the bird on fire

The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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Tesla–Sustainable Living At Its Finest

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By Shelby Armor

When we think about Tesla, Inc., we think about their cars. And, yes, their cars are 100% electric, and have no engine whatsoever. As of April 2018, Tesla has saved 3,330,166.37 tons of CO2 emission through their vehicles alone, and the number goes up every minute. But, Tesla does so much more. While their cars are groundbreaking, they also do a lot of things that help home life, and help to create a greener environment and promote sustainable living.

In addition to having 100% electric cars, they also produce solar panels, “Powerwalls,” and solar roofs. Their solar panels have a sleek design and seamless integration into the roof. The way they operate is by connecting to the “Powerwall,” which is another creation by Tesla. The Powerwall is a 100% self-powered battery that meets all energy needs of a house on any given day. When there is a power outage, the Powerwall can sustain the house for 7+ days on the energy it has created alone. It functions by taking the solar energy that the solar panels produce during the day and storing it. They also have a Tesla app, where you can track the power that is being used and how much you still have in your home. As Tesla is big on getting a sleek look, they also created a “Solar Roof,” which essentially acts as a solar panel and blending in seamlessly to your house. The solar roof connects directly to the Powerwall to power your home. Tesla grants a lifetime warranty on the solar roof itself, which goes through the subsidiary company Solar City.  

Tesla has been helping the world as well, not just the home. The Powerwall, announced in the April of 2015, and since then has been used extensively in home life and also in community service projects. Elon Musk, the creator of Tesla, actually brought 700 Powerwalls to Puerto Rico, to the “Hospital del Niño” after the hurricane to help bring care to patients who needed them. For the actual Tesla cars, they do not use one big battery, but instead use thousands of small, cylindrical, lithium-ion commodity cells, like those found in everyday electronics. They put the batteries under the floor of the vehicle. Because of this, there is more space in the trunk and interior. An example of this is that the Tesla has a “Frunk,” or a trunk in the front. If you go to the hood and open it, there will be extra space to store things, since there is no engine there.

Tesla also created something called a “supercharger.” The supercharger is a free electric charger made by Tesla that exists all over the world for Tesla owners to charge their cars. There are 7,320 superchargers globally, and they provide up to 120 kW of power, meaning it would take around 75 minutes to get a full charge. I have been a fan of Tesla since I first heard of it a few years ago. I don’t think that people realize how much Tesla does besides their cars, and I hope this sheds some light on all of the work that Tesla is doing for a green future.

 

Editor: Renée Vazquez

Introduction to Shelby’s Shenanigans: Ms. Clark as Special Guest

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By Shelby Armor

Hello, and welcome to “Shelby’s Shenanigans”! This is a podcast that explores the people of Palm Valley School by talking to staff and students, taking a look at who we are as people, and how we shape a PVS community. Today, for our first episode, we’re talking to Middle and Upper School teacher, Ms. Clark. We examine her connection with yoga and the outdoors, as well as psychology and how that has influenced her life. I hope you enjoy the premiere episode of “Shelby’s Shenanigans”!

Editor: Claire Jenkins

The Under-Appreciated Art of Short Films

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By Shelby Armor

Everyone takes the time to go with a couple of friends to see the latest blockbuster that just hit theaters, but people rarely go out of their way to see a short film. The art of the short film is rarely talked about, and I can’t think of many people that rave about an amazing new short film they just saw.

I, personally, am in love with short films. The thing that I find most amazing about short films is their ability to construct an entire complex story, often times in less than ten minutes. I find that this is the particular challenge faced by short films. You have fewer than forty minutes (as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences defines it) to make your audience fall in love with your characters and feel invested in the story that you’re telling. You are creating an intricate story with just as much complexity as a full-length feature film. This is a challenge. When watching a TV show, the creators take time and slowly introduce you to characters, knowing that you’ll like them eventually. But, in a short film, you have the length of an episode to accomplish the same thing and more.

