Mrs. Ho's AP Lang - 2021/2022

                      Ariella Green Week 22: Andy Warhol and his Prince Photographs Andy Warhol is remembered as one of the leading figures in the pop art world. His portrait of Marylin Monroe or painting of Campbell's soup can is distinguishable world round. Andy Warhol passed away in 1987, and he is still the topic of news in the papers. In 1981, photographer Lynn Goldsmith, who specialized in portraits of musicians, took photographs of Prince. Three years later, Andy Warhol used her photographs to create a series that consisted of sixteen pieces. Vanity Fair heard of Warhol’s series and paid him to create an illustration for the magazine.  Warhol used Goldsmith’s images from 1981 and Vanity fair paid her four hundred dollars to use her work as a reference image while giving her credit for her work in the printed magazine.  When Prince died in 2016, Vanity fair printed one of Warhol’s designs of Prince as a tribute to hi...

To start this off, if you guys don't know what Ultra is, it is  a Music Festival is an annual outdoor electronic music festival that takes place during March in Miami, Florida, United States. The festival was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and Alex Omes and is named after the Ultra Music label.  The Ultra Music Festival has over 150,000 electronic and dance music fans in downtown Miami each summer. But, this time it wasn't in the summer and it was crazy. If you like pop songs from the early 2000s and hardstyle I suggest going. The reason I know about it is because I just started to listen to pop hardstlye music and all the songs I listen to are played at that concert. A lot of people that lift, like most people who lift listen to this kind of hardstyle go to this concert. People usually dress up in neon or do some crazy costume like a greek god to show their physiques to go with the theme of the concert, and I tell you the energy of the people and the concert is...

  My cooking experience This week, I have decided to cook dinner with my younger sister for my family. On Sunday night, I decided to make chicken stir-fry. I began by chopping up broccoli, peppers, and onions. After cutting the vegetables, I sauteed them until they were soft. Since I already had leftover white rice in the fridge from China Bistro and leftover grilled chicken that my mom made for Shabbat dinner, I did not have to do much more to make the delicious dish. After the vegetables were softened, I added the cold rice to the pan. I softened the white rice on the stove by mixing soy sauce and spices with the vegetables and rice mixture. After the base was ready, I added two scrambled eggs which cooked really well into the hot rice. Lastly, I cut the grilled chicken up and added it to the fried rice mixture. I left the stir fry in the pan for an additional five minutes and then served it. My family enjoyed my creation and was surprised by how well it came out from a person ...

  Three weeks ago, I went to Universal with my family and rode the ride Doctor Doom Free Fall. The nearly two hundred foot tall drop tower shoots riders up into the sky and bounces them back down to the ground quickly. While I have ridden this ride many times before, it had been my first ride on it in over two years, and I had become unaccustomed to the remarkable forces the ride produces. As far as drop towers go, the height of Doctor Doom is actually rather small. Drop towers can reach well upwards of three hundred feet, like the Busch Gardens Ride Falcon’s Fury, which I only narrowly missed out on due to a torrential afternoon rainstorm. But none compare to the massive 430 foot tall Orlando FreeFall, built at ICON Park in the heart of Orlando. I did not get to ride this relatively new attraction, but after hearing that a fourteen year-old rider fell out of their seat and plummeted over two hundred feet to their death, I was glad I missed out on the experience. But hearing of thi...

     Before a few days ago, I did not know much about the Oscars. I knew it was an award show, but besides that, I was basically clueless. It wasn’t until the Will Smith and Chris Rock situation that I spent the time to look into what the Oscars are.       For some background, the Oscars, properly known as the Academy Awards, are awarded to artists in the film industry. The first show was in May of 1929. At its peak, in 1998, the Oscars brought in over 55 million viewers; that same year was the release of one of the biggest movies of all time: Titanic. Since then, viewers have been dropping. In 2020, the Oscars had their lowest amount of viewers with only 24 million people watching the event. In 2021, the Oscars broke their 2020 record of lowest viewers by only bringing in less than 11 million people. This year the Oscars brought in close to 17 million viewers which is an improvement but not by much. Award shows like the Grammys, Emmys, Golden Globes, ...

