Tag Archives: Carlos Lopez

Things To Do Over the Summer

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By Carlos Lopez and Alicia Cram

As the school year comes to an end we are one step closer to summer vacation. The sudden amount of free time and seemingly endless opportunities throughout the summer will probably be the first thing that comes to mind, and as such, these are some things that you can do with your friends (or on your own–we don’t judge!) during this summer.

1. Go swimming or go to the beach:

This one was a fairly obvious choice as we have the privilege of being situated right by the coast. A few of my favorite beaches are Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, and of course, Corona Del Mar. These beaches are less visited than some of the other beaches in SoCal which means that you’ll be able to have a quieter, more calming experience. These beaches are also much cleaner than a lot of other beaches which all adds up to be an overall enjoyable experience.

2. Go watch a movie:

This one was another obvious choice but it still had to be mentioned on this list nonetheless. Some notable movies that are set to release in the summer are: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2), Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (July 12), and Oppenheimer (July 21), for you Christopher Nolan fans.

3. Go to a concert:

While this option is usually more on the pricey side, I can almost guarantee you that it’ll be worth it in the end. I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to go see Kendrick Lamar live and up close at the Crypto Arena last year, and while I did spend a healthy amount to go see him live, I can say that it was worth every dollar and cent. For more economically-savvy choices, you can also check out The Observatory in Santa Ana and House of Blues in Anaheim. It’s all to say that I’m sure that if you end up going to a concert this summer, you will be saying the same thing.

The Greek Theater in Los Angeles

Here are some more little things you can do to enrich your summer:

4. Plant a tree

5. Hang out with your friends

6. Go to a party

7. Learn a new language

NBA Update: Rounding up Big Trades

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By Carlos Lopez

As the NBA regular season comes to a close, with only a few games left before its conclusion, I’ll go over some of the ‘blockbuster’ trades that happened throughout this season.

Suns-Nets-Bucks-Pacers Trade (KD to the Suns)

Starting with one-half of what was arguably THE trade this season, Kevin Durant went to the Suns. The entire trade package was huge, and included:

Suns Receive:          

Kevin Durant, TJ Warren

Nets Receive:

Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Juan Pablo Vaulet, 2023 first-round pick (from Phoenix) , 2025 first-round pick (from Phoenix) , 2027 first-round pick (from Phoenix), 2028 first-round pick swap (from Phoenix), 2028 second-round pick (from Milwaukee), 2029 first-round pick (from Phoenix), 2029 second-round pick (from Milwaukee)

Bucks Receive:

Jae Crowder

Pacers Receive:

George Hill, Serge Ibaka, Jordan Nwora, three future second-round picks (from Milwaukee), cash considerations (from Brooklyn)

This trade (along with the Kyrie Irving trade) has shaken the NBA to its core. With the introduction of KD and Kyrie to the Western Conference, the playoffs now seem to have taken a twist.

Mavericks-Nets Trade (Kyrie to the Nets)

I mentioned this trade earlier when I discussed the KD trade, as they were both traded from Brooklyn. This trade wasn’t as impactful as the KD trade since this trade only involved the Mavericks and the Nets. The trade included:

Mavericks Receive:

Kyrie Irving, Markieff Morris

Nets Receive:

Spencer Dinwiddie, Dorian Finney-Smith, 2027 second-round pick, 2029 first-round pick (unprotected), 2029 second-round pick

While this trade had no immediate effect on the league besides for the Mavs and Nets, I believe there will be some consequences (either positive or negative) later on in the playoffs.

Lakers-Timberwolves-Jazz Trade

And last but not least, I’ll be talking about the 3-team trade that most notably led to the departure of Russell Westbrook from the Lakers. It went as follows:

Lakers Receive:

D’Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley, Jarred Vanderbilt

Timberwolves Receive:

Mike Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 2024 second-round pick (from Lakers), 2025 second-round pick (from Jazz), 2026 2nd round pick (from Jazz)

Jazz Receive:

Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Damian Jones 2027, 1st-round pick (from Lakers)

This trade seems to have helped the Lakers slightly since it added more depth to their roster. The elephant in the room, however, is Russell Westbrook. He had a brief stay in Utah as they eventually agreed to a buyout. Afterwards he signed with the Clippers, where he seemed to have settled rather nicely (good for him).

Opinion: A.I. Chatbots are Potential Danger

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By Carlos Lopez

With the advent of artificial intelligence and the increasing trend towards integrating technology within our day-to-day lives, a few prominent companies, including Microsoft, Google, and most notably OpenAI, have all recently released versions of artificially intelligent ‘chatbots.’ These chatbots help users answer myriads of questions, ranging from simple questions like “How old is Joe Biden” to much more advanced questions like explaining quantum physics and string theory.

