TV Show Review: Friends

Posted on January 11, 2023 by Czarina D.

Friends is a comedy television show that was first released in the 90’s, which shows the lives of six friends throughout its 10 seasons. The show was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman and composed of the six main characters Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Phoebe Buffay, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing, and Ross Geller.

Monica is considered as the “mother” of the friend group who likes to host occasions and parties since she has the passion of being a chef, and her best friend from childhood is Rachel, who is a fashion enthusiast and has an on-and-off relationship with Monica’s older brother named Ross throughout the series. Then Ross has a best friend, Chandler, who was his roommate during college, while their other friend named Joey became Chandler’s apartment roommate. Then Phoebe, who is my personal favorite character due to her free-spirited and eccentric characteristics, was Monica’s apartment roommate, but then later moved out, which led to Rachel moving into Monica’s apartment.

In the beginning of summer 2019, I decided to start watching Friends due to my friends’ recommendation. I finished watching the TV series after a month since I was hooked with its hilarious lines and story, and I could say that that month was full of laughs and cries. The show contains both sad and hilarious storylines from the characters’ personal lives to their experiences as a group all together. I really love their friendship in the show as it has unconditional love, bonding, and most especially, support. The show is also very relatable, especially to those people in their 20’s since it tackles the character’s work life and relationships.

To those people who really like comedy shows and movies, I highly recommend watching Friends. The show may be too long for some because it has 10 seasons, but if you want and need a good laugh, you should definitely add this show to your watch list.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special: Review

Posted on January 10, 2023 by Nicole R.

My brother is the real Marvel fan of the family, but my mom and I watched the holiday special of Guardians of the Galaxy with him anyway. Although I’ve missed a good amount of Marvel films and the ones I have seen I forgot a bit about, the premise of this special was very clear and easy to understand. I had fun with it; it was mostly a comedy and mainly just a cheerful holiday film.

Yondu, like the Grinch, ends up ruining Christmas for Peter Quill (not really). Set after Avengers endgame, Quill is sad without Gamora, Mantis makes up her mind to make Quill happy and to save his Christmas. In order to do that, she and Drax make their way to Earth to get a Christmas gift; the one and only Kevin Bacon. Mantis and Drax take a fun trip to Earth while also successfully capturing Kevin Bacon. Quill is however not too pleased with the idea of human trafficking. Despite having not been too thrilled to have been kidnapped and taken to space, Bacon decides that he’s going to teach Peter and the rest of the people on Knowhere what Christmas is and what it’s all about. In the end, Peter didn’t really need to meet Kevin Bacon to be happy, but instead he and Mantis just needed to learn a little about who they are.

I liked this special being only 44 minutes long; short and fun. It was mostly focused on Mantis and Drax, and I personally would have liked to see more of the other guardians but, Mantis and Drax are a great comedic duo and definitely had great moments. Despite being entertaining, some parts of the special were not what I expected and not my type of thing to watch. The middle of the film was pretty entertaining and the end was just as good. However, there were portions that were just not my kind of comedy and didn’t appeal to me, making me feel bored and awkward at some points. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out what audience they were trying to target, because some of the jokes and dialogue felt like they were for kids, but some scenes were more targeted towards teens. Even though there were some things I didn’t enjoy as much as others, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special is really just a simple, feel-good film, something that should just be a quick watch along with other holiday shows and movies, and something to enjoy with your family.

Overall, The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was fun to watch and had some good moments that got me to laugh, but it wasn’t my exact cup of tea when it comes to comedy. I still think it was enjoyable just not my type, but I would still encourage people to take a look at it and give it a try, because the acting is great, plot is nice and simple, and it is a good film to watch for the holiday season.

-Nicole R.

Book Review: Paraíso by Jacob Shores-Argüello

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Vaidehi B.

New Book: Paraiso by Jacob Shores-Arguello – Blog on the Hyphen

Paraíso by Jacob Shores-Argüello is a poignant book of poetry about loss and finding solace in culture. Argüello draws on his traditional Costa Rican background to reminisce on his childhood in the country and help him cope with the loss of his mother.

This book was a really digestible read, of only 20-some pages. The poems are short and use simple diction- easily understandable. Still, this does not detract from the depth and emotional meaning of the pieces- through just a couple dozen short poems, the reader is able to feel Argüello’s acute pain and grief. In addition, Argüello’s Costa Rican heritage makes several appearances and important contributions to the flow and character of the poems- which I, personally, found quite significant; in grief and pain, you must ultimately return to your roots to heal.

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick and simple yet still moving poetry read from an author of color!

-Vaidehi B.