       All of us are different than who we were 10 years ago, 5 years ago, and even a year ago. The change can be in appearances, thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, morals, and more. All of these changes are caused by each one of our experiences. This is a topic that I am currently learning in my AP Psychology class and have been reflecting on it a lot recently. For me, there are two notable aspects of this that stand out to me and they only change based on the mindset that you have. The first is that our “unique” experiences shape who we are. Yes, these experiences shape who we are and are important to us, but are they really unique? No matter what you go through, someone else has most likely experienced it. This mindset of experiences being unique or not can either isolate or almost comfort you during difficult times. This leads me to my second reflection point which is, if these experiences are similar, how do people end up with such different personalities? The truth ...

When traveling, there are many different modes of transportation that people can use in order to efficiently travel from one place to another. However, two of the most popular options for traveling is to travel by plane or by car. Each of these has its own advantage and disadvantage, and that is what I will be comparing today.      First off, airplanes are much more expensive. It is simply the truth that in order to fly on an airplane, you are going to be paying big money, especially if you are going to want to have a special seat on the plane. Cars are much more affordable (maybe not as much today because of the crazy gas prices). For a plane ride, for a trip for a family of five, let’s say, you are going to be paying hundreds of dollars per ticket. Compare that to a car, and you are going to save a lot of money, as one car can drive many people at once while maximizing fuel efficiency.      Airplanes are much faster than cars. However, they aren’t always ...

  I was extremely bored over winter break and was looking for a show to watch. While scrolling through Disney+, I stumbled upon Amphibia, a cartoon about a girl who was magically transported to a land inhabited by anthropomorphic amphibians. I didn't expect much, but after watching the first episode, I was hooked, and immediately binged the first two seasons. With the crazy cliffhanger I was left on, I was eager to discuss my feelings on it, but after talking to everyone I knew, I learned that out of all my friends, only one of them had watched the show. While this number is very disappointing, I hope to make a change with this blog. The show follows Anne Boonchoy, a 13-year-old girl who was just magically transported to the world of Amphibia. In the small town of Wartwood, Anne meets the Planters, a frog family who take her in and work to help bring her home. The show has big Gravity Falls/ Adventure Time/ The Owl House vibes, which is probably why I like it so much. If that isn...

     Today’s blog is going to be a bit different. As you can tell by the title, this blog goes out to anyone doubting themselves. If you are currently doubting yourself, I want to first let you know that this is something that is perfectly normal, and something that many, including myself, struggles with at times. However, I want you to know that you are capable of so, so much more than you may think.      Look at some of the most successful people in the world. Many of them came from nothing, and many of them probably felt like you are right now. However, the thing that separates them from everyone else is that they showed and continue to show perseverance, grit, and determination. These qualities are what separate the best from the worst, and the people that are successful from those who aren’t as successful.      Listen to me, I know it may be hard sometimes to get motivated, but just know that is possible to achieve ANYTHING you put your ...

As a child, I hated the beach. The sand. The dirtiness. The ocean. Everything about the beach I despised. However,  I live with a family of beach-lovers. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, my parents wake up early to go on a walk on the beach. While my siblings could go and spend the entire day at the beach, from 10am until the sun sets.  Growing up, my family and I would go to the beach a lot. As a matter of fact, almost every weekend we would spend either Saturday or Sunday at the beach. While my older sister would be tanning and getting all sunburnt, sitting in the burning sun, I would sit in the shade with a hat on, not understanding why my sister would do this to herself while the rest of my family would be in the ocean.   However, as I grew older, I started appreciating the ocean itself. I still couldn’t stand the sand and getting dirty, but I loved going into the water and playing with the waves, especially jumping with them.   Over time, my relationsh...

  During March of 2020, when everyone was at home and quarantining, I was very bored and decided to watch Real Housewives of Orange County for the first time, and ever since then, I have been hooked on watching reality tv as one of my guilty pleasures. I have been very stressed lately, and watching reality shows have been a very good distraction.  Currently, I am watching season 5 of Love Island UK, and it is very entertaining. It is similar to Big Brother, where there is a bunch of people in a house with games and challenges, but the main objective is to find love at the end of it. Another one of my favorites is Below Deck, where it is a show based about the lives of the crew on super yachts, and I find it extremely fascinating because I had no idea there was so much drama going on. Obviously, there is the classics of Keeping up with the Kardashains, and Dance Moms, that you could never go wrong with watching.  Honestly, I think the main reason why I like shows lik...

