Did you know that boba tea first came from Taiwan? The website Food&Wine says, desserts like tapioca pearls and shaved ice were pretty common in the 80’s, so was drinking milk tea. People decided to combine these things together to make boba tea. They put tapioca pearls at the bottom, added shaved ice, and finally filled the rest of the cup with milk tea.
Over time, people who sold boba tea at the market created fruit boba by using fruit powders and syrups. After this, they created more and more different types of toppings such as egg pudding, grass jelly, red beans, and almond jelly.
Eventually, they also created popping boba. It’s exactly what it sounds like, it’s a type of boba that pops when bitten into. In the classic boba tea, they swapped out the milk for non-dairy creamer, because of this, boba tea is known for being very creamy and sweet.
Some other common boba tea flavors are taro, green tea, mango, and watermelon. This one isn’t a boba tea flavor, but did you know that there’s something called boba tea pizza? It’s just where they take the classic brown sugar tapioca pearls and put it on pizza. Boba pizza is only sold at Dominos in Taiwan, would you try it?
When Taiwanese immigrants came to the US in the early 90’s, so did boba tea. The shops they set up were a good source of money and kind of became a safe place for other Asian American immigrants. Boba tea became popular in the US. It seems like boba tea first appeared in Los Angeles, California.
According to hypebae, some of the most popular boba tea shops around the world are, Happy Lemon, Ten Ren, The Alley, YiFang, Chatime, Boba Guys, and Xing Fu Tang.
Visit these places to try boba if you haven’t already or if you want to drink good boba tea. Boba and Tea and Sencha are two places locally where you can also find boba. After reading this I hope that you learned a couple new things about how boba came to be.
If you’re someone who likes to wear fashionable clothing, fall and winter might be challenging for you. Due to the cold weather and snow you might have to put away the clothes you prefer to wear and stick to sweats for 7 to 8 months (in Minnesota), and that’s really sad.
So I want to give tips on how to keep your style while in low temperatures. Of course this article isn’t going to be for everyone but I have tried to add diversity to the outfit inspos I have made.
Now, I personally like to wear more outgoing clothing, such as crop tops, and skirts, two items that are not fit for the cold. But even though they aren’t meant for cold weather it’s easy to rock them by adding warm accessories.
Things like:
Tights or leggings
Gloves (the longer the better)
Jackets
Cardigans
Hats
These things will help keep you warm while also not ruining your outfit. But of course there are other things you could wear like coats and scarfs but if you’re like me, those aren’t options, since a lot of the time they ruin outfits.
Something that can also help is outfit boards; instead of just choosing random outfits and hoping for the best you can create boards and plan your outfits ahead. If making your own boards isn’t your thing then a good place to find some already made ones is on the app Pinterest.
I have made some boards to give inspiration:
Grunge inspo
Sanrio (Hello Kitty) inspo
Preppy inspo
Y2K inspo
These are just a handful of styles you can take inspiration from. All of them have warm aspects in them, but of course if your style isn’t included you can find good ones on Pinterest.
Some of these include coat-like clothing but of course they are fashionable and not one of those horrendous puffy plastic coats.
Now a lot of people can’t really afford to dress “fashionably” but you can find so many good things at cheap stores and websites.
There are of course REALLY cheap websites that you could shop from but shops like those tend to be very bad for the environment and very inhumane.
You can find good clothes like this from thrift stores (not the Salvation Army), Depop (things can get pretty expensive though), Japanese mercari, OR you can learn how to sew and crochet, which while it may take a bit, once you get the hang of it you can be making a shirt or a pair of pants + more, every week.
Even though there are these good options for shopping, I’d like to ask that you support small shops and businesses by buying their clothing and jewelry. Shops like these are on Etsy, Depop, Poshmark, and you can find some people’s websites from their social media accounts.
This is all I have for inspiration and tips. I hope this article helps you stay fashionable during this year’s fall and incoming nightmare of a Minnesota winter.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ marks the return of our favorite crime-fighting turtles back to the big screen. Unlike other TMNT films of the past that struggled with finding its identity, this film knows exactly what it wants to be. This movie is an entertaining time for all ages, a modern story of teenage life and brotherhood with a few elements of fiction to make it original.
The story follows four familiar faces in Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. The turtles meet a girl named April O’Neal, who gives the teens a shot at becoming heroes if they can take down a mysterious mutant named “Superfly”.
This film does a great job with balancing action with comedy, as the Turtles’ witty banter keeps the intense fight scenes light and funny. The pacing here is consistent, and we never once felt like the movie dragged on or outlived its welcome.
