All posts by HPSH Plaid Line

Events, Getting To Know/History

Why is Hannakkah popular?

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By: Mira Kaufman

“Dre-del, dre-del, dre-del, I made you out of clay” is a song known by many. The lit menorah and latkes are loved across the world. People know these things as the celebration of Hannakkah but why is Hannakkah the only Jewish Holiday you may know?

Hannakkah is a Jewish holiday, celebrating the miracle of light! It takes place in early winter but dates vary because it follows the Hebrew calendar. In smaller communities all around the world Hannakkah is celebrated but why do we hear of this Jewish holiday more than anything else?

In Judaism Hanukkah is not a major Holiday; in fact it is not even written in the Torah (Jewish Holy Script). Hanukkah celebrates the story of the Makkabes taking place in the 160s BCE. The Makkabes had fought two battles and returned to their temple to reclaim it from the Greeks. When they got there they found the eternal light out (a never ending flame) and found only a singular jar of oil left to light the fire. A messenger was then sent to buy more oil and on the 8th day when he came back, the singular jar of oil was still burning, thus creating the miracle of light. Today Jews celebrate this story through lighting menorahs, symbolizing the eight days of lasting oil.

The holiday is well known by society because Christmas falls at around the same time every year. In every location aside from Israel, Jews make up a very small population of where they live and over time have acculturated into some of the traditions of the religions around them. For example, Jew’s gained the tradition of giving presents on Hanukkah from the celebration of Christmas.

Due to both Christmas and Hanukkah falling around the same time every year, stores started supplying decorations for not just Christmas but Hanukkah too. This was because there was money to be made, which opened people’s eyes to more cultures on the store shelves. Target, for example, sells both Christmas and Hanukkah decorations in the same area allowing customers to look at every sale as they shop.

Hannakkah is also known and loved for its traditional foods. Gelt (Yiddish for money) is a classic win in a Dreidel game. The only difference for the traditional meaning of gelt is that it’s chocolate money, not real. Sufganiyot are also very popular! They are jelly filled donuts eaten for dessert. While these are both popular foods, the most well known would have to be latkes. Latkes were originally a Polish dish before being taken on by the Jews, and are known in America as potato pancakes. A common thread you may have noticed is that two of these three foods are fried, which quite in fact has a purpose. To symbolize the miracle of oil, many Jews fry foods on Hanukkah to celebrate!

Travel/Food

Caribbean style banana bread recipe

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By: Natalia Gercheva

Last year, over spring break, I was lucky enough to visit a few Caribbean islands where we got to walk around and learn the different cultures and recipes! In St. Lucia, we stopped by some people selling banana bread. My family bought some and it tasted delicious, so we had to ask how they made it. The people said that it was made with banana essence, which they also happened to be selling.

Ever since the trip, my family only bakes banana bread using banana essence in the recipe. I thought it would be fun to try making a Caribbean style banana bread using some other spices too, so I did some research, made the bread, and am happy to share how it went and what I learned!

This is a super easy recipe that most people will already have the ingredients for in the kitchen. There is no mixer required, all you will need is a bowl and a fork or whisk. The sugar quantities are flexible, and the chocolate chips are optional, but I think they add a delicious sweetness to the banana bread. The banana essence is also optional because I understand that not everyone will have it, but it is available for purchase online and highly recommended.

Ingredients:

  1. 2-3 medium overripe bananas, peeled and mashed
  2. 1⁄3 cup melted butter, unsalted or salted
  3. 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
  4. 1 pinch of salt
  5. 3⁄4 cup of sugar
  6. 1 large egg, beaten
  7. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  8. 1⁄4 teaspoon almond extract
  9. 1⁄2 teaspoon banana essence (optional)
  10. 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh or ground cinnamon
  11. 1⁄2 teaspoon fresh or ground nutmeg
  12. 1⁄4 teaspoon fresh or ground ginger
  13. 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour
  14. 1⁄2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
  15. 1⁄2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Butter an 8×4-inch loaf pan and set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth, then stir in the melted butter.
  4. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, egg, and all the extracts and spices. Mix in the flour, and fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.
  5. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  6. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then slice with a serrated knife and serve!

Final thoughts: I am extremely happy with the results after making this new variation of banana bread because it was delicious! I think that adding all the spices enhances the flavor, and if I were to change anything I would have increased the amount of spices. I love this recipe and will definitely start making it more often, and recommend it to others!

Books/Art

‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime’: A novel by Mark Haddon

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By: Jafar Abdi

‘The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime’ is a murder-mystery novel that takes place in Swindon, England in 1988. Following the detective adventures of a young boy named Christopher Boone, we get to see everything he thinks, with the narration being in 1st person.

