“Last Chance” takes CD to “Level 2″

Music and video games have always gone together, like peanut butter and jelly. For instance, look at the multi-million dollar franchises that are Guitar Hero and Rockband. Soundtracks can be found for virtually every video game out on the market.

Maine’s “Last Chance to Reason” has in fact topped all of those, with their sophomore release, “Level 2,” a concept album based on the video game they are creating.

Taking place in a digital world, Level 2 revolves around the relationship between man and technology and what the move to a virtual world would mean for the human existence while being told through an artificial intelligence struggling to face the harsh and violent realities of a video game world.

Level 2 is an immediate prog metal epic, filled with vocal harmonies, guitar duo melodies, crushing double bass drums and bass. Did I mention the exceptional use of the classic 8-bit keys. This is the gamer’s soundtrack, not just because the band members are incredibly talented metal heads, but because of the fact that they are video game geeks in every sense of the word. With lyrics like “Free floating through the cache/streaming code in binary,” on “Temp Files” and “I stare into my rendered self/ dissolving pixel by pixel.” On the song “Portal,” Level 2 can make any computer nerd perk his or her ears in interest.

The game itself is in fact very similar to the album– spastic, chaotic and yet at times melodic and peaceful. Designed by the band and indie game designer Tom Vines, the game is a 2-D side scroller influenced by games such as “Super Metroid” and “R-Type.” The game has not been released in full as of yet, but the first level has been released for free downloading. The first level has been set to the first song on the album, “Upload complete.”

To listen to “Level 2” or download a free demo of the game check out; www.facebook.com/lastchancetoreason

Scouts honored by Eagle status

It’s -15 degrees outside and senior Casey Coffman is in the middle of the wilderness — camping. Coffman, along with 11 others, is a member of one of several Boy Scout troops in Great Falls who made an untimely camping trip near Neihart this past winter.

“That was one of the coldest nights of my life,” Coffman said.

One would assume that in this day and age of cell phones, iPods, and video games, that the camp-happy group called the Boy Scouts would have no purpose, but for some scouts in the community, it has proven otherwise. Senior Austin Thompson said that the Boy Scouts program has quite a few lessons to teach.

“I found out that Boy Scouts is more than just a bunch of guys who decide, ‘Hey, let’s go camping this weekend.’ They really teach you life skills,” Thompson said. “Everything from how to work leather to being prepared for any emergency.”

The Boy Scouts of America began in 1910 and have since then enrolled more than 50 million scouts and awarded more than 117 million merit badges. Typically, the groups are divided into specific ranks. Most begin their journey in Cub Scouts, and traditionally “cross-over” into Boy Scouts at about the age of 12 and then move up gradually through the ranks of Tenderfoot, Second class, First class, Star, Life and then Eagle.

Reaching the Eagle Scout title is above all honored and respected.

“It’s a highly prestigious rank, and I will always be an Eagle Scout,” Coffman said.

Since joining the scouts program in the first grade, Coffman said the scouts have provided him with an abundance of the outdoor activities he loves.

“I absolutely love being a scout,” Coffman said. “I love to go camping, and I even met a lot of my friends through the scouts. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.” 

Both Thompson and Coffman work alongside the other individuals in their troop to not only go camping and learn how to survive in the wilderness but also give back to their community. Thompson said he has consecutively participated in the Boy Scouts food drive and has also provided his services to restoring several trails as well as picking up trash around the community.

one might not expect boys in high school to continue participating in something typically meant for younger children, but for Coffman and Thompson the lessons taught extend much farther than those childhood years.

“The scouts are for any age; it doesn’t matter if you’re eight or 80 years old. The lessons you learn you use for the rest of your life,” Coffman said.

Thompson said that the vast majority of individuals who portray that frame of mind are simply buying into the Boy Scouts stereotype, which he assures is real but not for every scout.

