Monthly Archives: February 2022

Expanding Our Musical Tastes

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Recently I went to a very different kind of concert. My sister is in college and took an Early Music class that required her to play different types of recorders. While at this concert, it got me thinking about expanding my music taste and trying new things when I am listening to music. Often, I find myself listening to the same couple of songs over and over again. I find that even though I get bored of the music I’m listening to, I can never actually take the time to find new songs. Going to this concert made me realize that there are so many different types of music that, though I might not listen to all the time, could be interesting every once in a while. 

A lot of music streaming services offer radios that are designed based on the music we already listen to. Often, they have pre created playlists that feature one type of song. Using these, I have seen myself learning about songs that I would never have any other way. These premade playlists are also great for the holiday season when they have all our favorites in one place. With these, we can learn about artists that are just starting out, as well as ones that might not always be deemed “popular.” 

As we head into the holiday season and the stress of school and gift giving, take the time to find some new music. I have always found that music is a great way to destress. Listening to my music always helps me relax and focus on the tasks at hand. So however you listen to your music, try out some new things with your listening habits. 

-Danielle B.

Lunar New Year!

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Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year! Lunar New Year! The year of the tiger has been a hot topic for the last couple of weeks. Apple has even come out with tiger engraved their AirPods cases. Many have heard about Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, but have learned what it represents. Due to the growing number of Asian Americans in America, awareness of this holiday should be spread.

Lunar New Year is originally celebrated in East and Southeast Asian cultures such as in China, Vietnam, Korea, etc.  Depending on the culture, Lunar New Year is referred to differently. For example, in Vietnam, rather than saying Lunar New Year, the celebration is referred to as Tết. The exact date changes depending on the year since the celebration marks the first new moon on the lunar calendar. More than just the new start to the year, the new year is a day for unity, family, and rebirth. 

Depending even down to each family, traditions change. Some consist of attending New Year festivals that are filled with food, games, and more. Also in some cultures, like in Vietnam, many people attend Buddhist temples on the eve of the new year. Nowadays, most families host dinners at night. The new year also signifies the time to celebrate past ancestors. Personally, in my family, we set up traditional food alongside photos of old family members and each family member makes a prayer to them. 

Traditional Vietnamese Wedding Ao Dai in red with gold printed patterns dragons/phoenix - optional head piece - couple or single
These are example of outfits worn on the New Year

Also, one of my favorite traditions is dressing up in traditional wear. Often dresses and outfits differ depending on the culture. For example, in Vietnamese culture, we wear an áo dài on Lunar New Year at our celebrations. Dressing up helps symbolize a fresh start for the new year. The beautiful dresses are colorful and can contain very intricate designs. 

Red Envelopes. Many people have heard the phrase “red envelopes”. On the new year, family and friends give out red envelopes filled with money inside. By giving the “lucky money” people hope to pass down luck and good fortune. Many children often try to visit as many family members and close friends as possible during the time of lunar new year to collect as many red envelopes as they can. 

Your Guide to Chinese New Year 2019 — Red Envelopes, Great Events and The Year of the Pig
Here are Red Envelopes that are given out at celebrations!

This just scratches the surface of the various traditions celebrated from culture to culture during the lunar new year. It truly is a time of the year to look forward to. Many Asian extended families are large, and this is the one time a year to see cousins and other family members you may not have seen for months. 

-Lilly G.

Three Lunar New Year Traditions that I Like

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Many people around the world celebrate Lunar New Year, which creates many different traditions and beliefs about the holiday. This list just shows three out of the many beliefs and traditions that people have surrounding the holiday.

Red Envelopes

Your Guide to Chinese New Year 2019 — Red Envelopes, Great Events and The Year of the Pig

During Lunar New Year, the giving of Red envelopes seems to be a constant. Usually these envelopes are filled with money. In Singapore, people give out red with the phrase “Fú” on it, which means good luck. Based on my personal experience, some of the red envelopes will have the zodiac animal of the new year on it.

Eating Traditional Foods

How to Throw a Hot Pot Party: Jing Gao of Fly By Jing Gives Us Some Tips - Thrillist

Eating certain foods to celebrate holidays is something that is very common in almost every country, and Lunar New Year is no exception. In Taiwan, people will eat pineapple cakes because pineapple in their dialect loosely translates to the phrase “good fourtune is coming”. In Mongolia, people eat hotpot. The ingredients in hotpot have different meanings, for example, round fishballs are added into the soup because they symbolize good fourtune.