Christopher leads a normal life; he lives in Swindon with his father. Christopher’s father told him that his mother passed away in the hospital due to a heart attack. That being said, Christopher rejects certain things. He doesn’t like the colors yellow and brown, and he won’t eat anything that has touched another item on the same plate. He also bases his mood on the number of red and yellow cars he sees when driving to school in the morning.

Christopher had a rather happy and contented life overall until he notices Wellington, the dog of Mrs. Shears, in her front yard with his chest impaled with a garden fork. After being detained for striking a police officer, Christopher makes the decision to look into the mystery for the murder. In the process of solving the puzzle, Christopher also starts to fill in some other gaps in his own life. Where is Mr. Shears these days? Why is his father not encouraging him to look into Wellington’s passing? Christopher learns that his life isn’t what he thought it was when he finds a box on top of his father’s closet.

Overall, this book has its ups and downs. The overall mystery element was very nice and the suspense of his mother and the dog were very entertaining, but I don’t really feel like the actual story was fleshed out; it felt very rushed with an anti-climactic ending. It has a pretty generic plot but the real life examples really help it. This is a murder mystery novel worth reading though, in my opinion. 7.5/10

Science/Nature

Why do people dream?

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By: Chloe Rocha

What causes people to dream? There is a theory that dreaming helps you consolidate and analyze your thoughts. According to HealthClevelandClinic.org some people see dreams as a way to “rehearse” various different situations and challenges that a person can experience during the daytime.

Dreams occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) cycle. During the night you cycle through this stage periodically. Studies show that someone’s brain waves during their REM cycles are almost as active as they are when they are awake. The forebrain is what generates the dreams but the brain stem is what generates REM sleep. If your brain stem is damaged then you will experience dreams but not go into REM sleep. But if it is flipped the other way, and your forebrain is damaged, then you won’t dream but you will go into REM sleep.

It is believed by experts that dreams can stem more from your imagination than from perspective. People living with post-traumatic stress disorder are more likely to experience nightmares when they are sleeping.

Most people dream every single night but they often don’t remember it every time. This is because you will be more likely to remember your dreams if you are awakened during, or just after, the dream. If you write down what you remember of your dream as soon as you wake up, that can help you start to remember them.

There is no good way to study dreams in people, simply because of the fact that the memory of the dream can fade so quickly. However, scientists believe that the relationship between space and time changes when you dream. During a dream, time may seem to last for a very long time or pass very quickly.

The neurotransmitters, or brain chemicals, is something that can have to do with the reasoning behind why dreams can be so strange sometimes. During REM sleep some neurotransmitters can be more pronounced while others are suppressed.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: DEAD RECKONING PART I’ movie review

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By: Joey Briseno & Cade Sullivan

Rating: 4⁄5 stars

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ is the seventh addition to the long-running ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise. ‘Dead Reckoning’ is led by a capable cast, a familiar yet engaging plot and a powerful soundtrack. The film is a strong addition to the ‘Mission Impossible’ movie franchise and proves that solely action-centered films can succeed in modern cinema. While we haven’t seen any of the ‘Mission Impossible’ movies before, we were still able to follow along and be fully engaged in the franchise’s seventh entry.

Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, who once again occupies the starring role. Hunt undergoes an earth-spanning search for an apocalyptic weapon known as “The Entity”, meeting friends and foes along the way. Other characters include Ethan’s partner agent Grace (Hayley Atwell), Ethan’s best friend Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), Gabriel (Esai Morales) a terrorist who serves as the antagonist of the film, and Paris (Pom Klementieff) a French assassin who works with Gabriel.

The antagonist of the film, Gabriel, is a mysterious figure whose aim is to find the key to “The Entity”. Interestingly, Gabriel also has history with Ethan Hunt, although his actions against the lead are not revealed. “The Entity”, which evolves to become a sentient mind, orders Gabriel to find its key and to eliminate Ethan Hunt. Gabriel is a ruthless terrorist who keeps a calm head and doesn’t let his emotions get the best of him. He seems to have no empathy and no regret for anyone he eliminates, to the extent that Ethan Hunt states that he seems to enjoy suffering. Gabriel survives to the end of the movie and will return in part 2.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has taken over as the director for Mission Impossible movies since MI4. McQuarrie is known for being one of the most proficient action directors in Hollywood, and this movie does not disappoint. Action is plentiful and well-choreographed and is up to par with the high intensity battles that the franchise is known for. The cinematography is quietly one of the better parts of the film, as the CGI is realistic and the beautiful locations are show off with wide shots.

