Teen Pulse

For members of the Los Alamos High School Cross Country team, autumn is all about running.  
Beginning the first week of August, team members start practicing and getting in shape everyday, running about three to four miles each session.  
Rob and Kathy Hipwood have been head coaches of the boys and girls teams since 1994. Eight other assistant coaches help to make sure the team is practicing well and helping the runners to progress throughout the season.  
“The team has been doing great, both boys and girls. We are very pleased with the race performances from varsity to C team. The teams have been racing very consistently. So we think it’s been a very successful season so far,” Rob said.  
Cross Country teams are usually fairly large at Los Alamos High School, but Kathy noted the LAHS Toppers’ team is made up of 97 runners this season.  
“This is the biggest team, not by a lot, because it’s been consistently in the 80s over the past 19 years,” she said.  
The runners are divided into varsity, junior varsity and C teams. The varsity and junior varsity runners practice a little more, including running at 6 a.m., before school begins.

Monday: Halloween bingo
Tuesday: Jar-o-lanterns in White Rock, mood rings in Los Alamos
Wednesday: Movies and munchies
Thursday: Jar-o-lanterns in Los Alamos, mood rings in White rock
Friday: Broomstick bags

The Los Alamos Youth Activity Center is located at 475 20th St., next to Ashley Pond, 662-9412.
The White Rock Youth Activity Center is located at 10 Sherwood Blvd., across from Smith’s in Rocket Park, 672-1565.
The centers are open from 3-6 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday; and from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

In today’s music industry, themed albums have become almost as rare as seeing a giant squid.
With the introduction of the MP3, today’s artists tend to shy away from entire albums being centered completely around one subject. Instead, production efforts are put into making one stellar single that will hopefully peak enough interest in the listener to make them check out the rest of the album.
“The 2nd Law,” English rock band Muse’s sixth full-length studio album, is a type of album that has not been seen for years. This album is unique because not many bands are bold enough to make themed albums anymore.
Perhaps two of the most well-known themed albums are The Who’s “Tommy” and Queensryche’s “Operation Mind Crime.” Each of these efforts was famous because of their content and how the bands told a story through their albums.
Muse does the same with the “2nd Law.” The songs tell different stories as the album unfolds. Parts are about a planet being depleted of its resources, while the title suggests that the amount of musical energy will explode throughout the album.

These days it seems that once in a blue moon a movie comes along that isn’t simply a remake.
“Looper” is one of those movies and is one of the most original action films we have seen in a long time.
The story takes place in 2044. Time travel has not yet been invented, but specialized assassins known as loopers eliminate targets sent to them from 2074, in the future.
The loopers are paid well and lead extravagant lives, the only catch to the job is that eventually, they will be sent back to 2044 and forced to kill their future selves, which is known as “closing your loop.”
In the film, the protagonist Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has his future self sent back to him in order to close his loop, but when he loses him, he finds himself in a situation —where to keep himself alive in the present — he must hunt down and kill his future self (Bruce Willis).
The plot is very exciting and filled with twists and turns that will not leave the viewer dissatisfied. However, the fundamental reason for avoiding a full plot summary is done so as not to ruin the film for those who haven’t yet seen it.