All posts by HPSH Plaid Line

Basketball

Who’s ready for the 20-21 NBA season⁉

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By: Khadar Greer

Here are some players to keep an eye on in this upcoming NBA season:

Rookies: The NBA has upcoming rookies like: LaMelo Ball, Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, and Cole Anthony. They are all very gifted young talents that have worked very hard to get to where they are now. I cannot wait to see what they do playing against the best of the best in the NBA.

Sophomore season: We have some rookies from last year that are looking very, very good, like: Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, Tyler Herro, and Coby White. These are all great young talents that are looking really good down the road in the future. Can’t wait to see what they have in store in the 2021 season.

Returning Players: The NBA also has players coming from very career threatening injuries like: Kevin Durant coming back from a torn Achilles, John Wall coming back from tearing his ACL, DeMarcus Cousins coming back from a torn ACL, and more. They’ve all been playing so far so good in the preseason, looking very good. Can’t wait to see what they’ll actually do in the regular season.

Veterans: And we also have some veterans who could really be passing down knowledge to the upcoming generation before they retire. We have veterans like: Chris Paul, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Marc Gasol.

Science/Nature

The effects of ADD in boys vs. girls

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By: Olivia Miller

According to Medicinenet.com, ADD is a mental disorder/condition that is common among children and adolescents. ADD/ADHD causes the person, who is diagnosed, to have difficulty paying attention. It can also affect how much the person is able to sit still (which could get difficult over a long period of time).

ADD is also known for taking a toll on young girls and boys learning ability in school. Getting homework/tests done can be twice as difficult for a kid with ADD. Also, these kids may not be able to sit still and quietly for a long period of time like most students do in school, which causes them to be seen as a kid who acts out, or is disruptive, which compromises their whole experience in school.

ADD also has many other effects that people don’t usually associate with ADD. These effects surprisingly can be very different between boys and girls who have been diagnosed.

Starting off, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, boys are three times as likely to be diagnosed with ADD than girls. Boys and girls can share some symptoms but other times symptoms can be different depending on gender. According to Healthline.com, boys seem to show external symptoms, which is usually the hyperactive side to ADD. This could mean running around, speaking out of turn, not being able to sit still, and any other external effects of ADD. Girls are the opposite, their symptoms are usually internal, this could mean having low self esteem, inattentiveness, and impulsivity.

In both boys and girls, ADD/ADHD can lead to other mental disorders such as depression, anxiety, and various eating disorders. If not treated, ADD can be very difficult for children in school, and even adults when it comes to daily commitments. There are different medications that can be prescribed if someone is diagnosed with ADD. There are also different therapies as well that people try.

Although common, ADD is a disorder that can be hard to live with if you’re a kid. It doesn’t matter if you’re a boy or a girl.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Come and See’: Real horror

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By: Hayden Fitzsimons

The World Wars are a subject in film and media which has been done to death and beaten beyond recognition. However, within all of the schlock and reasonably good war movies, there is one particular film that stands above the rest. That film is the 1985 masterpiece, directed by Elem Klimov, ‘Come and See.’ Elem Klimov set out to depict war to the realest degree that he could, along with Belarusian cinematographer Aleksei Rodionov. Both experienced the Second World War firsthand, Rodionov in particular who fought against the Nazis whilst he was still a teen.

‘Come and See’ follows Florya, a young teen, as he excitedly joins the Russian revolution against the Nazis. Florya is left behind by the revolutionaries, and he is heartbroken. Florya returns to his village following an attack on the revolutionaries’ base with his newfound friend Glosha. When he returns to his village, Byelorussia, they find the village to be empty.

From this point forth, the film transforms from a somewhat tense and emotional romp to one of the darkest and realistic depictions of war to ever be made. The viewer accompanies Florya as he witnesses the pure evil of the Nazis, and their conspirators, against innocent men, women, and children.

Florya turns from a cheerful & optimistic child, who wants to do nothing more than fight for his people, to an aged and decrepit husk of his former self after watching all those around him die in extremely brutal fashion. Not only was what Florya saw some of the cruelest horrors one could see, they are all depictions of reality. All the events of massacre in the film were truly committed by the Nazi forces, and that is what makes the film absolutely destructive to one’s psyche.

