*Note: This article was written at the end of the 2022/23 school year.
Social media has been consuming the lives and minds of teenagers and young adults. All of our friends have some type of social media platform and account. We use this as a way to see what each other is up to, keep in touch with distant friends, but mostly we get bored and we just scroll. Many times people we know, including us, have felt really down and our solution to these problems is to start scrolling on social media apps. This creates unhealthy habits and there are many problems with doing this.
In order to prevent social media from consuming teenagers the creators of social media platforms should restrict the amount of time teenagers can spend on social media.
The rise in mental illness within teenagers has skyrocketed since the rise in popularity of social media. COVID and the pandemic affected how often people used social media and the amount of time people went on these platforms and apps per day.
We were inside all day and we couldn’t go out and hang out with friends or go out to eat. We relied heavily on social media to keep us occupied and we resorted back to that when we were bored. Because we had access to this at the tap of a finger, we became lazy and we stopped doing creative things like crafts and projects, or even simple things like reading a book or journaling.
According to Statistica.com, a survey conducted between July and October 2020 revealed that 61 percent of Generation Z and Millennials were watching more videos on social media apps during the COVID-19 pandemic.
People spend too much time on social media per week which can lead to many negative things. There are many studies that show that being chronically online can affect your mental health and you can develop mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Social media can also affect teenagers self esteem. When you see your friends posting together you might end up feeling very left out wondering why you weren’t invited.
Social media also sets very unrealistic beauty standards for teenagers, and when you see them and feel like you don’t look as pretty as the people that post edited photos, you start to feel terrible about how you feel.
“Those who find themselves in this category often make toxic comparisons between themselves and those they follow online, and they come face-to-face with society’s perceptions of perfectionism, which is never truly obtainable.” – Selecthealth.org
Social media can be dangerous. On social media when you post things for the public you can become a target for bullies, stalkers, or unsolicited pictures. There are many instances where people have felt uncomfortable online whether that be from creepy messages or pictures of yourself getting exposed, or even receiving inappropriate photos that were not wanted. This can make it very scary for teenagers, especially young girls online.
Onlinedegrees.unr.edu reported, “The Pew Research Center’s 2018 survey of U.S. teens determined that one in six teenagers have experienced at least one of six different forms of abusive behavior online:
Name-calling (42%)
Spreading false rumors (32%)
Receiving unsolicited explicit images (25%)
Having their activities and whereabouts tracked by someone other than a parent (21%)
Someone making physical threats (16%)
Having explicit images of them shared without their consent (7%)”
The creators of social media apps need to restrict and limit the amount of time that teenagers are allowed to spend on social media. The consequences of social media outweigh the rewards greatly and in the end, is not worth it for anyone. It is unsafe, it is mentally draining, and it is how we spend too much of our time.
Official ‘Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse’ movie poster
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is a sequel to ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, a film based on Miles Morales as Spider-Man. This film stars Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Jake Johnson, and more. It’s directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. The plot revolves around Miles Morales as he journeys through alternate dimensions and teams up with other Spider-People to stop a new villain and to save his family!
Miles Morales is a 15-year-old sophomore in high school who was bitten by a radioactive spider and was Brooklyn’s one and only spider man for a year.
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ was probably one of the best animation movies I have watched before, the way they animated Hobie or Spider-Punk was incredible. Animators typically change poses and details every second frame but for Hobie his pose changed every third frame making it different from the characters around him.
I also love how they added characters from ‘Spider Man: Into the Spider- Verse’ to this new movie, like Peter Porker, Penni Parker, Peter B. Parker, Noir, Gwen, Spider Man 2099 etc.
We also saw some new characters/Spidermen in this movie as well, we’ve seen Ben Reilly or Scarlet Spider, Pavitr Prabhakar, Hobie or Spider-Punk etc. There’s a lot more we’ve seen when Miles visited the Spider-Society and having to fight the Spider Society in order to go home.
