the bird on fire

Blog 2024: Where Things Get Blogged

January 11, 2024 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Did you know that Palm Valley School has a blog? It’s called The Bird on Fire, and it’s back! Our holiday break is over; it’s a new year; and Palm Valley’s blog is in full swing. Indy, Gil, Jackie, Oliver, and Louisa are now joined by new writers Jack and Jess. This means we will have more variety, insight, and sauciness posted throughout the remainder of the year. You can be part of the fun and publication by submitting anything you’ve written, drawn, or filmed to Advisor Zachik. Email her at szachik@pvs.org. If you want to get thebirdonfire.org articles delivered directly to your inbox upon publication, visit the home page of thebirdonfire.org and subscribe today.

What are you afraid of?

January 9, 2024 by szachik@pvs.org 3 Comments

By 8th Grader Jackie Doyle Padgett

It’s a new year–that time of year many of us make resolutions, affirmations, envision a better life, vow to turn over a new leaf, get over our fears. Jackie’s interested in fears. Turns out, there is a lot to be afraid of in life: heights, dark water, spiders. And a healthy fear helps us survive: keeps us from dangling from high places, entering uncharted waters, getting bit. But, some extend their fear to clowns, mirrors, balloons, the sun. Fear–is it survival instinct? or irrational debilitation? Jackie looks at fear.

Common Fears

This section focuses on common fears you’ve probably heard about before; maybe you even have some of these fears. They might look a little bit different as I listed them by their “phobia names.”

Acrophobia

Acrophobia is commonly known as the fear of heights. Acro comes from the Greek word akron, which means “high point.” Most people get this fear from seeing people get hurt from falling or falling themselves (Forbes Health).

People could also get this fear from a natural survival instinct that inhibits an accidental fall off of something high enough that it could kill them (Medical News Today).

Arachnophobia

This is one of the phobias everyone knows, the fear of spiders. I have met many people who have a disliking of spiders or who are outright afraid of them. Researchers think this fear comes from multiple things, the main ones being the spiders could hurt us, or the fear is passed through scary movies (Psychology Today). The probability of someone getting hurt or dying from a spider/spider bite is very low, around one tenth of a percent. While there are around 43,000 species of spiders, a very small amount is dangerous to us–only around 30 of those could be deadly to humans (Britannica). Movies do capitalize on the scariness of spiders. There are so many where spiders will kill people–that’s literally one of the main plots for a movie called Arachnophobia.

Coulrophobia

When I was a kid I definitely had a mild version of Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, especially at theme parks. There have been multiple studies to see why people fear these, supposedly, happy mascots. Researchers found that this fear comes mostly from pop culture and not being able to see the clown’s emotions (Scientific American).

Since they have so much makeup on, the person behind the clown face could be frowning, but we wouldn’t be able to tell. Similarly the eyebrows (which are pretty good indicators at what a person is planning/thinking) are covered. Movies/books, like IT, promote the horror of clowns. There was even a serial killer clown named John Wayne Gacy (Britannica).

Claustrophobia

I definitely have a very mild version of claustrophobia. I can’t stand being in an elevator, or a locker. It makes me feel like I’m going to be stuck there forever. Researchers think people have this fear from getting stuck in a tight space as a child. This can also be passed on if your parents have claustrophobia. Most parents will keep their child with them at all times, so if a parent has this fear, their child likely will avoid the enclosed spaces their parents have so carefully kept away from (NHS UK). I think I have this fear from getting stuck in an airplane’s bathroom, twice. I couldn’t figure out how to undo the lock (okay, I know it’s meant to be super easy, but the lock got stuck or something).

Thalassophobia

If deep, dark, empty water has ever scared you, you might have a bit of Thalassophobia. It sometimes relates to the fear of the unknown, which makes a lot of sense. Around 95% of the deep ocean is unexplored (Ocean Wise), so that’s a lot of stuff we don’t know about just living in the ocean we swim in–how fun. This fear can also come from having been close to drowning, seeing a creature lurking in the water (sharks, whales, big fish etc…), or even hearing about someone’s bad experience with deep water (Health Line).

Unique Fears

Most of these are fears I’ve never heard about before or knew little about. You’ll notice I use their most common name, but they have multiple names depending on where you’re from.

Eisoptrophobia

Eisoptrophobia (or catoptrophobia, or spectrophobia) stands for the fear of mirrors. The Greek word eisoptro means mirror, and phobia, of course, means fear. There isn’t too much knowledge as to why people have this fear, but it’s probable that it comes from someone scaring you (Health Grades). For example, you entered the bathroom and were about to fix your hair when you saw something in the corner of your eye. You look into the mirror, and there is your friend creeping up behind you as a joke, and now you’re stuck with this fear of catching something creepy in the mirror. It could also do with self image problems, like you’re scared of seeing yourself in the mirror (Very Well Mind).

Globophobia

This is the fear of balloons; sometimes this fear comes with an attachment of the noise it makes when the balloon pops. Imagine going to the Winter Formal last year with this fear….Anyways–this fear is commonly started at a young age, whether you got hurt by a water balloon or someone scared you with the pop of it (Louis Laves Web). People with this phobia can also be frightened with any type of balloon including hot air balloons (Hot Air Flight).

Heliophobia

A lot of fears are unfortunate/annoying to have, but this fear, the fear of the sun, is definitely one of the worst. People have to go outside to see the sun everyday, and it’s very hard to avoid it. The word helio comes from the Greek word, hēlios, which, of course, means sun. Researchers think people who have this fear are scared of getting skin cancer or wrinkles from the sun (aka photoaging) (Lybrate).

