Category Archives: Entertainment

Tech/Games

BIRD GAME 3 META ANALYSIS (JOYSTiCK Reviews Special)

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By: Daniel Kendle

Hey, gang! I’m Ms. Smeegle, and I’m filling in for Mr. Whatshisname for this review. I hope you enjoy!

‘Bird Game 3’ is among 2025’s most popular games, hitting Steam shelves to a collective peak of 1.2 million players. The game is a match-based multiplayer experience where you take control of a bird as you fight for your team, steal eggs, and battle foes. It’s reminiscent of games like ‘Overwatch,’ ‘Marvel Rivals,’ and ‘Apex Legends,’ being a 5V5 first-person experience against other online players. The difference, of course, is that ‘Bird Game 3’ is the world’s first FPP: First-Person Pecker.

Obviously, the game hasn’t been out for super long, so it’s hard to definitively say which birds are best and which are worst. As of January 2026 – the time at which I’m writing this – we’re currently in the midst of Season 4, Regulation E. In this regulation, the following birds have been banned from ranked play:

  • Phoenix (banned to Ubers)
  • Wood Duck
  • Emu

This narrows down the full list of usable birds to a solid 22: not the largest-ever roster for a Regulation, but a good one still. It’s also nice to have some birds from Season 1 and 2 finally become legal again, like Rooster and Titmouse.

After combing through various different websites, it seems the most popular bird online is Bald Eagle, with about 38% of registered teams having one. Makes sense; for being among the last S-tier birds not already banned in Ranked. It’s stat spread is great, with a ⅗ in HP, ⅘ in Offense and Defense, and ⅗ in Swiftness. Sure, it doesn’t spec into any of its highest stats completely, but opting instead for a more neutral playstyle is beneficial for a Carnivore-built bird. Its Bird Power, ‘Patriotism,’ is also pretty based, temporarily-maxing out its Special Move meter whenever an egg is stolen from their nest.

Besides Eagle, other notable birds include Opium Bird and Hummingbird, which’re hardly surprises. The latter in particular has been a mainstay pick for team comps since even Regulation B in Season 1, due to its stupidly-small hitboxes and Special Attack cooldowns. ‘Nectarite’ sucks, but the Bird Ability can be easily-circumvented through user “NBok43’s” recently-discovered Pollenport glitch. I imagine it’ll be patched soon, but for now its continued letting Hummingbird remain a meta threat.

Some nerfs to birds have also affected the player base, for better or worse. Birds with ‘Bug Boost’ for a Bird Power have had a severe drop in usage: its effect previously let Insectivore builds gain a temporary 1.5% Defensive boost upon eating 10 insects, but now, in addition to the requirement being 20 insects, the boost is only 1.2%. Oxpecker, Swift and Woodpecker users have become a rare sight only because of this. Another nerf is to Penguin, with its unique ‘Flipper Fodder’ Power now only letting it release 5 “Penguissiles” at a time as opposed to 7.

Overall, the changes made to ‘Bird Game 3’ in its newest Regulation have been net-positive for most. The Ranked meta has never been healthier, with more and more birds actually seeing competitive viability. With this most recent patch, I can only hope that the game continues to soar from he-

“Doctor, look! There! Her pulse is rising, I think she’s regaining consciousness!”

“We can’t lose her again this time. Hector: fetch front desk support. We’re gonna want to alert her family.“

Wh…wha? What’s going on?

“Ma’am? Ma’am, this is doctor Mackenzie of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona. You’re going to be alright.”

Mayo Cli…w-why am I-!

“Ma’am, you were in a car crash with your wife and son 46 hours ago. They perished in the wreck, while you stayed in fatal condition. We need you to relax, please – Marjorie, hand me the anesthesia.”

They died? But I-I didn’t even see anyone else driving! I couldn’t have…have…

“No one could’ve. It was a freak accident: a couple of drunk teenagers T-boned your vehicle on Interstate 430. Your relatives wanted hospital personnel to tell you all this when you woke up.“

…

“I’m…I’m sorry for your loss.”

…Janus…

“…thank you. Ma’am, I need you to close your eyes again and count to 20. Everything is going to be okay.”

