A Whimsical Winter Holiday

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 I know many of you are still resting and enjoying your Winter Break.  Please continue to do so.  I have been trying to stay cozy and dry.

We have a few December submissions.  Please make sure to read ALL of them here on the Blog.  Choose your favorites, most interesting and/or intriguing and leave your comments for at least three.

Comments are due Monday, January 10th.

Remember that this is our safe space for our friends and peers.  Be mindful, kind, and respectful when writing feedback.

I miss you all and look forward to seeing you next week!!

Don't forget to read Jane Eyre through chapter 20!

Hugs,

Mrs. Solano

xoxo

The Secret Garden--Meghann

 

I skip from step to step and a small smile graces my face as a slight breeze sweeps me off of my feet. It transports me to the entrance of the botanical garden, and the familiar bright red sign that reads ‘CLOSED’ greets me as I pass through. The gate creaks as I unlock the entrance with my spare key, careful to check behind me for any wandering eyes.

I take a deep breath, the floral scents and old memories drift towards me. My nose tingles, and the welcoming scent increasingly becomes overwhelming. I absentmindedly trace the engraved key that lies on my chest for reassurance to continue through the garden. I glance down at the gleaming piece of metal hanging onto my neck by a weathering piece of string.

The birds chirp and begin to hop about, so I go on with my routine and fetch the seeds from the shed. As I stroll through the garden, I slowly leave a trail of seeds for the colorful songbirds.
A series of flower petals scattered across the pure white marble walkway turn it into a rainbow of soft, vibrant colors. My bare feet press the plush flower petals against the chilling marble walkway as I stroll through the garden.

The graying watering bucket awaits me to fill its empty frame with water, and I oblige, slowly pouring the water from my bottle. As I revive the plants, I scrutinize how every form of life contributes to this bright atmosphere. I look down at the Fuschia-colored flower before me, reminiscing on old memories.

“This is my native plant. In my country, Haiti, it means delicate beauty.” My dad tells me. He gently pulls one of the flowers from the plant and gingerly places it behind my ear. My face now mirrors his gap-toothed smile. His eyes crinkle around the corners but his pupils swirl with sadness. At that moment I will myself forget the pain behind his eyes.

A single drop of water falls onto the petal, and I look up to see the clouds in the sky churning and colored a light shade of grey. I take a deep breath and begin to speak to the wind, hoping somehow it will carry my message to my dad.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t come sooner. Every single thing reminds me of you. From your smile to your laugh, and your soul. I think back to the night we looked up and counted the stars. Now at night, I wish on every star that you’ll come back.” I voice out. My eyes begin to burn with tears. I blink furiously, finally focusing back on the plants in front of me.

My eyes catch onto a rare beauty, which holds no color, unlike the rest of the surrounding plants. I cut across the grass, the dirt sinking between my toes, as I reach the entrancing perennial. It stands out among the radiant-colored roses. I creep toward the flower; however, I unknowingly entangle myself further in the thorny bushes. I stand still and cock my head to the side, carefully studying the blossom. I cautiously extend my hand, lightly brushing the pad of my finger against the velvety petals of the white rose. It feels like cream underneath the tips of my cracked, dry fingertips.

Its simplistic beauty mesmerizes me. I tentatively take a step back, afraid to harm the frail flower. The fabric of my white dress pulls me back to the flower as I try to leave. I slowly take notice of my surroundings and begin to panic. My breathing constricts and tears re-emerge from the depths of my eyes. My lips begin to create alarming sounds and it muffles my ears until it drowns out the songbirds and the howling wind.

In a frenzy, I hurriedly turn back to find the tail of my dress snagged in the prickly branches, and without thought, my hands plunge in after it. My hands stab against the thorns of the stem, and I

attempt to ignore the excruciating pain, stretching until my fingertips sweep against the lace cloth. I salvage a torn piece of the lace dress. The white fabric alarmingly begins to turn a harsh red color, the tip of my finger oozing a plush red liquid that trickles onto the dress, slowly seeping in and tarnishing the snow-white article of clothing. I drop the tatter, my eyes widening in alarm. It flutters to the ground like a bloodied, fallen dove. My eyes travel towards the cuts stemming from my hands, resembling vines crawling up my arm. The reopened scars exude a red liquid like an evergoing waterfall, but I don’t pay it any mind.

My gaze refocuses on the fallen flower that lays frail on the floor. Before the blood can reach the tips of my fingers and sully the white fabric, I bring it to the whites of my teeth. The wind picks up attempting to rip the fabric from the tips of my teeth, but I tighten my jaw until my teeth clench in pain. But I’ve been tricked, instead, the wind picks up the delicate white rose and takes it away. In a frenzy, I pick up the tail of my dress and chase after the rose taken by the wind. I tumble and trip over the trails of my dress. The wind whips at my face and blurs my vision. The glimpse of white being carried away from me stays in my line of vision, despite the grains of dirt and pebbles flying into my eyes and the now pouring water begging my eyes to shut. Pains shoot up the flats of my feet as it pounds against the rocky surface and take off again. The speed of my feet only allowed them to grace the ground for a moment, but never stay in one place for too long. As I near the floating white flower that flutters in the wind, I take a daring leap towards it. A perfect grand jete, my limbs stretched and poised to perfection, and my arms elongated. I ignore the pulling tensions on my arms as I extend my fingertips toward the short stem of the flower. With one blink my hand is outstretched towards the floating flower that has shifted into the hand of my fathers. A depiction of the modern-day Creation of Adam between daughter and father. Every fiber of my body longs to hold his hand and to have him by my side. I’m so close. But in a split moment, I’m brought back to reality, as my fingernails scrape against the green stem. This short-lived joy ends. The wind tosses me like a rag doll, my body straining to twist upward and get one last glimpse of my lost joy. It shows me the unattainable piece of my soul. My heart drops into a bottomless abyss and my body follows suit, my time suspended in air has run short.

I begin to spiral down toward the pond lying beneath me at alarming speeds. The remaining wind is knocked out of me as my body collides with the surface of the earth. A sudden shock shoots from the bottom of my spine to the back of my head, an overwhelming throbbing pain settles in, willing my eyes to snap shut, and for every bone in my body to ache. Every ounce of my body has begun to feel raw agony. Pain holds an unbearable weight that I was never ready to carry.

