Out of all the English groups of the 1980s, very few are as fascinating to me as Siouxsie and the Banshees. Originally associated with London’s punk scene in the late-1970s, the band, led by frontwoman Siouxsie Sioux, became one of the leading post-punk bands of the era. They would release Juju, a gothic masterpiece, in 1981. Juju has to be their best album and a personal favorite of mine.
The album cover of Juju
Juju, like The Scream and Kaleidoscope, is a product of the English post-punk movement with its tracks featuring a prominent bass line. Unlike The Scream, the guitar in Juju isn’t nearly as abrasive (though it has its moments that’d put a smile on John McKay’s face) and unlike Kaleidoscope, synthesizers take the backseat in this album. My favorite song from the album has to be “Spellbound”.
“Spellbound” is a post-punk marvel. Featuring John McGeoch on guitar, this track is truly exhilarating. McGeoch’s electric and acoustic guitar playing really makes this track unique. The acoustic guitar in particular sounds extremely fresh, even after the 10,000th listen.
Juju definitely is one of the best gothic albums out there and a peak of the post-punk movement. Its influences on the band’s contemporaries cannot be understated. I’d rate it a 9/10. It’s great. Give it a go.
The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is a Japanese animated series that aired its first episode in 2016. The series is about Saiki, a high school student who possesses psychic abilities, but chooses to live a normal life while trying to hide his supernatural power from all the people around him, especially his friends and classmates.
I really liked the animation style of this series and most especially its characters, which are very well-made. The voice actors did such great jobs, although there are certain parts wherein the dialogues are quite fast, which some people dislike, but in my opinion, it is still certainly understandable, and you would not get lost watching any episode. The series contains a lot of witty and funny jokes that did not fail to make me laugh. Whenever I watch an episode, I will always have a good laugh because each character is comedic and has their own way of being funny.
I think that The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. is an underrated anime series, thus I hope that a lot more people will discover the show so that it will get the recognition it deserves. If you have always been interested in animated shows and/or movies and you have not tried watching this, you should definitely start watching, and you will not regret it! While for those who have never tried watching animated shows, I encourage you to explore and give it a shot!
The amazing game of Subnautica is marketed as an underwater survival/adventure game. However, there is another aspect within the game that is not listed: Horror. Horror is an essential component of making Subnautica what it is.
Now, Subnautica does not use jumpscares, or blood and guts like you would expect in any other horror game. Instead, Subnautica uses a few aspects that i will talk and elaborate on.
The first aspect i would like to talk about is the fear of the unknown. The game just dumps you straight into a alien planet you are unfamiliar with right from the beginning. Phychological research has proven that humans have a strong tendency to repel things that they are not familiar with, and sticks with the things they are. This unknown planet aspect causes the player to have thoughts about dangerous creatures they don’t know about that wants to kill them.
The second aspect would be progression. In the game, you have to visit specific points on the map in order to progress further into the game. When you go to the locations, you will already be overwhelmed by the fear of the unknown, but to add to that fear, the developers of the game decides to put the most dangerous creatures in the entire game patrolling the places that you are forced to go to in order to progress further into the story. This will give you a feeling that there is always something big and dangerous chasing you, no matter where you go.
The third aspect is thalassophobia. If you don’t know what that is, it is the intense fear of large, and deep oceans. This aspect kind of overlaps with the fear of the unknown, but it also has some characteristics of its own. For example, if you’re swimming in an ocean on Earth, you can say that there may be a few fishes underneath you, or maybe a few sharks (no biggie right?), but you can be pretty sure there WILL NOT be a giant 100 meter long leviathan swimming in the same waters as you. But on an alien planet? Who knows what will be in the water?
The fourth and last aspect i will elaborate on is ambeince and sound design. It is common knowledge that the deeper you go in the water, the less light there will be, and in Subnautica, you are required to go deeper in order to progress. Now imagine this: You are 900 meters below the surface, your oxygen is running low and you are trapped in an seemingly endless void of dark waters, trying to find your orientation and your submarine. You hear a roar in the distance. You look around, attempting to find the source or the roar, but only to find nothing but pitch blackness. Words cannot describe the amount of fear and panic you would be in. Adding to that scenario, a creepy soundtrack of ambience voices, and faint clicks starts playing. Subnautica has tons of different soundtracks, and theyu are unique to every biome, reflecting the amount of threat the biome posseses. For example, in a safer area, the music would be light, peaceful, and happy. But when ytou start to go into a more dangeorus area, the music wil change into a creepy, and mysterious white background noise.
