Author: fernandt

Have you ever daydreamed about a fictional story with you at the center? Or pondered how you’d save the world? Or even just wanted to take a silly quiz? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Answer the questions below and tally up your score to find out what kind of hero you would be!

1. What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?
a.) White chocolate (+0)
b.) Milk chocolate (+1)
c.) Dark chocolate (+2)
d.) I don’t like any of them (+3)

2. How many books have you read (or started reading) this year?
a.) Zero (+0)
b.) One or two (+1)
c.) Three or four (+2)
d.) Five or more (+3)

3. What do you do when you find a spider in your home?
a.) Ignore it (+0)
b.) Let it outside (+1)
c.) Scream and leave the room (+2)
d.) Smush it (+3)

4. What’s your favorite eating utensil?
a.) Fork (+0)
b.) Spoon (+1)
c.) Chopsticks (+2)
d.) Spork (+3)

5. Are you more of a “cat person” or a “dog person”?
a.) Cat person (+0)
b.) Dog person (+1)
c.) You can’t make me choose! (+2)
d.) I don’t like either… (+3)

6. What’s your favorite genre of film?
a.) Horror movies (+0)
b.) Romance movies (+1)
c.) Action movies (+2)
d.) Comedy movies (+3)

7. How do you feel about roller coasters?
a.) I have no clue… I’ve never ridden one (+0)
b.) They’re awesome! I love the thrill! (+1)
c.) They’re alright, I’ll ride them if someone makes me (+2)
d.) I’m terrified of them! (+3)

8. Choose an emoji!
a.) 😍 (+0)
b.) 😎 (+1)
c.) 😊 (+2)
d.) 😂 (+3)

9. What are you listening to while getting your work done?
a.) Music (+0)
b.) Podcasts/Youtube (+1)
c.) White noise/relaxing ambiance (+2)
d.) Nothing, I prefer silence (+3)

10. What’s your go-to theater snack?
a.) Popcorn (+0)
b.) Candy (+1)
c.) Pretzel/churro (+2)
d.) Theater snack? In THIS economy? (+3)

Add up your points. Your total decides your results!

0-7: The Chosen One
It’s not your fault the story revolves around you. You didn’t ask for an ancient prophecy, a special birthmark, or magical powers — but hey, someone’s gotta drive the plot. You’re brave, loyal, and self-sacrificing. Maybe you’re a little unsure of yourself, but when push comes to shove, you’ll rise to the occasion, just like the legends foretold.

8-15: The Antihero
You aren’t here to play nice, you’re here to get things done. Your moral compass may be cracked, but it still points somewhere. You work in the gray areas, which often means more violence and apathy than your more pacifistic hero counterparts. You’re complex, compelling, and just dangerous enough to keep everyone on edge. You may not be the one people trust, but when things start going haywire, you’re the one they need.

16-23: The Pure-Hearted Idealist
You’re the kind of hero who sees the best in the world, even when everything has turned against you. People underestimate you because you’re soft and sweet, but you know how to kill them with kindness better than any other. You believe in loyalty, justice, and second chances — and evil-doers can’t shake those values. You’d hug the villain into redemption and then bake them cookies to celebrate!

24-30: The Brooding Loner
Not to be confused with the antihero, you’re an all-around good person who’s got a strong moral compass. That said, you tend to work best when flying solo, moving in the shadows. Your quiet nature makes you intimidating and unpredictable, but deep down, your huge heart is anything but cold. You’ve also probably got some sort of mysterious past, and maybe even a dramatic coat or cape for flair — Batman style!

Finish taking the quiz!

 —Brooke Schoening, Book Quiz Editor

This week, we are traveling again, but not to find the sights; instead to find wholeness.

