Introduction Hey again, you know the drill: Find any flat surface and a utensil that you can manipulate pigment with; I’m using a pencil and paper, but you can use practically anything.  This article covers texture detail and is a related sequel to what we learned in How to Draw Part 1, which is also posted here on Parker Press. I would recommend that tutorial first, but that is also the beauty of free will. I want you to look around at your environment right now. Zero in on

Mint chocolate chip has always been one of those ice cream flavors that is either loved or hated. People strangely seem to feel confident about hating such a delicacy. It is more than just a dessert, though. It is an idea about what we should think and value. It is undeniable proof that some of us have taste buds evolved a little above the average human. That group is also strong enough to survive the slander from people who simply can’t admit the truth. Mint chocolate chip i

How did people in the 1500s build complex, giant, seaworthy ships without machinery, using only their hands and a few simple tools? During the 16th and 17th centuries, there was a flurry of people rushing across seas looking for treasure to bring back to their kingdoms. Any boats used on these journeys had to be able to withstand months on open ocean, hold enough supplies for the crew, and store whatever treasures or slaves they took on their voyage. The people who built thes

Solar flares can contain as much energy as a billion hydrogen bombs. They are intense explosions of light and matter from the Sun and occur almost daily. Solar flares are measured by their intensity, in a similar manner to earthquakes, each level being ten times stronger than the last.  The weakest flares, the ones that don’t really affect Earth, are labeled A, B, and C, with A being the weakest. Ten times stronger than C is M. M-class solar flares can cause radio blackouts i

Mark your calendars! The Parker School Winter Showcase is happening Thursday, December 11, at 6:00 PM, and it’s shaping up to be such a fun night! Students from choir, theatre, and dance have been working on these performances for months, and they’re finally ready to share them. If you’re looking for a great reason to come out and support your friends, this is it! We’ll kick off the night with Choir Class, a group of students who meet on E days and have been rehearsing since

Last spring, I sat down with the acting class to table-read This Murder Was Staged . As Ms. Duggan wrote in her Directors’ Notes in the playbill last week, the moment we read it, we knew this was going to be our fall play. A lot of the time it can be hard to find a show that everybody likes and that fits our cast, but TMWS had everything: a large cast, a challenging number of lines, and a hilarious plot. There were lots of opportunities for a creative set, and I vividly remem

Chapter 31: Storm on the Water As Rienna built her boat, her mind slipped in and out of consciousness. Sometimes, she would look up at the crystal sky and see Xio peering down at her. Sometimes, she was in the middle of binding pieces together when she blacked out and would see a fuzzy image of crystal panes all around her. Her boat was made of fallen wood and giant leaves. She wasn't very sure that it would work, but hopefully, in the dream world, it would be okay. With Aya'

Our interaction with the universe is intrinsically based on what we can understand about it. Since a lot of time has passed—enough for us to document a few thousand years of it—the expectation of society provided by the records of science has built up a number of assumptions about the possibilities and limits of our world and of humans. This has created a habit of shortsightedness that David Hume and William James attempted to broaden in two very different ways. From the pers

In the last article, we talked about worldbuilding. Now that you have built your world, you have to figure out what you want to tell with it. What do you want to talk about, comment on, criticize, or make your reader think about? The plot is what lets you tell the story you want to tell. It is the events of your world and the ultimate effect on it. Your plot should be divided into points, events, or actions that move it subtly. An example of a plot point is your characters ne

Ever in the mood for calm, bluesy, or slowly expressive music? If so, the next time you browse your music streaming service, I urge you to look for a jazz playlist. Yes, although jazz music is often seen as old or only played in fancy restaurants, there are many ways jazz music can be entertaining in your daily life! The very first song I’d recommend to someone is, “ Tenderly” by Chet Baker. The song starts off slow, then progressively syncopates into a flowy rhythm. Then, t

Part I Opening your eyes as a blue glow illuminates the inside of your tent, a shrill noise like tearing paper, the door flies open, and the hair on your neck stands as the frigid air fills the tent. The warm glow of the morning sun contrasts with the snow-covered ground. Glancing around the tent, you notice that your partner has already left. Stepping out of the tent, you feel yourself sinking into the powered snow from the night before. Donning your goggles, the world shift

I thought hydrangeas were meant to bloom in October, but they’re no longer growing. The flowers by your empty room wilted, their stems bowing as if mourning with me - or maybe it’s me mourning them, mourning you. I remember when you arranged them, humming a tune I can’t remember the name of, but can still feel deep in my chest: a melody that lingered even after the final petals fell, a love that remains, even when you can’t hold someone’s hand anymore. The hydrangeas outside

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Phillip K. Dick, but from the perspective of the sheep I wish my coat were real. Not the pretty-looking cotton stuff that stays looking good in the smoky-gray of a San Francisco morning post World War Terminus, not the factory-lathed fibers that were made to never catch dust, but real wool. Warm and comforting, sometimes stinky and tangled, but real. I want to feel the warmth and chill of normal weather patterns, eat grass and clover tha

The members of Parker Press are very proud to announce the September member of the month: Fiona Hamilton (CO '28) Fiona's creative writing spans over thirty chapters and is a testament to the dedication and consistency she brings to the publication. This year, Fiona began exploring other genres, but fear not, because she has done this in addition to developing her creative writing story. Regularly submitting two articles to each posting, Fiona's involvement in Parker Press m

Invasive plants here in Hawai’i suck. Because Hawai’i’s unique ecosystem evolved without grazing mammals, native plants evolved to grow less quickly and less aggressively. Thus, native Hawaiian plants are already at a disadvantage to plants from other environments, which have evolved to be much more aggressive. This is not the fault of the plants themselves, yet the detrimental effect of invasive plant species on native ones is undeniable. Plants like Strawberry Guava and Mic

Overview of Meteor Showers Three meteor showers peak during November, and five are active in total. Meteors, or shooting stars, are often rocky debris from space that have entered our atmosphere at high speeds and burned up in a spectacular show of light. While we can usually only see meteors at night, they happen throughout the day and year. Contrary to what you may think, the space between planets in our solar system really isn’t that empty; it’s extraordinarily spacious, b

This is the first piece in what is hopefully a series of articles, in which over the course of the year I am going to try and teach you how to take your creative writing to the next level. This article will go over the foundation of your story, the world, and the people in it.  World building is the stone that builds the bridge. If done properly you can take your story to critical acclaim solely on your world and how it engrosses people into your vision. If done improperly yo

Fellow cat and ruler, The thoughts of the hooman servants can often be a mystery to even the meowst perceptive of cats, which is why I, Sir Flooficus, have created the meowst comprehensible of guides to the hooman mind! Continue reading and be in awe of the strange habits of the common hooman servant! First off, it is important to understand why the hoomans are so hard to understand. The answer is simple. As you’ve likely noticed, their ears are stiff, ungainly things, and th