Rick Riordan has written a lot of books.

It’s a blunt statement, but it’s the truth.  I first picked up “The Lightning Thief,” the first installment in his Percy Jackson series, when I was in fifth grade, and I haven’t looked back since.  Riordan’s first five books were witty, creative, and captivating, and I attribute most of my Greek mythology knowledge to his genius.

Since his first foray into mythology, Riordan has crossed paths into Egyptian and even Norse mythology.  But his most recent release, “The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle,” is a return to where he began, so to speak.  In this first installment, Zeus, ruler of the Olympians, has sent Apollo, god of music and prophecy, to earth and demoted him to mortal status.  While this isn’t the first time Apollo has experienced his, he has no idea what to do to become a god again.  As he struggles to deal with life as a human being, he meets demigod Meg McCaffrey, and the two become inexplicably tied together.  Throughout the book, Apollo stumbles into the familiar Camp Half-Blood from the Percy Jackson series and tackles a series of obstacles ranging from the disappearing campers to the presence of a sinister evil preparing to come out of the shadows.

Normally, when going into a book, I’m not exactly sure what to expect.  Going into “The Hidden Oracle,” however, I knew exactly what to expect.  Unfortunately, Riordan’s books have fallen into more of a formulaic style for me: the prescribed dosage of monsters to fight, the occasional cameo of a character from a previous series and an extra helping of wisecracks and dry humor.  Instead of feeling refreshing, reading this book felt more like sipping the same drink I’d had for a few days in a row.  The writing was superb and the action scenes were gripping, but no more so than the plots I’d perused in all of his other works.  

This is not to say that the book was a complete disappointment – there were multiple instances where I chuckled at a comment or smiled at the mention of a character whose name I hadn’t read in months.  There was a twist midway through the book that I didn’t see coming and that I definitely appreciated.  All things considered, “The Hidden Oracle” was a fairly wholesome read.  It is only when comparing it to Riordan’s master list of novels that it falls flat.  It’s likely I’ll still pick up the sequel, just because it’s impossible for me to let go of an author that has grown to mean so much to me and to my childhood.  I’m just not sure if I’ll feel the same thrill in my fingers flipping through the pages of his new releases as I did when I devoured the Percy Jackson series at age 10.

Colorful sights, sounds, and tastes — textiles of handwoven fabric donned by cultural dancers, translators relaying the Basque speech of artists explaining their process of carving vibrant wooden creatures, sizzling hot Txangurro burgers to frozen artisanal gelato — invite passersby to explore rich Basque culture, diverse Californian sounds, and share their own migration or immigration stories. This annual celebration, known as the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, takes place from June 29 to July 4 and July 7-10 on the National Mall.

“Basque: Innovation by Culture” and “Sounds of California” are this year’s two main themes. The well-preserved crafts, dance, music, and food of the Basque people, in addition to their industrial success, are highlighted throughout the booths. Also featured is the idea of “social power” being derived from the varying musical expressions of California.

A few days ago, during a trip to visit some museums in Manhattan, New York, I stopped by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (often abbreviated as the Met). The vast museum has collections from ancient civilizations to contemporary art. As I skimmed over the museum brochure, a particular exhibition name, “Manus x Machina: Fashion in the Age of Technology” rung a bell to me.

“Manus x Machina” was the theme of this year’s Met Gala, of course. Though the pieces on display are not the outfits worn by celebrities at the event, the exhibition focuses on the value of works that are handmade and machine made. As a result, visitors can see works that combine both handmade aspects, which were traditionally seen as being more carefully constructed, with machine made aspects, which were originally seen as being more emotionless. The collection consists of ensembles dating from the 1900s onward, which is a time period where pieces that fit the “Manus x Machina” theme begin to become more widespread.

I should mention that I do not avidly follow fashion, and my only “technical” knowledge of the subject coming from watching “Project Runway” since elementary school. Despite this, the gallery was impressive, and I enjoyed looking at the creativity in each of the designs. I also learned a lot about the unique designs each of the featured brands came to be known for.

The first piece I saw as I entered the Robert Lehman Wing that holds the exhibition is a 2014-15 wedding ensemble by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel. The scuba knit dress was an inspiration for the exhibition, and its 20-foot train is decorated with golden embroidery.

In addition to Chanel, the exhibition included brands such as Dior, Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen. One aspect I liked about the exhibition was how there was a number of recent works, but there were also vintage pieces designed by the older brands’ founders.

The rest of the wing contains outfits displaying different features and techniques, including artificial flowers, feathers, pleating and drapes.

“Manus x Machina” will be on display until Sept. 5. It is one of the Met’s many current exhibitions, and I would recommend anyone interested in art that is visiting New York to drop by.

View more pictures here:

In February of the 2015-2016 school year, senior Ray Liu from the Environmental Impact Club (EIC) created a new committee that focuses on the topic of remineralization, the process of returning minerals to the soil in order to fertilize the soil. Liu’s purpose for creating the committee was to raise awareness about remineralization and its benefits.

“Earth currently faces a number of environmental problems, and we cannot take a healthy, sustainable future of our planet for granted,” Liu said. “I believe that with future research and publicity, remineralization can become a revolutionary solution to these problems.”

One benefit of remineralization is that it can be be used in conjunction with other procedures.