However, the grueling and realistic story is not enough without the proper film elements to support it. Fortunately, ‘Come and See’ has masterful execution of every factor in film in spades. The cinematography, especially for being an 80s Russian movie, is top notch.

Head-on shots of characters are a repeated motif throughout the film. These shots have the characters often looking directly at the camera, and are an excellent way to dig into the viewer’s psyche as well as depict deep emotions without the need for dialogue.

The cinematography also includes views that are often behind the characters, as if they are constantly being stalked.

In addition to these, many of the shots are long, winding, tedious sequences that continually feed into the next shot after the next after the next. There are nearly no breaks, no moments of calm. It is a constant deluge of pain and suffering, with no end in sight.

The sound design is also incredible, rivaling that of many films which have come out decades later. This sound design accompanies incredibly with the long arduous shots at creating a film that feels intensely real and difficult to watch, yet still terribly hard to look away from.

‘Come and See’ is real. No, it doesn’t follow real characters or a real life story, however what happens in the film is still real. Innocent people were massacred in the millions by Nazi forces. Their methods of murder are real, and truly horrific. Everything presented in the film, the viewer knows to be true, even if it is just a fictional depiction.

Once all is said and done, there is still no resolution. No solace, no victory, no optimism, no release, nothing. ‘Come and See’ only lets the viewer feel pain, a pain they know to have been real.

I believe ‘Come and See’ is the best war movie to ever be made. This film should be seen by all, as it is one of the closest ways to see true evil without truly seeing it happen. However, the film is extremely brutal, intense, and realistic. It is not for the faint of heart, but it still is for everyone. ‘Come and See’ is a depiction of the true evil that lies within humanity. If we were to live in a world without pieces of art such as this film, we may then live in a world devoid of understanding, devoid of hope, and devoid of resistance to evil.

Music/Concerts, Science/Nature

Music and the brain

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By Nora Doyle

Why can listening to your favorite song sometimes cheer you up like nothing else? Why can we remember all the lyrics to a song we haven’t listened to in years, but not math formulas?

Professors at the University of Central Florida have been trying to answer questions like these for a long time. They explore how music impacts brain function and human behavior, including by reducing stress, pain, and symptoms of depression, as well as improving cognitive and motor skills.

These professors say that these reactions on the brain can be seen on an MRI. Professor Kiminobu Sugaya says, “Lots of different parts of the brain light up.”

Music affects different parts of the brain in different ways according to this study by the UCF professors. For the temporal lobe, which processes what we hear, professor Ayako Yonetani says that this part of the brain allows us to appreciate and enjoy music. Have a favorite song? This part of the brain is what likes it.

Music affects the Broca’s area, which enables us to produce speech. This is because playing an instrument may improve one’s ability to communicate. This is where we express music.

In the Wernicke’s area, where we comprehend written and spoken language, we simply enjoy the music through analyzing it. Analyzing lyrics, instrumentals, and tunes helps us enjoy a song.

In the optical lobe, which processes what we see, professor Sugaya says, in short, that musicians visualize cords and notes as they perform.

As for the cerebellum, which coordinates movement and stores physical memory, Sugaya says “An Alzheimer’s patient, even if he doesn’t recognize his wife, could still play the piano if he learned it when he was young because playing has become a muscle memory. Those memories in the cerebellum never fade out,” which is probably the most incredible thing that music can do to the brain! Muscle memory is a term that is also used in sports, like dance, because we also connect music to movement when it is choreographed.

The remaining parts of the brain are affected by music through translating notes from our brain to our fingers while playing an instrument.

There is the fact that music can be addictive like a drug. When I hear a song for the first time and love it, I want to play it over and over again. Also, songs are addictive in the way that they get stuck on our heads.

So, next time you listen to music, think of all the ways it’s affecting your brain!

Editorials/Student Voice, Getting To Know/History

Heteronormativity in the portrayal of historical figures

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By: Irene Cohen and Ellie Mulvaney

Stigmas have been prevalent in modern society since its creation; limiting those who act or think differently than the status quo. Even now, there are conscious and subconscious prejudices against these people or ideas that taint the way they are perceived.

