Category Archives: Entertainment

‘Forrest Gump’ review

By: Charlie Fragassi

*Note, even though the movie is over 25 years old, spoiler alerts in this article

The movie ‘Forrest Gump’ is a fictional story that was made in 1994, directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Eric Roth.

The movie starts off with Forrest at the bus stop where he’s telling people the story of his life. He starts off as a young kid growing up in rural Alabama.

Forrest is classified as a slow learner in the movie and you can see it displayed throughout the movie as it takes him longer to understand things.

Forrest finds the love of his life Jenny. Jenny and Forrest spend a huge part of their life together until Forrest goes to college on a football scholarship because of his lightning fast speed.

After college, Forrest enlists in the army and makes many friends. Forrest gets deployed in Vietnam where he loses one of his best friends, Bubba. Throughout his stay at the army he becomes a national level ping pong competitor, and wins $25,000 which he used to buy a shrimping boat.

Forrest is financially stable and is living well when Jenny pops back into his life. He asks Jenny to marry him and she originally declines but later on in life sees Forrest on national TV as he was running across America. She finds Forrest and he finds out he has a kid. Jenny then marries Forrest and they all move back to Greensboro, Alabama.

The movie ends with Forrest talking to Jenny at her gravestone as she had a virus and didn’t make it through.

This is a tremendous movie as it takes you on an emotional roller coaster and fits all genres for everyone to love. I liked how it included many historical events throughout the movie and displayed them as accurately as possible, all while still making the movie entertaining and funny.

Snacks that help give you energy

By: Joxery Mezen Camacho

Do you ever feel like you need a bit more energy to get through the day? Maybe you didn’t get a good night’s sleep the night before, or your classes left you exhausted. Well, here are some healthy snacks to give you a bit more energy to get you through the day: 

Nuts! 

Nuts are a great snack to have after something draining like a workout! They have good fats and are high in protein which helps your body recover and helps you regain some energy. 

Fruit! 

Apples, bananas, and watermelon are some of the best fruits to get an energy boost! Dried fruit is also good and easier to take around! It contains natural sugar and is high in fiber which is a good energy booster! 

Seeds! 

All seeds contain a bunch of protein! They also have good fats and many have different types of vitamins and minerals which are good for your body and can give you a good wake up call! 

Peanut butter! 

Peanut butter is greatly known for being a good source of protein! It also contains sugar and salt, and it’s quick and easy to eat for when you need a quick energy boost! 

Turkey sticks and some fruit! 

A mix of a turkey stick and an apple could give you a great energy boost! The mix of protein, fiber, and sugar really help your body out! 

Chocolate! 

Specifically, dark chocolate — it contains sugar and fats which really help give you some energy! Eating nuts or fruit covered in chocolate are also great choices, and are even better because they’re better for your health! 

Cottage cheese! 

Whether you have it by itself or with seeds, berries, or even chocolate, it’s good on protein and fat which are good energy boosters! However, you should eat it in moderation, since it can contain high amounts of sodium. 

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Why this article is ACTUALLY BAD!?!?

Late at night, you’re scrolling through your Youtube page, having a nice cup of sandwich on your lap, and you just can’t seem to find anything that interests you at the moment. You scroll further past your usual recommendations of Mr Beast building a house out of coffee filters, or whatever people watch nowadays, and you scroll so far you see something… disturbing. Something unusual. Something that makes you angry, upset, and confused. Something that so profoundly shatters your own comfortable conception of reality, that you just have to click.

The video in question: “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Was Actually A Bad Show, And Everyone Who Likes It Is Stupid” by mrcoolguy2009. Now you say, “But… I like The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, is this person saying I’m stupid? Well I sure don’t wanna be stupid, so I’ll let this guy, who’s clearly smarter than me explain to me why this show I like is bad, so I wont be stupid anymore!” 