While these ‘chatbots’ surely come with numerous upsides, it also comes with a version of Pandora’s box that could lead to detrimental and dangerous consequences if left unchecked.

A potential danger of this chatbot is that since it is a relatively new form of artificial intelligence, we are uncertain of its limits and capabilities. A recent ‘interview’ between New York Times journalist Kevin Roose and Microsoft Bing’s newly developed chatbot started a wildfire of controversy. The conversation went from ordinary lines of dialogue to the chatbot referring to itself as “Sydney,” and hinted at a desire for sentience and humanity. The eeriest part of this conversation started when “Sydney” confessed its love to Roose. Upon Roose’s friendly but firm rejection, mentioning how he’s happily married, the chatbot told Kevin, “Actually, you’re not happily married. Your spouse and you don’t love each other. You just had a boring Valentine’s dinner together.”

Another consequence of these chatbots is the fabrication of written and artistic work that teeters on the edge of plagiarism and originality. I could ask ChatGPT to write lyrics for a song, or I could ask it to write me a short paper on a book I have never read. While using ChatGPT may be beneficial in the short-term to get you out of a pinch, you will ultimately deprive yourself of learning about something new or refining existing skills.

To help illustrate my point, I asked ChatGPT to write a Shakespearean sonnet about the power of music. Here is what it came up with after only about 10-15 seconds:

When all the world is fraught with toil and strife,

And care and worry weigh upon the heart, 

There is a balm that brings a sweeter life,

And sets the troubled soul and mind apart.


It is the power of music, sweet and strong,

That lifts us up on wings of melody,

And leads us through a world of pain and wrong,

To heights of joy and peace and harmony.


Its voice can calm the storm within our breast,

And soothe the raging passions of the mind,

And in its notes we find a sweet caress,

A comfort that we never thought to find.


So let us raise our voices in its praise,

And let its power guide us through life’s maze.

I think it is safe to say that ChatGPT more than satisfied my request (would even Shakespeare himself be proud of this sonnet?). And while it was a pleasure to read through this sonnet, I came to the bleak realization that there might come a time when art as a whole becomes AI-generated, leaving countless artists and creatives in the dark as to what to do with the rest of their lives.

And lastly, and I want to comment on the societal effects it may produce. Even though these chatbots are still in their developmental phases and have only been in the general public for a short time, they have already attracted much attention from people around the world. Many of these chatbots can hold a good conversation on their own, which begs the question: Will we see an even further decrease in human interaction as we receive more objective advice and counsel from these chatbots? It seems only time will tell.

Best Date Spots for Valentine’s Day

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By Adriana Zaragoza and Carlos Lopez

Are you trying to figure out where to go this year for Valentine’s Day? These are the top ten best places to take your Valentine, both affordable and expensive. Picked by yours truly at The Shoemaker Bugle.

WandaVision': Is It Even Possible for Wanda and Vision to Get a Happily Ever After?
  • A dinner for two at Olive Garden
  • A bookstore date (Barnes & Noble)
  • A picnic for two, with a side activity (painting, flower lego sets, We’re Not Really Strangers card game)
  • A day at the aquarium (Aquarium of the Pacific, around $40 per person)
  • Sweethearts Night at Disneyland Resort (ticket price starting at $129 per guest)
  • Heart-shaped food date (Chick-Fil-A brownie or mini sandwich heart trays; heart-shaped pizzas at California Pizza Kitchen; donuts at Dunkin’ Donuts)
  • Night at the movies (AMC Norwalk, Harkins Cerritos, or Regal Cerritos)
  • Evening at Golf N’ Stuff
  • Picnic at the park or beach of your choice
  • Evening at a upscale sit-down restaurant

NFL 2023 Championship Game Predictions

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It is time to make our picks for the NFL Conference Championships. In the NFC Divisional Round last week, the 49ers advanced by beating the Cowboys in a close one, 19-12, while the Eagles easily took care of business against the Giants, beating them 38-7.
In the AFC, the favored Chiefs just squeaked by the Jaguars, 27-20, and the Bengals continued to surprise, winning in Buffalo by a score of 27-10, setting up a rematch of last year’s AFC Conference Championship.

In our picks last week, Richard Sanchez went a perfect 4-0 in his picks; Mr. Higgins went 3-1 (incorrectly picking the Bills to beat Cincy); while Rodolfo Garcia and Carlos Lopez each went 2-2.
Joining our sports editor Carlos Lopez and Mr. Higgins this week are reporters Stany Hernandez and Evelyn Magaña. Let’s get to the Championship games, both on this fun-filled Sunday, January 29.

