the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Review of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim–Adventure of Freedom

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By Gamer and Blogger James Zheng

The fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls was not only a breakthrough among the previous seasons, but it also achieved a really high rating from many credible gaming publications. Before I tell you how wonderful this game is, I am going to give you some basic introductions.

Skyrim was published by Bethesda Softworks; some gamers may have heard of this company. They are famous for their open worlds and letting people apply mods to their games. In other words, you have the power to edit every element in the game as you want to. The story of Skyrim was directed by Todd Howard; he has also designed the story of the Fallout games before Skyrim. Some other designers include Bruce Nesmith, Kurt Kuhlmann, and Emil Pagliarulo. They are all professionals at creating role-playing games, which are also known as RPGs.

Skyrim does an excellent job in its realistic depiction of the environment. It does not require a high power computer configuration or system.

Skyrim is completely different from the traditional RPG as it is far more interesting than other RPGs! In Skyrim, you don’t have to follow the main quest line. It’s your choice to follow the main quest or do some of the many side quests. You may want to go into the ruins to find hidden treasures or find a guild to join. Ninety-nine percent of gamers do side quests while they are exploring the world. The map is really large and gives you more than 50 hours of entertainment. In other RPGs, it has always been a hard decision to choose a class. Mage or warrior? Rogue or archer? Well, you don’t need to worry about that in Skyrim. You only have to choose the race, things like orc or elf. All the classes are unified; you can use all kinds of weapons. It all depends on your preference. If you really want, you can choose to specialize in only one class.  

I mentioned mods earlier; you may have heard these applied to Minecraft. If you install the mod into Skyrim, you are putting something in that is not part of the original part of the game. You could change the look of your character, or you could change the weather and buildings in the game and all kinds of elements in Skyrim, et cetera. However, the system of achievements will be closed if you install mods, in order to prevent earning easy achievements.

That’s almost all of it! It’s your turn to explore the rest of the big world. If you are interested in playing RPG games and want to try a unique style of RPG, you should probably buy and start your journey in Skyrim! Skyrim is supported by XBOX, PlayStation, and PC. It is a little bit expensive at $39.99, but the good thing is this game is often on sale.  

Note: This game is rated “M” for Mature.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Death is Weird

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By oft-poet Blogger Leo Milmet

I died.

I saw nothing.

For years I lay quietly in the cosmos,

In the space between reality and…whatever.

Then I saw pink and blue and purple and orange and green and gold and red and silver.

Then black and white and gray.

It was weird.

Like 2001: A Space Odyssey on steroids.

After the brief, psychedelic, Kubrickian mash-up, back to an eternal nothingness, full of peace and quiet.

Is this Heaven?

Probably not, but it sure is a trip.

 

Editor: Luke Langlois

 

The Ungrateful Son–A Fairy Tale Re-Telling

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Retold by Harlow Berny

Centuries ago, in a long forgotten kingdom, a man and his wife sat at their table by the open door of their house, and before them lay a roasted chicken. The man saw his old, graying father walking toward the door, so he hid the chicken under the table as he wanted to keep as much as possible for himself. The old father came, drank a cup of water, and went away. The son went to put the chicken on the table again, but when he picked it up, it had been replaced by a giant toad. The creature jumped onto the son’s face and sat there forever, and if anyone tried to remove it from his face, the toad would glare at them venomously, as if it would jump onto their face instead. The ungrateful son was forced to live with the toad on his face and to feed it everyday, for if he didn’t, the toad would feed on the son’s face. He went the rest of his life like this, knowing no rest or peace.

Editor: Luke Langlois

A Re-Telling of Grimm’s

皓HowFashion 02

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By Fashion Blogger Jeremy Cheng

 

There are so many influencers who play a significant role online.

Especially,

Instagram.

In the country where I was born, China, there are so many different types of similar social medias.

For instance,

People have the chance to share their daily life or other interesting things to others through these media sites.

People hoping to be famous who dream of standing on the stage and getting the attention of others use social media.

For the second part of “HowFashion,” I am going to show you how to appeal to others and get a  bunch of fans!

One of my friends has thousands of fans in Chinese social media. Her name is Emily Lin, and she likes to be called Mikkyob.

Nice: @Mikkyob

Instagram: @mikkyoblin_

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Sometimes, wearing a famous brand is not the main factor behind being handsome or beautiful.