‘Dead Reckoning’ is a fun spectacle to watch, especially during the globe-trotting action sequences. The villain is interesting and not one dimensional and the characters are, for the most part, fleshed out. Locations look great and the pacing is fast and engaging.

The soundtrack impresses as well, using the right melodies for every situation whether it be a heart-pumping action sequence or a somber, emotional break.

However, there were some things we didn’t like as much. The acting was inconsistent, but this may be the writer’s fault as the dialogue was sometimes wooden and boring. Furthermore, side characters like Luther Stickell were mostly lost in the rush, and some characters were given nothing to do.

‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part I’ came out as a strong addition to the renowned ‘Mission Impossible’ franchise showing off a capable cast, interesting plot, and an amazing soundtrack. The movie delivers as a thrilling experience, offering gripping globe-trotting escapades and a calculating antagonist in Gabriel who remains a continuous threat to Ethan Hunt throughout the runtime. However amidst its strengths Dead Reckoning faces some drawbacks.

Travel/Food

Most popular holiday dishes

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By: Brennan McMahon

Image created with Wonder

Pumpkin Pie: This is the most well known dessert for the holidays and it is delicious. It is super simple to make and tastes amazing with a little whipped cream on top. The first pumpkin pie was made in Plymouth after Native Americans showed the settlers how to make them.

Green Bean Casserole: This dish was invented in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly. All you need to make this recipe is mushroom soup, green beans and French Fried onions.

Corned Beef and Cabbage: This dish is commonly used as a St. Patricks Day meal in America. Corned beef is beef preserved in a brine.

Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas: These are a southern dish to bring luck and prosperity to people on New Years.

Latkes: This dish is kind of like a potato pancake that is fried in oil. Latkes are a vital part of Hanukkah, as Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil lasting longer than it should, so people will eat a lot of food fried in oil.

Eggnog: This is not really a dish but it is one of the best Christmas drinks. This drink contains eggs, sugar, and milk.

Matzah: This is a cracker like bread that Jewish people eat during Passover. Matzah is also called “poor man’s bread” because it was invented by Jewish people while they were slaves in Egypt.

Ham: This dish is very common on many holidays like Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. People eat this if they can’t find a turkey, and even if they can, they still also get a ham to go with it.

Turkey: More than 90% of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. many people put stuffing in it while they cook it. You can also cut it up and put it in rolls to make sandwiches. We don’t know what type of bird was eaten on the first Thanksgiving, but most people chose turkey now because it is bigger than a chicken so it can feed more people. Turkeys are also super common all around the states, so if you hunt you can always catch your own turkey for dinner.

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Travel/Food

Winter drink reviews

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By: Sophie Johnson and Addie Strack

The winter menus at both Starbucks and Dunkin’ have recently been released. Both containing new, and  delicious coffee or tea options to really get you into the holiday spirit. Between the fall and the winter menu, we can agree that the winter menu is the most exciting as it kickstarts the holiday season with new and improved drinks every year.

The first drink that we tried was the Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate. This has been one of our favorite drinks for years and is a staple menu item for getting into the holiday spirit. Not only is this the perfect amount of sweetness, but the spice of the peppermint makes it taste like a delicious candy cane. We would rate this drink a 4.5/5. The way we remember this drink in past years was more chocolatey, and this year it was slightly watered down, but nevertheless, it warmed us from the inside out and especially got us into a holiday celebrating mood. Along with this drink, we received several free reusable Starbucks cups. This gift was for ‘Red Cup Day’ at Starbucks where they give away a free cup with every drink purchase. This did not affect the peppermint hot chocolate, however it was a nice addition to the experience.

The next drink we tried was the Starbucks Sugar Cookie Chai. This drink was so sweet and flavorful, and this year was the first year we tried it. Not only was this tea topped with a thick and creamy cold foam, but it had red and green sprinkles as well to add to the Christmas or holiday theme. We would rate this drink a4/5 just because of how sweet it was, but besides that, it was perfect. We would recommend getting this beverage iced instead of hot because you can better taste the tea and the cold foam doesn’t melt as fast.

Another drink we tried that was definitely one of our favorites is the Peppermint White mocha. This tastes similar to the Peppermint Hot Chocolate, mostly because of the peppermint aspect, but this one was even better. We can both confidently say that this beverage is a 5/5 and could drink this drink over and over again. We wish that this drink was on the menu year round because of how delicious it is. If you are a coffee lover, this is the drink for you as it is both sweet and energizing from the caffeine. The flavor is so tasty that it is gone so fast. For this drink, we would recommend getting it hot instead of iced. Out of all the drinks on the Christmas menus for both Starbucks and Dunkin, we can both agree that this one is by far the best.