I sleepily open my eyes, head tilted towards the now-clear sky and beaming rays. A sad smile graces my lips as I register the scene before me. The garden radiates warmth with its plush vibrant colors and the picturesque sky brightens the somber mood. There are no visible remnants of the treacherous storm, except for me. I lay still in the pond, the water lapping around me and encasing me in its protection. The water attempts to cleanse me of wounds but to no avail. The crimson red blood pumps through my veins and gushes into the once clear water. My head lulls back and the piercing glare of the sun causes my eyes to squint back. I sink into the cool water until I’m submerged entirely by the body of water. As the air in my lungs slowly depletes, I sever the pain that kept me tethered to this earth for too long. I make my final wish on the one star I have never wished upon: the sun. I wish for my father’s presence, my eternal sunshine. As I let go I listen to the song of the birds resonating around me until it blends to sound like the gentle whistling of my father and I’s favorite tune. I’m at peace.

White Vacant Room--Vanessa

I woke up in a white room, as I was looking around, my hands were transparent and I couldn’t feel anything, even myself. The last thing I remembered was collapsing in my vast empty house. Wait a minute, I hear somebody lightly trouting on the ground as if they were a tiny kitten scamping through the house. As the noise was approaching nearer and nearer, there he appeared. It was a child, he waved at me with pure joy and happiness.There was a soft yet loud voice coming from the opposite direction where the young child was standing. He said, “bye-bye I will see you later”. I was in utter shock and started to panic, I was wheezing and gasping for air, my hands were trembling. Suddenly he reappeared again, his head was peeking out of the doorway, his eyes were sulking and his gentle innocent eyes were gazing at me. How could he see me? But yet I am invisible, he wrapped his thin small arms around me and gave me an action figure of Optimus Prime. He called out my name, “Rosemary”. How did the child know my name? He finally left the room heading back to the soft-gentle voice I heard earlier on. I was incapable of even getting up, it took some time for me to eventually stand on my transparent feet, I was wandering the white vacancy, there was nothing but that door that had a chandelier hanging on the entry side of it. I don’t comprehend this, why why am I here?! What exactly happened to my former being? Why has my soul departed? The white vacant room was turning pitch black, there was no furniture, only darkness, myself, and the Optimus Prime figure on the floor. Abruptly, the boy reappeared again he reeked of cinnamon, but it reminded me of when my father made cinnamon apple tea for me. The boy said, “Rosemary c’mon. Help me build this ship!” He instantly grabbed my invisible hand and took me to the ground, but it felt softer and fuzzier than before I arrived here. Agh I see he has this chestnut carpet as his ground, he placed the giant monochrome blocks all over the carpet. He was attempting to fit blocks together that mismatched each other, his fidgety hands stopped and his soft hazel eyes were gazing back at me again. He directly said, “Start helping me. I want to play pirates with you Rosemary.” Agh there it is again, he gave me a few blocks, this felt like an obligation to at least put some effort in building the ship. This child was giggling and grinning like the Cheshire cat and joyfully exclaimed, “You are so good at connecting blocks” I faintly smiled and proceeded to my job. But he spoke again “What’s a pirate’s favorite fish?” He eagerly stared at me, waiting patiently for me to answer. I shrugged my transparent shoulders, he instantly frowned. I quietly said “Goldfish?” He started to giggle hysterically while laughing hysterically he said, “No ahahah...Rosemary it’s a swordfish!” He burst out with pure laughter and joy, I don’t understand why he was so cheerful. But this slender woman came into the vacant room and confusingly asked the child, “Who are you talking to?” He stood up and grabbed this woman’s delicate hand, and pointed on the other side of the pirate ship, he proudly stated “Rosemary”. She looked at him with concern and confusingly she responded, “Hunny there is no one there”. His facial expression was changing, this child was wearing his emotions on his sleeves. He began to talk in a defensive voice, “She is right there!” The mother was still utterly baffled but it appeared she came to the realization of what the little boy was trying to convince her, she said in a sweet honey-loving voice, “Ah I see Vincent” smiling innocently at the child, Vicent. As they were chattering my eyes were getting heavy and it was slowly getting darker as I was about to enter eternal sleep. The time quickly passed and there were sun rays through the big glass window, Vicent was still asleep, and he had white cream curtains and his bedsheets had the varied Transformers. It was still empty, just a black bed frame and twin-sized bed with dark blue bed sheet covers on it. So this was Vincent’s home. There was a creaking noise coming from the door that the translucent chandelier was glistening at the other side of the door. There was “pitter patter pitter patter”, paws appeared at the doorway. It was a light brown dog with floppy and droopy ears, its legs were quite short, and it had an elongated body. It went into the room and started to walk very quickly but went nowhere with those tiny legs of its. It started to lick my invisible hands, how did the dog sense me? But the woman could not? Is my presence only apparent to some? My chest was getting sharp pain, my hands were uncontrollably shaking, Vincent woke up and began to walk towards my direction again, damn it’s those eyes that I hate that are seeking me out with concern and being caring. Why is this child so concerned about my wellbeing? Why is he so attached to my soul? He was like this for several weeks, as I got used to the child, his room was becoming more visible than before, his once barren walls were painted blue and he had posters and stickers of Transformers. Even his bookshelf had action figures of his favorite characters. There was a big toy box in the corner of his room where he stored his hot wheels, lego blocks, etc. Vincent was at the doorway, he said “C’mon Rosemary let’s play outside.'' At this point, I went along with all his silly games, but it was refreshing to see mother nature's greenery. He had a garden of yellow roses blooming, its yellow was slightly faded, its prickly thorns were proudly protecting their beauty. A clicked sound was made coming from the window, Vincent’s mother was opening the window, and I see where Vicente got his dimples as his mother gave a gentle grin to Vincent. Vincent ran to the window and energetically asked his mother, “Come play with me and RoseMary” As he was pointing in the direction towards me, there was a look of concern. She questioned again “How’s RoseMary? What does she look like hunny?” His face was getting flushed, “She is very funny, she has long brown hair but some of her hair is red as well. She wears butterfly jewelry with a black long sleeve shirt and a lavender skirt. She’s the best!” He said. “Well she sounds like a wonderful lady but I’m busy Vincent.” She walked away but glanced back at her child that is slowly getting older and older. We proceeded back to our “adventure” as I sat behind Vincent, his coconut head was up to my chest now. He was babbling out some nonsense but he was chuckling, this felt so nostalgic of when I played by myself as the prolonged-time went by. I wish I was like Vincent when I was a kid, he doesn’t care about a single matter of the world and feels loved by his guardian. His presence began to feel homely and comforting to my own soul being.