Eye contact, poses, and emotion can make a model look vivid.

The picture on the left shows how a black dress can enhance Mikkyob’s body shape and highlight her curves. The crown makes her look grandiose and gorgeous.

In the middle picture, Mikkyob looks at the camera while chewing bubble gum. It makes her look cute and relatable.

In the picture on the right, Mikkyob decides to sit on the ground and look to the side. It shows her as being cold and elegant. It gives her an icy beauty.

In the right two images, she wears a red and white-striped top and red comfortable trousers. The red earrings cross with the dark green crown. The yellow background adds youth, passion, and enthusiasm.

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The most important things have to be said three times!!!

Confidence! Confidence! Confidence!

It is extraordinarily significant to take a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious picture.

 

Mikkyob laid her arm on the chair’s handle and looked at the camera, which makes her look younger. With her feet swinging in the air, she is booming with confidence.

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If the weather is pretty and nice, you might be able to take an Instagram-style photo, too. See the following image.

A photographer put Mikkyob in the middle of the photo and leaves half of the photo above her head.

In my opinion, this makes the model look taller. The sky and the pool are gorgeous blues. Plus, Mikkyob’s bikini color goes well with the blue. It has no more than 3 main colors; thus, the images will look lovely and beautiful.

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To sum it up, taking a good picture is not hard, as long as you know how to do it and have extra confidence.

If you have any good suggestions or want to talk about your fashion, please comment below this blog, and we will contact you.

The next great fashion expert will be you!!

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More pictures below

Editor: Luke Langlois

Adventures Through Slab City

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By Blog Adventurer Holden Hartle

Photo credits: Amanda Laule

Not to sound cheesy, but over Labor Day weekend I had the most amazing experience. I, along with a few friends, embarked on a journey around the Salton Sea. On this journey, we stopped at Salvation Mountain and, the real attraction, Slab City.

For those that don’t know, Salvation Mountain is a sculpture made by Leonard Knight. He dedicated 30 years of his life to the spread of one phrase: God is love. This phrase is plastered all over the mountainside. The pull factor of Salvation Mountain, at least for me, is that there is nothing like Salvation Mountain anywhere in the world. Its uniqueness and originality is unmatched.

If you travel half a mile east of Salvation Mountain, you will find Slab City. Residents live completely off the grid. There is no electricity, running water, or most things that make life in the desert comfortable, but residents make it work.

Upon arrival, you are greeted with rows of trailers, which may remind you of a trailer park. But, if that’s the case, this is the single greatest trailer park in the world. Beautiful murals line the entrance, and people are often outside their trailers selling various items, from pottery to art lessons.

Our specific destination was East Jesus, cleverly named as it is east of Salvation Mountain. East Jesus is an art gallery that is made entirely out of recycled material. We get out of the car and enter the appropriately named, West Satin. West Satin is more of a hang-out area rather than an art gallery. Inside was a group of people simply talking about their lives and their stories.

Before leaving home for Slab City, four different people came up to me and said, “Don’t get out of the car. You could get attacked by homeless people.” Let me tell you how glad I am that I didn’t listen to those people. The Slab City residents were some of the most genuinely nice people I have ever met. Though I never got his name, one resident gave us some insight into why and how someone would live there.

When I asked the man how he lives without common amenities, he responded with his own question, “How do you live?”

“With electricity and air conditioning.”

“Are you happy?”

“I’d say so.”

“Are you stressed?”

“Well, everyone is stressed where I live.”

“That is how I live comfortably. There are no electricity bills, no utility bills, and no rent. You just live. There is no timetable for when you have to do something. You just do it whenever you can.” To adults who pay bills and to teenagers who are generally stressed all of the time, this sounds like a Utopia. But it wasn’t always so Utopian.

When the government was surveying the area to build a wall between America and Mexico, they tried to drive the residents out. Their way of accomplishing this was to shut off Slab City’s water. Though he didn’t go into exact details, the man explained that now they have more water than before the government concreted their water pipes.