“The simple concept of remineralization can be easily integrated with other sustainable agriculture techniques such as composting, compost teas, vermiculture, biochar, permaculture, and other sustainable practices, and we can all contribute to the goal of creating and promoting food security worldwide,” rising senior Daniel Chen, co-founder of the committee, said.

The Remineralization committee has already worked with Remineralize the Earth (http://remineralize.org), a nonprofit organization that is the head in the advocation of remineralization.

“We plan to do volunteer work with Remineralize the Earth, an international nonprofit organization at the forefront of remineralization research and publicity,” Liu said. “We also plan to implement remineralization experiments in TJ’s new main greenhouse when it opens up next year.”

The committee also plans to work with the main greenhouse and two different labs at Jefferson.

“We are working on partnering with TJ’s Senior Research Laboratories to promote remineralization-related projects. Last year a group in the Chemical Analysis and Nanochemistry Senior Research Lab investigated remineralization as a possible antidote to Colony Collapse Disorder in honeybees,” Chen said.

Students interested in joining the committee can attend EIC meetings every Wednesday B block. In the committee, students will have the opportunity to work with both the greenhouse and Remineralize the Earth.

“Students can do anything from helping with the greenhouse experiments to volunteering with Remineralize the Earth, in the form of a variety of activities that may include website design/development, social media, grant writing, fundraising, literature review, and scientific writing,” Liu said.

Ever wonder what it felt like for Ash Ketchum from the ‘Pokémon” franchise to use his Pokéball? Did you ever want to be the one to “catch ‘em all?” Well now you can, with Nintendo’s newly released mobile game “Pokémon Go.”

Released in the US on July 6 this year, “Pokémon Go” is an augmented reality mobile game that brings the world of “Pokémon” to fans’ fingertips. Players, who create an avatar in the game, are able to catch, train, and battle Pokémon essentially everywhere they go in the real world. The game uses popular locations in order to also set up various pinpoints and stops for all players to go to, such as placing a Pokémon gym, where players can battle each other, in a nearby amusement park, or a Pokéstop, where players can get special tools and help, at a local church.

“I think it’s amazing that people are going outside, meeting new people, and exploring the world,” rising junior Lulu Lin said. “And before Pokémon go, meeting random friendly people on the street was a rare occurrence but now it happens every time I go outside.”

Some believe that the craze for the game is a result of past nostalgia.

“Nostalgia in all honesty, we all grew up watching the anime or trading the cards or playing [Pokémon] on our gameboys, and now that we all have phones, we’re just taking it to the next level like we know how,” rising sophomore Pari Parajuli said.

Others are also going to Twitter to express their opinions on the gaming phenomenon.

According to “Pokémon Go,” even though it has been just a little over a week since the game has come out, there have already been an estimated 7.5 million US downloads from the IOS App Store and Google Play. And even with some of the technical difficulties the game has been facing, that number only continues to rise. But where the future of the game goes is up to anyone’s guess.

“I think it would be great if they could make a battling wild Pokémon feature, because right now all you have to do is just find the wild Pokémon to catch them and it doesn’t feel as rewarding,” rising senior Jessie Shen said. “Adding battling to wild Pokémon encounters would follow the spirit of the original games which isn’t just about finding the Pokémon but also having to train your Pokémon and bonding with them instead of a glorified collecting game.”

After successful first season that has earned multiple accolades and stirred discussions concerning cybersecurity and psychology, “Mr. Robot” returned to the small screen for its second season on July 13. The first two episodes, “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt1.tc” and “eps2.0_unm4sk-pt2.tc” aired as a double feature and was followed by a live interview of the cast.

Created by Sam Esmail, “Mr. Robot” follows Elliot Alderson’s (Rami Malek) journey as a hacker haunted by a character named Mr. Robot (Christian Slater), who at the end of season one is revealed to be a figment of Alderson’s imagination. Season two begins by describing a strictly routine lifestyle that Alderson has adopted in attempt to reduce Mr. Robot’s control over him. Meanwhile, Darlene Alderson (Carly Chaikin) leads fsociety in attacking E Corp and Angela Moss (Portia Doubleday) finds herself enjoying working for E Corp.

As the episodes progress, however, viewers will become captivated by the plotline. In addition, new characters, both Alderson’s peers and E Corp staff, are revealed. Malek delivers an engaging performance, especially at the end of the second installment, where he is able to successfully overpower Mr. Robot for the time being and proceeds to laugh almost maniacally.

For those who are interested in visuals, the cinematography in “Mr. Robot” is as impressive as the first season. The filming style was consistent throughout the episodes, where quite a few “rules” for framing shots are broken, and broken effectively. The lowly lit interiors and overcast skies add to the show’s dark mood.

The “unm4sk” episodes persuasively bring the tagline of “Mr. Robot”’s second season, “Control is an illusion”, to life. While the season two premiere of the show adequately answered many questions returning viewers had, the most prominent mysteries, namely Tyrell Wellick’s (Martin Wallström) disappearance at the end of the first season, are yet to be resolved.

“Mr. Robot” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST through USA Network.