One thing I’ve wanted to talk about was the soundtrack for this movie, which was released by Metro Boomin and had features from Swae Lee, Lil Wayne, Offset, ASAP Rocky, Roisee, Future, Lil Uzi Vert, JID, James Blake Nav, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Ei8ht, Don Toliver, Wizkid, Beam, Toian, Coi Leray, 21 Savage, 2 Chainz, and Nas. The professional Rating for this Album 6.4/10 but for me I’ll give it a 7.5/10. My favorite song from this movie wasn’t in the album, which is “Mona Lisa” by Dominic Fike. It was played while Gwen was visiting Miles and they were swinging through the city of NYC.
If you haven’t watched the movie yet I highly recommend you to watch it! It’s still playing in theaters so make sure you watch it!
Note: This is a student generated work of short fictionbased upon an online game
In-game screen shot
Hello my friends, if you are reading this, then this is a message to the outside world from within The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Why am I writing this? Well I wanted to show to the world what life is like in the Zone as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
My name is Uni, I am a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and if you do not even know what a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is, then I will tell you. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or Stalker, is an acronym containing the words, Scavenger, Traveller, Adventurer, Loner, Killer, Explorer, and Robber, all of which describes the basic Stalker who of course, stalks The Zone.
I originally came to Ukraine to enter the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, or most widely known by all Stalkers as “The Zone”. The reasoning for my entrance into The Zone was of course, for the wonders of adventure and the money that I can get from it, but of course, all of that baloney was just to lure unprepared Stalkers into entering The Zone so they can feed it’s inhabitants.
Originally, I entered The Zone as a Mercenary Stalker, a faction that has its headquarters in the Dead City, just south of Limansk and north of Yantar. In the first few days in The Zone, I was inexperienced with the surreal wildlife and the anomalous creatures that made their home in such a terrible spot on the planet. My first few missions as a trainee Mercenary, was to help deliver packages from Mercs in Dead City, to members of either the Freedom faction or the Bandits, the latter I am not so fond of.
But as I gained more experience in The Zone, the better reputation I had with fellow Mercs and other Stalkers, and the better I was at fighting both The Zone’s wildlife alongside the countless brainwashed Monolith soldiers that scatter The Zone. If you don’t know already, the soldiers within the Monolith faction are essentially brainwashed into worshiping a shiny rock in the heart of the Chernobyl Power Plant, and I personally like to refer to them as the “Shiny Rock Lickers” because of that.
After a few weeks of surviving in, and doing tasks within, The Zone, I decided to head to Yantar to help pay for an ecologist that I already forgot the name of, for an exquisite piece of headwear known by many Stalkers as the Psi-Helmet. After paying the guy 20,000 roubles or something like that, he told me to wait two full days for the damn thing, but being a goodie two shoes of a Mercenary, I decided to sleep in his little research laboratory for a couple of days before receiving the headgear.
After receiving the Psi-Helmet, I was then told by the ecologist to turn off the Miracle Machine that could be found inside a laboratory known as Lab X-16 which couldn’t be turned off because of the Psi emissions that would fry the minds of any Stalker trying to enter that place. Knowing that I had the Psi-Helmet on me, I decided to enter the Lab as a favor for that Scientist. I’m not going to explain what happened in that lab as it was quite easy to get through besides the many Blood Suckers that somehow found their way into the lab.
After turning off the Miracle Machine, I was then ordered by the same ecologist, to turn off another machine known as the Brain Scorcher in order to stop the strong Psi Emission it blasted. Apparently, from what many Stalkers I came across told me, is that the Brain Scorcher was actually turned off at some point by Ukraine’s Chief Scientist Consultant, Strelok, but after a few years the Stalkers of the Monolith faction decided that they should turn it back on again.
In preparation for the mission, I decided to buy and upgrade a Mercenary Exosuit to prepare for the retaliation Monolith would already have for me when I finish the mission. Armed with a Rifle and Shotgun, and armored with one of the best equipment The Zone has to offer, and as I descended down to the labyrinth that held the Brain Scorcher, I could already feel the Psi-Emissions that the Brain Scorcher was blasting out.
With a limited amount of time before the Psi-Emissions would kill me, I bolted through the many Bloodsuckers that lived in that labyrinth and turned off the Brain Scorcher before the thing could kill me. After turning off the machine, I quickly exited the labyrinth as Monolith Stalkers began to rush my position, and as I exited the area, I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that it was finally over.