The last drink that we tried was from Dunkin’, and it is called the Cookie Butter Cold Brew. The idea behind this drink was very good and the price was not bad, but when we tried this drink it just did not meet our standards. First of all, the coffee was slightly watery which affected the flavor negatively. The second reason why this coffee wasn’t very good was because the chunks of cookie on the top got really soggy and made the coffee chunky with every sip that we took. The advertising for this drink really sold us and we were both super excited to try it, so these factors were super disappointing after we had paid for a new drink. We would rate this drink a 1/5. The only thing that was good about this drink was the sweet cold foam on top and the cookie crumbles before they got soggy from the coffee.

After tasting all of these beverages, some better than others, we think that overall, Starbucks drinks are better than Dunkin’ ones. Dunkin’ has significantly better deals than Starbucks but we agree that most of the Starbucks drinks top the Dunkin’ ones. Our overall favorite was the peppermint white mocha and the least favorite was the cookie butter cold brew. These drinks help everyone to get into the holiday spirit and keep you warm during the winter season.

Editorials/Student Voice

What makes a good villain?

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By: Persephone Pond

Villains are what makes a story a story. An opposing force always gets in the way of the hero, creating endless opportunities for character development and fun plots. But what happens when a villain is poorly written? In this article, I’ll be highlighting some of the best and worst ways you can write a villain and some examples of both.

Humanization is a very important factor for a complex villain. A lot of antagonists in children’s media aren’t very humanized because having things clean cut as “good” and “bad” is what is typically done for children, but to really have another level of character for a villain, humanization is essential. This brings the aspect of humanity to a person who’s only really been seen as evil for the length of the game or show and can help the viewer to understand and empathize with this person, or just gain an understanding that the villain is still on the same level as the hero or protagonist.

Motives and backstory are important aspects of any character, but in my eyes, especially villains. Regardless of if the villain is going to have redemption, there needs to be a reason that this person is doing what they’re doing. Often, in villains, the thing that draws them apart from the hero is their outlook on the world and their ideals or philosophy, which impacts their perspective on the world. This determines their actions, which are often viewed as evil or bad. This aspect of a villain is vital to understand why this person does what they do.

And on the topic of philosophy, personally I think if a villain makes you think about another aspect of a common societal, or some other problem, then the writers did a good job. Villains aren’t necessarily only there to oppose the protagonist, but to provide another outlook and challenge the hero’s ideas and try to impose change, even if their methods aren’t the best. This is my favorite part of any villain and I strongly believe having a philosophy makes all the difference in characters of all kinds.

Redemption arcs are very iffy parts of villian stories. There’s nothing wrong with redeeming your villain, oftentimes it makes for a wonderful addition to the story, but there are quite a few ways to screw a redemption arc up. One of the biggest ways is the justification of the villain and their actions through trauma to create this redemption.

Trauma isn’t inherently bad, it often creates a complex backstory for a villain and gives them a good motive, but when the audience is expected to forgive a morally wrong person who’s done bad things just because they had a hard life, it’s a deal breaker. You can write a villain with trauma and have them reveal it, but when we, as an audience, excuse things like murder because one person went through something is just bad writing, and I personally think it’s one of the biggest red flags in a show. This is a very touchy spot in writing any piece of media, but it can, and has been, done very well, and it’s very rewarding to watch a show or play a game with a well written villain.

These are all aspects of writing a character that are incredibly important, and as there are badly written villains all over the place, a well written one is worth the find.

Advice/How To, Events

Top 5 most common Christmas tree ornaments

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By: Oak Berg

Image created with Wonder

Christmas tree ornaments are more than just decoration. They can be symbols of love, or memories, and everything Christmas is about. So, next time you decorate the tree, you can remember each ornament has its own bit of Christmas mood.

First, the colorful glass ball ornaments are very common. Each color can have its own meaning too. Red is love, gold is wealth, and blue, is good health. The orbs are often colorful and shiny reflecting the bright lights on the tree. You can get them in every possible color and they bring the rainbow to Christmas.

Second, we have stars that top the tree. The star is a commonly used topper to the Christmas tree because it just finishes off the looks of the tree. It also shows love and kindness.

Third, tinsel garlands have been used for Christmas trees for a very long time, but they aren’t really an ornament, Their glittering rope makes them a really cool part of our tree though. Tinsel garlands shaking inside with the indoor breeze makes it look like the winter’s frost, bringing the season’s chill indoors as part of the Christmas spirit.

