the bird on fire

The Palm Valley School Student Blog

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a thought

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A prose poem by Poet Blogger Makena Behnke

 

does human nature like to be trapped? do you, specifically, like to be trapped? you always go on about liberation and being free. but, you were the one who trapped yourself in that stupid box in the first place. i think you wouldn’t know what to do if you weren’t looking for a way out. you’re always griping about how everything sucks and how your life is terrible. if you unleash yourself from your own restraints, you would be so much happier, you would enjoy life. what would you do if you were content? how would you handle yourself? who would you be if you weren’t stuck in that box?

 

Editor: Luke Langlois

Baby Names–What’s Up With That?

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By Luke Langlois

In a world with seven billion people, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out. We all know that people love to be unique. Around the world, original thinking has taken the form of baby names. Rarely is there situation where an unorthodox baby name causes any problems. However, some people really push the boundaries. Here are a few nations that make sure their children are not named anything too ridiculous.

In France, local birth registrars have to inform their local court if they feel a baby’s name will cause issues or excessive mockery. This law, originally created by Napoleon Bonaparte, has caused the “veto” of quite a few prospective French names.

Nutella

Strawberry

Mini Cooper

Deamon

In Germany, there are a couple of baseline rules. Parents cannot give their children gender-neutral names, last names (as first names), names of objects, or names of products. Besides this, Germany has laws similar to France’s where they do not allow names that could lead to a lifetime of embarrassment, names such as . . .

Matti (Not a clear gender indication)

Osama Bin Laden

Adolf Hitler

Kohl (A last name)

In Sweden, the list of banned names is a bit more interesting, to say the least. Similarly to France, Sweden believes that any names that are obviously unsuitable or offensive are illegal. Swedish parents must register their child’s name three months before birth to the Swedish Tax Agency. Primarily, the Swedish government does this to tax people. Other times, they do this to stop a crime against humanity. Swedish unlawful names include . . .

Metallica

Superman

Ikea

“Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlb11116”

Apparently, residents of New Zealand try to go even further when it comes to naming their children. New Zealand bans one hundred character names, names that cause offense, names that are clearly unfit for a human being,  or names that could be seen as an official title rank. Such banned names include . . .

Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii

Lucifer

Fat Boy

Cinderella Beauty Blossom

It’s more than just the eastern hemisphere banning names. Mexico passed a law that banned sixty-one specific names. They banned names that were deemed to lack meaning or are derogatory, names such as . . .

Facebook

Rambo

Hermione

Batman

There are baby-name laws in nearly every country on the face of the Earth, even the liberty-loving United States of America. If this has peaked your curiosity, I encourage you to check out the wide range of illegal baby names and name restrictions. Perhaps these names could provide you with some quick laughs. It is also possible that you’re worried about naming a child something illegal. To add onto this, some of the above names have stories behind them. For example, Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii went to court to change her unwieldy name. No matter what, it is unquestionably beneficial to check out the surprising range of baby-name regulations. I would be a bit careful though; some of these baby names are simply going to be grotesque or offensive.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Primary source: https://www.businessinsider.com/banned-baby-names-from-around-the-world-2016-10

Passing on the Torch: The Freshman Retreat

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By Holden Hartle

Three years ago, in September of 2015, my freshman class hopped onto a bus for Lake Arrowhead for the Freshman Retreat. This is a three-day trip for the new high schoolers during which they get to know their classmates better through group activities, workshops, etc. They envision what will be and can be their high-school career and beyond.

Back then, the general consensus of the grade was split in half. Some thought that it was going to be a great experience for team building, making new friends, and just a simple getaway from the city. The other half were dreading it, fearing social interaction. But, nonetheless, the freshman class entered the bus and headed to Lake Arrowhead.

This year is no different. In mid September, the future class of 2022 traveled towards Lake Arrowhead. Though I went to the UCLA Conference Center and this year’s class went to a large cabin, and though we may have done different activities, the idea of bonding with fellow classmates was still present.