‘Mutant Mayhem’ does a great job of including real-life human elements to its story, one of those being April’s anxiety about being in front of a camera. April had an unfortunate incident happen to her while she was on camera for her high school, which caused her to never want to talk in front of a camera again. However, this changes when the villain Superfly attacks New York. April runs to the local news station and pleads her case that the turtles aren’t villains. Her passionate words change New York’s perception of our shelled heroes, and soon the turtles are able to defeat Superfly with the help of New York citizens.
Another human element to this story was Splinter’s unwillingness to let his kids go. I’m sure parents can relate to this one; Splinter wants to keep his boys safe and is distrustful of the human world. It’s only after hearing Superfly saying that his way is the only way, something Splinter told his boys before, that he realizes the error of his ways. Splinter then apologizes, stating he trusts his boys, and allows them to go to high school in New York.
‘Mutant Mayhem’ brings the turtles to life with a unique animation style, which makes them appear as genuine creatures rather than ugly hyper realistic CGI. The film’s cinematography impresses with an active moving camera that gives new angles to fight sequences. Vibrant colors mix with dull ones, giving the animation further layers and originality.
‘Mutant Mayhem’ may be a lot different than what we’ve previously seen from the Turtles, but the brothers’ personalities are here to stay with Leonardo’s leadership and commitment to his brothers, Donatello’s intelligence and dry wit, Michelangelo’s humor and innocence, and Raphael’s hotheadedness and determination. The Turtles are played by actual teenage actors who voice their characters authentically. This is a far cry from past TMNT productions where adults voice acted in these roles. New and old characters make their way into the story, some to be recognized and others to establish their place in the new era of TMNT.
The film’s soundtrack combines nostalgic 90s tunes with new age techno tracks. This mix of songs complement the film’s fresh energy and enhances action sequences and emotional moments. Sound design is crisp and well-done, helping to further immerse viewers in the Turtle’s world. Care and attention to detail in terms of audio heightens both the action sequences and the overall experience.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ is an exhilarating and action-packed cinematic adventure that captures the essence of our beloved turtles. With its engaging plot, fantastic visual effects, well-developed characters, and a great soundtrack, it’s a must-see for enthusiasts of the TMNT franchise. The film skillfully strikes a balance between honoring the Turtles’ roots and introducing fresh elements, which provides an enjoyable experience for both newcomers and long-time fans. So grab your popcorn, get comfortable, and prepare for an awesome, shell-shocking adventure!
Overall, we give the movie 4/5 stars. You can watch ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’ on Paramount+.
‘UTOPIA’ by Travis Scott is a Rap album released this year, and is the highest-selling album of 2023, breaking records of weekly sales in the world. ‘UTOPIA’s’ starting track “HYAENA” is one of the best intros for an album we’ve had in a long time. We get a very industrial sound after the great sample at the start where Travis raps on this raging beat through the whole song with an amazing flow and flow switches. The main sample of this track is from: the Chronicle grime “Career Cats Get Tiger Suits”.
We then go onto the next track titled “THANK GOD”. This track is where Travis talks about people calling him a “satanist” for past events, Thanking god for his life, and proving to everyone that he is a Christian. That’s the first part of the song. In the second half, we get a great transition with amazing vocals by Travis to bring back some of the effects ‘ASTROWORLD’ had back in 2018, and this is where the rapping picks back up with him going off on how he isn’t stressed or pressured into what the people might think about his new sound.
The next track “MODERN JAM” (feat. Teezo Touchdown) is exactly what it’s named, a very modern jam with very questionable lyrics and a very bumpy beat that Travis still raps nicely on. The real star on this song is Teezo Touchdown when he starts singing, sounding almost like Freddie Mercury (fun fact: this song uses a scrapped beat from Kanye West from 2013).
Now the track “MY EYES” is easily one of Travis’s best songs. It starts slow with a more chill beat. This part of the song is great even with a vocal feature from Sampha, but what most people talk about is the amazing transition into his next beat where he goes all out in his rapping and storytelling. He references his ex Kylie Jenner, he talks about his Astroworld accident as well, saying how he would jump off the stage to save a kid and how he replays those nights when 7 people died at his concert.
“GOD’S COUNTRY” is the next track where Travis uses another beat/song by Kanye West originally. This song like “THANK GOD” references the Bible and also talks about his loyalty to God, and is also one of the shorter songs on the album.
