March 31, 2022
Recommended Reads
This Will Be Funny Later: A Memoirby Jenny Pentland
If you’re looking for one of those all-too-real but out-of-this-world kind of stories, then This Will Be Funny Later: A Memoir by Jenny Pentland is perfect for you. Newly published, it tells the story of Pentland growing up as the daughter of Roseanne Barr from the TV sitcom Roseanne, and all of the ugly truths that came with a family graced with fame in the 1980s. It’s laced with irony and dark humor throughout, explaining how she and her siblings struggled with body weight issues, bullies, crazy fans of their mother, mental institutions, and even parental divorce—very much opposite of the sitcom based loosely on their actual lives. Just when she thinks life is getting better, something else always goes awry. And yet somehow, she manages to make it through her insane life to become happily married and raising a family, though bumps in the road still happen.If you’re just curious about the family dynamic the show is based on or if you want to find a light at the end of the tunnel for your own difficult family scenario, Pentland’s book will keep you thoroughly entertained. What’s fame like on an already strained family? How do you revolt like a true daughter of parents raised in the 1960s? Read it and find out!
My Brother, My Brother, and Me, often shortened to MBMBaM, is a comedy podcast where the three McElroy brothers answer listener questions with advice you should never follow. They also have several ongoing segments. When Yahoo Answers was still alive (RIP), the brothers would try to answer the many bizarre questions posed there and see what other people online said while trying to help their fellow Yahoo users. After the service was shut down, the McElroys resorted to looking at the strange and oddly specific articles on WikiHow during their “Wizard of the Cloud” segment. Justin, the eldest brother, has a long running bit called “Munch Squad,” where he discusses the wild world of branded food (think of things like when Planters Peanuts decided to kill off their mascot Mr. Peanut a few years back). There are several more segments that have come and gone over the course of the show’s almost 12-year run. Sometimes, they will have guests on the show, including other podcasters, comedians, and the occasional celebrity, like Lin-Manuel Miranda.
People who are not too knowledgeable about games may be confused about how someone would stress over games and all that goes on in them, but when you start to play XCOM: Enemy Unknown for yourself, you will see how entertaining it really is. Most engagements will leave you on the edge of your seat, whether you lose a soldier, or they survive to fight another day. In the case of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, every choice that you make can be the very last, whether the mission ends in victory or absolute defeat. You play as the “Commander” of an anti-alien military force fighting back the invading forces trying to take over Earth.
Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century takes place in the year 2049 where we meet Zenon Carr, a spunky 13- year-old living in space. Life is good on the space station until she finds herself in trouble, and her parents send her to live on Earth. This is Zenon’s worst nightmare. She must mitigate a phobia-prone aunt and the savageness of middle school on planet Earth. If this isn’t enough of a crisis, Zenon soon discovers an evildoer plans to crash the space station. She must get back to space to save her home AND not miss her favorite pop group’s first space performance. The stakes are high, apparently. You won’t want to miss how the action unfolds. Available to stream on Disney+.
The kids of Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire are in a pickle. Adam and Chelsea Hansen, brother-sister duo, have plans for a fun evening, but they’re grounded. Adam can’t possibly miss his concert, and Chelsea finds her boyfriend too dreamy to bail on their date. As fate would have it, their mom has a date on that same night. It would all be perfect, except their little brother uncovers that mom’s date is really a vampire. The new mission of the night turns into saving Mom Hansen from the undead! Enter the vampire hunter. This movie is advertised as a horror-comedy; there’s not much spook, but plenty of laugh-worthy scenes in all its ridiculousness. Available to stream on Disney+.
When I began college, I was still struggling in high school. My grades dropped. Topics held no interest. I felt stressed out because I wasn’t going to understand the basic things that most others my age had learned already, leaving me in a feeling of hopelessness and low self-worth. However, as a college student I excelled. The difference? Self-confidence. Anything we do in life requires it, but many of us lack sufficient levels of it. How can we practice building our self-confidence in a way that it empowers and sticks with us, enabling us to be accomplished in our life goals?
For anyone still recovering from Netflix’s offensive adaptation of Cowboy BeBop, just remember that the original masterpiece is also available to stream. While we binge the show, let us indulge ourselves in a popular dish from the first episode: bell peppers and beef. It’s delicious, simple, and open to interpretation, so here’s my version.
As winter dies, and as the sacred sun becomes common, the season of Spring brings forth its bold, amiable appearance. She shares her gospel of warmth and abundance of greenery. Snow becomes water, water becomes mud, and muddy water becomes part of the Earth, residing deep within the groundwater catacombs. The moist Earth which was once water, which was once snow, nurtures and gives birth to ground flowers of all colors, grass of great green, and insects rising from hibernation. Soon, the trees will no longer be gray skeletons of their former selves, soon the sun will no longer hide itself in shyness, and soon the summer birds will return to take residency in the north once again. When Spring arrives, she will turn the air into a warm and delightful scent, as prior to her arrival,the air was crisp and empty like a vacuum. The Sun will shine brighter and share his vitamin D, and the waves on the beach will roar once again. Grass will be able to be walked on again, and the sound of the leaves will be heard. Oh, Spring…please come sooner.