Visiting Family

Chinese New Year Activities for Kids -

Almost everybody who celebrates Lunar New Year spends it with their family. Most of the time, people practice these tradtions with their families. Based on what I’ve experienced, people will visit their family for almost the entire day. They will usually go to a temple together. To add, all of the married people in the family give red envelopes to the unmarried people. Around nighttime, everyone will eat traditional foods together for dinner.

Sources:

Chinese New Year Activities for Kids by Kristina Klausen

How Lunar New Year Is Celebrated Around Asia by Anna Kim

How To Throw The Perfect Hot Pot Party by Kat Thompson

13 Lunar New Year Traditions From Around the World by Michelle Tchea

Your Guide to Chinese New Year 2019 by Billy Fong

-Nicole M.

Digital Leadership Workshop Program for Teens

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Happy February, everyone! I am Tran Nguyen, a girl scout of Troop 2279, located in Santa Ana, CA. As a senior in high school, I am currently working towards my Gold Award, the highest award in the Girl Scout program.

During quarantine, everything was closed. Due to everything being canceled and closed, we couldn’t earn service hours or perform community service, and this went on for about 6 months. We didn’t know what else to do with our bucket-load of free time that we had during quarantine. We teenagers love spending time on our devices, and our parents couldn’t tell us to get off and do something productive easily. Social media is a HUGE part of our lives. But what if I told you that we, as teenagers, could use social media in a better way?

As a student who has struggled with procrastination and social media addiction from 8th grade to junior year in high school, I understood what it was like to be unproductive and how it was a challenge to balance school, extracurricular activities, and social media platforms. After learning about social media marketing and diving deeper into that skill during quarantine, I was able to find that balance. Knowing how many teenagers also struggle with finding that balance, I wanted to help them through my workshop program.

My online program, the Digital Leadership Workshop, aimed to show and help the teenage population become more aware of how they can use social media as a tool instead of something to waste time on. This program did that by teaching the basic skills of social media marketing — a skill where one could use social media to help other communities, groups, clubs, charities, organizations, businesses, and even grow him/herself to serve the people in his/her community.

The Digital Leadership Workshop taught basic skills of social media marketing including:

  • defining a target audience
  • how to run a business page on social media
  • how teenagers can apply these skills to help others in their community
  • and how advertisements work on social media

While collaborating with the Central Library, I was able to share these skills with up to 10 people, and their awareness about this subject grew from 50% to 85%. I would like to thank the Mission Viejo Library and Mr. Allen Kesinger for giving me the opportunity to share my expertise with the teenagers there. I know I didn’t get much of an audience throughout the duration of my workshop program, but the feedback I received was very insightful. It helped me to become more aware of how I can make the program better for future teenage audiences; I look forward to presenting at more locations.

Thank you!

–Tran N.

For more information, please see the flyer above or click to visit the website.

Marvel Marvel Marvel, Is it as Good as they say?

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Spiderman! Spiderman! Spiderman! Ever since the release of Spiderman: No Way Home, the Marvel fan base has been reignited. The Covid-19 pandemic has put a hold on most production of movies for the last year and a half, nevertheless, this new marvel movie has earned over $1 billion of profit since its release on December 17, 2021. In honor of the new interest in the Marvel Universe, here are my absolute favorites movies.

Along with most of the fanbase, one of my personal top movies is Avengers: Endgame. This movie brought together almost every Marvel character to fight a common enemy. Additionally, the sound and visual effects are immaculate. The images of space are breathtaking and make you feel as if you are alongside the Avengers. Most importantly, it finally tied up a respectable ending to some of the original Marvel Characters including Iron Man and Captain America. Both beloved characters that have been portrayed on screen for over a decade received proper endings.

Another personal favorite is the 2017 film Thor: Ragnarok. If you are a lover of both comedy and action, this is the perfect movie for you. This movie has many lines that will guarantee a laugh from you. Additionally, the movie showcases both strong female and male leads that fight alongside one another. The story follows Thor attempting to prevent the Goddess of Death, Hela, who happens to be his sister, from taking over Asgard. Along the way he gathers the Hulk, Loki and a Valkyrie to aid him. For any Loki fans out there, his more caring side is broadcasted during this movie.

