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The Palm Valley School Student Blog

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My First Experience With American Beauty

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By Leo Milmet, The Bird on Fire Resident Film Critic

When I was ten, I began to take a serious interest in film. I saw a poster for the Cinemark Classic Series at the theater at The River. The tickets were $5 per film, so I went to see each of the listed films (Forrest Gump, West Side Story, Lawrence of Arabia, American Beauty, Casablanca, and The Godfather).

I fell in love with film that year. I was introduced to an entirely new world: the world of the greatest films of all time, not just something like Star Wars or Gone With The Wind. I became invested in the wonderfully written and beautifully realized characters of American Beauty and Casablanca like I never had been before. I was introduced to the sheer power of brilliant cinematography through Lawrence of Arabia’s beautiful, epic shots. The themes of West Side Story, despite my having already seen the film and enjoyed it, challenged me in a new way. The Godfather showed me a truly tragic fall from grace.

However, of all these classic Oscar winners, American Beauty (1999) was the film that made me want to become a filmmaker. I remember the night I saw that film. The film was a cheeky satire, but also a melodrama. I didn’t get behind Lester, the film’s anti-hero, and his disquieting desires, but I felt terrible for him nonetheless. As much as I loved every one of these films, and I did (I REALLY LOVED THEM ALL), I had become absolutely enamored with the quiet power of American Beauty, the character-based work of genius that I will forever remember seeing for the first time. I was drawn in by writer Alan Ball’s realistic characters. The film’s powerful themes of nostalgia, uncertainty about one’s place in the world, lust, and breaking the system are accessible to anyone. Even when I was not old enough to actually understand them, I still felt them. Somehow, someway, Sam Mendes directed the film so that each character, each scene, each theme spoke to me.

American Beauty changed my life. It made me want to make films just because I want another person to experience what I experienced that night. I owe this film so much because it truly was the film that made me love film.

Editor: Shelby Armor

Fictional Deaths I Still Haven’t Gotten Over (Spoilers Ahead: Really)

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By Peter Kadel

Let’s face it, reading/watching/enjoying works of fiction (i.e: books, movies, and videogames) is really fun and helps all sorts of people get away from the everyday and helps them escape occasional sadness. But sometimes… grief follows us into the realm of fiction as creators of fiction rob us of our favorite characters–giving us emotional scars from which we will never recover. In honor of these fallen fictional figures, here is a list of fictional deaths I still haven’t gotten over. (In no particular order).

* SPOILERS AHEAD * * SPOILERS AHEAD ** SPOILERS AHEAD *

Wash (Firefly/Serenity): The short lived sci-fi hit Firefly and its cinema followup Serenity followed a crew of misfits who were all lovable in their own way. But the character that stole hearts was the pilot Wash. The wise cracking, Hawaiian-shirt wearing, moral center of the team was brutally killed in the movie Serenity, and this loss has scarred me forever. He was the character I wanted to be in real life. Not only was the Firefly series ended too quickly, so was Wash.

Wolverine (Logan/Death of Wolverine): Everyone’s favorite X-man. The hardcore healing mutant with unbreakable bones and claws. Most of his fans thought he would never die, after all that was his main ability. So imagine my surprise when he died TWICE, once in the comic universe and once in the cinematic universe. I had to witness the death of my favorite superhero ever TWICE: first when he was encased in metal as he reflected on all he had done and was finally content after a life of sadness; and a second time when he died holding the hand of his daughter fulfilling the prophecy that he would die with his heart in his hand. I cried both times. So needless to say, I’m still upset about it.

Han Solo (Star Wars: The Force Awakens): I think it is safe to say that this one made everyone cry, to see our favorite bold and brash smuggler gutted by his bratty Sith lord son was an emotional hell that no one deserved. He deserved better. And Chewy’s reaction to watching his longtime pal Han fall into the abyss of Starkiller Base (“BBBrrrrwwwrrroooo”) was truly heart wrenching and, yes, I cried when it happened.

(The West Wing): The are too many deceased characters to list from this show. The show’s creator Aaron Sorkin seems to delight in toying with the audience’s emotions. The saddest death was that of a staple character, Leo McGarry, who was killed off in the final season because the actor passed away. Leo was everyone’s grouchy yet endearing older relative, and the way he cares about his coworkers made him even more lovable.

