October 2018 – Page 6 – Insight Magazine

Movie Review: Venom

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Venom begins with a classic alien horror vibe. Parasitic (or symbiotic, depending on who you ask) alien creatures have crash landed and gotten loose on Earth. The first half of this movie is thrilling and coherent. But only the first half. The movie quickly loses sense of what genre it wants to be, and what story it wants to tell.

The movie starts to fall apart when, after Venom has fused with Eddie, there is an entirely unnecessary car chase scene wherein Venom does a lot of tricks on a motorcycle for what feels like 20 minutes. The threads of the plot just unravel from there.

The one character that truly shines throughout the film is the head of the Life Foundation, Carlton Drake. His creepy calm demeanor only breaks occasionally to reveal his Machiavellian core. Still, Venom is not quite worth the ticket price. I’d wait until you can stream this one.

October 22, 2018

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From Typewriter to Bookshelf

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Picking up a book can take so little effort, yet the process of writing may have taken a lifetime of determination. The process of writing a book takes immense focus, but actually getting the book published requires perseverance. The steps are numerous and tiresome.

A disclaimer to remember is that every publishing procedure is, and will be, different. This article is just a collection of tips, tricks, and opinions to help give ideas and inspiration for book writing.

There are various routes of publishing: mainly self-publishing and trade publishing. Knowing more about the industry helps to gain footing in the publication process.

Self-publishing involves the work being published by the author themself, instead of a publishing company.

Recently, Amazon Kindle has opened up their own route of self-publishing by allowing their members to use Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing to upload digital copies of their own book. This process is completely free and allows blooming writers to push their work out into the online world for millions to read, while also giving the author a chance to earn royalty income.

While self-publishing gives the author more reign over decisions about their book, the book will have fewer sales due to only being exposed to a smaller book market.

Trade publishing is the traditional form of publication that society is most familiar with.

There are five top traditional publishing companies in the industry. They are Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House, and Simon and Schuster.

It is very difficult to be accepted by these large companies right off the bat. The pros and cons of trade publishing is directly opposite of self-publishing. Trade publishing allows the book and author to have more prestige, but the author loses a lot of their control over the product.

Upcoming authors can also attract attention for themselves and their work by creating a media platform, according to the Balance Careers. By building blogs, social media pages, and more, authors can gain more recognition for their brand from the public and from publications. The more well known an author is, the more likely a publisher will work with them.

Sending in work to publishing companies may seem like an easy task, but the stress that follows afterwards is daunting. To catch the publisher’s eye, a book proposal or manuscript has to be nearly perfect. A minor flaw, as seen in the work by the author, might derail the proposal for the publisher.

Experts in the writing business have an ever changing list of tips and tricks they have gathered. One of the morals an author must keep when undergoing this process is keeping their individuality. By compromising too much with their publisher, the writer loses their own creative touch in their work.

A writer should expect rejection when sending out their proposals, but they should not let it discourage them. Being rejected should be viewed as a learning process where an author can look at their work and analyze why it was vetoed.

A common mistake in the business is thinking an author must have a literary agent in order to get published. While it is definitely helpful for building credibility and status, a writer doesn’t need a literary agent to become successful.

The most basic necessity for proposing a book or even writing one is to use clear communication. An author must be able to get their point across in their book poetically without confusing their readers.

After publication, an author might face judgement surrounding their work. Criticism may be taken harshly, but it is better to use it as feedback for the next time. Analyzing these harsh comments about your work can show you what to avoid for your next work.

Being an writer may seem to be a fun way to make a living, but it takes a lot of living to become a great author. It is a constant learning process that never ends no matter how established that author may be.

October 19, 2018

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Students of Nevada

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Every day on campus you pass by random strangers. Perhaps you’ve seen them before or maybe not. Ever wonder who they are and what their life is like? Each student at the University of Nevada, Reno has a story to tell. Each has a unique life, perspective, and outlook not only as a student but each as a person with different life experiences. Take a look at the second series of Students of Nevada. A project that snapshots the lives of randomly selected people here on campus.

I have a pottery studio in my garage. I basically just like playing in mud.

-Jillian Walmsley

I want to be in PR because I think it’d be really cool. I don’t know exactly what they do, I’m trying to figure that out. I think it’s funny because my older brother actually graduated from the J-School and I didn’t know what his degree was until I declared mine. So he told me a little bit about it and I actually thoroughly enjoy it.

-Brooke Enochson

I’m a fourth year engineering student. I helped start FarmHouse Fraternity because I think fraternities should be non-secretive, community based and helpful. We’re holding a philanthropy event to raise money for leukemia research on October 11th.

-Brett McMahan

My name is Leo. I’m a freshman and I’m a political science major. So far, I’m having a lot more fun here than I did in high school. Oh, and I’m single.

-Leo Thai

I’m a neuroscience major. I’m in musical therapy club, so I like playing music and stuff like that. I wish everybody in the STEM majors would be a little more open. I think it’s too competitive; it’s very cutthroat. I think everybody should just relax and enjoy themselves more.

-Ivan Lopez

I started drinking at the age of 14–just having a beer here and there. At 15, I went and studied abroad in Germany for a couple months and that really blew my mind. I love alcohol, but not college binge-drinking; I like to enjoy it. I’d like more people to understand that drinking is a privilege. If people started drinking at a younger age, but it was controlled, it wouldn’t be as dangerous when they started driving.

-Eric Banavong

I went to Australia on a USA Golfing Team. I got the nomination, and it went to [my] school and everything, and at first I was like, “Are you sure you got the right person?” I started my freshman year, so as a junior to be able to do that showed how much work I put into it, so that was really cool.

-Holly Kulh

I’m an international affairs major. I like that teachers here always give both sides to the story. But they’re also open to having conversations about what’s going on.