Travel/Food

Protein coffee review

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By: Norah Hoglund

I am definitely the type of person who wakes up in the morning and isn’t hungry. I rarely eat food in the morning because right when I wake up it always sounds so unappetizing. Even so, it’s important that I consume protein in the morning to give me energy for the day. That’s why I tried this protein coffee.

The brand I tried is called Javvy. I got it at Target and they have a ton of different flavors to choose from. I tried the French vanilla and the mocha.

The brand stuck out to me because it has natural ingredients and uses stevia as a sweetener, which is a really good and healthy alternative to sugar. The coffee has no added sugar and it has 10g of protein per scoop.

Review

This coffee is super easy to make. I filled up a cup with half water and half whole milk, added a scoop of the coffee, and used a frother to mix it. If you don’t have a frother you can put it in a bottle and shake it up, it works just as well.

When I tried this coffee, I was actually very surprised at how good it tasted. It tasted pretty much like how you would expect a normal latte to taste. It is the perfect amount of sweetness, in my opinion, without having the weird flavor that sometimes accompanies an alternative sweetener to sugar. The coffee flavor is not particularly prominent, but I like that because I don’t like strong coffee flavors.

Overall, I think that this is a great product and I would definitely recommend it to anybody. I love lattes and this gives me that without the unnecessary sugar and with extra protein added. I now drink it every morning! I rate this product a 10/10.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Memoir of a Snail’ movie review

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By: Marina Yang

‘Memoir of a Snail’ is a film created in 2024, written and directed by Adam Elliot. This movie centers around the two siblings Grace Pudel (voiced by Sarah Snook) and Gilbert Pudel (at first voiced by Mason Litsos, and later on Kodi Smit-McPhee), with other side characters that each meets throughout their stories. This is an adult-film (rated R), it will show and talk about more graphic things such as cussing.

The movie starts off with the birth of the two siblings, and their lives staying together until separated by the cruel death of their only guardian, their father. They unfortunately cannot stay together as they are taken in by two different families. Each have separate issues from each other as Gilbert is somewhere in a desert and Grace is somewhere more urban. The movie mainly revolves around Grace’s perspective with her major champion, Pinky (voiced by Jacki Weaver). There are occasional switches to Gilbert’s perspective through his letters/narrating. Grace’s life journey is about her biggest problems, which are overcoming her fears, love and loneliness; all represented by a snail. Snails retrieve back into their shells as a defense/fear mechanism as she backs into her comfort zone, restricting herself from her goals at times.

The movie has a realistic take on people going through mental issues, and overall just struggles throughout life (as this is inspired off the writer’s own life experience). This make the movie more likable and relatable than some other films may be. Plus, its unique claymation style gives the film character, and definitely shows how long and detailed they worked on this movie. This movie can resonate with people in different ways through the characters traits, common interests, etc., attracting certain crowds.

This movie was nice, I’d say with a realistic reality to the movie without some kind of nice cover-up. Also, claymation/stop-motion movies are one of my favorite styles to see in movies. I’d give this movie a 4/5 as I wouldn’t say I completely relate entirely, but I could to a certain point in the movie. I could say I could name some people who may have similarities to this film in a way though. I’d definitely recommend checking out this movie once you’re free, though.

This movie is available to watch via subscriptions or buying on streaming services.

Tech/Games

New York Times Games

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By: Charlotte Aver

Wordle has been around since COVID when Josh Wardle created it as a gift to his partner. He was inspired by the Spelling Bee and Crossword by the New York Times. The game grew in popularity throughout the pandemic leading Josh Wardle to sell the game to the New York Times where it could join its inspiration to be played everyday. Wordle is a five letter word guessing game where you have six chances to get the word right, and as you play the game gives you hints as to whether or not you are close. I would rate this game a solid 9/10 because I play it most days and it is a fun way to wake up my brain.

Connections is probably my favorite New York Times game. It was developed for about a year before being released to the public in June of 2023, as time went on it rapidly gained popularity, and in 2025 it had 3 million daily players. It is where you have 16 words and 4 groups of 4 that you have to find. It varies in difficulty level but typically is not too hard if you think through it thoroughly. I would rate this game 10/10.