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia

Whoever came up with this name definitely thought they were funny. This is the fear of long words. It’s called hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia because sesquipedalian means long word. Somewhere along the way they added hippopotamus and monster (Verywell Mind). This fear is considered more of a social phobia because it commonly gives people anxiety to pronounce these long words in front of people, scared they will get judged if they mispronounce it. Most people get this fear when they are young and learning how to pronounce, for example, antidisestablishmentarianism. Maybe the teacher was being too harsh with them mispronouncing the word, or the students made fun of this person for it (Health Line).

Submechanophobia

This is the fear of underwater/partially underwater human-made objects, for example, planes, submarines, statues, ships, or any other machinery. Similar to Thalassophobia, this fear also could come from a fear of the unknown, fear of losing control or bad past experiences (Very Well Mind, India Times). These experiences could include being on a ship/plane that crashed and sunk (Dove Med).

Trypophobia

Last but not least, the fear of holes grouped together in some sort of pattern. If someone with this fear sees a cluster of holes in food or flowers, etc… It might cause them to have a gag reflex. This is under the phobia category, but people with this fear aren’t really scared of it, they’re mostly disgusted (Cleveland Clinic). Researchers think that people get this fear by a survival instinct in their brain telling them that these patterns could be dangerous. For example, the holes are reminiscent of spider eyes, or a deadly skin disease, etc…. Another reason for the fear could be that it takes a lot of brain power to look at complicated patterns, which could cause people some distress (Osmosis).

I find that fear is such an interesting thing–look at all these different fearsome phobias. Of course, I missed a lot; there’s practically a fear of everything and anything. If you know any fun facts about a fear I didn’t cover, I’d love to know about it. Tell me about your favorite phobia!

These are the Best Sports Jerseys Ever, Without a Doubt

January 5, 2024 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By Sophomore Blogger Oliver Martinez

Oliver is a big sports fan. And, he has the sports jerseys to prove it. When we asked him to discuss “His favorite things . . . ,” he turned to his revered pile of jerseys.

With the NBA at the beginning of its season, the MLB over its season, and Soccer/Football midseason, jerseys in all three sports have been trending. For that reason, I have decided to make a list of my favorite basketball, baseball, and soccer jerseys. I will be showcasing six NBA jerseys–three older, and three newer, six soccer jerseys, and two baseball jerseys.

Basketball

My first older jersey is this Pistons jersey.

Pistons legend Joe Dumars #4 looking menacing wearing this awesome jersey. Photo Source: theathletic.com

This jersey is very nice. The horse in the middle of the jersey actually looks threatening, and the fire on top of the horse makes it even better. The letters are very clean. The white of the letters makes great contrast with the rest of the jersey. This is infinitely better than their rebrand:

Boring new pistons jersey. Photo Source: nike.com

Although simplicity is good, the complexity of the classic Piston jersey works perfectly.

My second favorite jersey is this Utah Jazz mountain jersey:

Karl Malone and John Stockton of the Utah Jazz confer in style. Photo Source: legendsofsport.blog

This jersey is absolutely amazing. It has good colors that make good contrast, and it has some meaning behind it. These are the mountains that encircle Utah. These jerseys debuted in 1996 and were discontinued in 2004.

For my third vintage jersey I choose this Phoenix Suns jersey.

Legendary Power Forward Charles Barkley rocking this jersey. Photo Source: boardroom.tv

I think that you just can’t go wrong with purple, orange, and white. This jersey is great because it includes everything a jersey should have: the name of the team, the number, and the symbol of the team. The symbol here is the sun, and it’s even better because the basketball represents the sun. Orange just contrasts so well with purple, and the white letters work well with the rest of the jersey.

My first newer jersey is this Warriors Oakland Jersey.

Golden State Warriors Oakland Jersey. Source: bluemanhoop.com

It’s a special jersey because it remembers the Golden State Warrior’s days when they were a team based in Oakland; now the Warriors are based in San Francisco. The colors match so well, and it’s a clean, slick jersey.

The fifth jersey I picked was this black vice city Miami Heat jersey:

Jimmy Butler’s black vice city jersey. Photo Source: cbs12.com

According to cbssports , this jersey is “A tribute, honoring its past through the prism of our future. A uniform, coded as a composite of those that came before it.” Honestly, the meaning for this jersey makes me like it even more; I like the black base with the blue and pink. They make good contrast, and the jersey is overall very clean. You could argue that the white version of these jerseys is better, but personally, I prefer the black one.

Lastly, the “Black Mamba” Lakers Jersey is a favorite of mine.

GOAT of basketball LeBron James and teammate Anthony Davis wearing the “Black Mamba” jersey in the 2020 NBA Finals. Photo Source: mb.com.ph

This jersey is in my opinion one of the best modern jerseys. Black and yellow go so well together it’s impossible to go wrong with it. Plus, it is a jersey made to honor the legendary Kobe Bryant (nicknamed the Black Mamba, who played with the Los Angeles Lakers for twenty years and became an icon of the sport. Sadly after retiring, he passed away in a helicopter crash.) The Lakers wore this jersey throughout the 2020 playoffs. The Lakers won that championship.

Soccer/Football

So, for my first soccer jersey, I choose this Corinthians Paulista 2022/23 third jersey:

Its inspiration comes from Corinthians’ 2012 Club World Cup victory in Japan; this is clearly shown in the beautiful design which has many characters in Japanese and a nice base color. These quickly sold out, and even after a year, they are still not back in stock. Authentic ones have been reselling for over $110, which is crazy considering they retailed for $95.

My second favorite football jersey is this Arsenal 2022-23 away kit:

Winger Gabriel Martinelli and midfielder Thomas Partey posing for the picture. Photo Credit: arsenal.com

This jersey perfectly demonstrates why you can’t go wrong with a black jersey. It goes with everything. The golden badge, Adidas logo, and letters are such a great contrast with the black. According to arsenal.com, the meaning of the jersey is that “Gooners everywhere connect with the club through their own Little Islington community, no matter where they are in the world. Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy – in cities across the United States these cultural outposts are everywhere.” I actually own this jersey, and if you look very closely, it has the letters “AFC” all over the jersey in different patterns. This is the abbreviated version of their name, Arsenal Football Club. This, on top of the two great colors, make for a great jersey that deserves to be in my list of favorite soccer jerseys.

