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Review of “Your Name”

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By James Zheng, thebirdonfire.org Game and Animé Reviewer

Hey guys, today I bring you a different type of animé–which I call, the most successful animé movie ever! As you see, “Your Name” (or Kimi no Na Wa) is a really simple title. But it achieved several awards and a highest rank on the history of animé. It achieved the first prize of the eighth Newtype Animation Award, the Best Animated Film from the 42nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards; plus it won more than ten other awards. It’s not exaggerating; it’s the fact that “Your Name” is truly amazing.

“Your Name” was published by Toho Company, Limited, a major Japanese film company. It took three years to prepare the story and script of “Your Name.” Production was led by a really famous director, Makoto Shinkai. “Your Name” is a masterpiece. Shinkai thought about every detail and design of character for a long time. It reached the expectations of many people.

“Your Name” has a realistic style. Most scenes in “Your Name” are taken from the image of Tokyo. The imagery is so real it appears a picture of Tokyo. There is intense presentation on the changing of color and combination of color.

“Your Name” is a romantic animé. But the story of “Your Name” is not hackneyed. It has some fantastical parts, which could actually catch an audience’s attention. Let me tell you more; the story between hero and heroine is really dramatic. The story is set in a small village in Japan; a girl who lives in that village is weary of living in a such tiny village with old traditions. One day, she dreams that she becomes a boy who lives in Tokyo. She is confused, and she suddenly has some unfamiliar friends. At the same time, the hero also has a strange dream. What happened in the dream brings them together.

 Well, when you start to watch this animé, you will notice that it is even more fascinating than what I have described! Although there are no fighting scenes in “Your Name,” it can still shock you with the storyline!

Editor: Makena Behnke

Review of “The Good Place” — Becoming a “Good” Person

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By Dayton Kennard

The Good Place is an ongoing NBC/Netflix show that’s currently in its third season, with each new episode being uploaded to Netflix a few hours after its original airing on NBC. The series starts off with Eleanor Shellstrop waking up in “The Good Place,” a heaven-like town where only the kindest of the kindest people go when they die. She’s introduced to the town, shown her new home (which has been made and styled to perfectly match her personality), and matched with her soulmate, Chidi. In this perfect place, the only problem is her. Eleanor quickly figures out that she’s been mistaken for someone else, as the memories shown to her are not her own and there’s no way that she was as good a person as anyone around her.

This sets up the main theme of the show: becoming a good person. As Eleanor doesn’t belong in “The Good Place” due to her actions when she was alive, she sets out to become a good person and fit in with the rest of her neighbors. Each episode will have a specific problem that needs to be faced, and there will be flashbacks that allow us to see the difference of how she handled a similar problem in the past compared to how she’s handling it now. We get insight into how she’s evolving emotionally as she feels guilt over bad decisions and actions rather than just passing it off as someone else’s problem. Without spoiling much, I can say that these flashbacks are often amusing and absurd, providing a good break between the serious situation and the attempts to fix the current problem. Even though this seems like just a comedy at first glance, the show does teach its viewers better morals, whether it’s little acts of kindness or learning when to take one for the team.

I don’t want to spoil anything about the show, but I can tell you that they pack tons of action and plot into the 22-minute episodes, and the plot twists at the end of each season leave you shaking in your seat anticipating what will happen next. I recommend taking a day of relaxing on the couch with your blanket and snacks to binge the first two seasons in around 10 hours if you’re watching on Netflix with no ads. I hope you have fun watching it, and remember, you’re constantly being watched and judged for your every action to determine if you’ll spend your afterlife eternally suffering! 😀

Editor: Makena Behnke

HowFashion 04: TikTok Edition

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By HowFashion Blog Correspondent Jeremy Cheng

Nowadays, there are increasing numbers of youngsters who use their phone to watch short videos. Therefore, Musical.ly was produced.

Musical.ly provides a chance for people who like to perform and pay nothing to do it.

In September 2016, TikTok was produced, an app which also makes short videos for social media.

TikTok users are able to choose music, take video, and produce their own video. This app was released on the Android App Store and the Apple App Store.

Since video recording technology was produced, the most popular type of short video in the whole world is MV (music video), and it is the most difficult type of short video to produce of all the short videos.

A music video is the most difficult type of short video to film. The majority of people can’t make their own music, and they have to borrow others, pretending to act and sing or play music anytime, anywhere.