Each day he was changing, but he was still attached to me like a leech but it felt normal. Every day he saw me waiting for him in the brightened blue room. As we got significantly connected to each other, he felt so familiar to me, but his time was coming soon when he won’t need me any longer. He’s already 9 years old, he’s going into fourth grade. Lost time was being passed, he didn’t acknowledge my presence as much as he used to. He finally finished fourth grade and went into fifth grade and eventually to sixth grade. Eventually, I really did feel invisible to him, the sharp pain hit me again and a pit in my stomach was forming, a small but yet growing hands passed my face and were wrapped around my shoulders. It was Vincent, he pulled me back and gave me his last gentle smile, “It’s alright RoseMary, thank you for always being there for me and you will be fine without me. Thank you, you will forever be in my heart but I’ll be going into middle school, and I’ve found new interests and new friends who are there for me.” I see my time has finally come that all I’m capable of doing is accepting this last statement of Vicente. His last words were, “Thank you but I’ll be going now RoseMary.” As Vincent was slowly walking towards the doorway with the glistening chandelier, it became a white vacant room again, my eternal sleep awaited me. 

How to Make Friends--Daniel

So, you don’t have any friends. And you wanna change that don’t ya. Well, my dear dear reader, you came to the right place. All humans, despite what big social media tells you, are all the same. Despite superficial differences like “personality” or “unsurmountable, fundamental disagreements about your political, religious, moral or social views”, you can be friends with anyone if you follow my state-of-the-art tips. After all, we’re all the same flesh and bones from here to places faraway like, i dunno, Iowa or something. With these 10 simple tips, you can go from a lonely loser to a slightly less lonely loser. 

And these tips work! These tips are derived from my own experiences making friends. And I never had a helpful “How To” guide like you do. I had to do this whole “making friends” thing the hard way. Just for you (and no one else😊), I’ve boiled down the things I’ve learned over many years in the art of friendship-building into 10 simple, easy to follow tips. Following these tips, I’ve gone from zero friends to two whole friends (yes, I have that many😎). Without further ado, let’s get on to the reason you are here. The meat and bones of the whole Christmas roast. The main course of the dinner and main event of the pay-per-view. The steps are as follows: 

1. Follow Every Tip of this Guide Exactly to the Letter 

Ok, I lied. This isn’t actually one of the 10 tips in the guide, but it’s still very important for you to know. You must, and I mean MUST, follow every single one of the tips of this guide to get success. To do otherwise risks adverse failure, major emotional trauma and the total collapse of human civilization itself. 

2. Don’t Follow Every Tip of this Guide Exactly to the Letter

“Plans are nothing, planning is everything” - Anthony ”Tony Stark” Stark. Everything is situational, especially making friends. This plan, however perfectly concocted it may be, must be adapted to particular circumstances you are in. Certain people respond to certain tips (like Tip 10 for example) better than others, so make sure to observe, respond and react to situations to implement my strategies yo. 

Ok, here’s 10 actual tips to make friends. 

1. Don’t Be Weird 

Yeah, uh. People don’t like spending time with weirdos. So stop being weird and stuff ya know? 

2. Don’t Be Yourself

If you have to follow this guide, there’s something wrong with you and your personality. No offense, but it’s true. People don’t want what you have to offer. They want extensions of themselves. So don't tell them about your lifelong passion for gardening or your love of renaissance fairs, and try to be the type of person they’d want you to be. After all, I’d bet all the money in my bank account (2.50 dollars) that being yourself is why you need this guide anyway. 

3. Don’t Be Choosey

 “Beggars can’t be choosy” These words by Nobel Poet Laureate Eninem are true. If you want friends, you have to be open to everyone. And I mean everyone. Try to befriend everyone you see whether it’s a 3rd grader, the carver at Old Country Buffet, the divorced middle aged mother of 3 at the DMV, anyone. Any person you don’t try to befriend is an opportunity for friendship lost. So go out there on the busy town street and try to talk to everyone you see. To the passerby, you’ll seem like a desperate person. A desperately interesting person!!!

 4. Always Agree with Them AKA the “Pray They’re Not A Nazi” technique. 

Disagreement is almost always a source of conflict. Conflict avoidance is essential to maintain good, entirely positive relationships with your prospective friends. Never voice your own opinion unless you want to risk utterly destroying the friendship you’ve worked so hard to make. Agree with them on everything, even controversial topics. In fact, especially controversial topics so that they can truly know how compatible the two of you are. Just because you agree with them doesn’t necessarily mean you actually feel that way. If I was everything I’d agree with people with, I’d be a social justice warrior neo-Nazi, a climate change denying environmentalist and a misogynistic feminist incel lover of the US military while simulatainously being a member of Al-Qaeda. All those things aren’t true (well, mostly), yet I still said them to gain friends. So agree, agree, and most importantly, AGREE! 

5. Make Eye Contact 

People love having attention to themselves (narcissistic scumbags). One of the best ways to show people attention is eye contact. Eye contact is a simple yet eminently effective way of showing someone that you are, in fact, interested in them. The connection between eye contact and interest has even been proved mathematically. As you should know, the Pythagorean Theorem states that eye contact is directly proportional to the level of interest shown to someone. Thus, to a prospective friend, the more eye contact the better. Whether it’s face-to-face, across the classroom, or from several miles away, keep up the eye contact. And when it comes to eye contact, staring is the best. So stare at them constantly so they know you’re really interested in them as a friend. 

6. Learn More About Them 

The more you know about someone, the closer you are to that person. Closeness, as you can expect, is correlated with friendshipness. The closer you are, the better friends you are. Thus, you should try and get all the information you can on a prospective friend. There are many ways to do this. Search up their name in Google, stalk respectfully browse their social media accounts, break into the FBI headquarters to get their personal files, hire a private investigator. The possibilities are truly endless. All information you can scrooge up about them can and should be used in conversations with them. After all, bringing up their mother’s maiden name, their baby brother’s social security number, and the exact size of their ex-boyfriend’s left pinky finger are all splendid conversation topics to talk about. And even if they’re “weirded out” and “want you to get the hell away from them” after you bring some information up, blackmail is always a way to get friends. 