I mean, I know that’s not the exact thought process in regards to the psychology behind why people click these videos, But I feel like sometimes it’s supposed to be that way. It’s somewhat commonplace to use the ability of making someone feel as though they are missing out on something, by doing something wrong, or liking “the wrong thing”, just to either make people click over fear of missing out on the “correct” way of looking at things, or to garner controversy from those who disagree. Either way, it’s a pretty straightforward way to get somebody interested in what you have to say, by letting them know they’re “wrong” for liking something

But once people actually do click these videos after seeing the thumbnail and title, why are some so inclined to take this one lil person’s opinion as fact, and subconsciously give it a higher standard of credibility as opposed to when you hear a conversation in everyday life? Well, I feel like it’s more or less just the disconnect between being told an opinion via a real conversation, via flashy Youtube edits with big red letters and a graphic that has an arrow pointing at something, alongside its 300k views, so if a lot of people also read the same thing as you, sometimes people are just like, “Yeah, I guess it’s gotta be true, I mean why else did so many people watch it?”

In other words:

When you hear me say something stupid like “Drinking water is probably really bad for you, because eventually you’ll get water poisoning and die and your eyeballs will roll outta your head” or whatever, most people can easily go: “Yeah this guys an idiot, and I disagree with him because of this, this, this, and this,” and that’s a perfectly balanced system because you are the one deciding how you intake this other person’s viewpoint. But in the regards of an opinionated commentary video, there isn’t really too much back and forth between the creator who’s telling you his take, and “you”, who’s hearing it. You can’t just pause the video and say to the guy “Hey, maybe ‘Forrest Gump’, isn’t a bad movie just cause he walks past the same extra twice in the scene where he gives the speech”, you can only do that in your head and while using something known as your own common sense.

But with something being presented in such an official, and highly promoted format, with somebody who is only producing their argument through a lens in which no disagreements or personal criticisms can pass through for the entirety of said video, it seems slightly more futile to consider challenging this person on their take. I’m not saying it makes everybody seem objectively right all the time, I’m just saying with all these cards stacked in their favor, it makes people a just a little bit more inclined to believe what they say, even if it is based on some nonsensical nothingness.

So, I guess this article is pretty much just stating the obvious of “If you say something with enough confidence, and have a large enough audience, more people will take you seriously”, but with everyone (including my own)’s bias in everything they say, especially online, I’m just saying how I feel like it’s a little too easy to get caught up in believing/agreeing with words on a screen because of who’s saying it. So, I dunno, all I’m saying is; just take stuff with a handful of salt before giving into the worldview of “UncleFungus1941” over your actual peers and friends you know in real life. 

The problem with ‘Dear Evan Hansen’

By: Bijou Kruszka

‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is a musical that premiered on Broadway in 2016, and has been extremely well-received. The show won 6 Tony awards, including best musical. A movie adaptation was announced late last year and will be released in September.

With the movie awaiting release, and Broadway closer to reopening, I wanted to shed some light on the issues within the story of the hit musical.

A short plot review is necessary for context, so here it is:

Evan Hansen is a socially awkward high-schooler who has no friends, a broken arm from falling out of a tree, and deals with social anxiety. His therapist recommends writing letters to himself, as a way to motivate Evan.

One day at school, he meets Connor Murphy, another teen who struggles with mental illnesses as well as drug addiction, who signs his cast. When Connor accidentally reads one of Evan’s letters, which had a few lines about Evan having a crush on his sister, Connor storms out with Evan’s letter in hand.

The next day, Evan learns that Connor has killed himself, and the Murphys believe that Evan’s letter, found on Connor, is, in fact, Connor’s suicide note. Now, here’s where the plot gets sticky. Instead of coming clean, Evan pretends that he and Connor were best friends. He tells the Murphys a whole narrative of their friendship.

Evan then enlists the help of Jared Kleinman to fake emails between the two. Evan also starts an organization, the Connor Project, dedicated to keeping Connor’s memory alive. This sounds nice on paper, but to do it, he has Alana Beck take charge, who’s only interested in it for publicity and her college application.

Later, Evan develops a romance with Zoe, built on more lies about Connor.

In the end, he tells the truth about Connor. The finale is Evan, a year later, living a good life, when he sees Zoe again.

So, what exactly is wrong?

Quite a few things. Let’s start with the titular character, Evan Hansen himself. He has so many opportunities throughout the show to tell the Murphys the truth. Instead, he continues to build more and more of a false narrative of his “friendship” with Connor. Evan feels more like a part of a family with the Murphys than with his single mom, so he continues to manipulate them. It happens to the point where Connor’s parents offer to pay Evan’s college tuition. That is awful, considering how large of a financial decision that is, especially today.

