the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Team Romo

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The Romo’s–a longtime Palm Valley family–have been busy. Christina has been writing poems and song lyrics. We have two to share with you here. Daniel is an intern writing sports articles for the LA Peach Basket. His first article came out last month. We have it linked below.

A connection?

By Christina Romo

Tell me you can’t live without me.
Whisper everything you’re dying to say.
Your words, how they flow, so gently;
I get lost in your eyes by a gaze.
Kiss me, I want to feel your lips.
Hold me, just like this.
Our hands intertwined, you feel like you’re mine
It’s just in my eyes.
The light is on you tonight,
Moonlight, the shadow just covering one eye.
Your smile is so bright, brighter than the moonlight.
The light shines in my eyes and it’s as if I’m feeling it inside.
Do you realize?
It’s just in my eyes.
The room is silent. The only noise is our breathe.
Your head is on my chest, your mind is at rest.
Lying down, I watch you forget.
A clear head with a clear heart, and you chose me.
Maybe it is just in my eyes,
or maybe you might just feel the same thing.

Mind Clutter

By Christina Romo

Wonderful differences
Silence in distractions
One sigh you know what I’m asking.
Life gives us fortunes,
most that come true.
Fortunes of what we should be, what’s to come, and what to do.
You were a fortune that came into my point of view.
I held onto it to see what it could turn to.
I always knew it was you.
An observed perception
no one knows what lies in between
all that’s there is lies and assumptions of what it could be.
Silence falls before us, it’s only you and me.
Heavy breathing, slow dancing, lost in the heavy color of your eyes.
Blank stares, a thousand thoughts rushing
All wanting to speak up at once
too many rushed, nothing said.

* * * * * * *

This from Ms. Romo in the Business Office: “I think I told most of you about Daniel’s internship writing a sports article for LA Peach Basket. Well, here is his first one and he would love for you to see it!
Proud mom”

https://www.lapeachbasket.com/2019/10/1st-nba-power-rankings-2019-20-are.html?m=1

Dreams are not so Far Away

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As we dream of “far-away” places, Quintus walks us through a guided meditation of sorts. He encourages us to forge ahead, be happy, love, and live.

By Quintus Ni

    The scenery far away that we are longing for drives us to keep forging ahead. Flowers coming out along the roads and birds singing in the trees are companions on the journey, as is the beautiful scenery, the bridges across rivers, and range upon range of green mountains. For the longed goal, we shall go despite wind and rain.       

In the peaceful and delightful life, a wisp of fragrance is enough to decorate the time we have. Living in the ethereal environment is like dancing with life happily in a beautiful waltz. The original vivid memories of the past go with us until they fade like withered flowers to get ready to welcome the new journey.

Make an outing on a sunny day and a quiet place to soak up the warm sunshine. Feel the wild breeze blowing over your face, and listen to its sound rustling over the leaves, which awakens the growth of all creatures and makes wishes on a silent bluestone board. May youth last forever;  may life be peaceful and delightful.

Another May comes, with a gentle breeze and warm sunshine. We fly kites in a beautiful season, whisper our secrets to the blue sky and white clouds, and let all troubles of life go, leaving only the pure soul.

As time goes by, we feel trouble in life. Why not let your troubles go for a while, and look at the colorful flowers, the ripples of rivers, green fields, and wild rhododendron, or read a book, or appreciate a painting that can touch the soul. Life should be hopeful. And that’s how the life of humankind becomes meaningful.

Look–those weak grasses get flattened whenever the wind blows, but re-erect again and keep growing after the wind. It tells us the truth: the difficulty is always temporary, and goodness is always the main theme of life.

In the world of mortals, affection gives us a warm embrace, love gives us a touching mode, friendship gives us a solid dependence…. All these relationships are related to the quality of our lives. Smart people are good at handling and enjoying these relationships, thereby making their lives beautiful. When people grow no longer satisfied with material needs, it indicates the qualitative leap of life and that the real meaning of humanity is approaching.