7. Pretend to be interested in their hobbies 

Not everything about a person is interesting. Believe me, watching prospective friends while they sleep to learn more about them gets boring sometimes. However, it is imperative that you, at the very least, feign interest in the things they’re interested in so they know just how much you care about them. Even if you find what they like stupid, keep being “interested”. After all, people tend to have friends who share their interests. Cheat the system by sharing all of their interests while actually being interested in none of them! 

8. Always be Available 

Availability is the best ability. Thus, the more availability you are, the more best ability you are. Opportunities to spend time with prospective friends lost due to busyness are opportunities to build up your friendships squandered. And remember, there’s no reason good enough to be too busy for your friends. Maybe you have a job, quit it to be available. Maybe you wanna go out to get some gourmet Mexican food at Del Taco, don’t go. Don’t fill up your schedule at all and be AVAILABLE. In this way, you can immediately respond to your friends if they hit you up, even if it’s 3 AM on a work day. In fact, use this availability to spent more time with your friends. If they’re busy at work, go up to them at work and spend your entire day over there. Call them up constantly no matter if it’s 5:30 AM or 7 PM. If you don’t know their number, use tip 6. Show how much you want to spend time with your prospective friends by always being there for them, even if they file a restraining order against you. Violating a court order will only show how much you really want their friendship.

 9. Be Rich

 In my personal experience, this is the most effective tip I have to give you. After investing my life savings (5 bucks) into GameStop stock, I managed to raise my net worth from 10 dollars to 17 million dollars. Of course, with my new found wealth, I splurged on expensive purchases like “Burger King” and “paying off my student loans from the University of Phoenix”, which naturally attracted a lot of attention to myself. People (2 of them) soon came flocking to my door and they seemed to reciprocate the interest I had in getting new friends. They even talked about diverse, interesting topics such as “can I have some money” and “could I have more money please”. Naturally, being the nice person I am, I treated my friends as I would myself. Now I’ve run out of money and have to take out pay-day loans to keep up appearances, but I wouldn’t trade the genuine human connection I have with my new friends for the world. So get that paper dawg, and maybe new potential friends will come flocking to you like they did me. 

Fun Fact: This tip will also be in the planned sequel to this guide which will be called “How to Get A Girlfriend”. This sequel will be released as soon as I get one, so never so very soon haha knock on wood. 

10. Uh yeah I know I said that there were ten tips, but uh, I can’t be bothered to write more. 

If you enjoyed this guide and want more, you should donate to my bitcoin wallet at “n32B4DTWaKJEtNzBbNoGmyAeV1LXwnGEXy” to support me getting out of my parent’s basement. I hope you use this guide to turn your lonely, useless, and honestly pathetic lives into something slightly more meaningful. bye.

The Fixation of the Male Gaze--Jaylen

 When I was 10 years old, my favorite outfit was a floral skirt, with a colorful top, and Nike shoes to match. My mom would say “sit right,” and I would immediately turn, to have my hands and knees face her. When I was 14 years old, I would come downstairs and she would protest to the whole room about “putting more clothes on” because I was showing too much. When I was a fully-developed teen, I began to find myself finding ways of expression through clothing. Some ways of expression showed “too much skin” and sometimes I “didn’t show enough” to affirm my femininity. I got lost in who I was, constantly living for the opinions of others. To always avoid the animalistic gaze, every move I made. The gaze that would later haunt my forms of expression. The gaze I would piece my outfits around. It brought coldness to my spine and a knot in my stomach. An unhealthy view of myself started to self-create, not wanted, nor accepted. I started to become the manifestation of what a man wanted. Spreading like a disease, it touched my beliefs, morals, and will. Never really obtaining my true identity in my individuality.

“Male fantasies, male fantasies, is everything run by male fantasies? Up on a pedestal or down on your knees, it's all a male fantasy: that you're strong enough to take what they dish out, or else too weak to do anything about it. Even pretending you aren't catering to male fantasies is a male fantasy: pretending you're unseen, pretending you have a life of your own, that you can wash your feet and comb your hair unconscious of the ever-present watcher peering through the keyhole, peering through the keyhole in your own head, if nowhere else. You are a woman with a man inside watching a woman. You are your own voyeur.”-Margaret Atwood 

The male gaze invokes a sexualized way of viewing that empowers men and objectifies women, an object of hetersexual male desire. The desire subjugates women to lead lives through the appeal for men. The appeal for men is standardized through beauty. A woman who fits the narrative is known to uphold “perfection” in the eyes of the gazer. It aids in maintaining the patricharical structure that enhances the male experience, at the expense of a woman. The objectification of women and girls impact their mental health through body image and oversexualizing themselves. Awareness in the male gaze allows you to see yourself, without relegating yourself to the supporting role. To begin breaking down the structure, inspiration through women who live against such obligations, are role models of womanhood. It stripes the weight of constantly being seen or fitting into the “feminine” role. Once you’ve disengaged from the male gaze, you begin to reform your inner being and create an individuality that's original. As a collective, experiencing the male gaze we can either tolerate it or reinvent its power to define you.

How to upgrade your laptop storage--Sameer

 Have you ever wanted a way to make your laptop better, such as improving the storage without tons of usb drives just laying about? Maybe even to upgrade your laptop’s RAM to be able to have more web browser tabs or even to run games a bit better? Well, with a little bit of confidence and money, you can upgrade your laptop for cheap, rather than needing pesky external storage drives or to buy a new computer. 

This tutorial will focus on upgrading storage rather than the RAM, but RAM can still be added onto this tutorial.

Materials and other stuff that you will need before the SSD upgrade 

● To start off, make sure you know what model laptop you have, as researching is key for upgrading (some laptops might have limitations to upgradeability, or require a little expertise in the form of researching internals.) You will also need some supplies, mainly a screwdriver, preferably with tips that match the screws under your laptop (most laptop manufactures use philip screws, so a screwdriver with a phillip head will most likely get the job done.) 

● You will also need to buy an internal drive, which can usually be found in the form of SSD (solid state drives) as newer laptops use these, but if you have an older laptop, such as from 2010 or prior then you might need to find an HDD (hard disk drive) instead. This is where money is mainly needed for the build, with most drives costing $50 to even $200+

 ● You will also need time and patience, and maybe another pair of helping hands to make your upgrade easier. 