After some time, I decided to rest near a campsite as the moon began to shine down upon me, and there I was able to eat a can of Tuna before looking at my PDA for any new messages, and there was one that caught my attention: “Loners have declared a ceasefire with the Mercenaries” it said on my messages.
I made my way down to Rookie Village, the supposed headquarters of the Loner faction, a faction that was originally hostile to us Mercs but when I turned off the Brain Scorcher, they became more friendly to us. There in the Rookie Village, I met a trader named “Sidorovich” who scammed me of a few Artifacts and a female Stalker named “Hip”.
I was able to talk to Hip, who then asked me to find a TOZ-34 Bizon for her client, I accepted thinking that it would be easy but in reality I found myself running across The Zone, aimlessly looking for this weapon when I then asked other Mercenaries on the PDA where I can find a TOZ-34 Bizon.
Apparently, I had to go to the flea market to buy it, but when I went there, I had to pay around 90,000 roubles for the thing, and after paying for the damn thing and returning back to Hip, I later learned that her client died a few days ago, and knowing that, she decided to pay me back before asking me to help her with finding a couple artifacts for our good ol’ friend Sidorovich.
Hip needed help finding a Moonlight artifact, a Fireball artifact, and a Wrenched artifact, all of which I had to find as she watched me get sick from both radiation and a lethal dose of bullets. During our hunt for these artifacts, I decided to help a faction known as Clear Sky to help defend their pump station from an enemy faction, but as I entered the pump station and readied their defenses, I aimed my rifle scope at the enemy, and realized who we were fighting. We were fighting bandits, a friendly faction to us Mercs.
I can not describe what happened later but all I could say was that my reputation was ruined and the trust I had with fellow Mercs and Bandits was now faltering. I was left distraught and my morals seemed to be fleeting, but I knew that I had to move forward and rebuild my reputation from the ground up.
After that mission, me and Hip found the last remaining artifacts and we gave them to Sidorovich who gladly accepted and told me that the Freedom faction asked that Hip do another mission for them. After finishing Hip’s mission, she then told me to meet her at Rookie Village tomorrow night to which I told her about the mission from Freedom and she then told me her story of being a former Freedom member and how she doesn’t trust them as much as before.
After talking for a few bits, we decided to do a simple task of transporting medical supplies for Freedom before returning back to Rookie Village where we then parted ways. I returned back to Dead City, and looked at myself in the mirror and only saw a blood stained person across from me. I knew I couldn’t stand being a part of the Mercenaries any longer, so I returned to the Great Swamps to join the Clear Skies faction, to help their mission of healing The Zone.
Well, that is the story of my life as a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and if you are thinking about entering The Zone, then I highly recommend entering it via this link:
My two favorite things are matcha and banana bread, and so when I found out that they could be combined I right away needed to make it. This recipe I’ve made many times for my family and my friends and it’s now my favorite way to make banana bread!
If you don’t know what matcha is, or have never heard of it, matcha is a high grade form of green tea, made into a powder from the actual tea leaves. Matcha is traditionally consumed in East Asia and has many health benefits. It’s high in antioxidants, may help protect the liver, help prevent cancer, boost brain function, promote heart health and even help in weight loss.
I grew up eating banana bread because my mom would often make it when our bananas would go bad. Quite recently I’ve started to drink matcha when I was recommended to by my cousin. So, if you like the flavor of matcha I would recommend you try this recipe because it pairs well with the banana and sweet chocolate flavor.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1 cup of sugar
3 mashed ripe bananas
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of milk
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoons of matcha powder
2 cups of chocolate chips
Instructions to make Matcha Chocolate chip banana bread:
Preheat oven to 350, and grease your loaf pan with baking spray or butter
Add butter to a microwave safe bowl and melt it, add the sugar and cream and mix them until light and fluffy, add your eggs one at a time beating well after each addition
Mash your bananas in a small bowl, mix in the nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract and milk
In another bowl, add the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and the matcha powder
Add the banana mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix till the flour disappears
Mix in your chocolate chips
Pour your finished batter into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes
Over the years I’ve read many different Mangas and Webtoons. In all different types of genres and styles. I’ve accumulated a list of almost every single one I’ve read. Although I have many favorites, these are some!