People move forward slowly as time goes by. When the first sunshine of the morning shines on the window sill, the life of another day begins. We all live according to our own rhythm. We need to create life, set a new goal, and liberate ourselves from laziness and boredom. We should stop complaining about life, stop wasting time, instead, we must fulfill our lives and create a poetic future.

Life is too short, so why don’t we enrich our lives with more joyful laughter and more poetic romance. As long as we feel life wholeheartedly, we will see a brand new life in front of us, just as bold and generous as said by Li Bai in his poem: “leaving home chortle, with head tilted backward; how could people like me [be] ordinary?”

With a pen, I write my stories and enjoy the ups and downs of life. In the corner of the soul, I light up a candle to illuminate my way ahead. And this bright candle in life is the enlightenment of reading.

Quietly, I put a fragrant flower on the window sill, letting it be moisturized by the sun and dew. The fragrance of the flower finally dispels the haze in my heart; the rain washes away my sorrow, and the sun warms my soul. If we pay a little more attention to life, we will see and feel numerous warm moments around us, indicating the beauty of life.

I always believe that one who has splendid experience must live a marvelous life. In a lifetime, owning a relaxed attitude is vital to a happy life. Health and attitude could possibly be hard to reach no matter how much money we have. And as a matter of fact, life does not require too much. To live, a healthy spirit and happy mood are enough, as long as we live with an enriched inner world.

In the whole life of a man, he doesn’t have to be rich and glorious. Simple life could be deemed as a kind of success. Life is so precious, don’t waste time on unnecessary pursuits; instead, we could read books quietly, watch movies happily, have dinner with family, chat with lovers on a campus with beautiful cherry blossoms. These are all simple but sweet things in life. As long as we face life faithfully, we can enjoy happiness.

Life is a journey on which we could experience different scenery: the green mountains, the clean water, the bridges across the rivers, the blossoms, and ever-changing clouds. The world in front of us is of abundant scenery, waiting for us to discover, to appreciate, and to experience. Let’s get started; take the road to a happy journey, heading straight to the place faraway.

Far-Away Editor: Doreen Yuan

Tarta de Galletas y Chocolate

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By Renée 

When Editor Doreen said, WRITE ABOUT SOMETHING FAR AWAY, Renée responded with a favorite recipe that reminds her, fondly, of familiar but far-away places.

This is a Mexican recipe that blends two parts of my culture that I have grown up with: Spanish and Mexican. A good way to describe it is mestizo. It includes flavors that were popular in Mexico (e.g. chocolate) along with the notoriously Mexican absence of baking.

Ingredients:

  •  2 packets of biscuits (400 g), regular vanilla or butter biscuits are fine as long as they are rectangular 
  • For the Crema de Chocolate:
    • 200 milliliters of heavy whipping cream 
    • 250 grams of chocolate 
    • 1 tbsp of butter 
  • For the Natilla: 
    • 5 eggs 
    • 4 tbsp sugar 
    • 1 tsp vanilla (paste) 
    • 1 stick of cinnamon 
    • 1 liter of milk
    • 2 tbsp of cornstarch

Procedure for the Natilla: 

  1. Heat the milk with the cinnamon stick until it boils (you can add lemon peel for flavor). Remove from heat and allow to cool until room temperature, and remove the cinnamon stick.
  2. Separate the yolks from the whites, and beat the yolks with the sugar. Add the cornstarch to the egg mixture, and mix well. 
  3. Add the egg mixture to the milk. Add in the vanilla, and reheat on medium intensity. Mix continuously until it reaches a boil, then immediately remove from burner. Allow to cool to room temperature. 

Procedure for the Crema de Chocolate: 

  • Melt broken up chocolate bar with a tablespoon of butter in a bain-marie. Mix with the warm nata. 

You can melt the chocolate in the microwave, but the traditional method is in the bain-marie. A bain-marie is a warm water bath, where you put the pot in which you are cooking inside a larger pot filled with water.

