Bosphorus Chronıcle
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Bosphorus Chronıcle
IN THIS ISSUE The Business of Robert College • 2 Interview with Cara Keyman • 2 Macs Have Arrived! • 3 Your Guide to League of Legends World Championships • 7 Want to Speed up your PC? • 8 Farewell From Two Veterans • 8 Meet the Incoming Faculty • 4 - 6 2014 Basketball Championship • 9 A Full Review of the Latest Apple Devices: The 6 series • 11 Pera: the Ultimate Museum Experience • 15 From Pages to Theaters • 12 What is your favorite art-season? Ours is FALL • 15 What’s on Screen? • 13 - 14 STATE OF SOUND • 16 - 19 Bosphorus Chronıcle DECEMBER 2014 Issue Bosphorus Chronicle is the quarterly newspaper of Robert College Changes at Robert College İrem Deyneli Zeynep Karababa Changes are always exciting, especially on our campus. This year we encountered many interesting changes in our school. If you missed out on any of these changes, this article will help you catch up. One of the biggest changes is the library refurbishment. The library, where most of us used to spend our free periods or finals week studying, is under renovation. So now we see an enormous glass panel when climbing up the stairs to Gould 4th floor. Because we students are the primary users, our ideas about the library are really important. We asked some of you and we noticed that some are looking forward to the brand new library, while some prefer the old version of the library. “I really liked the old, nostalgic look of the library. It used to have a very historical atmosphere and it fit the school’s historical landscape perfectly,” İdil Kara (RC’17) told us. Another important change is the new location of the CIP office. In previous years, the CIP office used to be a super tiny place where only 2 tables and a maximum of 4 people could fit. Elif Abla from the CIP Office says, “Our office is definitely larger and easier to have meetings. The new office gets a lot of daylight and we are of course loving it. We definitely have more storage area, which helps a lot. We were in the heart of the school (Gould Hall) and we still are, plus we are located right across from the headmaster’s office.” Another change that you might have noticed is that Izzet Abi, who we know as a counselor, has joined the CIP office. From your comments about the CIP office, everybody seems to like it. This one is probably the most important change for people who always get detention because of wearing t-shirts at school. You may have seen people in the hallways wearing their new RC t-shirts, while most of us are struggling with our uncomfortable shirts and polo shirts. As Deniz Keleş (RC’16) told us, “The t-shirts are much more comfortable than the polo shirts and this way we have more options, but they need to produce more.” Many of you seem to agree. The t-shirts are nearly sold out now; only the larger sizes are available. However, they say that the t-shirts will arrive in about 2-3 months, which doesn’t make sense since the weather will be cold in about that time. But again, being able to wear the new RC t-shirts is still excit- Students Studying at the Brand New Facilities of the School Library ing. All of the students are pleased about the shirts, so we asked if they want to have an even more flexible dress code. As İdil Kara also told us, “Not having a dress code would be better.”But Rengin Tarhan (RC’17) told us, “It is nice to have options, but a not having a dress code can be dramatized and exaggerated at our school, since not having a uniform comes with too many options” and most of you seem to agree. Robert College is changing in both some good ways and some bad ways. Even if we, as the RC community, do not like these changes, we shouldn’t forget this quote from Yiğit Koçaş (RC’17), a Student Council member. “Change is nice. Change is beautiful.” A New Color Scheme Feels a lot Roomier Poems are Everywhere: “Şiir Sokakta” Zeynep Ünsal These days, you may come across poems everywhere - on floors, walls, banknotes, stairs, park benches, handkerchiefs and ferries. As you can see, they are literally everywhere! The people who started this movement call it Şiir Sokakta, or ‘Street Poetry’. This phenomenon originally began on a Facebook page called “İkinci Yeni”, which is about a movement started in the 50s, by famous Turkish poets such as Cemal Süreya, Turgut Uyar and Edip Cansever. They wrote poems which ignored the usual rules of poetry, and the owners of the Facebook page wanted to introduce people to İkinci Yeni poets and their poems. Fortunately, because they wrote about subjects in a way they wanted to, Turks liked this idea of “non traditional poetry” and the movement spread to Twitter and Instagram. After a short time, every type of poem was on the streets, not just the ones that belong to the famous poets; people also wrote their own poems where they wanted to and shared them with other people via social media with the hashtag: #siirsokakta. Virtually everyone enjoys encountering poetry on the streets every day. Poems create variety in an ordinary day. It also causes smiles on people’s faces when they find little pieces of paper with poems written on them. Most importantly, it invites people to the infinite world of poetry. It gives them power to express themselves even if they know nothing about poetry. Unfortunately, not everyone can find poetry around their town or city. Şiir december 2014 Issue Sokakta spreads to many people’s hearts even if they have no chance to read poems on the streets but it has not spread to every single corner of Turkey. Luckily they can login to Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, read the poems which have been written or photographed and uploaded to social media, because we all know that sharing good poems bring good feelings to people’s hearts. Şiir Sokakta is also a chance for people who like writing poems, but are too shy to share them with others. So those people go out and write their amateur poems where they want to and they become the unknown poet of other people’s inner worlds. Because of the public nature of Şiir Sokakta, some people unfortunately either write poems that disturb some readers or post their poems in a very negative way that starts polluting the walls and streets. There are also some poems that are written on pri- Defteri Kapat... Şiir Sokakta (Photo Courtesy of tumblr.com) vate property, which deviate from the aim of Şiir Sokakta. Writing poems has to contribute to a connective power, not be a reason for people to fight about their private property. That’s why people have to take the road of writing poems with love and a respect for the feeling of poetry. Then, they have to go out with their pens and poetry books and start to decorate the walls of the streets with the infinite love of poetry. Obviously there are some negative side-effects of Şiir Sokakta and it has BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE caused some disagreement among people. Nevertheless we have to admit that its aim was commendable and for the most part it is carried out without problems. Poetry was introduced to the streets to make people happy in an unexpected way. Instead of polluting the streets, Şiir Sokakta initially took poems in the streets and brought together people who share the same ideas. And now there are people in the street who are writing poems because they believe in the beauty of poems and the healing power of it. 1 Melisa Saygın Finally, the rudimentary bell resounds within the ancient halls of Bogazici University, and the undergraduates leave the Business Department. Contrary to the common belief that they acquired their knowledge of business fully from Bogazici University, the basis of the business department was established by Robert College in 1958. Columbia University’s archive of Robert College Records between 1858-1986, show a society named “RC Business Society” which started off as a business department at RC, and grew in Bogazici University. Columbia University Records state: “In 1955 Dr. Duncan Ballantine, President of Reed College, was appointed by a joint presidential search committee composed of RC and ACG trustees. His mandate was to revitalize the academic programs at the college,” and the curriculum was reorganized into three departments: the Engineering School, the School of Busi- ness Administration, and the School of Science and Foreign Languages. In the beginning of 1971, when the division between Robert College and Bogazici University was set, the Business Department remained in Bogazici University. Thus the business department at Robert College faded from existence. Since then, Bogazici turned this Business Administration Society into the Business Department. Does that mean RC students have to wait until university to get educated about Business Administration? No, fortunately, there is the new RC Business Society! According to interviews with a random selection of RC students, 60 percent of them think that the RC Business Society is a combination of Junior Achievement and Social Entrepreuneurship Club, and 40 percent don’t even know what it is. RCBS is a new yet populous club with members from all levels, working on a wide selection of projects. Many prestigious colleges have business societies that are in cooperation with one another. Therefore, business societies function like building blocks of colleges. Additionally, RCBS THE BC STAFF edıtors-ın-chıef Ece Selin Timur Tunahan Ekincikli M. Miraç Süzgün Deniz Şahintürk sectıon edıtors Tuvana Kankallı Ayşe Leyla Ok Ezgi Yazıcı layout edıtor advısors M. Miraç Süzgün Carolyn Callaghan Robin Carnegy layout Assistants wrıters Tuvana Kankallı Ezgi Yazıcı Tunahan Ekincikli İdil Kara Mert Akan Publisher: Birmat Matbaacılık *** RC adına sahibi ve yazı işlerinden sorumlu müdürü: Güler Erdur *** Bosphorus Chronicle is published quarterly during the academic year by Robert College students. We welcome letters to the editor, feedback, and articles by students. However, we reserve the right to edit all materials for reasons of appropriateness of length. Give your submissions to the advisor or one of the editors or send it to us via e-mail. All photographs published are taken by the writer unless otherwise credited. How to contact us: By mail: Robert College, Arnavutkoy 34345 Istanbul, Turkey. By e-mail: bosphoruseditor@gmail.com Yerel Süreli Yayın 2 Ali Berk Eroğlu Ali Çataltepe Arda Başaran Ayşe Leyla Ok Ayşe Esin Gezer Ayşegül Ersin Bilge Tatar Burak Tunahan Ekincikli Deniz Şahintürk Ece Selin Timur Ece Toprak Ege Ersü Ege İşkesen Ekin Vardar Elif Ece Acar (Guest Writer) Ezgi Yazici İdil Çetin İdil Korkut İrem Deyneli Mehmetcan Özhan Melis Şingin Melisa Saygın M. Miraç Süzgün Oğuz Ceylan Oktay Şen Özsu Rişvanoğlu Rabia İdil Demirelli Roza Sürme Mızrak Sinem Meydanlı Şeyda Zeynep Ünsal Tuvana Beliz Kankallı Umut Deniz Dinç Zeynep Karababa Zeynep Naz Türkmen Zeynep Nehir Türkarslan Zeynep Sabuncu is a great oppurtunity and a possible transition for students who dream of becoming the future leaders of our society. RCBS welcomes the students with voracious expectations from the business world not just in the future, but today as well! For those who are interested in RCBS, Bosphorus Chronicle interviewed Mr. Cyrus Carter about the newly formed club. What are your aims and expectations of the RC Business Society? We would like to re-establish this club which existed a long time ago at RC and moved to Bogazici University when the schools merged in 1971. The club should funciton as a venue for discussions about business and economics as well as providing an opportunity for business leaders to share their ideas with students. This club should be student-run and provide leadership and organizational opportunities for our students. I am merely an advisor, more of a guide on the side. Can you briefly explain the departments and positions in RC Business Society? Finance, Human Resources, Information Technologies and Dasign, Marketing, Public Relations. We have our CEO (Törehan Kara), CIO (Canberk Koporal, and CFO (Fırat Geyik) How did you come up with the idea of starting the RC Business Society? This was the brainchild of Törehan Kara! He deserves all the credit. Which activities differentiate RCBS from the other clubs? For example what is the difference between RC Business Society and RC Business Society NEWS&OPINIONBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS&OPINION NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS The Business of Robert College other entrepreneurship clubs such as Junior Achievement? It is a club of discussion and learning about the worlds of finance, business, etc. On the other hand, JA is entrepreneurial. Our club will invent itself according to the creativity and motivation of its members. What do you look for in prospective RC Business Society members? Students should be interested in exploring the opportunities beyond engineering. We expect motivated team players. Do you think the RC Business Society benefits the RC community? Yes, in the long term, I believe the RCBS will provide an opportunity for RC grads to visit their old school, give back in a meaningful way and discover our great students with remarkable potential. We would like to thank Mr.Carter, Törehan Kara, Canberk Koparal and Fırat Geyik for starting the RC Business Society. If you would like to be a part of RCBS, then we suggest starting to prepare for next year’s probable examination. As Harold S. Geneen once said, “In the business world, everyone is paid in two coins: cash and experience. Take the experience first; the cash will come later.” RCBS is here to help you to experience the business world without limitations! Work Cited: “Robert College Records, 1858-1986.” Co- lumbia University Libraries Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Columbia University, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. Interview with Cara Keyman Elif Ece Acar BC: How did you decide to become a teacher (librarian)? While studying for my undergraduate degree, I worked in the university library at the circulation desk part-time in the evenings. During the last few hours of my shift I was alone with the students and when they had a question they would come to ask me. I was really good at helping them with their research and I enjoyed learning about all the topics that they were studying. After I finished my degree, I had to decide what I wanted to do with my life. I decided to return to school to complete my Masters in Library and Information Sciences at McGill University. I worked for a few years afterwards at McGill and then at a Canadian government research center, but I realized that what I really wanted to do was work with students. I was able to complete a teaching diploma and when I moved to Turkey with my husband, instead of working at a university I decided to work in schools as a school librarian. I think that all teach- BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE ers would agree that when you work in a school, every day is different. Students inspire me and keep me young! BC: Which places have you visited in Istanbul so far? Which one did you like the most? Where were you living and what were you doing before coming here? I’ve lived in Istanbul for twelve years so I’ve visited a lot of places, but I still don’t know the Asian side very well. Before coming here I was at Enka Schools in Istanbul and before that I was at Bilkent University International School. BC: What is an interesting fact/ story about you that you want the readers to know? I originally planned to come to Turkey for just one year. Guess what? I’m still here 18 years later. I love Turkey. BC: What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? I have a lot of favorite books and they change over time, but two enduring favorites are Frost in May by Antonia White and A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I received A Little Princess from my mother when I was in grade 5. The book was written in 1905 and she found me a first edition. I read it and fell in love with the main character, Sara Crowe, and this also started my interest in old books. I like good dramatic TV shows. My favorite movie is The Shawshank Redemption and my favorite movie soundtrack is Basquait. BC: What is the thing that you miss the most? Do you have any interests that you want to pursue here in Robert College too? I return to Canada often – so there is not too much that I miss. I sometimes have cravings for specific foods that I can’t get in Turkey – like good Mexican food – but then I go to Canada or abroad and my craving is satisfied. The Head Librarian JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue NEWS&OPINIONBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS&OPINION NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS Macs Have Arrived! Nehir Türkarslan Özsu Rişvanoğlu A student at RC walks across Marble Hall, carrying his backpack, which contains five notebooks, a thousand-page chemistry book, and a folder full of hundreds of papers, while at the same time carrying a thousand-page biology book in his hands, just because he likes to underline and take notes on the book. He groans, and feels old because of all the things he’s carrying. Another student at RC walks across Marble Hall, goes into the canteen, gets his coffee and opens his laptop, the only thing that makes his backpack useful. BC: Nowadays, a lot of things are changing in the school technologically. When did this innovation begin? Mehmet Özdemir: Robert College is one of the first schools to apply 1:1 BC: Can you tell us a little bit about this project? MÖ: For students, we had the decision that everyone would bring their own computers. The school was selling and promoting Lenovo’s. If we changed this too suddenly, we would get negative reactions from the teachers and the students. So two years ago, we sold both Macs and Samsungs. BC: Is there a reason why you started the change with students’ computers instead of the teachers’? MÖ: Yes, actually. When it comes to changing something students are more positive about it whereas teachers can be a little more re- sistant to a new system. BC: What changes did you make last year? MÖ: Last year, we sold mostly Macs at school. 109 out of 110 new students bought Mac’s and only 1 student bought a Lenovo. BC: And what about this year? MÖ: At the beginning of this year, we gave the teachers a survey. They made the decision. Only 6 teachers wanted Windows. BC: Why do you think teachers mostly preferred Apple? MÖ: Macs have more opportunities when it comes to education. The books that are written by the teachers will be prepared using iBooks Author next year. Apple products cause less trouble. You don’t have to update them as often as a Windows computer. Turning it on and off takes significantly less time. BC: Is there another school in Turkey that has such a technological education system? MÖ: We’re the only school in Turkey that let the teachers decide on what they want. They choose and the school buys them what they prefer. It’s a very important part of a great education. BC: We also heard that Apple TV’s are coming. Is that correct? MÖ: Yes, we will buy them next year. The teachers will be able to project their computer screens without the need of a cable. You can’t do that with a Windows computer. The best thing about it is that students will also be able to project their screens using the Apple TV by just entering a password, without even leaving their seats. BC: This new system is great but isn’t it a bit expensive? MÖ: It wouldn’t be nice for teachers to use Lenovo’s when 90% of the students are buying Mac’s. A Mac cost three times a Lenovo did. Now Mac is cheaper and its performance is so much better. Now the only problem is that the teachers will have to get used to them. It was going to be either Windows 8 or Mac. The teachers would have to get used to something new either way. This is also how we marketed them. BC: Will there be trainings for the teachers? MÖ: Yes, of course. We already gave the laptops to some teachers for them to figure the world of Apple out on their own until everyone gets their Mac. When everyone gets theirs, there will be training for each department and for each teacher, if necessary. BC: Do you have any other plans for the future? MÖ: We are planning to improve the usage of iPad’s. We aim to prepare on the Macs and present on the iPads. Apple TV is currently the biggest change we’re looking forward to. New Macs are just one of the many changes in RC this year. Everybody is trying to get used to these while they are dealing with the rush of the daily life in RC. We asked some teachers about their experience with the new Macs given to them. BC: The new Macs were given to the Turkish department first. You had plenty of time with it, have you started using it? Gül Soydan Koç: Yes, I really got comfortable using the Mac. Some keys and shortcuts were hard to discover but in a short time I got hold of them. At first I was nervous but then I played with it at home and I even started using it at school. BC: If you compare the Lenovos and the Macs, which one would you prefer? Mr. Gee Looking Smart GSK: I used to have a Lenovo and I can’t say that I miss it. Macs are much faster and easier to use. BC: What do you think about Apple TV? GSK: When they gave us the laptops they also mentioned the Apple TV. I’m happy that it will be easier for us to project our screens. Projectors we use cause problems most of the time and it takes time to fix those problems. Apple TV doesn’t require cables and it’s fast. BC: Have you started using your new Mac? Cyrus Carter: I had a Mac before too so I can already use it well. I bought my first Apple product 3 years ago. I was with the MUN club and I ended up with an iPad and a Mac. I wasn’t very happy with the iPad at first, but I loved my Mac