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The Bird is the Word: Sophisticated Schoolyard Shenanigans

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HOCKEY!

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By Luke Langlois, prominent hockey fan, can’t ice skate

This week’s theme is “Making Daily Life More Interesting.” Life can be full of the same repetitive actions over and over again, so I asked my fellow bloggers to bring some spice to everyday life. Hockey playoffs definitely add spice to everyday life. — Editor Holden Hartle

Do you know what makes daily life more interesting? Playoffs. If you have been missing out on all of the various types of playoffs recently, fear not, for there is another sixteen-team conquest on the horizon– the National Hockey League (NHL) playoffs. Nobody enjoys being left out of the loop, so today I would like to present some information about this year’s playoffs and present my predictions. I can assure you with 100% certainty that my predictions will be wrong. But, that’s half the fun. Without further ado, here are the participants in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Western Conference Matchups from Top to Bottom

  1. Calgary Flames (CGY) vs. Colorado Avalanche (COL)
  2. San Jose Sharks (SJS) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (VGK)
  3. Nashville Predators (NSH) vs. Dallas Stars (DAL)
  4. Winnipeg Jets (WPG) vs. St. Louis Blues (STL)

Eastern Conference Matchups from Top to Bottom

  1. Tampa Bay Lightning (TBL) vs. Columbus Blue Jackets (CBJ)
  2. Boston Bruins (BOS) vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (TOR)
  3. Washington Capitals (WSH) vs. Carolina Hurricanes (CAR)
  4. New York Islanders (NYI) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (PIT)

Now that we’ve established the matchups, here’s some information regarding the playoffs in general and this year’s matchups.

  1. The Tampa Bay Lightning won the 2018-2019 President’s Trophy, meaning they had the best regular season record at 62-20-16 (wins, losses, overtime losses). This record ties the regular season record of wins set by the 1995-1996 Detroit Red Wings. In short, Tampa Bay is STACKED! But, history has shown that the best regular season team fails to win the championship. In fact, the ’95-’96 Red Wings team, the most dominant team in history, lost in the playoffs. Will history repeat itself?
  2. The Pittsburgh Penguins are making a playoff appearance for their 13th straight season, the longest active streak in the NHL.
  3. On the other side of the coin, the Carolina Hurricanes have ended their playoff drought, making their first appearance since the 2008-2009 season.
  4. The Washington (D.C) Capitals are the defending champions.
  5. The New York Islanders will have home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time since 1988.
  6. The Vegas Golden Knights are only in their second season ever but have landed at third place in their division.
  7. The Columbus Blue Jackets have been around since 2000 but are seeking their first ever series win (each series is best of seven).
  8. The St. Louis Blues may not be a #1 seed, but they have the best record in the NHL since the All-Star Break (about 2/3rds through the season), even eclipsing Tampa Bay’s win-loss record.

I could go on, but that should provide a bit of context for the reader. Now, for my grand predictions. 2019’s Stanley Cup Champion will be the Tampa Bay Lightning. Don’t get me wrong, nine times out of ten the President’s Trophy winner will get upset. Hockey is a sport that is PRIME for upsets, but it is my FIRM belief that Tampa Bay is just TOO GOOD! Here is a number; Tampa Bay’s goal differential is +103. This means that they outscored their opponents in the regular season by a total of 103 goals. To put this into perspective, the 2nd place team, Calgary, had a goal differential of +62, a far cry from 103.

NHL games are quite difficult to pull your eyes from. Unlike football, baseball, or basketball, breaks in the play are infrequent. In fact, players move in and out from the bench during play, no timeout or stoppage in play required. Even if you have never watched a game before, it’s worth it to stop and watch if you have the time. Besides the pure visual candy, NHL playoff matchups can go either way (unlike the NBA). You usually cannot slap the higher ranked team as the winner and call it a day. In 2012, the Los Angeles Kings team that stumbled and crashed into the playoffs ended up being one of the most dominant playoff teams ever seen, and they won it all (go Kings). Last year, the Vegas Golden Knights made it to the finals in their very first season of play, besting teams who have been around for half a century. But Luke, why are you telling us all this even though you say Tampa will win it all? Well, it makes sense considering the fact that Tampa has a statistical advantage on every team in just about every category. But, again, the regular season is wiped from the slate come the playoffs. Don’t be surprised if my bracket is an incoherent mess a week from now. Hockey is hockey. The playoffs start on Wednesday April 10th (TODAY). There will be a game on every night until the semifinal games where there may be breaks in days. This gives you plenty of time to check a game out. Catch the games nationally televised on either NBCSN or USA.

