What we like this week that you should, too!

Georgia Bulldogs

College football season is here! It’s time for tailgating, cookouts, college gameday on TV, and sweatshirts on chilly mornings. This is the best time of year. I don’t know why I like college football so much. Maybe because I grew up watching it, tailgating, and watching the games religiously every Saturday. Whatever it is, these games have a sense of home to them, even though I’m not in college yet. Georgia is ranked #1 again this year, and they will stay #1 because they are the best team in football. If you live in Georgia and don’t cheer for the bulldogs, what’s even..? I’m sorry, what?! My mind can’t comprehend that. Georgia won their first game this past Saturday against Clemson (#14) 34-3. Even though the NFL may be more mainstream, college football just feels different, like the immaturity of college boys just makes the game better. I won’t tell you who to cheer for (even though Georgia is the right answer), but I will say, never ever EVER cheer for Alabama. -Ellie Owens

PURCHASES

Heatless Hair Curler

I have always wanted more interesting hair. I tried bangs, but they were hard to manage. I gave up on my hair for a while, deciding that I was never going to have the voluminous, luscious hair that I once thought possible. That was until I stumbled into Ulta and purchased a heatless hair curler. Now, I spend my evenings wrapping my hair around the satin rod as I watch “Only Murders in the Building”; a brilliant combination. I wake up and delightfully spray my hair with hairspray, leaving me with wavy or curly hair. I have not yet mastered the art of the heatless hair curler, getting my hair to the level of curl that I desire; however, I am optimistic that this new hair device is the key to solving all of my hair-related problems. – Finley Malone

French press coffee maker

Right about the time the Covid-19 pandemic hit, our automatic drip coffee maker died. It had a good run. But a few years earlier, my mother-in-law bought a French press coffee maker for us after she read that it made better coffee than drip machines. But why change when our dripper was working? We didn’t until we did, and it is impossible to go back now. What we thought was going to be a task each morning to clean out the small ceramic pitcher, pour three scoops of coffee grounds into, boil water in an electric kettle and then put a lid on until ready to press the grounds to the bottom leaving delicious coffee on top  – has become a ritual that is as easy as it is satisfying. Yes, Keurig brews the same cup of coffee day-in and day-out with little to no fuss, but I prefer the satisfaction of getting the mixture of coffee and water and time correct. Some days it’s stringer than it needs to be, others too light. But mostly, our French press coffee is outstanding. And when we try drinking auto drip coffee again… well, it doesn’t taste good. Got on in a closet that someone gave you as a gift years ago? Break it out and start pressing. You can thank me later. – Fred Avett

WATCHING

Jessie (series)

If you’re looking for a great show that combines humor, heart, and a dash of adventure, Jessie is perfect for you. This Disney Channel show has everything to brighten up your day and keep you hooked from the first episode. From the quirky and lovable nanny Jessie, played by Debby Ryan, to the adorable Ross kids, every character brings something special. Whether it’s Emma’s fashionista attitude, Luke’s endless pranks, Ravi’s scientific curiosity, or Zuri’s sass, you’ll fall in love with each of them. Jessi” is packed with hilarious moments that will have you laughing out loud. The slapstick comedy, and outrageous situations are pure comedic gold. It’s the perfect show to watch when you need a good laugh and a break from reality. Beyond the laughs, Jessie delivers important life lessons wrapped in heartwarming stories. The show explores themes of family, friendship, and following your dreams. You’ll be inspired by Jessie’s journey from small-town Texas to the bustling streets of New York City. Look out for great guest stars throughout the series, including Disney Channel favorites and other celebrities. Set in The Big Apple New York, Jessie takes you on a visual tour of iconic landmarks and bustling streets. The city’s energy and charm are perfectly captured, making it feel like you’re right there with Jessie and the gang. – Rowan Schreiber

21 Jump Street (movie)

I recently re-watched 21 Jump Street and I have been obsessed with it. The first time I watched it I did not appreciate it as much as I do now. Each scene had its funny moments, with so many memorable events. It kept me laughing the entire time. The film is about two police officers; one is a stereotypical jock and one is a stereotypical nerd. They go undercover at a high school to try and find the creator of an illegal substance, and things get quite crazy. While the plot is intense, they still manage to make it light-hearted and hilarious. Even when the big fight scene happens, there are still a lot of unexpected plot twists and funny moments that happen within an action-packed scene. Overall, I recommend watching the movie if you haven’t already. – Sasha Lapayeva

Dog Soldiers (movie)

Over the weekend, I watched “Dog Soldiers,” a horror movie from 2002 both written and directed by Neil Marshall. It was a wonderful film about a group of soldiers on a training exercise where they encounter a pack of werewolves. I thought it had great cinematography, which was aided by rapid changes between camera angles.  I thought that it had two themes: it talked about the horrors of war, and it was an allegory to how soldiers treat civilians, which was shown by how the soldiers first treated Megan, and how the soldiers made themselves at home inside the house. Entering the house was certainly creepy, and I also found the scene when a werewolf was on top of the car terrifying. I also really enjoyed the twists in the third act. I enjoyed hearing them talk to each other, since they seemed friendly enough to joke around a bit. All in all, I found it to be a very entertaining horror movie, which is at least as good as The Descent, another of Marshall’s horror films. – Jackson Lee

