The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans
By Guest Poet Blogger Chris Griffin
This poem was written when I was age 24 – in the midst of, and in order to encapsulate, a somewhat fiery yet thrilling relationship. Greg is no more, but the poem remains. It’s as if written in stone – and time.
Accidental (Mount Tamalpais, 1972)
while driving my car
blinked out gregory
wheel grabbed spun out
even off the paved main
thorough farely clung cried
for help was near to
nothing ever fell so
far so
good
Editor: Shelby Armor
By Anonymous
beauty is a feeling.
it is a gasp.
it is that inhale
that manages to fill your soul.
it is that feeling when you smile
from ear to ear because you’re just
happy.
it is the wonder that gleams in your eyes.
it is the nostalgia of a childhood dream.
it is in the colours of music,
in the rhythm of a landscape.
it is vibrant.
it is so much more than pretty.
Editor: Claire Jenkins
By Claire Jenkins
Pitch Perfect 3, otherwise known as the “Last Call, Pitches,” was quite a sinking ship. Whether it be about the over-the-top storyline with strange side stories, or about the song choices in the movie itself, there were many complaints.
The Pitch Perfect franchise is known as a female-driven feel-good comedy movie that puts emphasis on the strength of women and friendship. The first two movies had fulfilling and heartwarming storylines about how Anna Kendrick, as Beca the lead character, helped to push forward and create everlasting friendships. They were feel-good movies that showed the power of friendship, determination, and love. The movies were not focused so much on romantic relationships, although Beca did have a boyfriend for a small amount of time.
In the third movie, everyone went in with high hopes of experiencing yet again the female powerhouse comedy that had such great reviews before. Instead, this time the movie had an outrageous storyline for Rebel Wilson’s character, affectionately deemed Fat Amy, that came out of nowhere. The movie had outrageous actions, explosions, and awkward will-they/won’t-they romance. They threw in a love interest for Brittany Snow’s character, Chloe, that simply did not fit the theme that friendship and sticking together was the most important thing.
Many fans were upset due to the constant teasing of a possible romance between the beloved Beca and her best friend Chloe. The trailers and social media accounts for Pitch Perfect 3 constantly flashed pictures or videos of Brittany Snow and Anna Kendrick in possible romantic situations that never came true in the movie. This is known as “queerbaiting,” and it is a common problem in many movies or TV shows where they throw around the idea of putting two characters of the same sex together simply for more views. They use characters’ sexualities as a way to gain attention, and often don’t properly portray the LGBTQ+ community.
Despite all of the obvious problems in the movies, the actresses make up for it with their talent and charm that so many love. Pitch Perfect 3 was not as well written as the two previous movies, but it was still a heartwarming comedy underneath.
Editor: Brennan Nick
Graphic by A.J. Patencio
By A.J. Patencio
Dear fellow PVS students, as many of you have probably already noticed, YouTube has been blocked by the school. While we don’t see the normal page for a website that’s blocked by the LightSpeed system when visiting YouTube, we see “ERR_QUIC_PROTOCOL_ERROR” on your screen and text that tells you the YouTube website is either “temporarily down” (which is not likely, as the website loads on all devices when off-campus) or has “moved permanently to a new web address” (which YouTube would never do). This means that the website has been blocked and students can’t access it during school for any reason.
There might be multiple reasons for YouTube being blocked. Maybe too many kids in the Upper or Middle School (as we share the same Wifi network) were caught watching YouTube during class, and this caused the ban (which might be the cause for Netflix being banned as well). Maybe the school is just trying to enforce the rule in the PVS Technology Handbook/Chromebook Contract we all signed (yes, you had to sign a contract to get your Chromebook, and if you’re absolutely sure that you didn’t sign a contract then you shouldn’t have that Chromebook) that states we will not watch streaming services for entertainment on the Chromebooks. Maybe it’s because when lunch came around, the Wifi network immediately started lagging horribly due to the amount of students jumping onto YouTube (and Netflix, Spotify, etc.) to look at random stuff.
Whatever the cause is, there are already consequences appearing (other than us not being able to watch memes). Many educational websites (such as Crash Course, JoczProductions, Khan Academy, TomRichey.net, etc.) host their videos on YouTube. Why is this important? Well, now that YouTube is blocked, you won’t be able to see any of the videos on those websites, which teachers use to assign as classwork. The teacher could use the Staff Wifi to access the video and project it on the board, but this hinders individual and small group work and is problematic for combined AP and non-AP classes that have to watch different videos.
Keep in mind, this is only the first week back from vacation–plus it’s review week for all the Upper School students taking Midterms–, and there are already problems arising. Whether or not YouTube will be unblocked by the school in the near future is unanswered, as the problems caused by this are still just popping up. If you have an opinion you’d like to share about this, a problem that’s caused by YouTube being blocked, or a possible solution, please put it in the comments.
Editor: Claire Jenkins
By Renée
Hello, my dearest you.
I have done something quite
strange, and weird.
Something a bit out of character,
at least for me.
I have broken my own promises;
I have divided from deep inside.
From what I know now,
from what I knew then,
yes, it still makes sense.
But, I did not account for my own loneliness.
It creeps inside my heart now,
but I know you need me now to be a friend.
And, here I’ll be for you.