Chak (Guardians of the Flame: The Silver Crown): Now most of you have probably never heard of this book series, so let me explain. A group of college students are playing a tabletop RPG similar to D&D and they get transported into the game world which turns out to have a huge slave trade which the students vow to dismantle. One of the first slaves freed by the group is a man named Chak. He was a wisecracking swordsman who becomes a key member of the team until his untimely death in the third book of the series. Chak gave himself in a heroic act of self sacrifice to save his friends. Chak easily has the most entertaining characteristics, and his enduring sense of humor made him lovable. His death hit me so hard that I stopped reading the series after I finished the book.

While there are dozens of other deaths I’m still grieving, I’m pretty sure I’m not emotionally capable of listing all of them, so if there are any you think I should have included, let me know in the comments!

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Over 10,000 Views!

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Shelby Armor marks our milestone.

Our blog, The Bird On Fire, recently reached a huge milestone. For the first time ever, we reached 10,000 views! The Bird On Fire was formed in 2014 as a Winterim course on how to create a blog. The first post was on December 18, 2014, stating how we have many fun posts to come. When Blog became an elective offering in 2015, we landed on our motto: “Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans” (Thank you, Gaige Griffin). Now look how far the blog has come! As we hit 10,000 views, we go back and remember the fun times that have happened since its formation. Who could forget Brennan’s exposé on the Doomsday Clock? Or Makena’s comforting poem on “Comfort”? Or Gaven Li’s famous recorded Blog-sponsored ping-pong competition? (280 views on YouTube!) We thank each and every reader for coming back time and time again to read our posts. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, and we are excited about where we’ll go in the future.

Pictured above is the very first post of the blog.

Editor: Claire Jenkins

Too Punk for the Pop Kids?

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By Makena Behnke

if you’re too punk for the pop kids or too pop for the punk kids, give these a listen*

  • “Shape Of You” by Eat Your Heart Out
  • “I Knew You Were Trouble” by We Came As Romans
  • “Stitches” by State Champs
  • “That’s What I Like” by Dance Gavin Dance
  • “When We Were Young” by Andy Biersack and Juliet Simms
  • “Fake Love” by Grayscale
  • “Closer” by Seaway
  • “Chocolate” by Knuckle Puck
  • “Stay the Night” by State Champs
  • “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” by The Maine
  • “… Baby One More Time” by August Burns Red
  • “When I Grow Up” by Mayday Parade

There are seven Punk Goes Pop compilation albums. Interested? Go to punkgoes.com or Spotify or YouTube.

 

*intro taken from “Figure Me Out” by The Summer Set*

Editor: Shelby Armor

The Festive Winter Concert is Coming Up!

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On December 4th, the PVS Select Choir sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Palm Desert Council Chamber at The Blue Light Ceremony honoring law-enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Public Service Announcement Created by Blogger-Choir Member Charles Schnell

Our school’s very talented Select Choir and Vocal Music Elective Choir have been hard at work over the past few months on their Winter Concert, which is coming up in just a couple weeks. This year, the concert will be on not one but TWO nights: Wednesday the 20th and Thursday the 21st! The concerts will start at 7 p.m. in the MPR. Admission is $5 for students and $10 for adults. There is no reserved seating, so, first come, first served! Tickets are on sale right now online at Eventbrite–PVS Winter Choir Concert (link below); paying at the door is also a viable option. The choir members and vocal director Mr. Craig Gahnz-Kuhar have a wonderful range of festive songs prepared–slow, fast, Christmas, Hanukkah, seasonal songs galore! We hope to see you there.

 

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/pvs-winter-choir-concert-tickets-40995964032

Editor: Makena Behnke

A Reading of Charles Fort’s “One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing”

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Reading and Interpretation By Charles Schnell

 

Somber, subtle poems catch my attention and stimulate thought. Below is a recording of my reading of “One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing” by Charles Fort–a somber, subtle, and stimulating poem.

One Had Lived in a Room and Loved Nothing

One had lived in a room and loved nothing.
Full of spiders and what memory remained,
one had loved and she had forgotten things.

Clock stopped and aeroplane lost in the dark,
and who was that voice on the telephone?
One had lived in a room and loved nothing.

