Deschanel’s career seems to have erupted practically over night, but many viewers may not know that the quirky actress has played supporting roles in multiple noteworthy movies including her stint as Buddy the Elf’s coworker turned wife in the hit Christmas movie “Elf.” Now though, Deschanel has stolen the spotlight all on her own.

“I didn’t know who Zooey Deschanel was before watching “New Girl” but she’s such a cool character,” said Alexis Teixeira ’13.

Leading up to her starring television role, Deschanel’s career continued on a steady incline as she acted in a supporting role in “Failure to Launch,” starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. Most people remember Deschanel as the dorky yet also edgy best friend to the female protagonist, but very few were actually to pinpoint the actress’s name. In fact, Deschanel has said herself that many people know her as “the girl with the bangs.”

However, in 2008 Deschanel finally got her chance to be a leading lady opposite Jim Carrey in “Yes Man.” She scored another lead in the romantic comedy “[500] days of Summer” in 2009, but after that, it’s almost as if she fell off the map.

“I’ve always watched Zooey Deschanel in supporting roles and thought she was funny and different,” said Lily Zuckerman ’13, “I’m glad she finally landed a lead.”

Deschanel has been around, participating in nearly 40 different projects in various supporting roles, with the exception of her three leads. However, 2011 seemed to be Deschanel’s year to shine. She recently won a TV Guide Award for Favorite Actress as her portrayal of Jess in “New Girl,” and she was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series-Comedy for her new show.

Deschanel’s star power seems to be continually rising, her show has earned rave reviews and been nominated for multiple awards in its very first season. Although she has been nabbing supporting roles for nearly a decade, this so called “adorkable” star has taken Hollywood by storm.

Marvel’s The Avengers had the most successful opening weekend of any film, ever.   Fans lined up by the thousands to see the comic book publishers latest venture onto the silver screen.  Few of these fans left disappointed, and the film has received widespread acclaim.

Let me be frank: Marvel’s The Avengers was a fantastic movie.  Director Joss Whedon took the generic superhero movie formula and was able to multiply the number of explosions, superpowers, and tightly-clad sexy protagonists by six while still maintaining a completely coherent plot.  Ironman, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye combined to create a movie greater than the sum of its parts.

According to many opinions found on multiple websites, the biggest fear fans had for the movie was that in this team of superheroes one would hog screen time and force the others to accept a more minor roles.  Fortunately these fears were allayed. By focusing on each Avenger’s unique skill set even Thor, the immortal demigod of thunder, came across as an equal teammate with Black Widow, whose only apparent superpower is the ability to do a back-flip in a dress.

Credit for this feat rests with the actors.  Every actor fit into his or her Avenger perfectly, which allowed them to breathe a little individuality into the characters.  Robert Downey Jr. demonstrated the flawless mastery of sarcastic phrasing that made the stand-alone Ironman movies a hit at the box office.  Even though his character might not, “play well with others,” Downey’s completely opposite interactions with Chris Evan’s Captain America and Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner triangulate all of the characters unique positions within the Avengers squad.

Loki, the film’s villain, was played particularly well by Tom Hiddleston.  Hiddleston’s delightfully quirky personality showed in moments when he seemed almost compassionate for the humans he was trying to conquer.  This and his personal interactions with each of the Avengers kept him from being a truly clichéd, one-dimensional comic book villain.  The audience can peek behind Loki’s mask of ambition to see a compassionate person undergoing an epic struggle of his own.

The plot itself moved briskly across various locations and topics.  Neither the dialogue nor the action ever truly stagnated during the entire two hour movie.  It also managed to brief the audience on the backstory for all six Avengers without resorting to a single dull flashback, which was particularly impressive.  If anything, the ending can be seen from a mile away, but Whedon has enough twists and turns on the way there to keep the ride thoroughly entertaining all the way through.

The Avengers is a far cry from the lame cash-in that one might expect, and is easily on par with any top rate superhero movie.  It certainly raises the stakes for Batman: The Dark Knight Rises, and any superhero movie that follows.

Dress to Impress

The high-low dress is the perfect prom dress. It features a shorter cut in the front and a longer cut in the back. If you’re going for the casual look, throw on a pair of sandals. If you’re going for the dressier look, pair the outfit with some gold heels and gold jewelry. Accessorized with an interesting pair of shoes, this dress is a trendy and chic pick for prom.

