Deadpool and Wolverine

Posted on by
Reply

I just went out to watch the Deadpool and Wolverine movie and I’ve got to say, I haven’t been this happy after a movie since Guardians and the Galaxy 3. It was an incredible movie that I fully enjoyed despite having never seen either of the two Deadpool movies or any of the X-Men movies.

The movie starts on Wade Wilson’s birthday after having given up his crime fighting career and has begun living the mundane life in trying to make something of himself. On that day, he is captured by the Time Variance Authority (TVA) and is informed that his world is going to be destroyed. He wants to try and save his timeline from getting destroyed, but he can’t do it alone. He finds that the only person who can help him is Wolverine, so Wade hops throughout the multiverse to find a Wolverine. Together, they do their best to find a way home and save the world.

This movie was the best thing I’ve watched in a while. I haven’t felt so happy during and after watching it. I loved the jokes and fourth wall breaking that the Deadpool franchise is ultimately known for. I really laughed out loud in the theater with my friends as I watched, seeing the visual comedy and well timed cutscenes. There were also plenty of small, continued motifs that were sprinkled throughout the film that were fun to hear repeated. But while it was funny, the movie was also pretty heartfelt with some good character faults and issues. There were a lot of introspective scenes for both Deadpool and Wolverine which I found really interesting to see what they felt and how they overcame it all, even though they both could fight it off really easily. I really loved seeing how they came together and connected to each other, despite their disagreements and violent behaviors towards each other. 

Another thing about this movie was that the music choices were spectacular. It starred “Bye Bye Bye” from NSYNC, “Like a Prayer” by Madonna, and “You’re the One that I Want” from Grease; just to name a few. The music enhanced the movie so much more as it played throughout intense scenes. It made it feel so much cooler as it left me vibing and even feeling chills by the end. While the songs were fire, the awesome celebrity cameos this movie had were just as great. There were so many characters in this movie that allowed for even more fourth wall jokes and helped to keep the story entertaining. While they weren’t there for most of the movie, most were important to the plot and made the movie even more fun than if it were just Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman (who are amazing on their own too).

Overall, the Deadpool and Wolverine movie was amazing. Everything about it was really enjoyable, but it definitely earns its mature rating with some of the jokes told and body horror on screen. This movie had me hooked and really gave me a fun time, laughing along and smiling happily. This movie is great even for those who haven’t seen previous Marvel movies in the chronological timeline. I would definitely recommend this movie to comedy lovers who are old enough to understand the jokes and who are looking for a good time.

-Nicole R.

The First Ladies By: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray

Posted on by
1

The First Ladies tells the story of two strong women in the 1900s: Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt. Mary born to formerly enslaved parents believed in the importance of education, as a result, she established a school for African American girls in Florida. In addition, she marches as an activist and educator and soon she grows into a celebrity and draws the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt. Drawn together by belief in the power of education, civil rights, and women’s rights. They begin to fight for change together after Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected as president of the U.S. Beginning a campaign of equality and justice these two women find themselves closer than ever. Eleanor quickly begins to formulate her own agenda away from her husband’s after discovering he has been having an affair. Quickly being considered a controversial First Lady due to her outspokenness for the issues she believes in. In response to her actions, she begins to receive death threats from those opposing her views.

I really like this book it combines drama and historical fiction which are two of my favorite genres. I also like how it really focused on how unique the friendship between these two women was, I thought it added a lot of depth. Another thing that I felt was very creative in this book was the switching of point of view, which gave a clear view of what the main characters were feeling and thinking. I also liked the fact that it was a fictionalized account of the real-life friendship between these two women. I have also read another of the author’s books, The Personal Librarian which was also really good so if you end up reading this one you should check it out.

Thank you for reading and Happy Reading!

The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Why Didi was not that great

Posted on by
Reply

I went to watch Didi in the theaters the day it released because I was extremely excited to watch a coming of age film that was centered around the Asian-American experience. However, I left feeling disappointed at the lack of emphasis in relationships.