Fourth, are the candy canes. The red and white swirl is very classic at Christmas time. They are originally from the 17th century but these
hooks are straight sugar and have been used in Christmas trees so many times. Candy canes have a sweet peppermint flavor and they give you a taste of Christmas. They’re also a fun addition, bringing back memories of Christmas baking and warm kitchens.

Finally, we’ve got family or personalized ornaments. They are normally anything from a paper snowflake made in kindergarten to a custom ornament with an important photo. They tell the story of something really big and bring lots of emotion to the tradition. Personalized ornaments are special hand me downs or heirlooms. The stories that the ornaments carry can remind people of old Christmases imprinting the personal moods and growth in the winter season.

Books/Art

Book review on ‘Front Desk’

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By: Cleo Newton          

*Warning: This review contains spoilers*

‘Front Desk’ by Kelly Yang is a book about a girl named Mia. She and her parents are immigrants from China. Her parents immigrated to America in hopes that they will be able to get a good job that pays a lot of money and have a nice house for their family.

At first, Mia’s parents struggle to find a job but soon find someone who seems really kind and generous, offering them the job to clean motel rooms and check customers in. The family is really happy because they think that they are going to get paid $150 a day after adding up all the rooms, and that they’ll be able to swim in the pool in the yard. They even get to live at the motel. Later, they find out that their boss, Mr. Yao,  isn’t a good person, and that they won’t actually make $150 a day but much less.

Mia is a 10-year-old girl, even though she and her family works at a motel, she still has to go to school. At school she has to face issues like racism and discrimination. The girls at her school make fun of how she looks, make assumptions about her race, and hold her to stereotypical Asian standards. She also has to be in the same class as her parent’s boss’s son, Jason. Even though this is the case, she still manages to make one friend at school, Lupe.

Everyday when Mia gets home from school, she has to help her parents clean the motel rooms and deal with rude customers. Her parents even have to clean the customer’s clothes. As well as dealing with customer’s, her parents are hiding other immigrants in the motel until they can leave. Lupe’s dad is a cable repairman; he helps out Mia’s family when one of the customer’s TV breaks.

Mia really likes to write. She learns about an essay writing contest; the one who wins will get a motel. Mia wants to enter this contest so that she and her family won’t have to work for the terrible boss they do now. But in order to enter, she has to pay money. She decided to save money for the contest by putting out a tip jar.

One day, Mia comes home to find her mother injured. She was attacked by  two people who were robbing the motel. They find out that one of their close friends, Hank, got arrested. While her mom was getting attacked, he threw a rock at the robbers but  when the police arrived he was the only one there. Even though he was helping protect Mia’s mom, he was the one that got arrested. Thankfully, he only stayed in jail for one night before being let out. Mia and her dad drove her mom to the hospital, and because the hospital bill was so high, Mia had to use the money she got from the tip jar to pay for the bill.

She now had to find a new way to enter the essay writing contest, Mia sells her dad’s lucky pennies. These pennies are special because they are worth a lot; she makes $300 dollars selling them. She writes and submits her essay, it talks about what she would do if she owned a motel. The day after writing the essay, she submits it. A few weeks later, she receives a letter from the Vermont Motel Giveaway. Hank reads the letter to Mia and she unfortunately doesn’t win.

As things are already difficult, they find out that Mr. Yao is going to sell the motel for $300,000. This means that the next person who buys the motel could fire them and they could lose their job. After thinking about this for a while, they decide that they are going to try to buy the motel. Hank, being the great friend he is, immediately handed over the little money he had, which was less than one hundred dollars. Mia wrote letters about talking about who she is and giving reasons why she thinks that they should help her buy the motel. She goes around handing them around hoping that this message will convince people to donate some money.

As people donate money to the family, they finally make the amount of money needed to buy the motel. Unfortunately, Mr. Yao tells them that there is another buyer who’s willing to pay $50,000 more than the original price. Mia and her family feel crushed knowing that they won’t be able to buy the motel. As a last resort, they turn to loan sharks to get the money they need. 

At school, Jason tells her that Mr. Yao is lying and that there is no other buyer. When school ends, Mia rushes home just in time to tell her parents what Jason told her. After sending off the loan sharks, they buy the motel from Mr. Yao.

The book ends with Mia, her parents, and her friends celebrating by jumping into the pool.

Overall, I think this was a very good book, I like how the author showed the development of Mia and the way she used her writing skills to help herself and other people. There are 4 other books that come after ‘Front Desk’, ‘Three Keys’, ‘Room to Dream’, ‘Key Player’, and ‘Top Story’. I hope you consider reading this book after reading this article!