NYC native Elizabeth Gilbert’s memoir Eat Pray Love is a voyage of confronting the truth, finding importance, and forgiving mistakes. She invites readers to come along on the journey of a lifetime: a treasure hunt, the treasure being her true self. Gilbert’s recount of her travels is written so magically; she finds ways to articulate feelings and emotions, as well as describe smells, sounds, and tastes. Even though she struggles on this journey, as a reader, you find yourself jealous and envious.

“Eat” in Italy: Gilbert’s initial stop on her tour of life is Rome, Italy. It is here that she realizes that she, we Americans, unlike Italians, are unable to relax into pleasure completely and fully. She states that, “Americans don’t really know how to do nothing.” She learns an Italian phrase, “il bel far niente,” meaning the beauty of doing nothing. With that realization and a newly adopted mantra, she sets a goal — learn to do nothing! Having nothing but this goal, she starts on a new path in a foreign country. She vows to learn the language, experience the food, and immerse herself in the culture. First and foremost, the food! The Italians really know how to do it well — the food, that is! Pasta, pizza, fresh vegetables, cheese, fruits, grapes and wine, indulging on indulgences without remorse! What to start with and how to stop will be the questions at the forefront of her culinary experience through Rome. The answer to the first, gelato!

“Pray” in India: To stay in an ashram in India and pray is to have a spiritual awakening! “The Yogic path is about disentangling the built-in glitches of the human condition, over-simplified, the inability to sustain contentment. To correct imbalance.” Gilbert learns the act of Yoga, but feels compelled to understand it, completely. She decides that to do this she needs a Guru. Guru is made up of two Sanskrit words, darkness and light. Its English translation being “out of the darkness and into the light.” If Yoga is the act of disentanglement, then a Guru is someone who can pass that act onto others. You go to your Guru to be filled with their enlightened state; it passes from them to you. Gilbert vows to become enlightened, centered, and balanced.

“Love” in Indonesia: Bali, a.k.a. “The Island of The Gods” (as of the late 1960’s) is the final stop on her journey of wholeness. But why Indonesia? Years prior, a Balinese medicine man, a healer, painted her a picture of herself: a figure with four legs symbolizing “so grounded to Earth” and a missing head, representing “not looking at the world through intellect” and a face in the heart, that suggests “looking at the world through the heart.” The healer, Ketut Liyer, told her to come and stay with his family; she could teach him English, and he would teach her what he knows. Ketut teaches Gilbert that “to meditate, only you must smile. Smile with face, smile with mind, and good energy will come to you and clean away your dirty energy.” She is there to work on her equilibrium, a balance, to figure out “where she belongs” on the grid of life. To know where you belong is to have power, lose that balance and lose your power. On her final mission, with Ketut’s guidance, Gilbert vows to find her power and never lose it; then, she will be ready for love!

“I put my heart and my soul into my work and have lost my mind in the process.” —Vincent Van Gogh

Balancing Remote Work and Mental Health

Working or attending school remotely bring both benefits and challenges. It gives flexibility and the chance to balance personal and work lives. However, it can also lead to feelings of isolation, blurred boundaries, and struggles that can harm overall health. Mental health means being mentally and emotionally healthy, which includes being free from mental illness and adapting well to daily life. This is shown by feeling good about oneself, having positive feelings toward others, and managing daily demands (Merriam-Webster).

Here are some tips to balance that remote environment and your emotional wellness.

1. Set a schedule: Create a daily routine that includes work hours, breaks, and time for yourself. Stick to this schedule to help create a work-life balance.
2. Stay Connected: Stay connected with your instructors, boss, classmates, coworkers and friends through calls or video chats. Social interaction is necessary for your mental well-being.
3. Create a Workspace: Set up a dedicated area. This will help you focus on work and separate it from your personal space.

“The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.” —Arnold J. Toynbee

4. Take Breaks: Regular breaks boost your productivity and help clear your mind. Step outside or do quick physical activity.
5. Stay Active: Find time for physical exercise. Regular activity can reduce stress and improve your mood.
6. Seek Support: If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to friends, family, or a mental health professional. It’s okay to ask for help.