Firstly, what is Manga and Webtoon? Manga are comic or graphic novels, originating in Japan. You can read them online or in libraries or book shops. Webtoons are digital comics, originating in South Korea. You can read them on the Webtoon website or app.
Here are 2 Manga that I recommend!
The first one is called ‘Lovely Complex’. Written and illustrated by Aya Nakahara. ‘Lovely Complex’ is a comedy romance with 17 volumes and a 1 volume spin-off! This Manga also has a 24 episode anime. The story is a love story between a boy named Otani and a girl named Risa. Risa is tall at 5ft 8in and Otani is 5ft 1in. The difference in their height is an ongoing theme throughout the series. The two encourage each other in finding love. The series is filled with funny antics from the two. It’s a really enjoyable and light read.
The second Manga that I recommend is, ‘A Sign of Affection’. It’s a Manga series written and illustrated by Suu Morishita. It’s a cute romance that follows a college girl named Yuki, who is deaf. One day on a train she meets a guy named Itsuomi, who she keeps running into, and later finds out he also attends her college. With the help of her friend she attempts to get his attention. They begin to learn more about each other and pretty quickly start to have feelings for one another. It has beautiful artwork and while you read along you might pick up some Japanese sign language
Moving on to Webtoons, here are 2 I recommend.
The first one is called ‘Viral Hit’. It’s an action story. Written by Pak Taejun and illustrated by Kim Junghyun. It’s about a high school student named Hobin Yoo, who starts a NewTube channel centered around fighting. Hobin Yoo is constantly bullied at his school, but one day he discovers a mysterious channel that teaches him how to fight. Soon Hobin starts fighting guys stronger than him and making lots of money. Along the way he makes friends and many enemies. The story has amazing artwork, extremely developed characters and unique action scenes.
The second Webtoon I recommend is called ‘Cheese in the Trap’, written and illustrated by, Soonkki. It’s a beautifully well-written story, about a girl named Seol who came from a poor family. She goes to university and is a very smart and hardworking student. She meets a fellow student named Jung who is a very popular, rich student. He’s always surrounded by admirers and friends. Seol and Jung start to talk to each other, and she starts to think he is strange. He manipulates people but no one realizes because of his fame and money. She tries everything to stay away from him, but it doesn’t work. The story is told from many different perspectives and the characters are very complex. There are many twists and turns. This story is long but completely worth reading!
St. Paul is full of hidden locations that are worth finding. These are in my opinion the best coffee shops in the city.
Lost Fox
Lost Fox is a coffee shop and kitchen. It’s located downtown, and in an alley near the St. Paul farmers market. This is one of my favorite places to go for coffee and sometimes a bite to eat. It’s big, cozy, and they have games for you to play. Lost Fox is a great place to hangout and get something to drink.
Caydence Records & Coffee
Although small, this coffee and record store is super great for shopping with a cup of coffee in hand. They have all sorts of new vinyls, as well as older ones for just 2 dollars. This one is very entertaining if you’re into music.
Spyhouse
Spyhouse has 3 locations; St. Paul, and two spots in Minneapolis. This shop has unique drinks, and very cute interiors. They also offer ordering for pick up, which is nice for on the go. I enjoy this one especially because of how close it is.
Rafiki Coffee & Café
This coffee shop is super chill and quiet. They have really good pastries and my favorite is their chai lattes. The employees are kind, and it’s an overall great environment to be in.
Cahoots Coffee Bar
Cahoots is located on the busy street of Selby Ave, but is never busy inside. It’s a cozy spot, with amazing outdoor seating. This is my favorite spot for a hot coffee or tea. Everyone there is always really sweet as well.
There’s many hidden coffee shops in St. Paul, but these are my favorite spots, and I 100% recommend them!
This k-drama is a must see. If you’re looking for a light hearted k-drama to watch we recommend this to you! It’s a romcom between 2 college students named Kim Bok Joo and Nam Joon-hyung. Kim Bok Joo is a part of the weightlifting club at her university while Nam Joon-hyung is all about swimming, they both meet by unexpected situations.
2. ‘The Penthouse: War in Life’
As its title implies, this k-drama tells the story of the lives of wealthy elites of South Korea who all reside in the “Hera Palace”. This luxury apartment has many secrets that would ruin the lives of anyone who stayed there. In order to protect their reputation, the people living there would do anything, to the point of doing questionable things.
