the bird on fire

The Palm Valley School Student Blog

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Apocalypse Survival Kit!

by Leave a Comment

By: Chelsea

No matter if it is a zombie apocalypse, nuclear outbreak, global pandemic or asteroid strikes, we all need some tips to survive these difficult times. Well, you found just the right post to help you do exactly that!

Water

Keeping bottled water (at least two 8-packs) in your garage is essential during the apocalypse. Water is the one thing that you cannot live without, along with food.

Canned food

Having canned foods in your storage would be essential as well, especially if the situation arises where you cannot go out to buy stuff. Gather cans as much as possible.

Gas mask (nuclear outbreak)
Gas masks are needed during a nuclear warfare since there’s radiation in the air. You should wear a gas mask no matter where you are, even at home if your house is close to the nuclear active zone.

Weapon

Having weapons on hand is extremely helpful during a zombie apocalypse. Usually having the deadier the weapons are better because you are going to knock some zombie head off.

Facemask

Facemasks are important during a pandemic, especially when some types of virus are carried in the air. Putting facemasks on helps to decrease the air particles that are coming into your lungs thus decreasing the likelihood you are going to get the virus. Still, stay away from huge crowds or big social gatherings. Stay safe everyone!

Some sort of communication

It’s always good to keep some sort of communication to the outside world in your grasp, especially when you are living alone. Having communication to the outside world is important because it can help you keep an update on the current situation.

Some sort of transportation

Having some sort of transportation is very important in apocalyptic situations. It can help you get far or help you escape dreaded situations. 

Toilet paper

Last but not least, toilet paper. What can I say? Toilet paper is quite important after all, no matter how serious the situation is.

Doomsday Editor: Doreen Yuan

What happens after Doomsday?

by Leave a Comment

By James Zheng

Doomsday always sounds like it will never happen. However, it is reasonable to speculate what aftermath doomsday could bring and be prepared to face it. But in this post, the main focus is not giving some “science-fiction” ways we could use. You might have heard things like time-travel, someone’s random superpower, or even like some confidential files that determine human fate. These are unrealistic! So, in this post, I am only going to point out some realistic methods that could possibly save human civilization (or not). 

Nuclear Fission. Nuclear fission, also known as nuclear division, is the change of one nucleus splitting into several nuclei. Only some very large nuclei such as uranium, thorium and plutonium can work with the fission. After absorbing a neutron, the nuclei of these atoms will split into two or more nuclei with smaller mass. At the same time, they will release two or three neutrons and an immense amount of energy, which can make other nuclei undergo nuclear fission. This process is called chain-reaction (like trigger-to-trigger). When nuclear fission occurs, the nucleus releases huge amounts of nuclear energy. To give you a concept of how much energy is released, the energy produced by one kilogram of uranium could keep a nuclear power plant running for one thousand hours. Why should nuclear fission be mentioned here? Well, if we think about what has forged the human civilization of technology today, once the doomsday comes, nuclear fission could support humans to rebuild everything. If humans master use of nuclear fission, it is infinite energy. Without energy, it will be infinite regression. 

Space Colonization? Kepler-452b is a wonderful astronomical discovery achieved by NASA in 2015. It is considered to be the only planet that contains 83% similarity to Earth’s structure. It is located in a constellation called Cygnus, fourteen thousand light years from the Earth. This seeming “habitable” planet, which revolves around the sun like a star and is about the size of Earth, may have a similar atmosphere and flowing water resource. Although many people misunderstand this planet as a second Earth, it has never been officially claimed that by NASA. However, it is a possible hope for planet migration.

The Man-Made Sun. Or International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, now that is us as humans playing God. This project was actually started in 2003. It involves a cooperation program that puts many countries in the same spot. It is estimated to cost five billion dollars and will take ten years approximately to complete. The Man-Made Sun is related to nuclear fission by way of the same aspect of learning to manipulate nuclear power. When doomsday comes, to maintain or rebuild ecological systems and to have the positive effects from the sun as usual, man-made sun may be indispensable.

So, there you have it. Now your question might be: does it mean that reading this post could possibly save my life? Well, unfortunately, probably not, because I do not think there is a doomsday, at least not yet. And plus, it depends on what form doomsday would take. But, I do keep an optimistic view towards the future. There better not be a real doomsday. Still, I hope you learned something . . . just in case there is. 