The blurb for this movie on Letterboxd describes it as an impressionable 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom. Not only did he not learn to skate, flirt, he barely had a relationship with his mom who wrapped the movie up with a monologue that felt like the director wanted to have as much as an impact as Everything Everywhere all at Once did, but it was so badly written I was in awe when I opened imdb to find that it had a higher Rotten Tomatoes score than Everything Everywhere all at Once, albeit, with a much lower watch rate.

With classic coming to age stories like The Perks of being a Wallflower, Dead Poets Society, and Lady Bird, they center around relationships with siblings, parents, teachers, or peers their age. Watching Didi, I felt like all the relationships were superficial and it barely hit the rubric not only in depth but in creativity. Sean Wang had a great product to work with: Asian-American coming to age about self identity with being ashamed of culture or something along those lines and maybe I subconsciously was hoping for something similar to the graphic novel American Born Chinese. Only a few movies and stories come to mind that are able to hit that rubric where it becomes a staple for American Asians and conjoin the community over this representation. Now, just because the cast is entirely Asian does not mean the focus of the story needs to be about the Asian American experience but the topic was touched once and then never brought up again which felt like a cheat in my opinion. I understand why people like this film but again, everything was so sped up and topics were brushed by without saying anything of value.

Album Review: Pure Heroine

Posted on by
Reply

Pure Heroine is the first album by New Zealand singer-songwriter, Lorde. With the eleventh-year anniversary of the record passing, I thought it would be cool to revisit this project. This album is unique for a pop album because it is not about love. Instead, Pure Heroine dives into topics like friendship, and growing up. Here are some standout tracks:

Royals: The radio hit from this record and the song that propelled Lorde into fame, “Royals” is an extremely well-written song about being a teen and not having the kind of money or problems that celebrities have. The instrumental consists of heavy snaps and layered backing vocals. It is a surprise that this song became so successful considering it came out during a time when Katy Perry’s love anthems ruled the radio. “Royals”, lyrically is the complete opposite and has a more laid-back and simple kind of production. 

Buzzcut Season: A truly endearing song about friendship and summer memories. The production includes a bright, almost hopeful-sounding keyboard. She sings about enjoying her life with her friends and making exciting memories, but at the end, it takes a sad turn as she says “I live in a hologram with you” explaining how now the fun times are over, and they will never be the same as they were.

Ribs: Possibly her most popular song on Spotify right now, “Ribs” is an endearing ballad about growing up. The song starts off with beautiful vocals being sung, which eventually form into the beat. The song reminisces about the good times of just laughing with your friends “until your ribs get tough”. As someone who is growing up right now, I found it to be a very relatable and interesting view on aging.

Glory and Gore: This song is a personal favorite of mine. The idea of “Glory and Gore go hand in hand” is very interesting. This is a great metaphor for fame as the benefits and the pains are often intertwined. The production continues in the same laid-back approach as the rest of the album but has this siren kind of sound in the second half. Her shouty vocals in the chorus add a catchy element to the song. 

Overall this is a fantastic record that really shaped the songwriter of artists in the years to come. While Lorde has not released many albums, Pure Heroine definitely has some incredible songs. I hope you enjoyed this album as much as I did.

No-bake banana coconut truffles

Posted on by
1

When I went to Argentina (a country in South America) to visit relatives my cousin brought these truffles and shared the recipe. I have eaten them ever since! They are easy to prepare, full of protein, and overall delicious! As well as a perfect school snack, these truffles do not melt and require few ingredients! I hope you enjoy these yummy treats as much as I did! 😋

Ingredients:

2 mashed bananas

1/2 cup peanut butter

3 tblsp cocoa powder

1-11/2 cups shredded coconut + 1/2 cup shredded coconut for coating

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 tblsp chia seeds

3 tblsp honey (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Mix all ingredients into a bowl. If your mixture has too much banana add more coconut to even it out.
  2. Let the bowl chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.
  3. Once the mixture is ready, place the extra shredded coconut onto a small plate.
  4. Scoop mixture with your hands and form small balls. Roll them in the coconut until they are fully covered. Repeat rolling them in coconut until all the mixture is gone.
  5. Leave refrigerated until eaten.