Almost immediately after school ended, my family and I were on our way to South America for a 10 day trip. The main purpose for our visit was to go to Peru and embark on a four day, three night hike on the Inca Trail. Before the trip I had gone hiking on multiple trails at both Harper’s Ferry and Bull Run Mountain. To me, Bull Run was fairly easy, and I was able to comfortably hike for two hours with a moderately heavy backpack on my back. Most of the trails at Harper’s Ferry were the same level of difficult. However, one of the trails at Harper’s Ferry, Loudoun Heights, was slightly more difficult than the rest. What made this trail tough? The approximately ten minutes of steep-ish uphill. After these hikes, I always felt prepared for the Inca Trail, I just assumed it would be slightly harder because I would be hiking for a longer period of time. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Day One: In my opinion, the first day was the easiest, and the hardest part of my day was probably waking up at four AM to get ready for the two hour bus ride up the mountain to the starting point of our hike. After the bus ride, my group, which consisted of me, my parents, my brother, and two friends from Boston whom we didn’t know before, had the opportunity to have breakfast in a local restaurant. This was around seven AM, and that was probably the coldest I have ever been in my life. I had foolishly assumed it would warm up by the time we got off the bus, so I hadn’t worn all my layers. I was only wearing leggings, a long-sleeved t-shirt, and a sweatshirt on top of that. Since I was so cold, I decided to put on a few more layers and wore my hiking pants over my leggings and another jacket on top of my sweatshirt. This was definitely a mistake because once we had hiked for an hour or two, it felt like the temperature had gone up by 50 degrees, and I had to take off the extra layers I had put on.

Apart from the temperature, the hike itself was not too difficult. The first day is when you see the most people, as many locals live along the trail. However, there is a lot of poop from horses and donkeys on the trail because the locals (also known as the Highlanders) use them to get from place to place and transport goods they sell along the trail. It’s quite funny to see the Highlanders walking up the trail as if it’s a casual stroll while you’re sweating and panting. The trail on the first day was what my tour guide called “Inca flat”, which mean it had five to ten minute uphill and downhills scattered along the way.

The lunch on the first day was definitely the most shocking. Since my group was hiking as part of a tour, meals and tents were provided by the tour company. Our lunch on the first day included a local delicacy, guinea pig. According to my guide, the Incas domesticated the guinea pig and would eat them regularly. Guinea pig is like a drier, more gamey version of chicken, and isn’t horrible overall.

Once I reached the base camp on the first day, I was feeling pretty good, and I got a good night’s sleep after a good dinner. Before dinner we had a ceremony where our tour guide introduced us to the porters. On the trail, you only have to carry your day pack which has your layers, some snacks, water, and anything else you would need along the trail, and it’s around five pounds. The porters carry everything else, the tent, the sleeping bags, the food, etc., and they carry almost seventy pounds on their back. The porters are truly amazing. They leave after the hikers because they have to pack up all the tents, and they are able to run along the trail, so they reach hours before the hikers do. Our guide said that some of them cry at night because being a porter is a difficult job and they work almost every day, so they’re not able to see their families, which made me really sad, but it also made me appreciate everything I have even more.

Day Two: The second day was probably the hardest day of my life. The trail on the second day was all segments of uphill and downhill, and they were all at very steep angles that made Loudoun Heights pale in comparison. Though the uphill was a challenge, I feel like the altitude sickness that was started to kick in was an even bigger challenge. The second day is where you reach the highest point of the trail, called Dead Woman’s Pass, which has an elevation of almost 14,000 feet. I had spent a day in Cusco before my hike, and the town is at an elevation of around 11,000 feet. While I was there I didn’t feel sick at all, so I thought I had the altitude sickness under control. I was wrong.

The second day, which, in my opinion, is the worst day to get altitude sickness, was the day I got altitude sickness. The worst part about altitude sickness is that you can’t just throw up and get it over with. Instead, altitude sickness gives you terrible headaches that can make your head spin. After Dead Woman’s Pass, I developed said headache, and since the trail was mostly downhill, I could feel the headache with every step I took. The downhill was very steep, and each “stair” was almost one foot below the other, so I was going down hard every time I would take a step. Every time my foot would land on a rock, it felt like someone was taking a hammer and hitting me on the head.

Not only is the trial difficult, but the hike is also the longest on the second day. I was actually furious in the middle of the day when I realized that, while we only had to hike six hours the first day, I would have to endure eleven hours of hiking on the second. I was also starting to get discouraged around the middle of the day because, while I was in front of the group on the first day, I was really starting to lag behind. I also tripped on a rock and almost fell off the mountain.

The trail on the second day takes a lot of mental strength. You have to keep reminding yourself that, even though it’s eleven hours, you can do it. No matter how tired you are, you have to keep going because you literally don’t have the option to stop. If you give up, what are you going to do? You’ll just have to go all the way back to where you started, which takes the same amount of effort.

When I reached the base camp on the second day, I skipped dinner and just went straight to sleep. One thing I forgot to mention is that there is no option of showering throughout the hike. Because of this I was feeling really gross while I was laying in the tent. First of all, your shoes become really stinky, but you have to keep them inside your tent with you or they’ll get wet. Second, your BO is off the charts, and being cramped inside a sleep bag makes it even worse. I also repeated the mistake I made on the first night, which was sleeping with multiple layers. The sleeping bag becomes so warm that I ended up removing all but one layer in the middle of the night. One the second day, apart from feeling hot, I woke up two times in the night to throw up. To make matters worse, something was wrong with the zipper of my tent, so it took me a while to get it open so I ended up puking right outside of the tent both times, but I did feel much better after throwing up.