Now back to the big movie going around, Spiderman. Spiderman No Way Home was an amazing movie to experience. For any people who have not seen it, there may be tiny spoilers ahead, read with caution. The new Spiderman movie and end of the trilogy was a masterpiece. It follows up on the revealing of Peter Parker’s identity and the audience witnesses the effects on Peter’s life. Doctor Strange aids Peter during this difficult time along with his best friend Ned, and girlfriend MJ. Just like any other teenager, the stress of college admission is showcased which causes Peter to make many rash decisions that cause major consequences. For any fans of the original Spiderman trilogy or The Amazing Spider Man movies, this movie is a must see. 

If any of you reading are now convinced to watch some Marvel Movies, I advise you to be ready for an addiction that may come!

-Lilly G.

A Phở Love Story by Loan Le

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Linh Mai and Bảo Nguyễn haven’t spoken since they were kids, when they met in a Buddhist temple and were shortly yanked apart by their silently enraged families. Their families own neighboring phở restaurants, but that’s not the whole story. They’re not just neighbors, they are rivals, and not friendly ones. The Mais and Nguyễns are in constant competition with each other; consistently gossiping, trash-talking, and spreading atrocious rumors about each other—aside from frequently calling each other’s phở “dở ẹc” (very, very bad).

But everything changes for Linh and Bảo on the Mais’ Phở Day, when Linh’s family will offer a two-for-one deal for their phở. Linh, a passionate artist, plans to attend an art exhibition, but she has no choice but to help her parents deal with the rush of customers. At one point, she becomes extremely overwhelmed and runs outside to an alley, where she encounters Bảo, who offers to secretly help. Linh and Bảo help make Phở Day a success—all without Linh’s mother knowing, of course! As the night ends and they escape triumphantly to the alley, both realize that everything has changed for them.

Coincidentally or not, Linh and Bảo are soon assigned a project to partner on. As they spend more time together and get to know each other, sparks begin to fly, and they embark on a secret relationship, which they are forced to hide from their families, who would no doubt break them apart once more.

In only a matter of time, Linh and Bảo come to realize that their families’ feud runs deeper than a silly restaurant rivalry, and that their situation is much more complicated than either of them could have imagined.

Throughout it all, Linh struggles to communicate to her parents her dreams of pursuing a career as an artist, as they wish her to become an engineer. Bảo, meanwhile, can’t seem to find something he is passionate about and is hesitant about who he wants to be in life.

This story uses a lot of Vietnamese cultural references, which is one of my favorite aspects of the novel. The author occasionally drops some Vietnamese terms into the dialogue and narration, and the story shows a lot of typical Vietnamese-family customs, tendencies, and conversations. As a Vietnamese person who grew up in the same environment, I found A Phở Love Story hilariously relatable, so I’d definitely recommend it especially to anyone acquainted with Asian culture. This book is also great if you are interested in or curious about Asian culture.

A Phở Love Story by Loan Le is a playful, serious, beautiful, and poignant read all at the same time, and I’m not kidding when I tell you that I started crying when I got to a certain part of the book. (I laughed out loud lots of times too!) I found this story to be very realistic and reflective on parents’ expectations of their kids’ career choices and other general plans for their futures. Definitely give this novel a try! I loved it so much and would no doubt recommend it!

-Lam T.

A Phở Love Story by Loan Le is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

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The Great Gatsby (Vintage Classics): Fitzgerald, F. Scott, Grisham, John: 9780593312919: Amazon.com: Books

In the decade after the end of the Great War, the world was in shambles. Though relatively untouched by the devastation, America, along with the rest of the world, experienced a reactionary period against the brutal war, during which materialism flourished alongside the economy. The result was an era known as the Roaring Twenties, a cultural revolution that emphasised entertainment rather than functionality.

