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Show Monday, Nov. 30, 2009 Page 4 AggieLife Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com They still make us smile Students reflect on popular toys while growing up By KIRSTEN REIMSCHISSEL staff writer 1.1 411; OAN #41111%. Remember Furbies, slinkies, Ninja Turtles and Pogs? Back when students were kids, these were some cool things to get for Christmas. Times have sure changed. In the '90s, the coolest technology consisted of Tamagotchi, Sega Genesis and Game Boy. These things are ancient to kids now. Today, kids are getting things "we couldn't fathom then," said Celia Child, senior in public relations, like the iPod Touch, Wii, Guitar Hero and cell phones. Child remembers carrying around her CD player before the iPod existed. These inconvenient battery eaters required lugging around CDs in the car and the airport on family trips. Pagers were another technology Child remembers everyone getting for Christmas. Before class, all the teachers had to remind everyone to turn off their pagers. Many would get in trouble for getting too many beeping calls from their friends. Child said this is different from today where students send thousands of texts that actually say things to their friends and crushes. Even kids in elementary school today have cell phones. Out of all the Christmas presents Child received over the years, her favorite was the animal many children would do anything to get. "I remember when I got a pony, like a real pony," Child said. "I started with a pony and worked my way up. She also enjoyed getting jumpers that she would color coordinate with her friends, but a holiday gift she remembers most was not one she received but one she gave. One year during a family trip to San Francisco, she saw many homeless people on the streets and wanted to give money to them. Her family advised against it, saying the homeless would only use it for drugs and alcohol. She made the choice to go buy oranges with her Christmas money and give them to the homeless. Child said, "That memory stuck with me. I will never forget it." Lori Taylor, junior in exercise science, also remembers many good memories and fun toys she received when she was a kid. One year for Christmas, she yearned for Power Wheels, and her parents wouldn't get her it because it was plastic and wouldn't last long compared to the durable go-carts and other toys they already had. "I didn't want a to go ride a go-cart. I wanted Power Wheels," she said. Taylor also recalled other toys she had, like a pink Furby, Polly Pockets and Giga Pet. Three weeks after she got the Giga Pet, the little devices were banned from her classroom so she made her mom feed it at home. Taylor also remembers Britney Spears CDs, bean bags she and her younger sister fought over and presents from grandma. "Notebooks for my birthday and pencils for Christmas. I thought I had enough pencils, but I took them anyway," Taylor said. Some gifts are better than others. Luckily there was more to the Taylor Christmas than presents. She said "Most of my Christmas experiences weren't really centered around gifts. They were around doing things with family." Taylor and her family would go up the mountain every year to get a Christmas tree. She said it was entertaining getting it "a little not-so-straight" in the living room. Sometimes her and her family had to wrap boxes like presents and put them around the base to make it stand up right. Bradley Cropper, senior in business, also remembers time with his family during Christmas. They read the story of the birth of Jesus Christ on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, they would line up according to ()V I See TOYS, page 6 Poetry on menu at True Aggie Cafe By JAIMIE RADCLIFFE staff writer A light chatter fills the room. The door swings open and close, admitting a cold blast of air with each newcomer. People call greetings to each other. It is a warm environment here at the True Aggie Cafe. A mix of students and community members, young and old, all in comfortable companionship. Everyone is here for a night of literary intellect. The True Aggie Cafe plays host to Helicon West on the second and fourth Thursday of every month. Star Coulbrooke, co-founder of Helicon West, makes her way through the room, welcoming people. Back in 2005, Coulbrooke and fellow co-founder, Michael Sowder, both of USU's department of English, came up with the idea of creating an open-mic night for writers. "Helicon West is based on an ancient Greek mountain range, Helicon, where the muses lived," Coulbrooke said. The muses were certainly present. The readings started with featured readers, one of who is Jennifer Sinor, associate professor of English at USU. Sinor has been published in various venues and said she reads her work at events, such as Helicon West. "I encourage my students to come," Sinor said. "It's a nice opportunity for them to read their work out loud." Even though Sinor encourages her students to read their work, she is nervous to read her own work. "But it's good. It keeps you on the edge of your game," said Sinor, who shared a creative nonfiction piece that followed the journey of a young girl as she discovered her sexuality. Many students use Helicon West as an opportunity to share their writing with people. Ellen Reimschussel, senior in creative writing, said she reads her work to get comfortable being in front of people. "I'm looking at being a poet for a career and part of that is reading in public. The more you do it, the better you get." Reimschussel shared a series of poems with the listeners. "Poetry, in my opinion, is the attempt to speak to the irrational parts of the brain," she said. "The animalistic core." First-time reader Steven Moss, sophomore in literary studies, said, "It's difficult to read something that you took time to write in front of others, as you never know how people will respond to it." Moss shared a short poem, a metaphor on the growth of a seed. Although tempted to the cafe by extra credit for one of his classes, Moss didn't seem to mind doing it. "I liked having an audience to share my work with," Moss said. Helicon West attracts more than just English majors. Ashley Linford, senior in international studies, uses the opportunity Helicon West presents to enhance her skills as a writer. "Having an audience forces me as a writer to recognize the bigger picture of my writing," she said. Linford read a compelling nature essay that detailed a rock-climbing accident she was in. She felt a bit nervous about sharing her work. "My writing is a self-discovery and sharing that soul on paper with other people is daunting," she said. The rest of the night consisted of about 20 other writers. Every topic imaginable was read about, from rehab to love, to sex, to discrimination, to one short story that was entirely I See WRITING, page 6 MICHAEL SOWDER SPEAKS AT Helicon West in the True Aggie Cafe Thursday, Nov. 12. Helicon West is an open-mic night for writers. TYLER LARSON photo |