The next song “SIRENS” is where the hype comes back with a perfect rapping performance from Travis on a beat around the sample from a Zambian artist: Amanza-nsunka Lwendo with added hard-hitting bass and drums to add to the already amazing instrumental. We even get some of the best synths on the album by Mike Dean. The real hype in this song is at the end when we hear Drake talking about his utopia.
“MELTDOWN” (feat. Drake) is easily the most hyped-up song on the album mostly because of the almost ‘Star Wars’-type beat and Drake delivering as usual. Most people compare this song to “SICKO MODE” because of how similar and great both songs are. Both Drake and Travis delivered some of the best bars of the whole album in this song making it one of the best. The hype built up to this song is levels above anyone right now.
Once again Travis showed us that he is easily one of the most versatile rappers in the game by going a different route on the song “FE!N” (feat. Playboi Carti) this song is all about rage. There is no storytelling, little bars, and mostly consists of mumble rap for the entire song. What makes this song so different from the rest is its beat focusing on synths and pure raging drums and 808s.
“DELRESTO (ECHOES)” (feat. Beyoncé) is the next song. It almost sounds like a scrapped song from Beyonce’s recent album ‘Renaissance’ and given that it’s Beyoncé with Travis Scott it’s honestly an unexpected collab for most people. Travis gets outshined by Beyoncé on this track and I feel like he could’ve done more with this song. One of the only moments on the album where it should’ve been focused on making a radio hit instead of what we got because, overall, there aren’t any shining moments on the song.
The next track “I KNOW?” This is where we pick back up in the rapping and has easily one of the best flows on the album with honestly one of the more simple beats on the album compared to others. It’s overall a more underrated song on the album.
“TOPIA TWINS” (feat. Rob 49 & 21 Savage) another great hit on this album and a very unexpected feature from Rob 49 that no one expected to be on this album. Also, probably the least family-friendly song on the album mostly because of the 21 Savage influence. This song is so good with all 3 artists delivering their amazing verses, with Travis in the chorus, it’s just a perfect song once again.
“CIRCUS MAXIMUS” (feat. The Weekend & Swae Lee) is one of those songs where Travis shows us again that he isn’t just the auto-tune guy. He gives a track with great synths and drums that sound familiar to a song from Kanye West called: “Black Skinhead”. It’s also on this song where we get the best Weekend performance we’ve seen in a long time, and on the album. It’s also named after the movie Travis directed called ‘CIRCUS MAXIMUS’ released the same as the album.
The next track is called “PARASAIL” (feat. Yung Lean & Dave Chappelle) and it acts more like an interlude on this album not providing much from all artists on it.
“SKITZO” (feat. Young Thug) is the longest song on the album being 6 minutes long. It’s a song that has 4 different beat switches with a great feature from Young Thug on the first third of the song. This part of the song is more hard-hitting and trap. Midway through the song, we get our first beat switch where Travis is the only one rapping and goes off referencing his failed love once again. A minute later we get a whole different song where once again Travis gives us an amazing rapping performance throughout the whole part. The final beat switch comes and goes fast with Travis saying how he’s loyal and has Ye (Kanye West) over Biden because of Kanye running for president back in 2020. He says this because of the crazy influence he’s had on this album that most people can tell. Even having Kanye samples, and full songs on the album, it’s safe to say that without Kanye West we wouldn’t have the ‘UTOPIA’ that we got.
“LOST FOREVER” (feat. Westside Gunn) is the song that made everyone hyped for this album when it first leaked and was even performed by Travis before ‘UTOPIA’ dropped. It’s a song that got everyone hooked because it is the first song where we get the “utopia” sound that everyone wanted. It’s the song that also had the best Travis Scott verse on the album. What people didn’t expect is the dark and hard-hitting beat switch right after the end of Travis’s verse and that’s where we get the great Westside Gunn verse that everyone thought would get cut on the final version.
“LOOOVE” (feat. Kid Cudi) is the reunion of THE SCOTTS and it was one of the more hated songs on the album when it was first released. Not sure why it was like that but the song is kind of another modern jam with both SCOTTS giving great verses on the most experimental beat on the album (fun fact: there was a snippet of this song back in 2013 a decade ago).
The next song on the album is “K-POP” (feat. Bad Bunny & The Weekend) and it’s easily the most hated by everyone. Personally, I think it’s a great song. The only thing really bad about it is just The Weekend feature which is surprising, but it’s just the lyrics are really weird, but it’s overall a song that I never hated.
