and we have to be nice to them too. So just be nice to everyone, in every
fandom. Most importantly the ones you don't like, I promise you the comedic reward
you'll find in their confusion is more than worth it. And, if you wanna be a big ole jerkface about it and completely disregard everything I just typed that's cool too. And if you
don't even have the decency to be ashamed of your own existence that's okay too. I'll
do it for you.
End of Summer
For all members of the Teen Read
Club and the Teen Volunteers
You earned it!
Come celebrate all you great reading and hard
work by enjoying pizza and soda!
Receive your PRIZES and your CERTIFICATES
Tuesday, August 19th
@ 12 noon
Registration begins two weeks prior to the event
Cinnaminson Branch Library
1619 Riverton Rd
Cinnaminson, NJ 08077
856-829-9340
By R. Kushay
Pokémon, having celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2006, has been
watched, played, and traded for almost two decades. What is it about Pokémon
that is so exciting and amazing? For the most part, Pokémon are just animals
with super powers that live in an exciting world where young children are way
more independent than they are in the modern world.
Everyone immediately identifies with the young trainers that are striving to
be independent- we have all been there at some point. Other than that, Pokémon
are just awesome. Something about the pocket monsters is just enchanting. I
cannot explain it, but no one ever seems to stop loving Pokémon. Everyone knows
Pikachu, and everyone recognizes Ash Ketchum, his trainer and the show’s protagonist.
This is not a review or overview of the franchise and what it entails; instead,
it is just me spouting the praises of Pokémon. I first got started with the trading
cards, and then I was playing Pokémon Ruby Version with Mudkip as my starter
(she’ll always be one of my favorite Pokémon). I went on to play Pokémon SoulSilver Version and Pokémon Black.
As I have gotten older I have played Pokémon less and less, but I always
nostalgically go back and battle a bit. Like I said, no one ever stops loving Pokémon. Trying to be as corny as possible, I ask you, what Pokémon do you choose?
Fandom: Fiction and the Real World
an opinion article type-thingy by Phoebe Sykes
As a non-obsessed fan living in an overpopulated world governed by social media, science fiction, and metamorphic adolescents, I see that fandom is much
more than thousands of screaming teenagers wearing weird t-shirts and dressing as their favorite characters for midnight movie premiers and new TV episodes. This is young, geeky, fiction-loving reader and writer views fandom and
deals with her own (I’m talking about me, by the way).
“The Hunger Games”: If you must know, I am on team Gale. Call me
whatever you want, but that will never change. Okay, now that that’s out of the
way, I can move on. You all know what the Hunger Games is about I’m sure,
but if you don’t…you shouldn’t be reading this article: just…just move on to the
next page. I love the first movie as much as the next kid, but the end really
bothers me. I’m talking about Cato. (Did you groan? I thought I heard you
groan.) Yes, I know he’s the bad dude, but that doesn’t mean he’s not human.
Or…a living thing. He tried to shoot Katniss and choke her and broke that poor
kid’s neck and abandoned Glimmer (which, I for one, loved) and brutally
murdered four or so kids in the first five minutes of the games and nearly killed
Peeta because that’s the way he was raised. In his district, the right thing to do
was kill, because that’s how you were supposed to survive. Before his death,
when he’s bloody and crying and holding Peeta around the neck with an arrow
pointed at him and everyone watching the movie is waiting for him to die, Cato
shows how emotional and insecure he truly is. Then what happens? He gets
shot, punched in the gut, shoved off the Cornucopia, mauled by dogs, and then
shot again. I was the only one in the movie theater crying; everyone else was
cheering.
