By TANGELIA CANNON
Features Editor
At a time when most students are stressing about upcoming mid-terms and getting ready for spring break, some students still make sure to make time for themselves.

Kevin Reynolds, a sophomore biology major is one of the many students that tries to make time for themselves in a busy schedule.

“I play the XBox an average of two hours a day,” said Reynolds. “It’s not as much as I would like to, but with me being in school and working, it’s all the time I have . . . depending on what is going on during the week and what is happening at school.”

Reynolds began gaming at an early age, due to growing up with four brothers.

“I remember having two PS1 consoles in our house, but all we had were awful games,” said Reynolds. “So instead of playing the PS1, me and my brothers stuck to the Super Nintendo. I remember playing games like “Rock and Roll Racing,” “Super Mario Bros.,” “Zelda” and “Mortal Kombat.”

Growing up with a house full of boys, influenced Reynolds’ game-play greatly. “I enjoyed playing two player games that were either co-op or versus,” he said.

“I really liked playing “Mortal Kombat” because I was really good at it. It gave me the chance to beat up on my bigger brothers.”

Having a busy schedule does not deter Reynolds from keeping in touch with his family. Playing the XBox gives Kevin a way to keep in touch, while having fun.

“I remember having little tournaments with my brothers in games like “Mortal Kombat” on the Super Nintendo,” said Reynolds.

It was in 2004, when Reynolds first took his passion for gaming and began competing in a local tournament.

“My high school hosted a “Madden” tournament on the PS2,” said Reynolds. “I didn’t do too hot, but there were a lot of people there that were much better than me.”

Since 2004, Reynolds has only been to a few competitions. However, he plans to begin entering more tournaments.

“I am beginning to enter one every couple of months with my friend, Greg Hunt,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds and Hunt recently entered a tournament in Waverly, Tenn., which featured competitions in XBox and PC games.

“We competed in both the “Madden” and the “Call of Duty 4” competitions,” said Reynolds. “We won the tournament and received a free entry into the next tournament, free pizza and an XBox 360 skin/face plate.”

“My favorite part of tournaments is the competitiveness. It is completely different than just playing on XBox Live,” said Reynolds.

If you are interested in going to tournaments, Reynolds said the best way to find out about upcoming games is the Internet or friends that are gamers as well.

One piece of advice Reynolds offers any future competitor is to communicate with team members.
“If you do not communicate, then you will just be picked apart by a team that does,” said Reynolds.

As the theater darkened and adults munched on popcorn and snacks from the movie theater’s concession stands, the movie audience had been waiting to see began rolling. The screen filled with a scripture, Psalm 34:11, from the Holy Bible. Though the scripture was simple, it spoke words that would speak true to the movie. “Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the feat of the Lord.”

The movie begins as actor Paul Bettany’s character, archangel Michael, drops into a darkened alley during the night simply to cut off his wings and steal artillery from a nearby building that looks to be abandoned, after refusing the mission to help destroy mankind.

The plot of the story is God is angry and has lost all hope at mankind due to the way they are living life. However, Michael states he has always loved mankind as much as God has Jeep, played by Lucas Black, who still cares about others and lives their life the best way they can and cannot give up on mankind.

The plot takes a toll as the scene changes to an out-of-the-way stretch of road diner, Paradise Falls. Though the diner is practically empty, guests who have been lost or stuck at the diner due to car problems, take stage as a few of the main characters.

However, the action does not begin until a local elderly woman comes into the diner and orders a raw steak, curses the unborn baby of Charlie, played by Adrianne Palicki, and bites into neck of another guest at the diner.

As shock-stricken customer, Kyle (Tyrese Gibson), owner Bob (Dennis Quaid) and employee Percy (Charles Dutton) go outside to dump the body, Michael shows up ready to save the day with a trunk full of artillery. Though skeptical at first, the group decides Michael is legitimate and begins to trust him.

Though the plot thickens a little, with more gunfire and blood, there is little discussion of what is truly taking place. All viewers know is God is mad and wants to exterminate mankind. It is not until later in the movie they find out that the reason the diner is under attack is due to Charlie’s unborn baby being the hope of all mankind.

Since the movie’s release, “Legion” has been a topic of controversy, as it fringes on religious sensitivity. Though it is agreed the movie is full of action and few minutes of comedic release, the movie has been rated from “disappointing” to “kick-ass” according to viewers.
The movie, which runs 100 minutes, was directed by Scott Stewart and produced by David Lancaster and Michel Litvac.

“Inspiration is everywhere. Learning to draw is basically learning how to see, and once you know how to see, the world is never boring,” Kell Black said when describing where his inspirations come from when designing paper.

Black began to work with paper at the age of 5 when his father came home from the New York World’s Fair with a paper model of a Dutch village.

“After watching him build it, I went out to the driveway and drew our VW bus from all sides on a big sheet of cardboard, cut it out, folded it then glued it together,” Black said. “I’ve been making things ever since.”

Throughout his education, Black excelled in subjects such as geometry and drafting and used classes such as sculpture, drawing and mechanical drawing to refine his skills in paper engineering. Black has created everything from realistic paper structures to, recently, a chess set.

Last spring, Black received an e-mail from Kate Shanahan, an editor at Ivy Press in England, who was looking for a paper engineer to work with Ivy in creating a paper chess set.

Black just happened to be on the top of Shanahan’s list of paper engineers Ivy would like to work with. Black accepted the job and began working on models of chess pieces which would be featured in his first book.

“I had made literally hundreds of things [from] paper, but never a complete chess set. I had made one piece, though — a knight — over 25 years ago. It seemed like a great challenge,” Black said.

After months of designing, building, redesigning and building again, Black finished the project. “We had dozens (of pieces) around the house,” Black said.

Black said the hardest part was “creating elegant designs that can be built by a beginner.”

With the release of “Paper Chess,” Black is once again in the beginning stages of creating a book. This time around, however, he will be creating “Paper New York,” which will be followed by “Paper Cut.”

“‘Paper Cut’ [will] examine the work of ten international artists, designers and illustrators who work in the medium of cut paper,” Black said.

“I’ve been interviewing the artists and then creating tutorials that examine a technical or conceptual aspect of their work.”

Black also devotes his time to large-scale charcoal drawings and blackandjones, which is a new media in sound and video collaboration.

“I have upcoming exhibitions in all the areas I work in — paper, drawing and new media,” Black said.

“I’m exhibiting new paperworks in a group show next month at the Cumberland Gallery in Nashville; I’ve an upcoming solo drawing exhibition at Belmont University; and my colleague Barry Jones, and I have a new media show this spring at the Renaissance Center in Dickson.”