Jacob Poller Week 4- My Ranking of Different Kinds of Guitar Pickups

A pickup in an electric guitar is its lifeline. In order to be picked up by an amplifier it needs to have a pickup. And there are many different types offered by a mnay countless companies. But this list will be describing my personal favorites based on my interactions with them, and how they sound. There will be references to the type of magnets inside the pickup but these will mostly be ceramic and alnico. these magnets mostly determines the output of the pickup. The positions the pickups sit in are know as bridge, middle, and neck. These determine the kind of sound it makes, i.e a bridge pickup is going to sound harsher while a neck pickup will sound much fuller with less bite. And finally, active pickups are pickups that need to be powered by a battery often used for metal because of their clarity especially under high gain.

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    I have to say I think my least favorite type pickup is probably an active ceramic EMG. Don't get me wrong here, I love myself a good set of EMG's, I'm actually playing a guitar with them as I'm writing this. But there are some major problems with them. The biggest problem of which is their sheer output. The neck pickup sounds absolutely fantastic when on a clean channel, but the output will start to break up the clean and give it natural distortion. this might be good for some players, but not me as I'm constantly looking for a clean tone with no break up. As well, since they are so responsive because they are active you can easily hear the pick hitting a string during a strum, which isn't a very pleasant sound.

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    My experience with the DiMarzio Satchur8 alnico 8 pickup has been short but its been long enough for me to say I love it. I love almost everything about this pickup, but it hasa simlar problem to the EMG set. The break up that it causes on the cleans is a bit much. but it is a passive pickup so it's already less that the EMG set. As well I feel like the pickup focuses too much on the mids. But to some people that's a very good thing, just not for me. But, disregarding by opinion it is one of the most versatile pickups I've heard. Although it's not my favorite pickup I don't plan to change it anytime soon, especially because it is currently in my favorite guitar. 

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    Single coil pickups, especially the set in my dads 68 Strat which are alnico 5, are really hit or miss. You either love em or you hate em. And I guess you can tell how I feel. To me there is almost nothing that beats a single coild guitar in its sound. There's something so charming about a set of nice beautiful and glassy pickups. They are just amazing in almost every way. And they are also showcased by some of the greatest guitarists to ever walk the Earth. There's a reason why Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan chose Strats loaded with these pickups. But, they are hindered in many ways as well. they don't give off much output so it becomes harder to cut through a mix (See Yngwie Malmsteen for reference) and they hum like nothing else when they are amplified. Especially in a larger area where you need more vaolume, thats where you notice the hum.

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    My absolute favorite kind of pickup is an alnico 5 PAF replica by Seymour Duncan. The PAF is considered the best tone you can get out of a guitar next to a pair of vintage single coils, and I'm inclined to agree. The PAF was intoduced by Gibson in the 50's. The tone is described as warm and open. The tone in my eyes is more versatile than anything. You don't have to worry about the hum of single coils but you don't get the same sound. As well, it has more output so you can use it with more gain without having to worry about any microphonic issues causing extreme feedback. The pickups also don't cause breakup on a clean channel so you can use the neck for some crisp cleans and switch to the bridge and hit the gain for some fun.

Jacob Abramchaev Week 4 - Miami Heat NBA Champions Again?

On Wednesday, the NBA will open up its long-awaited championship series. The two teams playing are the Lakers led by Lebron James and the Miami Heat led by Jimmy Butler. No one thought the Heat would make it this far, but it looks like there is no stopping them now. Their young talent such as Bam Adebayo, Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, and experienced players like Jimmy Butler, and Andre Iguodala are what’s made this team dominant so far. This Miami Heat team has a pretty good chance at beating the Lakers super team of Anthony Davis, Lebron James, and Dwight Howard. Lebron won his first championship with the Heat and now he's facing his old coach Erik Spoelstra. They are not rivals and they don't dislike each other, but James has three championships under his belt, while the majority of the Heat haven’t won any championships. The matchup is very diverse because it's a team of veterans versus emerging stars. Over the long weekend, the Heat defeated the Boston Celtics in game six of the eastern conference finals, which is a huge accomplishment for the team. The NBA is playing in a bubble and the way these young and inexperienced players have shown incredible maturity and focus in a situation totally different from what they ever expected is incredible. The Heat play hard every game and they believe they can win the finals. They not only have confidence in themselves but have the ability to play as a team. Let’s see what ends up happening during the finals because 2020 has been a very weird year for sports teams.

Which team do you think has what it takes to win the NBA Championship?

https://ca.nba.com/news/nba-finals-2020-los-angeles-lakers-vs-miami-heat-full-schedule-dates-tv-times/nk7t1oid8scp18axfmvi9i2fw

Isaac Berkower - Week 4 - The Nobel Peace Prize

   

 The Nobel Peace Prize is an annual award given to people who, according to Nobel, "have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Past recipients have been Yitzchak Rabbin for his efforts to create peace in the middle east, Nelson Mandela for his work to end apartheid in South Africa, Liu Xiaobo for his struggle to try and increase human rights in China, and Barrack Obama. In addition to the great honor, winners of the award also receive a large cash sum, this year amounting to 9 million dollars. This year's prize will be awarded on December 10. While the nominees for the prize are hidden from the public until 50 years after the year of nomination, the person nominating another for the prize is free to say who they nominated. This year, there have been 318 nominations including Hong Kong protesters protesting extraditions to jurisdictions, a Saudi women's rights activist, and Greta Thunberg. The decision of who will win the award will be announced on December 10th, but many speculate the winner to be a Hing Kong protester.