Day Three: The third day was not as difficult as the second, but it was still hard for me because it was around four hours of steep downhill. My orthopedic says I have loose joints, and I’ve fractured my left knee two times in the past. Going downhill is hard on your knees, and my left knee was aching by the time I was done. Also, to spare my knee some pain, I decided to use my right leg more, which was a mistake because the next day my right thigh was burning with every step.

The third day was the most fun because we reached the base camp early and had some time to relax. Though it was burning hot in the tent, I was still able to take a small nap, or “siesta” as my tour guide called it. Once it cooled down a bit, my family and I decided to explore a site of an Inca ruin that was nearby. Our tour guide came with us and he told us many interesting facts about the Incas, which was really fascinating to hear because though I’d learned about the Incas in history class, it was amazing hearing about them from someone who was so knowledgeable about them.

Day Four: Day four was the day where we actually got to Machu Picchu. I thought it would be very easy because it was only a two hour hike to Machu Picchu, but it was difficult because we had to wake up even earlier than usual to start our hike on that day. Other days we had to wake up at five AM and start hiking by six so that we could reach our base camp before it got dark, because there the sun set around four or five PM. However, on the last day, we had to wake up at three AM and start hiking. After hiking for around ten minutes we reached a checkpoint. At the checkpoint we were supposed to show our passports and the guides of every tour there had to show their official IDs. What was terrible about this was that by the time we got to the checkpoint, it was only 3:30 AM, so we had to wait two hours in the freezing cold. There were many people in line and some of them were moving around to try and warm up while others were huddled against each other trying to catch a few Zs. Once we made it past the checkpoint, we had two hours of “Inca flat” hiking at a pretty brisk place. The last ten minutes of those two hours held what my guide called “The Tourist Killer”, which was a wall of stairs that were literally perpendicular to the ground. Once we climbed the stairs we were at one of the most beautiful sites on the trail – the Sun Gate, and there we got to see the sun rise. I also got to witness my first proposal, and I thought it was really romantic that the guy proposed to his girlfriend at the Sun Gate because it really was a beautiful view.

After the break at the gate, we had to hike another hour to finally get to Machu Picchu, our final destination. That last hour we saw a lot of tourists walking from Machu Picchu to the Sun Gate, and they all smelled much better than we did. It was also really funny to think that, while we had hiked for days to get there, other tourists were able to cover the same distance in two hours and get to Machu Picchu with less pain.

Getting to Machu Picchu made the whole trip worth it. Not only is Machu Picchu an amazing structure, the history and culture behind it is amazing. Another big plus is that you can see llamas, and I was even able to see a baby llama with its mother.

Although Machu Picchu was truly very beautiful, my family and I didn’t stay for very long because we were so tired that all we wanted to do was find a restaurant, eat proper food, and return to the hotel. So, after a few hours of sightseeing, we decided to call it a day and leave, and when we got back to the hotel, we got to enjoy hot showers and a huge dinner.

Overall, hiking on the Inca Trail is definitely something I would recommend to everyone. Not only is it a great workout, but you also have the opportunity to learn a lot about an impressive group of people and what happened to them.

Let’s face it.  We all love to feel like we’re making a difference in the world.

Social media provides various options for an instant outlet to satisfy this desire.  From creating a temporary profile picture on Facebook to trending a hashtag on Twitter, there is no limit to the ways we can show our support for organizations and causes.  

But the question remains: what difference is changing that profile picture actually going to make?

Digital activism is no stranger to the modern age.  It’s all too easy to connect with a network of people to advocate for a common cause.  Take the response to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in 2012.  Controversy over this act on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets led to the participation of large corporations in a “blackout.”  Google, Wikipedia and other large names blocked access to their content or provided limited access in protest, drawing a lot of attention that eventually led to the shelving of the laws.  The first step towards this end result was the participation of individuals in a protest via social media, so digital activism does have its benefits.

However, while the SOPA social media protest was largely successful, other social media campaigns can have varied results.  Awareness campaigns encouraging participants to dump a bucket of ice water on their heads or not shave for an entire month are all too common, and while they do shine a light on causes frequently left in the dark, their final result tends to stray from their original message.

As an example, take the Ice Bucket Challenge, used to promote awareness for Lou Gehrig’s disease.   While the challenge did have a significant impact on public perception of the disease, often times, people spent more money acquiring large amounts of ice than they did supporting the ALS Association.  In addition, taking the challenge became an alternative to donating to the organization rather than a supplement, making the challenge more about a funny viral video than about disease awareness.

What does all of this say about online awareness campaigns and digital activism?  The Internet’s ability to link millions of people and unite them under a common cause can have monumental effects, if used in the right way.  A community of digital activists can eventually have real world implications, as long as they don’t stray from their core message.  At the end of the day, the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge wasn’t about watching viral videos of people falling off rooftops while pouring ice onto themselves – it was about bringing a critical disease to the public eye.  Bottom line: the next time you see your friends trending a hashtag or doing something crazy on the Internet for an awareness campaign, feel free to jump in.  Just don’t forget why and who you’re doing it for.

Two dogs wander away while out at a park, get lost in an alleyway and are swiped up by Animal Control.  What could possibly go wrong?

