the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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songs to sing along to

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By Music Master-Blogger Makena Behnke

sometimes, we’re in such a good mood, and we just want to scream at the top of our lungs (out of happiness). sometimes that hurts your throat so instead of screaming here are some songs that you can dance to, hum to, sing along with, etc.

  • Habits by Machine Gun Kelly
  • Remedy by State Champs
  • Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard by Paul Simon
  • Cool for Cats by Squeeze
  • Dead Moon by Brick + Mortar
  • Gangsta’s Paradise by Coolio
  • Bum Bum Tam Tam by MC Fioti
  • Psycho Killer by Talking Heads
  • Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
  • Papa Don’t Preach by Madonna
  • Fashionista by Jimmy James
  • 18 And Life by Skid Row
  • 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton

*Warning: some songs might contain swear words

Editor: Bella Bier

Everything Sucks: Reflecting the Unfortunate Reality of LGBT+ Representation

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By Shelby Armor

Everything Sucks is an eight-episode TV show that hit Netflix on February 16, 2018. Now, first things first, I have to state how much I adore this show. It is set in the 1990’s, and beautifully mixes 90’s culture with teen angst. The show itself has a sort of otherworldly vibe, as part of the main plot actually focuses on an alien/space romance adventure. The show follows Boring High freshman Luke (Jahi Winston), who is trying to navigate the ups and downs of high school, while also dealing with having a crush on the principal’s daughter, Kate. Kate (Peyton Kennedy) is grappling with her own problems. She is coming to terms with her sexuality in a less than accepting environment.

Just a few weeks ago, Netflix cancelled the show. However upsetting it was, it was not surprising. One of the main points of the entire show was Kate finding out that she is a lesbian, and unlike much representation in TV shows, it was done correctly. When encountering lesbian characters, there are many tropes that almost every single character falls into. The lesbian will either be killed (the “kill-the-lesbian trope”), pushed to the sideline and never given an important role, or given a sad ending. But Everything Sucks didn’t do that. They didn’t ignore the situation. In fact, they decided to put Kate at the forefront of the show. They didn’t see the need to get rid of her character, and they gave her a lovely and healthy relationship that didn’t end poorly.

But, the unfortunate reality we’re facing is that this exact plotline is the reason that the show didn’t survive. Everything Sucks found appeal with LGBT+ audiences but was unable to gain mass appeal. We’re in a world where people are pushing for greater LGBT+ representation in film and TV. But, the reality is that a queer character is only helpful if they’re on the sideline. Shows like Supergirl have a lesbian character as a supporting character, which directly helped their ratings. They keep the character present enough so they’re there but don’t really make them overly prominent. When faced with a show that puts an LGBT+ character at the forefront, mass appeal is quickly lost, which is exactly what happened with Everything Sucks. Kate was crucial to the overall plot of the show, and her accepting herself and finding out about her sexuality was seen as amazing for LGBT+ audiences, but, again, it leads to the loss of mass appeal.

Everything Sucks is an amazing show that deserves loads of praise. However, LGBT+ representation ultimately brought them down. They are not the only show to encounter this fate, as the Netflix Original Gypsy was cancelled, which had two women in a relationship at the forefront of the show.  So, while LGBT+ representation in TV is making a rise, sadly, shows are still unable to sustain themselves with an LGBT+ character in a leading role.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Anoxic

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By Yul B. Allwright

 

Sleep.

I want to

sleep.

I’m so

tired.

I’m tired of hearing

about other people’s

demons.

And I’m tired of hearing

from my

own.

I’m tired of

anxiety and

depression.

I’m tired of being

afraid.

Afraid of people

and their

judgement.

I want a rest.

A break

from the world

and the sorrow

and

other people

killing

one another.

I’m tired of seeing

the cruelty of this world.

I’m so tired,

and it pains me–

the knowledge that

I will never rest.

Editor: A.J. Patencio

A List of Calming Songs

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By Claire Jenkins

Have you ever been in a mood that isn’t happy but isn’t sad and you can’t find the proper playlist to match your mellow mood? There are a lot of amazing artists out there with perfect mellow music that you may have never heard of. There are plenty of bands and artists out there with songs you could possibly enjoy. Below is a list of songs by less mainstream artists that fit the calming category perfectly.