Obviously, these four aspects i have listed are not the only ones. There are many more that are designed to play with your mind, and to bring fear into you. A beginner player may be absolutely overwhelmed by fear, and may be tempted to delete the game, or try to forget about the game (that’s what i almost did haha), but if you keep playing, you will soon learn to overcome and look past the fear. Once you do that, you will see the true beauties this mysterious planet has to offer.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is a work of historical fiction. Achebe uses his Nigerian heritage and culture to give a view a dramatically different different view of Africa compared to the single sided narrative composed of stereotypes at the time.
This book was a very easy read, with about 200 pages. The book is broken up into three section and each chapter is very short and digestible. The best part about this book is Achebe’s ability to carry the reader into this completely different culture, showing them the laws, traditions, and religion of the Nigerian people post colonialism. This book is a true tragedy which follows not only the main characters story but those of an entire culture whose lives are flipped upside down with the arrival of the British.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a easy book that they could pick up in their spare time. I would also recommend this book to anyone who has any interest in African society and culture as it really does a great job of immersing the reader into African tribal culture. If you are into happy ending story this book might not be for you but it still is a well written and moving book you should give a try.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.
You’ve probably heard of Pokemon cards, and maybe even Magic Cards, but have you heard of sports cards? Sports cards are trading cards that represent the players in major sports leagues, like the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and more. Some card collections also feature players from college.
Since my favorite sports are football and basketball, I enjoy collecting NFL and NBA cards. For about 6-7 years now, I’ve been collecting cards and creating a massive collection.
For the people who are beginners to card collecting, just know that to get valuable cards, you don’t need to purchase really expensive packs. Even a simple $5-7 pack of 15-40 cards can be enough to help you pull a valuable card. Card collecting is pure luck, and you need to be prepared for the outstanding packs with the top players as well as the terrible packs filled with only duplicates of the cards you already have.
For NBA cards, there are a few that come to mind when thinking of my favorite brands. Each card brand has it’s own strengths and a completely different look from other brands. One of my favorite NBA brands is Illusions, which has a really special, interesting look to it. Another card brand I like is called Revolution, but it is harder to find. Those 2 brands feature a lot of nice quality cards, but sometimes don’t offer many cards in packs. If you’re looking for quantity over quality, I suggest buying NBA Hoops cards. NBA Hoops cards have simpler designs, but usually give a good amount of cards for the price you pay. There are many more brands that produce amazing cards that I like, such as Prizm and Optic.
Moving on, there are some NFL card brands that I enjoy opening packs of, too. If I’m opening for the quantity of cards instead of rarity, I would probably choose to get Prestige or Scorecards. Prestige cards have a simple design, but there is a special Heroes Collection that can give you some epic cards if you get lucky. These Heroes cards make the player look like a comic book character, adding some variety to the Prestige packs. Also, Score cards are really good for quantity and they also provide different types of cards. In a pack, the majority of the cards are base cards, but there are also extra collections like Celebration, Potential, Sack Attack, Toe The Line, and Hot Rookies. A few Celebration, Potential, and Sack Attack cards come out of every pack, but Toe The Line and Hot Rookie cards are harder to come by. Also, Select is another card brand, but I suggest buying it if you are looking for quality over quantity since it can be pricier than the other options I listed.
Before you start collecting, there are a few more things I need to tell you. Rookie cards, indicated with an RC symbol on the card, are more valuable because they can only be pulled during the player’s rookie season. These rookie cards tend to be more valuable, especially if they are of a great player. Whenever you get a rookie card, hold on to it (don’t trade it) because you never know what its value will be when the player’s career is over. Some players don’t stand out until their 3rd or 4th season, so you should be careful about your rookie cards. In addition, to check the value of your cards, you can visit the website sportscardspro.com. The website shows the former purchases of cards, so you can see what your card goes for. If your friends also collect cards, you can trade with them to grow your collection.