My third favorite soccer jersey is this 2022 England World Cup away.

Top England players, Jude Bellingham on the left, Declan Rice in the middle, and Jack Grealish on the right wearing this jersey. Photo Source: Footballfashion.org

Usually blue and red wouldn’t work too well, but this time the English FA have made it work. England has proven they have a plethora of talent in their team as they have made the final for the Euro Cup in 2020 and have been very dominant against most teams, especially in the World Cup where the team barely lost to France. The soft blue color makes a good contrast with the red, and the simplistic design is perfect. The collar having dark blue and light blue is a nice detail, too.

For my fourth football jersey favorite is this unreleased China 2018 jersey:

This jersey was actually only released for a very short time. Nike went all out for China in 2018, releasing this amazing jersey that had a great dragon design with perfect contrast as it had yellow as its secondary color. But, the China FA rejected this design. And the reason is absolutely insane. Their reason for rejecting this jersey was that its “aesthetic is too similar to tattoo-style art. Tattoos have been historically associated with organized crime groups in China” (footyheadlines). This rejection is a shame considering how great this jersey was. I predict it would’ve sold extremely well.

Don’t overlook the 1992-1994 Manchester United home jersey:

Manchester United won back-to-back Premier League titles with this jersey, and it’s honestly stunning. The vibrant red is such a great color; it reminds me of the days when Manchester United was actually good. This season has been atrocious as they struggle to win in the European Champions League and can’t maintain a top 5 spot in the Premier League. This jersey is just iconic, as one of their biggest legends, Eric Cantona, who scored 82 goals in five seasons and aided the red devils in winning four Premier League Cups, six English Super Cups, and two English FA Cups, wore this jersey.

My last soccer jersey is the 18/19 Paris Saint-Germain third jersey:

What can I say, I’m a sucker for black jerseys. PSG is always coming out with amazing jerseys, but I think this may be their best. The white Paris logo looks so good, and it’s nice seeing them collaborate with Jordan–which not many teams do. They initialized their collaboration with Jordan in 2018 for three years, then extended it for one more year. After 2022, their collaboration ended. The line in the middle is a nice detail so that it’s not too simple but also not complicated.

Baseball

I just want to let it be known that I am not too familiar with baseball, but I have seen some jerseys I do like.

Check out this Space City Houston jersey:

I’ve seen this one trending recently, and I can see why. This jersey is stunning. The contrast being made with dark blue and orange with yellow is a nice detail, and it makes a reference to Houston always being called Space City. According to the MLB website, “There is no better way to represent the city that continues to believe that human potential is limitless.”

I also like this Padres jersey:

I think the brown and yellow make good contrast with the white, and the pinstripes all over the jersey are a nice detail to keep it interesting. It isn’t their traditional jersey; their traditional one is gold and brown. Here the Padres keep the color scheme, but add a contemporary touch with the lines.

The new jersey looks better in my opinion. I just don’t really like the buttons on MLB jerseys, but sometimes wearing button-up jerseys can be comfortable.

Do you think you could improve on my list? If so, let me know if I missed any potential jerseys in the comments!

Why are the French Called Frogs?

January 4, 2024 by szachik@pvs.org 1 Comment

By Sophomore Oliver Martinez

Here at thebirdonfire.org, we thought we’d pursue “Chaos” for a while, as it’s so unlike our day-to-day lives–or so I thought. At the mention of “Chaos,” Oliver immediately went to English class.

While in English Class we were reading Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel Maus II, and on page 93, Vladek (Spiegelman’s father) is in a concentration camp when he encounters a French frog character who then proceeds to socialize with him and become his friend. You see, Vladek is the only character with whom the French frog can communicate, as they both speak English. In Spiegelman’s book, character groups are represented as different anthropomorphized animals. We were used to seeing human-like cats and mice and dogs. But, a frog? We started wondering why a frog is used to represent a French person. To be frank, my interest piqued, and after some research, I’ve compiled a list of circulated reasons as to why the French are called frogs.

Frog Legs

Well, there are many theories about why the French may be called frogs. For example, according to stackexchange, “Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable traces the use of the word ‘frogs’ for the French to eating frogs’ legs.” Apparently, the French have been eating frogs since the twelfth century. Since it technically wasn’t meat, the Catholic monks could eat it during Lent–when Catholics abstain from meat. So, yes, one of the reasons for the French being called frogs is their tendency to eat frog legs (tastefrance).

Revolution and England

A more reliable source, England’s The Guardian – its “Notes and Queries” section, includes a reason the French are referred to as Frogs: during the French Revolution, “the Aristocracy fled and made their way to England, where they disparagingly called the revolutionaries ‘les grenouilles’ – the Frogs.” This spread very quickly all around England. Everyone started calling the French “Frogs.” Still, other explanations pop up.

Fleur-De-Lys

The French adopted the Fleur-De-Lys as their national flag during the 14th century (study.com). The French are called Frogs because according to thingsiloveaboutfrance, “The English, unfamiliar with the fleur-de-lys (Lily Flower), mistook the flower for a frog, and had a right old laugh about a country that would put a gold frog on their flag, and thus began sarcastically calling their nemesis ‘frogs.’” This reason, I find one of the most hilarious; I mean, how could you confuse this shape with a Frog?

To me, it looks more like a skinny turtle. Either way, if I had to choose a reason as to why the French are called frogs, this would be my reason.

How they sound…?