However, this veneer of excitement was underscored by the most important idea of the time – the American dream, the idea that all people have equal opportunities in life. Unfortunately, as people soon realised, the American dream was just that – a dream. The following disillusionment with society and life was reflected in the modernist works of the time, arguably the most significant of which was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Nick Carraway, a young man from Chicago, moves to the “new-money” district of West Egg in New York, hoping to become a bondsman. Instead, he finds himself reconnecting with his “old-money” cousins in East Egg, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, as well as befriending the mysterious and even wealthier Jay Gatsby. The tale of Gatsby’s fabulous parties on the Long Island Sound is underscored by Gatsby’s obsession with his old love, who turns out to be Daisy Buchanan. Over the course of the novel, Gatsby uses Nick to reconnect with Daisy, but it is when Gatsby is closer than ever to achieving his dream that it is all torn away from him, and Fitzgerald’s message of the unattainability of the American dream shines through. 

This theme appears in various other characters as well, most notably in George and Myrtle Wilson. George, a destitute auto shop owner, dreams of running a successful business and of having a woman who loves him. He is foiled in the former because though he dreams of selling Tom’s blue coupé, Tom’s reluctance to sell it to him leaves him despairing for the future. He is also let down in the latter, considering that his wife, Myrtle, is Tom’s mistress. She, in turn, dreams of marrying Tom and therefore ascending to the upper class, but her hopes are fatally crushed in the novel’s chilling climax.

In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald writes his characters to each reflect a different section of society that aspires to achieve the American dream, ultimately concluding that no such thing exists or is attainable. Interestingly, the novel’s focus on the detrimental effects of materialistic culture and the relentless pursuit of the American dream lends itself to foreshadowing the Great Depression, which only proves Fitzgerald’s claim – the American dream is dead.

– Mahak M.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive. 

How Reliable Is Decision Making?

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The coming to decisions based off observed patterns and past experiences is known as a heuristic. On the other hand, algorithms are step by step procedures that guarantee an outcome, and require lots of trial and error. Heuristics are often much more efficient than algorithms, yet they do not always guarantee a solution. For example, in a grocery store setting, an algorithm would be going up and down every single aisle looking for a specific item. Although there will always be a one hundred percent success rate, there is a lack of efficiency and most would not feel this as the best way to look for an item. A heuristic in this situation would be to look in certain labeled aisles that may contain the specific item that is being looked for. One type of heuristic that impacts decision making is the representative heuristic, or the judging of the likelihood of something by intuitively comparing it to particular prototypes. Although the use of this representative heuristic can make decision making quick, it may have a negative effect on the accuracy of such decisions. 

This is shown in the study Khaneman and Tversky 1974. This study attempts to prove the hypothesis that when people evaluate probability by representativeness, prior mathematically probabilities would be neglected. To do this, subjects were told to determine what the likely occupation of a certain person would be (engineer or lawyer?) based off of a description. However, this description would often have little to nothing to do with the occupation at all. To cope for this, the particpants were either told that there were 30 engineers and 70 lawyers, or that there were 30 lawyers and 70 engineers. Theoretically, the ratio of the participants’ guesses should be seventy to thirty because of mathematical probability. However, the study found that the participants of both groups had guesses closer to a ratio of fifty to fifty. Such shows that the subjects used to representative heuristic to make their decisions rather than using the probabilities given to them, causing decision making to become unreliable.

This study is useful in showing how the data does not match what one would expect based off the idea that the subjects were aware of the unequal amount of each profession. However, this does not directly prove that the representative heuristic is responsible for this distortion, as there is lots of room for error in the descriptions that the participants were given for each person. In the end though, the study still supports how decision making can become unreliable and cause errors.

-Jeremy L.

Celebrating Black History Month

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In honor of Black History Month, I would like to share one of my favorite books written by a black author.

The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Genre: young adult/fiction

Length: 444 pages

Published: February 28, 2017

 

Brief Synopsis:

This story follows Starr, a 16-year-old black girl that grew up in the hood neighborhood of Garden Heights. After gunshots ring out at a party she was attending, she flees in her childhood friend’s car when they then get pulled over by a policeman for a broken taillight. Assumptions, fear, and prejudice result in the dealt of her friend by the cop. This tale follows Starr as she struggles with self-identity, fear, and justice.

Impact:

This is such a powerful book, one that illuminates the realities of life as an African American. Though it may be a fictional book, its word holds truth. The truth of an African American who faces prejudice and whose voice fights to be heard.