Making Daily Life More Interesting Editor: Holden Hartle

Don’t be a GAMER SHAMER

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By Luke Langlois

This post is the first to come out of AJ’s week of editing, where the theme for posts is video games. In the following week, you will see more posts coming out in this theme as well.

When you hear the word “gamer,” what does your imagination picture? If my prediction is correct, it probably is not a pretty picture. Perhaps this “gamer” is in a room with closed blinds, no lights, and a locked door. Perhaps this gamer has untold quantities of empty soda cans sprawled out on the floor, not a bottle of water in sight. Perhaps this gamer’s keyboard is more dust than keyboard. This dust is not the typical brand of dust. No, it’s worse: Dorito dust. Whatever the picture may be, I’m sure it’s not positive. When industries rise, so do their critics. The rise of the gaming industry has followed this historical trend.

The term “gamer” does not carry a positive connotation; it is actually quite the opposite. Many media outlets are quick to jump the gun and mount an opposition against the newest gaming phenomenons, like “Fortnite,” calling them addicting, brain-melting, too violent, and detrimental to the overall health of the world. Gaming is almost always connected to being lazy or chronically unhealthy. But gaming should be recognized as a valid hobby, just like any other pastime such as golfing, moviegoing, fishing, or even knitting. After all, gaming is a juggernaut industry, and a “gamer” is not just someone who locks themselves in a dark room playing video games.

What would you consider to be the larger industry: movies or video games? Judging by the sheer influence that movies have on our popular culture, you might be guessing MOVIES! Indeed, the film industry pulls in large chunks of change. Last year, the international film industry pulled in a whopping forty-one billion dollars. That’s an impressive number. I personally would enjoy having forty billion dollars in my bank account. But, I would also enjoy having a bit more than double that amount. Oh, maybe ninety billion would be better? The gaming industry pulled in a bit more than that, at ninety billion dollars. That number represents the international revenue pulled in by the gaming industry. Not convinced that gaming is for more than just the hermit crabs of the world? GameSpot estimates, China has more people who play video games than the entire population of the United States. That’s over three hundred million people in just one nation who play video games. China is not the only video game haven; the United States has an estimated 211 million gamers (Variety).

Gaming is one of the premier hobbies of the world, and it should be recognized as such. There’s no reason to feel ashamed for really diving into a game, whether it be on your mobile device or your Xbox. Conversely, if you don’t play some type of video game, there’s no reason to spite those who do. After all, the non-gaming may soon be a global minority, if they aren’t already. Gaming is for everyone, and the numbers show it. So, don’t be a gamer shamer because gaming is not just a niche hobby anymore.

Fortnite may look goofy, but maybe it’s not so bad.

Editor: AJ Patencio

Sources

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/08/25/worlds-top-5-video-game-markets-generate-98-b-revenue-2018/37544189//
U.S. Film Industry Topped $43 Billion In Revenue Last Year, Study Finds, But It’s Not All Good News
https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/how-many-people-play-games-in-the-u-s-1202936332/
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-number-of-chinese-gamers-surpasses-the-number-of-american-citizens/1100-6419166/

1 Fish, 2 Fish, Red Fish, Oarfish

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Blurb by Aquatic Mastermind Luke Langlois

Our recent aquatic theme has inspired mystery both amongst the blog staff and amongst our readers. Just a few days ago, Ms. Tasha Romo’s memory was prompted to jump back a whole six years to a time where a few enigmatic deep-sea creatures known as the oarfish washed up on the shores of California. Two oarfish washed up in Oceanside, and another washed up on Catalina Island. Take a look at the picture that Ms. Romo shared of the Catalina oarfish below. If you happen to be someone who went on Palm Valley’s 6th-grade field trip to Catalina, you may recognize this camp as the one you explored. Anyways, enjoy the oarfish!

Photo taken after Catalina residents pulled the washed-up oarfish out of the water.

Editor: Holden Hartle

If you too have a contribution to a theme, send it to szachik@pvs.org. Our editors will take a look at it. If it adds to the week’s thematic coverage, we’ll post!