● A clean working area will prove beneficial to upgrading. (lost screws are going to drive you to insanity.) 

● A paper clip to cut power from the battery (will be explained in a later step). 

● A pair of rubber gloves to protect from the internal components.

Warning: Upgrading your laptop may void your warranty. Some manufacturers have a sticker placed on a screw, that if damaged will make your laptop not eligible for a warranty.

The Laptop I will be using is the MSI GE76 Raider (11UH-245), as well as using the SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus SSD 2TB for the storage upgrade. 

Step 1: After you turn off your laptop, wait a few minutes before you tamper with it, for safe measures, wait 10 minutes or so before upgrading. Flip your laptop upside down so that the back is facing towards you. This is necessary as most laptops are built with the back being able to open relatively easily for upgrades.

Step 2: Fold the paper clip till you have a relatively straight piece of metal. Look for a hole on the bottom of your laptop, it is usually located next to the icon of a battery logo that has been strikethroughed. After that, place the paperclip in the battery pinhole for about 4 to 5 seconds, then after take the paper clip out. This is just a good technique to do before upgrading your laptop as it cuts power from the battery to the laptop temporarily, making the upgrade safer. We wouldn’t want to be burnt to a crisp while upgrading our laptops.

Step 3: This is where the fun starts, begin with wearing a pair of rubber gloves and then getting a hold of your screwdriver. Look for the screws on your laptop and begin to screw them completely off. No screws should be left on the casing, and should be organized according to where they were opened. (Sometimes manufacturers make some screws longer or shorter than others to accomodate for spacing)

Step 4: Disconnect the battery from the laptop, this can be found by a wire connected to the big blax rectangle onto the board, disconnecting it will ensure extra safety. Once you have opened up your laptop, look for thin, rectangle-shaped cutout tabs, this is usually where the SSD is placed. One of these rectangles is already filled with the SSD given from the manufacturer while the other is empty, giving us room to upgrade. Extra: The thicker rectangles are where the RAM is located, so if you want to upgrade your RAM, you can install them there.

Step 5: Place the SSD into the socket on the opposing side with the screw then push down on the SSD while screwing the SSD down to the board. You can then put back the tab onto the newly added drive and put the case back on as well as screwing the screws back into place. Do not screw in too tightly as to prevent stripping the screw, which comes from over tightness.

Step 6: Turn over the laptop and turn it on, and if it boots up, you have successfully upgraded your laptop; Congrats! There is still one more step to go to ensure you have access to your new drive.

Step 7: The last step is to format your new drive for Windows to read. Right click on the Windows button and look for Disk Management. It will then read your disk and ask you for initialization, as either MBR, or GPT. Only do GPT if your new drive is greater than 2 TB of storage. If equal to or less than 2 tb do MBR. Once you press OK it will begin to initialize. After pressing ok, a new drive will be found, which can be seen with a black bar above it and it will say “Unallocated” in the Disk Management software. Right click it and press “new simple volume” and go through the “New Simple Volume Wizard”, usually everything will be fine by default so continue to press next. Once finished, File explorer will open and ask you if you want a Format Disk, in which you accept. 

You will then see a new drive added into your laptop.If you did not understand this step. Do not worry, this video shows how it's done. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxV6IcNvbek 

Now you are finally done and able to download even more stuff onto your laptop. Enjoy having more storage, and if you want to, try adding some RAM to allow for more chrome tabs, or even to run some games, if you’re up for it. 

Upgrading your Laptop’s storage is a simple and more cost effective way than buying an entirely new one for the sole purpose of more storage, and is a good introduction into modding your laptop. More experience in this hobby can lead you yearning for more performance out of your laptop, whether it be for creative applications or for gaming, you can do more modding, such as changing thermal paste, changing voltages through bios, and even cleaning buildup of dust and debris, as access into the insides of a laptop allow you to clean your laptop much better and easier than a simple can of compressed air from the outside. I’ve always had a knack for technology, so when I first began, I had only software tech smarts, but now I’ve grown to learn hardware tech tips to share with you all.

The dream on the other side--Matthew

 When in a situation of hardship, uncertainty, and danger any person would want to escape it. For my mother and her parents living in Mexico was that hardship and once given the hope of opportunity and more importantly, better life in the form of living in the United States of America getting there was not an option but the only way to survive. However, getting to America would be some of the most difficult and harrowing experiences that my family would ever face. 

The plan for a better life was set into motion but for the entire family to get to America it would become more complicated than anticipated. My Grandfather wished to take his wife and seven-year-old daughter with him but he knew that if he got to America he would have no job, money, or food for himself and especially for two other people. Therefore the hard decision was made that he would venture into a country where he did not have any experience, knowledge, or capability to speak the same language as the people there by himself. My mother and her family all lived in a secluded village in Jalisco where they grew corn and raised chickens for a living. In order for my Grandfather to get to California, which is where they intended to enter America, he would have to take the train to Baja California which was a 3-day journey. Before going he called his nephew in California for assistance in obtaining a coyote to help him get across the border while his nephew was going to pick him up on the other side. My grandfather got to Baja California and proceeded to cross the border with the coyote that his nephew contacted. They slipped past the border patrol and proceeded to walk in the pitch-black desert until they reached a town where His nephew was ready to pick him up and drove him to La Puente. His journey across the border was successful but the hardships were yet to come. 

My Grandmother and mother were contacted about my grandfather making it to America and so they prepared as they waited for the message about my grandfather ready for his family to come to America which would eventually come three months later. My mom and her mother both planned to use the same exact plan that her father used but the coyote they hired said that my mother could not go with them because the desert was too harsh for a child to be walking in as well as being at risk of accidentally alerting the border patrol. My grandmother was ready to stay in Mexico until they were able to find a way to cross the border together. Unfortunately, many more coyotes said the same thing so a new plan was created where my mother would cross the border with her aunt and pretend to be one of her two daughters that were citizens while my grandmother went the way my grandfather went. 