    The process for selecting the 2020 winner has already begun, and President Donald Trump has received 3 nominations for bringing peace to the middle east, calming down tensions in North Korea, helping achieve normalized relations between Kosova and Serbia, and for his overall foreign policy, or the "Trump doctrine". Another notable nominee for the prize is Joe Biden because he "has argued that the best force is the force of argument," meaning that instead of resorting to violence, Joe Biden has peacefully argued his views.

We will have to wait until October to see who wins the award, but who do you think deserves the award the most this year?

https://people.com/politics/joe-biden-nominated-nobel-peace-prize/ 

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1333621/Nobel-Peace-Prize-nominees-2020-who-was-nominated 

https://www.nobelprize.org/nomination/peace/ 

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-peace-prizes/ 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nobel-Prize 

Coby Russo Week 4- Harry Potter Movies

 

    Hey guys!Welcome back to your favorite blog by yours truly! Today I wanted to talk about the eight Harry Potter movies. For my entire life, I always thought that this movie series was absolutely and most positively the most stupid movies ever, but I have NEVER actually seen them. Whenever someone asked me about the movies, I always went to the next topic because I didn't even want to speak about them. After going out to eat lunch with two of my friends, they both found out that I've never sat down and watched an entire Harry Potter movie. So, we left the restaurant to go watch the first half of the first Harry Potter movie. Later that night, I finished the movie at home, and then I fell into the trap, binging. Oh gosh. Like when I tell you I sat down and watched ALL eight movies in less than 48 hours I REALLY DID. Lol, I shut my phone didn't go on any social media. I know we aren't supposed to use technology over Yom Kippur, but I did. Literally, the last two movies really got me through the fast. I don't know what even happened, I just couldn't stop watching, and each movie is between two to three and a half hours long! AHHH, but honestly it's such a good movie series and I definitely recommend. My question to you all is, would you be able to sit and binge all of these eight movies at once, and if you've binged a movie series or a tv show, what show? I really need some recommendations!

Week 4, Yom Kippur experience, Aly Strauss

 Week 4, Yom Kippur Experience

Yom Kippur is an amazing holiday. It’s about forgiveness and the start of a new slate, but there’s one crazy part. Fasting! Every year I can’t last the whole fast, but this year was my year. I’m sixteen already so I knew I had to get over this fear of fasting.

The first few hours were already hard because usually at midnight I eat ice cream and ice chips. Then came the hardest part… I had to go to bed hungry. It took me all the way till three in the morning to fall asleep, but little did I know the night/morning wasn’t over. I always wake up at six in the morning for literally no reason, and it’s so weird. When I woke up though I was ravenous! It took me half an hour to fall back asleep.

Finally, it was time to start my day of starvation. I woke up fully around ten and my head was throbbing. Along with my head, my stomach could have been mistaken for a whale. Overall, the day was hard. All I really did was watch youtube and netflix all the way till six. At six my mom, sister, and I finally got up to get ready to go to my aunt’s house to break fast. It was probably the best meal I’ve ever tasted! I had a bagel with tuna and egg salad, but the best part was the brownies afterwards.

That pretty much sums up my fasting experience, and luckily, I still have a full year till the next one.

 

Monday Night Football Review Zev Englander Blog 4

       Two months ago football seemed like it was in serious jeopardy. Coaches and players were testing positive for COVID-19, training facilities were closing, and the NFLPA decided there would be no preseason games. Yet here we are, three weeks into the season with every scheduled NFL game in the books. When the schedules for every team were released, every football fan marked their calendar for Monday September 28th, when former Pete Rozelle trophy winner Patrick Mahomes and his reigning super bowl winning team, the Cheifs, would face off against reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Going into 2020, Mahomes and Lamar were their own tier of football players and were the two undisputed best quarterbacks going into the 2020 season. As expected, both teams boasted undefeated records heading into the game. The game was electrifying because both the offenses score a ton of points, and who doesn't love an NFL shootout on primetime football? The Ravens got off to a good start, scoring points on their first drive and later returning a kickoff for a touchdown, however, Patrick Mahomes was too much for the Ravens usually elite defensive unit, and he accounted for four touchdowns and 260 yards in only the first half. The Ravens played well in the second half, but Lamar could not handle the big stage and had one of the worst performances of his career against a middle of the pack Cheifs defense. Although the game was never close, both teams lived up to the hype and America got a glimpse of what a very likely playoff matchup will be later this year. Patrick Mahomes won this round, but who do you think is ultimately the better QB? Are there any other G.O.A.T debates you have opinions on? 

Yom Kippur Meals (Before and after)

 

Yom Kippur Meals

Yom Kippur is an important day of reflection for Jews across the world, but fasting can be painful for many people. My favorite parts of Yom Kippur are the meals before and after the fast because my mom works hard to make sure the food tastes good. The matzah ball soup that my family has just before Yom Kippur is my favorite because there are meat pies inside the soup. I spend the rest of the year dreaming about having that soup before Yom Kippur because it is one of the highlights of my year. The rest of the meal is chicken, rice, and vegetables, which is the same thing as our Shabbat food. 

The worst part of the meal is the feeling after eating because I always overeat before the fast. Also, I have a lot of water in my body before the fast, which adds to the discomfort. I feel like I have to eat a lot because it is my last meal before the fast.