“Boy Scouts has just taught me a lot of life lessons from managing money to being prepared for emergencies, to shooting guns, to even cooking,” Thompson said.

For some, like GFHS senior Scott Mathson, being an Eagle Scout actually helped him land a job.

“Most kids would think that being in Boy Scouts at this age is a dorky kind of a thing,” Mathson said. “Ultimately, it is highly looked upon by colleges and jobs, and actually helped get my job.”

While the numbers may look impressive, there are numerous problems facing the Boy Scouts of America. Thompson said that he is personally seeing a rapid decline in membership and not just nationally, but locally as well.

“The numbers just aren’t what they used to be. Parents are no longer encouraging kids to do it, and kids are just not interested anymore,” Thompson said.

Coffman said that though younger boys are becoming less interested with the scouts, the program itself is also to blame.

“I feel that the activities that newer troops are participating in have decreased in difficulty and creativeness, and as of right now they don’t do quite as much as I think they should be doing,” Coffman said.

“There was a statistic that I heard that only 10 percent of anyone who joins Boy Scouts makes it all the way to Eagle,” Thompson said. “And when I crossed over to Boy Scouts I made a promise to myself that I was going to get to Eagle, and I’m not going to stop until I get it.”

Despite the declining number of members and lack of involvement of the newer troops Thompson and Coffman said that they both intend to continue participating in Boys scouts

“As a result of Boy Scouts, I feel like I’ve become a better leader,” Thompson said. “[Boys Scouts] really taught me leadership skills and responsibility.”

Dreaded senioritis plagues CMR

Laziness, lack of studying, dismissive behavior, skipping classes. These are just a handful of symptoms of the dreaded sickness that has recently plagued CMR. That’s right, SENIORITIS. It infects most, if not all, seniors around this time of year, and this year’s seniors are no exception.

“I’ve had four years of high school, and I’m done,” senior Rhiannon Mitchell said. “I want to get out of here. I’m done with high school, and I’m ready to move on.”

This attitude is in fact quite typical, government teacher Ed McNamee said.

“As this time of year starts to progress there’s a lot of [seniors] that want to move on and try something different,” McNamee said.

Some seniors are embracing the world of opportunity, preparing for college, getting jobs, moving on and living their lives, and some are just embracing the weather outside.

“The weather is getting nicer and it really makes me want to be outside,” senior Ryan Otto said.

Though he blames the weather, Otto said the true reason for his senioritis is the fact that his time at CMR is almost up.

“I worked really hard first semester, then second semester came around and it hit me. I’m almost done with high school,” Otto said. “After that I just didn’t have the drive to do anything anymore.”

When seniors contract senioritis, a major symptom is an overwhelming lack of motivation, which Mitchell admits is the worst part about this sickness.

“I just don’t have any motivation to do anything in school. I do what I need to get done and that’s about it,”  Mitchell said.

Although senioritis may seem miniscule, it is far from having its worries.

“The best part is knowing you have senioritis, which means you’re almost done with high school, but the worst part is that you don’t have the drive to do your work and you could fail,” Otto said.

Mitchell admits that a major pitfall of senioritis is that her grades have not been as high as they could be.

“As a result of my senioritis, my grades have been dropping,” she said. “I try to fight [senioritis], half heartedly, but I try.”

“The most difficult thing, as a teacher, is to get seniors to understand that there is actual value in a grade, and that in the current economic climate that we are in that this is important,” McNamee said.

McNamee said that another byproduct of senioritis is fear, the fear of moving on and actually doing something in their lives.

“I think a big part of senioritis is that the seniors begin to realize it’s over, and there’s a part of them that’s excited and a part of them that is scared,” He said.

Mitchell admits that the idea of moving on with her life can be a scary thought.

“Yes, I’m scared to go, but at the same time I want to get out of here and move on to something bigger,” Mitchell said.

“The struggle with seniors,” McNamee said, “is the freedom they want and enjoy also comes with hefty responsibilities.”