Dubsmash performance solved this problem using audio, music, and script. Users only need to act, and each video is no longer than 15 seconds. It lowers the difficulty of making a video, increasing the fun of content; thus, they are easier to spread.

(An Example of Dubsmash use) http://v.douyin.com/dVoKgQ/

There are two ways to film a short video. The first one is TikTok, which provides everything that users need, and the second is for users to make their own music, script, and video.

Dubsmash is PGC (Professionally-generated Content) music combined with UGC (User-generated Content) video.

TikTok is also a social media app. Users can share their daily life on TikTok, and at the same time people can make more friends and learn different anecdotes from them.

(Examples) http://v.douyin.com/dVt6jY/

Users can edit their video speed and special effects (slow-motion, repeating, flashing, reversing), which not only makes it seem like they are the one singing but also makes it a more creative video.

(Examples) https://www.iesdouyin.com/share/video/6602192209418652935/?region=US&mid=6490330650472942349&u_code=h8b64ac1&titleType=title&timestamp=1538022597&utm_campaign=client_share&app=aweme&utm_medium=ios&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&iid=44841159240

However, note, from March 1st to March 31st, 2018, there were 27,231 videos, 8,921 songs, and 15,234 accounts banned because of copyright infringement.

 

Why did TikTok become popular?

“Populars” effect is the one most important key that makes TikTok popular.

In mid-March, TikTok became well known. Many people think that TikTok invites influencers to advertise their application.

On March 13, a famous comedian published an article with the TikTok Logo, and after the day he posted, the numbers of views increased rapidly.

Content operating is the foundation of appeal with users.

With content operating, TikTok has created a special algorithm that can distribute views to everyone, which means if a normal person does not have fans, one can have many fans if one films a good video. Therefore, there has been an increasing number of people who are willing to join TikTok and use it.

Stephanie, a fellow student, had taken a vlog and uploaded it to TikTok. She got 40k views and 1.5k likes.

http://v.douyin.com/dVGUeL/

TikTok operators are good at combining real-time hot spots and change it to what teenagers like. For instance, teenagers were interested in ThugLife, a famous trend of wearing sunglasses with a big gold chain, which appeals to many young adults.

http://v.douyin.com/dVs4hK/

http://v.douyin.com/dVph1p/

TikTok, on average, gets 6 billion hits daily!!!

Why are so many people addicted to TikTok?

According to Sensor Tower, TikTok was downloaded 35 million times in August 2018!!

Some people would claim short videos are boring, while others would claim the short videos of TikTok make people want to keep watching more videos. People think that the next video will be more interesting, and because of this belief it acquires 6 billions daily hits!

 

Editor: AJ Patencio

Review of the Anime Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Work]

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By James Zheng, Anime/Game Expert Reviewer for thebirdonfire.org

Hey guys, today I bring you another impressive anime. Before we get into the review, I need to tell you why this title is so long. Well, this anime, Fate/Stay Night, has a previous edition, which was actually terrible. And since this anime is a product of a series, not a single work, and the official announcement says that they will remake this anime, it becomes Fate/Stay Night[Unlimited Blade Work]. This action saved this anime indeed, as it has been improved a lot in many aspects.

Fate/Stay Night, which is also known as FSN, is actually edited from a visual novel game, so it is originally designed by Type-Moon, and it is published by three companies: Aniplex, Notes, and Ufotable. In fact, Ufotable finishes most of the work such as the scripting and producing of the episodes. FSN is also directed by Takahiro Miura.

FSN generated an artistic performance from the game that gives you a sense of fantasy. The strong special effects and 3D animation are perfectly presented in this anime. When all those elements are mixed together in a fighting scene, it displays an exciting moment with realistic feeling. Also, the soundtrack plays a significant role in FSN, as it always fits in at a key moment.

The story of FSN is full of supernatural elements. In other words, this anime is designed based on fantasy. The storyline begins with a war called the Holy Grail War, where there are seven participants who are selected by the Holy Grail (The Holy Grail narrative is developed after the legend of King Arthur). Their purpose is to eliminate each other in order to obtain the Holy Grail, which can fulfill any wishes the winning participant desires. Those seven participants are called Masters, and they have to summon their own fighter to fight for the Holy Grail. Those fighters are Servants, and each of them will have different abilities. Therefore, there will be fourteen participants in total. But the fifth Holy Grail War, which is about to be held, is not going to follow the normal routine.