right away. Since then, I have been a fan of both iPad and Mac. It is so much easier to teach with. It’s functional, faster and you have everything you need to teach. BC: When the IT asked the teachers their choices, few of the teachers chose Windows. Why do you think some people didn’t want a change? CC: Maybe some people liked the touch-screen and the tablet features of the Lenovos and they didn’t want to buy Macs. I have never used the touch-screen so I never liked the Lenovos. BC: What do you think about the Apple TV’s coming? CC: I’ve started using Apple TV a few months ago so that’s not new for me. It’s easy to use and perfect for class. Finally I want to thank the IT department for the Macs. New Macs december JUNE 2012 2014 Issue Issue BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE 3 NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS NEWS&OPINIONBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS&OPINION New Members of the RC Community Barry Lucy -Art Ece Toprak Ezgi Yazıcı Where were you living and what were you doing before coming here? I lived in the U.S., teaching Art at a large suburban public school in Texas. I lived in the Florida Everglades and rescued manatees from unscrupulous fashion photographers. How did you decide to become a teacher? I was tired of being an astrophysicist. / To try to take over the world, but failing that, to continue to be a student. Now, I study students. What is an interesting fact/ story about you that you want the readers to know? I am thirty-first in line to the British throne. /I am not thirty-first in line to the British throne. What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? Respectively, Harvey, A Confederacy of Dunces and The Red Skelton Show. Do you have any interests that you want to pursue here in Robert College too? Cat ranching. What is unique about you as a teacher and why did you choose the subject you teach? I don’t feel particularly unique. Actually, teaching art chose me. I have a deviated septum. I chose to teach microbiology to cure the world of proximal interphalangeal abnormalities. Mr. Lucy getting creative with iPhoto Robin Carnegy -English How did you decide to become a teacher? I didn’t, teaching just sort of chose me. I originally started working in a small advertising agency in Toronto, which sounds very glamorous and Mad Men-ish, but it wasn’t, so I quit, sold everything and went to Japan which I loved beyond. When I think further on it, it seems pretty natural that I’d become a teacher eventually; I simply adored school and loved learning things that my parents had no clue about. I had to come back and get another degree, and teach in Canada for a while, but basically it started in Japan. Which places have you visited in Istanbul so far? Which one did you like the most? I first came to Istanbul six years ago so we did the usual tourist things back then in Sultanahmet: the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia, The Grand Bazaar, Topkapı Palace, and also took a cruise up the Bosphorus. I fell in love in about two seconds. Six years later, Istanbul was still whispering in my ear to come and stay, so I did. I have seen more - especially of Arnavutkoy, Ortakoy and Taksim, but the place I love most is anywhere that I can see the ‘other side’. Whether I’m on the Asian side looking at Europe or Europe looking at Asia - that gets me every time. Maybe for you all it’s ordinary, but I can’t get enough of it. What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? My first major ‘non kids’ movie was Gone With the Wind—I saw it in an old theatre on Eglinton Avenue in Toronto, with red velvet curtains and gorgeous chandeliers on the ceiling, and an intermission. I had Robin Carnegy camping out on the street the night before Prince William and Kate Middleno idea movies could be that… ton’s Royal Wedding BIG. I was obsessed with it for the next two years and it became a good too. So is the Godfather. And ity to speak English when I talk really important springboard into The Usual Suspects. And American about him. My favorite TV series my interest in films. My favorite Beauty. Oh, and The Sound of Mu- is West Wing (the Aaron Sorkin movies, (I cannot choose just one) sic is excellent when you are feel- years). When I was a kid I loved Little House on the Prairie. When are The Fisher King, The Miracle ing bad. Worker, All About Eve, The Phila- My favorite author is Louis de Mary went blind I walked around delphia Story, The Third Man, Pan’s Bernieres. His trilogy is the best. I the house with my eyes closed for Labyrinth, Notorious, and Casa- can’t talk about his books because a week and drove my parents bonblanca. Shawshank Redemption is they’re so good and I lose the abil- kers. What is unique about you as a teacher and why did you choose the subject you teach? A lot of English teachers want to write novels, or actually write novels. I am an English teacher who truly doesn’t like creative writing. I like reading it, but I am simply not good at writing creatively, and think it should be left to those with true talent. Gabriel Garcia Marquez - there’s a good writer. Fitzgerald, another one. Margaret Atwood, Jane Austen - history is filled with writers of brilliant novels and I am not one of them but that’s okay – I have other talents. I can write an essay well enough and fairly quickly, but don’t enjoy the revision process, so I try to stick to just the one draft. I don’t use a computer, but rather a clicky pencil and legal sized lined paper. Handwriting is good because I have to think before I write. This typing business makes me lazy. I do love reading though, so that’s why I chose English Literature. Caitlin Dunne - English How did you decide to become a teacher? years living and teaching in The Bronx in New York City. What is the thing that you miss the most? I decided to become a teacher in response to one of my own teachers having an incredible impact on the direction of my life. At the time, I thought to myself, if this one teacher could change my life for the better than I should pay-it-forward and hopefully have a similar impact on a future student. Even if it was only one student in my whole life, at least I would have left this world a little better than when I entered it. What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? In terms of missing things I think the things I miss the most are certain foods. Currently, I am missing Mexican food. I was spoiled at my previous school because we had an amazing little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant that we would go to two or three times a week. It was amazing even by authentic Mexican standards! In addition, I find myself missing Dunkin Donuts French Vanilla Coffee way more than I should. Where were you living and what were you doing before coming here? Caitlin Dunne 4 Before coming to RC I spent eleven BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE I love my British detective series, so at the moment I would say that BBC’s Sherlock is my favorite series. My favorite book of all time would have to be Frank McCourt’s Angela’s Ashes. In addition, I love reading fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction. My favorite movie is a cheesy choice but Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, despite Kevin Costner’s horrible attempt at an English accent would have to be it. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue NEWS&OPINIONBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS&OPINION NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS Çağdaş Yüksel - Geography Photo courtesy of Çağdaş Yüksel (Translated from Turkish) How did you decide to become a teacher? When I completed my undergraduate degree in geography at the Literature Department in Ege University, the title “Geographer” was typed on my diploma. So I started looking for a job as a “Geographer”. Limited opportunities for work, though, never made the process easier. This search led me to a non-thesis master’s degree, and eventually pedagogical formation (required for teaching). And that is how my teaching career has started. Where were you living and what were you doing before coming here? I had been working in Adapazarı ENKA Schools. What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? I would like to answer this question through my subject. Jules Verne’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth” always takes my breath away with its geographic descriptions. My favorite movie “Measuring the World” (2012) is based on a geographer Alexander von Humboldt and a mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. The scientific approaches of the era are successfully reflected to the audience, so I would recommend this movie. Ron Miller - Mathematics Where were you living and what were you doing before coming here? Before moving to Istanbul, I was teaching mathematics at the International School of Düsseldorf, in Germany. What are your favorite movie, book and TV series? Unbearable Lightness of Being. TV Series: Arrested Development. What is the thing that you miss the most? Do you have any interests that you want to pursue here in Robert College too? I miss riding my bicycle along the airport runway in Düsseldorf, and watching the airplanes land. Movie: Step Brothers. Book: The Mr. Miller sightseeing Istanbul with his wife. Berna Adatoz - Mathematics Berna Adatoz as Colin Edmonds’ student How did you decide to become a teacher? After graduating from Robert College I studied mathematics at Bogazici University, which had been my dream since I was a primary school student. And when I was a junior at Bogazici University, I graduated from Istanbul University State Conservatory Department of Piano where I had been studying since I was five. Following my graduation with a bachelors degree in mathematics, I had two choices to study for my masters degree: mathematics or music. I chose to start with chamber music and it was just about that time when I started to give music history elective courses at Isik University, which I would be giving at Bogazici University in seven years time. While teaching music history, I realized something that would change the course of my life: one has to “educate oneself on education” if one is an educator, even at a university. So began my journey as an educator and here I am at my alma mater as a mathematics teacher! What is the thing that you miss the most? Do you have any interests that you want to pursue here in Robert College, too? Adatoz: To be back at the place which has made you the real “you,” trying to provide guidance to the youngsters who are going along the same path, to be working with one’s own teachers as colleagues, and constantly being filled with numerous memories is one of the most overwhelming and joyous feelings one can taste. I would like to share with you a very touching moment I had when I came back to my alma mater last August, this time as a teacher. This year is a year where I have the chance to work with my some of my most valuable teachers at RC as colleagues, an amazing feeling. One of these valuable teachers is JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue Mr. Edmonds, and when I encountered him for the first time this year, he told me that he had kept a souvenir from me through all these years and that he would send it to me. That very same night I received an e-mail from Mr. Edmonds with this photo attached to it. Then a ten-year-old conservatory student, I had composed an “impromptu” dedicated to Mr. Edmonds! And stapled to the impromptu, there I was, an RC Prep student, having her photo taken with her English teacher Mr. Edmonds.You cannot imagine how moving this moment was for me. Tuning time for my piano has already come, and first thing thereafter I’ll be playing the impromptu and sending the sound recording to my beloved teacher Mr. Edmonds. What makes you a unique teacher? As I’ve mentioned, I’m also a conservatory graduate and have been living my second profession by sometimes performing chamber music with fellow musicians, sometimes playing the piano on my own, and by giving music history elective courses at Bogazici University. And of course let’s not forget the concerts we attend! However, there is one thing that I’ve always wanted to do: sing! Last year I started to work with the tenor Kevork Tavtyan, but due to our busy schedules we had to have a break. So, besides being a mathematics teacher at RC, whenever possible I would also love to work with the music department and participate in afterschool music studies, which through all the seven years I spent as a student at RC I was never able to participate in, due to the fact that I also had to practice piano and on some days had to go to the conservatory to attend my lessons. It would also be most exciting if we could work on interdisciplinary projects with the music department--in fact, with the philosophy teachers too, since mathematics, music and philosophy are an inseparable trio! I’ve always genuinely loved mathematics, since I was a little child, and have felt incredible joy working with mathematics. In fact, this was the sole reason why studying pure mathematics was my first choice in the university entrance exam! As to your second question, I believe it’s my students’ place to answer! What is it that makes them enjoy our lessons so much? Berna Adatoz’s Impromptu attached to her photo with Mr. Edmonds BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE 5 NEWS&OPINIONBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS&OPINION NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS Keeping Up with the Joneses Bilge Tatar Zeynep Ünsal At the beginning of the school year, Robert College welcomed a new couple, Mr. Jones, Ms. Kahle and their lovely baby Eliza. Mr. Jones has authored an experience-based book in which he elaborately describes how he met with Ms. Kahle and their memories in Bulgaria. Ms. Kahle conveys her opinions about the Girls Soccer Team in RC and talks about her decision to become a biology teacher. As you read on, you may uncover some clues about the origins of their little daughter Eliza’s name, and her future career. BC: You’ve been teaching at RC for almost a month. When and how did you decide to teach here? AJ: We asked Eliza where she wanted to live, and we thought she said Robert College. EK: We lived abroad for 4 years, in Bulgaria and then in Ecuador, then we went back to the States and got married. We thought it would be a good time to go abroad again. So basically, we looked at schools where they had science and English openings and when we found out about RC, the more we learned, the more we got excited about it. AJ: We were looking for schools all over the world. We’d both been to Istanbul before and really liked it because when we lived in Bulgaria, we could take the train here. When we saw the openings at RC, I think both of us thought Istanbul would be an amazing place to live. If we were offered this job, I don’t think we could say no. So we checked with Eliza, and she agreed. EK: Although it was kind of a funny story, too. In January, we were going to visit his grandmother who is 99 years old, so she could meet Eliza, for the first time (AJ). On the way back we ended up driving into a snowstorm and getting in a car accident and getting stuck in Indianapolis, Indiana for three days in a hotel with a 3-month-old baby. AJ: And we couldn’t leave because there was so much snow. EK: You couldn’t drive anywhere. AJ: That’s when we got the job offer. EK: We had to write back and say we had just crashed our car and that we were stuck in this hotel. AJ: So we had to sign the contract and send it back. But we didn’t have any way to sign the contract; we just had our phones. And I had to write Mr. Jones and say, “We are stuck in a snowstorm, can we have one more day so we can get home, sign the contract and send it back?” 6 Mr. Jones, Ms. Kahle and their lovely baby Eliza BC: Some teachers stay at RC for 2 years and then go back to their countries. Are you going to settle here? AJ: We signed the ten-year contract. EK: One thing you have to know is that Mr. Jones makes things up a lot. AJ: Never on the basketball court, though. (to interviewer) You could write that as a joke. EK: When we were thinking of going abroad again, we didn’t want to go somewhere for 2 years, because now we have her (Eliza). We didn’t want to be moving all the time, so we were looking for someplace we could stay for a long time. You never know how things go, but we came here hoping to stay longer. BC: How does it feel to live outside of your country? Don’t you ever want to go back? AJ: We have committed several crimes, and we no longer want to return. EK: I think for me there will always be things I like and things I miss about the other place. So, when we are here, I miss being close to my family, but when we are back in the States, I miss the experience of trying to learn a language, living abroad, visiting places and seeing a different culture. AJ: The last 3 years in the States made me realize that the US always will always be my home. But I feel a little bit more at home in international schools and the international teaching world. This feels a little bit more like being a part of the campus and being in a world where you are constantly interested in exploring and learning a new language and being challenged. That kind of life feels like home. BC: So you lived in Sofia for 2 years? We are curious about your opinions and comparisons between Istanbul and Sofia and the schools. AJ: Are you going to send this article to the previous school? They may get angry. EK: Well, there are a lot of similarities between the two schools. Because the school in Bulgaria, which had an entrance exam too, was also a really old established school. AJ: The schools are set up very similarly, so we felt comfortable coming here because we were used to the model of taking an exam in eighth grade. People from all over the country wanted to go to that school, and we had this really nice campus that we were really proud of and a very strong academic tradition. I would say both schools are modeled the same way, with the same ideas and same goals, but RC is at a higher level. EK: But in terms of the cities, they are very different. Istanbul is much bigger. AJ: Sofia is still breaking out of the old communism. Part of the city looks new, developed and nice, and part of the city still looks like the Soviets are still in charge. I think the biggest difference is all the water here. Sofia is the only capital city in Europe that does not have a river. But after all, Bulgaria was fascinating, and we really liked it. BC: Can you tell us about your book “Two Seasons in the Bubble?” How did you decide to write it? What was your inspiration or the power that pushed you into writing this book? AJ: The book is about my two years in Bulgaria as a basketball coach and a foreigner living in a very formal place. I was writing a blog. It was about daily life and kind of weird and exciting things happening. The people who were reading the blog said, “You should see if you could write a book, because you write so much in this blog.” I thought that would be a great, but a series of blog entries is not a book. If you want to write a book you should have a unifying idea. I had an incredible experience with my basketball team and when the second season ended, it ended in a pretty remarkable fashion that I won’t tell you about, because you have to read the book. I realized that if I was going to write something, the unifying idea was the basketball team, and if I was going to try to explain what it was like to be an American in Bulgaria, that basketball would be a story to BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE tell. So after that was over, I sat down and started writing. BC: Do you have any goals to achieve for the girls’ basketball team? AJ: It’s hard to say because I’m still learning how basketball works here in Robert College. But my biggest goal is to build a programme that the girls will be proud of, that the school will be proud of. We have a team that represents the best of the school, how well we worked together, and how well we played together. I don’t have a numeric value to tell you, but it has to be something that every year, people in Robert College want to be a part of. BC to EK: You mentioned in your Biology 1 Class that you were a molecular biologist. Are you happy with your decision about teaching biology instead of being a molecular biologist? EK: Before I started teaching, I worked for the National Institute of Health in the immunology lab and I was thinking about teaching or doing research. I was going to either apply for a Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy) programme or teach. And I thought I had to figure out if I wanted to teach before I started 6 years of a Ph.D. programme. I am definitely happy with my decision. Being able to see something in students, the people we worked with and the teachers we met is wonderful and that’s the big difference. The lab is really interesting, but you just don’t get to interact with as many people. BC: You are the assistant coach for the Lady Bobcats. Is this your first time coaching? EK: It is the first time I am coaching soccer. I played soccer when I was younger. And I coached softball, but when I came here and was being introduced, they were talking about sports that I played, and coach Ms. Seed Trujillo said that she was looking for an assistant coach. It was really fun to start playing soccer again. The team is also really great. BC: We were so happy to see you on the stage for the Ice Bucket Challenge. Are you happy to take part in such an important event? Do you think you created aware- ness in RC Community? EK: I thought there would be more people who volunteered to do it. I told Mr. Welch, “If you still need more teachers to do it, I’ll do it.” Even though there are so many causes that we are willing to support, I think the fact that they thought about something that is really catchy causes people to become more aware of this. It is important to remember to donate and support causes to make people aware. BC: Would you like to tell us how you two met? EK: We basically met because we were both new teachers in the school in Bulgaria. There was a small group of American and Canadian teachers, so at first we were friends for a while. AJ: I was dating a Bulgarian girl and she was dating a Bulgarian guy. So I beat up the Bulgarian guy, it was a death match. EK: That’s not true. (AJ laughs) We were good friends and then we realized we were more than friends. AJ: It was more romantic, by the way. So we realized that we were spending time more than when we did with our Bulgarian boyfriend and girlfriend so we thought maybe we should get rid of the Bulgarian boyfriend and girlfriend and give it a try ourselves. And after that, we went to the US and got married. BC to AJ: You always say that your daughter has to love basketball. What if she doesn’t like it when she grows older? AJ: Ms. Kahle loves hockey, and so we have been arguing over whether she would be a basketball or hockey player. Just like whether she’d like English or biology. EK: But when we moved to Turkey we both figured out it is more likely she’ll play basketball rather than ice hockey. AJ: Actually, she can be whatever she wants to be. That’s one of our goals: having her experience many things. But I’d still love it, if she played basketball. BC: We would like to learn your daughter’s name’s meaning. EK: I don’t know if it means anything. AJ: I feel guilty. Because all of the Turks ask. Eliza’s name was a name we like. Us Americans are boring. We’ve gone through hundreds of names and couldn’t agree on a name. This was the one we both liked and were okay with. And we didn’t decide till probably ten days before she was born. So, pressure was on. And we both said we didn’t want to be arguing about this. EK: And it is kind of the shortened version of Elizabeth. BC: Thank you. It was a pleasure to interview you. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue CLUBS&SPORTSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLECLUBS&SPORTS NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS Your Guide to League of Legends World Championships Oğuz Ceylan Every MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) gamer has heard of League of Legends. Some like it; some hate it. From the West Coast of the Americas to the Sea of Japan, all of those players have one thing in common: Championships. In October, League of Legends had its Season 4 World Championships and if you missed it, there is no need to worry, the Bosphorus Chronicle has prepared a guide that will lead you through all the matches. From the Korean overlords to the Brazilian and Turkish underdogs, the teams list is as follows: · South Korea (Najin White Shield, Samsung Blue, and Samsung White), · North America (Cloud 9, TSM, and LMQ), · Europe (SK, Fnatic, and Alliance), · Taiwan (AHQ, Taipei Assassins), · China (OMG, Star Horn Royal Club, and Edward Gaming), · Turkey (Dark Passage) · Brazil (KaBuM! Gaming). The group stages were held in Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. The semifinals and finals were held at Sangam Stadium, in South Korea and were so popular on an international level that Imagine Dragons wrote a special song “Warriors”. Furthermore, the same group also performed live in Sangam Stadium on the final day of the championship. The 45,000 capacity stadium was full. Even though the stadium was full, even more spectators preferred to watch the event from Youtube, Twitch.tv, OnGameNet, or from many more television and internet channels. In total, it is estimated that more than ten million people were watching the finals live. 16 teams were placed in groups of 4 and each team played each other twice in the group stage, making a total of 6 matches per team. First and second place teams of each group qualified for the bracket stage. Later, in a bracket stage, teams competed for the finals. The champion team’s award was 1 million US dollars, not including the rewards from their sponsors and advertisements. After talking about the tournament generally, let’s dive into the group stages and take a look at the teams and their quest for the trophy. Group A Samsung Galaxy White: Hailing from Korea, this team was the absolute favorite of all professional players and many fans. Imp, the ad carry, and Mata, the support, are considered to be the best players of their roles in the world, with Looper, considered as the best carry top laner in the world. The first seed from Korea, they went a perfect 6-0 in the group stage, with a pentakill from Imp against Turkey’s Dark Passage. They continued their success going 3-1 against the second best North American team,TSM, in a best of 5, then going 3-0 against Samsung Galaxy Blue in the semifinals, their one and only rivals and sister team from Korea. SS Blue was considered the counter team of SS White, as they always found a way to de- feat White in the past. However, three consecutive stomps of White against SS Blue proved everyone wrong and showed the world that SS White is indeed the greatest team. In the finals, they crushed their way through SHRC 3-1 in a best of 5 and won the championship without leaving any doubt in the world that they are indeed the best team in the world and the Korean hype train isn’t leaving the station for a long long time. Edward Gaming: From China, EDG was the first seed from China; they defeated SHRC 2-1 in their regional finals to secure a spot in the World Championships. They were placed in Group A, and a favorite from qualification to the bracket stage. EDG didn’t disappoint their fans and after winning the tiebreaker with AHQ, they went to the quarterfinals. Facing their Chinese rival SHRC in the quarterfinals, EDG couldn’t repeat their regional success and lost to SHRC 2-3 after a very close best of 5 series, thus got eliminated from the World Championships. AHQ: From Taiwan, AHQ was the second seed after the Season 2 World Champions, Taipei Assassins, losing 0-3 in a one sided match in the regional finals. AHQ was considered an underdog until their victory against EDG, a fan-favorite Chinese team. This victory forced a tiebreaker between the two teams, but AHQ wasn’t victorious against their opposition EDG and they failed to qualify to the finals. Dark Passage: The only Turkish team in the whole tournament, DP was the first in the Turkish regionals and was virtually uncontested by any team in Turkey, and their winning of the GamesCom Wildcard Tournament gave them the ticket to the worlds. However, this success proved very deceiving as the team went 0-6 in the group stage and was eliminated with the biggest losses in the entire tournament. The team disbanded shortly after their elimination. Group B Star Horn Royal Club: From China, SHRC was second place in Season 3 World Championships, losing 0-3 against SKT T1 K in a decisive best of 5 series. However, after certain roster changes, such as transferring inSec from KT Bullets and Zero from KT Arrows, the team looked really strong in the World Championship. Despite certain problems such as communication, since inSec and Zero was Korean and the rest of team was Chinese, SHRC became the finalists after beating EDG 3-2. However, in the finals, they faced a pumped up Samsung White, and although SHRC took game 3 successfully with inSec’s surprising Rammus pick, it just wasn’t enough and they lost to the strong Korean team again, 3-1 this time. Team SoloMid: TSM was the first seed from North America, defeating Cloud 9 3-2 in a close but very satisfying best of 5 series where Cloud 9 was finally overthrown from their throne from consecutive winnings of the regionals. Their success continued in the group stage as they went 4-2 in the group stage, only losing to SHRC and SK once, but their demise came in the quarter finals. Facing Samsung White, everyone expected TSM to lose 3-0 to SSW. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue However, TSM surprised everyone by winning 1 game and losing with a score of 1-3. Even TSM didn’t expect to win the series, therefore team left the tournament happy. SK Gaming: From Europe, SK Gaming was actually one of fans’ favourites until the suspension of their jungler, Svenskeren, who was actually both the shotcaller and the best player in the team. The suspension was from his racial slurs while he was ranking up in the Taiwanese server, and he was punished with a fine of 25,000 US dollars and more importantly, a three match suspension from World Championships. After this incident, SK went 2-4 in the group stages, winning 2 of the 3 matches after Svenskeren has returned, but it wasn’t enough to keep their hopes alive and they got eliminated. Taipei Assassins: The Season 2 World Champions and the first seed from Taiwan, TPA was held in high regard before the group stages. However, the team proved to be a total shadow of its former glory and went 1-5 in the group stage to be last place in Group B. Group C (aka the Group of Death) LMQ: Hailing from North America, LMQ was originally a Chinese team in the bottom of the LPL, the Chinese scene of League of Legends. After a year in the NA Challenger series, this team, with the leadership of their mid laner Xiao Wei Xiao, secured a 2nd spot in the NA LCS and was 3rd in the Summer Playoffs, securing the last spot for Worlds in NA. They were placed in Group C, which was called “Group of Death” (for good reason) with Fnatic, Samsung Blue and OMG. LMQ was the least favorite of all these top tier teams from their regions, but a 2-0 score in the first day surprised many people. However, their continuous defeats in the next 4 games left them on the 3rd spot. FNATIC: Season 1 World Champions, Season 3 3rd place, second seed from Europe, Fnatic is one of the oldest and strongest teams in the world. However, their inconsistency has always been a major problem. For instance, in 2014 EU LCS Spring Split; they went from 7-0 to 7-8 in the next 8 games and shocked the world. Their midlaner xPeke was the prime example of this, as on a good day he has beaten many great midlaners but on a bad day, he is a load heavier than rock for his team that needs to be carried. This point was proved again in the World Championships, as they beat Samsung Blue in a perfect game but then continued by losing to OMG only to be eliminated from the group stage with a 2-4 score. Samsung Galaxy Blue: Sister team of SSW, Samsung Blue was the second seed from Korea, and also a fan and professional favorite of many. They proved to be strong by going 5-1, only losing to Fnatic in a very heated game. They continued their dominance by beating the best team in North America, Cloud 9, 3-1 in a tactical fashion. Their play style has always been different from the others in the world, as they mostly relied on not personal skill, but tactical decisions leading to a decisive dominance throughout the game. Winning team: Samsung White, photo courtesy of lol.esportspedia.com This has been the counter to SSW until the semifinals where SSW prepared specifically for a week for the match. This led to a 0-3 defeat in the hands of SSW where Blue simply got crushed by both the personal skills of White and their vastly improved decision making, but the surprising picks such as Varus from SSB Deft, Galio from SSB Acorn and Akali from SSW Looper made this series much more entertaining. OMG: From China, OMG was the third seed from China and never were a runner for the trophy; however they surprised everyone by going 3-3 and qualifying for the bracket stage. From then, they faced Najin White Shield, a fan-favourite Korean team. Everyone expected this to be a 3-0 or 3-1 stomp in the favor of NJWS, however, in one of the biggest turnarounds in the history of League of Legends, they decisively defeated NJWS 3-0 and shocked everyone. From then, they faced SHRC, their old rival from China. In a very exciting best of 5 series they lost to SHRC 2-3 and got eliminated, but they showed the world that the Korean teams, superior ones since Season 2, can be defeated easily. Group D Najin White Shield: 3rd seed from Korea, NJWS wasn’t even the favorite team in Korea. They were expected to be beaten by many professional analysts against SKT T1 K, during last season’s World Champions in the Korean regional finals. However, a surprise 3-0 stomp by NJWS shocked everyone in South Korea and that victory sent NJWS to the World Championships. 4-2 in group stages, NJWS looked pretty strong until they faced a pumped up OMG who beat them badly, 0-3, and got eliminated from the finals. Cloud 9: From North America, C9 lost to TSM in NA Regional Finals to go to the World Championships as the second seed. Their playstyle is very similar to the Blue’s, with less personal skill, and more tactical decisions. This playstyle carried them throughout the groups, and they went 4-2 to go out of group stage. Their rivals in the quarterfinals were Samsung Blue, a very mechanically similar but a better team, and after 4 close games, they lost 1-3, but all of the games were more tactical battles rather than just all-out fights, thus making this series very enjoyable and thrilling. Alliance: First seed from Europe, Alliance finally threw Fnatic off their European throne and defeated them in the regional finals 3-1 to go to the Worlds as the best team in Europe. Their games were very decisive; they even BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE perfectly defeated NJWS, by giving no kills, towers or objectives to NJWS. However, their loss against the Brazilian team KaBuM!, which is the biggest upset ever in the history of League of Legends, and their loss of decisiveness in the next games got them eliminated from the group stages as they went 3-3. KaBuM! Gaming: The only Brazilian team, they were in a a similar situation to Dark Passage. Winning the International PAX Wildcard Tournament, they went to the Worlds with no hope of winning one game. But they did win, and that one game actually sealed the fate of a team, as the victory made Alliance’s hopes of winning Worlds crash and burn. That victory is all time greatest single upset in the history of League of Legends. They are remembered as the Wildcard team that won a game against the European overlords, and also closing the argument about closing the Wildcard tournament (because it was thought that the Wildcard teams were too weak). The tournament ended with SSW winning the title and most people satisfied with the result. Thoughts? To be honest, I think that this tournament had the best games since the CLG.eu vs Moscow 5 matches back in Season 2. Just look at the games between SSW and SSB; those games are considered games to be examined and games to teach lessons on, not just on mechanics, but also decision making, team synergy, knowing the limits and using the enemy’s weaknesses well. For such is the path to victory in any game, whether it be DOTA 2, or let it be any type of multi-person activity. Abbreviations: C9: Cloud 9 EDG: Edward Gaming EU LCS: European League of Legends Championship Series NA LCS: North American League of Legends Championship Series NJWS: Najin White Shield SSW - Samsung Galaxy White SSB- Samsung Galaxy Blue SK - SK Gaming SHRC: Star Horn Royal Club TPA: Taipei Assassins TSM: Team Solo Mid Works Cited TraceyLien. “League of Legends World Championship Poised to Sell out 45K Seat Stadium.” Polygon. Polygon, 1 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. “Riot - World Championship 2014.” Leaguepedia. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. 7 CLUBS&SPORTSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLECLUBS&SPORTS NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS Farewell From Two Veterans: Li Na and Jens Voigt Ayşegül Ersin Last September two of the most beloved sportsmen in their fields announced their retirements from the sport. They weren’t particularly successful; they weren’t legends in their fields, but that doesn’t make them less notable. One of them was an ambassador for the sport in her country, an athlete who fought against devastating injuries until the age of 32, always with a smile on her face and a positive attitude in life. The other one even a bigger fighter, an incorrigible attacker, but known as the biggest loser in the sport. Maybe it was their time at last, and both said their goodbyes with unforgettable achievements. Nonetheless, we as disciples of tennis and cycling will never forget Li Na and Jens Voigt. Li Na Li Na (or Na Li, if you prefer the nonChinese version), born in Wuhan, China in 1982, has won two Grand Slam titles, played in two Grand Slam finals, one Year End Championship final (last year in İstanbul) and had a highest ranking of World No. 2. She didn’t hold any glamorous records and didn’t win dozens of Grand Slam titles, but she is the only Chinese player (ever) to win a Grand Slam singles title. So we can say that her influence on Chinese tennis is considerable even though tennis is not a very popular sport in China. According to Time after Li won her first Grand Slam title, the French Open at Roland Garros in 2011, 44% percent of the Chinese viewers were in tears. Although Roland Garros is the first Grand Slam she has won, clay is her worst surface. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) describes Li as a “baseliner who prefers hard courts”, and there is not much to doubt about this description since her most successful tournament is the Shenzhen Open held in China, and her most successful Grand Slam is the Australian Open. She played the semi finals in 2010, the final in 2011 and 2013, and Li Na, tennis player (left); Jens Voigt, road cyclist (right) (Photo courtesy of wikimedia.com) finally won the title in 2014. Overall her winning percentage was 81%. The 2013 Australian Open final was a tragic story, however. She stormed through the tournament, defeating seed after seed including Maria Sharapova (World No. 2 at that time) who held a record of losing only 9 games in the tournament. Unluckily in the final Li Na slipped and fell twisting her left ankle, and had a momentary blackout. Similar injuries had occurred to her during the 2011 Australian Open final as well. Also throughout her career she continuously suffered knee injuries: her right knee in the early years, and her left knee in the recent years. This year her left knee injury became chronic, and Li decided to end her professional tennis career. She said that even though her physiotherapists and doctors were doing a great job these injuries and aging got the better of her, and that she wasn’t able to keep doing this anymore. Apart from her professional life Li Na was known to be a positive, warm person. She didn’t get involved in the gossip and speculation that follows the women’s tennis circuit, nor did she show disrespectful behavior to her rivals. She is remembered off-court as a very fun person who playfully jokes with the people around her all the time, especially with her husband. We know that she couldn’t sleep very well during the 2011 Australian Open due to her husband’s thundering snoring; we know that her husband is actually a nice person from this year’s Australian Open winner’s speech: “Thanks for him for being my hitting partner, fixing the rackets and strings. So he does a lot of job. Thanks a lot, you’re a nice guy”; we know that sneezing means four things in China: first someone misses you, second someone hates you, third someone really wants to see you and fourth you are sick. Last but not least an unforgettable quote from her winner’s speech in this year’s Australian Open (defined as “brilliant” by the official Australian Open YouTube channel): “Max, agent, making me rich, thanks a lot.” “Shut up time!” Jens Voigt, born in East Germany in 1971, was a professional road cyclist, and has the unique distinction of being most famous for not winning. Jensie isn’t a sportsman that you usually come across. Maybe he was unlucky throughout his career (for he has only won three stages in grand tours in twenty years of his professional career), maybe he lacked the tactical aspect or maybe he wasn’t a talented athlete. Certainly that last part is not accurate; he was a machine. He had unbelievable energy and endurance. Even as a 40-year-old Jens attacked and surpassed a peloton of cyclists who were in their early-thirties but he got caught up in the last two kilometers or so, and finished the stage in 60th place, just like he did in his last race, 2014 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. “Maybe, in a bizarre way, it was fitting it ended like this. This is the story of my life — from 20, 30, even 40 breakaways, maybe one works. This was the typical breakaway, you give it all, and you get caught. It was a perfect example of my career — you put it all on the line, you’re taking risks in looking stupid.” said Voigt maybe in a disappointed tone, but always with a spark in his eyes. That is the type of person Jens Voigt is: a fighter, optimistic, sincere. He never gave up on attacking. He silenced his rebelling body, said “Shut up legs!” or “Shut up body, and do what I tell you” at times. In 2010 during the Tour de France’s 16th stage he crashed, completely destroying his bike. By the time he finally got up, all of the riders and team cars had already passed by. When his team car contacted him and asked him if he wanted a ride, Jens said “No, no, I want to get to Paris give me some sort of bike!”