In times of calamity, we always have new solutions, just like the three examples I give you. Especially during this harsh time, I hope you stay safe, and trust each other. 

Doomsday Editor: Doreen Yuan

Quintus’s Love for All Things Romantic: Wuthering Heights

by Leave a Comment

When Editor James asked the Blog Staff, “What’s your favorite book?” Quintus responded with Wuthering Heights.

By Quintus Ni

When there is love in your heart, everything is beautiful in your eyes; when there is darkness in your heart, everything is ugly. In Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, the hero Heathcliff, who became hostile because he couldn’t get love, performs a lot of unsympathetic revenge. However, he finally gets a release because of the power of love.

The wilderness, the west wind, the distant towns, the broken grass, the rough terrain, the bleak sunset, the sequestered life, the hard journeys, the lonely years, all that Emily Brontë had, had no glory — at least in the days of her life — she went though twists and turns, ups and downs, and with her dreams died.

This talented woman who died young would never have imagined that, after her death, Wuthering Heights, her only novel, would be remembered as the “most peculiar novel” and become one of the brilliant precious gems of British literature of the 19th century. Today, it has still won over millions of readers with its magnificent and moving splendour, who are deeply shocked by its special artistic charm.

All the time I was reading, I was wondering whether Cathy loved Edgar. If yes, how could she love another, when she loved Heathcliff so strongly and so deeply? Through repeated perusal of her words, I have come to understand that she liked Edgar, as I like Edgar, for he is handsome, rich, young, and active.

The love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw can be described as “infatuation.” The sunshine, sweetness, and laughter are not the main part of their love, while the dark hatred, misunderstanding and resentment are mixed into the main color of their love, creating their crazy love.

Heathcliff is me, said Catherine, and I am him….This kind of love was not understood, accepted, or allowed by others, so they constantly struggled, fighting with everything around them, but they were tortured and bullied in the real life, as Heathcliff was treated as an inferior, a wild child without status, background or cultivation, who was deprived of the right to enjoy a good life, rudely beaten and insulted for his street urchin’s humble birth. He had given up all hope of being a decent gentleman. And Catherine was an honorable young lady.

Emily Brontë deliberately created an eerie, nightmarish, exaggerated atmosphere. Some of the plots seem to have queer mystique from an unreal world. The soul, the ravings, the hallucination, and the nightmare give the story a layer of legend, incisively and vividly showing the deepest infatuation, the most crazy persistence, and the most painful struggle. The wind and rain, the snow, the night, the wild nature and the stirring emotions of the characters complement each other. The bleak wilderness is profound, changeable, gloomy and sorrowful, which highlights the personality traits of the characters and shows the deep love from human nature. The impermanence and boundless love of the hero, Healthcliff, like nature, takes a deeper root in the hearts of characters and readers. With her exquisite thoughts and feelings and the superb artistic techniques, Emily Brontë created a soul-stirring tear-jerker with strong artistic appeal. In this way, Wuthering Heights made Emily Brontë well-known all over the world.

Favorite Book Editor: James Zheng

Cold Weather Exercise

by Leave a Comment

Should we have one last cold snap before summer hits, or if you’re exercising in high altitude coldness, Quintus has some advice about when and how you exercise.

By Quintus Ni

The weather is very cold in winter. Many people like to exercise in this season to strengthen their ability to resist the severe cold, and these people like to exercise in the morning. However, it is not good to exercise on winter mornings. This is not the best time to exercise, even if you insist on exercising at this time every day, you will hurt yourself. What is the right way to exercise? We should choose the best time to exercise according to the following popular science.

Many people blindly think that exercising in the early morning in winter not only allows for the breathing of fresh air, but also improves their body’s cold resistance.

First of all, getting up early on a winter morning is harmful. The cleanliness of the air changes with the seasons; in winter, the cleanliness of the air is the worst of the four seasons, especially before 8 am and after 5 pm. Because the ground temperature on winter mornings is lower than the temperature of the air, an “inversion layer” forms and causes the dirty air to stay close to the ground where it is hard to dilute and diffuse. Pollutants drift in the lower air, and there are fewer green plants in winter to dilute the pollutants. If you exercise at this time, pollutants will be inhaled through the respiratory tract. Therefore, the best time for winter exercise should be around 10 a.m.