“The Secret Life of Pets” premiered in theaters on July 8 to eager audiences intrigued by the story of Max (Louis C.K.) and Duke (Eric Stonestreet), two dogs who aren’t as motivated to get along as they are to get home.  On their journey traversing the New York sewer system, a residential neighborhood and even a sausage production factory, the dogs eventually bond and discover that they might not be so different from each other after all.

All in all, “The Secret Life of Pets” didn’t disappoint.  It was light-hearted, amusing and left me feeling pretty warm and fuzzy by the closing credits.  While the animals in the film were adorable and the animation spectacular, however, the plot of the movie didn’t feel like anything special.  I certainly walked out of the theater feeling satisfied, but the movie didn’t reveal any ground-breaking lesson or moral like I was expecting it to.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and it doesn’t have to be a standard for all movies to meet; the allure of the film was more in the relationship between humans and pets than it was in an overarching lesson.

Duke and Max’s journey did keep me watching the movie, but the substance of the journey itself seemed to run around in circles.  The film introduced key plot points only to resolve them minutes later, greatly diminishing their impact on me as a viewer.  Although the two dogs did eventually put aside their differences and form a friendship as the movie progressed, it seemed to be more through silly experiences and strange dream sequences than it was through actual dialogue and action.  This movie isn’t intended to be extremely deep and thought-provoking – its appeal is much more in the humor than it is in the storyline.

One aspect of the movie I particularly enjoyed was the character Snowball, voiced by Kevin Hart.  Snowball leads a “revolution” underneath the city streets consisting of pets whose owners have mistreated or abandoned them, vowing to wage war against the human race.  His role in the film was mainly comical, but Hart’s performance was outstanding, leaving a smile on my face every time he cracked a one-liner or gave a dramatic outburst.  Snowball’s character was certainly funny, but at his core was a deep connection and care for his friends, regardless of his diabolical plot to end humanity.  Hart carried his role perfectly, making him and his character one of my favorite parts of the movie.

“The Secret Life of Pets” certainly made an impact on the big screen, though the depth of its content didn’t delve much beneath the surface level.  Despite the somewhat repetitive plot, it was heart-warming to watch the reactions of the pets when their owners returned home, as well as the pure love between owner and pet at the end of the day.  The bond between the animals and their “humans” was touching to witness, and if I could see this movie again just for that, I would.

This weekend, my younger cousins and I visited the National Geographic Museum to view an exhibition called “The Greeks: Agamemnon to Alexander the Great”. Running from June 1 to Oct. 10, “The Greeks” showcases over 500 artifacts representing 5,000 years of Greece.

Personally, I have a moderate interest in Greek history, though I do not know a lot about it. Thus hearing about the exhibition provided the perfect opportunity for me to learn about the topic. However, I was not entirely sure what aspects of ancient Greek life would be on display: would there be more artifacts about war, rulers, art?

Upon entering each of the rooms in the exhibition, I was greeted by a plethora of cases and a description of the time period the artifacts in the room are from. There are brief but detailed descriptions of nearly every artifact. In addition, a few artifact replicas were attached their display cases’ exteriors, so visitors can get a closer look at items used by the ancient Greeks. My favorite sections ended up being about the Olympics, though I also enjoyed viewing the myrtle crowns worn by some of the ancient Greek royalty.

Though this is most likely due to my lack of knowledge in Greek history, or my favor for visual learning, I began to lose interest about halfway through the exhibit. My cousins too, who were at first eager to learn about the artifacts, were getting antsy. There is no doubt that getting to see a set of artifacts, most of which that have never been displayed outside of Greece, is pretty interesting. However, tools and swords, which occupied most of the exhibition, are not exactly visual spectacles, and sections on art and architecture are sparse. Overall, in order to have fully appreciated the exhibition, I would have needed to have spent a long time reading artifact descriptions, paragraphs of text displayed on the walls, and video monitors.

I would recommend this exhibition to anyone with a deeper-than-mild interest in ancient world or Greek history. Admission costs $12 for students, and “The Greeks” is the only exhibit in the museum, not counting the national park photography in the neighboring building.

Rising junior Kamron Soldozy spent three days serving as a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, from June 25 to June 27. The Congress is a program for high school students who have GPAs of 3.5 or above and want to become physicians or go into the field of medical science, and it is an honors-only program.

“I received an invitation in the mail and I immediately noticed it was not just a simple honor society or honors program,” Soldozy said. “I was most impressed when I saw the list of speakers for the event: it was comprised of Nobel Prize winners and the greatest minds of our generation. These were people who had truly achieved something great with their lives or were on the way to doing so, and that’s what really made me want to attend.”

Students are nominated to be delegates to the Congress by teachers, counselors and principals who are on the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists’ Honorary Board of Educators. Soldozy was nominated by Dr. Robert Darling, the medical director of the Academy, based on three criteria set by the Academy: academic excellence, leadership potential and commitment to entering the medical field as physicians or medical scientists.

“I felt honored and beyond proud to be a delegate representing NOVA. On top of that, getting to meet other bright students with a passion in medicine from around the US was a remarkable experience. Since I attend TJ, one of the best schools in the nation, it’s easy to have the mindset that I already know what it’s like to interact and be with really smart kids. Not only did I meet exceptional students from everywhere in the US, but I also saw kids who may not have been the smartest in terms of SAT Scores and standardized testing, but were insanely passionate and knowledgeable about medicine, which was very inspiring. Additionally, it felt great to represent not only NOVA but also TJ, a well-known school,” Soldozy said.