Now “TELEKINESIS” (feat. SZA & Future) is another song that was also originally a Kanye West song again, and it’s like a very futuristic sound that makes you levitate, and has a great Travis Scott vocal performance. Future is also just an obvious choice for a feature on this type of song; he gives us great bars and just flows on the beat the whole verse. When the album was first released it had hidden features and this is really important because the faces on everyone when we first heard SZA’s voice on this song is easily one of the most memorable moments this year for music. She delivers some of the most emotional singing we’ve had from and is easily the best feature on the whole album. It’s honestly beautiful.
Finally, after 18 amazing tracks we are on the last one called “TIL FURTHER NOTICE” (feat. James Blake & 21 Savage) we get production from the famous Metro Boomin and vocals from James Blake. It’s already a great song but with the added 21 Savage verse he just flows on the beat perfectly. The real star is of course Travis Scott where he shines on this beat and gives us a great verse, with people even saying it’s the best on the whole album. It’s one of the best endings to a great album and contrasts perfectly with the intro.
In the end, Travis Scott’s ‘UTOPIA’ works as a way to show us how he can be versatile in his sound. It is a longer album with 19 tracks, and most people thought it wouldn’t be good because of its length, but it shows that making a long album isn’t bad because imagine this album being shorter; we wouldn’t have gotten the 5 years of music that we should’ve gotten from him. He shows on this album that he doesn’t follow the norm and doesn’t let the public tell him what to do, and he bounces back from tragedies like the Astroworld concert. Most people compare it to his equivalent of ‘Yeezus’ by Kanye West, not only because of the heavy influence it has on ‘UTOPIA’, but also because of how it serves the same purpose by showing that he can change his sound and experiment and still come out with a classic album even if it’s different than what they usually put out.
As soon as the fall menu items were released for both Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks, we were both ready to try them all. Fall is one of our favorite seasons and these drinks make the season even better. We visited both Starbucks and Dunkin’ in the Highland area to try these drinks right away. This article reviews five of the drinks, from coffees to teas, and we hope that these recommendations encourage you to find your favorite fall drinks as well.
Dunkin Donuts pumpkin chai: This past week one of the fall themed drinks that we tried was the iced pumpkin chai from Dunkin’ Donuts. Dunkin’ Donuts has many choices for different fall drinks and fall food as well. The iced pumpkin chai is one of our favorite fall drinks that we’ve tried so far. There is a strong pumpkin and cinnamon flavor mixed with the chai flavor, that makes the drink feel like fall. It is on the sweeter side, so if you aren’t a fan of sweet drinks then we wouldn’t recommend this drink to you. Although, if you do like sweet drinks and chai lattes, then this is the perfect drink for you. You can also adjust the amount of pumpkin you want in the drink to make it have a stronger or weaker pumpkin flavor. You can also add things like whipped cream, cold foam, and more. Overall, we would rate this drink a 4.5/5.
Starbucks iced pumpkin cream chai tea latte: Another fall themed drink that we tried this past week was the Starbucks iced pumpkin cream chai tea latte. This drink was very similar to the Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin chai, but instead of having pumpkin flavoring mixed with the chai tea latte, the pumpkin flavoring was in the cold foam on top of the chai. This drink didn’t really have the strongest pumpkin flavor, but it was our favorite drink that we tried. The cold foam wasn’t too liquid, and had a sweet, but not too sweet flavor. When you mix the cold foam with the chai, it tastes even better. We liked this one better than the Dunkin’ Donuts pumpkin chai, because it wasn’t too sweet. The pumpkin flavor also wasn’t too overpowering, and you could still taste the chai. We would rate this drink a 5/5.
The Dunkin’ nutty pumpkin coffee was another delicious fall menu drink that we tried this autumn. This drink had an overall pumpkin flavor with notes of nuttiness and it was just the right amount of sweet. We really enjoyed this drink, but it was not our favorite out of the four we reviewed. We definitely prefer the Dunkin lattes over their coffee options, but we still liked this one. One thing that made this drink slightly better was the sweet cold foam that was added. This is one of our favorite things to add to drinks because it makes them more creamy and adds a little extra sweetness to the drink. Overall, we would rate this drink a 3.5/5.
If we are in the mood for a coffee, the Dunkin’ pumpkin latte is our go to drink on the fall menu. This drink is different from the nutty pumpkin coffee because it is less bitter of a drink and has an even more robust pumpkin flavor. We’ve gotten this drink several times because it is so delicious. Once again we added the sweet cold foam to this beverage which adds texture and a nice boost of sweetness and creaminess. This drink is a 5/5. There is nothing that comes to mind that would make this drink better, and we have all good things to say about it.