If you are allergic to peanut butter, try using almond butter or any other nut butter. The honey is optional, and the walnuts are recommended. One of my favorite ways to eat these truffles are with smoothies. I also like to eat them as deserts after meals. This helps promote healthier eating habits.

I hope you enjoy the truffles!

What did you think of this recipe? Leave your comments below!

Hobbies To Try Before You Graduate

Posted on by
Reply
  1. Start a side project: Sometimes time can get too busy, but it’s also important to support your hobbies and interests. A small side project can help you with this and cater to your interests.
  2. Join a club: It’s not too late to get involved or try something new on school campus. Joining a club can help you reconnect and meet others, so don’t be afraid or regret that you should have joined earlier. Joining right now can also be the perfect time.
  3. Playing games with friends and family: It could be simple board, card, word, or even video games. It’s best to make the most of the time you have together.
  4. Attending events: All schools have events like school dances and spirit weeks, but a lot of cities also organize events for residents. Check out the local events around you to reconnect with your community.
  5. Writing: Maybe it’s a letter to your future self in ten years. Maybe it’s a diary or a scrapbook that you can look back on to remember old memories. Either way it’s sure to bring nostalgia back to your future self.
  6. Cooking: It’s one of the most useful life skills to learn before graduation, and it’s also rewarding to eat and see your recipes come to life.
  7. Exploring different cuisines: There are countless different cultures out there, so why not take the time to explore them all? You can learn how to cook them (like in #5) or you could also explore and support local, small businesses.
  8. Learn a new talent: There’s always something, no matter how small, that you want to learn. It could be a magic trick, photography, drawing, literally anything! Learning a new skill can truly bring out a passion of yours that you didn’t know.
  9. Go somewhere new with your friends: Instead of just sticking to the usual campus and hang-out areas, explore or travel somewhere different and fun.
  10. Something new!!!: It could be small; it could be big. Sometimes just trying, despite what fears you may have, is the best way to go.

Ground Zero Novel Report

Posted on by
Reply

Ground Zero is a book with heart pounding action from start to finish, written by none other than the award winning author Alan Gratz, who has written many other bestsellers including Refugee, Code of Honor, and much more.

The story of Ground Zero follows the lives of Brandon, a 9 year old 9/11 survivor living in Manhattan. It also follows the life of Reshmina, an 11 year old living in rural Afghanistan in 2019, whose village is devastated by war and chaos.

One morning, Brandon is suspended from school so he goes with his father to the World Trade Center, where he works. For a while, everything is going just fine. Then a plane strikes the building. Everybody goes into a panic trying to escape. But the plane crash separated Brandon and his father, and Brandon courageously travels up the building to find his dad, but will he succeed?

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, lives Reshmina and her family. Unfortunately for the village, American and Terrorist armies are at war in Afghanistan because of the 9/11 attack. One day, a battle takes place close to the village, and Reshmina stumbles upon a wounded American soldier from the battle. Reshmina learns that the soldier was blinded from the battle, and she reluctantly takes the soldier home… But what will happen next?

Gratz connects the dots between these two stories and intertwines them brilliantly throughout the entire novel, turning two small stories in to one amazingly crafted story with many revelations by the end.

I would recommend Ground Zero to any readers who have a passion for action packed and thrilling novels or to anyone who enjoys historic stories based on real events. If you want to read more about how Brandon and Reshmina’s stories unravel, then I would highly suggest purchasing and reading this amazing piece of literature.

Ground Zero by Alan Gratz is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Suspense Journal/ Short Story #1

Posted on by
1

Okay just for an explanation, my English teacher last year made my class do this game where we wrote a short story in the span of 5 minutes. I liked the game so much I started doing it for fun. I’m starting with the suspense genre. My first suspense tool that I’m using is isolated setting:

It was well past midnight and Chris was sitting in his apartment living room.