I found one more reason as to why the French might be called Frogs, but I have a hard time believing it, and it sounds mostly satirical. According to a Fodor’s Travel user named Bob The Scholar, “The French were called Frogs a very long time ago because, as the story goes, they sounded like frogs to the people who encountered them (fodors). The French men were said to speak with very deep voices that reminded the strangers of frogs ribbiting!” This is probably the funniest reason I read while researching this topic. It made me chuckle when I first read it. I’ve been taking French since 7th grade, and I don’t really see the resemblance to ribbiting frogs. I know the French speak very fast, and they kind of gag or make a noise like gagging when pronouncing the R’s, but I personally don’t believe they sound like Frogs.

What Ms. Brady (the French teacher) thinks about this–

To end it, I asked Ms. Brady to tell us what she thinks of this term. “I think it’s meant to be derogatory, . . . and we need to stop doing stuff like that.”

Although this may be a new term to some, it’s still a derogatory, potentially harmful or offensive term that we shouldn’t use. Instead, we can hold a friendly conversation with our French peers.

That’s it; those are the best reasons as to why the French may be called Frogs, whether Spiegelman (author of Maus II) represented the French as frogs was motivated by the common nickname or not, I kind of am thankful he did because I got to learn an interesting, but chaotic origin of a common idea about the French.

Congratulations, PVS Poetry Recitation Winners!

December 19, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Upper-School Poetry Recitation winners Mirabelle Lee (1st place), Kristina Panagiotaros (2nd place), and Louisa Richardson (3rd place) hold up the book awards carefully curated by English teacher Mr. Chris Griffin.

In the weeks before the Winter Holiday Break, the Palm Valley School English Department hosted the annual Upper and Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finals. The Poetry Recitation is a long-standing Palm-Valley tradition. All Upper and Middle-School students participate at the classroom level. Judges are invited in to select two or three students per classroom to advance to the division-wide finals.

Judge Wallach presents the Middle-School Poetry Recitation winners: Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, and Benjamin Rouche.

The Upper-School Finals took place December 1 before an audience of Upper-School students, teachers, and parents. Junior Mirabelle Lee, after reciting Toi Derricotte’s “my dad & sardines,” was chosen as Upper-School winner by Judges Maguire, Sarkis, and Wallach. Mirabelle will advance to Riverside County Poetry Out Loud competition. Our POL alternate and second-place winner is junior Kristina Panagiotaros. The audience also selected Kristina as Audience Favorite with her recitation of “Self-Help” by Michael Ryan. Third-place winner is freshman Louisa Richardson with her recounting of “What to Say Upon Being Asked to Be Friends” by poet Julian Talamantez Brolaski.

Middle-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Moses Gizaw, Kimberly Sayers, Lorilei Behr, Jackie Padgett, Sophia Bottine, Benjamin Rouche, Jaxon Pacilio, Maxwell Pretorius, Alexander Kirov, and Addison Uhlhorn

The Middle-School Poetry Recitation followed a week later. Judges Griffin, Nayfack, and Wallach selected three winners: Sophia Bottine, grade 6, with her recitation of James Dickey’s “Heaven of the Animals”; Jackie Padgett, grade 8, with her recitation of Sara Teasdale’s “There Will Come Soft Rains”; and Benjamin Rouche, grade 6, with his recitation of Mary Karr’s “All This and More.” We had a tie for Audience Favorite: 8th-grader Kimberly Sayers with her recitation of “The Raven” and 6th grader Jaxon Pacilio with his recitation of “Football.”

Upper-School Poetry Recitation Finalists: Indiana Behr, Riley Jorgensen, Kyle Knight, Pip Watson, Landon Elder, Louisa Richardson, Simee Patel, Mirabelle Lee, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Kristina Panagiotaros, and Rylie Conway

Poetry Recitation winners are selected based on the Poetry Out Loud criteria of physical presence, voice and articulation, interpretation, and evidence of understanding. We wish to applaud all finalists who continue–with poise and thoughtfulness–our poetic tradition: in the Upper School – Indiana Behr, Lily Jones, Kyle Knight, Riley Jorgensen, Pip Watson, Simee Patel, Gabe Rodriguez-Portugues, Landon Elder, Rylie Conway, and Luke Sonderman; in the Middle School – Lorelei Behr, Alexander Kirov, Moses Gizaw, Addison Uhlhorn, and Maxwell Pretorius.

The History of the NBA

December 13, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

This semester, thebirdonfire.org bloggers examine History: the PVS history teachers, the complicated history of the speakership, the history of science. Oliver picks one of his favorite topics. He tells us how it all began in the NBA.

By 10th grader Oliver Martinez

The NBA has been around for over 70 years, and it has been filled with memorable moments, changes, and talents. So, I decided to write about that precisely, the history of the NBA. This will be composed of three sections: early NBA days (1940s-early 1970s), middle NBA days (latter 1970s-2000s), and the modern NBA days. There will be three subsections in each: one detailing the most important and interesting moments of this era; another mentioning key changes to the game; and a last one naming the top players of that era and their accomplishments–note, all of these players are either in the Hall of Fame or are in the 75-year Anniversary NBA List.

Early-NBA Days (1940s – 1970s)

The NBA is the National Basketball Association which was founded in 1949 when two leagues, the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America fused together, which technically makes the NBA 74 years old as of 2023. However, the Basketball Association of America was the bigger league, and the NBA itself considers the founding of that league in 1946 the actual original founding of the NBA. The NBA considers itself to be 77 years old.

Back in 1946, there were 11 teams: the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Stags, Cleveland Rebels, Detroit Falcons, New York Knickerbockers, Philadelphia Warriors, Pittsburgh Ironmen, the St. Louis Bombers, Toronto Huskies, Providence Steamrollers, and the Washington Capitols (NBA.com). From these 11 teams, only three are still here today: the Celtics, the Philadelphia Warriors (now the Golden State Warriors), and the New York Knickerbockers (now the New York Knicks). All the other teams folded due to financial problems.