 

Morning Breeze – Juke Ross

River – Leon Bridges

Alps – Novo Amor

Youth – Haux

Colouring – Kevin Garrett

Settle Down – Ziggy Alberts

I’ll Be Good – Jaymes Young

Saturn – Sleeping At Last

Bones – Dotan

Breathe – Luke Cusato

New Recording 135 – LEO

Berlin – RY X

It’s Alright – Fractures

The Story Never Ends – Lauv

You There – Aquilo

Anchor – Novo Amor

 

Did these songs fit your mood? Which was your favorite? Leave your answer in the comments below!

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

Performing a Tarot Reading With Common Cards

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Graphic by Harlow Berny

By Harlow Berny

Hello, fellow Palm Valley Students! In my last post, I briefly mentioned divination, which is the art of gaining knowledge of the future or the unknown through supernatural means. A common form of divination is tarot reading, which is done by using cards with a predetermined meaning to answer questions posed by the “reader” who is performing the “reading.” While it’s mainly tarot cards that are used for a “reading,” common playing cards can be used instead.

In a tarot reading, you have to interpret the cards for what they mean and represent. Usually there would be pictures on the tarot cards to help you with this, but since you’re using regular playing cards, you’ll need to understand what each individual card means. Luckily, Exemplore has made a simple list with the meaning of each individual card.*

For example, the Two of Spades means “failure to communicate”; the Jack of Clubs means “unreliable, hot-headed, risk-taker, athletic”; the Queen of Hearts means “emotional, dependent, and empathic.”

When it comes to the actual “reading,” things get pretty simple. You’ll need to shuffle your deck with three questions in mind (the most common three regarding the past, present, and future). If you’re not good at shuffling, you can split the deck into three stacks, rearrange them, then merge them again. Once done shuffling, you’ll need to put three cards from the top into a horizontal row without flipping them over. When you’re ready, flip the cards over from left to right. After you interpret the meaning of the cards, take some deep breaths and reshuffle the cards as you clear your mind. Congrats, you’ve finished the tarot reading! If you want a more in-depth explanation, then you can consult the Golden Thread Tarot**.

 

Editor: Leo Milmet

*https://exemplore.com/fortune-divination/How-to-Read-Tarot-with-Playing-Cards

**http://goldenthreadtarot.com/how-to-read-tarot-cards.html

Nora

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By Renée

 

Everyday is one you will never get back.

Dwell on that for a second.

You will NEVER get any days back.

I don’t mean to make you depressed;

all I mean to do is make you realize your opportunities.  

Just appreciate what you have, what you can do, what you can experience, what you can feel.

Instead of wishing away our time;

appreciate touch,

sight,

smell,

taste.

No matter your opinion on it,

acknowledge everything around you.

People.

Nature.

Poetry.

The world.

Appreciate the passage of time.

You will never get it back.

One day you will be gone.

Instead of wasting your time

in dread of it passing,

live.

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

Writer’s Block

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By Renée

 

In the absence of

time.

Unaccompanied by

fate.

Not having the use or benefit of

magic.

Lacking

experience

Short of

patience.

Deprived of

stability.

In need of

direction.

Wanting

accomplishment.

Needing

support.

Requiring

humility.

In circumstances in which the desired action does not happen,

write.

Editor: Bella Bier

Shows to Binge Over

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By Blogger Reviewer Claire Jenkins

Quarter 4 will be over before we know it. Summer will be here, and there will be many hours in a day to kill. Why use your precious time to do something productive and be a part of the society around you when you can sit at home on the comfort of your couch and binge some Netflix shows! Below is a list of my personal favorite binge-worthy shows on Netflix.

Jane the Virgin 

The title sounds a little off putting, and that might be why it took me so long to watch it, but it’s honestly one of my favorite shows. It has twists, turns, murders, love, and very diverse characters. It’s about a woman named Jane and her family showing how they handle everything life throws at them. It never gets tiring, and there’s something for everyone. I would 12/10 recommend.