Homosexuality is one of such stigmas that has been frowned upon or discouraged in many communities, from the past through to present day. There are many figures in American history alone that have been rumored or confirmed as LGBT+, though this is often omitted when their stories are recounted. Let’s look at who some of these people are and why their sexualities were kept under wraps.

To begin, we have a revered poet and author responsible for works such as ​”I Hear America Singing​” and “​Song of Myself”;​ the latter of the two being a mildly controversial poem that sparked intrigue over the topic of sexuality. The University of Illinois reports that this poem contains a certain “Section V”, which contains explicit themes in a setting with another man. He titled the group of works centered around this man ​”Leaves of Grass”,​ and upon its discovery by his employer, this homoerotic poetry cost him his job. He was quickly rehired, but the work remained controversial and even prohibited in places. Since he self-published it in 1855, it underwent multiple transformations to muffle it’s suggested nature by scandalised editors, and was banned in Boston in 1882. At the time, Robert K. Martin was credited with saying “Whitman intended his work to communicate his homosexuality to his readers.”

Back then, being anything but straight was heavily condemned, and hidden almost completely by those who that pertained to. Despite progress made in terms of acceptance in the present day, there still is heavy criticism around the LGBT+ community. Could this in part be accredited to the lack of normalization?

In the case of Walt Whitman, even after his unconventional poems, that called mass amounts of attention to his identity, his sexuality is not commonly known. In my own years of studying and analyzing his work, this detail has always somehow been excluded from what I’ve learned about him. Teaching about honored individuals while being fully transparent in who they are can not only provide role models for LGBT+ youth, but also give more insight into the lives and experiences of said individuals.

A personal idol of Walt Whitman, who had similar gender preferences in relationships, was the renowned president Abraham Lincoln. Famous for documents such as the Emancipation Proclamation, Lincoln is one of the US’s most prominent political figures.

As familiar as many are with his achievements in office, his personal endeavors are much less known. One piece of information that many point to, to support the claim that Lincoln was actually gay, is the fact that Lincoln admitted to sleeping with another man, Joshua Speed, for four years, though Speed was far from the only man to have shared a bed with Abraham Lincoln over the years. Lincoln’s law partner, William Herndon, mentioned that Billy Greene had once said to him “They were as perfect as a human being could be,” in reference to Lincoln’s thighs.

Another, Captain Derrickson, was known to sleep in Lincoln’s bed and use his nightshirts when Mrs. Lincoln was out of town. Despite this overwhelming amount of corroboration for the idea that Lincoln was gay, historians to this day are maintaining that this esteemed president was heterosexual. One could argue that had any of these citations been with women rather than men, the claim that these people had an intimate relationship with Lincoln would be almost completely certain.

Looking back in the history books, it is evident that there is a lack of LGBTQ+ figures. The idea that people have only now begun to identify as anything but straight is nothing but illogical, though historians have seemingly edited out the parts of history they deemed unnatural or distasteful to further this notion. The public not seeing this aspect of the identities of figures they respect, or idolize, can be toxic to the queer community. Treating being gay as some sort of taboo stunts the movement and normalization of the existence of queer people.

Hopefully, the discussion opens up more and more in the future about just how many capable, and successful, people lived a non-heterosexual lifestyle.

Science/Nature

Different animals going extinct

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By: Leslie Lopez Ibanez

There are many animals going extinct. Some of them are: tigers, elephants, black rhinos, sloths, and red pandas.

There were, in total, 8 subspecies of tigers. 3 of them are now extinct. Tigers are endangered for a couple of reasons. Their habitat is being destroyed by human activities, by building road networks and clearing forests for agriculture and timber, and by the growth of human population. According to WWF, they have lost 95% of their historical range. Also, in some cultures, they use tiger parts to cure diseases like convulsions, rheumatism, dysentery, and typhoid fever.

There are around 40,000 elephants left in the world. The species is classified as endangered. They are going extinct because they are being killed to use their ivory tusks, which later are traded illegally in the international market. They also go through habitat destruction by building roads, mines, dams, and industrial complexes.