By 1970, there were 17 established teams which still stand today: the Bucks, Knicks, Bulls, Lakers, Suns, 76ers, Pistons, Celtics, Wizards, Warriors, Rockets, Sonics (now the OKC Thunder), Hawks, Kings, Blazers, Clippers, and Cavaliers.

The major changes over time were the teams, but also the rules changed: the most notable changes being the introduction of the shot clock in 1954 (nytimes), and then, ”in 1951, the free throw lane was widened from six feet to twelve feet” (limaohio). In 1969, the current NBA logo was designed; it was the iconic Jerry West in the logo.

From the 40s to the 70s, the most notable players were Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West.

Some of their accomplishments were noteworthy. Bob Cousy was the leader in assists in the NBA for eight years; he played in 13 All-Star games in a row, and, to top it off, he won six rings (championships) with the Celtics, including a five-peat (five in a row) from 1959-1964. Bill Russell won a staggering ELEVEN rings, making him the player with the most championship rings ever. To put that into perspective, he, as one player, has more rings than all franchises in the NBA except for the Lakers (17) and the Celtics (17). Lastly, Wilt Chamberlain won two rings with the 76ers and the Lakers. He also holds the record for most points ever scored in one single game, dropping an astonishing amount of 100 points in a game against the New York Knicks while playing for the Philadelphia Warriors in 1962; also, he’s the only player to ever drop a quintuple double–over ten steals, ten blocks, assists, rebounds, and points (sportskeeda.com). He’s also widely considered one of the greatest players to play the game of basketball. Oscar Robertson teamed up with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to get the Bucks their first chip ever, and he is considered one of the top centers of all time. And, Jerry West is the face of the NBA (literally) as he has been the logo for over 50 years now. He won a ring later in 1972 and made the All-Star roster fourteen times and all-NBA ten times.

Middle-NBA days (1970 – 2000s)

The NBA in the late 70s had a somewhat bad image as some games weren’t even televised, and there was evidence of drug abuse. Actually, according to apnews-NBA drug abuse, “up to 75% of NBA players used cocaine and one in ten smoked, or freebased, the drug.” Thankfully, NBA Commissioner David Stern helped get rid of this problem; according to basketballnetwork-David Stern, “He put up free counseling, rehab, and treatment centers for players dealing with addiction. The programs didn’t click at first, so Stern resorted to implementing a strict policy that would ban players if they were caught under the influence of illegal substances.” This all led to the use of drugs being eradicated in the NBA.

Someone worth mentioning was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Kareem was basically LeBron James and Kobe Bryant before there was LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. Kareem went on to play until 1989; in these years, he became the top scorer of the NBA, won six rings with the Bucks and the Lakers, won multiple MVPs, Finals MVPs, nineteen-time NBA All Star, fifteen time All-NBA, eleven-time all defensive. Kareem was a brutal point scorer and created the famous “skyhook.”

According to the NBA, some of the best moments of the 70s include The Lakers going undefeated for 33 games in a row, Jerry West hitting a three pointer from 60 feet away to win the game, Suns and Celtics going into a triple overtime in the finals.

The best moments of the 80s were Kareem becoming the top scorer in the NBA–a record that lasted from 1984 to 2023 (nba.com). Michael Jordan dropped 63 points on the Celtics, causing Larry Bird to call him, “God disguised as Michael Jordan” (nba.com).

The best moments of the 90s include the first “dream team” winning gold for the USA in the Barcelona Olympics, Michael Jordan three-peating… twice, and John Stockton becoming the top assister in NBA history.

Remarkable rule changes in the 70s to the 2000s include increase of referees from two to three then back to two some years later then permanently back to three. Timeouts increased from six to seven. And the 3-point line was changed from 23 feet, 9 inches to 22 feet around the basket (marca).

The most notable players of this era are Karl Malone, Dr. J, John Stockton, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, and Michael Jordan.

Michael Jordan and his team of superstars, which included Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman, three-peated on two different occasions and went 72-10 in a regular season. Karl Malone was very consistent and became one of the top power forwards ever; he was nick-named “the mailman” for his constant delivery. John Stockton, a teammate of Karl Malone, became the player with the most assists and surpassed Magic Johnson. Larry Bird is one of the most iconic shooters of all time, having a funny, unorthodox, jumpshot; he won three rings and is the meaning of what it is to be a Celtic. Magic Johnson is widely considered the best point guard ever, only rivaled by Stephen Curry. Johnson won five rings in his career and won three MVPs, made many All-Star appearances and all-NBA, too. He was an amazing passer, as he averaged 11.2 assists per game and 24 points per game (Quora- Magic Johnson). Julius Erving, better known as Dr. J, won one ring in his career, entered the Hall of Fame, revolutionized the game of basketball as he introduced new fancy ways of dunking the ball; on top of that, he was an 11-time All Star, won an MVP, and, as a bonus, LeBron James said he would put Dr J on his all-time starting five.

Modern NBA days (2000 – today)

The best moments of this generation include the iconic duo of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, a duo which led the Lakers to a three-peat: something that hadn’t happened since Michael Jordan’s Bulls. After a long career, Michael Jordan finally retired in 2003 from the Washington Wizards. One of the best NBA drafts happened in 2003; that included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, etc. In modern days, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, which is the closest someone has gotten to beating Wilt’s 100. Derrick Rose became the youngest MVP ever at 22. LeBron finally won a championship in 2012. In 2016, LeBron returned to the Cavaliers and got them their first championship. The Warriors won 73 games in one season, which remains as the unbeaten record to this day.

The important rule changes included the following: 1) Instant replay was created to help referees; 2) Teams were given nine timeouts, but then it was dropped back down to seven per team.

The most notable players of the era were Ray Allen, Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, James Harden, Dirk Nowitzki, Allen Iverson, Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant.

Since there are a lot of notable players in the last 23 years, I will go over them briefly.