Website Showcase: Pew Research Center’s Political Typology Quiz

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By Luke Langlois, Internet Explorer

Hello, faithful and loyal readers. I want to bring something brand new to THEBIRDONFIRE.ORG. I would like to start doing an occasional website showcase because the internet is a vast landscape, and, quite frankly, there are so many nifty websites or tools that most people have never heard of. Later on, we may venture into the wild west of the internet. I would like to present a political typology quiz in anticipation of the upcoming election. Many Americans make what is called a “latent” decision when election day comes. They make an opinion based off of split-second decisions. Which candidate’s name do I recognize? What has the news said? What are the polls like? To make an informed decision, an individual has to know what they believe. Additionally, an individual deserves to know what each party stands for, and what party they most closely align with. This is why I implore whoever is currently reading this to take Pew’s Political Typology Quiz. This short quiz will give you seventeen questions of two choices. You should pick the choice that more closely represents your belief, even if it does not 100% represent your belief. After all of the questions, the quiz will show you where you fall on the typical “left-right” spectrum. Do note that this quiz is courtesy of Pew Research Center, and your response will be anonymously recorded for their research purposes. Find the link below!

Link: http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/

http://www.people-press.org/quiz/political-typology/

Editor: Holden Hartle

Shakespeare Monologue Competition @ Palm Valley: “The Best of the Bard”

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Student reviews compiled by Luke Langlois

On Friday, January 25th, our FANTASTIC Drama Department, in collaboration with the English Department, put on a Shakespeare monologue competition titled “The Best of the Bard” to determine who would move on to the next level of the national English Speaking Union Monologue Competition. For those who have not heard the results of the Palm Valley competition, Leo Milmet took first place, Marianne Capetz took second place, Caroline Scheil took third place–as well as audience’s favorite, and Charles Schnell received the honorable mention. While, inherently, this was a competition, this was also a chance for our dramatic stars to shine individually, and shine they did. In fact, the sharp performances of the drama students inspired the hearts of many students to write a review. Today, the blog presents to you a compilation of a few of these reviews. If you attended the competition, perhaps these reviews can provide you with some details that you missed. Or, if you were unable to attend the competition, these reviews will make sure you’re fully aware of the excellence of our monologue reciters.–Luke

Abridged Review From Claire Jenkins

Shakespeare was a complicated man, whose words are hard to translate into modern-day ideas, but the group of Palm Valley upper school students who took on this task completely mastered it. Overall, out of the around 23 competitors in the competition, not a single one was disappointing. . . . The competitor that stuck out the most to me was Castiel Yu, delivering a monologue using an older and complicated form of his second language. Regardless, he was still able to translate the expressions and passions beautifully. . . .The next competitor that stood out to me was Brennan Nick. Brennan cracks me up, and while I know his monologue was not comedic, his facial expressions got me. He is loud and proud, and I will always admire that about him. . . . Leo Milmet took first place, which he most definitely deserved. I’m sure he will go on to continue dazzling the judges and stealing hearts across the competition.

Abridged Review From Josh Tyer

I went into the Drama Class’s recent monologue presentation, “A Night with the Bard,” with an idea of what it would be like, but what I got blew my own expectations out of the water! That night, Amanda jumped out to me as someone who had come very far as an actress. I, personally, have acted alongside Amanda for a long time, and after seeing her performance that night I can definitely say that she has blossomed. Her monologue was a perfect fit. . . . What truly surprised me that night were those quiet performers who usually play smaller roles in productions. Aurora Berner, James Zheng, Isabella Goetschel, Elizabeth Chen, and Castiel Yu blew me away. Normally, these people are resigned within themselves in Drama, never truly letting their talent shine through. But when you give someone like James Zheng the stage, he will burst out with a performance of Julius Caesar that will give you chills. All of them took their performances and conquered them. Sometimes the quietest of people have a beautiful talent for acting just waiting to leap out and take hold of the stage.