Another Way

Posted on January 8, 2023 by Hannah

I know Mental Health awareness is everywhere. But there are still people out there struggling. Fighting for their life. It hurts to know many people feel there isn’t any way out. Well I am here to tell you there is. And to never give up on yourself. I know its hard to keep going, but it will be worth it! In the end you’ll be thankful you stayed. I promise. Life eventually turns around. It will take time. I just wanted to remind you that there’s always another way.

I wrote this prose for those who feel there’s no way out. Its called: “Still Here”.

Still Here

For those who may feel like life is meaningless. Or simply believe there is no point of living. I have a short story to share with you. To help remind myself and others on why we should keep going; I’m still here. I love many things. School is one of them. There I get a chance to be creative and free. Not many restrictions. I have lots of hope and dreams as I enter the building of what feels like a second home. Here I am away from the troubles and stress. Or some of it. But there was a time when life wasn’t getting anywhere. I felt nothing but hopeless. The world around and its people were drained of color. The sun was hidden away for decades. It was like someone powered out the lights and decided to not turn them back on. For the longest time. I was locked in this room. There was a window. Where the door should’ve been. I was alone. Barely standing on whatever I had left of me. I was chopped up and scattered into bits and pieces. I screamed relentlessly. Crying for help. Any help. Your help. His help. Nothing left my mouth. I could feel the tears rushing over me like a ton of waves crashing against the shore. I was underwater gasping for air. Screaming. Pleading for someone to notice. And they didn’t. Suddenly everything went black. No. The room shrank. So did its window. The walls continue to cave in. Please stop. All I need is for someone to help me. I don’t understand how I’ve gotten to this point. But I feel lost and unworthy. I can’t do this anymore. Nothing. The walls started to cave in once more. I kicked and screamed. The window wouldn’t open. It just didn’t crack. Go. Tell someone we need help. We must get out now before it’s too late. The window began to shrink. What’s wrong with you? You must want to die. Nothing but silence filled the empty room. What’s the point of staying? They didn’t want you in the first place. They can’t help you now. They can’t hear you. They can’t see you. The window now as small as a dot- opens. Just a crack. I swore I could hear the slightest whisper. I ran. Ran faster, Like that would help. I ran but I didn’t move. We’re still here. In the same place where we once began. Now screaming or so I thought. I begged for help. I could see myself. I could see people off in the void. Hey! I need help. Now would be great. I’m sorry to bother you but I can’t do this for much longer. They looked at me. Simply stared. Straight through me as if I wasn’t even there. Taking one look at me then moving on with the rest of their day. Not even a hi or hello. No acknowledgement that I was ever there. At that very moment the window slammed shut. No one there. But me. The window then shrank to nothing but to the point of disappearance. You were supposed to be there for me. I yelled repeatedly. Why? Why am I still here? My body sinking into a muddy puddle. The room with its walls smashing me into one another. I knew it. I told myself this was it. I had accepted the fact that if they didn’t care about me then why should I. I let myself spiral into whatever I’d become. Just as my head sank under. A door appeared. The faintest brown I’ve seen in years. In the corner of the four walls the door was creaked open. Everything around me stopped. I stopped sinking. I was able to get up. There was no snake wrapped around my neck. The sun was no longer hidden.

Pride and Prejudice book review

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Madison H.

Pride and Prejudice is not an easy read. It takes intense focus and dedication to complete any one of Jane Austen’s books. However, if you look deeper into the long words and confusing sentence structure, you’ll find a story like no other.

Jane Austen’s are some of the most brilliant characters I’ve had the pleasure to read about. Specifically Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the protagonists of Pride and Prejudice. The way their own flaws determined how they reacted to the situations they found themselves in, which lead to even more conflict, was done is such a masterful way. Not to mention the witty humor and conflicting personalities throughout the whole book. Even the side characters were full of depth, which is something I think is difficult to find in contemporary novels.

From a technical point of view, I loved the story structure. From the character development of both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, to the unexpected plot twists they faced. Pride and Prejudice is incredibly rich with literary gold. As someone who reads a lot of 19th century novels, I admit some have been dry. However I don’t believe this genre of literature should be given the blanket term of “boring” as it has by so many other teenagers. With this review, I hope to eliminate even a small portion of this stereotype, with Pride and Prejudice being one of the best examples.

I recommend this book to all teenagers, whether classic literature is their favorite genre or not. And if you’ve tried to read it before, I strongly suggest you try again. Within the pages of Pride and Prejudice, Austen has created a painting consisting of colors the world had never seen before. And perhaps will never see again.

“I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.”
-Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut

Posted on January 6, 2023 by Orod S.

From the moment you first begin reading Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut makes his distinctive voice and writing style very apparent. When I first picked up the book in the science fiction section, I expected to find a run of the mill sci-fi epic, but instead I found a book that I think is one of the most unique I have ever read.