Impractical Jokers on Max

Season 10 of Impractical Jokers is now on the streaming service Max. Impractical Jokers is a hidden camera show hosted by four guys who have been best friends since high school. In the show, the Jokers take turns competing in challenges in public places, the other three Jokers that are not competing give him instructions in his earpiece designed to embarrass him. If he refuses to do any of the instructions, he loses. At the end of each episode, the host that refuses to do the most things has to complete a ridiculous punishment where they can’t refuse anything. I love the show because it’s hilarious and the chemistry between the Jokers is so natural, and the show makes you feel awkward. The show isn’t as good after season 9, because one of the Jokers leaves, which ruins the show’s format. However, I highly recommend streaming the first 9 seasons of the show, and the Joey Fatone episode from season 10. Stream Impractical Jokers on Max here. – Maven Bolick

GAMES

The Finals

This week, I’m hyped about a game I got not too long ago called The Finals. I had more spare time to play it over Labor Day weekend, so I was able to fall in love with it even more. The game is more or less a type of objective-based shooter game, but it shines in the uniqueness of how you can play. In the game, you can choose to play as a light, medium, or heavy character, and you can play it with a combination of different specializations and gadgets to give you certain advantages. My favorite part about these gadgets or specializations is that you can change everything to play the game in significantly different ways, which isn’t unique, but it has it’s silver lining. While many games have features that allows a player to do it their way, most of these games can’t do this in a way where all of the different choices are appealing to play. While you might love one way to play a game, you might hate the other ways. The developers of The Finals made it so any way you can play it is fun. It’s typically a pretty balanced game, and there’s a lot of thought put into how everything works. It’s an incredibly fun (and free) game, and I doubt I’ll get bored of it any time soon. – Miles Forshay

Sudoku

Sudoku is a puzzle where you have nine boxes, nine rows, and nine columns. Each box, column and row must have all numbers 1-9 and no repeats. You are given some of the numbers placed in their correct locations when you start the puzzle, and depending on difficulty less numbers are given. Although many have surely heard of Sudoku, usually Sudoku is seen as an activity relegated to car trips and older people. This way of thinking has left much of an entire generation unhappily sudoku-less. Despite the general attitude of boredom associated with sudoku, this puzzle is no less interesting than any other, so if you like puzzles you will surely enjoy sudoku. There are truly no other puzzles that scratch the itch that sudoku does. A jigsaw puzzle doesn’t require the planning and logic that sudoku requires. Wordle strategies are not as complex as those used in a good game of sudoku. As far as options for playing, I’ve found a few that I enjoy. The New York Times has a good range of difficulty, but I find their auto notes feature to be too easy, and they only give you three Sudoku puzzles per day (one puzzle for each difficulty). Due to these shortcomings, I quickly moved on to Sudoku.com. Sudoku.com has 6 levels of difficulty (I found that master works best for me), no auto notes feature that I’ve found, and highlights all of one number when that number is clicked on, which helps when trying to place all of the 1’s, for example. Sudoku.com also has a notes feature that most sudoku websites do, which is helpful when playing harder puzzles. No other puzzle that I’ve found has such a good range of difficulty, such replayability, and so many options for how to play as sudoku. So I strongly recommend checking it out when you have the free time. – Maren Merkel

MUSIC

The Ramones

This week I have been listening to The Ramones more and more. This band does not need much explaining. They have had a great legacy, as they are an early punk rock band. They have had a massive influence on the genre.  My favorite album by them is Ramones, their first album. It includes many of their popular hits, such as “Blitzkrieg Bop” and “Beat on the Brat.” My favorite song is “Pet Sematary,” which was written for the movie with the same name. It is very fitting for the movie. That aside, it is a great song on its own without the context of the movie. I would recommend this band to anyone into rock music. – Juliet Gonzalez

“Who’s Ready for Tomorrow” by Rat Boy

Cyberpunk 2077, is a futuristic game set in a dystopia of the ruined Night City. Despite not being popular upon release, it rose to fame after the release of a certain Netflix show. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, they call it, is known easily as one of the best Netflix anime of all time. However, any emotional, ground-breaking show requires good music, as you just can’t always listen to dialogue. A breathtaking song featured in the album of Radio. 2 for Cyberpunk 2077 and used in the show Edgerunners, Who’s Ready for Tomorrow by Rat Boy. This song is perfect when life gets you in the feels, not too happy, not too sad, just gliding along. I personally find this song very motivating to listen to when walking to school. Stream the song here. – Tommy Liang

SHOPPING

Playa Bowls 

I recently got a job at Playa Bowls a couple weeks ago. Playa Bowls is New Jersey’s Original Acai Shop with over 200 locations nationwide. Playa Bowls serves smoothies, juices, and most importantly, super fruit bowls. Playa Bowls can be enjoyed from breakfast, lunch, to dinner. Before working at Playa Bowls I never really ate there but now every shift I always enjoy an 8th Avenue açaí bowl. The Strawberry Banana smoothie is also so yummy. Playa Bowls has many specials that change all the time and you can customize anything you want. If you haven’t tried Playa Bowls you need to go ASAP before they run out of fruits in the world. Playa Bowls are healthy and yummy so it’s the best of both worlds! – Kira Lawson

Goodwill thrift stores

One of my favorite places to go currently is Goodwill; I love being able to go shopping without having to pay an excruciating amount of money for one piece of clothing. I also love sifting through all the clothes to find the best pieces because I get to feel a sense of reward whenever I find a good item. I have also found that Goodwill is consistently the best thrift store. There is a wide variety of items and the selection of clothes is constantly changing which makes for a unique shopping experience each time. Other thrift stores also tend to be more expensive because they buy used clothes rather than taking donations. I would highly recommend going to Goodwill next time you’re looking to update your wardrobe. – Anna Kate Flood