Shorts can be anything from a soul-sucking drama to a childish animation. This is what is so beautiful about them. Even in their time constraints, they have such freedom of expression. Shorts are often used to make statements, to comment on human nature, or to take a strong political stance. But, they can also be used to just make people happy and laugh.

Well known for making people happy are shorts made by Pixar. I grew up on these films. My favorite film that I must have watched one hundred times and still enjoy today is called Boundin’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WyR4AqRweY). And while this short may be very amusing, it holds a deeper message for people, telling them to love and accept themselves no matter how they look. Another one of my personal favorites as a child was For the Birds, also by Pixar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLdfpBNjdDc). This one is supposed to be pure comedy with an annoying bird being pecked at by smaller birds as they sit on a wire together.

And, if you take another example from Pixar’s Red’s Dreams (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBtIPJM2AsI), there is a much darker theme. It follows a young unicycle who is lying alone in a run-down shop, dreaming of the day he is bought and can go to the circus. All of these short films are only about five-ten minutes long, but even after not having watched the shorts in about ten years, I still remember every detail. I remember how I loved them so and first began to fall in love with the under-appreciated art of short films.  

Short films have the ability to tug at your heartstrings and lay out a grand story in less than an hour. There is such complexity to them, and they require so much skill to write, which is often not thought of when you see a short film. The ability to do what a short film does, to pull in viewers like they do within such a small time frame, is truly astonishing.

 

P.S. I highly recommend watching the Pixar short film collection, as they are all really amazing. Two really good ones to check out are Geri’s Game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IYRC7g2ICg) and Lifted (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVLoc6FrLi0). Another one of my favorites (not from Pixar) is The Present (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjqiU5FgsYc). Happy short film watching!

 

Editor: Brennan Nick

1st-Place Winner, 2018 PVS Poetry Competition

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The English Department, Publications Club, and Blog Class sponsored the second annual Poetry Competition in the Middle and Upper Schools. Poems went to Dr. Carr, fearless organizer and underwriter of prizes. She passed them on to Round #1 judges, a gallery of Humanities teachers, who culled the nearly 60 poetic entries down to 12. Then, those 12 finalists went to final judge Mr. Sarkis who decided upon a 1st place, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention. Reprinted here is the winning poem, “Legacy,” penned by senior Peter Kadel. Note: all 12 finalists can be seen on the bulletin board in the Upper School Lobby.

Legacy

By Peter Kadel

 

Keep the campfire burning

Keep the campfire burning my friends; shelter this light that I have left for you.

My time with you is coming to an end, but I can still teach you a lesson before I leave.

Keep the campfire burning so I can remember where I come from as I make my way down the unmarked trail.

Gather round the fire and sing the songs I’ve taught you, but sing some new songs, too.

Tend to the fire as I have, but when the time comes, strike out on your own path as I am.

I’ll take a torch with me as I go up the mountain; I’ll use it to light the next campfire.

Watch the ridge above for the light I’ll leave behind; my fingerprints dancing across the mountain,

my legacy flickering in the night as I forge ahead into the inky darkness.

I have to walk this path alone, but solitude doesn’t suit me.

So promise you’ll visit. And I’ll do the same.

Winners compiled by Editor Shelby Armor

Everything Sucks: Reflecting the Unfortunate Reality of LGBT+ Representation

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By Shelby Armor

Everything Sucks is an eight-episode TV show that hit Netflix on February 16, 2018. Now, first things first, I have to state how much I adore this show. It is set in the 1990’s, and beautifully mixes 90’s culture with teen angst. The show itself has a sort of otherworldly vibe, as part of the main plot actually focuses on an alien/space romance adventure. The show follows Boring High freshman Luke (Jahi Winston), who is trying to navigate the ups and downs of high school, while also dealing with having a crush on the principal’s daughter, Kate. Kate (Peyton Kennedy) is grappling with her own problems. She is coming to terms with her sexuality in a less than accepting environment.