It begins in Newport, Rhode Island at the renowned Rumfoord estate, where a crowd has gathered, as usual, to watch the materialization of a man and his dog. The crowd is denied access as always, but they continue to show up, as they hope for even the smallest of chances to witness this miracle. This miracle is the appearance of a man by the name of Winston Niles Rumfoord and his dog Kazak, which has happened once every 59 days, due to a mysterious concept Vonnegut has concisely named “Chrono-Synclastic Infundibulum”. This phenomenon stretches Winston and his dog Kazak out across all of space past present and future, making him extremely sought after as a sort of fortune teller who has almost absolute knowledge about the human race and their future as a civilization.

By giving Winston the ability to basically know everything at all times I think Vonnegut makes him a very interesting character, as his actions are the driving force in the story but the purpose behind them isn’t revealed at all until the very end. I would definitely say this makes him the most intriguing character in the book, because from different perspectives he can be seen as the protagonist, antagonist, or even an omnipotent third person at times.

The story begins when a man named Malachi Constant gets a rare invite to this materialization, and ends up on a grand tour of the solar system that Vonnegut uses to question the concepts of free will, friendship, and loneliness. Winston tells Malachi that him and Winston’s current wife Beatrice will fall in love, and end up living out their final days on Titan, Saturn’s largest moon. Malachi and Beatrice’s absolute refusal of their fate and the futility of their actions in the end makes a powerful point about free will, and the progression of these two characters also give the reader insights into Vonnegut’s opinion on loneliness and friendship.

Personally, I really liked this book, because the plot is very unconventional, and Vonnegut’s vision of space and the story he writes are both extremely imaginative. The book also frequently employs the use of satirical and dark humor, which I thought was pretty fitting with the tone of the book as a whole. However, because of the unconventional plot structure of the book the writing can come across as a bit hard to follow, as the story is not made entirely clear until the very end and at many times the setting and focus of the book completely shifts out of nowhere.

Overall, I think this book is worth reading for anyone who is interested in sci-fi used as a medium for a greater message, such as the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey or the Dune Series by Frank Herbert, but also for anyone who wants to try something new or wants a unique and interesting read.

Album Review: Disintegration by The Cure

Posted on January 5, 2023 by Zachary B

I am not a big fan of the popular music of the 1980s. However, the Cure has to be one of my favorite bands of all time. With frontman Robert Smith, the band’s music went through many phases from the dreary, borderline gothic “dark trilogy” of the early 1980s to its poppy phase in the mid-80s to a middle ground in the early-90s. Between the later two phases, we find the album Disintegration, a beautiful work of art.

Disintegration represented a return to the Cure’s “goth” phase from the early-80s with Robert Smith having fallen into a depression not long before the making of the album. The album has songs with somewhat long, yet stunning instrumental openings. Out of all the songs on the album, “Pictures of You” and “Lovesong” are my favorites.

“Pictures of You”, like many songs off of Disintegration, starts with a lengthy slow, instrumental opening. It’s a beautiful one either way. This beauty is amplified by Robert Smith’s unique voice which tells us a tale of love. A happy sadness looms over the song, but it’s a good one. “Lovesong” is similar to “Pictures of You” in this regard, although it is more melancholic in my opinion. The song’s 30 second long instrumental opening sets the stage for Robert Smith to show his love which he does in a beautiful fashion.

Nearly everything about Disintegration is perfect. The production is great, the singing is incredible, and the band was playing better than ever at the time of the recording of Disintegration. It’s a 9/10 and would be a 10 if some of the songs didn’t sound somewhat similar. Check it out. It’s the perfect album to listen to while doing homework on a rainy day.

Subnautica

Posted on January 4, 2023 by Torres H.

Subnautica is a survival game that takes place on an alien planet called 4546B. The planet is covered almost 100% with either shallow or very deep ocean. This amazing game contains many different types of fauna, flora, and locations for you to discover.

It is the late 22nd century, and humans have began to colonize space. The Aurora, the large spaceship you are on, was assigned a mission to construct a phasegate for hyperspeed space travel. While performing a slingshot maneuver around planet 4546B, the Aurora experiences a large energy pulse (basically a laser beam) coming from a mysterious source within the planet. Only half of the 50 lifepods aboard launched, as the other half were completely destroyed. 9 of the 25 lifepods launched made it to the planet, but only one was undamaged. You are the one in that lifepod.

With the backstory out of the way, now lets talk about the game content. After landing in your lifepod, you have to immediately find resources on a planet you are unfamiliar with in order to survive. You can craft many different things with one machine due to the insane technology they have in the 22nd century. In some point in the game, you will receive radio S.O.S. signals from the other 8 lifepods, but by the time you get to the pod, the survivors have already been killed by the planet’s creatures.