The fast itself can be very difficult, but this year I was able to hold up for the entire 25 hours fairly easily. I spend a lot of the time either reading or sleeping because there is not much else to do on Yom Kippur. 

Breaking my fast was such a good feeling because I could not stop thinking about food during the fast. I ate a bagel with lox, quiche, and some banana bread as quickly as possible. I also drank a lot of water to hydrate myself.

Overall, my Yom Kippur was very meaningful and spiritual, and the food I ate before and after was delicious. 

How was your Yom Kippur? What did you eat before and after the fast?

Hunter David Week 4 Blog - Fasting, Easy or Hard?

 This past weekend was the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Every year during this holiday, one of the main customs is to fast for the entire day, leading to a “break the fast” on the final evening of the holiday. I have been fasting for about 6 years now I believe, maybe a year or so less, and every year I feel a bit different on whether the fast was easy or not. This year I decided to go to bed really late so that I could sleep really late and not spend much of the next day feeling hungry. Surprisingly, my plan worked and I woke up pretty late and really didn’t feel hungry until an hour or two before it would be time to break the fast. The hunger pretty much came out of nowhere and is something that is not the best feeling, especially when you are sitting near the kitchen most of that time. It felt great when I was finally able to eat some food and no longer have that feeling in my stomach. Seeing how successful my plan was, I am more than likely going to repeat the same thing again next year. This may be something that many of you can try to help make fasting even a little bit easier. If and when you fast, is it something that is easy or hard for you to do? Also, is there a tactic that you do that helps you not feel as hungry throughout the day when fasting?

Romy H week 4 Going vegan?

 Romy H week 4 Going vegan? 

Over quarantine, my family and I decided to try going vegan. Spoiler alert: this only lasted 3 weeks. My mom was super invested and went full out. She found various recipes and did research on how to get enough protein on a vegan diet. For the following weeks, we traded meat for beyond or impossible meat(plant-based meat), swapped out eggs for a liquid egg substitute, and tried various milk substitutes. In my opinion, almond milk is my favorite alternative; oat milk and cashew milk taste weird to me. I was disappointed when I found out that almond milk is one of the least sustainable milk substitutes. The amount of water that is used to produce almond milk is not great for the environment, and many environmentalists say oat milk or other nut-based milks are better. Overall, being vegan is not easy. Most of your meals need to be prepared beforehand, which isn’t quick nor accessible for many people and their schedules. Luckily, my mom made a lot of food that my siblings and I could heat up for lunch, so it was much easier. We ate lots of rice, beans, roasted vegetables, and salad. I felt like I was full, but the foodie in me was never satisfied. The food we were eating was mainly for nourishment, not for enjoyment. I love food, so the vegan food we were eating just wasn’t cutting it. I mainly missed pizza, cheese, eggs, and ice cream. Dairy-free ice cream was okay but wasn’t the same. All in all, I believe that the perfect diet for me is just to have everything in moderation. Not consuming too much meat still helps the environment, which is something I really care about. I have definitely cut down my red meat and regular milk intake, even though I am not vegan. Making small adjustments to my diet has allowed me to still enjoy my food, but also do my part in helping the environment. Do you think you could go vegan? Would you want to try it for a week or two and see what it’s like? 

Lauren Hodes- Week 4- Post-fast stomach ache

 After the fast is over, everyone always runs to the table at 7:44pm. We all attempt to eat as much as possible because we are hungry. Sammy even told me he tried to eat as many bagels as possible because it was ruining something about his gym schedule. I don’t know. Anyways, when the fast was over for me I wasn’t that hungry instead I felt more tired and weak. When the clock finally reached 7:44, I sat at the table and started to eat. My nana made such a great meal with tons of food. All the food looked so good especially after 25 hours. If you’ve ever tasted her muffins and cookies you know. I find that after fasting, you think that you can eat much more than actually possible. I was planning to eat so much more than I did before the post-fast stomach ache came on. Honestly, the stomach ache after eating is the worst part of fasting for me. I end up eating more around 9pm because I get hungry very soon after the stomach ache disappeared. It’s just a very unnatural way of eating that goes against our bodies usual schedule. This disrupts all of our normal functions which makes us tired and moody. Anyways, I tried to focus on the new year and repenting for everything i’ve done this year instead of the food. It was a meaningful holiday and what I needed after all of the isolation/covid stuff. Although, it is pretty hard when your stomach is rumbling over the praying. Comment down below how your holiday was and if you got a stomach ache right when you broke the fast?

Diana #4 - My Calming Technique

 

Welcome back guys!  Have you ever had that one TV show that you could just watch over and over again? Well, Friends is definitely that show for me. Friends has about 10 seasons and 20 episodes per season, and I have probably watched the whole series 7 times. Usually, I am not the type of person to watch something so many times, but for Friends, it's a whole other story. I don't know what it is about the show that I love so much, but it's just the perfect balance between funny, romantic, sad, and basically just has all the components. Friends is like my version of a pacifier. All my life I have had anxiety, whether it's because of thunderstorms, my breathing, or other little things and Friends never lets me down when I'm in that state. I also watch it every night before I go to bed, and it has the same effect, it puts me right to sleep. Lastly, I watch Friends when I have headaches. Unfortunately, I am headache prone, and although it doesn't work like Tylenol, Friends does the job in keeping me calm. Also after watching Friends on repeat, surprisingly, I still laugh at all the jokes. I guess you could say that Friends is a comfort show for me. Watching a tv show probably isn't the best way to solve all your problems, but it somehow works for me. Let me know in the comments if you have a method that you can always resort to like I do? If you're still looking for that one technique or method to calm you down or relieve stress,  I attached a link that gives you relaxation tips and ideas. 