-Sabrina Nuttall

I’m just here trying to get an education because I have a five year old son and I really want to show him that we can make the world a better place and we don’t just have to stay stagnant. He deserves progress.

-Grace Leval

October 12, 2018

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Opinion: The Impact this Election has on the Future of Nevada’s Environment

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It’s easy to assume national elections are more important than local elections. It makes sense, why wouldn’t we assume the president’s decisions will have the greatest effect on us? After all, the presidency is the highest position of power in the United States. But, the truth is, local elections will always have a more direct impact on you and your community.

During the midterm elections this November, Nevadans have big decisions to make. Specifically, decisions that involve the environment. The Sierra Club and other environmental organizations in the state urge you to vote “no” on Question 3 and “yes” on Question 6. Both are related to renewable energy, but the context of the questions is crucially different. Question 3 is about who provides your energy. Question 6 would require all energy utilities to provide more energy from renewable resources. The information below is provided by the Sierra Club’s official website. For more detailed information, head to https://bit.ly/2EaFVV6.

Here’s why you should vote “no” on question 3:

NV Energy has changed course on its renewable energy policies and has proposed projects that will double its current level of renewable energy generation by 2023. Voting “yes” on question 3 would force NV Energy to sell these plants, sending Nevada’s energy market into uncertainty and disarray.
Nothing on Question 3 guarantees renewable energy.
Deregulating the energy market in Nevada could substantially raise electricity rates.
If Question 3 passes, it becomes constitutional law, meaning it will be very difficult to reverse if anything goes wrong.

Passing Question 6 means:

All electric suppliers would be required to provide at least 50% of their total electricity from renewable resources by 2030.
This would help our state significantly by creating a diverse array of job opportunities, from engineers and installers to office employees and factory workers.
Our environment would be greener and cleaner. Currently, Nevada receives 80% of its energy from out-of-state fossil fuels such as, gas, oil, and coal.

The vote on these questions will have an enormous impact on the future of our environment and its progression towards clean, renewable energy. This November, I urge you to make a decision that will benefit both the environment and our economy. Increased renewable energy will help ensure a sustainable future for Nevada.

October 11, 2018

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#MeToo Movement Creator Speaks at University

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This semester, the Joe Crowley Student Union at University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) hosted guest speaker, Tarana Burke, creator of the #MeToo movement. Burke’s lecture covered the origin of the movement as well as where the movement is heading.

Burke opened her speech by discussing how she came to create the #MeToo movement. She explained that she is from an ordinary city, the Bronx. She explained that she is from an ordinary family, with the exception that she was taught to recognize injustice. She explained that even with an understanding of injustices, she still lacked the tools to address them for some time.

According to Burke, her work with the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement gave her the tools to address injustice. Burke said the organization’s mentality was, “Learn and do.” She said that the first case organized around was the Central Park 5 case. She explained that this case helped to energize her and prove to her that she had power to enact change. “I embraced the idea of ‘You have power now,’” said Burke.

Burke said that she continued her work with the 21st Century Youth Leadership Movement when she met a girl she calls Heaven. According to Burke, every year the organization held meetings wherein the young girls the organization helped could freely discuss any issues they had. “Every year a girl would come forward with a story of sexual violence,” said Burke.

The year that Burke befriended Heaven, she could tell that the young girl wanted to speak up during the meeting, but was having difficulty finding her voice. After the meeting, she was approached by Heaven, who told Burke about her own experience with sexual violence.

Burke said, “The whole time all I was thinking was, this happened to me too.” However, she was afraid to say the wrong thing to Heaven, and remained silent. Burke explained that she later realized that she should have said, “Me too.”

Burke went on to explain that language became an important aspect of her work to help these young women. “We started with language,” said Burke, “You can’t heal a thing you can’t name.”

Burke said that in MeToo workshops that the group established, the organizers used pop culture to help the young girls understand that other people have experienced sexual violence. She said the person who always resonated with the girls is Oprah, as she is highly recognizable and influential. “They needed a sense of possibility,” said Burke, “That this is not where their life stops.”

Burke said that the organization’s MeToo workshops spread to other towns. The organization sent packets of information to churches and community centers so that they could start their own groups. Then, in 2017, the #MeToo became popularized online by Alyssa Milano on Twitter. Burke was shocked by how widespread the movement became. “I could never imagine people telling their stories and being supported the way they are today,” said Burke, “I’m floored every day.”

Burke believes that the movement has helped the general public to address issues of sexual violence. “When MeToo went viral, everyday folks were given a way to lift up their voices and say this is not anomaly,” said Burke, “This happened to me too.”

Burke then shifted focus to where the #MeToo movement is headed. “What now? What next?” said Burke, “We’ve had one solid year of unpacking sexual violence. We’re still unpacking it.”

Burke said that the MeToo movement is not a weapon meant to take down powerful men, but a tool for victims of sexual violence to begin healing. “We’re trying to be whole people. We’re trying to walk through life with our dignity intact,” said Burke, “That’s not a lot to ask.”

Burke explained that there is need for individual healing and community healing, which entails changes in laws and culture.

She then focussed on the UNR community in regard to sexual violence. “I challenge you administrators,” said Burke, “How do you work to prevent sexual violence. Are you doing more than lip service?”

Burke explained that several people had asked her to discuss sexual violence on campus at UNR. “I got a number of letters asking me to talk about the culture of sexual violence on this campus,” said Burke.

Burke then addressed the UNR student population directly, urging them to act to facilitate change on campus. “You have power now,” said Burke, “The school is first and foremost accountable to you.”

Burke ended her speech by saying, “So let’s work together and let’s heal together. If you are ready to do that, then I leave you with two words: Me too.”

October 9, 2018

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