. Of course, he did the unexpected and borrowed a children’s bicycle from the Tour de France’s children’s program. The bike was yellow with toe-clips and everything. In the end Jens actually finished the stage with that bike in last place, but he did finish it after all. Because of his unexpected actions, and fighting spirit Jens Voigt easily gained a permanent place in cycling fans’ hearts. He quickly spread in social media, causing various fan websites, and Twitter accounts to be opened. Unfortunately, jensvoigtfacts.com is no longer updated since Jens retired, but we can still enjoy the Jens Voigt Soundboard both on our computers, and smart phones. We can still remember him with “I get paid to hurt other people”, “I get paid to make other people suffer on my wheel” or “Mom, dad, where are you; what I’m supposed to do here?”… Well, it’s hard to explain when you don’t actually hear him speaking. Voigt’s retirement was as sensational as his career was. After competing in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, he decided to pull a Jens Voigt and finish his career with one last unforgettable memory. Last month he announced that he was going to try to break the hour record in Velodrome Suisse, Grenchen, Switzerland. In cycling, the hour record is how many kilometers a cyclist can ride in exactly one hour. Usually cyclists attempt to break the record towards the end of their career. It is quite a different experience than a typical road race because you are in an indoors area, so the physics of racing are very different. But most importantly you are all alone by yourself; you are only competing against time. It can be difficult to focus and keep the same level for an entire hour. Eddy Merckx (the first hour record-holder) said that it was the hardest ride he had to do in his entire life. So Jens attempted the hour record on September 18. Before the attempt he said that it wouldn’t matter if doesn’t win, he just wanted to have a good story to tell his grandchildren. After finishing he immediately announced his retirement. For many fans, it was no surprise when he became the new record-holder at the age of 43 with 51.115 kilometers, the oldest cyclist to break the record. Now he has the best story possible: after all those years of attacking and attacking but still not beating the peloton, this time he beat his own time with his very last attack. Your Old Laptop Can Race With The Newest Models! Oktay Şen So, your PC got slower and you are looking for a way to speed it up, you have tried removing some programs and unnecessary files, but it just won’t cut it. Perhaps it is time for a hardware change! Don’t let the word hardware scare you though; this process is much cheaper than buying a brand new laptop, around 500 TL with my suggestions. If you are a Lenovo X220 user like most of the Robert College community, I’ll also include some insider tips that especially work with this model. So let’s get started with the basics. 8 Precautions RAM (random-access memory) and SSD (solid-state drive) are the only pieces you can renew, as few laptops support change of any other system items. Buying a new RAM and an SSD is as simple as a visit to a trustworthy tech-store. This article will help you decide if you need a renewal, (and if, so on which parts), how these parts function, and how to make sure you’re purchasing an item that suits your system. However, this article does not include information for choosing a RAM or SSD by yourself. A store assistant could help you with that. There are some things to consider before getting a hardware upgrade: Change in hardware means you’re going to lose your laptop warranty, so make sure your warranty has already expired or that you do not consider it a need. The Computer Center will not help you with the hardware change. The most they can do is to send the laptop to the manufacturer if there’s a problem. Newer models do not support hardware change, since their back covers do not have panels to access the RAM or HDD. Flip your computer and see if there are any panels that seem like they could be removed. A Student Tech Crew member could help you locate these spots. Changing your hardware is a cheap short-term solution to speed problems. In the long run, buying a new laptop with better hardware would be a more lasting solution. This way you can avoid any problems a change in hardware could lead to. BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE Do not order any pieces online unless you are highly knowledgeable on this topic, even if you’re buying the RAM I suggested for Lenovo X220 laptops. It’s always best to see what you’re actually getting and whether or not it works. Online shopping does not save you much money anyway. Do I Need a Hardware Change? Before you decide if you need new hardware, make sure that the slowness of your laptop is not caused by another problem that is easier to solve. If you only use your laptop for Facebook or YouTube, yet your laptop is slower, your laptop might be affected by a virus. If you suspect a virus, please consult the nearest Student Tech Crew member or the Computer Center to get your laptop checked. You might have a simpler solution, yet a malfunctioning piece of hardware could be the root of your problem too. If you’re sure you do not have either of these problems, let’s discuss which pieces will speed your laptop up in certain situations. When you run a lot of programs at once, or have a lot of tabs open in your browser, your laptop uses more RAM, so if you multitask a lot, additional RAM space will be helpful. SSD, however, makes Windows, programs and files open and save faster, and improves file transfer speed. Windows always does stuff with files in the background, so getting an SSD will always make your laptop feel a lot faster. In Robert College, while switching from class to class, we frequently turn on and shut down our laptops. SSDs will greatly improve the time it takes to boot up your laptop and start working. The following section is about how these components work and why they JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue CLUBS&SPORTSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLECLUBS&SPORTS NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS improve the speed of your laptop in these circumstances. Note 1: If you’re a gamer and complain about low FPS, extra RAM or an SSD won’t help you. You need a better GPU, which means buying a new laptop. Note 2: If you have a 32 bit operating system, your laptop won’t be able to work with more than 4 GBs of RAM. For more RAM, you need a 64 bit operating system. You can check this by right-clicking on your computer icon and clicking on Properties. Note 3: To find out if you need more RAM, open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) and click on the performance tab. Have a look at the Memory graph. It shows how much of your RAM you’re currently using. In your daily usage, if that graph comes close to the top, it means you need more RAM for it to work smoother. If it stays around the middle or lower, the amount of RAM you have is fine and you probably don’t need more. Note 4: If you decide to buy an SSD, make sure you backup your files to an external hard drive or the cloud, because all of your files will be left in your old HDD after changing it. You also will need Computer Center’s help to reinstall Windows on it. How They Work Whenever you run a program in your computer, the program gets loaded on your RAM while it’s starting up. Then, as long as that program is running, it’s stored temporarily on your RAM and when you finally close it, the program is unloaded and there’s now more room on your RAM for new programs. Increasing the capacity of your RAM lets you run more programs at once, since there’ll be more space for the programs to load up. Sounds simple, but what does the HDD or SSD have to do with this? The HDD is the place where your programs and personal data are permanently stored. When you run a program, the program is loaded onto the RAM from the HDD. While a program is loading up, time is spent reading the data from the HDD and writing onto the RAM. RAM is the storage type that has the fastest reading and writing speed amongst other types of storage, so the time you spend opening up programs is because of the HDD. Also, when you run too many programs for your RAM to handle, your computer starts to use some of the HDD space in addition to RAM. Since HDDs are significantly slower than RAMs, your system slows down. This is why SSD is preferred to HDD. SSD’s are a newer type of permanent storage for laptops and PCs. They’re a lot faster than HDDs and use less power, resulting in longer battery life. The only downside of SSDs is less disk space, but if you’d like to sacrifice some disk space for better performance, we would strongly recommend getting an SSD. Choosing and Buying Time to pick your RAM and SSD! RAM choice depends mainly on your system. There are a few variables to keep in mind choosing a RAM, such as capacity, type, frequency, CAS latency, and so on. If you try to choose RAM all by yourself, you’ll find yourself quite lost. Just bring your laptop to a computer store you trust and let the staff choose a RAM for you. The RAM needs to match your system, otherwise it might not work. The things you need to know are: 8 GBs of RAM is suitable for most users. However, if you’re a very highend user, you might need more than that. They might offer you RAMs with “better frequency”, “better CAS latency”, etc. but you need to know that these variables do not affect your RAM’s speed much, since increasing one variable usually means sacrificing from another variable, resulting in the same speed. Always try to buy RAM in identical pairs. Most laptops have two slots for RAM and can use two RAM sticks at once. However, those sticks have to be identical for best performance. A non-symmetrical RAM combination means you’ll lose some of the performance that the better one would provide. If your laptop has one RAM stick and has room for two (like in Lenovo X220 laptops) and you can’t find the exact same RAM as the one already in your system, make sure that their frequency, amount of pins and CAS latency are the same. That’ll provide the same result as if these two RAMs were exactly the same model. When it comes to choosing SSDs, you’ll have an easier time. Again, you’ll need a computer store’s help to choose an SSD, but compatibility is easier. The only things that need to match are the size of the SSD and the type of input slot the SSD has, which an assistant at the store should help you with. Other than that, you need to look at three variables: Capacity, read/write speed and price. Obviously, more capacity, more speed and fewer prices are better. Just make sure you get enough capacity for your personal needs. We would recommend around 250 GB for most people, but if you plan to download a lot, you might consider 500 GB or more. Last Words The last thing to do is to insert the RAM and SSD in your laptop, if the store didn’t already do it for you. But don’t worry; I’ve made a video tutorial on how to do it for Lenovo X220. Here’s the link: (bit.ly/RChardwaretutorial). It is a simple process that only requires a screwdriver. If your laptop is a different model, you can still watch the video; the process is almost the same. You can refer to your laptop’s manual or find a video on YouTube that explains the process for your laptop. f you’re a Lenovo X220 user, here’s the RAM and SSD that’s compatible with your laptop, including their approximate prices: RAM: 1 x “Kingston 4GB 1333MHz DDR3 CL9 Notebook Ram” (approx. 110 TL) SSD: 1 x “Kingston 240GB HyperX FURY Sata 3.0 Cache SSD (Read 500MB / Write 500MB)” (approx. 360 TL) These are my purchases and they worked for my X220, but still take these recommendations with a grain of salt. Even if our laptops are the same model, their configuration might be slightly different, so it’s still best to trust the assistant at the store. Also, these aren’t the only components that work with this model, so don’t worry if the components you buy aren’t the same as above. If you managed to read so far, you’re ready to upgrade your laptop and speed it up. If you’re still not convinced, there are lots of articles and videos on the internet showing what hardware change can really do. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me. I will do my best to help you out. Work Cited: Clikes2004. How to Choose Good RAM - 2014 Tutorial. YouTube, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Edwards, Nathan. “How To Choose an SSD for Your Next PC Build.” Tested.com, 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Fuller, John. “Choosing RAM for Your Desktop.” HowStuffWorks, 13 Feb. 2009. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Krynin, Mark. “How Much Memory (RAM) Should Your Laptop Have?” About, n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Monckton, Paul. “How to Choose an SSD for Your PC or Laptop.” PC Advisor, 31 Dec. 12. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Steers, Kirk. “Hardware Tips: Choose the Right Kind of Memory for Your System.” PCWorld, 25 Nov. 2003. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Turkey at 2014 Basketball Championship Melis Şingin Berk Eroğlu Everyone in Turkey looked forward to the 2014 World Basketball Championship. Our expectations of the National Team were quite high. We wanted to re-live the glory of placing second in the 2010 championship. We trusted our team spirit, players and coach, yet unfortunately some players chose not to play for the national team. One of our best players, Enes Kanter, had an ankle injury. Yet, despite our injured players and those who did not show up, we had a new rising star on our team: nineteen year-old Cedi Osma from Anadolu Efes. Even though he is only a year older than most Robert College seniors, he showed a splendid performance throughout the tournament. He was a great success, considering that he was on the same team with Kerem Gönlüm, who is 17 years older. The squads of some of the teams were filled with NBA stars. Our squad was modest compared to the U.S., Spain and Slovenia, but they still had hope. We played in Group C with the USA, Ukraine, Finland, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic. Of course, the USA was favored to take first place in the group, and Turkey was favored to take second place. For the first game day, our opponent was New Zealand. It was a tough match; with a comeback in the 4th quarter, we won 76-73, starting the tournament with a win. But because of our inefficient game, our fans became critical and started to worry. For the second game of the day, our opponent was the USA, the dream team full of NBA players and all-stars. However, with our wise tactics and spirit, we played a spectacular game. We were leading by 5 points (40-35) at the end of the first half, yet we had a 77-98 defeat. Though we didn’t win, all of our players put their hearts in the game and this was more than enough. It was the closest score a team could have against the USA in the whole tournament. By the third game day, we had an unexpected loss against Ukraine, 64-58. On the fourth game day, we had a terrible game against Finland; however, we didn’t lose control of the game. At the last minute, their best player, Petteri Koponen, missed both of his free throws and Cenk Akyol scored a last second 3-pointer, and the game went into overtime. We played more energetically, we showed our soul, and we won the game 77-73. At the last game of the group stage, we really showed the world how Turkey plays basketball by defeat- JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue 2014 Turkey Basketball Championship -photo courtesy of philstar.com ing the Dominican Republic, 77-64, and we finished the group stage in second place, as predicted by numerous basketball authorities. At the knockout stage, our first opponent was Australia. With 5 NBA players, Australia had the best squad in its history. We knew it was going to be a tough game, but our players were up for a challenge. Our shooter Emir Preldzic didn’t play until the fourth quarater. With his last second 3-point shot, we won, 65-64. At the end of the match, his team mates jumped over him to celebrate and fans screamed his name with joy. We were in the quarter finals! Our next opponent was Lithuania. Their squad was better than ours, and they performed really well throughout the tournament. We had to play our best game to beat Lithuania. We believed in our players and Turkey’s spirit. For the first period, everything went fine, and we were leading by 5 points. Our defense worked and we were taking all the rebounds and blocking their shots. However, during the last period our players got so tired that our shield went down. We made lots of BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE fouls, and Lithuania found a way to bring us down. Their scorer Seibutis played amazingly during the fourth quarter, and Lithuania won, 73-61. We couldn’t get to the semifinals, but at least we were satisfied that we played in the quarter-finals, knowing that our players gave it everything. With a heavy heart, we were eliminated from 2014 World Basketball Championship. Thanks to our Turkish National Team, even if we couldn’t make it to the semi-finals, we have great memories, and we will all remember this tournament. 9 FEATURESBOSPHORUSCHRONICLEFEATURES NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS Inside RC IT Ali Çataltepe They’re there for us every time our laptops break. Whenever a projector goes faulty or a cable stops working, they rush over to help us. Our IT department plays an important role in our educational lives, laboring under the figurative hood of the sprawling academic enterprise that is Robert College. They do so much for us, yet what do we really know about them? Do we ever ask ourselves what the constructive man who just came in and entered those few commands that fixed the insystem pop-up ads does other than that? Or how many issues, similar and different, he must tediously struggle to solve for the remainder of the day? As always, the proletarian laborers which oil and turn the gears of the system are overlooked and taken for granted. They will not be unappreciated any longer, however, as the Bosphorus Chronicle’s endless quest for truth unveils the hitherto unknown facets of the life of an RC IT team member. To begin, what is their daily work routine? What do they do aside from drop in to solve issues at the request of distressed teachers, students and administrators? Turns out, “solving technological issues encountered by students and faculty” is one of the biggest parts of the job, according to Muhammed Resul Ertuğrul of the RC IT Department. No surprise there. There’s more to it than that, however, as Mr. Ertuğrul adds that “following developments in the field of educational technology” also comprises a significant portion of the department’s everyday duties. Given the speed at which the venerable field of education is adapting, testing, assimilating and discarding various semiconductorbased methods of passing knowledge from teacher to student, this is only what should be expected. Robert College would be undeserving of its name if it made no effort to stay at the top. Metin Ferhatoğlu, the head of the IT department and a staff member here since 1998, adds overseeing the activities of the Student Tech Crew, maintaining and running the network (including managing the transparent integration of two Internet service providers into the single Wi-Fi network “tsunami”), and educating faculty members and staff on the usage of technology and its integration with the curriculum to the list. Speaking of educating others on how to use technology, what does our very own Geek Squad do (and plan to do) in that respect? Sure, students can manage reasonably on their own, having been born into the Information Age, but what of the faculty? Burcu Aybat, Education Technology Coordinator, advocates an individualistic teaching process “differentiated on a teacher-byteacher basis.” The department has acknowledged that there is no onesize-fits all approach to such a complicated problem, and has opted for a multi-layered, interconnected, individualistic approach instead, embodied in the twice-a-year Teachers Teaching Teachers (TTT) meeting on campus, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs), and various online courses hosted by Edx, Coursera and the American School of Bombay, coupled with stringent minimum proficiency standards. Ms. Aybat summarizes the TTT conference as “teachers sharing their own methods for integrating technology into education for the benefit of their Staff Photo colleagues.” This is usually done by way of 35 to 40 twenty-minute presentations by staff and faculty members, addressed to their peers. The PLN is a departmentencouraged approach to learning, adherents of which are expected to consider their personal needs, the standards set by their training programs, and the requirements of the faculty when pursuing technological education of their own volition. “There is no uniform, perfect method for teaching our staff how to use technology in the field, so these are our solutions,” Mrs. Aybat concludes. While it is a given that students can use technology easily for everyday tasks, the IT department still thinks that there are things to be done for them, too. “Time must not be wasted with teaching students only the basics of technology,” is what both Mr. Ferhatoğlu and Mrs. Aybat say on the topic. While educating the student body on how to use technology, they wish for emphasis to be placed upon creative and goal-oriented usage, rather than menial tasks. Mrs. Aybat points out that clubs and other extracurricular activities are great mediums that show RC students how to use the hardware at their disposal professionally. Mrs. Aybat is sure that “if we focus on problem-solving and creativity, technological proficiency will follow.” Of