 Ori Shai AP Lang 3/29/22                                                                                     Will Smith and Chris Rock     On Sunday, March 27, the Oscars went live on television. During the Oscar, famous comedian and actor Chris Rock gave a speech before the winners were announced. His speech included many jokes, some of which, seemed moderately offensive. But hey, what do you expect from a famous comedian, right? Well, Chris Rock made fun of Will Smith's wife, and it was about her shaved bald head. Will Smith began laughing at first, but after seeing his own wife frustrated and uncomfortable due to the joke, he took heer matters into his hands, literally.      Will Smith got on stage and smack...

This past Friday, my dad and I drove to West Palm to pick up my car from the auction. I am going to be honest. I never really thought this day would come. Me and my dad had been searching for a car for months. I was starting to think I was never going to get a car. Whenever we actually found a car it always had some sort of issue that made it so I could not get it. First, I got a Hyundai Equus, but we ended up needing to send it back because there was something wrong with the exhaust. Next, I got a Mazda CX-5, but that got double sold at the auction, so I lost that car. At this point I was starting to kind of lose hope. I came to the conclusion that this was going to take much longer than expected and that I would not get my license anytime soon. I had a bit of a problem. I am turning 17 in a couple weeks and I still do not have my driver's license. You are probably wondering, "Avital why don't you just go get your license in one of your parents' cars?" Well, here...

          Where has the time gone? It feels like just yesterday we were freshmen, but we’re juniors. Not only are we juniors, we're nearing the end of the year and soon we’ll be seniors. That’s crazy!            This is the time where university talk becomes more prominent and way more real. We used to discuss how we were going to apply to this school and how we can’t wait to go to that school, but, the reality is, we were so young that what we said didn’t matter. I used to want to be an archaeologist, but now I want to be a film director. It all changes as we grow up and find the things that really interest us and what type of future would truly make us happy. I used to think Yale was the best school out there, not saying it isn’t, but now I see how many schools there really are and how it’s really hard to get into them.           I’m scared to be honest with everyone. I’m scared that everyth...

  Week 10- Ketanji Brown’s Absurd Hearing Ben Heller March 28, 2022 Since writing my initial article last week about the senate hearings for judge Ketanji Brown, I’ve taken in a lot of content relating to the hearings. This has taken the form of videos from the hearing and from satire. Party politics were blatantly at play during last week’s hearing. It is depressing to see how politicians can no longer set aside their differences when it comes to supposedly impartial matters like deciding whether or not Brown should be confirmed as a Judge of the Supreme Court. Any person with half a mind can see that she is qualified for her job; her constant insistence on the importance of impartiality and the precedents set by the court give a clear indication of such. It is also disconcerting to see what Republican senators feel their constituents care about. Ted Cruz, a laughable caricature of a politician, used his time to go over a children’s book that explains how racism is taught, and...

     Is it just my family, or does anyone else’s family ever have competitions and just need to win? My family always has a March madness competition that is created through ESPN where we create our own brackets and then see who wins the tournament. Somehow, I always seem to win every single year even though I have no idea what I am picking when selecting my bracket before the tournament starts.      Even though I usually choose the teams based on their rankings, there is always an upset. I will randomly choose an upset game hoping that it actually happens since it has never happened before. This year there was history. Purdue, which was ranked 3, had lost to St. Peter’s. They were ranked 15 and no one expected this upset. This was history since they were the first team that was ranked 15 to make it to the elite 8. Everyone was shocked but also happy by this victory.      The tournament hasn’t ended yet, but my family has all gotten out since...