Ray Allen was the number one three-point shooter for a long time until being passed by Steph Curry. Tim Duncan or “The Big Fundamental” won five rings and earned himself that title as his style of play was considered “boring” but fundamental. Kevin Durant with the Warriors was one of the most lethal scorers ever. Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best player in the NBA currently, has won a ring, and is very consistent. James Harden is a top three-point shooter and created the infamous step back travel where he takes up to four stepbacks before shooting the ball; although he never won a ring, he came very close on many occasions. Dirk Nowitzki is a giant scoring menace; he won one ring and is a Hall of Famer; standing at 7 ‘0”, it was really hard to stop him. Allen Iverson was a great player; he was inducted into the Hall of Fame. He came very close to winning a ring though he never did. Kobe Bryant even said he was one of the hardest players to guard. Dwyane Wade had a fulfilling career, winning three rings with the Miami Heat and teaming up with some of the best of all time like Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James. He was also inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2019. Shaquille O’Neal is considered by many to be the most dominant player ever, only rivaled by Wilt Chamberlain. He was huge standing at 7 ‘1 and weighing 330 pounds. Nobody could stop him; he broke an insane amount of 12 backboards in 19 seasons in the NBA. He also won four rings. Chris Paul is one of the best point guards of all time. He has never won a ring, but he is a brilliant player with a great scoring ability and has been able to dominate even though he is one of the smallest players on the court. LeBron James is the best player in NBA history. He has four championships, is the top scorer of all time, and is in the top 10 of a lot of the top categories. He has played with and against some of the best players of all time and has been dominating the league for over 20 years and has remained consistent even though he’s aging. And, Kobe Bryant is probably the most influential player ever as he has had much success as an individual and with the Lakers, too. He has generations of fans all the way from the 90s to even today and from all over the world.

The NBA has had a lengthy history. Since its founding in 1946 it has encountered ups and downs and hundreds of changes. It has seen amazing talent come and go as the years pass.

Did I miss anything? If you think so, leave it in the comments.

The Chaos of Family Dinners

December 12, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

By 8th Grader Jackie Doyle Padgett

Gil, that sneaky master of mischief, challenged the Blog Class to write about Chaos. As we are here sandwiched between Thanksgiving and Winter Holiday fare, Jackie immediately thought of the chaos of sitting down to dinner with family. Multiple generations coming together, the extra leaf in the table, the dogs loose–what could possibly go wrong?

You’ve probably had at least one big family dinner where all of your grandparents and cousins and friends come over for the holidays, and, if so, you know it can be utter chaos. Maybe your new little cousin is running around, and you’re stuck watching them, or your uncle brought up the same embarrassing story he tells all of your friends when you bring them to dinner. There are a lot of complicated layers and minefields to family dinners: the food, the miscommunication, the animals, the kids, the occasional assault, and disease.

Food

A lot can go wrong with food: the process of cooking it, the process of eating it; and (in Ms. Schapiro’s case) regarding what to wear while eating it.

Ms. Brady, our current French teacher, told me when she was younger her mom was cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Her family normally ate between 2 and 4 p.m. Her mom would get up early and begin cooking so that all the family would wake up to the smell of the turkey. For some reason one Thanksgiving morning, Ms. Brady didn’t smell turkey cooking. The family soon realized the oven was broken. After hours in the oven, the turkey hadn’t even started to cook. They decided to eat pizza instead.

French Teacher Brady and her parents (sans turkey)

Matteo Lam, sophomore, said he was around six years old when he held the belief that he “could swallow grapes whole.” He tried it. It didn’t end well. Matteo said, “I could’ve died; I’m okay now though.”

Zoe Groendycke, 7th grade, said one Thanksgiving her grandpa came over to dinner, and he started choking on the turkey. Zoe’s stepdad ran to the rescue and did the Heimlich Maneuver. Then her grandpa decided to leave because he thought the food tasted bad.

Zoe Groendycke remembers a Thanksgiving mishap. (No relatives were harmed in the telling of this *chaotic* tale.)

Ms. Schapiro tells us her mom is “basically a professional cook,” so for her big family dinners they focus on the food. Since she and her brother are grown adults and have their own homes, they’ve developed their own dining habits–some different from their mom’s. Sometimes dinner etiquette is an issue. Ms. Schapiro said, “My mom doesn’t like me eating barefoot during dinner–even though my feet are under the table.”

Ms. Schapiro, it is rumored, did wear shoes at her son’s wedding.

Miscommunication

Whether you text or talk in person, there’s bound to be some miscommunication regarding dinner plans. Rhys provides a prime example of the chaos that can ensue when the hosts don’t get the message.

Rhys Foxx, 8th grader, told me, “My sister came to dinner without a boyfriend, and we realized they broke up. . . . We never knew.” Until dinnertime.

This is what happens when Rhys misses key background context before sitting down to dinner.

Animals

Originally I wasn’t going to make a section for animals, but animals kept coming up in the middle of family dinner chaos. I decided these creatures could be a main source of mischief.

Sierra James, 8th grader, said at one dinner “My dad spent like 30 minutes cooking burgers, and once he set it on the table, my dog Bo jumped on the chair and ate like half of the hamburger bun.”

Bo lives in the James household and is known to steal hamburger buns. Don’t let the innocent expression fool you.

Kimberly Sayers, 8th grader, said once, “During dinner my cat was scratching the table cloth, and its nail got caught. She ended up almost pulling the entire thing off–it was filled with food by the way.”

The sharp-clawed Robo, who rules the Sayers household, attempts the dinnertable Houdini maneuver on the bathtub.

Ms. Maguire once put chicken on the counter. One of her cats, Thor, jumped up and stole an entire chicken breast.

Known to steal chicken breasts intended for dinner, Thor the cat lived out his nine lives in the Maguire household.