So finally, to make sure that anime won’t be spoiled, my review is over here. To know more details and enjoy more appealing moments, start to watch FSN[Unlimited Blade Work] right now!

*I recommend you catch FSN[Unlimited Blade Work] on 9anime.to.

 

Note: FSN[Unlimited Blade Work] is recommended for those who are fifteen or older.

                     FSN[Unlimited Blade Work] has a prequel called Fate/Zero, but it doesn’t affect anything if you just wanna watch Unlimited Blade Work. You can also watch both if you want to.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Different Time, Same Humans

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By Luke Langlois

Unless you happen to be an 80’s movie star with easy access to a certain DeLorean, you most likely have not time traveled. However, you’ve definitely thought of what kind of petty things you could do with the power of time travel. You could tear the very fabric of the universe in order to procrastinate a little longer! While that would be incredible, the sun may implode before we figure that out. For now if we really want to time travel, we simply need to look to one the world’s greatest inventions, film.

When we young people tend to look back to the land before our conceivable time, it’s usually in black and white photography. While we may think we have a general idea of what’s going on, do we really? Personally, I find it difficult to actually process what I’m seeing. My brain registers a black and white picture as little more than a relic of history. In reality though, these people were once living, breathing, and struggling, just like ourselves. My eyes have recently been opened to the past due to the gears of capitalism–advertisements.

Humans seldom look back on what has changed. We seem to view the mid-20th century as a completely different time with things like the Cold War, funny hats, and video games like Pong. While of course big changes have been made globally and culturally, humans have always been humans. Last weekend, I was on YouTube, a rare occurrence in these junior days. On YouTube, as people do, I looked up “old commercials.” I clicked on a video that was titled “Commercials from the 60s.” I was expecting ridiculous advertisements for irrelevant products or some sort of American propaganda. However, I had heard of almost every product featured (look below for a link to said video). It was almost surreal, though that may be a bit dramatic. Many things have changed, but, in the grand scheme of things, there is so much that hasn’t changed at all. We humans are still just humans. While the advertisements are a bit strange by today’s standards, it’s really just a bunch of food, coffee, or medicine commercials. Yes, the Trix rabbit has been attempting to steal cereal for more than half a century.

The point is, we can’t time travel in the science-fiction sense, but we do have access to a type of time travel. I encourage you all to watch any available old film, audio, or video, to put life, and previous eras, into context. Who knows, maybe you’ll be enlightened! Along with the video of commercials I referenced, check out things such as old political or colorized footage.

Tide–because the world has always been in color.

Link to video of advertisements below. Students, you’ll have to watch it at home.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2AQdyB34so)

Editor: Holden Hartle

Underseen and Underrated Movies, Vol. 4

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By Leo Milmet

After having a great time polling the Blog Staff on the films they find totally underseen and underrated, I now go back to doing what I do best: recommending movies I think are underseen by my viewers. Try these on for size.

Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997): This film is one of Tarantino’s best, most restrained (and yet most inherently stylistic) films ever. An ensemble crime film about a cool-as-a-cat airplane stewardess and the federal agents and criminals she’s constantly double-crossing at every turn.

Pleasantville (Gary Ross, 1998): A beautiful, vibrant, and meaningful film about the dark side of the relationship between a perceived utopia and real life. Featuring some truly beautiful cinematography by John Lindley.

Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004): A visually unique action film featuring Tom Cruise in a rare villainous role as a hitman who hires a cabbie named Max to take him through Los Angeles in a hellish night of gritty violence, amazing dialogues about jiving jazz music, and, ultimately, moral discovery.

Green Room (Jeremy Saulnier, 2015): A bleak, brutal, grimy, nail-biting thriller about a death metal band caught in a terrible situation. Saulnier creates suspense and tension in this film, and the payoff doesn’t disappoint either.

mother! (Darren Aronofsky, 2017): A thrilling, dark fable with deep roots in mythology that often comes off like the mad ramblings of a genius. This brilliantly written, maddeningly intense nail-biter is one of last year’s best films, featuring a phenomenal, agonizingly intense performance by Jennifer Lawrence.

Do The Right Thing  (Spike Lee, 1989): A powerful, vibrant, and snappily written ensemble film exploring race relations in Brooklyn in the 1980s. The film’s slow burn towards its famously masterful, brilliantly controversial climax is absolutely incredible, and the acting, especially the performances of Danny Aiello, Spike Lee, and John Turturro, is near-perfect. This film is absolutely one of the best ever made.