My grandmother’s first attempt was one of the most terrifying experiences she went through. Everything was going according to plan, they slipped past border patrol and were in the desert. My grandmother said it was almost pitch black, moonlight and starlight were the only light sources able to guide them safely. It was dead silent in the desert; the only things she could hear were the other people the coyote took talking to and her feet stepping across the dry soil cracking every time she walked. she could feel no wind on her face and it gave her a very ominous feeling in her stomach. Suddenly everything changed as the entire group could hear a helicopter in the distance as everyone began to scatter in every direction. She began running as well but was so terrified that she was not paying attention to where she was running and ended up tripping and falling. The chopper only got louder and louder as she began crying. The dead wind was gone as what felt like a hurricane was blowing loose sand and small rocks everywhere making it hard for my grandmother to breathe. She quickly got up coughing as she could hear sirens from the helicopter and began running until the blinding spotlight from the helicopter shined onto her. She said she simply just stopped running and looked up in fear as the helicopter passed by and border patrol cars were heading in her direction on the horizon. My grandmother was sent back to Mexico and was forced to hurry and try again for that dream across the border that her soon-to-be eight-year-old daughter was already trying to venture into all by herself. My Grandmother luckily on her second attempt was able to get across the border but had no idea where her beloved daughter was. My mother had the easiest time getting across the border. Her aunt planned to just drive across the border with her husband while pretending my mother was her daughter. This was because her aunt was an American citizen and my mother was the exact age of one of her daughters. 

My mother however was terrified of being alone without her parents and scared from all the stories she heard of what the border patrol did to people trying to cross illegally. She worried about if she would ever see her parents again, or if she would be abandoned in a foreign country to fend for herself. Her aunt could see how nervous her niece was and decided she would cross the border at night where my mother could pretend she was asleep and not have to worry about talking to any of the border patrol agents. They all successfully got to America where her aunt drove her all the way to La Puente where she was dropped off at a house where both her parents were desperately waiting for her and overjoyed to see their daughter. This was the story of my mother and her family crossing the border to get to America. Hope and promise of a better life gave my mother and her family the perseverance to struggle through hardships and uncertainty in order to get to the dream on the other side. 

P.S. this is doesn't even include the story of my grandfather being deported when my mother was like nine and I don’t even want to get into the can of worms which is my dad's side of the family which also crossed the border except instead of there being one child on my mom’s side there were five children younger than my mother when they crossed on my dad's side. They all made it by the way.

The Hospital--Vanessa

 At first, there is only darkness as I slowly begin to open my eyes to the dimly lit room I find myself in. I stare up at the ceiling rowed with dim fluorescent lights, some of them blinking, others completely shattered. There’s a rising pain in my head, a throbbing pain, almost like something is trying to burst from my skull with a terrible vengeance. I try to sit up with no avail as the pain I felt in my head seems to flow down the rest of my body, forcing me to lay back down. I try turning my neck to the side, seeing a set of machines you would typically find in a hospital, all of them seem to be shut off or broken. As my vision slowly begins to focus, I can see a door at the end of the room just past the machines. I turn the other way and see a window that looks like it had once been boarded up, but broken past from the inside out. What happened to me? Why am I here? My brian is a bit more focused now, and I decide the only way I’m gonna know anything is if I start moving. I make the effort but the pain is unbearable, every attempt I make to get up makes me shoot back down in agony. I don’t have a choice, I need to get up. I labor myself one more time and manage to slump over, I’m in pain but at least I moved. I look over and see my wrists are still attached to the bed, the leather straps holding them down look worn and ripped. I pull my arm, I hear a tearing sound. I start to pull with all I have, my muscles feel weak and the pain is worse than when I was simply trying to sit up. Eventually, the strap is ripped off from the bed, my fist nearly swinging into my face. I unbuckle the strap on my other arm and make an attempt to put my feet on the ground and walk. Every movement sends a wave of pain throughout my body and I feel like I haven't used my legs in days. There’s a small sink and mirror to the corner of the room where the window is. My throat feels dry. I try to move towards the sink, grabbing on to anything I can to help me move. The tiled floor is cold beneath my bare feet. I get to the sink and turn the nobbs but no water comes out, I look up in the mirror. It's cracked and foggy but I can see my reflection. My eyes are sunken in, my skin is pale, I have bruises and marks all across my body, I look sick and dead. I’m wearing a hospital gown, there are deep red spots across it. I turn and look out the window, the sky is gray and I can see tall buildings in the distance, smoke is rising from some of them. I look down at the sidewalk, there's broken glass and spots of red on the ground. I remember the door at the other side of the room, turning away from the grim window, I head for it, shuffling along. I see that there’s a long dark hallway ahead when I open the door, slowly creeping my way out. The hallway is just as disheveled and dimly lit as the room I came from. If I’m in a hospital, wouldn’t there be more people around? My voice comes out coarse and dry. “HeLlo?” I make my way down the cold hallway, passing empty disheveled rooms, not a single person in sight. Should I just look for the exit? But then where will I go? I’m passing from hallway to hallway, these questions buzzing through my head, when I think I see something move at the end of the corridor in front of me. “Hey!” “Hello?!” I rush down the hallway, Ignoring the pain in my legs as I try to muster something faster than a shuffle. The hallway comes to a turn and when I reach it, I find that the hall in front of me is darker than before and I can’t see the person anywhere. There’s a cold and ominous feeling in my stomach as I make my way down, darkness all around me. I feel like I can hear a crunching sound ahead. It gets louder and louder the further I go until I eventually see a blinking light down the way, something is on the ground moving, a rotten smell flowing down the hallway, it gets worse with every step as I get closer. I’m only a few feet away now, when I think I can see the outline of a person crouched on the ground, their back is arched out and their skin is a sickly pale color. I’m almost directly behind them now and the smell is unbearable, but as I look at this person, no...this thing, it’s limbs are long and thin and the skin is so pale I can see the dark veins under it. The crunching sound is ringing in my ears now with a horrifying sharpness. I angle my head to look just ahead of it. I couldn’t move, frozen in place. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run away, but I just couldn’t move. I wanted to turn around before this thing could see me but my legs wouldn’t let me run. It felt like an eternity that I had been standing there, looking at this thing, the sounds still ringing in my ears, until finally I couldn’t take it. I forced myself to turn around and run, run down the winding hallways that seemed to go on forever. I didn’t know where I was running to but I just wanted to get away, I had lost all focus on my pain. I kept running until I couldn’t run anymore and eventually I stumbled on the ground, my weak body forcing me to stop. The image of what I saw was burned into my mind, I wanted to cry but I felt like my dehydration left me with no tears to cry. Lying on the ground now, I could feel the pain that had previously been gone from my memory suddenly rise back up, my body aching, my mouth dry, and I’m starting to feel...hungry. I didn’t realize how hungry I felt until that moment, I had no idea how long I had spent in this hospital or without eating but I could suddenly feel the emptiness in my stomach. What time was it? How long have I spent here? How much time has passed? For all I knew it could be night outside but the hallways I had been spending what felt like an eternity in were void of any windows and the few that did exist were small or covered over. Only the few unbroken and blinking fluorescent lights that existed were the forms of light that I had really seen since being awake. I’m so hungry that it's all I can think about now, I want something to eat. I suddenly start to smell something in the cold air. It smells… sweet, like nothing I have ever smelled before. I pull myself off the ground and look for where the smell is coming from. Hospitals normally have food courts, don’t they? Maybe I managed to run my way out to the food court but how could any food last long in this disheveled hospital. I make my way to the corridor, letting the smell guide me to its source. I walk for what feels like hours and my hunger has grown so strong that I’m beginning to find it hard to see. By the time I’m close enough to the source that the smell takes over my nose entirely, my vision has blurred so much that I see nothing but shapes and colors until finally, I’m before the thing I have been looking for. I look down at this blurred object, the smell filling my head. I drop down, happy to finally have something to fill the void in my stomach. I reach out, tearing pieces off and bringing them to my salivating mouth with a terrible viciousness. Before long I can feel the void in my stomach becoming full as I feel a strange liquid flowing from my mouth and down my chin, the same stuff my hands are covered in. I stand up, the pain in my body seems to have disappeared entirely, my eyes have cleared, and I feel like all of my energy has returned. I looked down to see what delicious thing had filled my stomach. … What am I? What have I done? How long have I been in this hospital? I pull myself away. A sign sits just above the two doors that face me. Exit.