John Webster, 8th grader, recalled A Case of Missing Turkey: “My mom left the house, after making turkey, to pick me up from soccer. She accidentally left turkey out on the counters, and when we came back it was all gone. We assume the dogs ate all of it.”

Miscellaneous

I couldn’t choose where to put the remaining stories, so here’s a grab bag of Miscellaneous family dinner mishaps. You’ll find all sorts of things in here: music, collarbone casualties, and, sadly, sickness; try not to get lost.

(Anthony) Tony Ratner, 8th grader, recalled one dinner when “We’re in this tiny 150-square-foot room, and we have this big speaker . . . . I put it full blast playing Gangnam Style. Then I showed the fools (aka his family?) in that room the best moves they’d ever seen. They took videos and everything and we had pumpkin pie. COSTCO PUMPKIN PIE. Put that in all caps, please. Then, we lived happily ever after.”

Tony Ratner often travels with his own music, and inflicts it upon friends and family.

Sawyer Falzone, senior, recounted babysitting a gaggle of kids during one holiday dinner. They think they were 9 years old and their parents asked them and their cousin (around 7 years) if they could help babysit these kids. The kids were . . . 5 and under. One problem was that there were 5 kids . . . on a huge ranch. “Somehow we managed to keep everything under control.”

Ms. Zachik had a family tradition of playing flag football while her mom would make dinner. The entire family (except Mom) would go to the park with neighbors and friends. Well, during one game she pushed her dad to the ground. He ended up in the ER. “I forgot whether it was a dislocated shoulder or a broken collarbone,” she said.

Ms. Zachik is guilty of rough flag-football play in pre-Thanksgiving-dinnertime warm up.

Rachel De La O, junior, said, “Last year Thanksgiving around an hour after we ate, my sister went into labor.”

Finally in our last response, Charlie Cowley, 7th grader, faced a very contemporary Thanksgiving problem: “Everyone got Covid after our dinner.”

When I started this blog post idea, I didn’t expect to get some of these crazy stories, but, honestly, they’ve been so fun to read. If I missed you in my interview session, make sure to put your chaotic dinner story in the comments below.

“O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?”

December 8, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org 2 Comments

Gone. Romeo’s gone–at least the PVS version of Romeo is gone. If you missed last week’s PVS Drama Department enactment of Romeo and Juliet, here’s guest blogger Lily Jones with the recap.

By Junior Lily Jones

This play really exceeded my expectations. I thought it was really good. Abby, Anais, Mirabelle, and I went on Saturday night, and it was a really nice night to hang out with friends and watch some good Shakespeare. I like the idea of having the play in the little amphitheater outside; it has a nice atmosphere (even if I was freezing to death). I kind’ve felt like I was at a drive-in movie with my friends on a Friday night, so the vibes were really nice. The set looked really, really cool. The shading on the columns was on point (shoutout Rylie Conway). I liked the ladder as Juliet’s window, I thought that was very creative.

I also thought it was cool that the art classes helped create the sets; I liked the collaboration and sense of community. Anais, Abby, and Mirabelle pointed out which parts of the set they had helped paint, which was fun. I also think it’s fun that they collaborate with outside companies for food; it makes it feel like a really nice event. The tacos were really, really good.

I remember a critique I had from last year’s play was that I could barely hear anything. This time, that wasn’t a problem. There were microphones, and I could hear everyone perfectly!

The costumes were beautiful. I especially liked Mel’s dress; it looked really pretty. Shayan’s costume was also really cool. I thought that the fight scenes were super cool, and the choreography looked very realistic. Zander did an amazing job. His emotions and the way he said his lines was just amazing. I thought his death scene was super good. Lorelai’s death scene was also crazy. She actually just face-planted into the floor, and Anais, Abby, Mirabelle, and I were very impressed with her commitment to the scene (but we were also a little scared because it looked like it hurt.) Matteo and Emerson did a really great job as Romeo and Juliet. There were a lot of sweet and cute scenes. Indy also did an amazing job as the friar. I loved the passion and emotion that he said his lines with. I also think Shayan did a great job. Mel did a good job with her emotions when Emerson “died.” Even though Abby, Anais, Mirabelle, and I know what happens in Romeo and Juliet, we still found ourselves being sad and gasping when someone died. Alex was amazing as the nurse. We all noticed his makeup, and it looked really good, so whoever was on hair and makeup absolutely slayed his makeup.

Overall, the play was a great community event. I was really happy to see so many people in the audience. This play was amazing, and I think it’s definitely something for the drama students to be proud of because it was really good.

Indy’s Favorite Christmas Songs

December 6, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org 2 Comments

By Senior Indiana Behr

It’s December, so it’s the holiday season! Or, it’s been the holiday season for months if you shop at Costco. Some people think starting the celebration in November is too early, but I disagree. I mean, Mariah Carey said “It’s time,” and she is the Queen of Christmas. Here at thebirdonfire.org, we decided to direct our creative energies toward our “Favorite” something. I was feeling festive, so I decided to write about what I think are the best Christmas songs. I am gonna rank the top 8, and I will add a couple honorable mentions. There will be some classics like the very popular “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love but also more modern tunes like “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson. Here we go, . . . in reverse order, #8 on the Indy Scale all the way to #1.

8. “Silver Bells” – Stevie Wonder

This song was originally written in 1950 for Bing Crosby, but my favorite version of this song is Stevie Wonder’s 1967 rendition. This song is about Christmas decorations and, of course, silver bells being put up throughout a city. Wonder sings about anticipating Christmas day’s arrival as it gets closer and closer. His voice is so powerful and a great fit for this song, and it has become one of my favorites over the last few years.

