8 THE MOUNTLEISURE

Samantha Shannon’s break into the literary world with her fi rst novel The Bone Season, was not a successful one as far as creating anything worthy of literary merit. This dystopian novel takes place in the year 2059, 200 years after an authoritarian regime known as Scion has taken over the United Kingdoms. Shannon attempts to develop a sense of sci-fi appeal, but falls woefully short. In her novel, she creates a minority of humans that have been born with psychic powers, who are constantly hunted by the government. Although the idea is at fi rst appealing to the reader, a thorough explanation of the psychics’ powers and abilities leaves the reader confused and unsatisfi ed. Shannon’s next failure in this novel can be found in her nonsensical attempt to use sophisticated and obscure language in what is clearly a novel for teens and young adults. Bottom line: most readers won’t keep reading if they don’t understand the

Do you ever catch yourself saying a word that you didn’t even know of a couple months earlier. I’m not talking about a new vocabulary word like “loquacious” or “aneuploidy”. I’m talking about swag, YOLO (You Only Live Once), leggo (let’s go), dope and others of the sort. Where do these words come from and why do they catch on? Recently, I caught myself reciting a lyric from a popular rap song, “Shabba” by A$AP Ferg. Though I don’t care for the song and its reference to a 1990’s Jamaican dancehall musician, the repetition of the words “Shabba Shabba Ranks” stuck in my head. Oftentimes, these words and phrases that are thrown around like YOLO begin in a song and spread like wildfi re until they engulf an entire demographic. It seems to be the teenage trend:grabbing hold of a popular phrase and using it until it’s just not funny anymore. Recently, after Peyton Manning began saying “Omaha” on

44 of his 76 snaps against the San Diego Chargers, the phrase and its popularity grew immensely, sprouting numerous Twitter accounts mocking the phrase. It’s almost humorous how quickly one word is able to spread and soon people are using it without even being aware of its defi nition or context. How many people have you heard saying “ratchet” without even the slightest knowledge of what it means. The word swag has probably been said millions of times with no knowledge of its defi nition (a suspended wreath, garland, drapery, or the like, fastened up at or near each end and hanging down in the middle; festoon). When a word is repeated more and more, it’s ridiculous. It’s pretty annoying to hear someone drop the word swag as much they breathe. Two words come to mind that English teachers love to hear: vocabulary and variety. If you use interesting language and don’t always recite the same sophomoric vernacular, people may start listening. There’s no rhyme or reason to modern language, especially for the teen population. It seems like we’re more infl uenced by the pop culture world than our English teachers. Though words help to diversify our culture, it may help us to educate ourselves on what we’re saying.

book. Shannon’s story line is bearable, and is not diffi cult to follow, but her competency in terms of plot stops there. Put simply, the book is boring to read. It is dark and melancholy and leaves the reader feeling immensely dissatisfi ed. Shannon fails to provide any breaks from the constant despair

that has infi ltrated every page of this novel. Perhaps worse than the incessant gloom that haunts Shannon’s writing is her pitiful attempt to create a relatable protagonist by writing the novel in fi rst person. Rather than developing a sense of empathy with the main character Paige Mahoney, I found that I developed a deep loathing for her and her nonsensical, irrational, overly emotional decision making that served only to perpetuate her unfortunate

circumstances. I was however able to relate to Shannon’s protagonist in one way: the main character seemed generally lost and confused throughout the entire novel, and so was I. A Mount Michael student receives a haircut at school in the late 60’s. Follow us on

Twitter (@MM_Journalism) for more #tbt pictures every Thursday.

photo courtesy of Brother Luke Clinton

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No Reason to Read The Bone SeasonJacob Eyth | Editor In Chief

Words, Words, WordsKevin Jewell | Columnist

The season of Carnival is an annual, worldwide celebration that takes place in February, the week before Ash Wednesday. The places, which take the festivities most seriously are Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Cologne, Germany respectively. Whether Carnaval, Mardi Gras, or Karneval, the gist of the celebration is universal: entire cities break out into a week long party, involving parades, dances, street festivals, music, and excessive alcohol consumption. Yet the roots of the event lie in repelling the spirits of winter, and having a last hurrah before the Lenten season commences. Consequently Carnival is a very Catholic event, limited to countries with large, historically Catholic populations. Cologne, Germany is truly the heartland of European Carnival, with the continent’s biggest parade, the most parties, and Carnival tourism which attracts millions of spectators each year. The children of Cologne are usually out for one thing: candy. Lots of it. The grand parade throws more than 300 tons of it into the crowds, all in less than fi ve hours. This leaves everyone with a shopping bag-sized amount of chocolate, chewy candies, and the occasional fl owers, soccer balls, or stuffed animals. Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday” is the common name for Carival in the United States, taking place in New Orleans each year. During the

Bacchus, Rex parades and Krewes’ parades on the days leading up to Mardi Gras, bystanders catch coins, beads, and other trinkets engraved with the krewe’s emblem. According to Louis Sjoka O.S.B. The most sought after item is the rare “Zulu coconut” given out by the krewe of Zulu. Sojka, attended Tulane University where he experienced the celebration many times. He even participated in the Rex parade in the 1980’s. “It was a crazy experience being surrounded

by thousands of people left and right.” Sojka said. The parade always ended in the civic center, where the wealthy

were celebrating. “Seeing all these people in tuxedos and dresses made me think, wow, I’m not in Kansas anymore,” Sojka said. The event takes a lot of organizing by police and other local offi cials. As a pre-med student Sojka was assigned to travel through the French quarter in groups of three, looking out for people in danger of alcohol poisoning. Carival is an incredible celebration encompassing all walks of life. It is a chance to throw off the drudery of winter and celebrate life.

photo by Brian Kim

Carnival is Fun For AllRobin Britt | Staff Writer

photos courtesy of Daniel Civello Bürgergarde Köln