My Personal Testimony--Renee

 I am a student of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland, California. The Freedom Center is an independent nonprofit that gets youth involved in civic engagement and community organizing following Dr. King's principles of non-violence. We advocate for democracy and civic engagement. Alongside the freedom center I have been exposed to many social identities and experiences that I will forever be grateful for. It was with them I discovered my social bending passion for public service and activism. 

Saturday June 19, 2021, I attended a Juneteenth festival at Lake Merritt, which is located in the center of Oakland. The three-mile shoreline was filled with vendors and businesses mainly from the black community in order to commemorate and honor the roots they share with Juneteenth. It was a historical and moving experience as I have never been immersed in any single culture as much as I was on Juneteenth. Signing petitions and supporting small businesses reminded me that mobilizing is stronger in numbers. The environment was comforting and lively, attendees were walking, picnicking, socializing, and exercising unity. Juneteenth affirmed my cultural vision of rooting my service within my heritage. 

With the Freedom Center I phonebanked for political candidates. Phone Banking is a form of voter outreach; I called registered voters and asked about their plans for the upcoming election and talked them through the process including ballot drop offs or mail ins. Initially I had this perception that people would not want to speak to a seventeen year old about politics. I was proved wrong shortly after, my first phone call ended up being one of the best and the other woman on the line showed tremendous gratitude for helping her. I was also one of the few Spanish speaking phone bankers, meaning the majority of my calls were in Spanish. I felt proud acting as a resource within a system that does not cater to the Spanish language demographic as heavily. I used to always be embarrassed of my accent as a child and my job as my grandma’s translator because I felt outcasted by so many. Having to prove myself proficient in the English language in fourth grade made me feel unworthy of the dominant culture’s standards. But just because I did not fit into society’s box should not dictate how I feel about myself. Spanish is a tool and I have learned to put it to good use within my own community. 

We are all molded into who we are today because of the several instances we have lived through that implicitly mold our minds. These perceptions may more than likely hold you back from being that essential tool for your community or acting as an ally for different social identities. How often have you heard “I already know they won’t like me” or “I know I won’t like it by just looking at it”? I encourage all of you to look past the instances that influenced you to view a certain topic a certain way; soak all that you can in like a sponge without having any bias towards how you think a scenario might play out. Let go of what you know doesn't serve you and take on what you think one day will. I have learned to never invalidate myself without having even taken the chance to prove these perceptions wrong.

The Harvest Collection--November Writers

November--the month of all the "-fuls"; grateful, bountiful, thankful, wonderful, beautiful.  I could go on, but we are here to share and celebrate our creativity and freedom in our writing.

This month's collection is "full" of fiction, how-tos, narratives and abstracts.

Read them ALL.

Choose your favorites.

Leave helpful, thoughtful, loving and kind comments.

If you are unable to leave comments here on the blog, the Canvas Discussion board is open as well.

Comments are due Wednesday, December 8.

 When leaving comments be mindful of your CONTENT and TONE.  This blog is a safe space for ALL writers in our class.  Be kind, courteous, helpful and encouraging.  Give reason(s) and explanation as to WHY you have chosen to leave feedback.  Why is this a favorite piece?  What did you find intriguing? Suspenseful?  Silly?  Horrifying?  You get the picture.  Do not merely comment that you like the piece.  Explain WHY.

If you are a writer for the month, you DO NOT have to leave comments and feedback on the pieces, only if you wish to do so.

How to leave comments:

1. Write you comment in the text box provided at the bottom of the submission.  

2. SIGN YOUR NAME

3. Make sure you are logged in with your GAFE account (school account).

4.  If you are not using your GAFE account,  it is IMPERATIVE you sign your name after EACH comment. Choose ANONYMOUS and sign your name.

5. DO NOT LEAVE COMMENTS USING YOUR PHONE.  THEY WILL NOT GO THROUGH.

I will see you in class :)

Feed Your Soul,

Mrs. Solano

How to properly get into the Marvel Cinematic Universe--Angie

 

If you haven’t heard about Marvel, then you must be 80 years old. Actually, that is a lie

since the first Marvel comic was released in 1939, and they were a hit! It is important to know

that there is beauty even in the ugly (we are looking at you, Thor: Dark World). We do not want

a toxic fan base or are one! You can find every single little flaw and focus on the negative, but

why would you want to? This is an epic part of pop culture in the modern day and for good

reason! Life lessons, joy, pain, and delight are all embedded in the pixels of your TV screen. Now

before we get into this, I will clarify some myths about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and give

you some general facts you will need to know before embarking on this adventure. So sit back,

relax, and learn about the greatest trilogy of the modern day.