Remember, caring for one’s mental health is just as vital as completing work tasks.

“Let no one think that flexibility and a predisposition to compromise is a sign of weakness or a sell-out.” —Paul Kagame

With the recent release of A Minecraft Movie, this edition of “Fictional Fiancé” will be focusing on a character with a big, beautiful nose who is always in a striking pose: The Villager! Villagers from Minecraft are common mobs that spawn around the world. They are recognizable for their speech composed solely of the “hm” sound and their wide array of skills. Villagers can be talented black smiths, librarians, wizards, and more. In today’s Fictional Fiancé, we’ll be examining how you might pair with a Villager!Handiness: ★★★★★

Villagers can do all sorts of things, as previously described. If you want a villager boyfriend who is a fisherman, you got it! Want to date a leatherworker? Check! How about a cleric? Double check!

Communication: ★★☆☆☆

Villagers unfortunately only communicate with the “hm” sound, so unless you can somehow understand that, communicating will be very hard. At least you will probably be able to understand their tone.

Appearance: ★★☆☆☆

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but villagers are admittedly a bit funny-looking.

Romance: ★★☆☆☆

I’m not quite sure how it happened, but if Jennifer Coolidge’s character can find love with a villager in A Minecraft Movie, then I suppose you might also be able to.

Wealth: ★★★★☆

Villagers always seem to have emeralds on them, so perhaps if you get one as a date, you can start up an emerald-selling business!

Dateability: ★★☆☆☆

These silly guys are fine people, but I’m not too certain how practical it would be to date one. At least there are some good upsides to dating a villager, but it might be hard to maintain a steady relationship.

If you love Fleetwood Mac, or more specifically, the drama relating to that one live performance of “Silver Springs,” then you’re going to LOVE the 10-episode, limited series Daisy Jones & the Six (2023). The show follows a fictional band and how they come to be, starting out as The Six before their record producer, Teddy Price (Tom Wright), introduces them to the chaotic talent that is Daisy Jones (Riley Keough). She’s the addition to the band that ends up causing tension between frontman/lead guitarist of The Six, Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) and his photographer wife Camila Dunne (Camila Morrone), and is hinted as the reason for the band’s fallout, which we learn from the interview style of the show.

The show starts in a documentary-style format, with interviews from the band and a few others, retelling their rise in popularity during the ’70s. While we get intriguing interview clips, a majority of the show is set in the ’70s as the audience watches the band membersmeet, write songs, tour, and face struggles alone and together. The first few episodes build up everyone’s background before chaos ensues once Daisy Jones is thrown into the mix, butting heads with Billy. While from the outside the two seem to despise each other, it’s undeniable that they are a remarkable duo when it comes to music. Creating duets together that become fan favorites, though hated by the band, and other songs hiding affair innuendos and jabs at one another like “More Fun To Miss” and “Regret Me.’’

Jumping backwards a little bit, The Six consists of frontman Billy and his brother and lead-guitarist Graham Dunne (Will Harrison), who’s crushing on Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse) the keyboardist. There’s also Warren Rhodes (Sebastian Chhacon) on drums and then Eddie Roundtree (Josh Whitenhouse) the bassist, who harbors feelings for Camila. I bring up their connections outside of just being in a band as well because when you put together this many attractive and talented people, you just know it’s going to be messy. Giving the show not only great drama, but also captivating buildup for both the characters and the storyline, the show’s writers make the story feel incredibly put together for only being a 10-episode limited series.

Now if you’re someone who doesn’t typically watch a ton of TV, don’t fret! The series happens to be a TV adaptation of the book Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. If you’re not a reader or TV watcher, my last hope to push this onto you is through music. While the band is fake, the album Aurora that they created together for the show is very real and very good, so if anything, listen to the impeccable soundtrack and mourn the fact a real-life tour has been cancelled, due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes around the time of the show’s release. But, never say never …

Available on Prime Video.