Month: March 2025

“They just won’t understand, you know? We’re Ghanaian, so we do things differently,” writes one of the characters in Jessica George’s Maame.

Maame, whose title means “woman” in Africa (according to Ancestry.com), is a 2023 fictional coming-of-age novel set in Croydon, a borough of London. George has you hanging out with the main character, Maddie, who straddles the line between her Ghanaian roots and her life in England while she works through cross-cultural (and other) struggles. She is battling with all the usual suspects of being a young adult: family and illness, love, career, and figuring out her place in this world.

Now, let’s plan a trip to Croydon!

Who likes zombies? Go to the TripAdvisor app where, for $21, you can sign up to participate in a game/tour where you will encounter zombies and learn if and how well you would survive during a zombie apocalypse!

Not into zombies? There are several hiking and biking trails surrounded by lush forests and hills, and landmark sites like towers and windmills. From Croydon, you can take tours of Cambridge, the Cotswolds, Stonehenge, and other nearby London well-knowns.

After your zombie encounter, you will probably be ready for some non-human sustenance. Croydon has a decent food scene with choices like the raved-about Sri Lankan wings at Machan Kitchen, Chicken Shish from Mithras Restaurant, South African cuisine, Turkish, Taiwanese, European, and more! You will not go hungry in Croydon!

Looking for somewhere to hang up your zombie garb for the night? Croydon has plenty of lodging options starting at $65/night and up. You can slumber in places like the Hampton by Hilton, Premier Inn, Leonardo Hotel, or what Expedia calls the best hotel in Croydon, the Hilton London Croydon. Personally, my curiosity is intrigued by CitizenM (www.citizenm.com). With views of the famous London Bridge, common areas that are filled with books, 370 smart rooms, views of the London skyline near the Gherkin and Sky Garden, and a rooftop bar, this sounds like the place for me!

If you’re interested in seeing how Maddie of Maame lived, doing some zombie chasing, or snuggling into a bed with a view of the London skyline, think about checking out the UK and making your way over to Croydon, London.

Let these inspiring words fuel your passion for standing tall and leaving an unforgettable historical mark.

Women have been trailblazing change throughout history, inspiring generations with fiery words and bold actions! From fearless activists to visionary artists, their voices have reshaped our understanding of resilience and empowerment. 

“…be fearless.”

“We don’t need to share the same opinions as others, but we need to be respectful.”

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”

First appearing in the dating-simulator game Dream Daddy, created by Game Grumps, Hugo Vega is one of the many dating options a player can pick. Hugo is a middle-school English teacher who loves to wear bowties, loves the smell of books, and surprisingly is big into wrestling. This shy, nerdy dad with a secret special interest opens his heart up to you, but is he truly a good choice to date? Well, he’s in a dating-simulation game, so I’d hope, but let’s find out on this edition of Fictional Fiancé!

Gentleman Material: ★★★★★

Hugo is a respectful gentleman at heart, who shows that he likes to take things slowly, believing in careful steps in order to grow a relationship. He also puts the “manly” in gentlemanly with his hardcore wrestling interest and ability to perform said wrestling moves.

Looks: ★★★★★

Not only is this man incredibly pristine and handsome, but he also dresses dapper to boot. His image is that of a man who would hold every door and kiss your hand every time he sees you. If that doesn’t scream husband material, I don’t know what does. Also, Hugo reminds me of Harvey from Stardew Valley, so that’s a big plus. 

Affection: ★★★☆☆

Hugo is shy with his affection, but he is still affectionate even if it’s not too overt.

Charisma: ★★★☆☆

While Hugo isn’t so suave and gets flustered easily, his geeky nature is a charm all itself.

Intelligence: ★★★★★

The guy knows his stuff! Mention anything about 18^th-century literature, and he will probably verbally produce an entire scholarly article.

Fanciness: ★★★★★

Hugo is a very fancy guy. He’ll take you out to taste the most delightful imported cheese and then book a reservation at the fanciest place in town.

Romanticness: ★★★★★

If you’re looking for cute and simple romance like going out for coffee together or going out to aquariums and art galleries, Hugo’s got you covered. If you’re lucky, he may even write you a romantic poem while he’s at it.

Overall Dateability: ★★★★★

It’s too bad the “sim” in dating sim stands for simulation, because otherwise I would have already proposed!

In a world of the usual bad movie releases, there also come terrible superhero reboots. Sorry DC Extended Universe, but I’m looking at you. In 2022, though, we were finally graced with what I believe is the best live-action Batman movie to date. The Batman (2022), stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne and Batman. The movie sets itself apart from all the other Batman reboots, not only because of its killer soundtrack, but also for skipping his overstated and already well-known origin story. Instead, it jump right into a case at the start of the film on one of the most haunting days of the year, Thursday, October 31st.