course, the IT department is affiliated with the entire student body in some way or another, but what of those it is closest to? How well do their arms and legs, our very own Student Tech Crew, do their job? How much load have they lifted off the department’s shoulders? As it turns out, quite a lot. Even a couple of students with basic technical training, when present in every classroom, speed things up quite a bit. “They save us the trouble of having to go to every classroom for simple problems,” Mr. Ertuğrul says. Kenan Muştu, IT team member, concurs that “the STC has helped solve many in-class technological issues.” Interestingly enough, the area in which the STC operates most, namely issues experienced by instructors during class, was not originally something it was sup- cameras allow you to carry and record videos wherever you want, even in water. If you don’t wish to carry a camera in your hands all the time, you may use one of the many accessories available. With these accessories, you can plug your camera on a dog, on an instrument, on your chest, head, wrist, or on your surfboard. Basically, GoPro cameras can be plugged in nearly every place, and they are so durable that you can record high quality videos in various weather conditions. In previous years, only a few technology companies went public in the stock market. Most believe that this was due to the rise of smartphones. Being so functional, smartphones replaced most of the daily used gadgets. Different from many technology companies, GoPro sells something smartphones cannot easily replace: memories. Alongside the camera itself, GoPro actually sells the memories of skiing, swimming, surfing and many more actions not easily captured by a simple smartphone. This strategy, called “plain-folk” technique in advertisement, engages consumers to buy a product in a way that customers trust the product since it’s used by many ‘ordinary’ people, like you and me. GoPro shows people recording happy moments with their cameras. When customers see ads of professional looking photographs with smiling people enjoying life, they decide to buy GoPro posed to concern itself with. “The STC, originally intended to ease the load created by student issues, has also helped out teachers as well,” comments Mr. Ferhatoğlu. Now to the heart of the matter. How do our tech support team members, who work hard for this school’s benefit day in and day out, feel about the level of appreciation they get from the rest of the school? The answer is, amazingly, “They appreciate us enough,” according to Mr. Muştu and Mr. Ertuğrul. In fact, if the words of Mr. Ferhatoğlu are to be believed, “it’s not very important to us, so long as our labor bears fruit. We want to transform education, and with this team, we believe we can succeed.” Commendably selfless. Now you know what an IT team member does in a day. Now you know their struggles, and the pains and plans they go through in order to ensure technology is used properly on campus. Now you know how diligently they labor, seeking not attention, but results. Now you know who keeps this school up and running. GoPro’s Success Mehmet Can Özcan GoPro is a well known company, which manufactures action cameras that are used to take pictures or shoot videos in extreme cases. One may ask, “What is the difference between a normal and an action camera?” Action cameras differ from normal cameras in the sense that they are more compact and durable. These cameras are designed to be light, wearable and mountable on several surfaces so that they can be worn, for example, on helmets or tanks, and used in a variety of places like airplanes, in sea while skydiving or swimming. GoPros’ products can capture HD , Full HD and UltraHD videos. In the recent years, these cameras became really popular. In fact, GoPro’s share price increased by 36 percent from 24$ in initial public offering on the 10 stock market. Of course, this success of the company did not happen suddenly and magically, there are three main reasons that triggered these changes: its interface’s simplicity, physical properties and brand strategy. Having a simple and friendly interface is very important for brands because no consumer wants to use a complicated device. After all, simplicity is the key to successes of many technological giants of the world, such as Microsoft and Apple. GoPro is emulating the paths of these successful companies with its new, simple interface. Anyone, even an amateur photographer, can easily take a photo or record a video and the camera’s software enables you to edit photographs with a tap so that you don’t need to know how to use Adobe Photoshop or other photo-editing programs. GoPro’s models are so light that they weigh only 88-grams, whereas an average apple weighs 200-grams. The physical properties of GoPro BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE Photo Courtesy of Ebay.co.uk cameras. Hopefully, you may now attribute GoPro’s success in the technology industry by looking at the above reasons and conclude that the company’s rise in popularity did not happen suddenly, but it will certainly continue in that direction. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS FEATURESBOSPHORUSCHRONICLEFEATURES Are they really “Bigger than Bigger”? : iPhone 6 & 6 Plus Review Arda Başaran Tunahan Ekincikli It has been more than 2 years since the death of Steve Jobs, founder and previous CEO of Apple Computer. Some technology enthusiasts view him as a revolutionary; on the other hand, some view him as an opportunist. These people might not agree on a single viewpoint; however, they would certainly agree with Steve Jobs’ insistence on a minimal screen size. All the iPhones, including the 4s, came with a 3.5-inch display. However, with the introduction of iPhone 5, the screen size has increased. The change has been a dramatic one. Apple surprised most of the iPhone fans by introducing two different iPhone models, the new iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus. The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7 inch display with 720p resolution, and iPhone 6 Plus comes with a 5.5 inch display with 1080p resolution. These iPhone models are markedly different from their ancestors, since it is the first time Apple has used a big display. Even though it is the first time, Apple was very confident with the new iPhone models. In fact, “bigger than bigger” is posted on the site of Apple USA. Since “new iPhones” is a really popular topic on the Internet, The Bosphorus Chronicle decided to review the new iPhones at the Apple Store / Zorlu Center to find out if iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are only bigger, or also better. Design When we held iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in our hands, the first thing we realized was how thin and light these models are. iPhone 6 is only 6.9 mm thick, with a weight of 129 g. Compared to 6; the 6 Plus model is 7.1 mm thick, and weighs 172 g. Considering that iPhone 5/5s was 7.6 mm thick and 112 g, Apple spent a lot of time making these models thin and light. This thin- ness of the iPhone models is really handy if you use your phone on a daily basis; however, Apple also had to make some sacrifices for really thin phones. The camera lens at the back creates a bulge, popping out of the aluminum unibody. Even though the camera lens is made of sapphire, this design makes your camera more vulnerable compared to the previous models. The second major element in iPhone 6 models’ new design is construction quality. These models are made of an aluminum unibody that feels really solid and premium in your hand. The durable glass panel on the front joins to the aluminum frame at the back seamlessly and creates a curve at the edges of screen. Compared to the iPhone 4 and 5 series, Apple adopted a curved design language, just like at the original iPhone, to make it easy to use in one hand. However, there are certain disadvantages of design of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. Even though the aluminum finish is perfect, the phones are also slippery. We nearly dropped an iPhone 6 while conducting our review. The aluminum panel is also not a good choice in terms of durability. Aluminum is a soft metal: therefore, it is not hard to scratch or bend. On the Internet a lot of people have complained about the scratches on their iPhones. In fact, we were able to spot a scratch on one of the iPhones at the Apple Store, which of course makes you question how durable these iPhones are. Furthermore, some people have reported that their iPhones are bendable. This bending problem became really popular on social media, causing a lot of people to change their minds about buying an iPhone 6. However, if the phones are used with covers, bending and scratching should not be a major issue. Hardware The biggest change in the iPhone 6 models is the display size. The iPhone 6 comes with a 4.7-inch screen that has a resolution of 720p, on the other hand, iPhone 6 Plus has a 5.5 inch display with 1080p resolution. The difference in resolution may make you hesitate when selecting a model; how- iPhone 6 & 6 Plus (Photo Courtesy of Wired.co.uk) december 2014 Issue ever, in daily usage it does not really matter. Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have really sharp screens; we were not able to distinguish one from the other. The screens in iPhone 6 models are selected as the second best phone screens by Display Mate, proving that the color accuracy and contrast of these models are really successful. In terms of the processor, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus have the brand new A8 chips, running at 1.4 GHz. Phones are also empowered with 1GB of RAM, which is really efficient, considering the optimizations of iOS 8. Besides the processor, there is a brand new “motion sensor”, M8, which measures how fast you move, what distance you travel and even your elevation. Most of the sites on the Internet indicate that usage of a distinct motion sensor really helps health apps to measure accurate data. Software Since the first generation iPhone, one of the strongest reasons for buying an iPhone was its iOS operating system. For years, its user-friendly interface and stability made iOS one of the best systems in the world, if not the best. Stability is one of the major points of software, and if you don’t want your phone to run slow months later, iOS might be a better choice. There are excellent Android phones on the market, perhaps with even better hardware, but iOS is far better in stability. The iPhone 6 series comes with iOS 8, the newest iOS version. In design, we don’t see much difference between iOS 7 and iOS 8 (at least, not as much as between iOS 6 and iOS 7). Most of the innovations of iOS 8 were with its applications. With iOS 8, iPhones have a new application called “Health.” This application helps you to keep track of a variety of data, from your nutritional intake to your sleep. There are some updates on old applications as well. You can search your photos now, and there are some more editing options. You can record time-lapse videos on your iPhone, which helps you to reduce hours of video into seconds. Also, there are a few adjustments on the general design, like answering messages on lock screen, making iOS even easier to use. These small updates may seem relatively unimportant, but it’s good that you don’t need a third-party application to do certain things on your phone. With iOS 8, Apple introduced a new electronic payment system called Apple Pay (you might be familiar with the term electronic payment if you ever used PayPal). Their motto is “Your Wallet, Without The Wallet.” So with this new system, you will be able to sync your credit cards with your iPhone. Then, you’ll be able to pay online, but you might change your mind if you consider what happened recently with iCloud. After all, Apple might secure your bank accounts as it secured renowned people’s photos. Camera The cameras on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus remain at 8 megapixels. The new sensor has an aperture of f/2.2 and 1.5 micron pixels. This improvement helps users to take better pictures in low light. The improved sensor also effects video. Now, iPhone 6 can take 1080p videos at 60fps, and slow motion (240 fps) videos with a resolution of 720p. There are improvements in software as well. New modes in the camera application help you control every shot with more adjustments. With exposure control, now you can adjust the light for every picture you take. Timer Mode lets you take pictures after a countdown of 5-10 seconds. Furthermore, the cinematic video stabilization makes the videos you take smooth, as if you are using a professional camera. Battery Life iPhones are not known for their “everlasting battery life”. This fact makes every single iPhone user carry a charger in her backpack. The need to charge your phone wherever there is a plug available has earned the iPhone the nickname“wall huggers.” One of the biggest expectations for the new phone was a better battery life. Based on the tests made by Engadget, iPhone 6’s battery lasts for another 1-1.5 hours in daily usage, which is an improvement. Compared to iPhone 6 model, 6 Plus has an impressive battery life. Including a 2915 mAH battery, iPhone 6 Plus lasts for 1.5-2 days with daily usage, which is a really exciting, considering battery life of the previous iPhone models. Price The much-debated issue of the iPhones is their price. Every time a new iPhone comes out, consumers ask”Will it be worth its cost?” The iPhone 6 starts at 2349 TL, while iPhone 6 Plus starts at 2649 TL. You should be aware that these are the prices for 16 GB models; if you want to get 128 GB, you probably would have to pay an additional 3000 TL. `let’s see what you get with 3000 TL: A brand-new iPhone 6 with 128 GB memory (sorry but you can’t get the Plus model, it costs more) PlayStation 4 + Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Monster Notebook (and you can keep 500 TL!) 5 days of holiday in a 5-Star Hotel 6000 bananas Overall The Bosphorus Chronicle was impressed that these models are so thin, light, fast and very well built. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are two of the best smartphones available on the market. However, there are certain aspects that might make people hesitate to buy this phone, especially price and battery life. If you are an iPhone 4/4s or an old Android phone user, the upgrade might be logical; however, if you currently have the iPhone 5/5s, then we do not recommend upgrading to these models. Works Cited “Bigger than Bigger.” Apple.com.9 Sept. 2014. Web. 16 Sept. 2014. Molen, Bran. “iPhone 6 and 6 Plus review.” Engadget.com. 16 Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014. “Apple iPhone 6 & 6 Plus.” Wired. com. n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014. “iPhone 6 Sizes.” Recode.net. n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2014. iPhone 5s & 6 & 6 Plus Sizes (Photo Courtesy of Recode.net) BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE 11 NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS ARTS&ENTERTAINMENTBOSPHORUSCHRONICLE From Pages To Theaters Ekin Vardar Sinem Meydanlı This year, the movie theaters were filled with book to film adaptations such as “The Fault in Our Stars”, “Divergent”, “The Maze Runner”, “Gone Girl”, “If I Stay”, and “The Vampire Academy”. We at Bosphorus Chronicle decided to write about some of these movies; of course we had to write about “The Giver”, since most of the Robert College students have read it. Mockingjay Part 1 (Hunger Games) Release Date: November 21, 2014 The first two books of Hunger Games series were listed in the New York Times Bestsellers and after they were adapted to the big screen, they became even more popular. The last movie “Mockingjay” is going to be in theaters on November 21st. For “Mockingjay”, the producers decided to separate it into two movies like they did on Harry Potter Deathly Hallows and the Twilight series. In the first part of the Mockingjay, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is now the face of the rebellion. After the last Hunger Games nothing is the same. The Capitol has Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and District 12 is destroyed. The heroine Katniss is trying to give hope to the people on the other districts and trying to save Peeta from the Capitol with help of her friends. “Mockingjay Part 1” will be much more slow paced unlike Catching Fire or Hunger Games which were full of action. In this movie audiences will get to see the life around District 13, and how Katniss handles being the icon for rebellion. They will also see favourite motifs such as Katniss’s bow and arrow skills throughout the movie when she is fighting against the Capitol. The Fault In Our Stars It was January 2012 when the captivating story of a 16 yearold girl with terminal cancer entered the lives of the readers. Not long after that, it became a worldwide trend and people started reading TFIOS everywhere, and at Robert College it was popular especially during Sustained Silent Reading time. The book’s success also increased the interest in John Green’s other books. Hazel Lancaster is a 16 year-old cancer-patient. She attends a cancer patient’s support group at her mother’s request. Her life changes when she meets Augustus Waters, a former cancer patient in the support group meeting. Augustus approaches to Hazel by saying she looks like Natalie Portman from V for Vendetta. When Hazel says she never saw the movie, Augustus invites her over to watch it and this scene becomes the start of their friendship which turns into romance and their love story unfolds. The movie version of the novel came to the big screens in the last week of June in Turkey. When the movie ended, one could see a crowd of people leaving the movie theater in tears. The movie didn’t have too many significant differences from the book, yet some of the scenes in the book were cut out. It is undeniable that one of the main reasons that it was a popular movie was that the new heartthrob Ansel Elgort had the role of another heartthrob Augustus Waters. Overall, the movie was successfully adapted to the big screen. Divergent “Divergent” is a trilogy by the author Veronica Roth. It’s currently popular to write dystopian futuristic novels with a strong female protagonist and this one is also on the list as well. The story takes place in a dystopian Chicago where tomorrow’s people have decided that it is best to live in five different factions to ensure peace among the community: Erudite the smart, Abnegation the selfless, Dauntless the brave, Am- Photo Courtesyof spinoff.com ity the peaceful and Candor the honest. Every 16 year-old in the community takes a test that will determine the right faction for them but Beatrice Prior, the protagonist, gets a different result than others. In a sudden decision Abnegation born Beatrice chooses Dauntless, the brave. As her community changes, the society faces a new arising problem. Beatrice is forced to choose where she stands when she finds herself in the middle of the problem. The movie “Divergent” was released on March 21, 2014 in the United States. Shailene Woodley, who is almost in every teen movie that was released in 2014 including The Fault in Our Stars, portrayed the main character Tris. Theo James plays Four, Tris’s instructor in Dauntless. There were also many other teen stars who were a part of the movie, such as Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller. Viewers generally had mixed reviews; some of them liked the movie and some of them thought it was horrible. Having a huge fandom like “Divergent” results an inevitable high expectations. It is more than likely that fans had precise opinions on what characters should look like and how they should act. A few of the characters were just like how we imagined they would be. For example Tris’s other Dauntless instructor, Eric was portrayed by Jai Courtney and his role was the exact representation of what we thought Eric would look like. Also, Theo James was almost the perfect choice for the character even though Four’s age in the movie wasn’t fitting with the character in the book. Overall, it can be said that the producers did a good job adapting the movie from the novels, and we look forward to the next installment. The Giver Photo Courtesy of CourtesyOfWhitneyupdate.com (Photo by Savannah Houdek) 12 “The perfect society”, a utopian concept, is wished by many people. The differences, the hatred, the racism, the poverty BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE and all the other problems of society are ‘removed’ to form the perfect society in The Giver, a Newberry award winning novel by Lois Lowry. The main character Jonas was a part of this so-called perfect society. The community assigned everybody jobs, families and children. Everyone was living in peace and order. In the beginning of the book, 12 year old Jonas is chosen to have an important role in the community. In a world where questioning isn’t allowed, Jonas’s actions determine the fate of the society. “The Giver” was read by most of the students in Robert College as a part of their Prep year. Word choice, themes, symbols were examined by most of the students here. As fellow students who also had to write pages and pages about “The Giver”, we watched “The Giver” as if it was our own personal novel that had been adapted into a movie. Therefore we had great expectations of the movie. Before we get into what we think about the movie, we went to see a few Core English teachers and asked them why they chose “The Giver” to teach this book in the Prep Year. Mr. Light’s answer was that the students were interested in this book because of the dystopian world it portrayed. He also said that it was easily accessible since it classifies as a young adult book. Ms. Hoffman said that “The Giver” was taught in RC as long as she can remember and she described it as a tradition. She stated that the main reason it was taught is because the topic of utopia and the perfect world made it easy to compare the idea to our world as it was the topic of the unit. Ms. Hoffman also mentioned that the reading level of the book was suitable for the students and it had a very high interest level. Not long after we read the books the dystopian world of “The Giver” was adapted to the big screen. Having distinguished actors and actresses like 18 time nominee and 3 time Oscar winner Meryl Streep and Oscar winner Jeff Bridges made a splash in cinema industry. However when the movie came out on 15 August 2014, it was a huge disappointment for the people who already read the book. As it happens almost every book to film adaptation, the film producers didn’t stick to the book and made it just another teen movie. Unlike the book, the movie was not successful at portraying the strict and the repressive ambiance in The Community. The protagonist, Jonas is only 12 years old in the book, but in the movie he is portrayed by Brenton Thwaites who is a 25 year-old actor playing a ‘graduate’ of 18. Seeing an adult actor playing a character that was originally a child took away the purity of Jonas’s character. Therefore, the movie was unable to give us the atmosphere that the book gave us since it drifts apart from the storyline. Regardless of the adaptation, is always a thrill to see popular young adult books become movies. Whether it is liked or not not, seeing these page-turners acted out by popular actresses and actors has always made the fans of the book anxiously wait for the movies to come to the theaters. Even though most of the books that were turned into movies this year were quite successful, we suggest that it is always the best to read the book, before the movie. In some cases, what the readers imagine will be better than what they expect to see on the big screen but we are glad that most of these movies were almost as perfect as the majority of readers imagined they would be. Work Cited: “The Fault In Our Stars.” Wikipedia. 