March 10, 2022
Recommended Reeads
Chinese Cinderellaby Adeline Yen Mah
No doubt, you became familiar with the story of Cinderella as a child, but did you know there is a real-life one in China? Chinese Cinderella is an autobiography by Adeline Yen Mah. Hers is a tale of tragedy and the plight of an unwanted child in search of love, which takes place in Tianjin and Hong Kong in the 1940s and ’50s.Raised in a wealthy and privileged home, she recalls from a young age that her four full siblings blamed her for their mother’s death shortly after birth. A year later, their French-Chinese stepmother came into the picture and gave birth to two of her own children. She would dote on and spoil her biological children immensely while refusing to treat her stepchildren as her own. As the youngest of the stepchildren, the author was raised by her aunt, which would later result in a close bond between her, her aunt, and her grandfather as they suffered through life together. And just when she feels safe, she’s torn from home to attend boarding school, away from the only people who ever cared for her.Her story is one of bitter pain, gut-wrenching sadness, and the empowering perseverance of a child after love and identity, told in a way that makes you feel like you were there for every second of it. When everything pushed her to give up, she found another way. It’s a testament to a true beauty that only a real Cinderella can have—beauty of the heart.
Pride Center Pick: The Well of Loneliness
by Radclyffe Hall
Are you looking for a new book to read? Look no further than the Pride Center’s queer book of the month: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall. The novel tells the life story of Stephen Gordon, a lesbian born to a wealthy family in the twentieth century. Filled with many depressing twists and turns, the book shows the sadness that could come from living in a time where being queer was criminalized. Despite its overall emotional story and somewhat controversial content, the book was historically significant as one of the first modern novels about lesbians. Stop in by the Pride Center (M-145) lending library to check out The Well of Loneliness today! If the copy is gone, there are over 200 other queer-friendly books to choose from.
Do you love science fiction franchises like Star Wars and Star Trek? What if I told you that there is a podcast that uses common sci-fi tropes to create an awesome improv comedy? Mission to Zyxx is a hilarious sci-fi show telling the story of the crew on the Bargerean Jade, a sentient spaceship and former film star. In the first season, we meet Pleck Decksetter, Dar, C-53, and Bargie (the ship’s nickname) as they travel around the Zyxx quadrant on missions assigned by Nermut Bundaloy, the Junior Missions Operations Manager for the team. Their goal: try to restore diplomatic relations between the Federated Alliance and the planets within it after the Alliance took over as the galaxy’s government. The Federated Alliance is 100% not evil and definitely does not have any nefarious plans. You’ll be laughing through all the wild antics the crew get into while trying to be diplomatic.
Have you ever wanted to escape to a fantasy world the likes of Middle Earth or Narnia? The podcast improv comedy Hello From The Magic Tavern tell us exactly what would happen if, for example, you drove your Toyota Camry through a dimensional rift located in the back of a Burger King in Chicago. Our protagonist, Arnie Niekamp, did just that, finding himself in the magical land of Foon just outside the tavern the Vermillion Minotaur. Fortunately, Arnie had his podcasting equipment in the back of his car, and a weak wi-fi signal coming through the dimensional rift means that he can start a podcast (the obvious solution to his problem)! Each week, Arnie and his co-hosts, Chunt the shapeshifter and Usidore the Blue wizard, interview all types of folks and creatures in the strange and magical world.
As the popular song by The Clash goes, “Should I stay, or should I go?” In the start of this game, you should have just gone. You play as Ajay Ghale, an American who is trying to fulfill your mother’s last wish for her ashes to be brought back to “Lakshmana.” This brings you to the country of Kyrat, where you are dropped into a civil war between the royal army and the rebels. You learn that your father, who died before your birth, was the rebels’ leader. The Golden Path, as the rebels are known, want to forge a better future for their country, and they will do anything to accomplish it. You obtain all sorts of firearms, whether its shotguns, pistols, SMG, machine guns, or even a bow for more conventional uses. You can hunt animals of the wild for upgrades, and use XP to gain new skills and takedowns for dealing with enemies up close. You have all of Kyrat to explore and plenty of people who need your help to fend off the royal army, or you can help members of the Golden Path. Far Cry 4 is available on Xbox consoles, PlayStation consoles, and PC.