In Act 2, the truth comes out, and Evan sings what is supposed to be an apology to the Murphys, but slowly turns into a pity party for him. The song is nearly 5 minutes long, and he barely says sorry once for his actions. Evan has manipulated this family into believing this web of lies, including lying to Zoe to create a romantic relationship, and can’t even bring himself to properly apologize. He then leaves, and the Murphys don’t see him again for a year! He goes on living his life as if he hasn’t just destroyed a family emotionally. It’s infuriating.

Then, there’s Connor Murphy. To start, both Evan and Connor struggle with mental illnesses. Where Evan’s is used as a redeeming quality, Connor’s is used to villainize him. It doesn’t make sense. The show also uses him to romanticize suicide. That’s a bold statement, I know, but hear me out.

Connor, disliked by both his family and peers when he is alive, commits suicide. Then, when he dies, Evan steps in. Evan lies about Connor to Zoe, and she starts to believe that Connor did actually like her. Evan starts The Connor Project, convincing his peers and people online that Connor was a good person. Connor was actually a very aggressive person and was very unkind to those around him. The message is this: if you are disliked in life, just die and you will be remembered as a better person. What a horrible thing to tell people, especially knowing that the fanbase is made up of mostly teenagers!

In the end, the music of ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is beautiful, but the story and characters have lots of issues.

The future of architecture

By: Grace Helmke

The human race has long been graced with creatives in all fields. We have been subject to artists who have shaped our culture without us even knowing. Architecture is one the least acknowledged fields of art, yet it contributes a great deal to the society in which we exist.

Architecture is the physical representation of a society. It reflects how we see the world, and how we see ourselves. That being said, what does the future hold for architecture? How will society shape our physical world into a reflection of our newfound values? 

  1. Smart cities 

Technology has become an important part of the lives of practically everyone in society. It’s part of our everyday lives. Smartphones are the keys to city life, providing information on any topic you could think of. It allows us information on healthcare services, access to transit, traffic, restaurants, and even provides safety measures and alerts. According to McKinsey & Company, smart-city strategies are about “Using technology and data purposefully to make better decisions and deliver a better quality of life.”

Creating architecture built around the idea of increased technological use would significantly impact all aspects of society. Citizens would fight crime, and improve public safety, make daily commutes faster if smart-mobility infrastructure is created, deliver a cleaner and more sustainable environment through electric and more sustainable applications. 

  1. Vertical cities 

As our world’s population continues to rise, we will have to accommodate for the increase in the need for living spaces. Currently, over 54% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This figure is expected to increase to 66% by 2050. Land will become scarce, especially if we continue to build out, instead of up. Creating vertical cities will not only provide a society that’s community based, but would expedite the goal of smart cities. 

  1. Bioarchitecture

Bioarchitecture is the blending of the art of architecture with biomimetics. It incorporates natural shapes to provide a structure that is essentially bioinspired, and eco-friendly. The architecture would mimic its surroundings to provide less of an intrusive existence.

This idea isn’t necessarily new. Ancient Greeks and Romans mimicked nature in their architecture. They incorporated leaf motifs into their structures. Frank Lloyd Wright was a pioneer in the bio architectural movement. He continuously pursued the idea of blurring the lines between his buildings and their landscapes. Even so, this movement will continue to increase as our society places a higher value on our own individual impact on the environment.

  1. Parametric architecture 

This type of architecture involves complex design and unique varieties of structures. It is characterized by free-from architectural concepts with sweeping lines, curves, and irregular shapes. This style presents as very futuristic. It rejects symmetry and uniformity, and instead creates works of art that vary in shapes, textures, and sizes. 

The future will indeed place a higher value on creativity and expression. This form of architecture will produce a work of art which can be doubled as living, working, and recreational spaces. It will produce a society free from the concepts of uniformity. 

  1. Space housing

Technological advancement in the field of aeronautics is happening at a rapid pace. We are closer and closer to achieving commercial space travel. And when the day comes that individuals may be able to travel to space for extremely low prices, an industry will likely emerge on other planets. Hotels and homes capable of housing humans in outer space and on other planets will develop. At first, these habitats will likely be inflatable. Bigelow Aerospace, a company in Nevada that specializes in space technology, has begun to produce these alternative housing solutions.