Attack On Titan
(Shingeki no Kyojin)
By: Sierra M. Ingram
Sie sind das essen wir sind die Jaeger! That is the ever so familiar opening chant of the increasingly popular
anime and manga, Attack on Titan. A helpful translation from those German words-- They are the food, we
are the hunters. Which is a fairly accurate description of this show. Attack on Titan is about how later on, way
into the future, humanity falls prey to the massive man-eating giants that are called titans. Humanity was
pushed to the brink of extinction when the three walls, affectionately named Wall Maria, the outer most wall,
Wall Rose, the middle wall, and Wall Sina, the inner-most wall and home to the wealthiest people. These
walls were acceptable protection from the titans until 100 years later, when a mysterious and massive titan
named the Colossal Titan breaks down Wall Maria. A young Eren Jaeger (whose last names has variated spellings) has wanted to fight titans all of his life, and is also the show's main protagonist.
Over the years after his life inside wall Maria is destroyed thanks to the Colossal Titan, he soon becomes old
enough to join the military, which is broken up into three factions; The Garrison, The Military Police, and Survey Corps.
Attack on Titan is the story of Eren and learning more about the titans and how to defeat them. This review
may be a bit confusing to those who have not watched/read or seen much of Attack on Titan, mostly because
I do not want to spoil any more of it for you all.
Essentially, Attack on Titan is not for the faint of heart. Foul language and plenty of gore is in the core of the
show/manga, so people who do not want to be exposed to this should reconsider looking into AOT. Everyone
else, however, should be welcome to looking into watching it.
Since this is the fandom issue, it wouldn't hurt for me to give a brief description of the AOT fandom. Having
been a part of it for several months now, the fandom itself is not for the faint of heart either. If you are considering jumping deeper into Attack on Titan, the fandom is the way to go, but approach with caution. Not to
scare anyone away, but the fandom has a lot of spoilers, plenty of professional fan art, ships (which is another
way of saying people are playing matchmaker for the characters within the show) , and not to mention twice
as many jokes and memes based off of evens in the show. Though the biggest thing to expect when entering
the fandom is the dedication AOT fans have to their ships, and the fan art depicting these ships. Please note—
some of this fan art can be gruesome or sensual, so please be aware of that.
To conclude, Attack on Titan is a very well written manga and anime. For those who want to watch it, most
episodes are available online with English subtitles, and Cartoon Network plays the dub version every Saturday at 11 o'clock (and in case you didn't know, by then Cartoon Network becomes Adult Swim, I advise you
tune in for Attack on Titan and that's it).
So go forth cadets, explore the world inside the walls and discover the secrets of the Titans!
Clean out those summer reading books and trade ‘em for
new ones for the new school year! Right after the Teen
Pizza Party we will be hosting an End of Summer Book
Swap. Come hang out, get your snack on and paint your
own tote bag to carry your swag home in!
You must bring at least one book to swap out.
Ages 12-18. Registration Not Required
Tues August 19th
@1:00PM
Dear Harry,
We got lost in a school that used to be a castle.
Dear Charlie,
We felt infinite while the world around us fell apart.
Dear Katniss,
We fought for what we believed in, even when we weren't sure why we believed
anymore.
Dear America,
We fell in love but didn't let it cloud our heads, even while it filled our hearts.
Dear Bilbo,
We ventured into the unknown...which is pretty much the whole world.
Dear Alice,
We got as lost as one lost can be.
Dear Atticus,
We lost.
Dear Max,
We gained.
Dear Hazel Grace,
We hurt...but in the end we were okay.
Dear reader,
Read.
GET LOST IN A NEW WORLD. FEEL INFINITE. FIGHT. FALL IN LOVE. GO
ON ADVENTURES. GET LOST, PERIOD. LOSE. GAIN. HURT. AND BE OKAY
WITH IT ALL.
Then go home and read a book.
By: Jada
R.E.A.D
Featured Short Story
Inter-Dimensional Politics
I
By: Gabby Taber
Central command was in pandemonium. Sheets of paper were flying anywhere
and everywhere. Telephones were ringing left and right and people were rushing to
answer them, dropping towering stacks of paper and bumping into each other in the
process. Mustang couldn’t imagine what the rest of the place looked like.