Building the Tarta: 

  1. Lay the first layer of cookies in a medium-sized ceramic pan, similar to the type used for a bain-marie.
  2. Spread a layer of chocolate on the cookies, then a slightly thicker layer of the natilla, and repeat until done with ingredients. Finish on a layer of chocolate.
  3. Keep in the fridge for at least two hours.
  4. Cut and serve as rectangular bars.

Far-Away Editor: Doreen Yuan

Far Away Under the Sea–20,000 Leagues to be Precise

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By Critic-of-Far-Away-Things James Zheng

When Editor Doreen ordered the Blog Staff to WRITE ABOUT FAR-AWAY THINGS, James responded with a book he read long ago that took place far, far away . . . .

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is the most profound book I have read. I still remember the time I was studying in middle school that we were required to read tons of literary works, and I was completely not interested in reading. One day, we were told to grab a book in the school library. I randomly grabbed this blue-covered book and flicked through the pages. Then I looked at the title. It caught my interest and made me read this science-fiction novel. I still can’t believe that I finished this 1,000-page book for an extra-curriculum reading assignment.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) was published serially in 1869-1870. It was written by French writer Jules Verne and belongs to the second series of the Verne Trilogy (the other two are In Search of the Castaways and Mysterious Island).

From my perspective, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is one of Verne’s best works. Verne’s rich imaginative and meticulously delicate writing characteristics have made it into a masterpiece. Jules Verne creates a thrilling underwater adventure. His protagonists travel through ocean regions. During the process, whether it’s frustration or joy they experience, they learn about nature and humanity. The elements in the novel are strange; the language mainly focuses on vividly depicting an underwater world full of mystery. The description of everything is detailed and interesting, both artistic and scientific language make the image appear in front of you. Verne writes confidently of human beings recognizing and conquering the ocean, and shows the tenacity and courage of human will. The overall story includes technical knowledge of the underwater world associated with biology, geography, etc. 

Let’s take a look at the reviews given by other bloggers. (Note: This is translated from the original Chinese.)

  • “I was amazed at the author’s comprehensive and extraordinary knowledge and understanding about everything of the ocean. In many places, things, customs and culture can be counted as a treasure. In reading this book, we feel like we are back in the 1800s and actually have an image of everything that belongs to that era. . . . . I saw a little bit of the historical background [of] that time and [was] astonished by the extensiveness of the author’s thoughts. To create a series of interlinked, closely related and non-existent things . . . requires a strong imagination and knowledge . . . . I saw the sadness of the protagonist . . . . He holds his own hatred towards the world and isolates himself from society.”–Blogger Siwangqishidetongchu. https://www.zhihu.com/question/285823396/answer/498167494 

I truly feel the loneliness of actually going under the sea for twenty-thousand miles. Maybe sometimes we choose to isolate ourselves from human civilization and try to be more in tune with the natural world. I cannot think of more reasons to recommend this book but for its undiscovered “depth.” 

  Far Away Editor: Doreen Yuan

Musical Art

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By Katelin Mei

There are many kinds of art. One kind of art is music. Since I have been playing the violin for a very long time, I have become very familiar with this art. I have been playing violin in the Buddy Rogers Youth Symphony for three years. Here are some of the benefits I have discovered of learning how to play an instrument, and joining an orchestra where many different instruments work together to create a beautiful piece of musical art.


Some ways it has positively affected my life are by encouraging me to try my best and giving me something to be proud of. I always try my best to be very dedicated to improving my skills on the violin. When I practice a violin piece or skill for a while and finally feel like I have learnt it, I feel very proud of myself for being able to achieve something I have worked for. 

Playing in an orchestra has helped me work with many different people who all have different parts to play and still create and work on the same music piece. It has helped me know how all our different parts work together to create a piece of music. We all have to work together and play our separate parts to create music that we can be proud of. I feel proud when we have worked on a piece for a while, and the end product is amazing. I feel proud because I know that I helped work on my part and we created something amazing with all of our parts working together.