The event included several activities, including presentations from Nobel laureates and National Medal of Science winners on leading medical research, advice from deans of Ivy League and top medical schools about what to expect on what to expect in medical school and stories told by patients considered living medical miracles.

“There are two events in particular that stood out to me the most. One was the live surgery, streamed from here in Alexandria,” Soldozy said. “Dr. Engh from the Anderson Orthopaedic Clinic performed a hip replacement surgery and commented over the entire procedure. It was truly an amazing experience, and Dr. Engh even let me come in and shadow his clinic for a day after the Congress, which really solidified my interest in medicine and offered me a practical experience. On the other hand, I had the chance to hear from Dr. Michael S. Brown, who performed groundbreaking research on the effects of cholesterol on the body and the basic functionalities of cholesterol many years ago. I was fascinated by his talk because it applied directly to my IBET research.”

The Congress aims to honor, inspire, motivate and direct top students in the country and help them stay true to their dreams.

“The Congress was an exhausting and amazingly enlightening experience that I would definitely recommend to others. I came back motivated and more confident in myself and my goals than ever before, and the Congress helped me realize what I want to do and how to do it. I’ve become more involved in volunteering, research, and medical opportunities that I wasn’t aware of before,” Soldozy said.

After the Congress, students are entered into the Academy’s mentoring program, which provides students with a path, a plan and resources to help them reach their goals.

This was a book based on one of the most complicated concepts imaginable, but it never once felt that way for a single page.

I decided to pick up “The Archived” by Victoria Schwab partly on a whim and mostly because it was the only book I could find available at the library.  In retrospect, taking a chance on this novel definitely paid off.

“The Archived” expands on the idea that after death, records of a person’s life called “Histories” are stored in an enormous library from another realm called the Archive.  These Histories are stored within the deceased person’s body, and while they are kept under lock and key, they can sometimes escape.  This sets up the job description of Keepers, individuals tasked with finding Histories who have escaped and returning them to rest in peace.  Mackenzie is a Keeper and has taken on the mantle from her late grandfather.  After her family movies into a sinister hotel-turned-apartment, Mac finds herself knee-deep in a decades-old murder case.  The book follows Mac’s journey through our realm and the Archive, aided by the living and the dead, to uncover the truth as more and more Histories begin escaping from the Library.  

At first glance, the premise of this book seems needlessly complicated.  I was a little overwhelmed by the first few pages at the discussion of crossing realms, but Schwab navigates the unfamiliar territory masterfully.  What impressed me most about this book was that despite its roots in fantasy and fiction, it is also firmly grounded in the emotional and physical struggles Mac and her family face in the “real world.”  Mackenzie’s younger brother, Ben, passed away in a car crash prior to the start of the book, and her family is still coping with his loss.  While Mac is not allowed to see her brother’s History, she is desperate to keep her connection with him alive.  This book was about more than an adventure through a library of the dead – it was deeply entrenched in the lives of and interactions between Mac’s family, who is unaware of her double life, and Mac herself.

“The Archived” was a pleasant but welcome surprise for me.  I wasn’t expecting to connect emotionally with the main character as strongly as I did, and the idea of “storing” a person’s life was especially alluring.  I’m eager to see where Schwab takes these characters and this world in the sequel, and am so thankful I decided to go on this journey with them.

It’s the middle of summer, and maybe you’re getting bored of just sitting at home. Or, maybe you’ve been going to summer school for the past few weeks, or doing a summer job, and you’re just looking forward to finally finishing it all and truly getting to enjoy your last month of relaxation before you hit the books. Well, now you can do that with this month’s playlist, dedicated to that “summer vibe” we all hope to feel. Whether you’re in a party mode and want to have fun with “Carnaval” by Danny Romero, or if you want to lie in a hammock with “We Don’t Talk Amymore” by Charlie Puth ft. Selena Gomez, or even if you want to be somewhere in the middle jamming to “This is What You Came For” by Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna, this playlist will have it all. Forget about those textbooks, at least for now, and start listening! Enjoy!

As it turns out, as much as I would like to strut around with my earphones in claiming to be an ~indie music listener~, I am unworthy of the title.

Indie music people, if you didn’t know, are the ones who predict every music trend before it happens. ~They~ know the cool bands before anyone else does; they go to implicitly exclusive gigs at obscure venues; they would surrender one of their own functioning eyeballs before they would ever listen to music played on a station like Hot 99.5.

My secret is that, while I like to branch out and listen to indie bands, I am not an ~indie listener~. I am not cool enough to discover the bands on my own. I’m actually not even cool enough to know which bands are indie.

Here’s another secret: I use Apple Music to find new artists and songs when I can’t listen to my old music anymore. That, and I listen to the radio now. It’s summer, sometimes you need music that isn’t soft and emotionally ambiguous.

I happily discovered a Young the Giant song, “Amerika,” on Apple Music’s “Triple AM” playlist last week. I had never heard of Young the Giant. Fun fact, they’re really popular and I just live under a rock.

But guess what: I’m picking a different song for July’s song of the month: their hit, “My Body!” Yes, it’s actually from 2010, but I didn’t know that until today and you shouldn’t care either.