Black rhinos are critically endangered. They can be found in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. They are going extinct because they are a part of an illegal wildlife trade. They kill them and take their horn. According to WWF, some Asian consumers, in Vietnam and China, use them for folk remedies. There are about 5,500 black rhinos left in the world.

There are 6 different species of sloths but only 2 of them are going extinct. The maned sloth is one of them. They are going extinct because of habitat loss. Pygmy sloths are actually one of the most critically endangered mammals in the world. There are less than 100 of them hanging in their island home. They can only be found on a tiny island off the east coast of mainland Panama.

Red pandas are another animal that is endangered. They are only found in the mountainous areas in the forests of Asia. The main threat to their extinction is habitat loss by human growth in the area. Climate change has also affected them by the temperature rising and them having to adapt to that. Climate change has led them to fragmentation, and a loss of land that they can no longer live in anymore. Red pandas eat bamboo but only a specific part of it. But since their habitat is shrinking, it is becoming more difficult for them to find food. Red pandas are also hunted. People like them for their fur and meat. According to the WWF, they have found red panda fur hats for sale in Bhutan.

Tech/Games

How likely are you to make a living off of TikTok

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By: Olivia Miller

TikTok is an app that has blown up over the past year. Formally known as Musically, TikTok is a social media app that allows you to connect with others around the world through short videos. These videos can be anything from funny skits, dances, lip sync videos, and many many more.”

Although TikTok is mainly targeted to kids and teens, people of all ages are using it. No matter what your age, and where you’re from, TikTok is probably one of your most used apps; if not your missing out!

By submitting a video to TikTok you’d be sharing it with your followers on the app. These followers are usually your friends and family, but TikTok is an app where, when you submit a video, it goes on the Foryou page. The Foryou page is a place where, when you submit a video, people from all over the world, who have the app, can see it and interact with it. If your video gets on enough peoples Foryou pages… it can go viral.

“How can I go viral?” you may be asking.

Well, if you create a video that you think people will like, it will show up on their Foryou page and they can comment, share, and give it a heart. If you get enough hearts your video is considered viral. Viral videos can have from 10,000 likes all the way up to 10,000,000 likes. Crazy, I know!

Creators who have many viral videos start to get followed by people who like their content and want to see more of it. These creators are called influencers, and influencers can make money. How much money? Well, lets find out.

According to ​influencermarketinghub.com t​here are many ways to make money off of TikTok. These include gifts from livestreams, selling merchandise, and doing sponsored videos.

You have to gain a following before you can actually start making money off of TikTok though. This can be hard; you have to make videos daily that get enough views and likes. Most people who have the app can agree that even having one viral video can be super hard to accomplish, so having TikTok be your only job is not a dream most people chase. But how likely are you to make a living off of TikTok?

Although there isn’t an exact percentage on how likely you are to be lucky enough to make a living off of TikTok, most people could tell you it’s very very slim. Under the very rare circumstances that it does happen, boy are you lucky.

The most successful people on TikTok have net worths from 1-5 million dollars. TikTok also open doors for creators to start their own music career, makeup line, or even acting career.

So, even if your chances are slim, don’t shy away from posting that video you may think has potential, you never know what’s going to happen.

Books/Art, National

The story behind the Utah Monolith

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By: Caden Ligman

On November 18th, the Utah Department of Public Safety was conducting a routine count of bighorn sheep when they came across the tall, metallic structure. They had no idea what, or where, this mysterious structure came from. Pilot Bret Hutchings, who was flying the plane that spotted the monolith structure said, “It felt like a scene right out of the Stanley Kubrick ‘2001: A Space Odyssey.'”

With so many questions floating in people’s heads, the biggest one was, why put a structure like this in a place so remote?

As soon as the monolith was reaching its peak of internet fame, it disappeared. The disappearance of the monolith was just as strange as the discovery. The disappearance occurred only nine days after it was discovered leaving civilians and the government questioning where this thing came from.

Not surprisingly, one of the most popular theories for why this monolith came and went so quickly was: aliens.