     Every day, many new terms and words appear in popular culture. They are typically referred to as "slang" words. These new words are frequently quickly adopted into our language and used on a day to day basis. Some of them make sense and can add depth to your conversation, but some of them are confusing and don't make sense. These ones often don't make sense as to how they got popularized, and I wanted to go over many of the ones that don't make sense.     The first one that confuses me is "chicken legs". This term usually refers to skinny people, but chicken legs are far from skinny. They are known for being meaty which is why they are so popular for eating. Additionally, because of how many people have seen a chicken leg and know that they are by no means "skinny", it amazes me that this word became popularized to describe skinny people.     Next is the term "socking" which refers to punching someone really hard. But, while the ...

 I personally think the blue flavor for drinks and candy is just a little bit better than red and for some things blue is way better. I first off have to say the blue raspberry jolly rancher is way better than the cherry red jolly rancher. I do have to say cherry and blue raspberry flavors are really close in what flavor is better, but, because of jolly ranchers, the blue raspberry flavor will have to win because it is the best flavored jolly rancher and the cherry one is the worst. For airheads, blue wins again, but, red is not far behind. Then there is ice pops first comes blue then red is right behind. For lollipops it is the same thing. For other candies all the flavors are the same, like m&m's and cotton candy, so if somewhere to pick a color for these candies that they like better, it would simply be because of the color, nothing else. Four patch, I like them the same, I might actually even like red more than the blue for this candy, it all depends on how my taste buds an...

  Ariella Green Week 21: Hebrew School It is hard for me to believe that just a few months ago I began to teach at Hebrew School on Sundays. When I was offered the position, I did not know whether I should accept it because it would mean having to wake up earlier on Sunday morning. I am so glad that I took the job because it gave me the opportunity to create such strong bonds with my students. Each day has its moments, but overall, I have enjoyed nearly every minute of it.  It has been quite a learning experience for me since it is my first year teaching. I have learned that first graders are really funny, they love to do hands-on activities, and a little sugar goes a long way.  Nearly every lesson my students have some funny remark and the most memorable one is when they mention non-Jewish Purim in the classroom. Also, I like to incorporate lessons involving food in the classroom, especially candy. However, 6-7 years olds pumped with sugar are not fun to t...

If a human being is left in isolation for a long enough period of time, they will eventually lose their mental sanity. People need human contact. Contact with the world is essential to survive and function. Curious experimenters have conducted many research projects to test why people lose their mental sanity in isolation.  Experiments have shown that people locked up in isolation begin to feel extreme emotions, depression, panic, severe anxiety, struggle to sleep in regular patterns, have higher blood pressure leading to increased risk of infections, Alzheimer's disease, and Dementia (diseases that cause memory loss and imparired thinking skills), physical pain, and lastly, they begin to hallucinate.  In the 1950’s and 1960’s, China used isolation as a method of torchure on American prisoners captured in the Korean War. The United States and Canadian governments funded experiments to find out what horrors China was bringing to American prisoners. The most famous of these rese...

  Miami becomes dangerous over Spring Break This past week was spring break for almost every college and high school around the country. All of the out of towners came to vacation in Florida, particularly Miami. Miami Beach was so overcrowded, there was no parking available anywhere and the traffic was insane. It became so dangerous in Miami that there were 2 shootings, injuring multiple people. City Manager Alina Hudak put into effect “A midnight curfew” starting Thursday and ending at 6 a.m. March 28. This curfew was put in place to prevent people from getting hurt from the crime that happens in the middle of the night. People keep coming to Florida to vacation here because of the cheap airfare, lack of social distancing, the mask restrictions lifted, and for the best beach weather. With all the college kids on breaking out extremely late, a curfew was put into place to keep them safe from the crime that unfortunately happens in the vacation spots. Breaking the curfew would lead...

Ori Shai AP Lang 3/22/22                                                                                     China Jet Crash     On Sunday, March 20, a China Eastern Airlines jet plane plunged downwards and crashed. The jet crashed on a mountainside, and there were 132 reported passengers on board. It is unknown why the jet crashed, and soon after the crash heavy rainfall on Tuesday, March 22, halted the search for remaining victims and the reasoning behind the crash. Because of the impact of the crash, the rainwater caused landslides which endangered crew rescue workers, and the forested terrain didn't help either. This wet weather was forecasted to last the entire rest of the week, so investigating will be a problem.   ...