Spelling Bee is a game where you are given 7 letters to arrange into words all using the center letter. This game takes a long time and a lot of critical thinking to complete. I often start this game and continue going back to it throughout the day. I would rate this game a 7/10.

Sudoku is a previously existing game and needs no introduction, it is just digitized. I personally don’t like sudoku and this game doesn’t show the same creativity as the others so I will give this game a 5/10.

Strands is a very fun game that can be incredibly difficult and is probably only possible to work in the digital form. Strands is a game where you have a bunch of letters laid out in a grid and a theme. You need to find all of the words but the twist is that the words are not in straight lines and they wind around the grid making it harder than a plain word search. I would give this one a 7/10.

Pips is the newest addition to the New York Times’ games and is very fun. Pips is a game where there are dominos and certain spots for the dominos to go, but they have numbers on them to indicate where each domino goes. It takes a bit to understand but once you do it’s incredibly fun. I would rate this game a 8/10.

There are a few more games but you have to subscribe to have access to them so I will not be rating them.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Mean Girls’ review

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By: Kendra Shanklin

*Warning: This review contains spoilers

‘Mean Girls’ is about a girl named Cady who had been homeschooled while she was living in Africa but then her mom got a job which made her transfer to public school. Along with having to transfer schools, she also struggles with being friends with a few girls named Regina, Gretchen and Karen. This movie is rated PG-13 for its teen drinking and strong language.

*Recap

In the beginning of the movie, a girl named Cady, who was a transfer student from Africa, struggles to make many friends, but she keeps on trying. The next day, she meets two people named Jamison and Janis. She asks them if they can help her find her next class and they say “Sure”. After class they go to the class and Janis is telling Cady about everyone and who to talk to or who not to talk too.

While in lunch, Cady is trying to find somewhere to sit. While she’s doing that, a boy stops her and starts trying to make jokes, but Cady didn’t understand what was going on. Regina then steps in and tells the boy to stop messing with Cady, Regina then tells Cady that she could start sitting with them and how tomorrow she should come to her Halloween party.

Even though it seems like Cady had made friends with Regina and her friends, Regina was just trying to set her up to back stab her.

*My review

I love how this movie focuses on bullying and trying to fit in. This is my favorite 2000s era drama movie to watch, so if you love drama and comedy I recommend watching this. I rate this 10/10.

Thank you for reading my review and I hope you’re willing to watch this movie.

You can watch ‘Mean Girls’ on Paramount+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

Books/Art

‘Twilight’ chapter 6

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By: Ivy Dahl

Summary-

The sixth chapter of ‘Twilight’ begins with Bella going to the La Push beach with her friends from school, with some other local teens from the Quileute tribe joining their group. One of these teens is Jacob Black, Bella’s childhood friend who she remembers seeing when she used to visit her dad’s house in the summer, because his dad was friends with hers. When Bella mentions that she had invited Edward Cullen, one of Jacob’s friends looks grim before firmly stating that the Cullens don’t come there. Bella thinks back to Edward’s earlier immediate refusal of the beach trip and infers that he’s not allowed there.

Bella and Jacob end up breaking away from the group to go on a walk along the beach. Their conversation shifted towards Jacob telling her about “the cold ones”, a legend from his Quileute tribe. This legend stated that the Quileute tribe descended from werewolves, and that their one natural enemy were vampires, which they called “the cold ones”. The legend then continues that Jacob’s great grandfather made a treaty with a group of vampires who hunted animals instead of hunting humans, saying that if they stayed off Quileute land, they wouldn’t be exposed to society. This obviously immediately reminded her of the Cullen family. Jacob notices how enthralled she is and teases her for it, telling her it’s just a scary story. She half heartedly agrees. When they walk back to the rest of the group, Bella realizes that it’s already time to leave and their conversation has taken up more time then she thought.

Review-

This chapter is mostly just an information dump of hints about Edward’s true form for Bella, and features a long winded story, with little real life action happening to push things forward. This is supposed to be the moment in the book where Bella figures out what Edward really is, which I suppose is technically a climax, but since it’s given through long dialogue, in contrast to all the previous chapters which have been full of action, I’d say it’s kind of underwhelming. One positive aspect is that it introduces an important character, Jacob Black. I’d give it a 5/10.