Picture-Perfect Ponies

The ponytail is an amazing and versatile “updo” for prom. You could try the slicked back look or the loose and messy look. You could even add a headband! Ponytails that feature loose, bouncy curls are also really pretty. Years ago, Lauren Conrad started the french braid trend, as pictured on the left. This is flirty and elegant all at the same time.

Nailed It

Mani-pedis are on everyone’s agenda before prom. This spring, there are so many cool and vibrant colors that are trendy. Pastel green, hot fuchsia and neon tangerine are all going to be very popular in the next few months. Glitter is also very “in”this spring. Keep in mind that your nails don’t have to match your dress perfectly. Be yourself! Have fun with your nails and remember that the color you choose won’t last forever.

Pearly Whites

Prom means pictures, and pictures mean smiling. Whether you like it or not, people are going to notice your teeth. Don’t worry about whether your smile is bright enough — just pick up a pack of teeth-whitening stripes! While prom can be very expensive, these are definitely worth the money.

No Sun, No Problem

The week before prom, girls seems to magically “go on a vacation” and come back with skin that is several shades darker and more orange. If you don’t want to take a trip to the spray tan booth, just visit Achorns Pharmacy in downtownWestportand buy some Tan Towels. You simply rub the tan towel over your body, and your skin will suddenly gain more color and be streak-free.  Nothing feels better than looking in the mirror and not feeling washed-out and pasty before your big night!

I say that because in every class I enter during each period of the day, I hear at least one girl exclaim, “OH MY GOD! CHECK OUT MY PERFECT PROM DRESS! LOOK HOW ADORABLE IT IS!”

If that wasn’t enough of an indication that prom is in the air, I think guys might even be starting to think about who they want to ask.

That’s just a wild guess though.

With the anticipation of prom there is always the discussion of which songs should be played during the dance. This is a debate that comes around each year. It’s sort of a moot point, because it’s easy to play whatever’s on the Billboard Top 100 and get away with it. But I say nay! I’m going to get a little more analytical, a little more deliberative, and tell you exactly what you should play at prom, because I don’t want to see people “Move It Like Bernie” this year, and if I hear “Call Me Maybe” again I might cry.

So here are five songs that must be played at prom:

“The Motto” – Drake

The Reason: Any song that contains the acronym “Y.O.L.O.” (You Only Live Once) deserves to be on the eternal prom playlist. Additionally, the bass is easy to get caught on and makes for fun dancing. Plus, Drake wears batting gloves in the video while he drives — he’s clearly stepped up to the plate with “The Motto.”

“Rack City” – Tyga

The Reason: This song is my freaking jam. Although half of the song would have to be bleeped out due to intensely demeaning language, previously-unknown rapper Tyga managed to strike gold with this catchy and repetitive tune. Rack city, rack-rack city, indeed.

“Earth Angel” – Marvin Berry and the Starlighters

The Reason: Prom isn’t the “Enchantment Under the Sea” dance, but it serves the same purpose. If it can bring Marty McFly’s parents together, then it can work for you too. If you’re going to play a single song at prom, it should really just be this one on repeat for the entire night

“What We Do” – Upper West The Reason: This UPenn/WashU student-rapper combo is working for these two young fellas. This particular song is really catchy and will make the floor shake as the bass bounces all night long. Prepare to dance for a long, long time.

“What Makes You Beautiful” – One Direction

The Reason: Every girl wants to be told why a guy thinks she’s beautiful, and if this song plays, you might get a few ideas. As generic as this bubblegum-pop song is, it works. I don’t know why — it’s just a bunch of British kids with weird haircuts. I guess that’s what girls like now.

By creating an account on the website, users can set up boards of specific categories where they pin different links. This function reaches the website’s goal to “connect everyone in the world through the ‘things’ they find interesting.”

This website gives users the ability to look at other accounts and if they see something they like, they can pin it to their own board. “I use it mostly for fashion and recipes,” said user Brittany Berlin ’12. “I can look at other people’s style for inspiration and seeing other people’s cooking and baking creations is so fun.”

Using these pinboards is creating an even closer relationship between technology and the younger generation. Ana Barcelona ’12, who has been an avid user since November 2011, calls Pinterest her addiction. “I [too] find recipes, fashion ideas, house ideas, and much more on it. I’ve already planned out my future wedding and home from it.” It has been referred to by many users in the Staples community as a way to do “online scrapbooking,” eliminating traditional scrapbooks.

Being able to pin on their boards, users can take their clippings, notes and pictures that would have been in physical scrapbooks to the web, on a much greater scale with this mass database and community. “Personally, I don’t like how our lives revolve around technology,” saidBerlin.  “But I guess it’s useful since I don’t have enough time right now to make my own scrapbook.”