Art Editor: Chelsea

Frankenstein in Pasadena: The Modern “Modern” Prometheus

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Leo Milmet, along with the PVS junior and senior classes, traveled to Pasadena’s A Noise Within Theatre last month to view the theatre group’s production of Frankenstein. Mary Shelley’s thriller is a staple of English literature. The AP Lit class had just finished reading the book over the summer. Leo, an avid fan of theatre and cinema, submitted this review of the production. His theatrical review is a timely fit, as this week blog celebrates art.

PRODUCTION GRADE: B-


By Guest Writer Leo Milmet

A Noise Within’s production of Frankenstein by Nick Dear was as interesting as it was imperfect. What do I mean by that? The first few moments with the Creature, crawling like a babe, not knowing who or what he is or why he’s been created, are perhaps the best moments in the show. Michael Manuel, the actor playing the Creature shrivels, shudders, shouts, grunts, and mesmerizes his way into the audience’s heads and hearts. He’s fascinating, and the show is worth the price of admission for him alone.  He makes us feel so much sympathy for a character who has been totally dehumanized by his portrayal in popular culture. 

Next to enter the stage, of course, is Victor Frankenstein himself. Now, the actor playing Victor is somewhat of an enigma to me. My main question is, “How could a director good enough to direct Manuel’s performance also be bad enough to direct this one?” Seriously. This actor gives a performance whose over-the-topness would be surprising in a high-school play, let alone a professional one. He plays Frankenstein like we are meant to laugh at his terrible portrayal. I haven’t seen him in anything else, but his portrayal of Victor Frankenstein may be the greatest work of comedy he’s ever done. He bands together with a few truly awful members of a mostly-decent ensemble to ALMOST offset all of the goodwill we’ve gotten from Manuel. What is this actor’s name? Kasey Mahaffy. I understand that it is very hard to recite the line “NOOOOOOOOOOO!!” like it’s well-written, but it can be done so much better. 

Mercifully, the first 30 minutes or so involve very few moments of Mahaffy’s ridiculous performance. Rather, we first see life through the eyes of the first and only member of a species, and it’s heartbreaking. He’s treated about as well as we would treat a rattlesnake on our kitchen table, and it’s sad. The mirror it holds up to society is interesting, and someone was onto something wonderful when he or she decided to populate the stage with mirrors.

As the show continues, it becomes more and more eventful, and the story is fascinating all along; its tone is always of dread; the intent is never to frighten but to create empathy for pretty much everyone, which is very smart because I, for one, find it easy to pity such a lost soul as the Creature. And, if it weren’t for Mahaffy, the play would have succeeded in creating empathy for the major characters, despite some shortcomings in the ensemble department. 

The ensemble is okay at best; the dialogue could use a brush-up; Kasey Mahaffy as Victor Frankenstein is utterly ridiculous. Still, the story’s technical design and especially the brilliantly-characterized performance of Michael Manuel caused me to have a great time watching the play–despite its shortcomings.

*The views of guest writer Milmet are uniquely his own and do not represent the opinions and views of thebirdonfire.org.

Art Editor: Chelsea 

Lyrics? Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Lyrics

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By Luke Langlois

Ah yes, classical music. Who doesn’t love a little elegance every once in a while?  No, not the 80s or the 90s, those classics. I’m talking about the music you are graced with when walking into the house of a cultured enthusiast or an eccentric billionaire. History has remembered the names of the larger-than-life composers like Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Brahms, and more. But, unless you are well-versed in classical music or an orchestral instrument, do you know the names of these composers’ works? Before doing my research, I can say with absolute certainty that I had no idea which piece went “bumbumbumbumbumbumbum da da da da.” So, here are the uber-famous classics that you probably don’t know the name of. If you know all of these, go ahead and flex your genius in the comments. 

1 –  “Für Elise” by Ludwig Van Beethoven: “Für Elise,” also known as “Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor,” has the most iconic opening piano rift out of ALL of the piano riffs. Is piano rift too uncultured? Fine. The composition is an elegant piano solo. Anyway, saying that it is the most iconic of all time may be a broad and uncited generalization, but trust me; you will recognize it almost instantly.