As strange as the monolith is, the idea of aliens is quite facilitating. This theory circled the internet, becoming a meme among social media users. Even the San Juan County Sheriff’s department poked fun at the ideas, posing on their Twitter a collage of aliens, captioned, “If you recognize anyone from this lineup provided as being in the area of the strange structure on the night of November 27, please let us know!”

While the idea of aliens is entertaining, a more realistic explanation for this monolith is that it was a piece of art. Many people believe the monolith to be the work of the minimalist sculptor, John McCracken. McCracken’s style of art matched the Utah Monolith perfectly.

The majority of people close to McCracken, however, do not believe that he would leave his work in a desert. His son, on the other hand, recalled a conversation he had with his father in an interview with the New York Times. He told reporters, “We were standing outside looking at the stars and he said something to the effect of that he would like to leave his artwork in remote places to be discovered later.”

There are many theories circling the internet of where this mysterious structure came from and why it vanished so quickly.

What was the purpose of this monolith? And why was it placed in the middle of the Utah desert? These questions are what has kept the internet buzzing. What do you think the real story behind the monolith is?

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Editorials/Student Voice

Are Christmas cards becoming less popular?

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By: Jimmy Somerville

I’m asking the question today, are Christmas cards becoming less popular? More specifically, the type of Christmas card I put an image of above, where you and your family select photos of your family together, and maybe some other pictures of the family children.

Some Christmas photos also give a quick explanation of said family, and most Christmas cards share the age of each of their children if they have any. Also, most family Christmas cards have a small phrase that usually goes with the Christmas theme such as the one above; “Simple Moments Bring Great Joy.” Christmas cards are also sent through the mail and arrive at your front door in envelopes usually.

As I’ve noticed through the last couple of years though, I feel like I haven’t seen as many Christmas cards around the house which, weirdly, greatly satisfied me; I enjoyed them. I liked reading and looking at them, and it’s funny because half the families I see, have no idea who they are. So, I’m basically just learning about new families that my parents know.

Now, to answer my question, are Christmas cards becoming less popular? I’d say yes, as you can already update your friends, on your life, on social media, and they can also update your families and other families on their lives on social media.

Christmas cards were used to update your old friends and family, as social media wasn’t always around. This was a good way to see your friends and family at least once every year. You get to see how big, how tall, how old, and how different your friends and family look by looking at the Christmas cards.

When you are following your friends on social media, you are already updated on their lives pretty much every day, so this sort of defeats the purpose of a Christmas card, but I think we should still use them for the tradition.

I couldn’t find any statistics of if Christmas cards were becoming less popular, but I did find an article, in the Chicago Tribune, asking the question “Are Christmas Cards a thing of the past?” It seems as if they were answering with “yes” to this question.

I say Christmas cards should still be just as popular as they always have, as I believe it is a great and fun tradition.

-Jimmy Somerville
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National

Charities on COVID frontiers

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By Olivia Kendle

Many charities and organizations are helping with gathering resources for the front line workers, while the government struggles to manage tests and keep COVID steady and at bay.

Donating important supplies, and helping people in need in these times, takes a lot of work off the government’s hands, so they can focus on the COVID and death rates and come up with a successful plan. Here are some of those companies.

  • The very iconic Red Cross, which helps with donation of blood made by volunteers from the area.
  • Oxfam America, which works to help give clean water and supplies to refugees or other vulnerable people.
  • A very important one, Doctors Without Borders, which helps countries that are affected the most by COVID. They establish safety and contamination controls which have helped over 70 countries over the world.
  • The World Health Organization, which helps people with COVID, and also tries to control its spread across the world.
  • And finally, Feeding America, which has made a fund in response to COVID-19 to provide food, for those in need, especially for children who relied on school for food.

There are many more charities and organizations that are also doing their part during this time but these are some of the larger and well-known ones.

There are also some stores that are helping people in need. For example, Walgreens is a very popular place that many people go to for help or supplies. Some others are: Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Target, and Kroger, which are only a few out of the many stores that provide time, especially for seniors.

Other small companies provide resources like masks, or food, or even medicine, and you are also available to donate to them. Some companies like, Perfect Strangers, donate medicine and foods, and even clothing brands, like Paradised, donate masks and protective medical supplies to hospitals or the community.

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