This song a perfect anthem for summer and especially for July. The timing is perfect too: the rock band will release their newest album, “Home of the Strange,” on Friday, Aug. 12, two weeks from now.

While you’ve been blasting Rihanna or Drake or Jay-Z at the gym or on your runs this month (I know a lot of you have been training for fall sports tryouts like I have), you could also have been kicking to this upbeat, empowering song.

And do you know that awesome feeling of rolling all your windows down and feeling the warm wind rushing into your car on an evening drive? Turn “My Body” up on your stereo, roll past your friends and you could feel as ecstatic as I have while driving home from practices this past week.

And you know what I and all you other rising seniors will be thinking when we begin working on the Common App this August?

My body tells me no, but I won’t quit…

While many Jefferson students seek to expand their horizons in the STEM field, juniors Lulu Lin (artist name H2SO4) and Andrew Wang (artist name W4V3S) have found a niche creating music. Lin and Wang released their third track, titled “Sunrise”, on July 29.

photo courtesy of Frank Ding
“Sunrise”, an EDM piece, is the third collaboration that Lin and Wang released.

The electronic dance music (EDM) piece, peppy and fast-paced, features variations on catchy runs. Although “Sunrise” was not the first piece that Lin and Wang released, it was their first collaboration.

“I used to make electronic instrumentals of pop songs, which I posted on SoundCloud,” Lin said. “One day, I think around the end of May, Andrew messaged me and said they were pretty good, and he suggested that we collaborate on something. We got started right away.”

The reason for the delayed release of “Sunrise” was because Lin and Wang were debating whether to add vocals to the piece, deciding against it at the end. “Tropica”, the duo’s second release, is another uplifting EDM track that did not feature vocals. However, Lin and Wang’s first song titled “Unspoken” did feature vocals sung by junior John Krause-Steinrauf. It is currently their most popular piece, having reached 7,895 listens as of Aug. 7.

“I think [Unspoken is a favorite] because it has vocals and the lyrics are deep and meaningful,” Lin said. “It’s about a guy whose girlfriend broke up with him because she felt like he didn’t love her. She got over him, but he realized too late that he loved her.”

Lin specializes in writing pop-structured songs, while Wang prefers EDM. Joining forces has encouraged them to work on music outside of their usual genres, offering their listeners a diverse selection of music. The duo are also better able to showcase their differences and strengths by collaborating.

“Andrew is really good at drums and special effects, and I’m good at writing harmonies and countermelodies, so that’s what we each work on,” Lin said. “The [pieces] that I write are usually somewhat pessimistic and angsty, while the ones Andrew writes are more optimistic and cheerful.”

Despite their differences, both artists have experience creating melodies. Lin composed the melody of “Unspoken”, Wang created the melody of “Tropica”, and together they made the melodies of “Sunrise.” Lin recalled the main melody of “Unspoken” from her dreams, adapting and building off of it to complete the entire song.

“I usually come up with the melody itself, and then I figure out what the chords are,” Lin said. “I determine what the chords for the verses and the bridge should be, based on how most pop songs are structured nowadays, and then I play the chords on my piano and hum random melodies until I find one that I like.”

As of now, creating music is a hobby for Lin. She does not plan to pursue a musical career, but hopes to continue writing pieces with Wang throughout college and beyond. Lin’s favorite part of the music-making process is experimenting with a variety of sounds and styles.

“The great thing about working with Andrew is that his creative process is way different from mine, so it’s something I can learn from, and as a result I’m starting to experiment with EDM instead of just making pop-style songs,” Lin said.

Lin and Wang plan to release another track, most likely in early Sept.

A lightning-bolt scar.  Platform nine and three-quarters.  The Boy Who Lived.  

J.K. Rowling revolutionized literature when she introduced readers to Harry Potter and his adventures through Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  In the final installment of the series, the story ended with Harry, Ron and Hermione sending their children off to Hogwarts, their escapades over.  But now, the Chosen One’s narrative picks up right where the seventh book left off in the play “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” currently playing at the Palace Theatre in London.  The play is written by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany and J.K. Rowling.

“The Cursed Child” focuses mainly on Albus Severus Potter (Sam Clemmett), the son of Harry (Jamie Parker) and Ginny (Poppy Miller).  Albus is struggling growing up in the shadow of his father, especially after he is sorted into Slytherin and befriends Scorpius Malfoy (Anthony Boyle), the son of Harry’s childhood enemy Draco (Alex Price).  When Albus overhears his father discussing the discovery of another Time Turner, he encourages Scorpius into a magical misadventure to bring Cedric Diggory back from the dead.  Events eventually get out of hand, as they often do, and Albus and Scorpius must patch the fabric of time together before the world as they know it ceases to exist.

The book is, essentially, the script of the play, so reading it was definitely a different experience than reading a traditional book, much less a Harry Potter one.  But even setting that aside, this book just didn’t do it for me.  

What went wrong?  My opinion may be heavily biased purely based on the fact that I am a diehard Harry Potter fan, and therefore had exceedingly high expectations for the “eighth installment.”  “The Cursed Child” is meant to be a play, and I am judging it by only what I see on paper.  However, what I felt when I was reading this book wasn’t the excitement and allure of Harry riding a broomstick or casting a Patronus – it was more a sense of confusion and disbelief.  I was constantly asking myself, “That really happened?  Are they serious?”

