March 2022

VOLUME 8, ISSUE 4

March 2022

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME A BOX AROUND CREATIVITY

MOVIE REVIEW COMIC ART SHOWCASE

March

FIRST GLANCE 2 P.5: WORLD

P.7: FEATURED

The Pinetree Post

STAFF

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jennifer Shui ARTICLE EDITOR Jennifer Shui

International Women’s Day Daylight Savings Time

P.8: SPECIAL

The Box Around Creativity

P. 10: COMIC/ART

CONTRIBUTORS Bryan Chen, Na-Yeon Kim, Sun-Ho Kim, Alexandra Mandewo, Mattias Wong GRAPHIC DESIGN Kevin Fan COVER ART Kaylin Brereton-Stiles SPECIAL THANKS TO The Pinetree Administration, Ms. Rioux, Jacob Fu

Movie Review Ask Tommy

Comic Artist Showcase

GET INVOLVED IN THE PT POST! Although we at the Pinetree Post try our best to represent the voice of the everyone at Pinetree, we are only a small group of students. To find the most pressing topics and interesting avenues to explore, we rely on input from readers to curate relevant content only. Anyone is welcome to suggest a topic or provide an opinion for Pinetree Post writers and

contributors to look into further. Do you have something to say that needs your voice? The Pinetree Post also welcomes guest content, any time, of any kind. Feel free to submit an article on a topic you are passionate for, a comic you think everyone deserves to see, maybe even a letter to the editor!

You can submit your original content to us at thepinetreepost@gmail.com.

Have a question or a request? Contact us at: thepinetreepost@gmail.com

3

FIRST GLANCE

EDITOR’S NOTE

Never Gonna Make You Cry

to be a lot of good advice around procrastination in there. I needed the advice as I was editing this issue lol. And last, but never least, is our talented artist Sebastian returning with another banger of a (Comic, p. 9)

Never gonna say goodbye.

Jennifer Shui Editor-in-Chief

Hello there Pinetree! General Kenobi, you are a tired one.

Yes. Yes I am. I hope all our readers are having a great month though, with some creative (and, of course, legal) April Fools jokes being played. There have been a lot of holidays around here recently, come to think of it. There was National Peanut Butter Day, Pi Day, International Women’s Day, and St. Patty’s Day. Still a bit miffed nobody did an article on National Peanut Butter Day, but on the flip side, we have two wonderful articles lined up addressing two very important events that happened!

To kick off this issue, we cover the history and legacy of (International Women’s Day, p.4) that happened in the past month. Immediately following that is a hot take (not really, but kinda) on (Daylight Savings Time, p.5) I certainly learned a lot about the occasion just from editing it, so go ahead and give that a spin.

On a less formal note, our favourite pianist Mattias has done it again with a story on how he almost became not-our-favourite-pianist Mattias. Check out his story (Removing the Box Around Creativity, p.6), also in this issue of the PTP. After a little boost to your creativity, we have a neat little film review done on the film (House of Gucci, p.7) to finish this issue off.

Oh? What’s that? Ask Tommy is back! Find this month’s issue of (Ask Tommy, p.8) and there’s going

When the acting forces on an object act in a Source: Jacob Fu way as to produce translational displacement and not rotational movement

Oh yeah, here’s a physics meme that Jacob dreamed up. Wait till you get the FΔt to bang your head against the table and then we’ll talk.

And with that, I believe that’s it from us here at the Pinetree Post, be free children! Frolic in the fields… or, something like that.

Jennifer Shui Editor-in-Chief

WORLD 4 International Women’s Day 2022 Happy Healthy Club

Na-Yeon Kim, Sun-Ho Kim Writers

Recently, on March 8th, the world celebrated International Women’s Day, commemorating the many achievements of women over the course of history. We celebrated this day to honour the sacrifices women have made in order to bring peace, justice and equality to the women who suffered under the pressure of society’s rule. As much as the discrimination against women is brought up in the media, many still are not aware of the origins behind this celebratory day. Thus, we will discuss the long and painful path countless women have taken for the establishment of the International Women’s day.

were the first to celebrate the International Women’s Day on 19th of March, 1911, with Russia soon following suit 2 year after.