If this keeps up, we’ll all die from loss of blood caused by extensive paper cuts,
he thinks wryly as a phone rings to his immediate left and he drops his own large collection of papers onto an already full desk. Picking the phone up and putting it to his
ear, he sticks a finger into the other to block out the noise around him. But before he
can speak, a middle-aged woman’s voice sounds on the other side. “My store has
been robbed three times within the past hour! Some of my customers have nearly
been shot all three of those times! And on top of that, there’s still no sign of my son!
It’s been six months. And he’s not the only one to go missing either. Aren’t there investigations supposed to be going on? Where is the military?!”
The Fuhrer slowly presses the phone to his ear again. “Ma’am, I’m sorry about
that. The military is doing all it can-” he’s momentarily cut off by a disbelieving snort,
then continues, “-but we can only do so much, with Drachma pressing the Northern
borders again and the terrorists in the east and west, as well as the investigations for
the missing. Although, there are some people working with the military that are due to
come to Cent-” the rest of Mustang’s sentence is lost as he hurtles into darkness,
leaving nothing but busy noise on the other end.
Observation of a Star
By Schrodinger’s Cat
A lonely star
Sits in the sky
It starts to flicker
and begins to cry
A lonely star
looks down on us all
It take a step
and starts to fall
A lonely star
falling down
like an apple from a tree
it still wears a frown
A lonely star
laying on the gound
it looks to the moon
a home it never found
A lonely star
whose light is fading
is cold and crying
she spent her whole life waiting
A lonely star
blinks her goodbyes
her light goes out
and she slowly dies
R.E.A.D
Featured Short Story
By Anonymous
Splinters soar in every direction as the front door falls with a thud. In the door’s place is a gigantic
creature that takes up the entire frame. It is black and covered in thick scales. Two yellow eyes sweep
the front hall, and a matching yellow forked tongue tastes the air. Its ugly head has burst through the
screen door and is moving into my house.
Don’tscreamdon’tscreamdon’tscreamdon’tscreamdon’tscream
The thing throws back its head and opens its mouth. It lets out a cry that sounds like a thousand nails on a chalkboard amplified. The creature focuses its eyes on me and crawls in through the
doorframe. Much to my surprise, it has four legs with nails that look as if they’d been painted red. I
scream, and the creature surges forward.
“Go!” Damien orders, shoving me roughly to the right.
The creature swipes its gigantic claw at him, but Damien tumbles out of the way, doing some
kind of somersault in my direction. He rolls to his feet and leaps over the claw that tries to swat at him
like a fly. “Get something!”
“What?!”
“Anything!” He yells back, leaping over the claw like a jump rope. “Something sharp!”
Naturally, the kitchen comes to mind. I rush to left of the creature, but it notices my movement
out the corner of its eye. It uses its other front claw to swipe at me, but I slide out underneath it, feeling the air whoosh directly above my head. I even surprise myself with that move, but there’s no time
to be impressed.
I tear open the knife drawer, which crashes to the ground with all its lethal contents spilling onto the floor. I pick up the first knife I see (which is thankfully a big one used to cut meat) and turn towards the table, where I last saw Sydney. Dammit, I should’ve brought her into the bathroom with me.
“Sydney!” I call.
“Maya!” Two voices call out at the same second. Sydney scurries out from under the table and
Damien calls out from the front hall. “Hurry it up!” I grab my sister and run back out the front hall. She
gasps at the sight of the creature, holding Damien in its grasp. Its front claws are tight around
Damien’s body and its hind legs are sprawled out behind it. It tongue covers Damien in saliva. Okay,
ew.
I plunge the knife into one of the creature’s…I don’t know, toes? It screams and releases Damien, who falls on his back, choking on the air.
Next meeting:
Teen Magazine
October 1st!
We’re taking a break in September but we’ll be
back for October! We will need YOUR
submissions. Any writing, photographs,
movie/book/videogame reviews and art is
wanted! Our October issue will be our
Supernatural/Horror Issue. If you want your
work submitted you must email it in by Sept. 24th!
Contact Shannon at sfagan@bcls.lib.nj.us
for more information!
Snacks Will Be Served! For Ages 12-18