  1. Accessibility in architecture 

Hopefully, the future holds a greater opportunity for inclusivity. We do not currently have a society that’s built for all forms of life. One major issue for many disabled people is lack of adequate and accessible designs in public architecture. As we progress to become more aware of issues facing all walks of life, we will begin to develop ways in which everyone is benefited. 

Our future holds incredible opportunities for advancement. We may just become a society based upon inclusion, awareness, and desire for good. Our incredible architectural artists and talented technicians will no doubt help us to create a better world where our actions will be for the betterment of all. 

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‘The Sopranos’ and its relevance today

By: Teah Henry 

I recently finished my first watch through of ‘The Sopranos’, and I wasn’t the only one who was binging the show. According to HBO, the show’s viewership went up 179% at the start of the pandemic. ‘The Sopranos’ still manages to be relevant today with its commentary on mental health, social issues, and American capitalism despite its finale airing in 2007. 

The show cemented itself as a staple in television history with its realistic, complex characters and being one of the first shows that proved T.V. could be just as effective as film.

It was also one of the first to utilize the anti-hero; a protagonist that the viewer isn’t meant to agree with or even like. ‘The Sopranos’ paved the way for other shows like ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Rescue Me’. 

It’s not far fetched to say that most mafia stories are critiques of capitalism. They take place in a system that encourages cheating and competitiveness, and the members are often not happy with the way things are. The way that only a few in the mafia make a large profit while sending out lower ranking members to do the dangerous work is reminiscent of the small amount of people that hold the majority of wealth while most Americans are stuck working for a living. Christopher’s frustrations with Tony are the same as workers towards their own bosses; feeling used and not cared about. 

During the pandemic, the rich got insanely richer while the working class struggled to make ends meet. Congress couldn’t agree to send out another stimulus check a year after the first one, while other countries were consistently sending them out monthly. A lot of people became aware of America’s unfair distribution of wealth, and ‘The Sopranos’ bleak look at how capitalism only keeps its citizens unhappy helped people feel heard. 

Tony’s struggle with his mental health was also something viewers could relate to. Struggling with depression and panic attacks, Tony has to hide his problems to nearly everyone in his life due to social stigma. Tony’s inability to feel completely happy and satisfied is something a lot of people deal with, especially now as living conditions in America become worse.

Teens may also see themselves in the character AJ, Tony’s son, who is a teen throughout most of the show. He inherited his father’s mental health issues. His struggle with school and finding a purpose in his life is familiar to many. 

While almost all of the characters in ‘The Sopranos’ are irredeemable, there is something relatable about their feelings and struggles, and the commentary it makes will always ring true with American culture. 

Healthy breakfast ideas

By: Joxery Mezen Camacho

Everyone says “breakfast is the most important meal of the day!” But sometimes I’m too tired to make any breakfast, or I wake up late and barely have any time to eat something healthy. And there are many occasions where I simply don’t know what to eat. So, here are —- quick and easy healthy breakfast ideas: 

Breakfast burrito!

Why not try having a burrito in the morning? Getting a tortilla, adding in some eggs, avocado, and some veggies (or keeping it a strictly vegetable-only burrito) makes a healthy and delicious breakfast meal! 

Toast!

Toast is quick and easy-and you can have a variety of different toppings; there’re different kinds of jam, peanut butter, and avocado!

With the avocado, you could add veggies too, such as spinach, radishes, cilantro, carrots, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

You could also add an egg-scrambled, hard boiled, or sunny side up are all doable on toast!

A dash of lemon can also make the flavor pop! 

Breakfast Bowl!

Just throw some food in a bowl and call it breakfast-nice and easy. This can vary widely.

A berry bowl with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and adding some coconut water has become quite popular!

Or a more savory bowl with eggs, vegetables, and some brown rice is different and healthy.

Or a sweeter bowl with quinoa, almond milk (or any kind), and some cinnamon, if savory isn’t what you’re feeling!

Mixing it up is perfect with this breakfast meal!