Sadly, the proper recognition necessary for the global spread of this holiday came decades after its debut; In 1977, the United Nations finally saw the need to provide women in society an opportunity to openly express themselves to the world, thus recognized the International Women’s day as an official holiday for the first time.

Girl power!

IWD demonstration.

Source: Togetherband.org

Although many mistake this global holiday to be established in the recent decades, the concept of a celebratory date regarding the equality and recognition of women’s contribution to the world has been around for more than a century. The idea first saw light in the 1910 Internationalist Socialist Women’s Conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark, where Clara Zetkin, an advocate of women’s rights, proposed a holiday designated for women to speak out about their demands from the male-dominated society at the time.

Zetkin’s idea received instantaneous popularity, with all women representatives from 17 countries unanimously approving of her suggestion in their conference. Soon after, Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland

Source: Lonelyplanet.com

The U.N. provided two major reasons for ultimately recognizing International Women’s day as an official holiday. First, the U.N. was well aware that acknowledging the contribution of women would help strengthen international peace and security, as inequality against women was sparking many protests and clashes at the time. Secondly, the active participation and inclusion of women into the malecentral society was deemed crucial to accomplish peace, social progress, human rights and fundamental freedom.

“We have today the opportunity to put women and girls at the centre of our planning and action and to integrate gender perspectives into global and national laws and policies.” Sima Bahous Just as U.N. executive director Sima Bahous stated, March 8th always will be a celebratory day providing us with an opportunity to commemorate the social, political and economic achievements of women while recognizing and eliminating gender-bias still present on a global scale.

5 WORLD Daylight Savings Time The pros, the cons, and the history.

Alexandra Mandewo Writers

I hope your spring break was amazing and that you truly soaked up the extra hour of sun we started to get on March 13th. When I word it like that, Daylight Savings Time (also known as Spring Forward) sounds much better than it actually is.

In addition to an extra hour of daylight, we also have the dreaded shorter sleep. An article from Healthline. com highlighted that every year after daylight savings time comes into effect, there is a noticeable increase in fatal car crashes due to falling asleep at the wheel.

On a maybe more relatable note, performance on tests also drops due to losing that precious one hour of sleep. A study has been done on how students who take the SAT within a few days of Daylight Savings, have a greater chance of scoring lower. On the flip side of this, the negative effects of Fall Back are evident.

The extended darkness increases the risk of seasonal affective disorder (also known as seasonal depression); crime rates spike, and the number of pedestrian-related car accidents increase tenfold according to an article from Globe and Mail.

Which is probably why places like Hawaii, Arizona decided to totally get rid of Daylight Savings Time (DST) over 50 years ago. Countries like Japan, India and China have never had daylight savings time outside of periods of conflict and special international events like the Olympics. These states and countries are definitely not the only ones that don’t follow DST. 70 out of the 195 countries in the world have used daylight savings time since its conceptualization in the 1700’s. Meaning, 125 countries around the world don’t have Spring Forward and Fall Back.

When Spring Forward and Fall Back were created, the reasoning behind it was resourceful. First implemented in Germany, during World War 1, Daylight Savings Time was implemented to save energy and use more

hours of daylight. This allowed for more energy to be used for the production of weapons. However, when Benjamin Franklin put the idea of DST in writing, it was partially a joke. For those who took the suggestion seriously, they figured it would also be a good way to keep people in their homes and out of trouble. This would have been especially true during a time when electricity didn’t exist.

In the 21st century, when energy and electricity is at our disposal (though it should also be used with future generations in mind), it’s tough to see why Daylight Savings Time is still needed. Many people wake up before the sun rises, using energy that is supposed to be saved by Daylight Savings Time. In winters, the use of heating systems consumes a lot of energy that cancels out any energy-saving progress made earlier in the year.