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. “Divergent.” Wikipedia. 15 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2014. “Meryl Streep Awards.” IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. “Jeff Bridges Awards.” IMDb. IMDb. com. Web. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS ARTS&ENTERTAINMENTBOSPHORUSCHRONICLE Suits: A Show of Law and Laughter Ege İşkesen The pilot episode of the TV show Suits debuted in June 2011. If you haven’t watched it yet, you might have some preconceptions about the show. You may think that yet another TV program about a law firm in New York will be neither exciting nor interesting. If you are a fan of the series, however, such assumptions would have disappeared quickly and as you keep watching the show, you realize that Suits is unique in many ways. Here are some reasons why Suits is one of the best shows airing in today’s television, and should be watched by everyone. First of all, Suits has an intriguing cast of characters. Gabriel Macht plays Harvey Specter who is one of the best lawyers in New York, and the actor seems to be a perfect match for his role. In the show, Harvey Specter, of the Pearson-Hardman law firm aims to win his cases and to get the sympathy of the ones around him. Since he does anything to be successful in life, he appears to be an audacious character. For instance, he hires Mike Ross, a college-dropout, even though only Harvard graduates can be hired to work for his firm. The show develops their relationship as they win cases, while trying to hide the truth about Mike. Mike Ross is the associate of Harvey Specter. Even if they don’t get along well at first, after some time, they become a great team, enjoying many successes. By Season 4, Mike cuts deals and wins cases but realizes that he will not be famous or credited as one of the best lawyers in the city since his law career is based on a massive falsehood and that he is not actually a law-school graduate. He decides to leave Pearson-Hardman, and becomes a partner at an investment banking company. However, Mike’s new position soon draws him into conflict with his old law firm. The creator of the show, Aaron Korsh, makes complicated legal deals and arguments understandable and thrilling for the audience to watch, even if they don’t have legal expertise. Other than the law-based side of the show, there are other interesting parts. A series of flashbacks helps the audience to discover every character’s background story and their weak sides. Aaron Korsh created an interesting story for each character and it engages people to watch and learn more. Moreover, there are some funny jokes and moments embedded in arguments which definitely entertains its audience. Overall, if you would like to watch a realistic show that contains fun, excitement and drama, you should definitely watch Suits. Be ready to be shocked or to laugh. Until now, only four seasons have aired. The fans of the show are waiting for the 5th season which doesn’t have a definite premiere date yet, but set Photo Courtesy of Tv.yahoo.com for summer 2015. You have enough time to start watching and catch up Suits. Orange Is The New Black: Through a Feminist Lens Tuvana Kankallı “The more I have spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with ‘man-hating’,” says Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson on her speech about gender equality at the United Nations. Feminism comes up frequently in our daily lives, but we should not relate feminism with “man-hating.” Media, politics and social institutions have been trying to redefine feminism and correct misconceptions. Orange is the New Black, Netflix’s hit show, is the latest ground of discussion for feminist comments and attacks. The show is targeted by critics for taking place in a women’s prison, and for focusing on interactions between women and on female sexuality. The association of Orange is the New Black with feminism evokes the question: “Can a TV show demonstrate one particular ideology fully?” When criticizing Orange is the New Black, the first thing that comes to mind is the Bechdel test, which argues that a work of fiction can be free of gender bias only if at any time it features two women talking about something besides a man. Orange is the New Black successfully passes the test. In today’s television and movie industry, it’s hard to find a work of fiction that is not gender biased. However, how fitting is it to praise a show and declare it feminist, just because it passes an overgeneralizing test? This is where the ideology shadows the show itself. The show is about women and their struggle, yet labeling it would only increase the opposing arguments. At this point, two counter arguments can be formed: (i) The series commends feminism by its realistic display of relations between women and of prison life. It’s an accurate demonstration of re- ality and the show does not accommodate any gender biases. (ii) The series cannot be seen as a fully pro-feminist TV show since gender-biased perspectives can be seen throughout the episodes. Both of these arguments can be proven by different aspects of the show. Orange is the New Black does show female inmates’ lives overtly. For example, the romantic relationship between two female characters, Alex and Piper, is shown realistically. The audience sees the Piper’s inner predicaments and witnesses how she deals with her essential dilemmas. Besides the show’s fictitious world, one of the writers, Laura Morelli, discovered her own homosexuality as she was writing the show. Morelli’s discovery suggests that the show presents an accurate image so that the viewers can make their own discoveries. This accuracy is often associated with feminism, due to the concept of equality, which is defended by the ideology. On the other hand Orange is the New Black shows nude women, considered to be “beautiful” and “desirable” based on 21st century norms. Also, the men are often portrayed in a biased fashion. For instance, the moment we see male inmates, the individuality of the male characters are veiled by their sexuality. Rather than focusing on egalitarian feminism, stereotypically binding sex with male characters violates the main notion of the ideology. are watching the same episode for the thousandth time. music. Even though we don’t hear Eminem’s single “Guts Over Fear” until the credits, the movie’s soundtrack makes some scenes bearable. In our media-ruled society, ideologies show up in many ways. However, it’s usually impossible to attain one specific ideology in a work of entertainment that wasn’t created for that particular purpose. The show stands between feminist and gender-biased perspectives. Aside from the grave discussions around feminism, Orange is the New Black is loved by many. The cast of Orange is the New Black (Photo Courtesy of imdb.com) The Equalizer Movie Review Arda Başaran Tunahan Ekincikli “The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.” - Mark Twain The Equalizer opened on September 26, starring Denzel Washington, who is known for Training Day, American Gangster and Inside Man. The soundtrack is by Eminem and Sia. We BC writers saw the movie and here is our critique. Story The main character of The Equalizer ,Robert McCall (Denzel Washington), is a retired intelligence agent. He tries to avoid his previous life by adopting new daily routines that any ordinary man has. He works at a hardware store, reads books, and goes to the same diner every day to drink tea, but he fails to stay out of trouble. At the diner he meets a girl, Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz), who obliges Robert to use his spyskills once again. The story reminds us of many different productions that we have watched before, but this is not the main reason why it’s so cliché. The movie is some kind of remake of the namesake TV series that was on air between 1985-1989; still, the story makes you feel like you JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue Character Development The main character and a side character might be the only two in the movie who go through any substantial development. Even the villain is not introduced properly. There are characters that we don’t get to see until the end of the film and there are characters that show up for only few scenes. The only exception is Robert McCall, but thanks to his cliché background story what we get from his character is quite expected. Music If there is one thing that we liked about this movie, it’s the Visual Effects This is where the movie drives off the cliff. There are two scenes that we couldn’t resist. The first one is when Robert goes into action for the first time. There is a slow-motion effect in the film (similar to the one in “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows,” but way worse) which is intended to emphasize how Robert McCall analyses all of his targets and the surroundings so he can plan how he is going to take them out. The idea is good, but in practice what you get is a scene that BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE lasts forever. It takes minutes before he gets to the act and all the emphasis turns into boredom. The other scene is an explosion scene in which the CGI is just too obvious. The scene yells out the audience that it is just an animation. You might also wonder how supernatural Robert McCall walks out unharmed from an explosion that melts metal. Other than these issues, the rest of the visual effects were average. However, we have to warn you that there are quite violent scenes that might make you uncomfortable. To be honest, the movie trailer excited us the first time we watched it. However, we were disappointed when we left the 13 NEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWSNEWSNEWS ARTS&ENTERTAINMENTBOSPHORUSCHRONICLE theater. Maybe we expected too much, maybe the movie truly wasn’t that good, but we couldn’t find the quality that we were looking for. Even Denzel Washington couldn’t make us like the movie. There are rumors on the Internet that a sequel is planned; we hope the next movie will be a lot better, or else it will be another way to waste money. Cons Pros - Some of the scenes are way too long - Background music on scenes are great + soundtrack - Solid beginning (only for 15 minutes) - Cast - Effective life lessons (although so cliché, makes you enjoy the beginning of the film) - Too much violence - A lot of cliché moments like “Cool guys do not look at explosions.” - Story is weak, ending is very predictable - Absence of some of the character developments - Slow-motion effects Works Cited “Denzel Washington.” IMDb. IMDb. com, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. “The Equalizer (2014)” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Photo Courtesy of Movieboozer.com The Walking Dead Returns Zeynep Sabuncu Hunt or be hunted, which one would you choose? When there is a vast number corpses waiting outside to eat your flesh and anything that is edible, you probably wouldn’t have a chance to think. Despite the extended description of the gruesome zombie daily life, coping with this kind of dilemma is necessary for the character Nick and his friends. “They just keep coming, more and more, as if rising from the very earth. Not zombies–Walking Dead viewers.” (Times) Even though zombies might not be your type, you might have heard of the all-time popular series called The Walking Dead (TWD). It is so widely watched that Time Magazine surveyed the reasons of TWD’s everlasting popularity for four seasons. The statistics show that The AMC series has been the “No. 1 Show” on TV for adults between the ages 1849 for the past two years and it has continued to break its own viewership records for four seasons and beyond. The first episode of the 5th season earned a total 22.372 million viewers. The setting, make-up and cast successfully created and reflected the extremely violent environment in the new 5th season. Zombies were rambling around, searching for some fresh flesh to eat, while survivors were searching for each other and fighting against their enemies. The Walking Dead, season 4, contained the usual incidents, but season 5 brings some changes. In the first episode of the new season, some ground-breaking effects are used. When Carol causes an explosion that sets fire to parts of Terminus and zombies start to burn and walk, the episode seems like the movie The Ghost Rider. We also discover that the inhabitants of Terminus are cannibals. After these incidents, our main survivors escape from Terminus and set off on a journey to Washington in order to cure the illness. Now, 22 million viewers are bursting with excitement to see the second episode of The Walking Dead, season 5. For potential new viewers of the show, Bosphorus Photo Courtesy of Moviepilot.com Chronicle has a friendly reminder: The Walking Dead consists of a superfluous amount of blood and brutality. Therefore, if you are afraid of watching these violent scenes, you should not turn on the television on Monday nights. As The Walking Dead pilot episode says:“Don’t Open, Dead Inside.” Farewell To Friends Rabia İdil Demirelli Despite their fans’wishes, they are not reuniting. Fans all over the world expected a reunion after the release of a fake poster, but the show’s producers denied it. For the ones who have no idea what I am talking about, it has been twenty years since Friends first aired; for ten years, it always kept its unique humor. About a year ago, a convincing poster was leaked on the Internet about the cast’s expected reunion. That one poster convinced all the fans that a new episode called “The One with Reunion” would soon air, and within a couple of minutes of the leak, the Internet started to shake with fans’ desire. According to Lisa Kudrow’s (Phoebe’s) interview with Conan O’Brien posted on YouTube, even Kudrow thought that 14 there was going to be a reunion; she was hurt because others didn’t tell her about it, until she learned the truth from a third party (“Lisa Kudrow Says”). The cast may not reunite, but every year their fans keep growing and growing. It takes one episode to become addicted to the show and to recommend it to everybody that you see. Friends was such a successful comedy that even today it remains one of the best comedies ever, including its final episode. The show’s humor was so effective that even 20 years later it remains fresh. Although the characters were with us for ten years, there are still some small facts that shock many Friends-olics. For instance, the series was originally going to be named Insomnia Café or Friends Like Us or Six of One, but the directors chose Friends at the last moment. Its name is one of the simplest beauties because Friends sounds pretty much perfect, doesn’t it? This is just a beginning: According to Buzzfeed, when the show was written, the characters Joey and Monica were intended to be the main love interest and Courtney Cox was going to play the character Rachel. However, looking at the cast now, every decision that the creators of Friends have made seems perfectly fitting. In fact, it might be hard for a Friends fan to dream of another Monica saying ‘I know!’ or another couple who complaining that they were on a break! The cast misses the show as well as fans. That’s why they have accepted requests from Ellen Degeneres and Jimmy Kimmel to hold mini reunions. Nevertheless, no more than three cast members appear in any of the small reunions. Unfortunately, there is not enough interest to start shooting the show again. Also, David Schwimmer commented that there won’t be any reunion by saying, “I really liked how the show ended. It was kind of a perfect ending. I can’t see any good reason to revisit it” (“David Schwimmer”). BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE Photo Courtesy of Sencrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com Friends gave us moments of laugh- “David Schwimmer on ‘Friends’ Reter and unforgettable memories. union.” Youtube. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. Our hearts will always be broken that the show ended, but we will always have a solid smile when we hear a reference to Friends - whether they reunite or not. Works Cited: “Lisa Kudrow Says There Will Never Be A ‘Friends’ Reunion.” YouTube. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. “13 Things You Probably Didn’t Know about Friends.” Buzzfeed. n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2014. JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue NEWSNEWSNEWSBOSPHORUSCHRONICLENEWS ARTS&ENTERTAINMENTBOSPHORUSCHRONICLE A Celebration of Self-Expression Through Art in Pera Deniz Şahintürk “Language of the Wall: Graffiti/ Street Art,” an exhibition that boldly took on a controversial issue in art, was hosted this year by Istanbul’s Pera Museum, August 13-October 5. The exhibition’s curator, Roxane Ayral, was inspired by her encounters with graffiti art during the 13 years she lived in Paris, and so she organized this exhibition with the contributions of 22 graffiti artists from different places around the world. The exhibition covered the works of renowned graffiti artists like Futura, Carlos Mare, Cope 2, Turbo, Wyne, JonOne, Tilt, Mist, Psyckoze, Craig Costello (aka KR), Herakut, Logan Hicks, C215, Suiko, Evol, Gaia, Tabone, Funk, No More Lies, as well as the work of two photographers. In one of her interviews, Roxane Ayral mentioned that what excites her the most about graffiti is the freedom that comes with it. “It’s a work that is created without getting anybody’s permission. It shows the artist’s personal freedom. Leaving a work you have spent countless hours and effort on just there means giving it freedom. It’s a way of saying ‘Give me the freedom I’m giving to my artwork,’” says Ayral. The artists taking part in this exhibition were given the very thing that Ayral admires about graffiti--freedom to create. Not only were they given permission to decorate the walls of the museum as they wished, but also permission to work on 8 specific locations throughout Istanbul. Visitors were given maps of these locations so that they could view these works, too. Almost everyone more or less knows what graffiti is, yet they may still ask what really makes it so special? Graffiti has been the topic of various debates. While some define it as art, others try to discard it as simple vandalism. Made usually using spray paint and marker, today graffiti is considered a punishable crime in many countries. Even though it has gained recognition during modern times, graffiti actually has a history that reaches back to Ancient Greece, Egypt and the Roman Empire.The oldest example of graffiti is found in the ancient city of Ephesus, Turkey. Depicting a hand marked with a heart and an arrow in it, this old graffiti is thought to be an ancient advertisement for prostitution. Even though modern graffiti has gained fame and recognition with the emergence of hip-hop, it has existed since 1920s. It became widely produced during the 60s and 70s as a subpart of hip-hop and punk styles, and it gained universal recognition in the 80s. An exhibition of graffiti opened in Rome in 1979, giving it a solid classification as artwork rather than plain vandalism. The artists participating in the ex- the Sims is much more fun with the new version. First of all, the new push and pull skill saves your life. You can pick an entire room and move it anywhere in the house and resize your Sims’ body and house with only a single click. On top of these features, there is the new emotions system: they were present in older Sims releases, however The Sims 4 goes beyond only showing an emotion: the new feature also opens up new opportunities and makes your Sims’ life more interesting; in fact, he may even die of excessive feelings. In addition to these major additions, there are so many minor but significant features added to game that make it more enjoyable and exciting. One of the most significant new features is having group conversations beyond the usual dialogue between two Sims. According to Sims fans, this is a very important feature of Sims, making the game appear to be more natural. With the addition of ghosts in October 2014, players can also see ghosts as “non-playable” characters and even ask them to join the household. Once a ghosts becomes “playable,” it becomes like other living Sims characters and can get married with other Sims, have a family or get a job. Although the latest version has promising new features, at least eighty-nine features are no longer available. Swimming pools and cars are not in the Sims world anymore; neither are toddlers. These changes diverge from the game’s initial concept: simulating real life. Other features remain in the game, but in a worse way: job opportunities and floor levels are limited, the towns and the houses are smaller and at some parts, and the game is significantly slower. Be prepared: even when you go to the next door, a loading screen will show up. EA will hopefully improve these criticized elements of the new Sims 4. It is rumored that the swimming pools are going to be return in November and new careers will be available in December. Overall, the transition from The Sims 3 to The Sims 4 is a little bit tough for Sims fans. Although the new game has so many big improvements, like the new emotions system, the building houses and customizing Sims tools, they are not easy to get used to. Despite both negative and positive criticism, The Sims 4 will give a fun time for all the users who are ready to simulate real life on their computer screens. Works Cited: “89 Features Missing From The Sims 4 That Will Piss You Off.” Gamebreaker Video Game News Videos Reviews and Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. “Free Pools, Ghosts, and Star Wars Costumes for The Sims 4.” Metro. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. “The Sims 4 Review.” GameSpot. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Oct. 2014. “The Sims 4 Review.” Metro. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. “Free Pools, Ghosts, and Star Wars Costumes for The Sims 4.” Metro. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Joan Miro Istanbul Modern introduced the exhibition “One Hundred Years of Love,” celebrating 100 years of Turkish cinema on the tenth anniversary of the gallery. This researched exhibition focuses on the history of Turkish cinema starting from 1914. The exhibition shows the Turkish audience’s first encounter with cinema. You can easily tell that these moments were magical, surprising and impressive for the audience. “One Hundred Years of Love” uses sources that show our cinema history like posters, photographs, box office reports, gala invitations, newspaper clippings, advertisements, and autographed photos of actress and actors. The exhibition makes you feel like the audience felt the moment saw they their first movies. Although this exhibition ended on November 4th, İstanbul Modern contains other exhibitions like “Past and Future,” “Plurivocality,” and “Various States of Love,”which are also worth a visit. Arter has an exhibition called “The Roving Eye: Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia.” It is a group exhibition that presents more than 40 masterpieces by 36 artists. The exhibition is organized by Iola Lenzi, a curator and researcher who focuses on Southeast Asia, especially Singapore. This exhibition displays the Southeast Asian culture and the tension caused by the separation of the region’s countries, through materials and media that these countries generally use. The exhibition aims to be inclusive of its audience. For example, you can play table tennis, play piano, draw or try on some slippers or a crown in the exhibition. The exhibition protests the “You cannot touch!” policy of most art galleries. Some videos and photographs found in the ex- hibition help the audience to better visualize daily life in Asia. “The Roving Eye” shows the improvement of Southeast Asia from 1970 until today from an objective perspective. Arter is located in İstiklal and the exhibition can be visited until January 4th, 2015. Finally, the exhibition “Orientalism in Polish Art” can be found in Pera Museum. This exhibition is about orientalist trends in Polish art, such as drawing and graphic arts. this exhibition will go on until January 18th, 2015. Also, Salt Gallery in Istiklal is running some workshops for high school students on art and architecture. Visiting an art gallery is an entertaining and educational way to spend the weekend, and Istanbul is full of amazing art galleries. All you need to do is choose where to begin! hibition represented differing nationalities and backgrounds, which gave the exhibition an all the more universal quality. Also, two special artists joined the exhibition-photographers Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant. Their contributions functioned as a delightful journey through the history and significance of graffiti as an art form. Vandalism, art, or simply beautiful - Sims 4 You İdil Çetin For the last few months, Electronic Arts (EA) has been teasing us with some introductory videos and photos of their brand-new The Sims 4, promising a big sensation in the game industry with countless amazing new features compared to its predecessors. Now that the endless waiting has come to an end, we can have a better view of the game which received mostly positive reviews from both its fans and critics. Here are some of the main changes made in Sims 4: Building houses and customizing Autumn: The Season of Art Zeynep Karababa Although school days are filled with waking up very early, studying really hard and taking exams, there is a question in on every student’s mind: What should we do this weekend? There are lots of cultural activities in Istanbul, including visiting art galleries currently exhibiting famous artists’ works. Here are some suggestions: Sakıp Sabancı Museum is hosting the Catalan painter and sculptor Joan Miró’s masterpieces. The exhibition, named “Joan Miró, Women, Birds, Stars,” is really comprehensive. You will find that Miró’s works correspond to his age of maturity. Inspired by Mediterranean people, Miró focused on the themes listed in the exhibition title: women, birds, stars. In the exhibition you can see very colorful paintings, sculptures and ceramics. Miró’s work reflects the energy and vitality of the Mediterranean region through bright colors. Miró’s taste in art resembles many other famous artists from Barcelona such as Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali. In the exhibition documentary about Miró’s life, his friends, his country and his response to the political events in the world’s media can also be viewed. With this documentary, the audience gets a glimpse of Miró’s secret life. Sakıp Sabancı Museum is in Emirgan and the exhibition will remain on display until February 1st, 2015. “I want to apply colors like words that shape poems, like notes that shape music.” JUNE 2012 Issue december 2014 Issue BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE 15 STATEOFSOUNDBOSPHORUSCHRONICLESTATEOFSOUND The Shape of Post - Rock to Come Cem Töre Gökçam It is not easy to define when a genre starts and when a genre ends, but this feature will try to give a perspective on the past and the future of the genre called “post rock,” mainly because of an album that was released in 2014 that might significantly change the direction this critically acclaimed genre is taking. The name itself covers a broad range of musical styles, meaning many of the bands and albums that will be mentioned below have arguable postrock status. For a start, if there is one, one may need to go back to an album that is perhaps one of the greatest and most unique albums in music history: Slint’s Spiderland. The album features long tracks, dragged-out riffs, layered tracks, clean drum sounds, heavy breakdowns and Brian McMahan’s iconic spoken word vocals--pretty much everything that was against the glam metal trends of the 80s. McMahan, the lead singer, actually sings once throughout this entire LP, on the song “Washer”. The record sold very little and the band dissolved afterwards, yet the album became one of the most iconic albums of the American underground and helped pioneer many bands and more importantly, a genre. The album was very slow and unfriendly to most of its audience, but it was one of the biggest inspirations to many artists who changed the scene in the upcoming years. Slint and other bands like Talk Talk (which was originally an 80s New Wave band that famously made two very critically acclaimed albums, Garden of Eden and Laughing Stock, in the late 80s-early 90s), Tortoise, Bark Psychosis, Disco Inferno and Pram make up what is generally referred to as the first wave of post rock. Two critical releases here around the same time can be seen as the milestones for the birth of second-wave postrock, the music most people think of when they hear the term. One Album art of “To Be Kind” of them is Tortoise’s second full length LP, “Millions Now Living Will Never Die”, and on the other side of the Atlantic the debut of the Scottish band Mogwai, Young Team. The change was signified by two huge differences from the past: one, the songs were more drawn out, even longer, more instrumental; and two,the “build up to a crescendo” formula Slint occasionally used, along with many other techniques on Spiderland, defined the sound of pretty much every post-rock record up to this point. Since 1996, albums that are commonly defined both as some of the best works of the genre and as some of the best works of the decades since were released. Sigur Ros’ Agaetis Byrjun featured lead singer Jonsi’s trademark falsetto vocals, bowed guitars and an ethereal sound Pitchfork once defined as “pre-whatever comes this century.” Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Lift Your Skinny Fists like Antennas to Heaven featured four twenty-minute tracks that built up slowly to glorious crescendos of shoegaze guitars, experimental drum fills and many more. The problem, however, is that like every other development in music, music genres get old as more people try to recreate them and sometimes fail. In the last five years or so, post-rock basically went no- where. Bands like Explosions in the Sky, Caspian, 65daysofstatic and even Sigur Ros in their later releases felt like they simply used the “money-making formula”: slow build up for 7 minutes, a reverbedguitar crescendo, rinse and repeat. One of the most exciting genres in the near past, which was supposed to be the music of the new millennium, became the origin of some of the most outdated albums by formerly beloved bands. This is where a band I deliberately never mentioned up to this point enters the discussion: Swans were an experimental/ dark-ambient/no wave/post-rock/ noise/post-punk/ post-everything band; originally active from 1982 to 1997.Their first few LPs are some of the heaviest music records ever released; Filth and especially Cop were composed of distorted guitars on heavy drumming and there was basically no melody after all, just the lead singer Michael Gira screaming and barking over industrial noises. Towards the end of the decade, Swans developed a new sound, still very heavy and industrial but also groundbreaking. Albums like Soundtracks for the Blind, Public Castration is a Good Idea, and The Great Annihilator were all very experimental records, but they were so radio-unfriendly that the albums weren’t really appreciated by most listeners for a long while. The ones that did ap- A group photo of the band “Swans” 16 BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE preciate it, however, were the musicians of the post-rock scene who were looking for new inspirations. The music Swans made was the most unique, and the majority of the hardcore/punk rock tendencies of the second-wave stemmed from their work. It is not the best generalization to make, but the creative block of second-wave post rock somewhat coincides with the ending of the group. This is the main reason why Swans reforming in 2010 was big news after 13 years. Their albums were fully appreciated and rightfully canonized by then, and the return of Swans was quickly followed up with their first album release in 2012: The Seer. The record was exactly what the scene needed: the album quickly got heavy critical acclaim, and their new primal, ferocious, layered sound was praised by almost everyone. Like the previous releases, the album was two hours long and featured a 33 minute long track in the middle of everything else. It was an intense experience that demanded full concentration, because Swans still sounded completely different from other bands. The sound was more listener-friendly than ever, and this wasn’t a bad thing at all. The songs felt right; the primitive nature of Gira’s vocals and the instruments were finally feeling cohesive. The album was a huge revelation in terms of musical ideas, but The Seer always felt a bit incomplete, a bit empty. The work was original, it had the moments where perfect instrumentation met Swans-like intensity and produced perhaps some of the best music of the new decade. However, some moments felt dragged out, inconclusive, too long and too noisy, and many other subtly negative adjectives preceded by the word “too.”This was a brilliant effort, but it always felt like it could be improved. On May 12, 2014 all of this and then some more thankfully happened. Swans released their second full length LP: To Be Kind. The sound of this album resembled The Seer, but it felt fuller in every aspect. The drum fills were amazing, distorted guitars were complemented by everything from trumpets to xylophones to bells to dulcimers, and songs had amazing structures that went beyond the “build up, explode, fade out” nature of contemporary post rock. What made To Be Kind an amazing album, however, was how all of these were used as devices to a greater experiment. It was the first fully developed work of a completely innovative approach to music. Michael Gira, apart from providing many instruments to the record, gives one of the most intense vocal performances on an album. He sings, speaks, screams, howls, chants and even barks to complete all of these songs, which is especially impressive considering vocals in today’s post rock are a very rare occasion. All of this, the originality and the execution of To Be Kind, raises a question: Is this the long awaited third wave of post-rock? The genre, which was born against the simple structure of glam metal and punk rock evolved into a search for minimalism and simplicity, but now it might be the time for the circle to complete itself. To Be Kind is an expression of the frustrations the great musicians of today have with today’s music, yet only time can tell how a record praised today can turn itself into something greater and more permanent. “Swans” performing live december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue STATEOFSOUNDBOSPHORUSCHRONICLESTATEOFSOUND alt-J - This is All Yours Baha Aydın Nara is a flatland island in the southern part of Japan and a place of spiritual energy devoid of the chaotic nature of the country’s commerce-driven cityscape. Literally meaning flatland in kanji, one of the Japanese writing systems which adopted Chinese characters, Nara is a beacon of Zen philosophy, featuring eight still intact temples and shrines, and it is on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list. It is only fitting for the Leeds originated band alt-J to steer their artistic direction toward a sense of orientalism in Zen mantra. The intro’s arrangement of high-key back vocals and ghostly vocals, accompanied by a distinctly eastern sound of flutes and strings, followed by yet another intro,“Arrival in Nara,” and its soft, acoustic sound immediately delivers alt-J’s standpoint. Unfortunately, all these thematic foundations are left behind on paper, and the execution is an utter mess of scattered ideas and halfcomplete approaches. The idea of a “flatland album” with a spiritual aspect crumbles across the board, with the group’s failed attempts to incorporate synth-beats, elitist referencing, and even hipster-esque efforts to stand-out and be witty. “Hunger of the Pine” is the pinnacle of the album’s failure, featuring a senseless, repeated sample of Miley “ Left to Right: Green, Newman, Unger-Hamilton” their sophomore album. The band, marketed as the “new Radiohead,” has seen notable success and favorable reviews with their debut An Awesome Wave, which featured references to not only notable works of fiction relatively known by the western audiences, namely American Psycho (Bloodflood) , Léon (Matilda) , and Where the Wild Things Are (Breezeblocks); but also alluded to the Indo-China wars and the tragic tale of the war photographer couple in the closer “Taro.” Following the same pattern, alt-J attempts to connect to the spiritual aspects of Nara thematically and tries to impress the audience lyrically in This is All Yours. Audibly, however, the two albums definitely differ when it comes to their approach to sound and technical delivery. Whereas the first album had a focus on striking, iconic moments in each and every song, such as the beginning of Fitzpleasure or the ending of Breezeblocks, this album focuses more on the establishment of a laid-back mood. It constructs the baseline of the theme on the premise of a journey--a journey to and from Nara. Regarding the etymology of the word Nara, the album itself is a subversion of the band’s debut of schizophrenic, chaotic sound; This is All Yours as a whole is an atmospheric flatland, set apart from any chaos and embedded with a Cyrus’ corny “I’m a female rebel” and trying to couple it with the lines of French poet Alfred de Musset from his “L’espoir en Dieu”. In a similar manner, the song that follows the mysticism of Nara is a grotesque call for sex, that doesn’t even come close to the appreciation of the mood the album initially was able to set. The supplementary instrumentation is heavy, rather off-beat and heavily off-theme. The band attempts to return to its chaotic roots, but falls quite short. The fact that these two songs were the initial singles released for the promotion of the album doesn’t help, either. The lack in lyrical capabilities of the group is evident, especially in “Every Other Freckle.”