I’ll be here just for you.
I’ll keep my mouth shut.
I have my entire life to express myself,
but right now you need me
to listen to you.
And, that’s something I know quite well how to do.
But, more than that, it’s what I want to do,
listen to you.
I’ll be here for you.
I’m sorry.
Editor: Makena Behnke
By Anonymous
We wish for the fury to end,
The sadness to cease,
And our souls
To find
Everlasting love.
We will hunt
That prayer to the
Angelic sun
And beyond.
And even though
Discovering an answer
Will be difficult,
We can
Emancipate ourselves,
Reaching the liberty
Beyond
The Gates
Of the sun.
Remember,
All stars
Sing different songs of life,
But we hold
The same
Fate.
One fate.
One us.
Editor: Claire Jenkins
By Poet Blogger Makena Behnke
this season, we all received gifts we didn’t want, and we all gave at least one gift that we knew the person wouldn’t like, but we gave it to them anyway…
here is a list of quick and easy presents for next holiday season that almost everyone will like:
Editor: Brennan Nick
By Guest Blogger Jackson Dean
As I write this, Blog, Publications Club, and Book Club are traveling to Los Angeles on a field trip to The Last Bookstore. They will be in LA for the entire day. As I write this, I understand, for the first time in my life, the feeling of loneliness. The members of the class and clubs are my go-to, my emotional support, the type of friends that are there for you always. I’m attached to them, probably in an unhealthy way, but nonetheless attached. For the first time, none of them are here to talk to, to laugh with, to enjoy each other’s company. For the first time, I feel like I have, in all honesty, no one. I am alone. I have no voice, no confidence. My cheery disposition is currently vacant as it searches for something to give, but to no avail. I never understood just how much these people mean to me, until this moment, this moment of gray, this moment of quiet, this moment of loneliness. As I look at this moment, I am brought to another moment that has yet to come. Another moment where this loneliness will occur, but hasn’t yet–
June, 2019–When my class, my brothers and sisters since Kindergarten, will throw off their caps with me as we leave our high school careers and start another life, away from each other. June, 2019–When I hug my go-to’s from lower grades for the last time. June, 2019–When the people that gave me a voice, that gave me confidence, will no longer be a part of my life. June, 2019, and possibly for a long time afterwards–When this feeling of loneliness will sink in once more and tug at my heart as it does now.
I love all of you. From the bottom of my heart, I truly, wholeheartedly love you. Whether you are in my class of 2019, or 2020, or 2021, I think of you as my brother or sister. I am nothing without you. You make me something. You give me that voice. You give me that confidence. You make me who I am, and I will never forget that.
Editor: Claire Jenkins
Writer-Blogger Claire welcomes in the new year. Suggestion: Read it aloud.
By Claire Jenkins
This is a symbolic representation that shows how most high schoolers are feeling right now. High School is constantly putting pressure on students — the curriculum gets harder, and the students struggle to keep up. This is almost a piece of poetry in a sense. It is a figurative piece that may seem simple at first, but once you look closer you will realize that this is a concept piece that shows how the education system is constantly pulling students apart.
Editor: AJ Patencio
By Peter Kadel
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! The holiday season is here, and if you’re not a crazy person living in the desert then winter is in full swing, which means it’s the time to celebrate the things that really matter like religious holidays, the appropriation of religious holidays, commercialization of religious holidays, and arguments over coffee cups that support religious holidays. But, it’s important to remember not to use any religion-specific greetings because winter isn’t about religion. Winter is about buying stuff for people and telling them weeks in advance (as in “Oh, I bought you a Christmas gift”) to guilt them into getting you something. Winter is about just letting yourself go into hibernation, emerging only to have awkward encounters with your extended family. Winter is about forgetting all of your healthy life choices and subsequently collapsing into a pit of guilt, cookie crumbs, and despair–once swimsuit season hits. However, the most important part of the winter holiday is gift giving, or more accurately, gift receiving. But as the old adage goes, “Nothing in life is free.” So, you’ll have to give gifts so people feel obligated to give you gifts. Luckily, there are several holidays in the coming days for you to use as an excuse to give gifts.
Hanukkah is the longest and is relatively well known, but it ended yesterday, so there isn’t any time to get your gift and then receive a gift from the recipient, and so your best bet is to just convert to Christianity and participate in Christmas because most of us don’t know when Kwanzaa is (unless you read Harlow Berny’s post last week) or what it’s about. After your baptism, it’s time to go buy gifts for your unsuspecting “friends.” In this process, it is important to remember that the purpose of giving these gifts is to encourage your “friends” to give you gifts, so you need to find a balance between cheap and meaningful. Some examples of cheap and meaningful gifts are decorative shot glasses, stickers from other countries, fancy paper, and potatoes–because everyone loves potatoes. If you want to improve your chances of getting a good gift instead of a potato, –because who wants a lousy potato?–you should make sure the gifts have some kind of personal connection to the intended recipients. For example, if your “friend” likes the color red, give them a jar of blood, and if you want to make the gift really personal, make sure it’s their blood-type! If none of these examples are effective in guilting your “friends” into giving you stuff this holiday season, then you should recognize that you are in a “friendship” founded on manipulation and deceit, and you should end the “friendship” immediately.
Editor: AJ Patencio