February 9, 2024
Golden House and Rainbow House
Are you looking for a great way to get out and give back? Golden House is an incredible nonprofit organization promoting a comprehensive domestic-violence program including safety, support, housing, and prevention. Their philosophy is to, with integrity, help all victims find a life without abuse. Starting back in 1979 as a help line, Golden House has grown to house and support over 150 victims a year, as well as supply counseling, mental health services, and prevention education to many more. They are located at 1120 University Ave in Green Bay, WI, and serve the Brown County area. Volunteering here is a great way to get involved because of the variety of jobs needed. Can you cook a meal, paint a house, do a group activity, or teach a life skill? Here you can display all these talents and many more. All you need to do is fill out the volunteer application on their website to get started.
The Rainbow House serves victims of domestic abuse in the Marinette area. They offer a variety of services including free parenting classes, safety planning, legal advocacy, LGBTQ+ services, and youth and teen services. If you are able to give, they accept monetary donations, including donations of items on their Amazon and Walmart wish lists.
—Tiffany Jablonowski, Local Favorites Editor
Trying to plan a night out? Just been too busy to find something fun to do to relax after a long week? Here are some fun events that are sure not to disappoint!
It’s said that one’s rom-com is another’s psychological horror. Vanilla Ice’s debut on the silver screen is one such movie. Our “hero” wins over an uptight honor student with the power of freestyle rapping and being “hip with the kids” (whatever that means). As evident from that plot description, this film audaciously lacks self-awareness. Whatever possible offense to take from Cool as Ice’s haphazard attempts to impress teens are lost with how absurd it gets, witness protection subplot and all. Available on Amazon Prime.
A chance encounter with an omnipresent benefactor gives a struggling chef the power to cook her feelings into whatever she makes. This movie features flat acting, flatter characters, and attempts at humor that read more as unintentional cringe comedy than human interaction. Don’t let the fancy Jewel Kilcher-flavored music standard for the late nineties fool you—this movie is as cookie-cutter as it comes. Available free on PLEX. 
If you’re in the mood for a ’90s rom-com starring Drew Barrymore, do yourself a favor and watch The Wedding Singer. But if you wouldn’t mind an unintentionally hilarious hate-watch, Never Been Kissed is here to fulfill your every snarky wish. Barrymore plays Josie Geller, who was so unpopular in high school that she was known to her classmates as Josie Grossie. So when adult Josie the journalist is assigned an undercover story that requires her to pose as a high-school student, she jumps at the chance for a do-over. With the help of her brother Rob (David Arquette), who formerly ran with the popular jocks in his teens, Josie manages to overcome her innate awkwardness and get a taste of life in the in-crowd. She also develops a schoolgirl crush on her teacher Mr. Coulson (Michael Vartan). And, putting the “gross” in Josie Grossie, Coulson returns her feelings, even though HE THINKS SHE’S A STUDENT. The #MeToo ick factor is too intense to get lost in the romance, but it’s great for indulging in a group cringe with your friends. Available on Starz. 
Radiolab consists of fun, informational deep dives into an eclectic variety of topics, from how blue horseshoe crab blood is used in pharmaceuticals to modern drone tactics used in wars like the Russo-Ukranian Conflict. The podcast sets out to explain these topics with solid, competent journalism laid out in a pleasant manner, accompanied with a stunning, dynamic soundtrack, this podcast makes learning enjoyable and easy. Consulting a healthy array of topically relevant sources, including many firsthand interviews from those deeply involved and respected within their communities, Radiolab reliably relays useful, relevant information about the world around us.
Among free-to-play games, Warframe is the only one to have its own official convention in North America. Warframe is an immensely popular online co-op game, blending fast movement, hack ‘n’ slash, and third-person shooting into a satisfying experience. Players play as warframes, which essentially function as classes, each one with different speed, shields, health, and abilities, cooperating in groups of four to complete the chosen mission.
Creating and writing a whole unique human being is difficult. So many writers fall into the trap of writing stereotypes or tropes as opposed to something resembling people. Furthermore, too many times readers have read stories in which the main hero is too perfect. Their intentions always pure, not a bad bone in their body.
Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender is an interesting mix of ideas—ideas which at first don’t seem like they mix well but when blended together taste oddly delicious. On one hand, it’s a coming-of-age novel about a loner longing for intimacy while navigating high school. Yet on the other hand, it’s a beautiful love story and a classic horror story.
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai is a memoir that illustrates the struggles of Dazai throughout his childhood up until shortly before his early death. Dazai published this book in the form of his notebooks, like a diary, and it starts in his middle school years. He writes how his father was abusive and how the servants of his house may or may not have sexually assaulted him—it’s unclear in the writing as it can be taken in a few ways. Once he graduated high school, he moved to Tokyo for college, away from the countryside where he lived. This is where he began experimenting with drugs, alcohol, and continued dabbling in art. He became addicted. He also became addicted to the idea of death, which resulted in multiple attempted suicides, two of which were double suicides, one of them being successful.
Three bands—Wasted Pretty, Soup, and Candy Cigarette—will perform on February 24 at the Cactus, located at 40 W. Hosmer St. in Marinette. The show will start at 7:00 p.m. You must be at least 21 years old or be with a parent to enter!
Looking for a music album that can combat the groggy Wisconsin winter weather? Skiptracing (2016) can do just that. The American dream pop group Mild High Club, created in 2013 by Alexander Brettin, released their second studio album, Skiptracing, in 2016. Based out of Chicago, IL, this Midwestern group is known for their psychedelic sound and trance-like full albums.Skiptracing is a 30-minute album that starts with a light track and creates a relaxing mood so the listener can focus on closing their eyes and imagine soaking in the closest sun rays. The second song, titled “Cary Me Back,” continues the serene scene as if the listener is still mentally sun-bathing and now drifting down a lazy, slow river. The vibrant and meditative tracks rotate throughout the album, creating a full picture in only half an hour. For example, “Tessellation” is a groovy and smooth transition to the next track titled, “Head Out.”
Westerns have always been about tough gunslingers traveling frontiers and stopping villains. The protagonists of the genre are taciturn tough guys without emotion. Our protagonists either have a very famous name or no name, a righteous quest, and the adoration of the community. Christianity often finds its way into the genre, usually as a guide for the protagonist, sometimes a hindrance. Clint Eastwood’s numerous Westerns have become the default for the genre, but shows like The Mandalorian and even the 1954 Japanese movie Seven Samurai put spins on it. With the generic themes of the genre exhausted, there is nothing left to do but innovate, and that’s how we get the underrated anime Trigun.