2 – “Eine kleine Nachtmusik” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Officially known as “Serenade No. 13 for strings in G Major,” this composition begins with another immediately recognizable riff. This time, though, it’s violins!

3 – “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” by Bach: Although this is one of the most eye-catching titles in HISTORY (not),  “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” is liable to catch your ears with a sense of dread. This piece has been used in horror pop culture for decades. Listen in to enter a creaky old mansion full of monsters and ghoulies. 

4 – “Minuetto” by Luigi Boccherini: So, you’ve accidentally stumbled upon a row of mansions in the gold-laced streets of Italy. When you ring that diamond-encrusted doorbell, this composition is what you hear as the butler comes to answer.

5 – “The Four Seasons” by Vivaldi: This piece, actually a compilation of season-representing violin concertos by Vivaldi, is another composition that has consistently been associated with elegance and the finer things of life. The most famous portion of this composition comes from the opening of “Spring Allegro.” 

6 – “Peer Gynt – Morning Mood” by Edvard Grieg: This piece is likely in your mind as the “happy morning wake up” theme where the birds are chirping, the sun is shining conveniently through the window, and the recently awakened person is stretching photogenically. Bob Ross and Mr. Rogers probably woke up to this every morning.

7 – “Canon in D” by Pachelbel: This piece is so wedding that people probably do not enjoy playing it at weddings. I haven’t been at a wedding in over a decade, so I wouldn’t know. 

8 – The “Final” of the Overture to William Tell by Rossini: The “Final” from this Overture is the well-known “horse-race” song. The best way to describe this song with text is certainly “Dundundundundundundundun dun dun DUN dundudun.”

9 – “Also sprach Zarathrustra” by Richard Strauss: Imagine you’re Neil Armstrong and you are taking a cinematic walk on the moon to plant the flag of the United States. There is a 78.9% chance that Strauss’s opening melody is being played in your ears. This symphonic poem has more to it than its introduction, so continue listening (if you have the time).  

10 – “Gymnopédie no. 1” by Erik Satie: This soft composition may instill sadness, peace, relaxation, or a conglomeration of all three of these feelings. You may also be irresistibly pressed to pronounce the title of this work. It’s tough.

That’s all for now, folks. I hope you leave this post knowing at least one more classical title. I, personally, have learned to never judge a classical piece by its name. I’m starting to believe that the less you understand out of a title, the better. Obviously, this list is not all-encompassing. Dig deeper; you know more classical tunes than you think you know. Finally, listen to these works past just their minute-long introductions. Many of the universally recognizable portions are just brief moments of a tone poem that lasts for an hour. Become a classical music enthusiast and rid yourself of any lyrical corruption. This is where I would put an Italian farewell to up my culture levels, but I don’t know much Italian. 

 Art Editor: Chelsea Xu

Art Theme Week!

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By Art Editor Chelsea

Hello everybody!! I am the editor for this week, and the theme is going to be art!! Art is a commonly used word that describes many things including liberal arts, art history, fine arts, digital arts, drama, music, musicals, etc. So, please enjoy this week’s posts by our school’s amazing bloggers and have a wonderful day.–Chelsea

Image by Vexx on Youtube.

How to Draw an Alien

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By Chelsea Xu PROFESSIONAL AP ART STUDENT EXTRAORDINAIRE

Editor Doreen says, “Blog something Far Away!” So, Chelsea instructs us in drawing our “far-away” neighbors.

Hello, everyone!! Today I’m going to teach you guys how to draw my version of an alien. Everybody has their own alien in their imagination, so feel free to add your own features on your alien if you like.

Let’s get it started!!

Step #1 Draw a circle on the upper hand of the paper.

Step #2 Draw two lines alongside the circle.