The Starbucks pumpkin spice latte is the last fall menu drink that we tried. This drink is about a 3/5. It has a good amount of sweetness but the coffee flavor is bitter. We definitely prefer the flavor of the Dunkin’ coffee over the Starbucks coffee. If there was pumpkin cold foam added to this drink, the flavor would improve a lot. Overall, this drink was good but we don’t think we would order it again.
‘Hustle’ is a movie produced by Adam Sandler, Lebron James, and Maverick Carter that was created on June 3, 2022. The movie is about Stanley Beren (played by Adam Sandler), who is an NBA scout for the Dallas Mavericks, trying to recruit prospects for their franchise. But the general manager overrides and vetoes everything he does with prospects and actually threatens to fire him when the general manager messes up the draft and picks someone who Stanley didn’t advise. This is when we meet the main character, Bo Cruz, played by real NBA player Juan Hernangomez.
Bo lives in Spain with his mother and daughter. He doesn’t actually play basketball professionally for their country but makes money off pickup games at the park when Stanley, who happens to be there, is scouting. Stanley sees how good he is and immediately tries to talk to him, but his limited Spanish made him say something weird to him and made Bo walk off. But him being a scout, he followed Bo to his house, where he met his mom and daughter, and ended up convincing Bo to play with the promise of money and getting his family out of Spain.
This is where the antagonist for Bo is Kermit Wilts, played by real NBA rookie of the year Anthony Edwards. This part of the movie everyone loves because Edwards played his part very well and already talks trash in games, so in the movie he said some crazy things. But they first met at a pickup game just to showcase their talents, and Kermit dominated the game while Bo underperformed, played pretty badly, and was basically shut down due to the trash talk of Kermit.
I like this part because it shows how, in basically every sport, letting someone talk trash to you can take you out of your game and put you out, so you have to be mentally ready, and that’s the same advice Stanley gave him to use.
Kermit and Bo would meet two other times, and in their second meeting, they were playing at a combine in front of thousands of people, and Bo took his mother and daughter to help him perform better, but when Kermit’s regular trash talk didn’t work (because he saw his daughter), and blocked Bo’s shots out the stands, he then waved at his daughter. He takes another loss but actually isn’t upset, and his performance in the game already brought scouts so that he would be able to declare for the NBA draft.
The third and final time they meet is in the NBA, where the movie ends at the tip-off to start the game.
I like this movie because it’s about basketball, and in the movie, it shows one of the routes to the NBA which is the international one. The acting for the movie, I think, is good, with Anthony Edwards playing the main antagonist, which was good for the movie and definitely was my favorite character. Since there have definitely been worse basketball movies, I think this one is worth watching.
Overall, I would give this movie a 8/10. You can watch ‘Hustle’ on Netflix.
Football fever has returned, and ‘FIFA 23’ from EA Sports is the latest game in the FIFA series. Fans look forward to revised lineups, improved gameplay, and new features every year. So does ‘FIFA 23’ live up to the hype? Let’s get started with this in-depth review.
Graphics (9/10): ‘FIFA 23’s’ stunning visuals continue to improve year after year. With lifelike facial expressions and meticulously crafted kits, player models nowadays are a showcase of detailed details. Even grass and mud stains are created with the finest of care. The stadiums are amazing to see because of the changing weather and receptive crowd. Although the improvement in graphics isn’t revolutionary compared to the previous version, the gradual improvements make the game visually captivating.
Gameplay (8/10): Cleaner and sharper animations are the outcome of improved ball physics. Players move more fluidly, which improves the sense of dribbling and ball control. However, there are times when the players can glitch out, which definitely earns a minus from me. It does become more complex though, with the addition of First Touch Control; making perfecting ball reception techniques essential.
Ultimate Team (7.5/10): The pinnacle fantasy squad-building mode continues to be a fan favorite. “FUT Heroes,” a new feature in ‘FIFA 23’ , adds illustrious players from the past to the mix. The squad-building tasks are still addicting, leveling up your team as you progress. But microtransactions and RNG mechanics continue to cast a long shadow, worrying some players about pay-to-win aspects.
‘FIFA 23’ enters the field with improved visuals, refined gameplay mechanics, and significant upgrades to all of its game modes. Although some problems, such as hackers and game bugs still exist, the experience is rewarding and compelling. Whether you’re a die-hard soccer fan or just a casual player looking for some virtual soccer action, ‘FIFA 23’ is a significant addition to the brand that is sure to keep you occupied for days on end.
Overall, I would give ‘FIFA 23’ 8.5/10. You can play ‘FIFA 23’ on: PC, PS4/PS5, XBox.
Plaid Line + PRIZM + Scottie News 