3. ‘Crash Landing on You’
A strong wind caused an accident during paragliding, causing Yoon Se-ri to land in North Korea as an emergency. While there, she meets Ri Jeong-hyeok, a North Korean soldier. As Yoon Se-ri spends more time with Ri Jeong-hyeok, a romance develops between them as they both attempt to bring Yoon Se-ri back to South Korea.
4. ‘Flower of Evil’
The drama revolves around the relationship between Baek Hee-sung and Cha Ji-won. The couple has a daughter who makes them an ideal family, but Baek Hee-sung is hiding a shameful and cruel past behind his stolen identity.
5. I’t’s Okay to Not Be Okay’
A psychiatric worker named Moon Gang Tae meets a successful children’s book writer named Ko Moon-young. Ko Moon-young is diagnosed with having antisocial personality disorder. During the drama, the two heal each other’s emotional wounds.
6. ‘True Beauty’
‘True Beauty’ is a k-drama about a girl named, Jugyeong whose life changes as she learns how to use makeup after being bullied because of her ugly looks. She goes to great lengths to never be seen without makeup. But when a guy from her school does, named Suho, she thinks it’s the end of the world. The drama introduces another guy from her school, Han Seo Joon who has a rocky past with Suho. It’s a romantic comedy and every episode is very exciting with new plot twists!
7. ‘The Glory’
‘The Glory’ is a thriller k-drama about a young woman named Dong-eun. Who was brutally bullied when she was younger to the point where she had to drop out of school. She wants to get revenge on the people who ruined her life and make them pay for their crimes. The plot, the acting and cinematography are top notch. Each episode hooks you in and there’s never a boring moment! This drama is a very intense watch and is actually based on real events.
8. ‘Sweet Home’
‘Sweet Home’ is an apocalyptic horror k-drama about humans turning into monsters. The main character is a troubled teen named Hyun and he is a high school student. He lost his family in a horrible accident, and now he moves into an apartment alone. Strange things start to happen at his new home, and Hyun must face a new terrible reality where these monsters are trying to wipe out every human in their path. With the residents of his apartment building they fight to survive these monsters. This drama is based on a webtoon, and is highly enjoyable. With many insane twists and turns.
9. ‘Start Up’
‘Start Up’ is a drama about a group of young people in the world of startup companies. The main character, Seo Dal-mi decides to drop out of university and do part time work to achieve her dream of becoming an entrepreneur similar to Steve Jobs. Along the way she meets another young wanna-be entrepreneur named Nam Do San who also wants to achieve great things. The two, along with many others, learn that the business world is hard and things can be successful but fail in a matter of seconds. The story is very enjoyable, making watchers feel many different emotions, like sadness, happiness and a feeling of inspiration. This drama is very beautiful and it teaches that it’s okay to take risks in life even if you get hurt, you take it as a learning experience.
On July 17th, 2015, an Australian musician going by the stage name Tame Impala released his third studio album, ‘Currents’. Tame Impala, or Kevin Parker, had been rising steadily in popularity since the release of his last album nearly three years prior, but ‘Currents’ was undoubtedly his big break.
Two years after its release, I would listen to this album for the first time, while sitting in my middle school English class during silent work time, browsing YouTube and idly looking for something to help me focus while I studied in the thirty minutes I had left in class. I remember the day well, I think because of how important it would be to me one day.
The album cover caught my eye, with its wavy lines that looked like optical illusions and an overwhelming amount of purple. A friend of mine once told me it looked like a physics textbook from the nineties, and I’m inclined to agree. Something about it was so…enticing to me. I knew what I was doing for the next thirty minutes.
From my very first listen I was hooked. ‘Currents’was nothing like I’d ever heard before, a unique blend of 80s inspired synths with a modern twist. It was catchy. Intoxicating, even.
Tame Impala has this innate ability to masterfully craft dense soundscapes in this album, with a variety of trippy synths as well as a handful of percussion instruments, guitars, smooth bass and smoother vocals all coming together to make the most utterly jaw dropping music I’ve ever heard to this day. Parker’s voice, an airy falsetto, is the cherry-on-top in every song, somehow grounding tracks despite its ethereal nature.