“Yes, I’m gonna’ roll around you /Like a cat rolls around sawdusted patios” raises not interest or fascination, but only question marks. Sure, the group has seen success with internal references to their sex jargon in Fitzpleasure, but the main reason it worked was the connection it had to the book Last Exit to Brooklyn. In This is All Yours, however, even the references and allusions are seemingly out of place, placed just to be placed, with the hopes of repeating prior success. In fact, there is no need to search for musical or lyrical complexity where there is admittedly none. Frontman Joe Newman has stated that following complaints about “the first two december 2014 Issue singles not being catchy enough,” the group went into the studio, and wrote and recorded “Left Hand Free” in just a day. Again, this song takes the label “generic” to the next level while contributing nothing to the supposed theme of the album. Perhaps the burden of failure lies not on the band, but on the reviewer, myself, for forcing my viewpoint on the not-yet-proven premise of the album being a flatland, and it is in fact the continuation of the chaotic nature of the infamous triangle. However, if the aim was to recreate the mood, the sound and obviously the success of An Awesome Wave, the album yet again falls short of that aim as well. Both lyrically and soundwise, the album mostly lacks the key aspect that allowed its precedent praise: the striking, iconic moments. While the album fails to create a thematic flatland, it has also unfortunately dropped the quintessence of the debut, thereby missing a chance to be on par with it. There could be multiple reasons for the overall lack of success on this follow-up project, but I conclude that it lies mainly on two factors that significantly altered the creative process of the album in a negative direction. Before anything else, I should state that comparing the two albums of the group is unjust, as the band that produced An Awesome Wave is not the same as the band who produced This is All Yours. The departure of the guitar/ bass player and forming member Gwil Sainsbury definitely changed a few dynamics across the band. Given the conditions the group formed, trying to play quietly in their dorms and therefore forgoing natural bass sounds and later using electronic beats that later on formed the familiar alt-J sound, Sainsbury (along with Newman) was the creative source for the band’s sound and lyrics. His contributions on the debut were exceptionally well executed, most prominently his innovative solo on “Taro,” a reversed guitar track that could be replicated live by playing with duct-tape! The lack of his creative input seems to have definitely hurt the band along the way. Building up on the establishment of the “alt-J sound,” and the situation that indie music as a whole is currently in right now, there is also a factor of industrial pressure that can’t be omitted from the band’s narrative. The beginning of the millennium was dominated by Radiohead, yet now there is a void, an uncertainty as to where exactly the sound is going and how it will evolve through the second decade. Seeing as how alt-J has been the go-to band when in search of something both witty and trippy, it filled a gaping hole in the industry while also being able to remain powerful throughout its sound. Since 2010, there still wasn’t a comparable act; groups like Muse, Arcade Fire or Arctic Monkeys, and even Mumford & Sons are on so divergent lanes, so that the aesthetics of alt-J are unmatched. Therefore, as we conclude this half of the century, This is All Yours had to make an impact. It had to be defining, a paragon of the genre in a sense. Perhaps this expectation drove the band to attempt to reach out to all these different stylistic elements, trying to blend them all together for a unifying theory of music; but it resulted in not being able to handle all the different threads and ripping apart their loom. The album wasn’t exactly devoid of strengths or moments to appreciate. The album’s first firm, wellrounded piece, “Choice Kingdom,” retains all of the delta-signed band’s well praised qualities, whether it’s the simple yet witty lyrics, or instrumental arrangements that don’t take a heavy toll on the mind, but instead allow you to drift along with the song. These qualities are again mirrored in the song “Pusher,” showing that the band was at least able to build on their ability to write slower pieces, a category that only had “Matilda” as a successful example so far. The dual vocals on “Warm Foothills” work well and shows how adaptable Newman’s vocal range is. The sion demonstrates the peak of the group’s musical talent for creating these build-ups, while guitar/bass arrangements makes one forget the departure of Sainsbury, taking the throne of “Taro” as the band’s best work so far. Deserving a special mention here is the sequel to the penultimate song of the debut An Awesome Wave and also the namesake of its title, “Bloodflood” and now “Bloodflood II.” The lyrical narrative of blood heating up, suffocation, adrenaline, knife fights and assassinations reflect upon not just a simple story but a universal truth that the flow of life carries onward. The repeated bird species Quela is a red, small creature, the most common bird on the planet, and it resembles just the image of blood. Although they are exterminated en masse, they tend to populate even more, reflecting the cycle of life and death. This beautiful connection is taken a step further with the return of Fitzpleasure’s great lyrics on Mandela boys becoming Mandela men, and the band delivers a great sequel to an already powerful piece in their discography. Overall, it saddens me to say that This is All Yours is an artistic failure for the band. Will it cost them any Album art of “This is All Yours” duality of female and male vocals has seen notable success in the past few years, with its most prominent example being the Icelandic folk band Of Monsters & Men. Apart from these achievements, the album arguably features the band’s best piece yet, “The Gospel of John Hurt.” The song hits every item on the checklist for the band: clever lyricism, the build-up, the crescendos, and that “iconic moment.” A biblical allusion to the ascended Jeremiah, and the chest burst of John Hurt, an Alien reference to the same image of being able to let go of one’s earthly tether, connect way back to the ethereal theme of the album. The percus- BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE reputation, fame or even money? Probably not, as the album has so many baits and hit-potential to climb up the radio and billboard charts. Nevertheless, the scattered nature of the album is evident to the naked ear, and the lack of this “genius” factor in most of their lyrics raises certain red flags. Surely, the album hits certain points with confidence and achieved success, but the overall lack of focus concerns me for the future path the band will take. Having their symbol as the symbol of change, delta, should mean something, and while they have definitely changed in four years, it is hard to say it was a change for the good. 17 STATEOFSOUNDBOSPHORUSCHRONICLESTATEOFSOUND The Ringo Jets - The Ringo Jets Baha Aydın The Turkish rock and indie music scene, at its best, is pretentious. Apart from the groups that have taken a pop oriented approach or established themselves already, the remaining bands are struggling to either burst out of their shells to find fame or they still haven’t found the proper direction to head for. Considering how hard it has become for a band to form and hold on to a fan base, the key factor to success lies with having a distinct yet firm sound. Of all the aspiring Turkish bands, a modest trio has been able to triumph above the rest in a relatively short period of time. The band that has opted to delve into the refined rock sound, has written and performed in English and has managed to tour Europe over the success of their self-titled debut is: “The Ringo Jets”. The Ringo Jets, who abridge themselves as TRJ, are very clear about who they are: A Rock’n’Roll band. The Turkish music scene was thrown off-beat when an indie band called “Buyuk Ev Ablukada” reached out to massive audiences with heavily metaphorical lyrics and an alterna- Album art of “The Ringo Jets” tive sound; as a result, most other newly forming groups tried to imitate the Karakoy originated group. This led to a period of stagnation where fans have only seen a couple of noteworthy bands that raced along the same file as Buyuk Ev, yet never managed to quite catch them. The alternative/indie obsession took over dramatically, and the pure sound of rock and roll was veiled under the prejudice that it wasn’t as complex or clever as the alternative genre. However, The Ringo Jets burst right out of this shroud and have shown that there are still things to be done for the progression of the Turkish music scene. The album isn’t necessarily flawless or original, though these facts don’t prove to be problematic or create a mundane feeling. The album at times resembles the works of ZZ Top, Guns and Roses, or Nirvana a bit too closely, yet the modern approach is definitely understandable and most of the time, it simply works like clockwork. The album is predictable, sure, but there is nothing wrong in the concept of expecting awesome and receiving awesome. The songs are short, constantly upbeat, high tempo, high power, and directly resemble the frenetic energy of the seventies and eighties. The supposed “soul of the rock’n’roll” is obviously a myth, yet if there ever was such a concept, this album most assuredly encapsulates it. The band’s overall attitude and stance is also noteworthy. The song “Spring of War” is a clear allusion the Left to Right: Deniz, Lale, Tarkan” The Ringo Jets performing Gezi Protests, and the music video of the said song is a well-directed satire that depicts the events prior to and after the protests. “Shake Your Hips” is a synthesis between the stereotypically Anatolian 9/8 beat with Western new era music, something only done by Massive Attack’s “Inertia Creeps” that reached relevant success. The fact that the band also opted to work with a local record store called Rainbow 45 in Kadıköy to get their album on LP is also praiseworthy, as the group is demonstrating exemplary behavior for music as a whole to grow and develop. Of all the upcoming bands from Turkey, The Ringo Jets is definitely the one to keep a close eye on. They are archetypal yet unpredictable, predictable yet original, and they surely have a firm and established stance. They know who they are, they know what they are doing, and so should you. Songs of Innocence: Remarkable Album or Industry Statement? Kaan Ertaş One morning on your way to school, you may have found a strange album amidst your music library, seemingly bought by you. You are not the only one perplexed, as millions of iTunes customers worldwide were shocked to see an album by an 80’s Irish rock band magically appear in their iTunes library on a September morning. This wasn’t just some accidental download, but more a controversial attempt to revolutionize music industry. The rock legends U2 teamed up with the technology giant Apple, also currently controversial with issues regarding privacy, to release the album “Songs of Innocence”, solely 18 digitally. Moreover, the album that was automatically inserted to the libraries of more than 500 million iTunes customers was completely free. The intention was that users, who were to find a free album out of nowhere, would gladly accept the album as a gift. Bono, the frontman to the group, stated in an interview that he wanted to see artists’ reach measured by how much they’re listened to, by whatever medium or method. The album’s placement in personal iTunes accounts aimed to show that the band’s aim was not solely to generate revenues, however, Bono later admitted that the band was paid by Apple for the album, adding, “I don’t believe in free music. Music is a sacrament.” In fact, the album was put on physical release in CD and LP format on October 14th, 2014. the pioneering action, Apple was highly supportive of the cause. The album, made available to half a billion iTunes users globally, was downloaded by 26 million users and “experienced” by 81 million people, Being the platform provider for BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE as phrased by the company press release. The album was marketed by the CEO Tim Cook as the largest album release of all time. “It is great to participate in something that is music history,” he remarked. Although done in good faith, not all went to plan in this severely cynical world we live in. Thus the album, while regarded by some as an okay and rather personable release by the band after a 5-year absence, The band’s promotional posters after the release of “Songs of Innocence” december 2014 Issue January 2008 Issue STATEOFSOUNDBOSPHORUSCHRONICLESTATEOFSOUND was regarded as abysmal by many and generated furious remarks all over the social media. After receiving countless complaints from its users, Apple had to release a removing tool for the album to retain customer satisfaction, even partially. Customers who despised the album or for some reason wanted no U2 songs in their library were provided with a dedicated webpage providing step-by-step instructions. U2 answered complaints, emphasizing the fact that a lot of work has been put into the album, remaining unapologetic. Bassist Adam Clayton said of the Twitter reviews: “It’s like everyone’s vomiting whatever their first impression is.” The album is personal in content and light in sound. Songs in the tracklist reference certain incidents and people that have had an effect on band members. The opening track for the album, “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)”, also being the song performed in the Apple event, dates back to the failed attempt to enter a Ramones concert and reveals Bono’s vocal influence. “Iris (Hold Me Close)” is about Bono’s mother, who passed away when he was 14. “This Is Where You Can Reach Me Now” is a song dedicated to Joe Strummer, an early influence in their political approach to music. Simply put, the album serves as an homage to musical influences and life changing occurrences. political issues as well throughout his career. First glimpses of this activist spirit can be seen through the band’s record “War”which was released in 1982. It is a shared interest in music and a way of the company thanking the customers that encouraged Apple to host such an event. Furthermore, U2 has signaled future collaborations with Apple for the purpose of innovating the way music is listened to and viewed. These sorts of missions are not new to the band, as Bono has been known to be a political activist and has been involved with No action is influential if not controversial in the first place. The release of “Songs of Innocence” was surely controversial. After all, a major backlash is how all actions for the better are received in their debut. The music industry has yet to see the impact but as things stand now, the album is a gift to all music-lovers and a potential game-changer in its respected field. The band is anticipating the release of an upcoming companion album, “Songs of Experience”, but the release method or Apple’s collaborative essence to the successor is unbeknownst to the media. As the name suggests, this album will most probably contain the heavier tunes among the two. Album art of “Songs of Innocence” 100% Fest: Soundgarden and Massive Attack Esin Gezer On 6-7 June, just before summer break, two big bands came to Turkey. It was a very exciting event for people who seek grunge, alternative and indie rock. The Seattle band “Soundgarden” and the band I feel ‘unfinished sympathy’ for: “Massive Attack” played to a sell-out crowd. It was the best concert I’ve been to recently. The festival area had an alluring spirit: It was two days of nonstop excellent music. On the first day, Soundgarden gave an unforgettable performance on stage. Despite his old age, the frontman, Chris Cornell, sang all the songs like they had been recorded in a studio. “Spoon- man” and “Superunknown” were perhaps the favorite songs of the concert. To tell you the truth, rock lovers missed a lot by not coming to this concert and they will regret it. Soundgarden played most of its well-known songs from the great album Superunknown and the setlist choice was inspiring. However, it seemed that I did not have the same experience as the audience. Except for the song “Black Hole Sun”, the audience didn’t have the spirit of a concert crowd, but even though they may have looked bored, the band maintaıned their energy. Above all, Cornell was very sincere to his Turkish audience. He was not like the dull and impersonal singers who just go up to the stage and sing. He chatted with his fans in between two songs and proved that he is not like the others. Everyone hopes to december 2014 Issue see them in Turkey again with a better audience in the following years. The other band that performed in the “100% FEST” and honored their fans was Massive Attack. There were some technical problems, and it was challenging for them to keep the pace with the atmosphere because of the lack of sound in the first three songs. After they fixed the amplifier, however, everything improved. Like most of the audience, I didn’t want them to stop playing and could have stayed all night, but they left the stage without playing “Karmacoma” which was somewhat disappointing. screens. In my opinion, it was a bit unnecessary and pretentious. Just because a band lives at the other end of the world, they shouldn’t protest about our country without really knowing the details of it. I think the band should not have used The surprise of the day was in the songs “Inertia Creeps” and “Splitting The Atom”. While the band sang them, the names of the people who died during the Gezi Parkı protest and Soma were displayed on the BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE these protests as a part of the performance. Overall, it was a phenomenal concert by two talented bands, who showed Turkish audiences that they may be getting older, but they can still rock. Soundgarden on stage 19 Bosphorus Chronıcle Harry Potter Themed Freeboard Tuvana Kankallı M. Miraç Süzgün Let’s welcome freedom of speech, the superiority of imagination, and the mystery of the most unanswerable questions! For those who have not yet heard of it, or do not remember what it is, Freeboard is a Bosphorus Chronicle tradition where everyone has the chance to express their thoughts, free their imagination, and be heard! In this most unlimitedly creative corner of BC, you can dig into the deepest thoughts of your imaginative subconscious without having your motives or ideas questioned or restricted. Here’s how it works: for a couple of weeks, we go around asking people selected questions for the issue, and the most extraordinary responses we get are published in this corner. Starting with this issue, we decided to focus on a different theme on which to base our questions. Let’s see what members of the Robert College community have to say about one of the 21st century’s most popular book and film series that several generations were raised with: Harry Potter. Even if you are one of the people who hasn’t read or watched the series, Bosphorus Chronicle assures you that you will enjoy each one of these ludicrous answers. If you had an invisibility cloak, where would you go and why? Merril Hope-Brown: Sit in Deniz Baysal’s music lessons and make rude noises. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16): Gym during the finals. Helping people cheat, or causing some distraction. Andrew LaRaia: I would go to places that I wasn’t supposed to go. Justin Christensen: Sorry but I haven’t read or watched the Harry Potter series. (Students at the Writing Center: Really, Mr. Christensen? Justin Christensen: Yes, I mean I haven’t seen the books or the movies; but years ago, my brother had a girlfriend and we used to call her Harry Potter since she was wearing round Harry Potterish glasses... Anyways, who told you I had an invisibility cloak?!) Umutcan Gölbaşı (RC’15): Where any teenage boy in his right mind would. The candy store. Reagan Light: That’s dangerous. The person who has it would probably go eavesdropping and people wouldn’t even know they were being watched. Tayfun Gür (RC’16): I’d get into the cafeteria without waiting in line of course. Aslı Erkan (RC’19): I would go into the Teachers’ Lounge. Whom would you give it to if you had a chance to give your Marauder’s map? Merril Hope-Brown: Anyone in the Arts Department so I don’t have to go into my classes and they could cover for me. Preferably Deniz Baysal. Margaret Halıcıoğlu: I would keep it for myself. Emre Fırat: I would give it to my wife so that she would know where I am all the times and understand when I am coming to home, etc. Cem Nesiri (RC’19): I would give it to Ms. Halıcıoğlu so that she can see where everyone is. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16): Gym during the finals. Helping people cheat,or causing some distraction. Andrew LaRaia: I’d give it to anyone who is overly obsessed with Harry Potter for them to find their way to better books. Umutcan Gölbaşı (RC’15): Turkish politicians. Aslı Erkan (RC’19): The staff members who has the keys to unlock the lockers. Justin Christensen: Definitely not to the person who told you I had an invisibility cloak. Reagan Light: I would keep it for myself. Tayfun Gür (RC’16): I would sell it to Ms. Halıcıoğlu at a reasonable price. If you had a chance to use Avada Kedavra (The Killing Curse), who would you use it on? Why? Merril Hope-Brown: Minister Cornelius Fudge. But in real life I don’t think you should publish who I’d choose. Margaret Halıcıoğlu: I wouldn’t kill anyone. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16):I don’t think I’d need magic to kill people. “Magic don’t kill people, people kill people.” Andrew LaRaia: I’d only use in on someone to save many lives. Justin Christensen: I’m not violent. Reagan Light: I would use the Killing Curse on the students who do not do Preps Answering Our Questions 20 BOSPHORUS CHRONICLE their homework. Zeynep Nur Sözer (RC’19): Bellatrix Lestrange. Which course would you take if Robert College had a similar education system to Hogwarts’? Merril Hope-Brown: Dark Arts course. Andrew LaRaia: “How to Win Friends” and “Influence People” by Lenny Bruce. Emre Fırat: Magical Creatures. Aslı Erkan (RC’19): Potions. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16): Whichever Mr. Gee was teaching. Margaret Halıcıoğlu: The idea of levitation intrigues me, so I would take Dark Arts. Zeynep Nur Sözer (RC’19): Transfigurations since it’s an useful skill during a battle. Who would you choose to marry? Ron or Harry? Why? Merril Hope-Brown: I’d choose Harry-because Ron is annoying. Tayfun Gür (RC’16): Why not marry both? İmam nikahı with Ron, state marriage with Harry. After all, one is the kind of boy to have fun with, the other is the kind to marry. Andrew LaRaia: Can I marry Hermione? Zeynep Nur Sözer (RC’19): Ron, because Weasley is our king. Aslı Erkan (RC’19): Harry, because Ron is naive. Emre Fırat: Ron because Harry is a more dominant character; so I wouldn’t get along with Harry in a long term relationship. Cem Nesiri (RC’19): Ron, because he’s taller and is a ginger. Umutcan Gölbaşı (RC’15): Ron — we’d have ginger babies. Harry is more like someone you’d have fun with. Also, “put a ring on Ron” has a ring to it. Reagan Light: Ron is more of a goofball whereas Harry is the rockstar. I’d choose Ron since he’s just a good natured person and crazy. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16): Of course Harry. Who on earth would marry Ron? If you would given a chance to change only one thing in the series, what would it be? Merril Hope-Brown: I’d make the last book of the series less dark since it’s very dark for children. Andrew LaRaia: I’d make it about a little rock band from down under with a lot of heart and a lead guitarist in a little boys school uniform who left the world thunderstruck. Margaret Halıcıoğlu: I would add more female characters who are influential and powerful. The series is mostly male focused. Emre Fırat: I would kill Harry because he shared a part of his soul with Voldemort and when he died, Harry should have died too. Aslı Erkan (RC’19): Harrys’ parents would have resurrected. Cem Nesiri (RC’19): I would have killed Harry Potter or the whole cast. Reagan Light: Death of Fred Weasley was very sad because the idea of a twin left alone is devastating. Umutcan Gölbaşı (RC’15): Give Harry a gun and Voldemort a nose. Ferhat Karademir (RC’16): Add a character with a mohawk. Punkwizards would be the new trend. Emre Fırat Holding His Magic Wand December 2009 Issue december 2014