Many other countries keep Daylight Savings Time because it encourages people to get outside more, live more active lifestyles and it’s a huge contributor to the economy. The pros and cons of DST are much easier to see when you analyze ‘falling back’ and ‘springing forward’ individually. Some people argue that it’s a tradition and that when something has been done one way for a long time, it ought to stay like that. Others say, ‘to hell with tradition’ and adapt to new circumstances and needs. Is it really a big deal when at the end of the day, time is just a social construct? Whether someone argues morals and traditions or facts and statistics, the debate on Daylight Savings Time seems like it won’t be ceasing anytime soon.

What side do you fall on?

Daylight Saving Time regions.

Source: WebExhibits

FEATURED 6 Removing the Box Around Creativity

We love a good enemies-to-lovers story.

Mattias Wong Writer

People who enjoy playing the piano are psychos. To glean pleasure from having to practice daily, attend lessons weekly and pass exams yearly, one must live the most uninteresting, boring life imaginable. At least that is what I thought in middle school when every day, regardless of how tired or busy I felt, I was required to practice for at least an hour. Like clockwork, I would come home from school and sluggishly slide myself onto the cold, hard mahogany bench, commencing my hour of torture. I estimate at least 50% of my practice sessions were spent staring at the analog clock sitting atop my piano and thinking about all the other places I would rather be.

I was never an exceptionally great pianist and learning new pieces was time consuming and tedious. By the time I hit RCM Level 9, I had lost all interest in playing.

It was a constant cycle of building a repertoire, passing an exam, building a new repertoire and passing the next exam. The pieces I could select for exams were slim and not particularly interesting, and my motivation to

I guess piano is not so bad…

improve deteriorated. By the time my Level 9 exam rolled around, my parents reluctantly agreed that this would be the last one. I was free to play more video games, read more books and bake more recipes. I would never touch the piano again!

After graduating middle school, I hit a brief rough patch in my life. Most of my friends had gone to different high schools and for a period of time, I felt alone. That is when, after two years of collecting dust, my piano once again made sound. Despite the long break away from music, my fingers’ muscle memory still remained; playing an instrument is like riding a bicycle. I let all the emotions trapped in my chest escape into the keys as I played “Married Life” from Pixar’s Up, a simple piece yet one that beautifully encapsulated my feelings at the time. From that day forward, I began practicing when I felt like it and learned pieces that I personally wanted to learn. When I was sad, angry, happy, stressed, anxious or any other emotion in between, I would play a piece that reflected these feelings and feel the satisfaction of being able to turn my emotions into music. It felt odd actually wanting to practice rather than being told to. It was as if a box around my creativity had been lifted and I finally realized why playing an instrument is so special. Learning the piano should never revolve around passing an exam, just as one’s work should never solely revolve around the size of their paycheck.

In freeing myself from external restraints and shedding the expectations of others, something I previously detested became one of my greatest passions.

Source: Mattias Wong

7 SPECIAL

House of Gucci Film Review A film review for the ages!

Navid M. Writer

The movie is staged in the late 20th century, in Milan, Italy. It is entirely based upon real-life events. Majority of the plot is focused on the rushed relationship between Maurizio Gucci and Patrizia Reggiani. Patrizia, who marries into the Gucci family, purely for the search of wealth, unknowingly seals her fate. It starts out slow, and at some moments I find myself struggling to concentrate, but it did not detract from me noticing the incredible character development of Patrizia. Dark development, but nonetheless, it is development. As the movie progresses, you see that Patrizia’s fashion style changes, wearing more designer brands to end the Patrizia that came from humble beginnings. With the fashion style, she also changed. There were great song choices, but in some parts, it felt so off and out of place.

Except Adam Driver’s, which sounded very forced and unnatural, the accents were spot on! While knowing the backstory of the movie, I personally felt a lot of tension, and felt uneasy as I watched. I was yelling in my head, “DON’T MARRY HER, DON’T MARRY HER MAURIZIO!” From world-renowned pop star to Oscar winning actress, Lady Gaga, who plays Patrizia Reggiani, puts on a show for the ages. Her jaw-dropping portrayal of the disgraced real-life Patrizia Reggiani is accurate.