While yes, many other Batman films have their moments and great actors, the biggest difference between them and Pattinson’s Batman is the use of his character’s investigation skills. We still get the fun action sequences with this Batman, but the choice to focus more on his investigation and crime-solving mindset allow the film to show a new side of the beloved character — something that allows the film to be considered one of the better superhero reboots to grace our screens

Another aspect that helped to make The Batman an incredible reboot was the change in villains. For so many years, we’ve seen every Batman face multiple Jokers and a few other enemies along the way. However, with the 2022 reboot, we got to start fresh with his first on-screen villain: The Riddler.

Both of these changes in The Batman’s storytelling allowed the viewers to enjoy the character’s amazing detective skills, which were significantly lacking in other Batman movies and reboots.

Streaming on Max. 

One of my favorite, and most underrated shows is Wayne (2019). It premiered on the dreadful platform YouTube Premium (formerly known as YouTube Red), only to be canceled after one incredible season. The show follows 16-year-old Wayne McCullough (Mark McKenna) as he goes on a trip from Massachusetts to Florida to retrieve his recently deceased father’s stolen ’79 Trans Am, with the hope to change the bad hand he was dealt in life. Before he makes it out of town, though, he stops to pick up his crush, Del (Ciara Bravo), and asks her to tag along,  to which she agrees.

The show mainly follows Wayne and Del’s journey, allowing episodes to focus on specific characters to help viewers get to know who they’re rooting for. We get to watch as they meet different characters that help the two along the way before arriving at their final destination, where Wayne faces more challenges than he prepared for.

While the show prioritizes Wayne’s storyline for obvious reasons, it also follows other duos such as his best and only friend Orlando (Joshua J. Williams), who hitches a ride with their principal in search of Wayne. We also get to see scenes of Del’s father and brothers on the search for the couple, who prefer to kill Wayne rather than help him, since he ran off with their daughter/sister.

While that all sounds like a lot to cover, it’s beautifully done and well received by audience and critic ratings. Unfortunately, Wayne wasn’t as lucky as other YouTube Premium shows. Unlike Cobra Kai, Wayne has yet to be picked up by another streaming platform to receive a second season. Instead, it was moved to Prime Video, giving fans false hope that one day it would return, but it never did — no matter how many people begged. This left fans with only a single season of one of the greatest shows to ever exist.

Streaming on YouTube. 

When my family first got Netflix, I was getting off my Disney high at the time. I thought that since I was going into high school, I should start watching more mature programming. But at the time, none of those shows really appealed to me. The one show I was remotely interested in at the time was very Disney Channel-like. That show was Julie and the Phantoms, created by Kenny Ortega (High School Musical, Descendants, etc).

Julie and the Phantoms centers around Julie (Madison Reyes), a teenage girl who is trying to find her love for music again after the passing of her mom. During this, she accidentally summons a ghost band from 1995, Sunset Curve. They find out when they play their music, living people can see them as if they were alive. Throughout the 10-episode series, Julie along with the three ghosts: Luke (Charlie Gillespie), Reggie (Jeremy Shada), and Alex (Owen Joyner) go through the troubles of starting their band while dealing with crushes, rivals, and a 1920’s ghost cult.

After rewatching the show, I can see why I liked it so much.

The characters were likable, the story was engaging, and the songs were amazing. There were also a lot of topics covered that usually don’t get addressed in regular kids’ media. The topic of grief is a big one, since both Julie and Luke go through the stages in their own unique ways. Another thing is Alex coming to terms with being gay and starting to fall for another ghost named Willie (Booboo Stewert). These topics felt so natural, and more kids need to see this regularly in kids’ media.

Where the show left off, Julie could physically feel the guys, while the villainous Caleb Covington (Cheyenne Jackson) possessed Julie’s crush. Things were going to get crazy, and I was excited to see where this story went. So, I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Until I read the news of its cancellation.

Netflix is notorious for canceling good shows, but this was the first time I was angry about it. Julie and the Phantoms was something special, and it could have been a huge hit. I wasn’t the only one who was mad about it, either. Many people tried to help renew it by signing petitions, but nothing came of it. All of the actors have moved on to bigger and better things, and the show is left with only 10 episodes and an epic soundtrack.

Overall, Julie and the Phantoms is a great show for both kids and adults. If anything, go listen to the soundtrack to support the actors and studio. If we see another musical TV show on Netflix, let’s pray it sticks around for a couple of seasons.