The first time I watched Dawson’s Creek was in eighth grade when I stayed home sick from school and caught a rerun on TV. Admittedly, I was way too young to have been watching this show, but I was hooked!
90210: This spinoff of the classic Beverly Hills 90210 is drama-filled perfection. From the shocking plot twists to the surprising character development, this show will keep you on your toes for its entirety. The storyline follows a group of students from a high school in Beverly Hills. Being that it is a teen drama, the list of problems for the characters is endless. The main character is Annie Wilson, a teenage girl from Kansas. Her life is turned around when her family moves in with her grandma, and she is forced to go to Torrance High School. She immediately sticks out as everyone is dressed in designer clothes and belongs to cliques. As she learns to navigate her way and starts to create a friend group, problems and drama (that of course can be easily avoided) keep popping up. These characters have their plates full dealing with everything from breakups to crimes while they try to navigate high school. This overdramatized series is one that you can’t seem to look away from. Throughout the five seasons the show ran for, we see the characters grow and learn from their mistakes all while getting a fix of drama. We also get to see familiar faces as some of the original cast are welcomed back for the remake, including Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling. Directed by Jason Priestley (Brandon in the original series), this show is definitely worth the hype. Available free on Pluto. 
If you have ever wanted to visit a virtual-reality arcade, now’s your chance! 
It’s March, which means Spring Break is finally here. In light of everything COVID-related, it may feel like this year will be a bust due to uncertain travel protocols and new variant risks. For those of you who will be traveling, be safe and have a great trip! For those of you who choose to stay local this year, this is the perfect opportunity to think about your own well-being; that way you can stay strong and return feeling fully refreshed for the rest of semester.
Picture this scenario for a second: you’re at the humble abode of a person you’ve been seeing for a while, and they make you a meal. It looks quite delicious, so you dig in, only to realize a terrible truth: they didn’t season the meat. If this has yet to happen to you, know that that is a red flag, and you have been warned. Here are some ways I like to season and cook some meats because I would never wish the alternative even on my greatest enemies.
2 a.m., and up on the rooftop, I hear loud banging. “Who could that be?” is on my family’s mind. My father fetches the rifle with the thought that an intruder is attempting to encroach on our house. As a paranoid redneck, he has the intention to shoot any trespassers without inquiry of their actions. “Be quiet, stay low,” he mutters to me and my mom. He exits into the frigid cold, but the instant he steps his first foot outside, he wails and thrashes. Something red jumps onto my father and crushes him flat onto the cold snow. The contour of this creature is ginormous like that of a gorilla; it chants a haunting melody of incoherent words while devouring my father’s flesh. I duck down under the dining room table and cover my ears while I try to conceal my voice. I am only six; what prowess could I possibly hold to defeat such a defiant beast? My mother is wailing on the kitchen floor holding a knife. Just then, the window next to my mother breaks loudly, shedding sharp shards of glass over the kitchen floor. I close my eyes, but I hear heavy footsteps intruding the house; each footstep sounds like a loud roar of thunder that penetrates the heart. The footsteps stop abruptly when I assume the beast sees my mother. “Oh…uh…ho ho ho ho ho,” it sings. My mother shrieks. Then it is quiet. I open my eyes to see what is happening, but no one is there. My mother is gone. I hear a click to my left; I turn my head in fear to see the shadow of a jack-in-the-box. It begins playing a cold crooked melody for 20 seconds, then Jack pops out and sprays something in my face. I begin experiencing profound malaise and fatigue and, immediately, I pass out. As soon as I regain consciousness, I find myself in a massive flying chariot. The wind is so frigid that my face hurts. I am tied up in ropes and chains, and I see my mom in the chariot, too. She has frozen tears on her cheeks, and she is dressed entirely in white with a wedding veil. I look at my legs only to see that my legs have become shorter, and a green hat falls from my head. “Mom?” My voice has become more high-pitched like a toddler. She shushes me. The beast is holding us hostage and is taking us to an unknown location. It is at that time when I can fully see what the monster is. It is Santa Claus.