Step #3

Now, since I am drawing the face a bit sideways, the centerline of the face should be a little left or right to the side. As well as the jaw, if your line is on the left, extend the right jawline a little further, and if your line is on the right, then do the exact opposite.

Step #4

Add the eyes!! Note that the eyes are not totally symmetrical to each other because the head is tilting to the side. 

Step #5 

Add shadow in the eyes!

Step #6

It’s time to add the nose! This is a unique pointy nose, but honestly, you can draw the nose however you like! They are aliens after all.

Step #7

Even though you cannot see the mouth clearly, I did draw the mouth. It is below the nose of course, and, again, you can do any shape of the mouth you like.

Step #8

Horns!! I added some pretty unique horns to my fellow alien; adding some extra features on your aliens will make them extra special!!

Step #9

It’s neck time! Since the head turned to the right for a little bit, the neck needs to be in a different direction as well. The left line connects the edge of the jawline while the right line connects to the left jaw.

Step #10

Add the beginning of the shoulder blades at the endpoint of the neck. Note that is a downward slope, not a straight line.

Step #12

Erase the helping lines gently, and add a bit of shadow under the neck.

And ta-da!! You are finished!! Here is the result of our lesson!

Awesome job, everyone! I hope you guys like and learned something in this tutorial. I ́ll see you all next time!!

                                                                                                  “Far Away” Editor: Doreen Yuan

Let’s See Them Aliens

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Editor Doreen tasked the Blog Team with addressing the theme of “Far Away.” This is Luke’s response.


By Luke Langlois, Buzz Lightyear’s friend

We are all-too-often defined by our differences in life, but, at the end of the day, we have many universal similarities. We all (hopefully) speak the universal language of laughter and smiles. I also have a side theory that dogs are constantly trying to replicate our smiles, but that’s not the point of this post. I am here to discuss the one universal quandary that everyone has considered at one point or another in their lives–where are the aliens?

Unless you’ve been living under a metaphorical rock, you heard about the Area 51 Raid that took place on September 20th, 2019. The “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All of Us” event started out as a Facebook event. As the event gained internet fame, people began to think that this was a great idea! The military isn’t just going to take down millions of citizens. Although, the Air Force did say that they would do whatever needed to defend the United States and its assets. Anyway, two million people on Facebook alone marked themselves as “attending,” and an additional one million said they were “interested.” This doesn’t even take into account the additional millions of people who don’t have Facebook that heard about it through other sources of media like Twitter, Instagram, or the mainstream news networks. We may seem globally divided all the time, but that hasn’t stopped us from putting millions of heads together for a “joke.” Doesn’t that give you some faith in humanity? 

The actual impact of the raid breached the physical world as well as the digital world. Lincoln County, a county neighboring Area 51, drafted an emergency declaration to prepare for a (predicted) 40,000 raiders. The town of Rachel, Nevada, had similar fears. They hypothesized that raiders and their cars from more temperate climates would not be able to handle the heat, causing emergency services and general stores to be overwhelmed. Luckily, their worries did not materialize. Only 150 people actually showed up around Area 51, and only two people were arrested. To my disappointment, nobody tried to raid Area 51. 

We were not able to rescue the extraterrestrials from Area 51, so our alien brethren will remain a mystery. Everyone has a different opinion on extraterrestrial life, but if I had to generalize, people tend to believe that aliens are far, far away. I don’t think so. We’re not quite sure just how expansive the universe is, but we do know that Earth is a tiny dot in the grand context of space. I also subscribe to the multiverse theory. According to my limited understanding of this concept, there’s a universe where Palm Valley’s primary uniform color is teal. Yes, teal. Given this, are we expected to believe that nothing else in our universe, let alone any parallel universe, has stumbled upon Earth? The chances of that are slim, especially when you also consider our Earth’s long history. I’ll leave you with this thought: there already are extraterrestrial species on this planet. They landed long before humans could understand matters like these. Armadillos are weird. Cats have bumps on their tongues. That’s not normal. Trust me, near or far, our intergalactic neighbors are watching. 

Editor: Doreen Yuan