Their stress-free life and their sense of community is something that I’ve never seen before. We live in a society where we need to get everything done on a schedule, but why not take a breath? The residents of Slab City are living full Hakuna Matata, with no worries or cares. Most of us say that we could never live without our electronics or air conditioning, but look at the hundreds of people living in our backyard that have no electronics, yet they are some of the happiest people I’ve ever met. Maybe there is something to take away from these Slab City-ians about how to live a happy life.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Underseen and Underrated Movies Vol. 3: Polling the Staff

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By Blogger and thebirdonfire Resident Film Critic Leo Milmet

After sharing some of my personal picks, I feel like it is my turn to be educated on the tastes of others in the Palm Valley community. Therefore, I interviewed several members of the Blog Staff about films they find totally underseen and/or underrated. Enjoy!

Dying To Survive (Muye Wen, 2018)

“A based-on-a-true-story about a Chinese man who was prosecuted for buying leukemia medicine from India. The film reflects the humanity and the problem with medicine control in the Chinese government. It tells the truth!”–Jeremy Cheng

 

Sky High (Mike Mitchell, 2005)

“This is a fun movie about a superhero high school with a star-studded cast. Don’t watch it if you’re expecting something with the punch of a Marvel movie. I wouldn’t consider it a form of amazing art, but it’s a good, short movie to relax with and watch on a rainy day.”–Luke Langlois

Johnny from The Room

The Room (Tommy Wiseau, 2003)

“Try to recreate this movie. You can’t. It’s so unique and original, and it’s never been done before.”–Holden Hartle

Wild Child (Nick Moore, 2008)

“It’s just really good in a dumb, underrated movie sort of way. It’s not a great movie, but I just really like it. But it’s really good. Just remember I told you to watch it.”–Makena Behnke

The Trouble With Angels (Ida Lupino, 1966)

Anonymous suggestion. The movie speaks for itself.

The Green Hornet (Michel Gondry, 2011)

“It’s a superhero movie, but it’s not a total superhero movie. It’s good. The performances are entertaining.”–James Zheng

Aquamarine

Aquamarine (Elizabeth Allen Rosenbaum, 2006)

“It’s good.”–Bella Bier

Editor: Holden Hartle

Picture Day: A Poem

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By Leo Milmet

Picture day, when people try to look their best so they can have an unrealistic nostalgia trip in forty years.

Picture day, when you take a picture with EXACTLY the right amount of smile.

Picture day, when they rank kids from tallest to shortest so they can get in exactly the right place on an uncomfortable metallic bench.

Picture day, a day of hell for people who hate the word (and/or the food) “cheese.”

Picture day, a day that unapologetically and openly celebrates vanity, as opposed to other days which apologetically and subtextually celebrate vanity.

Picture day, the day when you sit out in the hotter-than-Hades desert sun, squinting in its radiating brightness, and waiting as the photographer perfects the camera settings.

Picture day, where you better remember to wear formal dress or you may not be in the class photo.

 

So, please, remember to wear formal dress on Picture Day at Palm Valley School, this Tuesday, September 18th, 2018.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Without

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Take a moment with Blogger Makena Behnke

too many people go through life blindly. they don’t notice the colors in the innermost part of their friend’s eyes. they don’t notice the many colors that are born in the mountains. they don’t notice the way the light bounces off their best friend’s smile.

too many people go through life without feeling. they don’t feel the way the warm water engulfs their body when they swim. they don’t feel the way their friend’s hand brushes against theirs. they don’t feel the way their hand feels when they first run it through their hair in the morning.

too many people go through life without appreciating the little things. they don’t care about the way their favorite candle gives a certain glow to the room. they don’t care about the little doodles their friends leave on their notes. they don’t care about the scuff marks that appear on their favorite pair of shoes.

Editor: Bella Bier

WNBA Info Guide

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By Holden Hartle, Sports-Blogger

If any of you are like me, a diehard NBA fan, you know that the WNBA has been in sports talks recently. Within the last year, many of WNBA players have felt as if they have been deserving of more respect as they are playing at the same level as NBA players. There is also the controversy that they are paid a small fraction of the percentage that NBA players are paid. In my attempt to give more recognition to these talented ladies, I have been watching the WNBA playoffs (which are really exciting), and in an attempt to get more people to watch this amazing sport, this is an intro guide.

General Knowledge and How the WNBA is Different From the NBA

The WNBA, or Women’s National Basketball Association, has 12 teams (a small amount compared to the NBA’s 30 teams). This makes the WNBA a more competitive league, and it means that only the best out of the best women will get drafted as this decrease in teams means fewer draft spots.