Listening to this album makes me feel like I am floating in a sensory deprivation tank. I was shocked to learn that the entire album was mixed, written, and recorded by him and him alone because it seems otherworldly, and far more complex than could be imagined by one creative artist. In my mind, it’s so far beyond what anyone is capable of creating, much less one man who describes himself as “Just some guy”.
The album’s opening track, “Let it Happen”, was a seven minute masterpiece that left me so floored the first time I heard it that I had to play it again. And again. And again. Before I knew it, English was over and I hadn’t even gotten past the first song. The rest of the album was similar, filled with moments that made me do a double take and play over and over again. I think it took me three days to listen to the whole thing start to finish when all was said and done simply because I couldn’t stop going back and listening to my favorite moments one more time.
Lyrically, ‘Currents’ is surprisingly nuanced. It may be hard to notice because his vocals are so frequently distorted and hard to pinpoint exactly, but Kevin Parker weaves intricate stories into his songs. You may not pick them up on the first listen but they are always there. Stories about loneliness and loss and growth, and the agonizing process of slowly losing contact with loved ones. Some songs you can relate to. Some songs you can’t. I find his songs especially poignant as a teenager growing up in the twenty-first century, but I feel like the overall themes would have held up over any time period.
“Yes I’m Changing” holds specific emotional significance to me as I prepare myself for college and the next stages of my life. Sometimes I look back on the person I used to be with deep longing. I frequently wish I could go back to before I was stressed out about grades and friends and, well…growing up. Listening to “Yes I’m Changing” is always a deeply personal experience for me, as it grounds me and reassures me that growing up is going to be ok.
I never really listened to music much when I was younger. Some homes are occupied by music-philes, where music is constantly on in the background, others not so much. Mine? Not so much. Sure, my mom would turn on the radio in the car, or my dad would play songs on his iPod for me, but the music I was hearing regularly never really resonated with me. I didn’t hate it, per-se, but I never really connected with it. I just didn’t know how powerful music could be. When I listened to ‘Currents’, I discovered that power. Finally, I understood what it was that made music so important to so many people. For the first time in my life, I understood the emotional potential of music.
This album has sparked a long lasting passion for music inside of me. I don’t know if that passion was always there and just waiting to emerge or if it came out of nowhere, but frankly I don’t care. It doesn’t really matter to me. What matters to me is that music is now an integral part of who I am. It makes me a more well-rounded person, and it’s given me the chance to connect with those that share my love for this album, forging deep connections over our common love for this music. This album’s role in my willingness to branch out and seek out new types of music across all genres will never be understated. It is only now that I am coming to realize that music can be a vehicle of relaxation, protest, awareness, diversity, escape, or sympathy beyond simply serving as background noise on a long car trip.
‘Currents’ marked the start of a lifelong love for music. Without it, I don’t think I’d look at music, or even art more generally, the same way. The album has fundamentally changed my perspective on life more broadly, setting a standard for myself when I create things of my own.
Carlota de limón is an ice box style cake! There’s a layer of limon frost then there’s a layer of Maria cookies. If you’re a lemon lover, you’re going to love this cake!
Utensils
Blender
Spoons
Bowls (multiple)
Casserole dish
Spoon or spatula
Plastic wrap
Mexican frosty pastry
4 Mexican limes or use Key limes
1 Can of condensed milk
1 Can of evaporated milk
Galletas Maria or Maria biscuits (multiple packs)
Vanilla extract
You’re going to start out with squishing your 4 lime into the blender, getting every drop of the lime juice.
Get your condensed milk, evaporated milk and a dash of vanilla extract and pour that into the blender. Blend it all together until it comes into a smooth consistency but don’t blend too fast or some air bubbles will start to form.
Once you start getting the smooth mixture you’re going to start to make the Carlota.
You’re gonna grab your casserole dish, or a deep baking pan, both work perfectly! You’re going to pour in a little bit of the lime mixture – not to cover the can completely – but enough to get all over the pan.
Grab your Maria cookies and spread an even layer covering the whole bottom of the casserole dish.
Then pour in a good layer of the lime mixture over the cookies to coat them, then you’re going to use the back of a spoon or a spatula and spread it evenly all around.