Abridged Review From Sydney Armor

I am not sure if it was the fact that the competition was not during school hours, or that I had voluntarily chosen to go see it, but I must say that this was without a doubt the best monologue competition I have ever seen at Palm Valley School. Usually, I can choose two or three monologues that really stand out and will undoubtedly win. Here, however, there were about seven or eight that I found amazing. My favorite, however, was Caroline’s monologue. Her delivery was simply perfect, and I actually laughed out loud when she was performing. This is really rare, as I usually don’t find the monologues to be funny (even if they are meant to be). Her overdone facial expressions and little pauses when she was deciding whether she loved or hated a man simply made the entire monologue hilarious, and spectacularly well performed. . . . I also really liked Jake Sonderman’s monologue. He took on a similar persona to the character he played in The Drowsy Chaperone, Aldolpho. He was Aldolpho 2.0 during his monologue. His take on this womanizing, romance-obsessed man is almost perfect. . . .  I don’t regret going to see the monologue competition. It was even worth going back to school on a Friday night.

Abridged Review From Shelby Armor

“Best of the Bard” was truly something to behold. Something about this monologue competition was just fun. When you have an atmosphere of people who truly want to be there, listening to Shakespeare in their free time, you get a different kind of environment; an inspiring environment. . . . I was a personal fan of Caroline’s monologue. I actually loved that monologue so much that I considered choosing it for my monologue way back when. I didn’t think I could pull it off, though, and seeing Caroline do it just made me realize how perfect that monologue was for Caroline. It was cutesy, comedic, and also provided for further thought on the part of the listener. There were also some people that I would have never expected to see performing, who were pouring their hearts out on stage — like Alex Bentley. I loved seeing him perform Macbeth; it was just so different from all of the familiar faces I’ve seen.  All in all, I’m really glad I went. I got to see some truly amazing interpretations of classic Shakespeare monologues, and got to enjoy it in a truly inspiring environment.

Interested in more Shakespeare monologues? Come watch Leo perform–and represent Palm Valley–in the Desert Branch competition next Friday, February 22, at 11 a.m. at Palm Springs High School’s theater. He’ll perform his Shylock again and add a sonnet. If he wins, he moves on to perform in New York City at the Lincoln Center.

Editors: Luke Langlois and A.J. Patencio

Rhetorical Fallacies That YOU Should be Aware of: Part II

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By Luke Langlois

This is the second of my two-part post explaining rhetorical fallacies. For the first eight fallacies, check out my last post. For the uninitiated, rhetorical fallacies (as defined by the University of Texas at Austin Undergraduate Writing Center) are rhetorical strategies commonly used in arguments that “do not allow for the open, two-way exchange of ideas upon which meaningful conversations depend. . . . [T]hey distract the reader with various appeals instead of using sound reasoning.” Now, let us get right back into these fallacies.

9. Begging the Question: This is probably the toughest fallacy to understand, and explaining it in words does not really do it justice. It’s best to think of this fallacy as “improper circular reasoning.” For example, if you get in some trouble at school and have your friend vouch for you, your teacher is naturally going to ask, “How am I supposed to trust your friend?” It would be “begging the question” if you responded with “Well, I vouch for my friend, and my friend vouches for me!” It’s circular, and it doesn’t work. Begging the question assumes the truth of a conclusion, rather than supporting a conclusion.

10. Straw Man Argument: A straw man argument misdirects and oversimplifies the argument. For example, if I wanted to change the face of the person on the $2 bill, someone making a straw man argument might accuse me of hating the United States and its history because I want to change the person on the $2 bill.

11. Sentimental Appeal: A sentimental appeal argument attempts to appeal to the emotions, the sentiments of the reader, so that they are not actually using their logic to dissect the idea. “Please, give us donations, or these puppies will continue to freeze and suffer.” It does not matter if the organization asking for donations is shady, we must save the puppies!

12. Red Herring: A red herring is an attempt to shift attention away from the argued issue by throwing in a whole new issue that does not logically connect to the initial issue. If a world leader is making a speech about having to go to war and then starts talking about their nationalistic pride, they are attempting to distract listeners from the fact of the war with the fact of their nationalistic pride.

13. Scare Tactics: This is probably another one of the most commonly used fallacies. The speaker tries to frighten the audience into agreeing with the speaker. “If we do not invade and conquer Canada, they will steal our children, our land, and our lives!” Whoever the speaker is wants to convince the audience that Canada should be invaded by making the audience fear for their children, land, and lives.

14. Bandwagon Appeals: A speaker using a bandwagon appeal tries to “use the masses” to convince the listener of a certain point. Children often try to use this fallacy to convince their parents to buy them something.” All of my friends have it, so I should too!” Parents often counter this fallacy by asking their children if they would jump off of a cliff if their friends were doing it.