In addition, winter exercise should be carried out when there is no fog. Fog is a mass of tiny water droplets floating in the low air on the surface of the earth, and many harmful substances are dissolved in these water droplets, and harmful solid particles such as dust and pathogens are also absorbed in it. If you do strenuous exercise in the fog, these harmful substances will be inhaled a lot, which may cause many diseases.

Due to the cold of winter, the body’s fat content increases compared to other seasons, and body weight and body circumference have increased accordingly. Therefore, winter exercise should increase the number of actions and frequencies. We should increase our aerobic exercise, and extend our exercise time accordingly to improve function and consume body fat.

It turns out that the best time to exercise in winter is not in the early morning or in the evening, but at ten o’clock in the morning. Other times are not suitable for people to exercise at all, because there will be a lot of pollutants at those times that won’t help your health and build your body.

Winter Sport Editor: Chelsea

Nobody Knows

by 2 Comments

With the coronavirus circulating the globe, Editor Doreen assigned the Blog Staff to write about “Doomsday.” Luke responds with a poem of sorts.

By Luke Langlois

Orphan works: Classifying the unknown

How long will this quarantine last?

When will coronavirus reach its peak?

How dangerous is the virus to me?

If I get it, will I recover?

Which of these contrasting experts should I listen to?

When will a vaccine be widely available?

Will my family be alright?

Why is our government spending so much money?

Why is our government not spending enough money?

How will history look upon this moment?

Will we get an NBA champion?

Will that mom and pop pizza shop on my corner survive?

Can virtual classes really replace in-person classes?

Will seniors around the world get to step on their campus as students ever again?

Will seniors get to graduate?

How are seniors going to make the right decision without campus visits?

Are colleges going to start on time?

Will those below the poverty line be alright?

Are essential workers getting the support they need?

Will my nation’s economy recover?

Will the world economy recover?

Are we headed to the next Great Depression?

How will the 2020 Election work?

Do I still have a promising future? 

What should I do during quarantine?

Is the world going to be the same when we get out of this?

Is there anyone that can answer these questions?

What is it that we can do? 

This is not doomsday.

There is an end to this tunnel.

Thank your essential workers.

Support your local small businesses.

Keep your hands off your face.

Stay inside.

Stay safe.

Unite

and Endure.

Doomsday Editor: Doreen Yuan

We need some paper cranes

by 1 Comment

By Katelin Slosky 

The thousand paper cranes

When I was in 7th grade, I read a story about a girl named Sadako. The atomic bomb fell on Hiroshima when she was two years old, and ten years later she started suffering from leukemia. When she was in the hospital, her best friend gave her some folding paper, and told Sadako the legend of the crane, a sacred bird in Japan. She explained that if a sick person folds 1,000 paper cranes, they will get better.

Sadako started folding paper cranes. She managed to fold a total of 644 paper cranes before slipping into a peaceful sleep.

The Children’s Peace Monument was built in her honor. It is located in the center of the Hiroshima Peace Park. Many children today send paper cranes to be placed underneath the statue, close to the engraving that states, “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.”

Favorite Books Editor: James Zheng

Should we edit children’s genomes?

by 1 Comment

By Katelin Slosky

In Ms. Castellano’s 9th-grade Biology class, we discussed DNA and the effects of editing genomes. It got me thinking.

While editing genomes may have medical benefits such as treating many human diseases, including sickle cell anemia and cancer, is it something that we should be doing? Genome editing could have drastic effects on future generations, so are we willing to take that risk for the medical benefits now?

On one hand, we could cure (or completely prevent) genetic diseases. On the other hand, how far are we willing to go to edit a human’s genes? Are we willing to accept the risks of humans having that much power over their own species? Is editing a child’s genomes ethical? The benefits may seem to outweigh the negatives, but do they?

While we could prevent children being born with genetic disorders or disabilities, that also erases what makes them unique. Another question is where do we draw the line? Where is the boundary between disease treatment and just flat-out “enhancement?”

One question I have is whether humans can be responsible with this much power. We have a history of not handling great amounts of power very well, and I fear that, while this sounds good on paper, this could have disastrous results.

Morality Editor: Luke Langlois