Travel/Food

Crumpets recipe and review

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By: Nils Hilleson

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup whole milk
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • Unsalted butter for greasing the pans and rings

Equipment:

  • 4 (3 1/2 inch) crumpet rings
  • Pans/skillet/griddle

Steps:
Microwave milk in a bowl until warm to the touch (around 30 seconds).

Gently whisk yeast, flour and sugar into the milk.

Set aside until slightly bubbling with a layer of foam (5-10 minutes).

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

With a whisk, or mixer at medium-low speed, gradually add 1 1/2 cups warm water and the milk mixture.

Occasionally scrape the sides to remove stuck ingredients.

Mix until a runny, sticky batter has formed with small lumps (around 1 minute).

Cover bowl with clean dish towel and let the dough rest in a warm place until dough is filled with bubbles and doubled in size (1 to 1 1/2 hours).

Brush the pan with butter and grease the insides of the crumpet rings with butter.

Place the rings in the pan and place the pan over medium-high heat until hot (around 1 minute).

In batches, scoop batter into the rings (the batter should go to about half of the ring) cook for around 2 minutes (unless the pan begins to smoke) then lower the heat to medium.

Cook until the top of the crumpet is covered in bubbles (4-6 minutes).

Carefully remove crumpet rings with tongs then flip the crumpets and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute or until tops are lightly browned.

Transfer cooked crumpets to wire rack to cool.

Repeat the above steps to use the rest of the batter.

This recipe makes 10-12 crumpets and they can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Review:
Crumpets honestly weren’t what I was expecting because I had no idea what they were. I thought crumpets were thin and crunchy but they’re pretty thick and certainly aren’t crunchy. Crumpets ended up being basically smaller, taller pancakes. Even though I didn’t have any with maple syrup I’m sure it’d taste just like a pancake if I did.

My dad has made crumpets before but this was my first time making them and I thought it was alright. Making them involved a lot less waiting than other recipients I’ve made this year and I personally liked that.

Since I had made these before Christmas I had an advent calendar and the advent calendar I had was full of tiny bottles of jelly so I was able to
use about one bottle for one crumpet which was nice.

Crumpets ended up being pretty good though I don’t like having to many in a row; I eat two maximum personally.

Overall, I like crumpets; they taste good and they’re easy enough to make even if I made a few mistakes cooking them.

This recipe is a modified version of a ‘New York Times’ recipe.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Review of Part 2 of the Hit Netflix TV Show ‘Lupin’

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By: Karl Salkowski

(Image credit: Unsplash)

‘Lupin’ is a crime drama directed by Louis Leterrier set in modern-day Paris, France. After the first part reached widespread critical acclaim and popularity, a second part soon followed. Released on June 11, 2021, part two continued the story of brilliant criminal Assane Diop while significantly expanding the scope.

Part 2 uses a similar formula but shifts its focus away from the past and instead towards the present day. This season focused on developing Assane Diop’s familial relationships, contrasting with the revenge driven focus of the first season. This season highlights Assane’s sacrifice and the life he gives up for his family and friends.

The lead actor who plays Assane Diop, Omar Cy, gives an incredible performance throughout this follow up season. Overall, he acts very convincingly, adding lots of additional depth to the character of Assane Diop. However, most of the writing for the side characters in this season felt rushed and unnatural.

Personally, the character writing in the second half of the season frustrated me, and the cliffhanger at the end left a lot to be desired. This season is an excellent follow up to the first season, but it struggles to find its footing. The story sometimes feels choppy, but overall it does tell a consistent narrative filled with many twists and turns.

The second part often struggles with its quick pacing and overcomplexity, but it is still able to deliver a very interesting and enjoyable experience. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone interested in crime dramas or the heist genre in general. Although my rating has been fairly harsh, I did thoroughly enjoy this show and would definitely recommend it. If I had to rate this season, I would give it an 8 out of 10. It is a great follow up to season 1, excellently expanding the narrative and the life of Assane Diop.