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/relaxation-techniques-for-stress-relief.htm

Ethan WIrtschafter- Week 4- Benefits to fasting

                         

         

           Fasting is not easy! Everyone knows that! But, did you know there are actually benefits to fasting? At this time of the year specifically when the Jewish people fast on Yom Kippur, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss the advantages of fasting. To everyone who may not be as religious as me and may not fast the entire 25 hours on Yom Kippur, pay attention because this may change your mind. 

Fasting has personal health benefits many people are unaware of. For example, studies have shown that fasting can improve blood sugar control, which would help with people who are at risk for diabetes. Also, fasting can improve the health of one’s heart by reducing the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, helping people who may be at risk for heart diseases, which by the way is the number one cause of death in America. Furthermore, studies on animals, specifically mice, have shown that fasting can improve brain function and brain health, leaving the individual at less of a risk for mental disorders such as Alzheimers or Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, a more obvious benefit to fasting is weight loss. Although this is difficult for many people seeking to lose weight, it has been proven to work by limiting the amount of calorie intake for that individual and boosting their metabolism. This is how many UFC fighters make weight before a big fight. Ultimately, fasting has many unknown health benefits many are unaware of, and also has mental benefits as well. If you have ever completed the Yom Kippur fast or other difficult ones on different holidays, then you know what I am talking about. It takes a lot of will power and mental strength to be able to push past your body pain and tell your mind that you can accomplish your goal. This is why in the Army Rangers they basically starve you all throughout the training to weave out the mentally weak. So, by fasting you know you become mentally stronger as well, building a callus in your mind. Do you want to try it out?

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/fasting-benefits#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

Ellie Week 4: Golden Music Video

 As some of you may know, I am SEVERELY obsessed with Harry Styles. This week, pictures and videos of him were released showing that he was in Italy. In one particular video, you see him running up a hill chasing a car with what looks like a camera in the backseat. In the background of the video, you can clearly hear the first song on his 2nd album, Golden. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s an amazing song and I love it. But personally, I think it’s overrated and I just don’t understand the hype people give it. Anyways back to the point, many people think the reason he’s there is to film a music video for this song; people have also been thinking it’ll be the next single after Watermelon Sugar because they’ve been hearing it on the radio and it’s been getting a lot of attention lately. This is all very exciting! I remember when the Watermelon Sugar video came out right after I had started to become a fan of him. There were so many pictures released, he was active on social media, merch was released, there was so much going on and it was so fun! Unfortunately, though, Watermelon Sugar was filmed many months before it was released; people had seen leaked pictures long before we’d gotten the video. It could also be a Two Ghosts situation. If you don’t know, on his 1st album from 3-4 years ago, he has a song called Two Ghosts, and pictures from that video were leaked, but the video has yet to be released and probably never will be. I’m like 90% sure he wanted the video to be a surprise and it kinda makes me sad that we all know about it now and won’t be shocked when the video finally comes out. Now that I know it’s happening, my impatient self can’t wait to see the video and now I’ll just be sitting around for months waiting to watch Harry run in slomo singing “You’re so golden. Do do do do, do do do do do” What do you think about Golden, and are you excited for the music video? 

Week 4, Dori Baron - My 2020 Yom Kippur Experience

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a meaningful Yom Kippur and easy fast. This year was definitely interesting and unlike any other due to the pandemic. Beginning the fast, I ate a large meal of typical Jewish foods, including chicken, matzah ball soup, challah, and mushroom barley. I was worried that I hadn’t been preparing well enough for the fast since, earlier that day, I was busy trying to get lots of schoolwork done before the holiday began and didn’t focus on eating and drinking as much as I wanted to. Luckily, it ended up alright because I felt hydrated and full, and (spoiler alert) I was able to successfully fast! 

At first, I found that the fast wasn’t too difficult for me. After all, my morning and early afternoon were mainly comprised of services, praying, and sleeping. It was also the first time I’ve had to attend Yom Kippur services online through Zoom. My family and I did our best to not use technology on this holy day, but the only services we had access to were online from our synagogue, so we ended up having to use the computer a bit. Then, in the afternoon, I was spending time with my family, playing games, and reading. I was feeling hungrier at this point, but I was still able to handle the fast well since I was distracting myself from thoughts about food. 

During mincha and the concluding services is when it got hard. I felt tired and desperate to eat. Lately, I’ve noticed that I tend to generally feel the most hungry later in the day for some reason, so I wasn’t surprised that the late afternoon/evening was when I had the most trouble. When I was finally allowed to break the fast, though, I felt so happy. We made pizza bagels and had prepared homemade noodle kugel and apple cake. It was all so delicious! I made sure to hydrate a lot as well with various beverages, and I realized how grateful I was for even having food and drinks. 

Even though Yom Kippur was not the most fun holiday, I felt thankful that I was given the opportunity to communicate with God, be with my family, reflect, and ask for forgiveness for any wrongdoings I have done. I was unsure of how this holiday would unfold since my family and I have been trying to refrain from going out, have not been able to see relatives or friends often, and were unable to go to synagogues in person. However, I still found this year’s Yom Kippur special and will always remember it. Once again, I hope that everyone had a thoughtful Yom Kippur and fast, and let me know in the comments how your experience was and what part/time of the fast was hardest for you! 

Eden Richman Week 4 - Fasting Is not Easy

     When I first started fasting full days, it was very hard for me. I slept the entire day and woke up with enough energy to drag myself to the table and eat some food. Everyone has always told me that fasting would get easier the more I did it, but that has not really been the case for me. On minor fasts, I get up very early to eat breakfast, and I can also watch Netflix to get my mind off the hunger. On Yom Kippur though,  I can't use electronics and I also have to sit and stand through hours of services while practically saying the same words over and over again. I have been fasting on all the fast days for four years now, and have not seen any change in the way my body reacts to it.

    I have tried many techniques to help myself get through the fast easier. I have tried to eat a lot the day before the fast, I have tried to eat not very much the day before the fast. The one that worked best for me was not eating a lot starting a week before the fast, then the night before the fast eat a very large meal. This makes my experience a little better but not too much. The problem with doing this is that I have to start preparing for the fast a week in advance, and for very small results.

    Every year I say that I really hate fasting and every year I get the same answer: "You will get used to it" I have had four years to get used to fasting, and nothing has changed. Does anyone have suggestions to make fasting and easier experience?

Maya Melamed 4- My Yom Kippur at Home

This year my Yom Kippur was very different than usual. Usually, I spend my Yom Kippur at a hotel where a few of my friends go too. Because of Corona, I ended up staying home. I was very worried about how it would go fasting and with no electronics at home since usually I have friends to be with and keep me busy, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. My family and I ate a big meal together before it started. Once it did start, I had no idea what to do. I ended up looking for games that I can play with my family to pass the time. We started playing games for a while, but then I started thinking about food already. I realized I just needed to force myself to go to sleep so that I would feel even hungrier. I ended up falling asleep much earlier than I usually do because I forced myself and didn't have my phone to be on or tv to watch. The next morning, I woke up and wondered what I should do again since I had the whole day to go. The only option I had was to play more games with my family, so that's what I did. After playing a little I decided to go organize my closet since I'm redoing my room soon. It was actually a good time to do it since I would usually get lazy and would just be on my phone instead. In the last few hours of the fast, I started to feel weak and not good and just wanted it to end. I felt like the last few hours were going by so slow. Then it finally ended and I was so happy to finally be able to eat. Usually, in the end I go hear the shofar, but this time I couldn't. This Yom Kippur was not so bad, but I do wish I could have been at the hotel with my friends like I usually am.

Did Corona affect your holiday plans in any way?

Mama Mia! Here We Go Again review.

Romi Avidor 9/28/20 Week 4 This week I will be reviewing the second Mama Mia movie. Let’s just say that I have watched it multiple times and have never gotten sick of it. I have been a Mama Mia lover since the day that the first one came out. I used to watch the first one on repeat and then my life changed. In 2018, Mama Mia! Here We Go Again came out. I have never been so excited to watch it. I have recently rewatched it and everytime I watch it it gets better. By now, I already have memorized all the lyrics to every song which makes it 10 times more fun to watch. I know many people may not agree with me, but I like the second movie better than the first one. I love movies that have good music that you can sing along too. I love the plot of the second movie because it shows the lead up to how Donna came to the island and the people she met on the way. In the first movie, they are known as Sophie’s dads. My favorite part is when she meets young Bill because it has my favorite song during this scene and the scene is very joyful. It is funny because usually you would expect the first movie to come out after the second one because the second movie shows the past. I love the way they directed and wrote the second movie because now you understand how everything happened. If you have not watched it yet, you are making a big mistake, and you need to watch it ASAP. It is amazing. It is a fun upbeat movie that I would recommend anyone and everyone to watch. Also, I would recommend you to watch the first one before the second one so you can watch it in the order it came out. Have you watched this movie yet? I attatched the link to the trailer! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcSMdhfKga4

Olivia Ball - Week 4 - Town Hall Review

    The topic for my blog post this week is very controversial among everyone in the school, so I want to start off by saying please PLEASE give your opinion in the comments when you don’t agree with me. Today, I sat and listened in town hall. I heard everything that was said by administrators and students as well. All I can really say is that I am disappointed in the way people acted in frustration. As someone who used to have a very bad temper and trouble controlling my emotions, I completely understand why. That does not, however, give people the right to disregard all of the hard work that went into opening the school this year. I am very grateful for everything that I am able to do right now, and the fact that I am even partially in school is amazing. Everyone has the right to share their concerns and their opinions, yet anger should NEVER overpower giving people the respect that they deserve. 

    You are probably now thinking that I am not annoyed that the classes are longer. You are wrong. I am annoyed because sitting still for an hour is hard. Obviously I can only speak for myself, but I am willing to make ANY sacrifice that is necessary if that means that I get to return to a somewhat normal life. I would hope that people don’t take for granted the fact they get to be in school, they get to go to private school, and they can feel safe there. And if that means we have to sit for FIVE MINUTES longer, then I will do it. If that means I have to wear my mask all day, I will do it. If that means I don’t get to hang out with other grades in school, I will do it. The purpose of this is not to change your opinion because I know that it most likely will not happen. The purpose of this is to open your mind to a different side of the story. There is always another side. Things might feel like they are bad for you, but think of the other people. Think of the people who are so under-appreciated, and please make sure that they know how much you care. Again, I know that this is weird coming from me who used to be the complete opposite person, but be nice to people and say thank you to every small thing that is given to you in life. 

Blog #3 - Dan - NFL Injuries

 This week in the NFL - which was week 2 of the regular season - saw the most astounding amount of injuries the NFL had seen in a long time. On Sunday and Monday, 14 NFL games were played, of which there were TEN (!!!) players who either tore their achilles heel or their ACL. For those of you who don't know, tearing an achilles heel is one of the most painful and long-lasting injuries the body can suffer. In the worst cases, people can take up to two or three years to fully recover, and in the NFL, a torn achilles immediately leaves a player out for the season, same as a torn ACL. While an ACL tear is not as bad as an achilles, it is also grueling and very hard to recover from. The ACL is a ligament in one's knee, and out of the MCL, PCL, and ACL, the latter is the toughest injury to suffer. While there were ten players this past week whose seasons were finished by an achilles or ACL tear, there were at least ten others who suffered more minor injuries, those of which included sprained knees, high ankle sprains, arm injuries, and in a very strange case, the quarterback of the Los Angeles Chargers aggravated his chest injury when a shot administered to him before the game went wrong. 

The reason for the amount of terrible injuries suffered this past week in the NFL could vary. Some might argue it's the lack of practice and minicamp with the whole corona situation, others could argue it's just how football is, and week to week, players are bound to get injured. In any case, no one should wish injury or pain on anyone else, and I wish nothing but the best for these amazing players and athletes on their recoveries.

Jacob Poller (Week 3)- Why is Vintage Better?

    Since I've been playing guitar there's really been one phrase that you hear so often... "Vintage is better." Now I have a 1968 Stratocaster in my family so I have a good reference point for a vintage guitar. But that being said, why do people so often prefer vintage? I think that it has to do mainly with the feel. 

On vintage guitars almost always you’ll see rounding on the edge of the fretboard (where the guitarist actually plays with their left hand if they’re a righty. Some come in different woods and some people say they have different sounds). This causes it to have a smoother and more comfortable feel. The second reason people prefer vintage is sound. As guitars age and as people play them the magnets in the guitars pickups (what makes the sound) become less strong. This causes them to have less pull on the string which makes a “warmer” sounding instrument. Now unlike a lot of older guitarists I fall into the category of people who don’t prefer vintage. 

For me the vintage guitars actually limit my ability to play. As I said before in my family there is a fifty one year old guitar. And as much as I like the sound you have to fight the guitar in order to play it. It’s extremely hard to reach the upper frets and the electronics inside of it cause a serious hum when you plug it in. Whereas on my 2017 Ibanez JS2480 it has amazing upper fret access and the electronics are genuinely perfect for what I play.

Eden Richman Week 3 - My Last Goodbye

     This week I realized something that I feel very terrible about. As some of you know, I have been teaching a four-year-old girl Hebrew on zoom over the summer on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She always seemed to like our zooms and would often cry when we had to end them. The Thursday before school started was one of those days. Chaya - the little girl, was crying and telling me not to leave the zoom. She wanted to keep on playing games with me, which is very sweet, but not when I needed to end the zoom. I reassured her that we would meet again on Tuesday like I do every other time.  She finally agreed (with a little persuasion from her mom) and I ended the zoom. 

    Nothing seems wrong with that, right? Wrong. I told her I would see her again on Tuesday, but the truth is that I wouldn't. We met at 10 am and that was in the middle of the school day. I told her mom that school was starting and that I couldn't meet at 10 on Tuesdays and Thursdays anymore, I also wanted to know if there was a different time we could meet so I could keep on helping her daughter. She thanked me for my time and didn't respond to my offer about finding a different time. 

                                           

    Days past, and I got homework and had to study for tests and the SAT. I completely forgot about Chaya. Every so often a Tuesday or a Thursday went by where I would think about why the mother never took me up on my offer to switch times. But this week, Chaya's mom put a video on WhatsApp of Chaya saying "shana tova umetuka" It was an adorable video, then I started to think about our zoom meetings, and realized what I had said at our last meeting. I told her that I would see her on Tuesday, but that never happened. 

    I know this probably sounds like a very trivial thing, but I genuinely feel terrible for what I said and hope to be able to talk to her soon, maybe even in person. Have you ever said something by accident that you regretted?

Public vs Private school, Week 3

 Week 3, Public to Private School, Aly Strauss

I’ve been in public school forever and this year is my first year in a private school. So, far they are so different. 

Private school is so different compared to public school. In a private school, you basically know everybody, and everyone’s more intelligent than students in public schools. I’m not really talking about literal intelligence, I’m talking about creative intelligence. Students in private school are more engaging than public school students. The amount of students in a public school is giant. It’s so chaotic and the student’s aren’t that nice. The amount of students in a private school though is perfect. There aren’t too many students and there aren’t too little students. The teachers in private school are also more helpful. In a public school, it’s so hard to get in contact with a teacher individually. In private school, the teachers actually care about each student’s grades. Scenery in private schools is also amazing. Everything Looks clean and the campus is a lot smaller, which in my opinion is way more efficient than a giant public school.

What I’m trying to say is that private is so much better than public school. Everyones nicer, it’s a better and cleaner environment, and everyone’s so nice. I highly recommend switching to a private school.

Week 2 Grey's Anatomy

 Aly Strauss, Week 2, Greys anatomy

When I was eight, I started watching Grey's Anatomy with my mom and I’ve been watching it ever since. The show's a mix of excitement, drama, and the experience of being a doctor. I always wonder if the show is like being a doctor in real life. Obviously, I know that television isn’t reality, but in the back of my mind, I felt that television is based on reality. It isn’t even just about the job itself that excites me, it’s also the people. That’s a big step down, because the show’s characters aren’t real, they’re actors. Also, in reality, I don’t think my possible coworkers could possibly look as good as the male actors on the show.

Some things about the show though are similar to reality. The show shows the journey through internship, to residency, to being an attending. The show also exemplifies the income that a doctor in reality would make. The show’s special effects look so real and the doctor terminology is almost perfectly accurate.

 Grey’s Anatomy is great, and I love everything about the show. Basically my biggest concern is what if I go to medical school to pursue being my dream job, and then realize that it wasn’t what I expected. What if my expectation were false?

Coby Russo Week 3- Hurricane Season Gone Greek!

                          

    What's up guys! Welcome to my third ever blog! Today I wanted to discuss a topic that really interests me, hurricanes. For the first time since 2005, we have been forced to use the Greek Alphabet to name newly formed storms because the official 2020 name list came to an end after tropical stormed Wilfred formed in the Atlantic. As of right now, Alpha has already struck Portugal and Spain and Beta is moving around in the Gulf of Mexico. Like, this just puts the cherry on top of 2020. A possible WW3,  a worldwide pandemic, riots, murder hornets, and now exceeding 21 storms before OCTOBER!!! how lovely 😊 (insert sarcasm here). And we aren't near the end of the season! The peak of the season was around two weeks ago, and it ends at around November Decemeberish. So bunker up everyone! 

    I was recently at the beach where I felt the riptides and above-average waves from Major Hurricane Teddy (moving up the Atlantic towards Nova Scotia, Canada). I was thrown around in the water and pounded against the sand underwater, SO MUCH FUN, but it really showed me how strong and how much damage a storm could do. But why are there so many storms this year? GLOBAL WARMING PEOPLE (THERES PROOF SO DON'T EVEN TRY TO SAY THAT IT DOESNT EXIST). Do you guys think all these storms are due to all the pollution and the way we treat our planet, or do you guys think that this is just a fluke in the system? Also, do any of you believe that future hurricane seasons will become worse than this year? Let me know in the comments down below!

https://weather.com/

Lauren Hodes- Week 3- Changing my sleep schedule

    Usually on every morning that I have online school, I wake up at 8:20 with just enough time to put on new clothes, brush my teeth, and brush my hair. I am very rushed and barely have enough time to wake up. I run to the area I do my school in and am basically sleeping for the first zoom period. I cut school so close with waking up 10 minutes before. This leaves me with the only option of working out in the afternoon around 4. But recently I have decided to change that. This past week I have woken up every morning at  7. I decided to make this time shift after realizing how tired I have been during my workouts. I have been getting headaches and don’t run for as long as usual. My new schedule helps that a lot. I force myself to wake up early and run in the morning because I think of how good I will feel afterwards. My new schedule leaves me with enough time to workout from 7:10 to 8. Then I jump in the shower and get changed/ready from 8 to 8:30. This made me more energized and less sleepy during classes. I felt accomplished rather than just rolling out of bed. In a busy schedule, after I am done with school, I don’t need to worry about working out. I would definitely recommend this to everyone. Even if you aren’t a morning person like me, creating good habits can always be achieved. Leave in the comments below a positive habit that you wish to have or a bad habit that you want to stop!

Olivia Ball - Week 3 - How Do You Make Yourself Fall Asleep?

    I don’t know about anyone else, but when I go to sleep at night, I need to be watching or listening to something. Usually I will watch TV and it helps me fall asleep, and HULU will eventually fall asleep and stop it from playing. However, when I wake up the next morning, I am 10 episodes ahead and I don’t remember where I stopped because I fell asleep. I also fall asleep watching a movie sometimes, but again, when I miss the end, I don’t know where I stopped watching. When I try to guess, I end up rewatching parts and getting bored. Some nights, I decide that I don’t want to have this issue, so I listen to music instead. Last night, I shuffled the Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again album and set a timer for it to turn off in 15 minutes. I was able to fall asleep about two songs in. 

     I need to learn how to make myself fall asleep on my own. I always feel physically exhausted, but struggle to let myself go to sleep when it is early, before midnight. I don’t know if this is just me or if other people have this issue. When I am out all day being busy, there is nothing I want more than to lie in bed and fall asleep, but it is much easier said than done. I hope that in recognizing that I need to stop relying on sound to help me go to sleep, I will be able to on my own. 

Jacob Abramchaev (Week 3) - Saving Private Ryan Movie Review

Over the long holiday weekend, I watched the movie, Saving Private Ryan. It was an amazing film and one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. It was recommended by Mr. Belotto last year when we had a lesson on the World War II D-Day battle, which was really interesting. The main characters include some of my favorite actors like Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, and Vin Diesel. Even though the movie was released in 1998, it’s considered the most accurate Hollywood depiction of what happened during the Normandy landings. 

The movie is about Captain John Miller who takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan. Ryan is just this brave guy like all the other soldiers but he was granted a ticket home. Private Ryan’s three brothers were killed in combat so this mission was to make sure mothers don’t lose all of their children in the war. The men fought with true courage and honor while saving countless lives in the process. 

The beginning of the film starts with a gruesome scene during the Omaha Beach invasion, and I was really shocked seeing what these soldiers went through. The beach scene made me appreciate life because those men knew that there was a really low chance of them surviving the battle, and many of them were very young. For a film over 20 years old, I couldn’t believe how the filmmakers were able to make it all seem so realistic, and it felt as if you're going back in time. 

What other battlefield movies would you recommend? 

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CiW_DgxCnQ

Ethan WIrtschafter- Week 3- Piano Maestro

             

           I have recently started to play the piano again and have been taking it very seriously. I started playing the piano at the age of 6 and played for many years, but then took a break for a while. I just started back up last summer and have been playing for around a year now. But, with the amount of time and hard work I put into my practicing I am now at a level equivalent to playing for around 5-10 years. This is because I practice for 1-4 hours every single day and have been committed to getting better. I love playing the piano and I know there are numerous benefits to playing the piano or an instrument in general, and wanted to share some that many people are unaware of to possibly convince you to pick up an instrument.

Playing the piano is incredibly good for your brain. Because of the complex melodies, harmonies, sounds, and rhythms going by, your brain is working very hard to try and decipher and separate all these components. Neurologists have found that when someone listens to classical music, fireworks in all different parts of the brain go off, and even more so when a musician is playing an instrument they engage almost all regions of their brain. Moreover, when playing the piano you are working on fine motor skills, memory skills, concentration skills, multitasking skills, attention skills and are increasing activity in the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum connects the right and left hemisphere of the brain, so when activity here is increased, there is more information flowing across the two lobes. The piano is incredible for maintaining one’s finger dexterity and strength, two things that deteriorate with old age. The skills enhanced while playing the piano can be applied to other activities as well. Skills such as planning, strategizing, and memory can be helpful in mathematics, problem-solving, and overall learning. Finally, the piano builds perseverance and concentration through hours of hard work and practice. It is like a sport and takes lots of practice and commitment, but is worth the effort because it teaches one discipline and has positive scientific effects. Do you want to learn how to play?

TED-ED- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0JKCYZ8hng

Articles- https://www.flowkey.com/en/benefits-playing-piano

              https://www.pianodreamers.com/benefits-of-playing-piano/

Isaac Berkower Week 3 - Mass Exodus?

                                  

Joe Rogan. Elon Musk. Ben Shapiro. These are all people who have left California because of poor living conditions. But, it's not just these big names that are choosing to leave. For example, in the past 2 months, there have been 4 families that moved into my community from California, and more that I probably haven't heard of yet. 

                

         So, what's going on in California that is causing all of these people to move out, and why now?

    An easy answer would be to just say that all of these people left to avoid the high taxes, but I believe that the problems in California go a lot deeper than that, or else the same "mass exodus" would be happening in other places with high taxes like New York, Vermont, or Maine.

    In recent years, California has seen some of its largest and most dangerous wildfires, has had terrible droughts, forced certain neighborhoods into electrical blackouts to avoid overheating by the electrical system, and has experienced a homeless crisis that is arguably worse than any other state. All of this is happening in the state that is home to silicon valley, a place that is supposed to bring minds together to solve our problems. Without getting into why all of this is happening to avoid this blog being classified as a political rant, I would like to say that these are the reasons that are causing this "mass exodus", but even these reasons aren't enough to get people to move out of California. These events have been taking place for a while,  and native Californians are only starting to move out now, so there must be something else.

    The obvious answer to this "why now" question is because of the Virus. This virus has exposed to the general public the fact that these issues have real consequences and that they are not going away any time soon. People now had time to contemplate their life and have realized that California isn't the same place that these people called home tens of years ago.

    Ultimately, every place has its problems, but the problems with California have gone too far for any sane person to deal with. Would you leave California if you lived there today?

Zev Englander Blog 3: My Rosh Hashana

My Rosh Hashana every year is pretty repetitive. My family comes, we have dinner, and do all of the Jewish traditions both nights. During the day we go to my Dad's Shul and sit in services for 5-6 hours. I blow Shofar with Noah Rubin for hundreds of people in services. It has been the same since 6th grade. This year, given the circumstances of COVID-19, the synagogue decided hosting services would not be worth the risk given there are hundreds of elderly people in the building on the high holidays. Services were streamed live, and even though my dad was in the building as the Rabbi I wasn't allowed in to blow Shofar. So, we chrome-casted the stream on the TV and sat on the couch, without any extended family here. To me, Rosh Hashana lost most of it's meaning this year, and it was disappointing to realize that we did Passover on zoom and are still online for the high holidays. I think there were still positives of online Rosh Hashana though. Because it was a Livestream, Jewish people from all over the country were able to watch and experience a meaningful Rosh Hashana for maybe the first time. We also had a socially distanced Tashlich with the community which was nice. Noah and I  were still able to blow shofar together, and I guess it all worked out fine although different. For my classmates, how was your Rosh Hashana?? Hopefully, everybody found meaning and was able to reflect on their year. I will be attaching a link to steps for blowing a shofar. 

https://www.wikihow.com/Blow-a-Shofar#:~:text=Press%20the%20shofar%20gently%20to,hold%20the%20shofar%20in%20place.