It was a rare sleep in helter-skelter;
one awakened a half-blessed and charmed fool.
One had loved and she had forgotten things.

One had lived in a room and loved nothing.
Whose tiffany ring on her ring finger;
who gave one mantis kiss as the jazz played?

The faceless lover and last known address,
a writing pad and table overturned,
one had loved and she had forgotten things.

What was day or night with no hours left
and who were the two in the photograph?
One had loved and she had forgotten things.
One had lived in a room and loved nothing.

Charles Fort

 

This poem is a “villanelle.” A villanelle is a nineteen-line poem where the first and third lines of every stanza are the same, but they alternate places with every stanza. Every stanza is three lines long excluding the last one, which is four lines–the final two lines of that stanza are the first and third lines that have been repeating throughout the rest of the poem. In this poem, “one had lived in a room and loved nothing” and “one had loved and she had forgotten things” are those alternating lines.

 

When I first read the poem, I interpreted the poem as describing the tragic case of a woman who has now developed dementia. There are many signs of her not being able to remember something that she should be remembering, something important from her pre-dementia past: for instance, there is the unknown “voice on the telephone” (who I think is a family member) and the unknown “two in the photograph” (perhaps she and her husband or child). The poem speaks with a desolate, isolated voice. The images are empty, as if something is missing or wrong with the picture. This incompleteness sells the idea of something mis-remembered or gone.

 

I look up another person’s opinion online, and they thought the poem was supposed to represent a disconnect from the world. This could be a person without any disorders or the like, but rather just someone who is in a room that she has lived in for so long, for some reason suffering, that she has become unfeeling now. Very smart interpretation, I think.

 

If you would like to read this poem and many more like this, consider picking up Edward Hirsch’s and David Lehman’s The Best American Poetry 2016. The anthology contains lovely poetry: https://www.amazon.com/Best-American-Poetry-2016/dp/150112756X.

 

Here’s that other person’s interpretation I mentioned: https://ashberyland.com/2017/10/12/completely-subjective-charles-forts-one-had-lived-in-a-room-and-loved-nothing/.

 

Here’s where “One Had Live In A Room and Loved Nothing” was originally published: http://greenmountainsreview.com/two-poems-14/.

 

Editor: Peter Kadel

 

Come See The Crucible!

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Public Service Announcement created by Brennan Nick and Charles Schnell

The Crucible opens tomorrow! There are shows scheduled for December 1, 2, 3, 8, and 9! On the 3rd is the afternoon matinee at 2 p.m. The rest of the shows will start at 7:30 p.m., with the house opening at 7 p.m. General seats cost $15 a piece, while priority reserved seats are $20 each.

 

The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller that takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, in the year 1692 during the Salem Witch Trials. Salem at the time is a distant corner of the world on the fringes of both civilization and the dark wilderness where the Bible is the law and the citizens believe unquestionably in its teachings. A teenage girl begins accusing others of being conquered by the Devil and committing themselves to witchcraft, and the village becomes consumed by fear and religious zeal.

 

Arthur Miller lived in a similar time of fear–a fear of communism which pervaded in the early 50’s and was known as McCarthyism. Miller wrote this play to provide a parallel world to the one he and his peers were living through. Today, the play is considered by many scholars to be one of the great pieces of American literature.

 

This production is directed by Ken Sarkis, Kim Phillips, and Craig Gahnz. The Blog Staff are very excited to see it (or act in it), and we hope to see you there, too!

Edited by Peter Kadel and Claire Jenkins

Living Poem Day

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Our first ever Living Poem Day on Friday, April 15, was a rollicking success. Upper School students and teachers wore their favorite words to school: “coagulate,” “platitudinous,” “yield,” “enchant,” “love,” etc. That alone was a joy to English teachers. Then, at lunch, in Ms. Zachik’s room, students and teachers composed lines of verse with their words and
FullSizeRender-16 copybodies (think of those Word Refrigerator Magnets we use to phrase and re-phrase). We used Applause-o’-Meter to determine the winners. 1st place? Adam McDonald and Elliot McGrew for their sung (yes, in harmony) haiku “Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (fear of long words) TABLE.” 2nd place went to a Dr. Carr-orchestrated “To enchant, to travel, to . . . fantasize.” Giant bars of chocolate were awarded the two teams. A bowl of taffy went to the Honorable Mention provided by the Baseball Team: “Hold on! Shake and Bake!” The delightful day was the brainchild of Mr. Griffin in celebration of National Poetry Month.  IMG_1559

Henry’s Award-Winning Speech!