15. Dogmatism: This fallacy occurs when the speaker assumes that their logic is beyond any sort of refute or question. “I am the leader of the milk enthusiast group; milk is the only acceptable beverage on this planet, and there is no question about it!” The speaker basically presents their idea as perfection, and does not open themselves up to discuss their idea. Clearly, this speaker is not going to be listening to any nonsense about almond milk beverage.

16. Equivocation: Equivocation is when the speaker partly tells the truth, and deliberately hides the whole truth. For example, if the speaker said, “I will never drive into anyone with my car!” and then proceeded to hit someone with a stolen car, that would be equivocation. The speaker said that they wouldn’t drive into anyone with their car, but then went on to hit someone with a stolen car. The speaker partly told the truth.

17. Faulty Analogy: As the name might suggest, this fallacy occurs when the speaker tries to convey the idea using an analogy, but the analogy does not live up to the original idea. “Of course we should ditch school! If someone was holding you hostage, wouldn’t you want to escape?” While millions of children around the world would see no problem with this analogy, escaping a hostage situation is not comparable to ditching school. Analogies can be a great way to try to explain an idea, but the analogy should properly match up with the idea.

These have been the rhetorical fallacies as listed by The Princeton Review! Calling them “fallacies” is not to say that they are not effective persuasive strategies. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you had a couple of mass-media examples in mind as you read those fallacies. However, if you are trying to legitimately convince someone of the merits and value of your idea, it’s probably best to steer clear of these fallacies. If you want to know more, check out my first post (if you haven’t already) to read about the first eight rhetorical fallacies.

Editor: Leo Milmet

Rhetorical Fallacies That YOU Should be Aware of! Part I

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By Luke Langlois

The AP English Language and Composition class is full of wonders. For instance, we took a brief look at rhetorical fallacies. Instantly, I thought to myself “Wow, this would make an excellent post for thebirdonfire.org!” Rhetorical fallacies, as defined by the University of Texas at Austin Undergraduate Writing Center, are rhetorical strategies, usually used in arguments that “do not allow for the open, two-way exchange of ideas upon which meaningful conversation depend. Instead, they distract the reader with various appeals instead of using sound reasoning.” Today, let us take a look at some common rhetorical fallacies. Use this information as you will. Sometimes, fallacies are key parts of highly effective arguments.

  1. The ad hominem argument (Latin for “to the man”): An ad hominem argument criticizes an opposing idea by attacking the person with the idea, rather than criticizing the actual idea or its merits. Something like “Your financial advice is invalid because you’re old and crusty!” is an ad hominem argument. I have placed this at the top of the post because this is, by far, the most commonly seen fallacy. In fact, by the time you have read this, I bet multiple instances of this fallacy have already popped into your mind.  
  2. Argument from Authority: An argument from authority is an argument where a large portion of the merit of the argument comes from the fact that the speaker is someone well-known. Basically, a commercial starring a celebrity is an argument from authority. “Why, of course I should buy Gatorade! Steph Curry told me that it is THE most refreshing beverage on Earth.”
  3. Appeal to Ignorance: I’m not sure how to define this one, so I’ll give the Princeton Review’s definition. “An appeal to ignorance is based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true (or similarly, whatever has not been proven true must be false). For example, nobody can prove that Santa Claus is not actually real. Therefore, Santa Claus is real. Conversely, nobody has proven the existence of Santa Claus; therefore, Santa Claus is not real.
  4. Hasty Generalization: A hasty generalization occurs when a writer intentionally tries to lead the reader to a conclusion without actually providing a sufficient amount of evidence for that conclusion. “The human race is doomed. I just got mugged!” This fallacy is also sometimes known as a sampling error because the speaker is basing their argument off of a single or very limited number of experiences.
  5. Non sequitur (Latin for “it doesn’t follow”): A non sequitur statement is a statement that logically does not follow what comes before it. “Because Barack Obama is no longer President, all snails are able to move slightly faster.” Unless you happen to believe the end of Obama’s presidency brought a speed boost to snails, this is a non sequitur statement.
  6. False Dichotomy: A false dichotomy makes the reader only consider two possible extremes of an idea, when there are many more possibilities that come in between the two presented ones. “Starting a company is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. You either monumentally fail, or you’re Amazon!” This speaker is arguing that a business is either a failure, or a multibillion dollar juggernaut. There are varying degrees of success in between “failure” and “juggernaut,” depending on your own philosophy, of course.
  7. Slippery Slope: A slippery-slope argument suggests that drastic consequences will arise from a minor cause. “Don’t you dare eat that cookie. Before you know it, you’ll be morbidly obese!” Sometimes, this fallacy may overlap with the hasty-generalization fallacy.
  8. Faulty Causality: A faulty causality is exactly what it sounds like. The author attempts to set up a cause-and-effect relationship where one does not actually exist. “Everyone who drinks water is going to die.” Yes, everyone dies, but, to our current knowledge, it’s not because of drinking water.

