Tag: Jamison Wagner

Review: Once more into the breach

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By: Jamison Wagner

“Star Trek: Into Darkness: is a well-executed sequel

Fans of the J.J. Abrams reboot Star Trek storyline will likely be delighted with his latest addition to the franchise in the form of Star Trek: Into Darkness.

From the well-done acting delivered by all the characters to some outstanding special effects and a fast-paced storyline, the movie keeps you ‘engaged’ throughout.

Spoilers ahead!

Chris Pine (Star Trek, Rise of the Guardians, Unstoppable) delivers as an excellent Captain Kirk. He comes off as brash and reckless at the start, but as the story progresses he matures, and at the conclusion, delivers a speech that shows him to be a level-headed and responsible leader and captain.

Zachary Quinto (Star Trek, Margin Call, Heroes) makes a superb young Spock. While initially seeming indifferent and completely unemotional, he shows the depth of a character who struggles not to feel because he cares too much.

Every character has their defining qualities, from the steely-eyed Sulu to the nervous and enthusiastic Chekov; or the ill-tempered but warm Dr. McCoy.

Uhura comes across as frightened but courageous and willing to do the job anyway. Carol Marcus is tenacious enough to seek the truth regardless of the risk to herself. Great characters, all of them, and a credit to the original actors.

It is Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock, The Hobbit, War Horse) who truly steals the show with a command performance as the villain of the piece that must be seen to be believed. From shedding a tear for his lost crewmen; to his frightful resolution as he threatens the Enterprise with absolute annihilation if Spock does not comply with his demands,. Cumberpatch dominates the screen from start to finish.

The heroes can only shine when matched against a truly menacing foe, and as Kahn, Cumberbatch delivers a performance that would do Ricardo Montalban (villain of the original Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn) proud.

The special effects are well executed and give the movie that extra edge when it comes to having a great science fiction flick. From when the Enterprise rises from the sea like a massive leviathan of the deep, to when San Francisco suffers catastrophic damage as a starship crashes; the visuals will keep you on the edge of your seat.

The camera work is well done and you can readily see what is going on; thankfully this movie does not suffer from the overuse of lens flare like the 2009 Star Trek did.

Overall, the story is a great rework of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn as it fits with the continuity of the alternate universe created by the 2009 Star Trek reboot.

This movie is a wild ride from beginning to end and well worth watching. Perhaps I am too generous with my praise, but I know that I will be watching it more than once on the big screen.

Rating of “Star Trek: Into Darkness”

Story: 5/5

Acting: 5/5

FX: 5/5

Camera: 5/5

Nursing Program drops vital courses

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By: Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter

According to CNM’s website, the requirements for gaining entry into the Nursing program are being reduced and access to the program will be offered on a first come, first served basis starting in the spring of 2014. Students expressed differing opinions on whether or not these changes will be for the better.

The requirements to enter into the Nursing program have dropped from 15 required courses to six courses, while courses being removed from the curriculum are Chemistry, Nutrition and some Biology courses which were cut down from 5 to 2 required classes.

The school will also no longer have an application process to apply for the program, and instead students will be required to register for NRSG 1010: Introduction to Nursing Concepts and NRSG 1015: Principles of Nursing Practice to be eligible for the nursing program, according to the CNM website and course catalogs from 2013 to 2014.

Mary Langois, Nursing majo,r said “The question is: Which nurse do you want working on you; the one with an A average or the one with a C average?”

The other side of the issue is that there are some people who do not test well but excel when it comes to the hands-on part of the job, she said.

“I have seen it as a practicing paramedic; where people who work in the medical field have the book smarts. They are A students, but they cannot actually apply the information to help their patients. I am kind of torn on this because I have seen both in people,” said Langois.

Nursing major Dana Broadway said she does not have any real problem with the changes being made to the program.

While it does seem odd that they would lower the standards and reduce your ability to enter the program only when you are able to register, and there is not much that can be done about it, she said

Consistency is good in terms of entry to the program, but the changes do not seem like they are needed, she said.

Broadway said, “I cannot control the changes they make; I can only control how I react to it. Mostly I am going to have to hope that luck is on my side.” According to nmned. org, these changes are being made to allow for increased efficiency in transferring nursing students between colleges, as well as bringing CNM’s program in alignment with the standards of New Mexico Nursing Education Consortium curriculum which will, “Improve efficiency, quality, and educational outcomes of nursing education through cooperation among community colleges,”.

CNM Remembers: David Twomey

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By Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter

David Twomey, the Associate Director for Enrollment Services, passed away Sunday, March 31, 2013 after he collapsed while walking his dog. He was 52.

The CNM Chronicle spoke with those who knew Twomey about his life and the loss to the community.

Twomey worked at CNM for 10 years. He was very thorough at his job, worked things to a ‘T’ and had a sense of humor and was a very nice guy, Linda Garcia, adminis­trative coordinator for Enrollment Services, said.

“He touched every­one’s life just by taking the time to talk to you about your day, or say a little joke and that’s what I will miss about him. He made my day so much better and now that he’s gone, things are sad,” she said.

Continue reading “CNM Remembers: David Twomey” →

Nom nom nom

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By Jamison Wagner, Staff Reporter

Instructor hopes to teach students about science behind food

A new nutrition class could be added to the catalog soon, said Lisa Gurule, Nutrition instructor, said.

Intro to Food and Science would go beyond what is taught in the Culinary Arts classes and focus on the science behind the food, said Gurule.

“I remember when I took this class at NMSU and it was my favorite, favorite, favorite course ever,” she said.

While this class teaches the basics of low-level chemistry, it is something the students can connect to because it relates to structure in food, she said.

“Culinary students do know how to cook beau­tifully, but now they will know some of the sci­ence behind it,” she said.

The difference between this class and the Culinary Arts class is that Culinary is about preparing the food, while Food and Science is about the nature, deterioration, food processing and the development of new products, said Gurule.

“People will tell you not to over-mix a muffin mix, but they will not tell you why you cannot do that. We will experiment by over-mixing muffins and see what happens to the muffins,” she said.

Students will learn how to measure the thickness of different sauces, she said. This is important for certain dishes that require a sauce that may need to be heavier according to the recipe and students will learn how to set this up, she said.

“The starches you use can change viscosity and we will go over why this is important,” she said.

This course will not be required for the associate degree in Nutrition, but will possibly be offered as part of the transfer agreement to NMSU’s Bachelors of Science in Human Nutrition and Diabetic Sciences degree, she said.

To find out more about the class, and when it will become available, contact Donna Diller, Dean of Business and Information Technology at ddiller@cnm.edu.