The Standard This Week
The Standard: Is Alexa Plotting World Domination? You Decide
By Josh Moyar ‘19
She sees you when you’re sleeping. She knows when you’re awake. She knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
According to a study conducted by techcrunch.com, close to 11% of American households are home to something a little bit more than human. Amazon released its smart speaker, named Alexa, in 2014, and she’s only become more abundant since then.
For anyone unfamiliar, Alexa is a black cylinder that sits on your counter and listens to every word you […]
The Standard: Uncommon Colleges for Brother Rice Seniors
By John Mattes ‘19
Every February, high school seniors gear up to make one of the biggest decisions of their lives up to this point. At Brother Rice, most seniors have narrowed down their colleges or universities to three options.
Each year, many Brother Rice students continue to attend the same five or ten schools. These schools include the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois State University, Indiana University-Bloomington, the University of Iowa, Marquette University, […]
The Standard: Top Ten Greatest Classic Rock Songs of All Time
By Josh Moyar ‘19
“I love rock and roll, so put another dime in the jukebox, baby. I love rock and roll, so come on take some time and dance with me.”
Who could forget these immortal words by Joan Jett? For decades, people have loved rock ‘n’ roll. This rather broad genre of music became popular in the 1950s, and it has only snowballed since then.
But why do we love rock music? Local rocker Mr. Kyle Swynenburg said, “I think the reason everyone loves rock music […]
The Standard: The Evergreen Plaza Reborn
By Jack Ross ‘19
Growing up about a mile from the reborn intersection of 95th Street and Western Avenue, I can distinctly remember when in 2013 the Evergreen Park Plaza announced it would close. This was a result of the number of vacancies in the plaza being equivalent to the amount of maroon in Brother Rice.
The closing of the Evergreen Park Plaza came at a similar time as the closing of the Evergreen Park Country Club at 91st and Western. This is now the location of […]
The Standard: NBA All-Star Weekend
By Patrick McAuliffe ‘19
It is the second most popular time of the year for the NBA, there is a lot of excitement for those who look forward to the slam dunk contest, three point contest and the NBA all-star game. These events feature some of the best players in the league, and some of the most flashy players that are exciting to watch on a regular basis.
The slam dunk contest is a competition where players try to perform a fancy dunk to impress the judges. […]
The Standard: “Arrow” – 150 Episodes and Counting
By Nicholas Chimera ‘19
On Monday, February 14th, the TV show “Arrow” returned for its 150th episode on the CW. Now, halfway through the show’s seventh season, people must be wondering how the show has lasted this long. In reality, the origin of the Green Arrow as a television character began long before the show’s original release in 2012.
Brother Rice senior Joshua Edwards said, “I didn’t used to know who the Green Arrow was, but the TV show really made me love the character.”
Before there was […]
The Standard: Top Ten Anticipated Albums of 2019
By Ryan Creevy ‘19
Every year, a plethora of new albums are released. While many of these albums turn out to be disappointments, 2019 is looking like it will be a fantastic year for music. Whether you are a fan of country, hip-hop or alternative rock, there seems to be something being released for everyone in 2019. I have compiled a list of the ten albums that every music fan should look out for in the coming year.
- Old Dominion (TBD)
While I am not […]
The Standard: Has the Patriots Dynasty Ruined Football?
By John Stillman ‘19
Another year, another ring. This may sound familiar, but the New England Patriots won the Super Bowl.
Again.
The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LIII last Sunday en route to their 6th, yes 6th, Super Bowl title in the past 17 years!
In recent memory, there have been few dynasties that have made as dominant of stretches as the New England Patriots since 2001.
Patriots fan and […]
The Standard: “The Upside” Movie Review
By Jack Voves ‘19
Perfect casting makes for a perfect movie. Starring Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart, “The Upside” is a brilliant blend of drama and comedy.
Phillip, played by Cranston, is a wealthy quadriplegic man who is in need of a caretaker. Dell, played by Hart, is a man on parole that needs to find a job to stay out of prison and earn money for child support.
This unlikely pair resemble the characters in the 1983 movie “Trading Places” with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. What […]
The Standard: Nicole Stevenson’s Leukemia Story and the Importance of Donating Blood
By Joshua Bruno ‘19
Imagine this: It is January 2018. At age 23, three weeks into a new job as a recruiter for a staffing company with your business management degree, you experience an intense piercing sensation in your left abdomen.
This was only the beginning to a long journey for Nicole Stevenson, dog lover, golfer, and new graduate from Eastern Illinois University.
After leaving work early, Nicole presented at the emergency room with sharp left abdominal pain. Routine tests and blood work were then taken. After a […]
The Standard: Hockey Winter Classic Game
By Matt Funk ‘19
This past week the Brother Rice Skating Crusaders beat Mount Carmel 8-3. Unlike every other game of the year, this was the Winter Classic, the only game played outside.
The Crusaders started off the game hot, going up 8-0 in the second period. Matt Moro had a hat trick and Luke Lawrence had two.
“We worked hard in practice all week and we’re ready for this game,” said #8 Nick Francis.
It really showed as the Crusaders blew away the […]
The Standard: The Age Old Mac Vs. PC Debate-College Laptop Edition
By Jack Ross ‘19
Looking towards college next year, there are a lot of questions I have already answered. Questions like what I want to study, where I want to go, big school vs. small school, the list goes on and on. However, there is one question that plagues my mind on a weekly basis: what laptop should I buy?
Although I plan on buying a laptop designed to run Windows, I have grown up using an iMac at home. In this article, I will be discuss […]
The Standard Highlights
The Standard: Fine Art Photography
By Nicholas Chimera ‘19 New to Brother Rice High School this year is a photography class open to all sophomores, juniors and seniors. Previous to taking the class, I never expected photography to be much more than taking a snapshot with a fancy camera. [...]
The Standard: Joker Steals the Smash Bros. Spotlight
By Grae Miroballi ‘19 As a celebration of the release for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Nintendo’s latest installment to one of the biggest crossovers in entertainment, I decided to make a drawing. With iconic video game characters, such as Mario, Pikachu, Pac-man, and Sonic [...]