Finally, I hope this post gave you some more knowledge about sports cards and hopefully you’re ready to start your own collection now! If you start collecting, I suggest purchasing a binder and some card binder sheets to keep your cards in a safe location. This will protect the card from losing value (bent corners, scratches). Happy collecting!
This series is the first fantasy series that I read after I was able to finish my classical reading that was required for high school. I simply just wanted a quick and easy-to-read fantasy book to get back into reading the genre, and I was so glad I picked this series.
Simply put, the series revolves around a paranormal romance between two main characters, Grace and Jaxon which eventually leads them on a mission to save the world pretty much. Yes, it is one of those books that are pretty vanilla, but is still entertaining if you’re look for something to get your hands on really quick.
The first book starts with Grace starting a boarding school at Katmere Academy after her parents died in a car accident about six months ago. Her Uncle Finn is the principal of the school and Macy, her cousin, also attends there as well. Not even after a day at Katmere, strange accidents keep occurring and they are all targeted at her! However, as Jaxon, a boy with a mysterious and aloof aura around him keeps saving her, a romance suddenly sparks.
Later on in the series, she finds out what she truly is and why she is being targeted by all the paranormal creatures. There are also pretty major plot twists that you wouldn’t think are coming and honestly I was even surprised by some of them considering the amount of fantasy books I read!
Honestly, what I liked most about the book is the modernness of it all. It really relates to me because they include many of the famous TV shows, singers, actors that made it quite interesting. Grace is also a funny but brave character and makes many jokes along the way that are pretty amusing. I finished the first book in about two days and the second one in about three. I haven’t finished the third one yet, but there is looking to be a big plot twist up ahead so we’ll see!
This series probably should be for ages 14 and above since there are uses of cuss language and some minimal violence here and there.
– Aleena C.
Crave by Tracy Wolff is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.
Last year, I asked a friend to give me some music recommendations. One artist he recommended I look into was Thundercat. Thundercat is a bassist, collaborating with many artists from Gorillaz to Kendrick Lamar. I decided to check out his most recent (and popular) album It Is What It Is. It blew my socks off.
The album cover of It Is What It Is
The album consists of 15 songs and lasts for around 37 minutes. The songs themselves are definitely on the shorter side, not that it’s a bad thing. It Is What It Is can be described as jazz meets R&B with a bit of electronica joining the mix. The bass is incredible which it should be, considering Thundercat’s a bassist. My favorite track has to be “Funny Thing”
“Funny Thing” might just clock in at right under 2 minutes but it’s a very cool song. The bass is very playful and so are the lyrics, describing the peak of a party. It is also a very spacey song with it having an ethereal feel to it. Not only is it my favorite Thundercat song but it’s his most popular too, with “Funny Thing” currently having around 138 million streams on Spotify. This album was definitely something I didn’t expect to sound the way it sounded. The jazzy, spacey vibe it gave off was incredible. I give it a 9/10, with It Is What It Is being one of my favorite albums that I’ve recently listened to. Give it a go. It’s 100% worth it.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath revolves around the story of Esther Greenwood, a young college student who dreams of a bright future as a poet. During a summer internship in New York, Esther is held back in pursuing her dreams as she struggles with identity and societal expectations. The reader is give a deep look at her mental processes as she slowly falls into a suicidal state. In other words, Esther is stuck in a “bell jar” of her own thoughts, where she feels as if she is unable to connect with the world around her.
The most impactful aspect of this novel would be the overall message it shares to its audience on the struggles faced by those with clinical depression. Esther’s narration is given through elaborate imagery and effective analogies, causing the audience to both pity and understand the situation she is going through to a much greater extent. Additionally, Plath’s subtle comments on the societal pressure put on women in the 60s further adds to the complexity of the novel.
Overall, I would recommend this book to most people as it is both beautifully written and very eye-opening. However, I would remain cautious of some potentially triggering material such as mentions of suicide.
-Aysha H.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.
Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice 