2 FIRST GLANCE P.4: PERSONAL
P.6: LIFE
The Pinetree Post
STAFF EDITOR IN CHIEF Beverley Fung EDITOR Jeff Feng
Remembrance Day
P.12: GLOBAL
Encountering Encounters
P.14: OTHER
WRITERS Ben Connor, Emily Liang, Julia Park, Jeffrey Shen, Shirley Wang, Jenny Zhao, Sherry Zuo LAYOUT DESIGN Beverley Fung COVER AND GRAPHICS Emily Liang WEBSITE DESIGN Zhen Zhen Tsai Marvin Shi SPECIAL THANKS TO Encounters with Canada, PT’s Choir, Mr. & Mrs. Carmichael, Mr. Lau
Choir’s Trip to China
12 Angry Movie Notes, #8 Will Shock You!
GET INVOLVED IN THE PT POST! A lot of people don’t seem to realize the fact that The Pinetree Post is a student newspaper, fully run and produced by the students. This means that any student can submit content of any kind, whether they be a letter to the editor, editorials on issues you feel strongly about, or even comics!
We also have many positions to fill in our staff. No matter your niche, whether it be writing, editing, drawing, coding websites, or marketing, we’re looking for students in all grades to join us! Sign up at: https://thepinetreepost.typeform. com/to/q4USAe
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First Glance EDITOR’S NOTE
Up and Running
Editor in Chief, Beverley Fung.
New ones have joined the team. Beverley Fung Editor-in-Chief
Happy Holidays Pinetree! Are you ready for an exciting issue? ‘Cause we have a ton of great articles lined up this month! Recently, there have been several clown sightings across USA and Canada. Where do these clowns come from? Are they violent? Read up in our feature this issue about the origins of the clown phenomena, local sightings, and student opinions on the matter. I, personally, got the chance to visit Ottawa as part of the Encounters with Canada trip. I got to see local sights and attractions, including Mr. Justin Trudeau himself. Read about the firsthand experiences
Photo courtest of Ina Huang
of one of our new writers on his trip across the country. It seems like I was not the only one who got to travel this year! PT’s very own choir was invited to China to visit and perform. Two of our writers were lucky enough to go on this trip and write all about their adventures there. We have more to see including a thorough movie review, and a feature on all of our new members for this year! We hope to have a great year working with them and expect to see great things. Sincerely,
Beverley Fung
4 PERSONAL A MOMENT OF SILENCE
Remembrance Day
Field of poppies.
Remember when this happened?
Photo courtesy of officeholdays.com
Center on Remembrance Day, participating in the moment of silence when suddenly, sharp Julia Park sounds broke the silence. I turned, annoyed by the Writer disturbance, and saw two boys no older than five years of age, chasing one another down the mall As a Korean-American four months into a new life as their father trailed behind. My irritation grew as the shrieks grew louder and the boys bumped in Canada, I nodded with vigorous enthusiasm, afraid and rather ashamed to show my unfamiliar- into mourning shoppers, all without a word of caution from the father. What kind of overly ity whenever anyone mentioned ‘Remembrance Day.’ When my friend returned from the mall with affectionate parent allows his child to run and yell during a moment of remembrance? As I watched, a poppy pinned to her sweater, I marveled at her I came to the terms that they were maybe five choice of fashion accessory. I didn’t mention it - I years old. Five year olds don’t understand war, nor mean, who am I to assume the role of fashion police - but as the week went on, I noticed half the are they expected to. Following this realization, I was hit with Canadian population with a plastic poppy on their a wave of thankfulness - a few decades back, a chest. five year old boy would have had to understand No longer oblivious to Remembrance war. There once was a time when war and death Day thanks to the assembly, I was at Coquitlam
Personal weren’t just chapters of a history book; they were ways of life, and regular occurrences that one had to become familiar with, regardless of age. I realized the young boys at the mall and I have a lot in common. We are both raised in a privileged, peaceful environment, where we do not have to experience firsthand the horrors of battle, oppression, and war. Thousands of men died so that the boys and I could grow up in that privileged, peaceful environment. My thoughts of gratitude were interrupted by the soft voice of an elderly woman asking the children to please quiet down. As they embarrassedly obeyed, all others returned to their silent reflections. It was a heartwarming sight, but I wished that there were no reason for a day of remembrance - no deaths to mourn, no veterans to honor. I grieved, and still grieve, for those that willingly gave up everything they had hoping that they could make a difference. They dedicated their lives to the war against oppression, and succeeded. They succeeded for their children, for the boys, for me. Today, war resides far enough away from Coquitlam that thoughts of it are seldom forced upon our minds.
“Must peace breed ignorance? Thanks to the resotration of peace, I have grown up in a country where war and death feel like just another chapter in history.”
How can I possibly remember the events that occurred long before my time? I can watch the movies, wear a poppy; but chances are, I won’t
5 ever experience or be able to comprehend the weight of being asked to give my life for my country- to risk my life, so that future generations of Korean-American-Canadians may live free. War is too easily dismissed, and shoved to the margins of our consciousness. Until we experience it directly, the ultimate sacrifice of veterans remains just a notion, an idea, a tragic story we hear and forget. I will never be able to fully understand the depth of sacrifice, lives laid down for my sake, by the veterans we honor each year. That being said, I hope that our generation will never have to go through similar experiences as our veterans. I am forever thankful of the sacrifices that they made for our sakes. Our greatest tribute to them, really the only way to express our gratitude, would be to live the life that they made possible, to learn from their example of sacrifice and courage, and to remember. Wearing a plastic poppy may not look like much, but when enough of us do it, proudly and publicly, it can mean a whole lot.
TALENT SHOW AUDITIONS Have you got a special talent you want to show off to the world? Singing? Dancing? Acting? Musical instrument - piano, violin, guitar, turkey baster? Others? If you answered yes to any of those, then it sounds like Pinetree’s 2016 Talent Show is perfect for you! The Talent Show will be on December 16th; however, auditions are coming up soon so get your act together fast! Auditions are being held after school on December 6th. To sign up, check outside the Social Studies office for the sign up sheet. For more information, contact Ms. Hopkins.
6 LIFE ENCOUNTERS WITH CANADA
Miracle on 111 Wellington Street
The beautiful city of Ottawa at nighttime.
The awkward adventure of an anti-social teenager. Ben Connor Writer
During the beginning of October, I was fortunate enough to partake in the long running program, Encounters with Canada. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it’s a program that allows high school student from grades ten through twelve travel to Ottawa and attend a themed week of activities. There are weeks such as International Relations, Health and Medicine, Art and Culture, and First Responders. It also gives you the opportunity to meet around onehundred other students from across Canada. So if you want to partake in the program, have seven hundred dollars lying around, and can afford to miss a week of school, then quickly hop on a plane straight to Ottawa. Thinking back to the trip, I remember many people were using the phrase, “this has been an amazing week.” Almost everyone raved about how much they enjoyed the week, and how they were so glad that they had the ability to go. Now, I enjoyed the week as well, but I wouldn’t exactly call my experience amazing. I had fun, it was a good week, but I’m not
Photo courtesy of ottawabestwestern.com
thinking about how much I would love to be back there. A week was enough for me. So for those of you who seem interested in going, I would recommend it. I’m going to do a quick overview of the week and my personal experiences, as well as tips that may improve your experience if you plan on attending. Keep in mind not every week is like this one, and that you will probably have fewer mishaps at the airport than I did. Day 1: Take Off and Accommodation I began my adventure like any other traveller - at the airport. I was searching for my gate when I saw a clump of teenagers all socializing with each other. I assumed it was the Encounters group. Now you may be wondering what the other travellers were thinking with all these teenagers getting on their flight. One of them asked one of my friends who was sitting beside her on the airplane if she knew what all these teenagers were doing. My friend responded “yes” and that was it - no further inquiries. So long as nothing was wrong in the universe that was good enough for the traveller. Anyways, I got on the plane and headed to my seat (which was the window seat), and long and behold, someone was sitting in my seat. No, it was not Goldilocks, but just like Goldilocks, the seat-thief didn’t ask. I just let her have the seat, not really caring. Four hours later, I arrived in Ottawa. I was standing at the baggage claim looking for my luggage
Life when it came around the corner... and then it was gone. Someone took it thinking it was theirs. I was in Ottawa for not even ten minutes and I was already almost robbed, but the person quickly figured out what had happened, and minutes later, I got my luggage back. Then we boarded the bus and headed to centre that we would call home for the next six days. One of the first things that people bonded over was how the dorms look like jail, which brings me into my review of the accommodation. If you are the type of person that doesn’t like to share a room with forty strangers with bunk beds separated by dividers, and one communal bathroom (such as myself), then it may be a little awkward at first - but after a few days you get used to it. Day 2: Strange Music and Making Introductions Every morning strange music would wake us up at around 6:00am. Everyone complained about the music. I heard it affectionately be refered to as “propaganda music.” But for me, I was already awake before then. If you want to avoid a crowd of people all getting ready, get up half an hour early to avoid bathroom lines. Bring your own towel as well. Also another tip: you might want to bring your own pillow or something, just because the beds aren’t that the comfortable. The first day was very relaxed. It was mostly composed of waiting for all the participants to arrive so we could get the week started. We watched a movie, played some games, but what people mainly did was start to build relationships with each other. The day really didn’t begin until 5:00pm, where we played ice breakers and were told about what we got ourselves into. There was also constant surveillance and cameras around the cafeteria and leisure areas. One of my friends told me that it felt like being on a reality T.V. show. I mean - she wasn’t wrong. Day 3: Parliament and the First Taste of What’s to Come Monday is when everything sort of began. We had a keynote speaker, a former Member of Parliament. Who it was, if I’m honest, I don’t really remember, nor do I remember much of his speech. I just remember that I felt like he was trying to sell his book to us. Parliament on the other hand was amazing. We got to watch the Members of Parliament bicker at each other during question period, which was actually
7 really entertaining to watch. You would think that elected officials would conduct themselves properly at Parliament, but that is not the case. They would “boo” certain speakers when they were speaking, and bang on their desk, stand up, or clap when they heard a point they liked. They would also be roasting and insulting each other as well. They talked about the carbon tax, and that the Liberal government was implementing relationships with Russia and China. However, it mostly composed of the opposition criticizing the government, and the Liberals basically saying that they were going to continue on with whatever they felt like. Monday night we had the choices of a fitness challenge, bowling, mini golf, or yoga. Being out of shape I ran away from the fitness challenge for something more my speed - bowling. Bowling was great; we traveled to Quebec, which was kind of strange because they have horizontal traffic lights. One of the things I’m also going to mention was the food. The food was overall okay or decent. I didn’t find too many problems with it; however, I’m not a very picky eater. Everyone else thought the food was terrible, except for the vegetarians. They all said that their meals were good. Sure, some of the food was a little bland, and some of the soups I’ll admit just were not very good (the chicken noodle that lacked both chicken and noodles); however, it was edible. If you’re pickier, you may want to eat with the vegetarians for a week because they said they had no problems. Days 4-6 Global Affairs, Aga Khan, the Diefenbunker, Canadian War Museum The next few days all blur together in my mind. We listened to civil service workers speak to us at Global Affairs Canada, which assists in international development and projects. It was previously known as CIDA. My afternoon was then composed of listening to more people talk from an organization called the Aga Khan Foundation. Apparently it’s a large global organization; however, many of us hadn’t heard of it before. Again, the topics were global development. Throughout the week, we would have something that resembled class time in little groups of around sixteen. We would discuss topics such as child labour, the environment, bilingualism, etc. each day.
8 LIFE Then there were cultural sites we visited as well. There was the Diefenbunker, which is a cold war era museum, originally built to protect the government. Honestly, it was one of my favourite sites we visited. It was really cool seeing this giant relic of the past. Then there was the Canadian War Museum, which I also really enjoyed. Depending on the week you chose, you may see more history based cultural sites or more science based facilities. Also, at the Canadian War Museum for those of you who like old books, they sell them for really cheap, and many people gladly bought books from the 1940’s. I missed out, but if you’re in to that kind of thing, bring some money for it. Finally, we visited a cemetery and paid our respects to veterans. I couldn’t help but wonder if they bring the participants to the same graves every time, or if they rotate around the graveyard. Evening activities during those days were honestly probably the best part of the week. We did some folk dancing one night, which actually turned out pretty fun, even though it was kind of bizarre. On Thursday, there was also the choice between a haunted walk, listening to classical music, watching a play, and watching a movie about African animals. I opted for the haunted walk. I may have gone to listen to the music; however, I was basically almost falling asleep everywhere all week, so I made the decision to stay away from classical music just in case. The walk was actually really good. I’m not going to spoil anything. They took us through a “haunted” jail. We were actually standing in a hallway when a door suddenly shut downstairs (the entrance and exit of the jail), and everyone freaked out. They basically fell to the ground, leaving me confused and wondering why everyone was freaking out and on the ground. I definitely recommend going on it. Day 7: Downtown Ottawa and Saying Goodbye The last day we were given enough freedom to navigate Ottawa on our own (actually in partners), for about three hours of shopping. The Byward Market in Ottawa was really cool to check out. It is right beside a mall called the Rideau Centre, which honestly wasn’t really worth going into since it was basically like Pacific Centre - full of high end stores I couldn’t afford. It is worth spending more time at the
Byward than the mall because you can find souvenirs and items that you can’t get anywhere else. If you’re going to buy lunch at the Byward, do it early or get it to-go because you will run out of time otherwise. The evening was followed by a fancy banquet, which I thought was funny because we still ate from cafeteria trays. There was an emotional group talk afterwards where people shared heartwarming and personal messages. All I said was “I’m going to keep this short, it was a good week.” I probably spoke the least out of everyone. Then there was a dance, which was kind of strange because it was in the cafeteria, and there was just a clump of people in the middle dancing. I made the error of staying up until three and having to get up at four to make my flight. I regret that decision now. Then it was to the airport where apparently I looked really suspicious. I had a “random” swabbing of my bag for drug residue, which there was none of. Then I set off the metal detector, so I had to go into this scanning machine. Just when I thought I was clear, they had to go through my bag again because they couldn’t see into an empty wooden box I bought. After all that, I was free to get on my flight. I fell asleep during takeoff. Closing Thoughts Overall, it was a good week and I really enjoyed it. Faced with the question if I would do it again, I would probably say no. A week was enough for me. By the end I was really tired of being around so many people, and really wanted my own space back. I did make new friends from across Canada, which is pretty cool. Also, about a half of the people there during my week were from B.C., especially Surrey, so you can probably meet up with them on the trip back home afterwards. I think that how good the week turns out depends on the type of people who are attending, and how many one can connect with. I was fortunate to have a good group of people during my week.. If I had to rate my experience on a scale from one to ten, I would probably give it an eight and half. But then again, I can only speak for myself. Everyone will have a different experience and different stories that made their week.
Life
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10 LIFE CHILDHOOD FEARS BROUGHT TO REALITY
Clowning Around
Need some company on your walk home at night? Well look no further, clowns are here for you. Shirley Wang and Sherry Zuo Writers Lately, certain individuals across North America have been taking “clowning around” too far. The first incident of the ongoing clown epidemic took place in South Carolina where children reported seeing suspicious clowns near their apartment complex, and has since spread to several cities across the USA and Canada. Some of the activities the clowns have performed include chasing after cars, luring children into the woods, and on one occasion, even fatally stabbing a civilian. As of late, some Vancouver residents have encountered these frightening Bozo cosplayers, with one of the closest incidents occurring in Surrey, where a man clad in a clown mask jumped out of the bushes and chased down a group of four teens. The clown craze is something that has wildly escalated into something essentially known as a ‘meme’. While some have been having fun dressing up as clowns to join in on this, others have been chasing the clowns in return and threatening them back. In Cumbria, England, a man has begun dressing up as Batman to “chase down the creepy clowns”. Due to so many attacks on clowns, the movement “Clown Lives Matter” has started in order to protect haunted house workers who dress up as clowns for their living. McDonalds has even given an official statement that they will be reducing the imagery of their mascot, Ronald McDonald, until this clown craze dies down. A common response to this clown epidemic in the US seems to be general fear followed by the classic US response of banning and trying to hide from sight the issue, this taking the form of banning
clown costumes from most schools and public attractions. Some stores have begun putting up “No Clowns Allowed” signs, while schools have enacted bans on clown costumes for Halloween. In Penn State, students have flooded the streets to hunt for clowns, and there have even been conspiracy theories that the White House is behind these clown attacks. According to a recent survey, more US citizens are currently scared of clowns than terrorism or death, which may be a good representation of how out of hand this entire clown issue has gotten. Creepy clowns are spooking a country already freaked out by political ones, what’s next I wonder. What is it about clowns that makes people so afraid? When all of you were children, being afraid of clowns was common, but once people grew up, they grew out of it. Well, coulrophobia is the official term for fear of clowns. Clowns have long been associated with a history of murder, financial ruin, infidelity, and other crimes that really don’t seem like they should belong to something that was originally made to entertain children. But you as kids didn’t know that (probably). A possible explanation is the “uncanny valley” effect, saying that something being familiar but simultaneous oddly unfamiliar will create a response of revulsion. Seeing clowns smile, which is supposed to be good, but smiling all the time creates something unfamiliar and we register that as something not good, creating the creepy clown image. Clowns are covered in layers of makeup that we have no idea what’s underneath. Mass media has played on this image and now dozens of scary clown movies and television shows exist, one prime example being Stephen King’s “It”. Well, either way, clown hysteria is sweeping the country faster than it ever did.
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Life Our own grad class seems to be handling the issue semiwell. When asked about how they feel about clowns: “It is really creepy, I don’t want to experience it. Plus I hate clowns.” - Angelina Wu “I’m sad because it ruined my Halloween plans. I was planning on dressing up as a clown.” - Janie Wang “If I see one at school with a tall person by my side, I would be fine. But if I see one in a shady dark alley somewhere, then that’s an issue.” - Shirley Yang “Send in the Clowns. Come see Charity Band perform in the December concert!” - Harry Ahn
SORRY IF YOU’RE NOT A SENIOR, BUT...
Winter Formal Beverley Fung Grad Council
Here’s all you need to know about PT’s 2016 Winter Formal Masquerade: WHERE: School (Doors open @ Integrity Hwy) DATE: December 9, 2016
“You mean Harry?” - Phil Wong
TIME: 6:15PM-10:30PM
“You mean Harry?” - Eric Jung
“Harry?” - Jason Li
TICKETS: Tickets are being sold online and through the office. Ticket sales will also be held in the foyer starting Monday, Dec 5.
“Clowns are overrated.” - Shirley Zhang The general consensus amongst our grad class seems to be that while the clown chasers are scary to think about, our community still feels relatively safe. Students should keep in mind that any behaviour that acts in accordance to this new ‘clown craze’ will be dealt with harshly by administration, so before any of you decide to chase around clowns like Batman, you should remember whether or not you still want to go to university.
PRICE: $35 DJ: Vancouver’s Very Own - the same DJ featured at Senior Sail. WHAT’S THERE TO DO: Other than dancing, there will also be a photobooth, Artona groupshots, an airbrush tattoo artist, and a casino decked with poker and blackjack. MORE INFO: Check out the “PT Winter Formal Masquerade 2016” Facebook event page for new information or watch out for the HOWL.
12 GLOBAL CHINESE(-CANADIANS & OTHERS) IN CHINA
Choir’s Trip to China
Jenny Zhao / Pinetree Post Pinetree students showing off their national pride. loudly and likely causing a public disturbance, as Canada = Red & White well as made friends with some of the airline staff China = Red & Yellow members. Once we landed, it felt like freedom. After proceeding through a very long and Shirley Wang tiring customs check (due to the amount of people, Writer not the workers), we got onto a bus from Shanghai DAY ONE to Hangzhou. This was a three-hour long bus ride, following a twelve hour plane ride, so you can Today marked the start of the Pinetree imagine how tired we were. We made one pitstop Choir’s trip to Hangzhou, China. We were invited at a rest area that had free wifi, enjoyed our fifteen to perform at the Greentown Qinqin School’s annual minutes of learning about internet regulations , and International Choir Festival, and they essentially paid then proceeded onwards until we finally arrived at for our entire trip. Hangzhou Greentown School. After Linda, a student It took us twelve hours to fly from Vancouver at the school, gave us a short introduction, we all split to Shanghai. If any of you have ever been on an up and went to our new homes with our homestays. overseas flight with a school group, you can probably Here’s a question that I contemplated after my first imagine how it goes. Most people try to sleep, and day in China - do you define a good driver as someone attain varying degrees of success. The rest are left who follows the rules of the road, or someone who to suffer. I personally enjoyed the new Ghostbusters doesn’t crash no matter what happens on the road? movie and some Brooklyn Nine Nine, and also If your definition is similar to the second, then you watched an old Pokemon movie. We were all chatting might be pleased to find out that China is full of
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Global good drivers. The constant swerving around others no matter how little the space builds an experience quite similar to roller coasters. The sound of horns honking at each other around the “No Honking” sign blends into harmony, despite the general distaste for the sign from our trumpet players (the No Honking sign features an “X” through a trumpet). Either way, I was almost six accidents in one day, so I’m very impressed by the general population of China that dares to drive or walk on the streets. Despite having my new driver’s licence, I have nowhere near the mental fortitude required to not only, drive, but survive on the streets of China. DAY TWO Today marked the start of the International Choir Festival for this school branch, which was interesting, but also painful. The local school members introduced the festival, and proceeded to perform for us as part of the opening ceremonies. They had different performing groups from each of the school divisions come up and perform various acts involving vocals, dance, and instruments. We sat in the sun the entire time, which quickly became very hot and annoying. In the final performances, it featured the senior students, who were much better than the beginning younger students. However, I grew increasingly confused as they transitioned from traditional guzheng music to sad ballet to loud hip-hop dancing, and then immediately back to the same sad ballet on stage, with no introduction or explanation. Perhaps it was my lack of understanding of Chinese, or the jet lag messing with me in the morning - nevertheless, despite my confusion, the performances were interesting. We had a buffet for lunch. It was beautiful (this is the best description I can think of). During the afternoon, we all split up into groups and went off to experience different parts of Chinese culture. While I was disappointed that I did not get to join the swordfighting or guns group, I did make some nice calligraphy that I’m proud of. Two of our students, Sofia and Beth, went to this leadership forum that the rest of us weren’t invited too, so
hopefully that went well for them. After the culture exploration, my homestay family took me to West Lake, which many other school members also visited. It’s a beautiful lake that has a ‘certain air of romance’ to it, possibly because of the Chinese myth associated with it, or just because of how pretty the lake itself looks. We took a boat onto the lake, and I had a pleasant time admiring the view, splashing water on anything nearby me, and waving at this baby girl who waved back from another boat. I would recommend this place to visit for anyone who goes to Hangzhou. Although they should note that the railings around the lake barely come up to my ankles, so there is nothing stopping you from falling into the water and drowning. DAY THREE In the morning, we went to the homestay family’s school for their Exhibition Fair, where each class had to put on activities based on popular works of literature such as Harry Potter, Ancient Chinese Myths, The Ugly Duckling, The Little Prince, and Downton Abbey. Some of them displayed performances, while other played games, and others created arts and crafts. I made myself a bookmark out of flowers in the Downton Abbey section, although I’m not too sure what bookmarks have to do with Downton Abbey. I got to try out Virtual Reality in the Sherlock Holmes section, using heavy goggles and hand controllers. It was very exciting, and yet also jarring at the same time - after taking off the goggles I had trouble figuring out where I was for a good five minutes. I also witnessed what may be considered “cosplaying,” with multiple kids dressed up as Harry Potter and much more. I did gain some valuable souvenirs from the experience. We had another buffet banquet for lunch. I might have shed a few tears at the amount of food, which would have been enough to cover our entire cafeteria floor, and some more tears at how we didn’t have much time to eat it. Today was the Choir Festival of the Greentown school, the reason why we came to China. We had a one hour break before it began, and I thought it was
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A de-light-ful shot of Chinese lanterns. a break before we began performing. But no, it was a break before the Festival began. So we sat there for another two hours watching the different student and teacher groups perform. My ears weren’t too offended by what I heard, but the audience could have been considered rude, since it never stopped talking, even during performances. But in a way, I am used to the constant noise of China, so that might not have been too unexpected. There were three other international schools performing. A Hangzhou International school with around one-hundred kids in its choir, a school from Korea with around thirty kids, and a school from Japan featuring three kids. In the end, we all received participation awards, so I think that was a job well done. DAY FOUR In the morning of this beautiful November day, we were finally allowed to wear casual jeans (we had to wear formal clothing every other day). We went to the Football school branch, where we bargained with little kids in a kids market, watched traditional lion dancing for five whole minutes, and then proceeded to do lukewarm warmups on a soccer field. The market itself consisted of children of ages five to twelve selling their snacks, and other token items. Ella (one of the members of our choir) in particular bought a frighteningly realistic fish stuffy. The warmups consisted of running through the rungs of a ladder laid on the ground, in a manner quite similar to the Running Man videos. Despite not much happening
Jenny Zhao / Pinetree Post
in the morning, that didn’t stop me from falling asleep the first moment I could. In the afternoon, we got to sell “Canadian” belongings in the school’s flea market. Emphasis on “Canadian” because I personally had to rip off ten “Made in China” tags before putting the items on the table. I did buy some nice candies while wandering around campus. I never found the stand where they were selling headbands with a question mark over top of them, and it is my deepest regret that I will never be able to wear one on my head. We went to a very fancy restaurant for dinner, with a private room and spinning tray at the middle of the table. It is defined as a fancy restaurant because it had sitting toilets instead of squat toilets, and it provided toilet paper for us. I learned a fascinating bit of Hangzhou history and culture through the food here. There is a special type of fried pancake that has two pieces of bread stuffed inside it, and is dipped in a sweet sauce. The reason why there are two pieces of bread is because in ancient times, two men pretty much messed up a lot of Hangzhou. As a result, Hangzhou still holds a grudge against those two men. The two pieces of bread inside the pancake represent the two men, who are being squeezed to death and also eaten by the citizens of China. I very much enjoy Chinese food and culture. DAY FIVE We performed at the Zhuji Hailiang school today, one of the largest international schools ever, which roughly
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Global roughly the size of Coquitlam. Okay, maybe not Coquitlam, but at least a good quarter of Coquitlam. It was like a university campus, with residences, a sports track, multiple elementary, middle, and high schools, and its own supermarket. Pinetree doesn’t have a supermarket. We should get a supermarket. But basically, we had a cultural exchange with some of the seniors, where they taught us calligraphy and the guzheng, and we performed our songs for them (on a very out of tune piano). We had a sudden schedule change where we went to the Pearl Market instead of the International School Forum Dinner, so I spent an hour wandering around the world’s largest Pearl Market staring at pearls. It’s a building the size of Coquitlam Centre that only sells pearls at different competing stalls. In economic terms, it was monopolistic competition, borderlining perfect competition. It was horrifyingly large, but if you ever want authentic pearls for cheap prices, that’s your place. It is this day that I realized the folly of my ways. I have bought so much that it barely fit in my suitcase. And the next two days were shopping in Hangzhou and Shanghai. I have erred deeply. DAY SIX Today we travelled by bus for over two hours to Pujiang No. 4 Middle School, a Chinese middle school that had never seen foreigners before. We were promptly treated like celebrities, which was probably the strangest experience of my life. Jeffrey Tarnai, the only caucasian boy in our group, was treated like Justin Bieber at a Bieber concert. He looked at these Chinese middle school girls, and they began squealing and waving at him. When we had to partner-up with students after the performance, he was immediately swarmed by girls who begged to be his partner, and was given a tour around the campus while being trailed by several girls. He also received a large glass swan sculpture from the children, which would definitely be labelled fragile, and I have no idea how he brought it back to Canada in his suitcase. We spent the night in a hotel, probably the most luxurious hotel I’ve ever been in. I had a hotel room
for two to myself, so I pushed the two beds together and had one large bed. The bathroom had two baths and a toilet seat warmer, which was an extraordinary experience. DAY SEVEN Today we travelled from Hangzhou to Shanghai by bus, which was tiring to say the least. We spent a large part of the day on a bus, and I spent a large part of the day drinking fancy Chinese bottled drinks, such as pomelo water and pear juice. I bought five different kinds, against my better judgement. We visited an ancient town which had been preserved for sightseeing, and it was made mostly out of one large rock building that had somehow been turned into a café. We had an impromptu performance there, and were then allowed to explore the shops and café. The most amazing part of the town was that the latest Virtual Reality technology was located in the center of the rock building - two white hollow eggshaped seats that had full surround sound and handles and high tech goggles were available to try for just three Canadian dollars. We also visited the Shanghai harbour, where we spent approximately twenty minutes trying to take one photo of all of us jumping up at the same time. The Shanghai experience was short, but it wasn’t bad. One downfall was that I spent a good thirty minutes of it trying to fit everything into my luggage. DAY EIGHT We spent the morning of this day shopping in the Shanghai market, which involved a lot of bartering with vendors, and yelling at each other in attempt to not lose each other in the crowd. There were many people, and even more germs. Everyone bought hand cream and toy pandas. In the Shanghai market, we witnessed the magic known as a heated cutter, that immediately sealed anything it cut. The man demonstrated it on a bag filled with water, by splitting the bag without losing any water. This basically led to half of our group screaming in wonder - we bought five of them, and got a sixth one for free.
16 GLOBAL We prepared for the trip home by celebrating one singer’s birthday, which happened to be this day, and got her a cake and a birthday necklace. She had the wonder of experiencing a 36 hour birthday, since we passed the International Date Line on the way back. I bought burgers and enjoyed sleeping all the way back to Canada. The China trip was an amazing experience that I think we all miss, and hopefully they liked us in China, so that they might invite us back next year.
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18 OTHER CLASSLESS REVIEWS OF THE CLASSICS
12 Angry Men
Who wouldn’t cry when having to stare down twenty-two whole eyeballs? Photo courtesy of mubi.com library, and checked out the first movie that had a You don’t mean you’ll review me, funny title. It may not seem funny in print, but there do you? is an intrinsic hilarity in a 5’4” tall Asian teenager pointing at a library DVD with Henry Fonda and the Emily Liang words “12 Angry Men” on the front, and saying out Writer loud, “That’s me.” I guess you had to be there. Welcome back to Classless Reviews of the Classics! 12 Angry Men looked like a classic, even in For those unfamiliar with this beloved portion of 1957, when colour pictures were making a splash the Pinetree Post, this is a column where I consume across silver screens everywhere. Today, even more some sort of classic media (so far only movies and one so. The original cast of twelve white men would not novella, but who knows!) and make goofs about it. fly in the theatres of 2016, even though a cast made Prepare for unnecessary comma usage, references that entirely of centenarian phantom actors would be are only funny to me, and full spoilers. cool, if not profitable. One thinks: wait a second - is It’s been a summer chock-full of nothing, so, this the proverbial point? Could the black and white predictably, I spent it re-watching some favourites of colour palette be a conscious decision to illustrate the mine, like Pacific Rim and Ratatouille. However, once themes of justice? Does it mean something that twelve September rolled around, shopping-cart-full-of-ricesharply-dressed, white gentlemen are deciding the sacks style, I realized that giant robots fighting giant fate of a poor, ethnically ambiguous defendant? One aliens and French rodent chefs with big dreams might concludes: Nah. not make the cut for the oeuvre I’ve established with I knew nothing about 12 Angry Men, except this column. After that, I took a trip to the public that there were twelve men and that they were angry.
Other I didn’t even read the back of the DVD case. It took me a good ten minutes to figure out what exactly the premise of this film was, but after the other eightysix, I concluded that this was getting at least 95% on Rotten Tomatoes (it currently holds a score of 100%, more than can be said for Toy Story 3). Grudgingly, I found myself agreeing with this theoretical internet critic score that I made up in my head. I genuinely liked this movie, which was worrying because the enjoyment of the classics is supposed to be either perfunctory or ironic. 12 Angry Men is a movie about twelve jurors debating the guilt of a teenager accused for murdering his father. Eleven jurors vote “guilty” almost instantly, while Juror #8, Henry Fonda’s character and the clear protagonist, votes “not guilty”. It’s a bottle episode of a film, has a dialogueheavy script, and in my arrogantly humble opinion, a heckuva better courtroom drama than To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s straightforward, but still complex enough that I had to take show notes. I, as in me, wrote notes. Note-writing. Me. On graph paper. Taking notes. I did that. Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that this is some kind of morally grey 2010s-era conundrum - no, 12 Angry Men offers a pretty clear cut message. The film is definitely (Henry) “Fond” of Juror #8’s position on the matter. It condemns the impatient attitudes of the “guilty” jurors, perhaps even convicting them, if you will. What is poignant here is the message itself - doubt. Anyone remotely familiar with the American legal system, or watched Law and Order once, knows that the concept of “reasonable doubt” is central to the defense’s case. 12 Angry Men is careful to never clarify the contents of the trial itself, except for in-film recollections by the characters. Everything the viewer knows about the case is second-hand, and the jurors are shown to have fallible memories and biases - y’know, like human people, instead of those artificial movie people that Hollywood seems to enjoy putting on screen. Already, the audience doubts the majority verdict, which is made worse by the fact that if not for Juror #8’s single dissenting vote, the defendant would have received the death sentence by electric chair. Did I mention that? I
19 think I forgot to mention that this is literally a matter of life and death. Of course, 12 Angry Men is utterly inaccurate. Speculation is not a valid form of reasoning and pulling out a knife on your fellow jurors is probably illegal, no matter how cinematically cool it is. However, the film is still realistic. People stutter when they speak, they talk over each other, they forget details, they are biased, they argue in circles, they sweat, they get frustrated, and they look vaguely like Sylvester Stallone. In-trial evidence points towards the defendant’s clear guilt. The film never reveals what really happened. Yet, the audience can still leave 12 Angry Men believing that the verdict of “not guilty” is the correct one. There’s something kind of beautiful about a film that starts out with eleven men yelling at one, then turns into eleven men yelling at a different dissident, until that man starts crying. Strangely, for all the jurors’ incompetence (they very nearly decide on guilty within five minutes out of peer pressure for goodness sake) and the lack of concrete answers, 12 Angry Men is the kind of movie that leaves you a starry-eyed idealist. It was after watching this movie that I had the sudden realization that “not guilty” didn’t mean innocent. Of course, I am what the scholars call a “dummo”, so this should have been obvious. What is inspiring about 12 Angry Men is not the jurors’ use of rhetoric or how they convince others to their side, but that these twelve men realize that building consensus is about the truth, and, more importantly, what isn’t the truth. Even if the courtroom isn’t your thing, I highly recommend giving this movie a look. It’s short by modern standards, it’s fun to follow along and make your own deductions, and I promise you - there are some truly hilarious close ups. It’s a film of reversals, great camera work but no fancy movie magic, heavy on character flaws but ultimately forgiving, and based around twelve people yelling at each other in a small room; but, it is still as thrilling as jamming a Dark Souls 2 rip you got from a witch behind Arby’s into your expensive computer’s optical drive. It. Is. Good. However, I could not write this without one final thought: two of the men aren’t even that angry.
20 OTHER Pinetree Post’s New Members BEN CONNOR
ROLE: Writer EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Indian Umbrella, Environmental Club FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, eating, hanging out with my pets BEST BOOK: Shadow of the Wind BEST MOVIE: None WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined on a whim
KATE HUANG
ROLE: Writer EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Science and Tech Club, First Aid Club, Key Club FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Singing BEST BOOK: The Book Thief BEST MOVIE: Interstellar WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined because I like writing, and want to get better at it.
PHILLIP KONG
ROLE: Film & Media EXTRA-CURRICULARS: UNICEF, Key Club FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Basketball, chilling with my friends BEST BOOK: Under the Bridge BEST MOVIE: The Martian WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined because I wanted to be more involved at Pinetree
BILLY LEE
ROLE: Photographer EXTRA-CURRICULARS: UNICEF FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Snowboarding BEST BOOK: Harry Potter BEST MOVIE: Harry Potter WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined because, although I am already part of yearbook, I wanted to take more photos
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Other JULIA PARK
ROLE: Writer EXTRA-CURRICULARS: None yet, but taking recommendations FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Hanging out with friends BEST BOOK: The Screwtape Letters, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat BEST MOVIE: The Dead Poets Society, Les Miserables, Pitch Perfect WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined as, at my previous high school, I was the editor for our school paper
MARVIN SHI
ROLE: Photographer & Website Design EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Key Club, Alpha Wolves FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Badminton BEST BOOK: The Knife of Never Letting Go BEST MOVIE: Constantine WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined because I want to help out, as I know how to take photos and am some kind of IT guy
DANIEL TAN
ROLE: Film & Media EXTRA-CURRICULARS: None FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Sleeping, drumming, photography BEST BOOK: The Bible BEST MOVIE: The Matrix WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined for a new experience in my last year at Pinetree
SHIRLEY WANG
ROLE: Writer EXTRA-CURRICULARS: Anime Club, GSA, Lit Club FAVOURITE ACTIVITIES: Fighting, playing piano, petting cats, running my dictatorship BEST BOOK: Calculus Early Transcendentals 6th Edition BEST MOVIE: Video of my cat chasing after a laser pointer WHY YOU JOINED PINETREE POST: I joined for the sudoku
22 DIVERSIONS YOUR FAVOURITE PAGE
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The Pinetree Post is now selling advertising space for local businesses and club/school events on its website as well as in the print copy. We average about 3000 visits a month to our website and we have a readership the size of Pinetree Secondary-around 1300 students.
$10 for a credit card-sized ad $15 for a banner size ad $20 for a half page ad $35 for a full page ad
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ADVERTISE HERE
The prices for ads are as follows:
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YEARBOOK FEES Do you love yourself? Do you love being cool? Do you attend Pinetree Secondary School? Then you should cash in to buy a yearbook! Nowhere else will you find a 256 page, full colour, glossy pull out centre-included, hardcover, high definiton book at a better value than the mere $45 that Pinetree asks for. Other than great photographs, accurate summations, witty captions, and sleek design, the yearbook is also a valuable visual time capsule for the years to come. If you don’t have a yearbook, how will people write their heartfelt summer goodbyes to you, complete with pen illustrations? Get a form and buy now!