As Pinterest increases in popularity, climbing up to the third most popular social networking site, other sites may be facing some competition. It’s biggest comparison and competition has been the website, Tumblr. Tumblr is a blogging site that allows users to expresses themselves through text posts, pictures, video, audio, quotes, links, dialogue, slide shows, and more.

With 42 million blogs through the site, it too has been climbing in social networking popularity. With their ability to post a variety of media, many users have been comparing the two.

Some users have faith that Tumblr will still have a chance standing up against Pinterest’s growth in popularity. Kumi Goto ’12, a user of both Tumblr and Pinterest, believes that the two sites serve completely different purposes and can both stand separately and successfully. She keeps her blog and her scrapbook separate.

“I would have to disagree and say that Pinterest is not the new Tumblr,” says Goto, “I still use both but Tumblr is more for things that make me laugh, while I use Pinterest as inspiration.”

Others predict that Pinterest will pull through and claim a higher rank than Tumblr. With the similarity of posting things of interest, some users prefer the layout that Pinterest offers compared to Tumblr. “I think it is becoming the new Tumblr. People seem to like [Pinterest] a lot more,” saidBarcelona. “It is much more organized and you find a ton of other stuff on it.”

For the past couple of weeks student actors and directors have been practicing for two hours everyday, and through hard work and lots of laughs, they have produced 10-minute plays by themselves.

These plays are called One Acts and are student-directed with typically two or three actors in each play. The plays can range from dramas and comedies to thrillers. This year’s One Act Play Festival will take place on April 28 and 29.

The Directors

Every year at Staples, student directors have the tough job of making a theatrical statement in only 10 minutes.

The directors begin by choosing from a list of plays after reading them in directing class. They find the script they are most excited about and interested in doing. They also must cast it, stage it, make a set design, and mark up scripts for each character.

“I had a very hard time picking my One Act; I would read and read, but nothing would hit me,” said Adam Mirkine ’13, student director. “I ended up picking my One Act past the deadline, but now I couldn’t be happier with it.”

For many new directors, it’s hard putting together a play. They have to delve into the scripts, searching for creative ideas that would get their play’s message across in a more entertaining way. 

“It’s really cool to envision what you think the piece should look like and then watch your vision come to life throughout the process,” Tyler Jent ’13 said.

One of the many jobs of these directors is casting. This is a new experience for many of these student directors, having only been actors in plays. They are used to having all eyes on them. By becoming a director, these actors are able to feel what it’s like being behind the scenes instead of being on stage.  

“The best moment for me in this process has been casting my actors, who have so much potential to make this a great play,” Alexandra Rappaport ’13 said.

Directing is out of the ordinary for these students, and each one decides to direct these plays for a different reasons. It’s the reward of watching a play they designed and directed come alive; They challenged themselves with something new.

“I’m usually one to be on-stage, so I thought that it would be a good experience for me [to direct],” Ashley Snow ’13, student director, said.

The Actors

A play can only be as good as the actors, and directors must choose the actors that they feel best fit their play. Auditioning for these plays and landing roles are what some actors refer to as “callbacks.”

“One Acts are unique because you first audition and then get called back to several shows depending on if the directors think you could play a certain part,” Gregg Bonti ’12, student actor, said.

Bonti is currently cast in the one act “The Cooking King,” which is a comedy directed by August Laska ’13. Even though Laska is new to directing, he worked hard to cast the most suitable actors for his play. 

Being the director of “Rumors” this year and acting in an One Act last year helped Bonti become a better actor.

“I was in One Acts sophomore year, directed one junior year, and now I am thrilled to have the opportunity to act in them again,” Bonti said.

The End Result

Without any prior directing experience, students must work hard and be dedicated to learn and direct a 10-minute play. For the past 12 years that One Acts has been produced, the directors have shown that with lots of rehearsal time and a deep understanding of the scripts, these plays can turn out to be something to remember.

Monochromatic Outfits

Wear an outfit that’s primarly one color – like creamy white, as seen here.  This gives a very spring-like feeling, especially if it’s a light color.

Scarves

The thin scarf is perfect for spring, when the weather is still not as hot as it is in summer. Scarves with floral prints or pastel colors will nicely match any spring combo.

Crochet Knit Sweaters

This is the perfect top for spring because it’s not too summery and not too wintery. Although it’s a sweater, the holes will make sure that you don’t get too hot. Like last season, oversized sweaters are still very in style, so for spring, try mixing these two styles.