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–an original speech by Henry Huang

Henry composed this speech on the given topic “Liberty and Justice for All: What Does It Mean to You?” and delivered through FOUR levels of the 2016 Lions Club Speech Competition. He began with the Palm Springs Lions Club-level competition, and the PS Lions supported him through the next three levels–all the way up to the District Level in Big Bear, California. Henry won $500 in the process and the devotion of his fans. Said Cathy Brant, Palm Springs Lion, “His speech brought tears to my eyes.”

In 1752, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod. This invention protects a building from being destroyed by lightning. However, what is more important is Franklin, as well as other Founding Fathers, built a lightning rod called “liberty and justice for all” so that the new nation would always be protected from the lightning of tyranny and dictatorship.

Here, I want to share some ideas that I have about this universally acknowledged truth as a foreigner, as an outsider.

I know there are many people who will doubt the self-evident words: “Liberty and justice for all.” There are so many tragedies happening today. Fear, anger, nervousness could destroy all the faith we have in those words: “Liberty and justice for all.” However, I view these words as a guidance, something like a polar star. The idea of “Liberty and justice for all” will always give us faith and power to face whatever is in front of us.

“Liberty and justice for all” are not merely some words written on paper, repeated in the Pledge of Allegiance everyday. To me, “Liberty and justice for all” is a warranty, a warranty granted by the Founding Fathers so that people who live on this vast land in North America will never suffer the same pain and slavery of tyranny. The Founding Fathers ignited a torch, a torch of hope and freedom with these simple words. For centuries, people immigrated to the United States and believed this nation is “the promised land.” People move to the United States not only because of its vast natural resources and opportunities but also for the promise of freedom and the right to pursue happiness. That is the reason we have legends of immigrants in America like Kissinger, Albright, Schwarzenegger. That is also a part of the reason I have come to “the land of the free and the home of the brave” to further my education because with these powerful words, I believe that I can have the chance to be the person I want to be.

In the history of the United States, there are dark moments where this nation broke its promise to the world. The enslavement of African Americans, the trail of tears of Native Americans, the internment camps of Japanese Americans in World War II are some unavoidable blots on American history. However, the greatness of this nation is that it will look back to what it has done and do better and improve it. That is why this nation also gave birth to the Civil Rights movement and legislation so that such tragedy in history will never appear again.

Nowadays, there are events like injustice in the justice system, public figures spitting untruthful words about a specific ethnic group or a specific religion. It is a cause for concern. Yet, as President Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” So, please see those protesters expressing “all life matters”; please hear the public outcry against those outrageous speeches; please feel the power of these emotions that will never die. Love, respect, peace. You will see that those who holds malicious thoughts are few; those principles that the Founding Fathers brought forth have not vanished. The enlightened people of the United States still treasure and protect the most valuable assets of this great land: “Liberty and Justice for all.”

Liberty and Justice for all, to me, is also like a nourishing loaf of bread. There is nothing lavish, nothing luxurious in it. However, its simplicity and power do provide vital nutrients to the United States. Some other promises made by other countries are like macaroons: full of lavishness and luxury. Macaroons are sweet inside, but there is nothing left after sweetness. I hope, and I truly believe, this nourishing bread will keep feeding the democracy and prosperity of the United States.

Liberty and Justice for All

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Congratulations to senior Henry Huang and sophomore Peter Kadel. Both competed in the local Palm Springs Lions Club Speech Competition. Peter walked away with $25; Henry walked away with $100! Henry won! Henry moves on to the Zone Level competition on March 8, hosted here at Palm Valley. The assigned topic was “Liberty and Justice for All–What Does It Mean to You?” Henry said it’s like having a heavy loaf of bread. Liberty is nutritious and provides sustenance. He opens his speech with the idea that the Founding Fathers built a lightning rod called “Liberty and Justice for all” that protects this nation from the lightning strikes of chaos. Henry could continue to advance through three additional levels: Region, District, and Area–earning potentially over $10,000.
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