Skylar Diggins-Smith

The other big difference that I spotted was how the playoffs work. The NBA takes the top eight teams from each conference, and the playoffs commence. The WNBA is very different. The WNBA takes the top eight teams out of the entire league and reseeds them based on record and puts them into the playoffs. I, personally, wish the NBA was like this. Currently in the NBA, the Western Conference is stacked, with the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets leading that charge. If the WNBA playoffs worked how the NBA playoffs do, we wouldn’t get to see Skylar Diggins-Smith, who has become a leader of WNBA activism, or Liz Cambage, who broke the WNBA single-game scoring record. In the NBA playoff system, these players would just have to try their luck next season. Furthermore, the first round is single elimination, while the semifinals and finals are a best of 5 series.

This brings me to a point that I mentioned earlier, the WNBA draft. Recently the WNBA draft lottery was announced, and the Las Vegas Aces got the first pick. With fewer teams, but an equal amount of talent coming out of college, only the best players in the entire country are competing in the WNBA.

A Brief Description of The Top or Most Promising Teams

If you want to join the WNBA following, but you don’t know which team to support. Well, here is a brief description of each team going into the 2019 season.

Atlanta Dream

The Dream ended the regular season at the top of the Eastern Conference and as the second best team in the league. They barely topped the Washington Mystics after Atlanta’s Alex Bentley torched them with her shooting.

Chicago Sky

Though the Sky were fourth in their conference, they were in the bottom half in the league in terms of their record. They are led by the dynamic duo of Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley. Quigley is a back-to-back three-point competition champion, while Vandersloot is an amazing passer. With their lottery pick, the future in Chicago is bright.

Connecticut Sun

The Sun were third in the Eastern Conference and made the playoffs but were outmatched by the veteran team from Arizona, the Phoenix Mercury. The thing that is amazing about the Sun is that they don’t have one player that leads their team. Their top six players all averaged double digits, making a very well rounded team.

Washington Mystics

Elena Delle Donne

The Mystics are the third best team by record and have former MVP Elena Delle Donne on their team. Though she went down with a scary injury in game two of the semifinals on the 28th, she is currently playing in the championship series. They are legitimate contenders to win the championship this year if Delle Donne’s injury isn’t serious.

Dallas Wings

The Wings are arguably the most exciting team this year. With Skylar Diggins-Smith and Liz Cambage taking the WNBA world by storm, many had high hopes for them this postseason. Although they were eliminated in the first round, they could very well be contenders next season.

Las Vegas Aces

The Aces have one of the brightest futures. They have A’ja Wilson, a rookie who was also an all-star this season. Not only that, but they have the first pick in the upcoming draft. They have the chance at building a strong young core to lead them to a championship.

Los Angeles Sparks

The Sparks were the highlight of the league a few years ago, and are still relevant in the WNBA. Candace Parker, though she has fallen short in this year’s playoffs, is a bonafide star. The Sparks have been a consistently good team for a very long time.

Minnesota Lynx

Liz Cambage guarding Maya Moore

The Lynx have been led by Maya Moore for what seems like forever. An arguable GOAT of the WNBA, Moore and Sylvia Fowles have done well this season, but were eliminated early in the playoffs.

Phoenix Mercury

The Mercury are my favorite team in the playoffs currently. Led by the dominant post player Brittney Griner and the Magic Johnson-esque Diana Taurasi. The last game I watched, the Mercury almost made a spectacular comeback against the stacked Storm. A definite underdog within the league.

Seattle Storm

A powerhouse in the league, the Storm have the 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart on their team. Not only that, but they have veteran Sue Bird who might as well be related to Larry Bird. And beyond that they have an amazing young bench. All of this is enough for the best team in the league, and maybe the best for the next few years.

 

Brittney Griner, from the Phoenix Mercury

In Conclusion

Yes, not everyone in the WNBA can dunk, which may be the cause of why it is not as popular as the NBA, but this is an exciting sport. Another way to look at it is, Look at all the things these women can do without being able to dunk.  Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird are more exciting passers than most point guards in the NBA, and Alex Bentley and Allie Quigley are arguably better shooters than their NBA counterparts. All in all, I am excited to see how the WNBA Finals turn out and even more excited to see what the next season has to offer. Catch the Finals on ESPN2 tonight, Wednesday, September 12.

Editor: Bella Bier