According to current freshman Kaiya, this was the “…best field trip so far.” I don’t want to spoil the activities of the Freshman Retreat in fear that it would ruin the surprise for the upcoming freshmen, but in a survey sent to the current freshman class, 75% said that it helped them learn more about their classmates, 100% said that they had fun, 100% said that they would recommend it for next year’s freshman class.

This tradition is something that I hope will continue for many years to come. This passing of the torch is how I made some of my best friends that I have today. The memories I made on that trip always make me smile. I remember our shared songs, games, and team projects. It is such a great way to not only learn about new students, but it is also a great way to learn more about students that you may have known your whole life.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Review of The Grisaia Trilogy

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By James Zheng

Hey guys, this is a non-popular anime for you all. Well, I mean a non-popular anime that is absolutely fabulous and extraordinary. You might be wondering, how can a non-popular anime be fabulous and extraordinary? Let me tell you three things–this anime was not published nor developed by a famous company; the company did not advertise the anime; and I can tell you that there is not even a Wikipedia about this anime. After I finish this, you may have even more questions to ask, but the popularity does not really affect the quality of an anime. Just watch it first before you give comments.

The Grisaia Trilogy includes three seasons: the Labyrinth of Grisaia (Grisaia no Meikyuu), the Fruit of Grisaia (Grisaia no Kajitsu), and the Eden of Grisaia (Grisaia no Rakuen)–ordered according to the time of publishing. And the most important thing before we go into the introduction, I am not a spoiler! I only tell the attractive elements in this anime instead of telling you the plot or the details.

The Grisaia Trilogy was actually edited from a game produced by Front Wings when it was published by Geneon Entertainment. The figure of characters and making of episodes are designed by 8-bit, which also has designed a few animes such as Infinite Stratos and Rewrite.

The Grisaia Trilogy has an ideal performance of art. It does not look quite realistic but gives audiences a sense of comfort since the artistic style shows characters’ faces and actions that are not tense. In other words, the style of its art does not give any excitement but rather a sense of relaxation as you watch it. Also, each season of Grisaia gives you a different story. It makes you feel like watching three separate animes, which is not a weird thing because the stories are connected to each other. At this point, what really makes an anime too boring to watch? Since other animes are too long (over a hundred episodes), you don’t even know which episode is going to be the last. Or it is lack in creativity? You might say, “I have watched a similar one before this.” Well, those issues won’t apply to The Grisaia Trilogy because it gives you three separate stories to watch. The first season has thirteen episodes; the second season is only one episode (about forty-eight minutes), and the third season has ten episodes. Each episode is an outstanding work, and you won’t spend a long time finishing it.

Let’s go to the story part. Briefly, this anime tells a story between a boy and five girls. To be more specific, it’s how the hero helps those girls to extricate from the shadow of their dark past. Well, that is what the first season tells. The second season introduces the prequel to the first season. But, in the last season, it’s how the girls save the hero from his shadow, which is opposite from the first season. To summarize, the most attractive piece of The Grisaia Trilogy is the detailed expression of psychological emotion of characters in the first season, and the humanity is perfectly presented by several figures of character in the third season. Those are the most excellent aspects of the trilogy.

After all those deep introductions, if you are interested in this anime, watch it right after you finish reading my review! Whether you are interested or not, watch the first episode. Then, decide!

 

Note: The Grisaia is recommended for those who are 17 or older.

I recommend you watch the Grisaia Trilogy on a website called 9anime.to by searching its Japanese name.

Editor: Holden Hartle

 

the image of You

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by Anita Knap

I will watch

the world

as it falls.

The colors around me

will melt and

slowly,

ever so slowly,

they will wash

over me, and

the image

that I have been

holding onto

ever so

desperately

will melt

and wash away

with the rest

of the world.

And,

finally,

I will be able to

let You go.