Cardigans

Light weight cardigans are the all-time perfect way to finish your outift. It supplies a hint of warmth and a lot of style to any combination of clothing underneath.

Gladiators

These strappy sandals can be worn in the spring and summer, so pull them out from the depths of your closet and  from behind the boots. They’re a little fancier than flip-flops, but still school appropriate.

Jean Jackets

These casual covers are perfect to wear over your summer-esque tank top on a chilly spring day. Jean jackets can also serve to dress up an outfit for outside of school.

Since the advent of camera phones, a pervasive phenomenon has taken hold in teenage, but especially Staples, culture: the selfie.

For those who are not enlightened on what exactly a selfie is, it is when people hold their phone or camera up and takes a photo of themselves.

Once seen as the domain of tourists, however, with the release of the new iPhone with a second camera, the selfie has been reborn.

But the debate over the moral value of a selfie is still something to be contested, especially at Staples.

Some students view selfies as a means of identifying one’s whereabouts.

Selfies “show where you are if you’re somewhere interesting,” says Larissa Lieberson ’15.

Other students see selfies as a way to assert friendships.

According to Sydney Newman ’15, one takes selfies to “show you’ve been there, mark your territory on [someone else’s] phone.”

The variations of the selfie are endless: the Photobooth snapshot, the cameraphone photo, and even the occasional mirror pic.

But recently one type of selfie has become recently popular.

“The duck face is popular in my grade,” says Lieberson.

What exactly is a duck face?

“It’s all about pursing your lips, keeping your eyes very wide,” says Maeve Flaherty ’12.

Staples students use their own adaptations of the duck face.

“They look up to the sky and purse their lips and use a peace sign,” says Tom Karrel ’12

Whether or not the duck face is a desirable face to make is a controversial issue.

“Girls think they actually look pretty with their lips like that,” says Flaherty.

“[Girls] think they look good,” says James Maracante ‘15, but “the boys think it’s annoying; they shouldn’t do it because it’s weird.”

With the recent Facebook purchase of Instagram, a popular venue for the chronic selfie-taker, the future of selfies may be in jeopardy.

However, not all girls take selfies with the intention of uploading them to a social media outlet, such as Facebook or Twitter; some take them for their own personal enjoyment.

“I don’t ‘mupload’ a lot of them,” Brianne Birch ’12 said. “But there’s alot on my phone of just me, for fun.”

Flaherty agrees that selfies should not be posted on Facebook and they are just something funny to look back on and laugh at.

While it’s socially acceptable to have them on cell phones, “If you actually end up uploading them, then it’s kind of weird,” said Sam Oberlander ’12.

Yet teenagers might as well get used to embarrassing parents because they aren’t going away anytime soon. In fact, with the use of Facebook, parents can embarrass their children anytime, anywhere, and anyplace with the use of social media.

But why would parents want to be on a site that is dominated by the number of teenage users? Well for starters, only 10 percent of users in theU.S.are between 13-17 years old. Sixteen percent of users in theU.S.are between 35-44 years old and 12 percent ofU.S.users are between 45-54 years old.

What does this mean? There are more adults on Facebook than teenagers. Teenagers don’t actually rule Facebook.

We are outnumbered.

Parents use the most popular social networking website to do many of the same things teenagers do. Although shocking to some, parents do have social lives and they do connect via social media.

Ken Asada ’15 said that he thinks his parents use Facebook to keep in touch with old friends inJapan,  where they   grew up, and, “try to be funny with really corny Facebook statuses.”

However, like many teenagers who are friends with their parents on Facebook, Ken Asada’s parents embarrass him. Asada said his parents often post about his accomplishments, but due to his parents’ privacy settings, none of his friends are able to see any embarrassing statuses.

        Asada was tagged in some embarrassing photos that his father posted from summer vacation, though.

        “That kind of creeped me out,” said Asada. “My dad tagged me in every picture and I had like a million notifications. I had to make him untag me from half of them.”

        While parents like Brett Aronow, mother of Baxter Stein ’14, try not to embarrass her children, Stein admits it does sometimes occur.

Stein said his mother posted embarrassing photos of him when he was younger once. Thankfully for him though he wasn’t tagged in them. “I just told my mom to delete them,” said Stein, “And it was fine.”

While some teenagers have blocked their parents on Facebook, to avoid being embarrassed, there are other ways to avoid parental embarrassment on Facebook.

Henry Wynne ’13 doesn’t get embarrassed on Facebook by his mother, Julie Wynne, because the two aren’t Facebook friends.