In my opinion, the plot was a little all over the place.  The substance of the main plotline – going back in time to save Cedric – felt completely random and pulled from thin air, and the story only got more perplexing from there.  What shocked me the most was the use of Voldemort’s child as a legitimate plot point.  These attempts at plot twists felt more like poorly-written fanfiction than well-thought-out bends and turns in a story to me.

I’m sure the production of “The Cursed Child” is spectacular, and if given the opportunity to see it, I would take it in a heartbeat.  Characterization-wise, it was heart-warming to watch my beloved Golden Trio come back to life on page, much older since their rampages across the castle grounds.  It’s clear from the dialogue that Harry, Ron and Hermione have grown both physically and mentally since the Battle of Hogwarts, and it was intriguing to see where they had gone since then.  I just wish the play had allowed me to spend more time with these characters and less time wondering what exactly was going on.

Though the novel “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was first published in 1943, viewers of all ages have the chance to experience the tale once again as an animated feature. Though the French film was officially released in 2015, it has not been widely distributed in the U.S. until it was released to Netflix and on Aug. 5.

What makes “The Little Prince” film unique from the book is that there is a frame story. A little Girl (Mackenzie Foy) moves into a house neighboring the Aviator (Jeff Bridges), who is the pilot that narrated the novel. The Girl’s Mother (Rachel McAdams) is very strict about the Girl’s academic studies so that she can succeed at an advanced school called Werth Academy. However, the Girl soon dismisses her Mother’s plans to learn more about the Little Prince’s (Riley Osborne) story. In addition, the film’s plot does not end where the novel ends, as the Girl’s and the Little Prince’s storylines converge. The Girl meets Mr. Prince (Paul Rudd), the grown up Little Prince who had forgotten about his adventures as a child. Will Mr. Prince be able to remember life as the Little Prince?

“The Little Prince” features two animation styles: computer animation for the frame story and stop-motion animation for the Little Prince’s story as the Girl imagines the Aviator’s narrative. This was artfully done, with features such as lighting and color working with the animation styles to create contrast between the imagined and “real” world. However, the computer animated parts are not perfect, and many objects have a plastic-like look. While it matched the more tense scenes at Werth Academy and the Girl’s house, it would have been nice to see a warmer tone that does not just rely on color effects in scenes at the Aviator’s house.

Nevertheless, the stop motion was enjoyable to watch, and unlike other stop-motion films such as “The Corpse Bride”, it had a simpler style. For example, the clouds in which an airplane was flying through looked like layers of paper.  The artistic direction also helped the planets’ presentation; animating people walking on tiny planets would have seemed more unrealistic with computer animation.

The version of “The Little Prince” released on Netflix is an English dub, the French version being unavailable. While the English cast features many A-listers, one could argue that it conveyed less emotion than the French version, which would have dialogue straight from Saint-Exupéry’s novel.

Where “The Little Prince” lacks in voice overs, it makes up in visuals and storytelling. Viewers will be captivated by the Girl’s adventure and rediscover their inner child with the Prince.

It’s not that I already know about the subjects on display at science museums; the overwhelming amount of visitors being young children make me feel out of place there.

Nevertheless, I was thrilled to hear that a Pixar-centric exhibition, “The Science Behind Pixar”, was at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Like many people my age, I grew up watching films from the studio, such as “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars”. More recently, especially through “Inside Out” and “Finding Dory”, I have found myself appreciating more of the work that goes into the long yet rewarding animation process, and how far Pixar’s technology has come since 1995’s “Toy Story”.

“The Science Behind Pixar” is a series of “stations” that visitors can freely roam amongst. Each one highlights a different aspect of production, including set creation, simulation and rendering. The stations consist of videos featuring Pixar staff and kiosks with interactive activities demonstrating the animation process. I personally enjoyed the modeling and lighting sections. The modeling section had a case full of sculptures of Pixar characters, which were made to assist character designers. The lighting section had a miniature model of the house from “Up”’s interior, and visitors could control the color, angle and intensity of the light to create different moods.

In addition, concept art for many characters are scattered throughout the exhibition, including the emotions from “Inside Out”.

The exhibition was most likely targeted towards an audience younger than me, based on its promotional photos and location at the Franklin Institute. Despite this, I learned a lot. In fact, some of the videos were fairly detailed, and I grew more impressed with my favorite Pixar films upon watching them. “The Science Behind Pixar” would seem to mainly interest a narrow audience at first, but unlike “The Greeks” at the National Geographic Museum that lacks the excitement factor, the interactive elements in this exhibition are amusing to all visitors.

The exhibition runs from March 12 to Sept. 5. Though ticket prices may seem on the higher side, at $29.95 for adults, I would recommend this exhibition to anyone that wants to know more about how animations come to life.

With the summer winding down, there doesn’t seem like there’s much left to do. However, thanks to the help of other Jefferson students, you can now listen to the new Beat Blog, “Student Summer Picks.” After asking students about their favorite summer songs to listen to this year, those songs have now been compiled into one playlist for everyone’s listening pleasure. From recent summertime songs like “Panda” and “Treat You Better,” to songs from the 1980’s like “The Final Countdown,” this playlist surely hits the mark on variety. So even if there isn’t much time for students to relax in these last few weeks before summer is finally over, they can still go through it all with this new, exciting playlist for the month.