New Girl

This show is stupid, but I love it. A girl moves in with three roommates and has a blast. There’s quick one liners and love triangles for hours. It’s an excellent time waster.

Friends

Yes, this show is overplayed on Nick at Night, but there is nothing more satisfying than sprinting through 10 seasons in one week. There’s about 85 hours worth of pure gold, and if you plant yourself on the couch with the proper snacks and only stop for bathroom breaks, you’ll have it done in no time! You can do it if you try (seriously, someone please try; I honestly want to know how it goes).

Wynonna Earp

Wyatt Earp’s great granddaughter kills demons in Purgatory. WATCH IT! DON’T QUESTION ME, JUST WATCH IT!

One Day at a Time

One Day at a Time is a revamp of the old sitcom with the same name. It’s about a Cuban family in America, with an abundance of strong female characters. The show is basically a liberal free-for-all. This has Rita Moreno in it (from West Side Story and everything). Watch it. It’s not your parents’ One Day at a Time.

Editor: Bella Bier

Pete’s Declassified School Survival Guide: The Essay

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By Peter Kadel, Senior Survival Scout

Essays, the go-to assignment of choice for English teachers everywhere. Ranging from 1 page to 100 pages, throughout your high-school career you will write so many essays and papers that it is likely that one of them will resemble the works of Shakespeare. But, what if all of them could be as good as the great William Shakespeare? Today, here at Pete’s Declassified, we are going to teach you how to write essays that are so good they will make your teacher question the very fabric of the universe and move to Thailand to discover inner peace. So fasten your seatbelts everyone! It’s time to learn.

  1. First, you need to consider your deadline. The best concepts can be ruined by spending too much time worrying about staying on topic and making sense. The best time to write a wonderful essay are the first 48 hours after the essay has been assigned; if you wait any longer your ideas will be lost forever. So, as soon as an essay is assigned, check yourself out of school, and go home. Once you are home, lock all of the doors and retreat to your lair to begin writing.
  2. During your 48-hour writing marathon, you are going to need to fuel your mind and body so you have enough energy to write a wonderful essay. While coffee may sound like the right choice, it’s not. Your best bet is to embrace your inner mad scientist and concoct a caffeinated sugar monstrosity so potent that it will give you a caffeine buzz just from looking at it. My personal favorite is brewing my coffee in Red Bull instead of water and instead of using creamer I buy an iced mocha and use that as my creamer to maximize caffeine intake. Once you’ve got a gallon or two of that in your system, you’ll be all fired up to write an amazing essay.
  3. Now that you are ready to begin writing your essay, you need to think about the content of the essay. While the subject will vary, all essays can follow the same template: hook, line, and sinker. The hook should be eye-catching and astonishing, so even if it doesn’t relate to the rest of your essay, use the flashiest paragraph you can muster to hook your audience. Next, comes the line; all you need to do for this portion of the essay is write as many lines/pages as you need to fulfill the essay’s requirements. Use as many quotes as you can; there is no need to reinvent the wheel here. The human race has been writing stuff down for thousands of years; it would be wasteful not to use what previous generations have written. My favorite resources to quote are the Rosetta Stone, the Magna Carta, the White-Gold Concordat, and business records from Mesopotamia. Once your line is of adequate length, it’s time to move on to the sinker. All you need to know for the sinker is that it should essentially sink your essay in reality. Bring it down. Crush it like reality crushes all high-school students.

If you follow all of these steps, your essays will bring a tear to your teacher’s eye and an “A” to your report card. You’re welcome.

Editor: Makena Behnke

An Open Letter to Parents

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By Claire Jenkins

 

An Open Letter to Parents,

     Your child is worth more than their GPA

     Your child is worth more than the colleges they get into

     Your child is worth more than the sports they play

 

     Your child is going to get hurt, but they will heal

     Your child is going to fall in love; it will be messy, but it will be beautiful

     Your child is going to make mistakes, but they will learn

 

     Your child is trying to figure themselves out, so be patient

     Your child is trying to make you proud, so don’t pressure them

     Your child is trying their best.

 

                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                A child

 

Editor: Shelby Armor