NFC Championship Game: 49ers @ Eagles | Noon, FOX

Mr. Higgins49ers
CarlosEagles
Stany49ers
Evelyn49ers

Carlos is the only one picking Philly, and the reason he picks the Eagles is because, “They’ve been on a roll all season. A lot of people are picking against Philly because they want to root for the underdog. I think the inexperience of Brock Purdy will cost the Niners the game.”

AFC Championship Game: Bengals @ Chiefs | 3:30, CBS

Mr. HigginsBengals
CarlosBengals
StanyBengals
EvelynBengals

So why is everyone picking the Bengals? The injury to Patrick Mahomes is concerning, and, as Mr. Higgins said, “I’m just tired of the Bengals proving me wrong!” Cincy obviously has a very complete team, and we see them repeating as AFC champs and moving on to Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, February 12.

2023 NFL Divisional Round Playoff Predictions

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Last week, we made our picks for the wild card round. Let’s recap how we did. We all incorrectly predicted a Vikings win over the Giants; otherwise, our NFL correspondent Rodolfo Garcia was perfect in his other predictions.

  • Rodolfo Garcia | 5-1
  • Mr. Higgins | 4-2
  • Richard Sanchez | 3-3
  • Michael Rodriguez | 3-3

It is now time to move on to round two of the NFL playoffs, otherwise known as the Divisional Round. The top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs now join the fight, hosting the lowest remaining seeds in these Divisional Round games.
*For this round of predictions, our sports editor Carlos Lopez replaces Michael to make picks.

NFC:

Giants @ Eagles | Saturday, 5:15pm on FOX

Mr. HigginsEagles
Rodolfo GarciaEagles
Richard SanchezEagles
Carlos LopezGiants

Cowboys @ Niners | Sunday, 3:30pm on FOX

Mr. Higgins49ers
Rodolfo GarciaCowboys
Richard Sanchez49ers
Carlos Lopez49ers

AFC:

Jaguars @ Chiefs | Saturday, 1:30pm on NBC

Mr. HigginsChiefs
Rodolfo GarciaJaguars
Richard SanchezChiefs
Carlos LopezChiefs

Bengals @ Bills | Sunday, 12:00 noon on CBS

Mr. HigginsBills
Rodolfo GarciaBengals
Richard SanchezBengals
Carlos LopezBills

Check in with us next week when we wrap up these predictions and get down to the final four teams playing for the Conference Championships and a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

Glenn Boys Basketball off to a Great Start

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By Carlos Lopez

As teams in the NBA season continue to dominate, our JGHS boys’ varsity basketball team has also been brewing up a storm of their own.

As of today (December 9), Glenn has gone 2-5 during their pre-season campaign (not counting many successful tournament games) starting with their season-opening win versus Bassett High by a score of 66-43. Armando Arreola was the leading scorer with an impressive 29-point performance accompanied by Sebastian Figueroa’s notable all-around performance.

I had a chance to talk with the team’s head coach, Sam Abebe, after their first win. The following is our Q&A session:

Q: How do you feel about tonight’s game?

A: “Obviously I’m glad we got the win. But as a coach who wants excellence and wants perfection, I thought that we struggled a little bit: not understanding what we needed to do to break that zone that they played all night. But at the end of the day, I have to understand that we got a win and move on and come back tomorrow and just get ready to work again tomorrow.”

Q: Who or what stood out to you the most?

A: Armando Arreola. The whole game he just played with high intensity; it’s just unfortunate that other guys couldn’t match his intensity. But for his first game here at John Glenn, for him to play that well and be able to score tonight and pretty much be the best offensive player for them all night, I thought he did a great job; he stood out to me the most and I’m proud of how he played.

Q: What should we expect for the rest of the season?

A: “I mean, on paper, this team is better than last year’s team–we’re deeper, we have more guys. But again, it’s a mental thing with this team; today felt like a loss even though we won but how are we going to come back tomorrow? Are our leaders going to step up and say something, or are we just going to keep letting the mediocrity fester? That’s the thing. But we’ll see; it’s early in the season obviously. I’m glad we got the win and we just got to move on now and look forward to Saturday.”

605-League play begins with a home game against Whitney on Wednesday, January 4.