The images scattered across the floor still made no sense to him. His eyelids struggled to stay up as he stared at the seemingly impossible to solve puzzle. It was eerily quiet, which scared Chris more than he would like to admit.

Then a faint ticking noise started coming from his dining room. Adrenaline pumped through as he began to imagine all the things that could’ve created the noise. His heart pounded in his chest. Chris’s parents always swore that it got easier but, with his nerves, living alone would always seem to be scary, especially at night. He knew better than to say anything. Whenever he had watched horror movies with his friends he always thought it was funny when the main character said, “Hello?” as if the thing that is trying to kill them would answer.

He slowly stood up, heart racing, and took small, quiet steps until he reached the kitchen. The noise grew louder and louder with each step he took. He reached his shaking hand to the light switch and pressed it as silently as he could. The ticking noise seemed to grow louder than a car horn. The lights filled the dining room and there was… nothing. Nothing except a small envelope that was tucked away into a cupboard, the corner peeking out. He crossed the room, looking around with paranoia. He picked the opened the envelope and read it quickly. It said, “Can you find me?” with a small cartoonish picture of a clock at the bottom corner. The ticking noise filled the whole room and Chris covered his ears.

Although I wanted to continue the time did run out and this is where Chris’s story ends.

Gleanings For the Hungry

Posted on by
Reply

Imagine being followed by the scent of peaches everywhere you went. That’s what it was like serving at Gleanings for the Hungry, a Christian volunteer camp in Central California. Their main goal is to feed both the physically and spiritually hungry through shipments of dried peaches and nectarines. These are distributed to poverty countries all over the world, along with excerpts of the Bible.

Our youth group went there in July. It was a 6 hour drive, and we would be spending 6 days there although it was open all summer. When we got there, I was immediately hit with the sulfurous fumes from their plant. The weather was oppressively hot, maintaining an average of 110 degrees all day.

We got settled into our cabins, which were separated by gender. Inside were 10 pairs of bunk beds, and we would be sharing with the other churches and families. Soon after, we went to the dining building to get an overview of how our day would be like. At 5 am, we would do 1 hour of field work before the sun came up. Then, we would work in 4 shifts of 2 hours in the plant, turning peaches for the machines and sorting out the bad ones. In total, 9 hours of work a day.

My week went exactly like that. Every day, we got up early to work our shifts, taking breaks in between to eat lunch or snack. After we were completely finished with the work shifts, we cleaned ourselves up. Everybody was splattered in juice and chunks of nectarine. Crickets hopped around the bathrooms.

After work, we had free time. We happened to be at Gleanings during National Slurpee Day at 7/11, so we drove there to get free slurpees. Other days, I mostly spent time in the game room, bonding with members from the other churches. There was pool, ping pong, and card games. You could go out to the volleyball and basketball courts to challenge your friends, or go swimming in the pool. Or, you could walk around the plot of land, hiking up the surrounding hills to see the view of the far away city. Towards the end of the day, we had dinner and chapel. I got to hear amazing testimonies from some of the Gleanings’ staff.

In total, Gleanings was a blessed experience. It was the subversion of my expectations that made the experience all the more worthwhile. I thought we would be exhausted and irritable after all our work. Not to be mistaken, we were exhausted, but our smiles were as bright as the sun.

If you’re planning on going, I highly recommend it. Especially if you’re on the fence about Christianity or you’re looking for a good service opportunity. Just remember to pack clothes you’re not attached to. After Gleanings, those clothes are not recovering.

Earn Community Service Hours!

Posted on by
Reply

Looking to earn more community service hours? Join us this Tuesday for Teen Volunteer Club!

We’ll be meeting in the children’s area of the library from 6-8 pm. This month’s activity is helping prepare materials for the seed library.

This group is open to teens in grades 7-12 and meets on the second Tuesday of the month. No registration, application, or training required.

See you there!