Just a few weeks ago, Netflix cancelled the show. However upsetting it was, it was not surprising. One of the main points of the entire show was Kate finding out that she is a lesbian, and unlike much representation in TV shows, it was done correctly. When encountering lesbian characters, there are many tropes that almost every single character falls into. The lesbian will either be killed (the “kill-the-lesbian trope”), pushed to the sideline and never given an important role, or given a sad ending. But Everything Sucks didn’t do that. They didn’t ignore the situation. In fact, they decided to put Kate at the forefront of the show. They didn’t see the need to get rid of her character, and they gave her a lovely and healthy relationship that didn’t end poorly.

But, the unfortunate reality we’re facing is that this exact plotline is the reason that the show didn’t survive. Everything Sucks found appeal with LGBT+ audiences but was unable to gain mass appeal. We’re in a world where people are pushing for greater LGBT+ representation in film and TV. But, the reality is that a queer character is only helpful if they’re on the sideline. Shows like Supergirl have a lesbian character as a supporting character, which directly helped their ratings. They keep the character present enough so they’re there but don’t really make them overly prominent. When faced with a show that puts an LGBT+ character at the forefront, mass appeal is quickly lost, which is exactly what happened with Everything Sucks. Kate was crucial to the overall plot of the show, and her accepting herself and finding out about her sexuality was seen as amazing for LGBT+ audiences, but, again, it leads to the loss of mass appeal.

Everything Sucks is an amazing show that deserves loads of praise. However, LGBT+ representation ultimately brought them down. They are not the only show to encounter this fate, as the Netflix Original Gypsy was cancelled, which had two women in a relationship at the forefront of the show.  So, while LGBT+ representation in TV is making a rise, sadly, shows are still unable to sustain themselves with an LGBT+ character in a leading role.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Prom!

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By Shelby Armor

The end of the year is fast approaching, which means so is Prom! This year our Prom is being held at the Palm Springs Air Museum with the theme of “Fly Me To The Moon.” We’ll be spending the evening among the stars in the sky, as Prom will be surrounded by airplanes! There will be dancing, desserts, a photo booth, a chocolate fountain, and more! May 26th is the date, and ASB will be selling tickets in the courtyard the second and third weeks of May ($55 for a single, $90 for a couple), so start getting excited for an unforgettable night!!

Editor: Leo Milmet

This Faded Picture

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By Shelby Armor

 

This faded picture is all I have left of my childhood,

the simple days of playing outside and enjoying the company of friends.

 

No longer do I look at the world with gleaming eyes,

instead my eyes are faint outlines of what I used to be–

 

Smudged fingerprints on childhood paintings

and once radiant bundles of energy reduced to this,

 

Reduced to working in a dim office and

depending on coffee for the energy I once had.

 

I’m no longer who I used to be,

but I never noticed those years slipping away from me.

 

Editor: Bella Bier

GSA Day of Silence

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By Shelby Armor

On Friday, April 27, our school’s GSA (Gender and Sexuality Acceptance Club) is hosting a Day of Silence. This is an annual thing hosted by GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network), a K-12 organization that seeks to give greater inclusion to LGBT+ students. Day of Silence is a day to recognize bullying (specifically, bullying of LGBT+ people). The way our school is carrying this out is by keeping the silence through Friday morning and breaking it at lunch time to present poetry. The poetry will be in the Student Lounge at lunch, and the poems will be regarding LGBT+ bullying. Everyone is encouraged to bring or recite poetry–original or found. And, if you found an amazing poem, but don’t feel quite comfortable presenting it, fear not. If you don’t feel comfortable presenting something, you don’t have to. You can show a video or have someone else read. The point of the day is to just get poetry out there and respect the cause. The National Day of Silence is a day to get everyone together to realize the problem of LGBT+ bullying throughout schools all over the country.

Editor: Leo Milmet