Starr struggles to determine what defines her; is it her race? her neighborhood? her mannerisms or habits? Before she found her voice, she thought she was defined by her skin color. Attending a prestigious private school with a predominantly wealthy, white population, she believed she had to speak proper English, act docile, behave like a watered-down version of herself in order to fit in, to avoid judgement from her peers. She was consumed by other’s opinions, insecurities, and the fear that being herself was not enough that “There are just some places where it’snot enough to be me.” This aspect of her character is relatable, realistic. She is not the perfect, brave heroine readers grow envious of. Starr has aspects of herself that she is hesitant to display, as do many. We become hesitant, afraid that others will think less of ourselves should they witness the things we keep hidden. Starr Carter learns that oneself is not defined by physical or outward characteristics like race, or financial stability but in the experiences one faces and how they are overcome. That in terms of yourself, your body, your actions, the only opinion that matters is your own. For as her mother said, as long as you feel you’re doing right, that’s all that matters.

This book granted me the opportunity to experience life from another’s shoes, made me realize the things I take for granted, and on a less-serious note, turned me onto Tupac’s music. I encourage you all to read this book. It was powerful, moving, and definitely memorable.

-Gia S.

Favorite Quotes:

“‘Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared, Starr,” she [Starr’s mom] says. “It means you go on even though you’re scared.'”

“‘Just like y’all think all of us are bad because of some people, we think the same about y’all.'”

 

“Fairy tale? No. But I’m not giving up on a better ending.”

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra, a classic work written to surprise us, is a difficult text that requires utmost care. As the book is divided into four segments (w/ a prologue), I’ll split my review into sections in order to address each part from top to bottom. 

Prologue

It opens with Zarathustra, and serves to give a basic illustration of his character through action, interaction, and dialogue. Moreover, as Zarathustra descends from a cave he dwelt in for ten years of solitude, he brims with wisdom, love, and an urge to teach his brethren about the overman (caution: some books translate it to the “superman”). However, when he arrives in town and announces that the human race is a bridge between creature and overman, he’s met with disinterest and scorn. Thus, readers are left with Zarathustra cast aside, together with his determination to convince those few who wish to separate from the herd. 

1st Part

Zarathustra gives an overview of the three stages that lead towards the overman; camel, lion, and child. In the first stage, he declares that we must renounce our comforts, learn self-discipline, and accept difficulties which guide us to knowledge. Thus, we assert our independence, and decide to speak against outside influences and commands. Afterwards, the act of new creation is born, when we become oblivious to prior mistakes and grow to become an ‘overman,” hence a metamorphosis.

2nd Part

In addition to Zarathustra’s message about the overman, he establishes certain matters in regards to the weak and powerless. He states that each resent their masters, but detest themselves more so because they’re unable to strike back against them. Thus, he asserts that divine justice is set up as a means to secure vengeance for those that are too feeble to care for each other. In addition, he cites “evil” as a concept invented by man, once more as an excuse to explain wealth, health, strength, and vigor. In contrast, the poor view themselves as “good,” for they deem the concept of “unhappiness” and “sickness” as misfortune which we must experience if we are to embrace the “bigger” or “better” side of ourselves in the afterlife. Zarathustra, though he doesn’t agree with this exactly, does support natural inequality between people, as he claims it evokes creative freedoms, ambition, and the ultimate end. 

3rd Part

Zarathustra’s alone, and begins to mainly address himself, for he is soon to realize that his efforts to reach the overman might be futile. In the process, he becomes a “yes-sayer,” a person who loves life as it is. Therefore, it serves to represent the acceptance of fate, a characteristic of the overman that perhaps he and a few others can achieve. 

4th Part

In the book’s finale, Zarathustra is able to assemble a number of men in his cave who are close to the overman. Throughout, these characters enjoy a feast, some songs, and poetry. However, Zarathustra is soon given the gift of eternal recurrence, and it’s implied that he’s reached his goal. 

Thoughts

In truth, this wasn’t an effortless read, as Thus Spoke Zarathustra is quite uneven. As Nietzsche wrote it in ten days, his work is longer than it needs to be, and is often repetitive. Thus, it appears as though certain segments are oftentimes uncertain, and are torn between symbolism and the desire to be direct. That said, its unique outlook and doctrine is passable enough to recommend. Enjoy!

-Emilia D.