While people might have differing opinions on her performance, I believe she was the perfect fit for the challenging role.

Highly accredited movie director and producer, Ridley Scott adds another banger to his list. From the man who directed Blade Runner, Alien and Gladiator, he brings you House of Gucci. You may have past quarrels with the man and his past casting choices, but boy did he do a great job on this one! Loading up Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Jared Leto and Al Pacino into all in one!

I enjoyed this movie a lot, and it reminded me a lot of “The Godfather” for some reason; maybe it was Al

Pacino. If I had to change something, I would have made this movie two parts instead of one. The history behind the Gucci family is dark and spectacular, and it felt rushed at some parts where they could have done more. Making it two parts would have given Ridley Scott the capability to tell the real-life story better with finer details. If you love romantic thrillers, eccentric cinematography and a bomb cast, this movie is for you.

Till the next time, Navid M. How did y’all like the movie review? Should we do more of these?

Feel free to submit any movie reviews to thepinetreepost@gmail.com!

ADVICE 8 ADVICE COLUMN:

Ask Tommy Tommy Sharpe

Hi everyone, My name is Tommy Sharpe, and welcome to March of Ask Tommy! With many university acceptance letters rushing into the emails of senior students, many students have become plagued with the almost-universal epidemic: laziness. Even if you aren’t a senior, laziness and procrastination seem to be a staple of student spirit, especially at this time of year, when we’re coming closer to summer. I have to admit, I’m guilty of it myself - in fact, I stalled way too long before writing this edition of Ask Tommy. All of that aside, that’s precisely what this month’s edition of Ask Tommy is about!

Dear Tommy, “My English teacher gave us a month to finish an essay assignment, but I haven’t even started and it’s been almost three weeks. What do I do? Can I ask for an extension?”

-Anonymous Dear Tommy, “I keep promising myself that I’ll work out ‘tomorrow’ yet when ‘tomorrow’ actually does roll around I pretend I never said anything the day before and postpone exercise yet again, and it just becomes an unending cycle. How can I overcome my laziness and actually do what I promised myself to do?”

-Anonymous Ah, I’ve been there before. Both of these, I’ve experienced myself. There’s no shame in any of it, really.

Is it a good thing, though? Perhaps not, but I just think it’s important to emphasize that there’s really no shame in it and everyone has been there, done that. Since both of you named yourselves “Anonymous”, I’ll be addressing these two questions in conjunction with one another and treating the two of you as if you were the same person and I suppose that’ll just mean that you’ll have to read through all of it to get your answers.

Now, the solution? It’s a bit more complicated than to merely “just do it”. Of course, if you could have just merely told yourself to “do it” and somehow attain the motivation to carry through to the end what you intended to do, you would not have had to ask. Clearly it’s not that easy. That being said, if I were to talk about how I overcame my lack of motivation to exercise or complete a school assignment, I remind myself of the undesirable results should I not do what I expect of myself to do. Maybe it’s the grades that motivate you? Then tell yourself to finish the assignment before the teacher starts deducting marks for being late. If not, think of something else - maybe just get it out of the way now so that you can avert the stress of eventually having to complete it later. At least, that’s what I would do in most cases, and I suppose you couldn’t apply that sort of logic with working out. If it came to it, I could probably give myself some sort of cheesy drill sergeant-esque speech about “being the best that I can be” and constantly keep it floating above my head so that I’ll think about it the next time I come close to indulging in thousands of calories without any intention to burn them off. And if that doesn’t appeal to you, the easiest thing to do (and what I did for a while) was set designated alarms in the day to remind myself to do something to keep myself fit - usually that’s running 10 or 15 minutes on the treadmill, or a set of stretches and pushups to keep myself in touch.

Ultimately, it’s whatever works best for you - and if in the end everything fails, don’t push yourself. Give it a try another time - progress isn’t always obtainable in every attempt. Being able to take adequate and responsible care of yourself is all that matters, really.

9 COMIC

Sebastian Hernandez-Lopez

ARTIST SHOWCASE 10

Kevin Fan

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