This post is getting a bit lengthy, so I’m going to cut it off here. However, there are many other rhetorical fallacies that are to be discovered. Stay tuned for the next post on RHETORICAL FALLACIES.

Editor: Makena Behnke

Capital Punishment in the United States

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By Luke Langlois

For decades, capital punishment has been fiercely debated in the United States. Should it exist? What methods should be used? Is it even Constitutional? Today, I will not be answering those questions. Instead, I will be putting forward some facts about capital punishment, and the state of it today in the United States. For those who do not know, “capital punishment” is another way of saying “the death penalty.”

Capital punishment was kind of “revamped” in the 1960’s and 1970’s. From 1967 to 1977, there was no capital punishment in the United States. The Supreme Court had overturned capital punishment statutes in the case of Furman v. Georgia citing “cruel and unusual punishment.” All death sentences were reduced to life in prison. So, most states passed new laws regarding capital punishment so as to continue the practice without violating the Court’s ruling. In 1976, the Supreme Court approved the legality of the revamped capital punishment laws in Gregg v. Georgia. The states resumed their capital punishment ways. Utah was the first state to continue the trend. Utah executed someone via firing squad in 1977. The 10 year period without executions had taken its toll on the nation’s views–more people turned anti-capital punishment. A good amount of the states were working either to abolish capital punishment or slow down execution rates. By 1976, many states had already abolished capital punishment, and states are still working to abolish it to this day. Currently, there are thirty states where capital punishment is legal. There are many more states that are in a bit of a “legal limbo” with capital punishment, like California. California is on an execution hiatus and has not executed anyone since 2006. But, it is still “legal,” and California has the largest number of death row inmates, with about 740. The most recent state to completely abolish capital punishment was Washington, in October of 2018.

What does “capital punishment” entail nowadays? Since 1976, most criminals sentenced to death have been executed with a lethal drug injection. Since 1976, there have been 1,477 executions. There have been 1,302 lethal injections, 158 electrocutions, 11 gas inhalations, 3 hangings, and 3 firing squad executions. These methods may seem archaic to you, but they are still legal in many states. Electrocution is legal in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Tennessee actively uses this method, with it last being used on December 6th of 2018. Lethal gas is still legal in Arizona, California, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wyoming. This is not an actively used method, rather it is an alternative. It was last used in Arizona in 1999. Execution via firing squad is still legal in Utah and Oklahoma. Again, it is an alternative, and was last used in Utah in 2010. In this case, the offender chose the firing squad. Hanging, the final legal execution method, is only legal in New Hampshire, but it was last used in Delaware in 1996. There are no other execution methods that are currently legal in the United States.

There are many small intricacies about capital punishment within the states. There are still many heavy decisions to be made about capital punishment. Who knows what the future holds?

Sources can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States

I know there is a stigma about Wikipedia, so I made sure to double check all of the information I pulled. It provides a great summary of everything.

Editor: AJ Patencio

The U.S Bureau of Consular Affairs

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By Luke Langlois

Today, I am going to share a resource with you. If you were to collect one million bucket lists, you would likely read of people’s desires to “travel the world” many, many times. However, the U.S Bureau of Consular Affairs, a branch of the Department of State, would most likely tell “world travelers” to hold their horses. You see, the Bureau has a little something called the Travel Advisories, the links for which can be found below. These websites gives the world’s countries a 1-4 ranking, based on how suitable a nation is for American travelers.

Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions

Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Level 4: Do Not Travel

Let me break down these ranks. A Level 1 country is normally safe to travel to; you would just need to take the usual precautions. Level 2 countries are also usually fine places to travel. They are marked as such due to a slightly higher rate of petty street crimes or an increased risk of terrorist activities. Level 3 countries are not the ideal travel destinations. They usually are marked as having high rates of crime or increased risk of terrorist activity, which is relatively similar to a Level 2 nation. However, Level 3 countries are set apart from Level 2 due to domestic strife. For example, Haiti is marked as Level 3 due to political and civil unrest; the high rates of crime are a result of this. Traveling to Level 4 countries is an extreme risk. If you are bent on traveling to a Level 4 nation, expect resistance at every step of the way. It is important to note, though, that people are only explicitly banned from traveling to the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea; everywhere else is “fair game.”  The Bureau, quite literally, recommends that travelers write their wills, as well as check on their life insurance, before they travel to a Level 4 country. Level 4 countries are usually rampant in crime, especially towards outsiders from the west.  Level 4 countries are, most likely, experiencing deadly domestic conflict, or are under the rule of a violent dictator. Some of the Level 4 countries are even in the midst of a civil war. There are only eleven countries with this designation. The Bureau advises those that travel to Level 4 countries to stay in certain, safer, locations within the nation. These areas tend to be densely populated regions that are somewhat under control of the local government, which makes it easier for a response in case something were to happen to the traveler. There is much more to be seen on the website itself, but this hopefully has given you a good idea of the rankings system.

I am not a traveler, but I enjoy checking the Travel Advisories every once in a while to see what is going on in the world. You see, the media does not tend to focus on domestic foreign affairs unless they’re large and publicized issues that Americans are interested in. To get an idea of what is going on in the world, you would have to really pay attention to the media, or you would have to find international outlets. While nations with stability have credible news sources, many nations do not have seriously credible sources of news.  In short, seeing the state of countries around the world is not an easy thing to do. With this resource, you can see the world at a glance. If you at all are curious, check out the Bureau’s websites below. There’s always something to learn.

https://travelmaps.state.gov/TSGMap/

A map view of the world, with rankings.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/

A list view of the world, with rankings.

Editor: Holden Hartle

Pizza: It’s A Superfood

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By Luke Langlois, Pizza Enthusiast

 

There are many things that people need to do to maintain the strength of their frail bodies. The most important, as well as difficult, aspect of everyone’s health is their diet. Today, I am offering up a quick strategy to overcome the challenge of consuming healthy meals. Just eat pizza!

According to most qualified people, healthy eating is defined as consuming a variety of foods with a variety of proteins, carbohydrates, and other nutrients with complicated names (calor-WHAT?). The same qualified people typically say that a healthy diet includes the following:  grains, fruits, vegetables, dairies, and meats. Pizza includes all of these things. Let us dive deeper.

The crust is the base of all pizza. Without crust, you have a gloomy, unstructured pile of cheese, sauce, and whatever else you decide to put on your pizza. Without crust, there is no pizza. Besides delivering the delectable tastes to our buds, the crust is a grain, one of the essential food groups. So it begins. Pizza includes one of the five essential food groups.

The tomato sauce is what separates breadsticks from pizza. Any real pizza connoisseur will tell you that the sauce makes or breaks a pizza. Without sauce, again, there is no pizza. Though, more importantly, the sauce is the source of the fruit group. Some people consider tomatoes a fruit, others a vegetable. Either way, it’s essential to your health. I personally recommend that you consider the tomato sauce a fruit. It is much more difficult to add an obscure fruit to your pizza than it is a small vegetable. Regardless, it is now evident that pizza includes THREE of the five essential food groups.

When people think of dairy, they think of cows. When they think of cows, they think of milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt, or angry vegetarians. Now, here’s a challenge: which of these items is found on our pizza? It’s cheese. Cheese, the expensive fur coat of all pizzas, is another food that is proven to bring you to a state of well-being. It also brings us one group closer to the mythical promised land of five food groups.

Pizza sounds like a superfood already, but it gets better. There are a million different types of meat that can be put on a pizza. Typically, there’s pepperoni, sausage, or ham. But, you do not necessarily have to be typical. Who knows, maybe a nice filet mignon would be a fine pizza topping. Whatever meat you choose to top your pizza with, this final piece of the puzzle proves that pizza is indeed, a superfood.

Eating healthy may appear to be difficult, but the solution is simple. No longer will you have to endlessly browse superfluous social media accounts searching for an impossible meal plan. Just eat pizza. Your cells will thank you.

Editor: Leo Milmet