This Month in History: October Events through Time

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By Carlos Lopez

As we approach the end of October, I wanted to highlight some memorable events that have happened in the month of October in recent years:

  1. October 3, 1990 –  Reunification of East and West Germany. The West German flag was raised above the Brandenburg Gate at the stroke of midnight.
  1. October 4, 1957 – The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite into elliptical low Earth orbit
  1. October 13, 2010 – The Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground. This has since been made into a 2015 film called “The 33”.
  1. October 4, 2022 – Yankees’ Aaron Judge hits homer No. 62 to break AL record set by  Roger Maris with the 1961 Yankees.
  1. October 6, 1993 – After 9 seasons & 3 Championships with the Chicago Bulls, Michael Jordan announces his retirement from the NBA. He would return on March 18, 1995 and lead the Bulls to another 3-peat.

Famous birthdays

  • Bill Gates – October 28, 1955
  • Eminem – October 17, 1972
  • Bob Odenkirk – October 22, 1962
  • Bruno Mars – October 8, 1985
  • John Lennon – October 9, 1940

NBA Preview: 2022-2023 Season

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By Carlos Lopez

As the start of the NBA season approaches, many teams, at this point, have gone through notable changes within their respective organizations. I will showcase my predictions on how each team will do during the season. I will also cover some NBA teams I believe will do well this season. 

PREDICTION:

The tables below include my predictions on how each team will do throughout the 22′-23’ NBA season. I simulated the entire season and created my predictions on playoffpredictors.com. These are the results that I ended up having.

Predicted Western Conference Standings
Predicted Eastern Conference Standings

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Chris Paul (left), DeAndre Ayton (middle), and Devin Booker (right)

Prediction: Phoenix Suns remain as the 1-seed in the Western Conference: 

As the 1-seed in the Western Conference last year, I believe the Suns will repeat their standings and stay as the 1-seed. With Chris Paul leading the offense and Devin Booker having proven to be an excellent regular-season player, I am confident they will remain at the top of the Western Conference.  

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Grayson Allen (left), Giannis Antetokounpo (middle), Pat Connaughton (right), and Jrue Holiday (back)

Prediction: Milwaukee Bucks move up to the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference:

With 6’11” PF Giannis Antetokounpo having been a dominant presence in the league, along with the help of Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton last season, they had quite a good year. I believe they will be the best team in the Eastern Conference by quite a sizable margin this upcoming season.

Playoff Predictions:

As for the playoffs, I believe that the Warriors will win another championship this season with the help of superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. It would be Curry’s 5th ring, adding to his already prestigious career and increasing his case for being a top-10 or even top-5 all-time player. I have the Bucks making it to the NBA Finals for the same reason why I have them winning the 1-seed. But I believe that in the end, the Warriors will outperform the Bucks with the help of key players like Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole.

Playoff Bracket Prediction

LOS ANGELES LAKERS OUTLOOK:

LeBron James (left) and Anthony Davis (right)

Now onto our local coverage, let’s take a look at the Lakers. While I have them as the 5-seed, this is under the condition that the Lakers can stay healthy for at least 4/5ths of the whole 82-game NBA season. However, if this is not the case, then I believe they might stay around the 7th or 8th seed, if not lower.

My main qualm with the Lakers is that they are just old. LeBron James, as great a player as he is, is not getting any younger. LeBron is entering his 20th season, and I do not doubt that he will start showing his age, especially toward the end of the season. My worry about Anthony Davis is he will be the same injury-prone player he was last season. People have even started to call him Anthony “day-to-day” Davis, which shows how bad it got.

And we cannot forget about Russell Westbrook, yikes. Look, I like Russ; he once was one of my favorite players to watch back when he played with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He even had a pretty good stint with the Washington Wizards during the ‘20-21 season. But I was irritated with how he played this last season. I was expecting so much more from him. I would argue that he worsened in every aspect of his game. His free throw shooting was terrible, with a 66.7% free throw shooting percentage. He averaged only 18.5 points per game last season as well. The last time he averaged less than 20 points per game was back in 2009-10 during his 2nd season, when he averaged 16.1 points per game.

Some may argue that since playing with LeBron, he has had to take a step back and become more of a role player. I understand the logic behind this, but I only somewhat agree. For the amount of money that Westbrook earned last season ($41,358,814) and the amount that he will make this upcoming season ($47,063,478), he should be playing at a much higher level. I will say that I disagreed with the decision last season to have him play alongside LeBron. But if he is willing to come off the bench to go against second units, then I am sure we will see his stats go up again while also contributing to the team. If the Lakers can figure all this out, then they just might have a chance to make it far this season.

Carlos Lopez

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Carlos Lopez is a senior currently at John Glenn High School. Carlos was born in the city of Bellflower but has resided in Norwalk for most of his life. In his free time, Carlos likes to play his guitar and listen to various genres of music. Carlos is an avid sports fan, following his favorite teams across multiple different sports including the Lakers, Packers, Dodgers, and Real Madrid.