Breakfast Quesadilla! 

A quesadilla-obviously with a tortilla and cheese, but why not add something else? Adding in some ham, bacon, or sausage to boost up protein is always an option!

A bacon, egg quesadilla-or simply some egg!

Or add in some vegetables-onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms always do the trick! Some avocado also never hurts!

Whatever floats your boat! 

Breakfast Oats! 

Oatmeal is quick, easy, and healthy! Adding in some fruit, jam, seeds, some almond or adding in some peanut butter with chocolate chips always shakes things up!

Adding in some yogurt with some chia seeds is another great combination with oats!

Or apricots with pistachios and pomegranate seeds, or hemp seeds with mango and currants!

The combinations are endless! 

‘Attack on Titan’ season 4 review

By: Mohamed Ahmed

As you may know, ‘Attack on Titan’ season 4, is coming out weekly. As of March 24th there are 16 episodes out. This anime is arguably the most watched seasonal anime coming out right now. Apparently, season 4 is the final season of the anime, and this is what I think about the season so far. 

Animation 

The animation for this last season is really good. The studio in charge is most known for doing another anime called ‘Vinland Saga’. The animation studio is WIT studio.

They have the task of animating much harder things and details than the other seasons, like the technological advancements in this series during the timeskip. Trains, guns, and explosions are rampant in this season making it a much more difficult task to animate. Even with all that, they are doing a great job with consistency and the animation is much better than expected. 

Voice acting 

For this season, you have good news for both sub (Japanese) and dub (English), because the voice acting is phenomenal. Especially in Japanese, this part of the anime is flawless.

The octaves of the voices changed according to what they used to sound like, and for me personally, they sound exactly like what four years would do to someone; older characters sound the same as younger characters grew up. 

Designs 

The designs are really good for most characters. The main character, his sister, and his best friend have all aged and the designs were really good. On top of that, the change in animation really made the designs look significantly better because we were unfamiliar with this animation style.

Changes 

This is by far the worst part of this season. The changes they made to save time cheapens the story. They keep the most important parts intact, but the foreshadowing and other details, like character interaction and buildup, were removed. The more time passes the worse it will get, and the more they will skip.

They are claiming that this is the final season, but to this day, the manga is still coming out.

Streaming Services Are A Thing

So, recently, as I’m sure you’ve heard, Paramount launched it’s brand new streaming service known as Paramount+, and while I know it’s hard to contain your excitement at the idea of being able to watch as much ‘Young Sheldon’ as your heart desires for only $5.99 a month, this had me thinking of sorta how this all started.

Back when I was a drooling toddler, with a dent in my head, my family used to go to a lil’ place called Block Buster, where you could rent a DVD of ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ once a week, whenever you wanted to see a movie without having to go through the hassle of going to a theatre (or a theater, one of the two).

But now, in the Year of the Ox, 2021, the moviegoing industry is just a little different now that cinemas are considered boiling soups of disease and sickness.

Originally, people would’ve turned to Netflix in this specific scenario, where you could watch all the movies you want in the comfort of your own lil’ hut, for only a given price per month. But now, there’s like 30 different variants of Netflix, all with different shows which are all exclusive to each, so you gotta collect them all now like some Yugioh cards or whatever.

So now, the experience seems to go a little something like this:

Man, I really like the movie ‘Caddyshack’, but Netflix only has ‘Caddyshack 2’, so now if I wanna see the entire Caddyshack cinematic franchise I need to pay for both Netflix and Big Burrito+, but I can only get both if I get the SpaghettiTV+ package which includes ‘Two Broke Girls Express’, which is the streaming service that only has 1 show, and that’s ‘Two Broke Girls’, which is the worst show of all time, but at least I can listen to Donald Glover’s new album which is exclusive to Disney+ because Donald Glover himself is apparently a Disney property now and so is ‘King Of The Hill‘.

So, I dunno, maybe it’s just me being cynical, and it probably wasn’t any better during the days when you had to deal with all those cable packages and stuff, but honestly, I just wanted to mention how interesting it is to me that ‘King Of The Hill’ is actually a Disney property now.