Add in another layer of cookies and you will be repeating it until you have no mixture left and have several creamy lime layers.
You end up with the lime mixture on the top and if you like, you could leave it as it is or what ‘s more preferred is to add Maria cookies on top to cover every part of the cake and add some lemon zest on top!
Place plastic wrap carefully on top of the casserole, not letting it touch the surface of the Carlota. Place it in the refrigerator for overnight, or 2 to 5 hrs is preferred.
In a lot of multiplayer video games you’ll find 2 types of micro-transactional models: loot boxes and battle passes. They both have good qualities, but both also have negative ones as well. As someone who has experienced both, I’m here to answer the burning question: which is worse? Or, more importantly, which is better?
On that note I must say that I’m not the biggest fan of FPS shooters, in which these two models are most commonly found across gaming. I’m more of a fan of single-player games, and online battle royales aren’t really my thing, so take this article with a grain of salt.
To start, let’s give an overview of both options. Both loot boxes and battle passes involve you spending real-world currency to purchase various items that either affect gameplay or are purely cosmetic. However, how you go around receiving those items differs.
Loot Boxes are 1-use purchases that automatically give you some item or cosmetic. There are different types of boxes, with some games having a randomized system of boxes, and others not. When buying one, they usually only have 1 or 2 items, so you can expect to have differently-priced boxes for different rarities of stock.
Battle Passes are much different in that after taking your money, you don’t receive some reward immediately. Instead, you have a roadmap of unlockables that, after playing more of the game, you can unlock more for free. Many passes have free roads that have less items and lower quality in terms of looks. Also, many games have different “seasons” of battle passes, where you’ll get a new set of unlockables, sometimes themed around something different. These don’t come at any extra cost if you want the free gimmes, but if you want the road with the higher-quality items, you have to pay again.
Now that we have an idea of what each of our options look like, we can get into their upsides – and issues.
Starting with loot boxes, the one big upside they have is that they don’t take time to get. Battle passes have you play more of the game in conjunction with the pass, and therefore take a lot of time to keep progressing. Meanwhile, loot boxes are simple, automatic transaction models that either give you exactly what you want or a chance to, getting something else instead.
However, the issues stemming from these boxes are from this simplicity. One big thing is that for a lot of games you can’t necessarily get the exact item you want. This’ll be the last time I discuss this, but a bunch of loot boxes have a loot pool that the game randomly chooses from for your item, which can make your spent money either wasted or used for something you didn’t need. It’s also not that fun; a 1-1 purchase for whatever you want – or something close to that – doesn’t provide much in the way of interacting with the game more so than your wallet.
Next is battle passes. I’d say that there are 2 big pluses to these systems. The first is that having to work through the game, playing matches and whatnot, has you actually using the game. This is in contrast to loot boxes’ transactional module. The second is that you get more content for generally less-expensive prices, even if the cosmetics and items you earn aren’t able to be hand-picked.
However, there’s also a couple of problems with battle passes. For one thing, while the dull currency exchanging of loot boxes doesn’t give much in the way of game interaction, the ease can’t be understated. Imagine if a game you’re playing has you get weapons by defeating enemies, dropping only every few hundred kills. Well then, it’d be a slog to get through, and being able to simply buy the desired item is too convenient. This is the big obstacle with battle passes; playing the game over and over to work your way to nodes on a path can be monotonous and lengthy.
Nowadays we see battle passes more often used in games than loot boxes, so I’d say that the gaming industry has chosen their favored model. Personally, I’d say that both are better in different games, with loot boxes being best in games with gameplay focused more on repeatable gameplay loops, like many mobile games. Meanwhile, battle passes are seemingly best in longer campaigns, like shooters and open-world systems. Not that you can’t have a battle pass in a mobile game or loot boxes in longer campaigns, as hundreds have proven they’re perfectly viable options. However, I find that loot boxes are best in shorter experiences that can be easily picked up, and battle passes in either longer narratives or more complex systems.
If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say I prefer battle passes due to their inherent allowance of game interaction. I mean, why did you buy the pass in the first place? To play the game!
Of course, you can have instances where boxes and passes don’t work at all. A loot box in a single-player RPG would be decently-strange, and as for battle passes…
Yikes.
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