In the game, you can craft submarines that aid in you in going deeper into the ocean, which is one of my favorite aspects of this game. However, my absolute favorited thing about this game would be the biology/ecology within it. There are vast biomes that contain many unique creatures and plants that has specifically adapted to that biome for them to survive, from things like fins for them to swim faster, to plants removing pigments due to the lack of nutrients in an area.

Now you may be asking: How do you escape the planet and go back home? Well, you’re going to have to play the game on your own to find out 🙂

I simply cannot tell you every single little thing about the game in this one article because there are just way too many. But there are many different lores and aspects to the story I didn’t cover, so I 100% recommend you to try this game on your own, especially if survival games are your type of thing.

-Torres H.

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Animated Movies

Posted on January 3, 2023 by Chloe C.

Many people know the hit book series Diary of a Wimpy Kid, written by Jeff Kinney. It’s a cult classic among playgrounds and elementary schools alike. Chances are that you, yourself, have read at least one of these books.

Then, in 2010, the first live-action adaptation came out. Grossing over 76 million dollars, it became a hit, spawning two more movies soon afterwards. There was also The Long Haul of 2017, but we’re not going to speak of that. Instead, I would like to focus on our star, Greg Heffley’s, newest adventure.

The animated movies.

It started on December 3rd, 2021. The movie had been teased for a while beforehand, but it was that simple day that the world saw its true colors.

The movie follows the same general plot of the first book, as our protagonist, Greg, makes his way through his first year of middle school. Greg is a scrawny, “wimpy” kid (hence the name of the book series), looking to ascend the ranks of the school hierarchy. With his best friend Rowley by his side, plenty of wacky antics ensue. Sounds fine, right?

Until you actually watch it.

For some, these movies were seen as cheap ways to make more money off of a well-known brand. Many find the animation to be a significant step-down from most content of Disney+, where the movies are available. With the first one standing just under an hour, and the second one just over, people have suggested that maybe it should have been a short film, or even a TV show. I personally am happy with any new addition to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid universe, but I can see where many people are coming from with their critiques. What do you think?

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Posted on January 2, 2023 by Nicole R.

The Help by Katheryn Stockett was the first book I had to read when I entered my freshman year. They gave it out as a summer reading assignment and now, we’ve been doing essays and connecting it to other stories we’re reading.

The Help is a historical fiction novel, and is set in the 1960’s in Mississippi. Skeeter, a young woman straight out of college who aspires to be a writer, begins to interview and befriend the black women of her town in order to write about their lives in hopes to help them and show what they go through and the racism they face. Aibileen and Minny, two black women who work as the help, or housekeepers, in the town are the first two that Skeeter interviews and befriends. Despite their differences in society, they each work together to get other black women to help and create their book. As the story goes on, these three grow and learn more about themselves and others around them.

The book is told through three different perspectives. First is Aibileen, a black woman that is the help, or the housekeeper, of one of Skeeter’s friends. She is a hard worker and has been working for a long time as a help. She is kind and is the first person to help Skeeter write her book. Minny is another black woman who is Aibileen’s friend and the help of another one of Skeeter’s friends. Minny is stubborn and hot headed. She takes much more convincing than Aibileen to help with Skeeter’s book due to her distrust in white people, but she eventually comes around as the story goes on. Skeeter on the other hand, is a white woman, young and aspires to become a writer, despite what other people’s views of her are.

This book was a fun read, despite having to write and take assessments on it. To be honest, I had fun writing essays on this book because I understood the story and the characters even more. Skeeter was one of my favorite characters. She broke the society norms, had her own dreams and goals, and really grew throughout the story. Two other characters I enjoyed reading were Celia and Johnny. Celia was Minny’s boss and Johnny was Celia’s husband. They were immediately different from all the other characters. Despite the time period and the fact they were white, they didn’t mistreat Minny and really cared for her. Like Skeeter, they were kind and weren’t racist like many of the other white people in their town. Treating others with human decency is a pretty low bar, but considering the time period, this is a pretty important and unusual thing to see. I’m glad Stockett included these characters, otherwise, it would have been very difficult to read this book.

The plot overall was really good; each character had their own story and path with their own aspirations, needs, and problems. Aibileen has lost her own son and wants to teach young kids the right things while taking care of them, but also wants to become free to live her own life. Minny wants to care for her own children; wants them to have a good life. Skeeter wants to pursue her dreams although society is against her. Each character has their own set of issues they must overcome and their own story to complete while also creating their own story together, both within the story and plot wise.

The Help is a great book and would be a book I’d recommend if you were looking for one in this genre. Historical fiction is definitely one of my favorite genres but I’m sure that even if it wasn’t one of your favorites, it could still be a fun read.