But, nonetheless, companies are now realizing that that if anybody is going to watch anything, you need to make it in a “binge watching” format, so people can feel like they’re in control to watch whatever they want, whenever they want. Even though the selection of shows/movies are only based on algorithms designed purposefully to announce the removal of a given show they know is popular, so that people’ll rewatch it as much as they can, out of the hope they can catch the fleeting availability of ‘Friends’ before they pull the rug out from under you, and Ross, Joey, and whatever Jennifer Anniston’s character’s name was, are gone from your life forever. 

And aside from already established shows being stuck on to these services as exclusive items to collect, more and more “original” shows are starting to pop up all over these places. But what’s wrong with having original stuff? Nothing, but there is one show, in particular, me and a buncha other people are sorta upset about.

So, there’s this show called ‘Kamp Koral’, and it’s all about the “infant years” of SpongeBob, which only particularly makes me lose my big ol’ Cheshire Cat smile cause the creator the original SpongeBob, Stephen Hillenburg, sorta was known for always talking about how he never wanted any SpongeBob spinoff shows, like a ‘Muppet Babies’ or a ‘Patrick Show’, to be made under his watch, as he didn’t wanna over commercialize it and sacrifice quality for profitability whatnot.

So, the executives in charge of Paramount/Nickelodeon conveniently waited until about 7 months after he passed away, to announce 2 separate ‘Cleveland Show’esque SpongeBob spinoffs; one being exclusively about Patrick, and one about SpongeBob as a toddler (Kamp Koral), which is just peachy… 

Honestly, people in general are sort of expecting this sort of thing from the overall “industry” in general, because it’s nothing new that corporate higher ups would be disregarding this guy’s wishes like this in such a blatantly disrespectful way, and I mean you can always just pirate your shows anyway if you don’t wanna contribute to 0.000001% of these guy’s overall revenue.

Which, I mean, is a really cynical way of looking at things, but, I mean, if you think about it, what if people just don’t wanna pirate stuff, and are happy to pay for networks which host shows they have fondness for? And what if these shows carry memories which might seem silly to some people, but could be meaningful to other people? What if people actually enjoy the exclusive content, and remember it with happiness like I remember watching SpongeBob as a lil’ kid?

I mean, yeah, these shows could probably be made without these services so easily, and the conscious of all the ‘Kamp Koral’ stuff still is scummy on a moral level, but in a time where people just naturally want entertainment to distract them from all this wacky stuff around them, maybe I should just let people enjoy their ability to watch as much ‘Young Sheldon’ in peace as they want, because at the end of the day, it’s just entertainment and what matters more in an American’s life than their TV?

Quick rundown of vitamins

By: Mohamed Ahmed

There are 13 essential elements. Vitamins are organic compounds that we need to ingest to stay healthy. In a sense they are the bodybuilders, defenders, and maintenance workers if the body. They build muscle and bone, capture and use energy, all the while healing wounds.

They are consumed in different ways. Lipid (fat) soluble, and water soluble. Water soluble vitamins are taken up by the blood flow. Lipid soluble is broken up by bile from the liver and is commonly seen in fat.

The difference of the way it is consumed, ejected, and even stored is based on if it is a water or a fat soluble vitamin.

Here are the four main vitamins that you need the most:

Vitamin A 

Vitamin A is vital for the reproductive system and for the immune system. The other things that Vitamin A is good for is that it helps lungs, kidneys, and other organs run properly.

Liver, fish, and dairy are great sources of Vitamin A. 

Vitamin B 

Vitamin B is great for cell health, it is also great for infections and even helps blood cells thrive.

Ways to receive Vitamin B are meat, eggs, whole grains, seeds, and you can’t forget the dark leafy vegetables. 

Vitamin C 

This is the vitamin that you probably will recognize. A deadly disease called scurvy can be cured with this vitamin. It has the benefits of helping reduce your chances of contracting certain types of cancer and diabetes.

This vitamin can be found in oranges, mangoes, papayas, and pineapples. 

Vitamin D 

Vitamin D can be found in liver, eggs, red meat, and ultraviolet radiation. Ultraviolet radiation can be found basically anywhere the sun is, so you can get Vitamin D by going outside as well.

Severe Vitamin D deficiencies can lead to the following: easily fatigued, bone pains, and even muscle weakness.

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