The Myths!

1. You must read the comics to understand marvel.

LIE!!! There are over 50,000 marvel comics released. Who has time to read all that? One thing

you must remember is that the movies are BASED on comics. Some occurrences directly follow

certain comics, and many simply take inspiration. Now if you want a guide on how to get into

the comics, then sorry, can’t help you. Needless to say, the movies can be understood without

prior knowledge, as everything is inevitably explained.

2. It takes too long

Okay maybe it might take a while, but honestly, that just means the more the joy lasts! You can

watch 1 movie a day or try 3 over the weekend. Either way, it is a fun experience!

3. There are too many details to understand

Umm yes, but that is not a negative!! You will never catch every easter egg, parallel, or ironic

occurrence on the first watch. You can even watch videos on YouTube to catch all the easter eggs

from a movie! It is fun to watch and catch them for yourself.

Now just some general facts before we get started:

- As of November 2021, there are 26 films and 4 television series. (Hawk-eye show and

Spiderman: No Way Home approaching release)

- The first movie came out in 2008 (Iron Man).

- The movie The Incredible Hulk is somewhat iffy. The actor playing HULK was replaced

with Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner in the MCU. Honestly, many people skip

this movie because you can understand the MCU without it, but if you don’t mind, go

ahead and watch. (This movie is not found on Disney+)

- The shows and movies are released in phases, so far, phase 4 is in progress.

- The character development is unmatched compared to other trilogies.

- I will keep this tutorial spoiler free!

Now let's get into the steps on how to begin and how to not get lost. The devils in the

details isn’t it?

1. Get a Disney+ subscription

Most Marvel movies are on Disney+. You will need to get a subscription for the streaming

service as it is the most affordable way to watch the movies. The Marvel shows are also only

found on the streaming service. It is also beneficial as all the movies are organized in release

order, chronological order, and phases. This makes it easier to follow!

***Movies not on Disney+ are Spiderman movies and The Incredible Hulk

2. For first time watchers, watch in release order.

It might be tempting to watch in chronological order right? Wrong! Marvel Studios released

their movies in a specific order for a reason! As long as you know where the specific movie is in

the timeline (pictured below), you should be fine. Ex. Captain Marvel came out in 2019 but is set

in 1985 in the MCU. Watching in release order is incredibly important as the end credit scenes

are in chronological order! If you watch the movies in chronological order, then the end credit

scenes will essentially spoil future movies.

This timeline is in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER^. Keep in mind Iron Man (2008) was the first to

release, but it is not the first on the list, Captain America is. (once again I do not recommend

first-timers watch in this order)

Release order ^^

3. Organize yourself with the 4 phases.

Look at this graphic below, this image shows what was released within each phase.

(image 2) (the TV series are part of phase 4)

You can take breaks between phases to develop your own opinions, theories, and to let the

content ruminate for a while. The waiting game is vital, so you have time to take it all in.

Watching every movie back to back will be too much and you will forget details. When I was

teaching my mom, we watched one movie a day and took breaks after phases so I could explain

and catch her up. It can get overwhelming, so take your time so you could take it all in!

4. Watch the end credit scenes.

The end credit scenes are just, if not more important than the movie itself. This is the reason

why I recommend watching in release order. The movies may not be in chronological order

when watching, but the end credits will be! EVERY single movie and some episodes have end

credit scene(s). NEVER leave the theater before the prominent red MARVEL logo appears. The

only movie so far without an end credit scene is Endgame… :(

5. Watch with a friend!

Sometimes one needs to bounce ideas off one another to get a new perspective. You may have

missed a detail or two, so it's nice to have someone to ask so they can clarify. My friend who

started watching Marvel at my discretion always asked me questions to clarify. Two minds are

better than one after all!

6. The shows are still part of the MCU! Watch in release order as well!

These Emmy award-winning shows are phenomenal and add so much to the universe.

WandaVision in my opinion was nothing like I've ever seen before. It is truly astonishing the

creativity and talent that is put into this series. Loki, What IF…, Falcon and the Winter Soldier,

and the upcoming Hawkeye series are all canon to the MCU. These shows are just as important

to the MCU storyline as the movies, they cannot be overlooked.

***Daredevil, Agent Carter, Jessica Jones, and Marvel Agents of Shield are excellent TV shows

that follow the MCU storyline. Kevin Feige has stated the shows are not canon to the MCU yet. I

personally enjoy the show Agent Carter as we only saw Peggie Carter in a few movies and this

show allowed for character development.

7. Understanding the Sony situation

The character of Spiderman/Peter Parker has a lot of red tape as the character is owned by

Sony. This is why you will not find the Spiderman movies on Disney+. You will not find The

Incredible Hulk on Disney+ either. There are previous Spiderman movies with Toby Maguire

and Andrew Garfield. I adore watching these movies, even though they aren't particularly part

of the MCU. The third Spiderman movie with Tom Holland is set to release in December. I

recommend watching Maguire and Garfield's Spiderman movies, as they are connected in the

upcoming film.

image 6

8. Stan Lee Cameos

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Dont forget to look out for Stan Lee (creater of many marvel comics) in all the movies! His

appearances are always fun to catch!

If you follow these steps and suggestions, then you are on the right path to becoming a marvel

fan. It is exciting to watch all the movies and to be part of such a major fandom. I hope this has

answered some of your questions and cleared any misconceptions you may have. Just remember

I'm with you to the end of the line! Let me know if you have any questions and good luck!

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Image 1-

http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140420025424/disney/images/0/05/Marvelstudioslogo

2013.jpg

Image 2

https://preview.redd.it/lmgt6aq2akt21.jpg?auto=webp&s=8568ed8aaa8a0ae9901c02ef7eb0e839

97a8322c

Image 3

https://mculocationscout.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/avengers_105-shawarma.jpg?w=768

Image 4

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336433034641206522/

Image 5

Teaser of 'WandaVision', 'Falcon and the Winter Soldier …

Image 6

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1152061-spider-man-3-tobey-maguire-andrew-gar

field

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https://japaninja.pro/welcome-marvel-fans/

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Marvel movies ...theverge.com

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https://screenrant.com/stan-lee-greatest-mcu-cameos-ranked/