7. “Cozy Little Christmas” — Katy Perry

You might not be familiar with this one, but I really like it. It’s not a very emotional, powerful song about the past. It’s just about enjoying present time with family on Christmas. It was released in November 2018 only on Amazon Music, which I, as well as many others, do not subscribe to, so I had not heard of this song until she re-published it everywhere the following year. I wish this had a wider release earlier because it’s so catchy and pleasant, and it is one of my favorite songs when I don’t want something that is super intense.

6. “Christmas Tree Farm (Old Tymey Version)” – Taylor Swift

“Christmas Tree Farm” by Taylor Swift was released only five days after it was written. It was 2019; her album Lover had been released just a couple months before, and it was December 1. She decided she wanted to write a Christmas song. She chose to write about growing up on what became a Christmas tree farm during the holidays, and how those are her best memories of Christmas. She talks about how now she is experiencing “Stress and holiday shopping traffic \ But I close my eyes and I’m somewhere else \ Just like magic.” She sings about mistakes being forgiven and “kids dreaming of sleighs.” I think it’s a very fun song, and the Old Tymey Version she released with more traditional instrumentals in 2021 is even better in my opinion.

5. “Winter Wonderland” — Darlene Love

Darlene Love is the only artist to appear on this list twice, and it shouldn’t be a surprise. This song originally came from legendary music producer Phil Spector’s Christmas album A Christmas Gift for You, which contains so many classics. Unfortunately, Phil Spector was convicted of murder in 2009 and died in prison two years ago, but that album is nevertheless perfect. Some of today’s most iconic songs, like the Ronnettes’s renditions of “Sleigh Ride” and “Frosty the Snowman,” and another song coming up are from this album. Darlene Love performs four songs on this album, and this is my second favorite from it. This song was not originally written to be a Christmas song, but it has become a staple. There are many renditions of this song, and I think this is the best. The instrumentals are amazing, and the vocal performance is great, too.

4. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” — Mariah Carey

I don’t even need to recommend this song, because of course you know it. No other modern Christmas song’s success even comes close to “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” I bet that when you hear those first 13 chimes in the intro, you know what’s coming, and that is one of the best Christmas songs ever made. Even though Carey laments that it won’t be Christmas without “you,” I think it isn’t Christmas without this song. Carey and co-writer Walter Afanasieff have stated that the song only took 15 minutes to both write and compose, which is truly insane considering how well put together this song is.

3. “Santa Tell Me” — Ariana Grande

“Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande was only released nine years ago, but became a pop Christmas hit almost immediately, and for good reason. It has a nice blend of Ariana Grande’s usual style with a touch of Christmas. In the song, Grande addresses Santa about how she feels like those she falls in love with never reciprocate fully. The lyrics, though, are not sad, and actually pretty fun. The chorus of “Santa, tell me if you’re really there \ Don’t make me fall in love again \ If he won’t be here next year” is super catchy, and I am a big fan. As per usual with Grande, the vocal performance is very impressive. I highly recommend giving this song a listen.

2. “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” — Darlene Love

In my opinion, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is the best song from Phil Spector’s 1963 Christmas album. This song is sad, but it is so good. I can never help but sing along. The “Please, please, please” in the outro is heartbreaking, but so well done. She describes being alone on Christmas, and states that in spite of the “pretty lights on the tree” and the “town all ringing in song,” “it’s not like Christmas at all.” The lyrics are certainly sad, and yet the song is made in a way that never makes me sad. This might be the first Christmas song I became familiar with, as it’s always been a favorite in my family.

1. “Underneath the Tree” — Kelly Clarkson

Finally, my favorite Christmas song. This song is perfect. The twinkling instrumentals in the intro are incredible. It holds the same power as the intro to Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” The lyrics are almost like the opposite of Darlene Love’s classic “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” Clarkson reflects on previous Christmases, and even if there is snow and presents, “It just wasn’t the same \ Alone on Christmas day.” Later in the song, however, she is not alone and commits that “Tonight, I’m gonna hold you close \ Make sure that you know \ I was lost before you.” This song has been compared to Mariah Carey’s modern classic and has been called one of the best modern Christmas songs, but I genuinely think it is the best one of all time. I don’t think Christmas is Christmas without it.

A Couple Honorable Mentions in No Particular Order

“Carol of the Bells” — John Williams

Fellow thebirdonfire.org writer Gil mentioned this song when we were discussing my article. This song is great, but always has been kinda eerie in my opinion. I think the John Williams version from classic Christmas movie Home Alone makes this song even more haunting, and it is my favorite.

“Sleigh Ride” — The Ronnettes

Once again from Phil Spector’s Christmas album rears its festive head; this is my favorite take on this song. The background “Ring-a-ling-a-ling-a-ding-dong-ding” makes this take on the song very special, and it has the same magic that so many of the other songs on this album have.

If there was a song on this list you haven’t heard of, I encourage you to give it a listen. If you disagree with one of my selections or think I left an important piece off this list, leave a comment. Even better, let me know of a song that doesn’t get much as much attention as it deserves. Happy holidays.

Lily’s Beautifying the World

December 1, 2023 by szachik@pvs.org Leave a Comment

Junior Lily Jones and PVS Art Teacher Mr. Wendt-West

PVS Art Teacher Mr. Wendt-West announced that the SunLine Transit’s 8^th Annual Student Art Contest recently announced their finalists for this year, which includes our very own Lily Jones representing Palm Valley School!

Says Mr. Wendt-West, “This is truly a great honor and achievement as this is the 2nd year in a row that Lily has been selected as a finalist in the Sunline Annual Art Contest! Incredible!”

He continues, “There were many amazing submissions this year from throughout the Coachella Valley and we want to congratulate Lily Jones for the artwork she submitted. Please join us in recognizing the participation and creative talents of Lily sharing her artwork with the broader community.”

On Tuesday November 21st there was an event at Sunline for the unveiling of the winners. Sunline Board members, community members, and sponsors presented the awards to the finalists. The winning student artwork was on display. Below is Lily’s award-winning graphic work.