“I don’t do anything bad,” said Henry Wynne, “But I still don’t want (my parents) seeing what I do.”

Julie Wynne doesn’t mind not being friends with her son though. “I’m not friends with my child, because he doesn’t want to be,” said Julie Wynne.

Due to this, Julie Wynne doesn’t constantly “stalk” her son’s profile unlike some parents. “I just post links about what my kids are doing or what I have been doing,” said Julie.

She shares this information with all 127 of her Facebook friends (compared to her son who has over 1,000 friends).

Also unlike her son, Julie Wynne interacts with all of her Facebook friends. “I’m not friends with anyone I’m not friends with in real life,” said Julie.

Ken Asada’s father, Hiroshi Asada, said that while it is kind of weird being friends with his son on Facebook, he is being a responsible parent by monitoring their child’s activity online.

“I think it’s important for parents, and also their responsibility, to be familiar with what kind of messages their kids are sending publicly through Internet,” said Hiroshi Asada.

As both parents and children use the world’s second most visited website (Google is No. 1), their posts and status updates are going to continue to awkwardly mix.

Yes, it’s true. I live for good comedy. And if you’re like me, Saturday Night Live is probably not a foreign entity to you.

Since 1975, the late-night comedy show has been bringing laughs to comic enthusiasts everywhere. Ever since middle school, when watching the occasional sketch on Hulu turned into watching the entire hour and a half, I have lived for11:30on Saturday nights. But this season, the show has hit a slump.

The question is: why?

Fresh off Saturday’s episode featuring first-timer Sofia Vergara as host and “One Direction” as musical guest, most teenage girls might argue that this was without a doubt the best episode of the season. Yes, the show had some great moments (take the Hunger Games sketch for example), but one good episode does not necessarily redeem all else.

I will forever and always adore Kristen Wiig for everything she has brought to the SNL table. Bill Hader’s “Stefon” will NEVER get old. But with recent rumors that Wiig, Andy Samberg and Jason Sudeikis all might be saying goodbye after their contracts are up this season, it’s hard to say whether or not it was a coincidence that this week Samberg and Sudeikis appeared in a sketch together, and Wiig’s renowned—but also retired—“Gilly” character was brought back for a somewhat mediocre reprise.

Yet, while I miss the dynamic duo that was once Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler on Weekend Update, along with such cast members as Maya Rudolph, I have come to learn that Saturday Night Live is a cycle: the talent comes in phases. Great comedians come in, great comedians leave; new talent comes in, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Kate McKlinnon, the newest featured cast member, left me open-minded after this Saturday, so I am convinced the cast is not the issue.

What lies at the heart of the problem here is this season’s hosts, who have been unquestionably inconsistent. Those who at first seemed promising quickly proved otherwise; take Lindsay Lohan, for example.               

Instead of a revival of the infamous “Debbie Downer” sketch featuring Lohan, Jimmy Fallon and Rachel Dratch, the episode consisted of an atrocious mess of awkward jokes poking fun at her relationship with drugs and alcohol over the past years. Really?

Adding to the comic meltdown are the horrendous musical guests that in my opinion should be taken out of the show all together. Sure, “One Direction” was ever so charming, but nothing changes Lana Del Rey’s performance a few weeks back, so awful that it turned into a sketch the next week, and the debut of the band “Sleigh Bells” that sounded like people banging trashcans together.

Furthermore, the humor has turned dull. The sketches are underdeveloped, and instead of watching with tears of laughter, I’m just flat out confused.

Where are the notorious “Digital Shorts,” like “I’m on a Boat” and “Lazy Sunday?” The edgy humor SNL once provided is being replaced with “J-Pop America Fun Time Now.”

Still, as the avid lover of Saturday Night Live that I am, the unfortunate moments of this season will not keep me from watching. Yet every Saturday, I find myself wishing for more hosts like Justin Timberlake or more musical guests that people have actually heard of and can be incorporated into the show in a humorous fashion, like Lady Gaga and Michael Bublé. 

Of course, we must not dwell on the negative. In every show, even the bad ones, I have found something hysterical. During Jimmy Fallon’s Christmas episode, I was in stitches, and in Daniel Radcliffe’s episode, “Target Lady” was a personal favorite.

I don’t think SNL is doomed. It’s bound to make a comeback sooner or later. But all I’m asking for is some new material; more timeless comic moments that are the staple of late-night television, something I’ll want to watch over and over the next day. Until then, I can only hope that Saturday Night Live will soon be brought back to life.