One, Two, Three (Billy Wilder, 1961): Clearly one of the of the fastest-paced films ever made, this action-packed, satirical masterpiece by Billy Wilder is one of the best comedies of the ‘60s. Featuring James Cagney in a phenomenal role as the selfish, red-white-and-blue-blooded Coca-Cola executive C.R. MacNamara stationed in West Berlin during the time of the city’s separation.

Harold and Maude (Hal Ashby, 1971): A sweet little dark comedy about Harold, a young man obsessed with death, who finds meaning in life through a deep newfound love for Maude, a vibrant, life-loving, seventy-nine-year-old woman.

My Dinner With André (Louis Malle, 1981): An eloquent, philosophical conversation between two men with fascinating mindsets about things most people never even stop to think about represents the majority of this film. Featuring some of the best dialogue ever committed to celluloid, written and delivered on-screen by Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory.

Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005): A subtle, slow-paced thriller, and a disturbing one at that, this film concerns a man and his wife who are sent eerie VHS tapes of their house. It offers a fascinating look at the dark side of human relationships, and how the demons of one man’s past can affect his whole family in the future.

 

Editor: Holden Hartle

 

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

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

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

A Misportrayed Krab

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By new-to-the-2018-19-birdonfire staff, Blogger Luke Langlois

 

What’s the first word you think of when presented with our favorite animated restaurant owner, Mr. Krabs? It could be something like red, shiny, or even pointy-nosed. Unfortunately, the most prominent description of Mr. Krabs is “cheap.” How often do people use the word “cheap” in a good light? If you’re in need of a bag of Doritos, and a friend won’t lend a dollar, you’d call that friend cheap. If someone gets genuinely excited by a penny on the floor, they’re cheap. If your employer sells your soul for sixty-two cents, they’re cheap. By all accounts, Eugene Krabs has shown himself to be the stereotypical cheapskate. Society would like you to think that being the dictionary definition of a cheapskate is NOT a good thing. Though, is Mr. Krabs truly a cheap crab at heart? Or, is he an overly generous employer? After a brief look at some numbers, the answer is pretty clear.

Let’s take a look at the typical fast-food employee of the United States and compare it to Mr. Krab’s employees. In the United States, someone in the fast food industry is paid about $18,000 a year. In most large cities, the median rent per month for an average apartment would be at least $1,000. Without covering taxes, or any other basic need, that would amount to $12,000 a year, a majority of the salary of an average employee. Clearly, the average fast food employee does not make even close to enough to live in a safe apartment in the city while covering any other basic needs or amenities. How miserable! Who could ever work in the fast-food industry and live a fulfilled life? Spongebob and Squidward could.

Now, we can take a look at Spongebob and Squidward, Mr. Krabs’s two most loyal employees of nearly twenty years. Both of these fast-food employees are clearly able to provide for themselves. They have sizable and safe households. Besides being the owners of safe and decently sized domiciles, Spongebob and Squidward live in the outskirts of a prime city under the ocean.  As far as us viewers know, there are no other major cities in existence in the Spongebob universe. Adding on to this, the most desirable homes in cities are usually the suburban ones, such as Spongebob’s pineapple or Squidward’s Easter Island Head. To sum it up, these employees live in safe and spacious homes in the prime of this aquatic metropolis. Not only that, but Spongebob and Squidward have been known to have more than just basic needs. Spongebob is well known for his expert caretaking as well as jellyfishing. Like Spongebob, Squidward is able to pursue his passions. He paints, plays the clarinet, and even takes dance lessons. These are all expensive pursuits, especially in a capitalist society! In comparison to our above-water society, Squidward and Spongebob are paid exceptionally well for their seemingly mundane jobs in the fast-food industry.

Does the point not drive itself home? Mr. Krabs, mistakenly portrayed as a cheap and horrible crab to work for, is in fact one of the most generous people you could EVER work for. If you hear anyone call Mr. Krabs cheap, sit them down and make sure their minds are forever changed.

 

DISCLAIMER: While Mr. Krabs pays generously and allows his two employees to live a good life, he has made a few mistakes. Luke does not personally support the following: thievery, counterfeiting, 24/7 labor, selling the souls of employees, assault of employees, jellyfish slavery, grave robbery, attempted murder, or charging people for breathing.

 

Editor: Bella Bier