Editor:  AJ Patencio

Different Time, Same Humans

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By Luke Langlois

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

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

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

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

Tide–because the world has always been in color.

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

Editor: Holden Hartle

Underseen and Underrated Movies, Vol. 4

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By Leo Milmet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Editor: Holden Hartle

 

Review of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim–Adventure of Freedom

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By Gamer and Blogger James Zheng

The fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls was not only a breakthrough among the previous seasons, but it also achieved a really high rating from many credible gaming publications. Before I tell you how wonderful this game is, I am going to give you some basic introductions.

Skyrim was published by Bethesda Softworks; some gamers may have heard of this company. They are famous for their open worlds and letting people apply mods to their games. In other words, you have the power to edit every element in the game as you want to. The story of Skyrim was directed by Todd Howard; he has also designed the story of the Fallout games before Skyrim. Some other designers include Bruce Nesmith, Kurt Kuhlmann, and Emil Pagliarulo. They are all professionals at creating role-playing games, which are also known as RPGs.

Skyrim does an excellent job in its realistic depiction of the environment. It does not require a high power computer configuration or system.

Skyrim is completely different from the traditional RPG as it is far more interesting than other RPGs! In Skyrim, you don’t have to follow the main quest line. It’s your choice to follow the main quest or do some of the many side quests. You may want to go into the ruins to find hidden treasures or find a guild to join. Ninety-nine percent of gamers do side quests while they are exploring the world. The map is really large and gives you more than 50 hours of entertainment. In other RPGs, it has always been a hard decision to choose a class. Mage or warrior? Rogue or archer? Well, you don’t need to worry about that in Skyrim. You only have to choose the race, things like orc or elf. All the classes are unified; you can use all kinds of weapons. It all depends on your preference. If you really want, you can choose to specialize in only one class.  

I mentioned mods earlier; you may have heard these applied to Minecraft. If you install the mod into Skyrim, you are putting something in that is not part of the original part of the game. You could change the look of your character, or you could change the weather and buildings in the game and all kinds of elements in Skyrim, et cetera. However, the system of achievements will be closed if you install mods, in order to prevent earning easy achievements.

That’s almost all of it! It’s your turn to explore the rest of the big world. If you are interested in playing RPG games and want to try a unique style of RPG, you should probably buy and start your journey in Skyrim! Skyrim is supported by XBOX, PlayStation, and PC. It is a little bit expensive at $39.99, but the good thing is this game is often on sale.  

Note: This game is rated “M” for Mature.

Editor: Luke Langlois

Death is Weird

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By oft-poet Blogger Leo Milmet

I died.

I saw nothing.

For years I lay quietly in the cosmos,

In the space between reality and…whatever.

Then I saw pink and blue and purple and orange and green and gold and red and silver.

Then black and white and gray.

It was weird.

Like 2001: A Space Odyssey on steroids.

After the brief, psychedelic, Kubrickian mash-up, back to an eternal nothingness, full of peace and quiet.

Is this Heaven?

Probably not, but it sure is a trip.

 

Editor: Luke Langlois

 

The Ungrateful Son–A Fairy Tale Re-Telling

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Retold by Harlow Berny

Centuries ago, in a long forgotten kingdom, a man and his wife sat at their table by the open door of their house, and before them lay a roasted chicken. The man saw his old, graying father walking toward the door, so he hid the chicken under the table as he wanted to keep as much as possible for himself. The old father came, drank a cup of water, and went away. The son went to put the chicken on the table again, but when he picked it up, it had been replaced by a giant toad. The creature jumped onto the son’s face and sat there forever, and if anyone tried to remove it from his face, the toad would glare at them venomously, as if it would jump onto their face instead. The ungrateful son was forced to live with the toad on his face and to feed it everyday, for if he didn’t, the toad would feed on the son’s face. He went the rest of his life like this, knowing no rest or peace.

Editor: Luke Langlois

A Re-Telling of Grimm’s