Now that I have your attention with that heaping helping of Spaghetti and Meatballs – I want to talk to you about pasta. Pasta is a staple of cuisines worldwide from Italy to Japan. It is easy to produce and store and goes with a variety of food. That makes it cheap, accessible, and versatile. Good for you pasta! Today I want to shed some light on 5 great pastas.

1. Rigatoni

Rigatoni is great. A product of Italy, Rigatoni is perfect for the delicious tomato sauces from Italy. Italian pasta makers expertly engineered it to have a nice little compartment for all of the cheese and sauce to get caught in. They are little tubes of deliciousness. Grab a box and your favorite sauce and you got a nice little Italian dinner cooking.

2. Macaroni

I like to think of macaroni as the grand child of the rigatoni. They are smaller and more youthful and they take the gimmick of the rigatoni further. Not only do they have a flavor capturing tube, but their tube is curved to prevent the flavor from escaping! How genius! The Italians did it again with this one. You likely associate this type of pasta with the classic American dish, Mac and Cheese. Who says macaroni is just for kids!? Yum!

3. Udon

The third pasta present in our pow wow is the Udon noodle which originates in Japan. They are commonly made with wheat flour. Unlike the previous two pastas presented, the Udon noodle is mostly served with soups and broths. Something I thought that was interesting is that depending on the weather one is eating a udon dish, the soup may be served cold or hot. In the summertime one may cool down with a refreshing cool udon soup. While in the winter one may warm up next to the fireplace with a bowl of udon soup. How versatile! You da best Udon!

4. Rice Noodles

Like the name says, rice noodles are noodles made from rice! They have a different texture and taste like their flour brothers and sisters. Rice noodles originate in mainland China and are a staple throughout south east Asian cuisine. There are many specific types of rice noodles. My personal favorite dish that utilizes rice noodles is Pad Thai. It is fun to switch it up with rice noodles, I sure do like their flavor! If you have not had rice noodles or just not lately, I recommend you spice it up and have some soon. Oh boy do I want chicken pad Thai now!

5. Spaghetti

That’s right baby!! I saved the best for last after teasing it at the top of the post. When you think pasta what comes to your head? That’s right none other than spaghetti! A product of Italy and the iconic Italian American dish. And what pairs best with this iconic pasta? MEATBALLS. One pasta dish to rule them all. It is comfort food and good for the soul. Nothing cheers me up after another bad day then a heaping pile of spaghetti and meatballs!! Was your favorite pasta not listed? Are these pastas not as fun as I think? Let me know in the comments! Thank you for reading and have a nice day!

This is as close as the Class of 2020 will get to partying to celebrate their graduation. There are definitely more important things than that so I do not want to be dramatic. Just wild still because most of us have quite literally worked our entire lives to not only get to college but walk across the stage as a college graduate. Instead we have CABIN FEVER. We are stuck in our houses getting fat not because of the binge drinking that would have made us fat. But we are getting fat because we are doing nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4-MmsLKRDw

This is now how I feel when I have the privilege of getting to go run an errand or go to the grocery store. What a depressing end to school! At this point I just want classes to end this feels like it is dragging on too long. Cabin fever can take you down a deep hole of nothingness and all of a sudden it is 5 days later. Do not go down the dark hole. Live in the moment. Go outside. But not right now because it is after 8 p.m. in New Jersey and we still have a curfew because there is a pandemic going on. Thank you and have a nice day.

I am going not only stir crazy but also stir bananas. Some days are good some days are not. I try to keep a routine but I have no motivation to do school work at this point as a second semester senior with a job lined up during a pandemic. This situation sucks. I have a tattoo on my chest that says “One Day at A Time” because my parents have said it to me all life when I had a bad day or got anxious. I feel that tattoo applies now more than ever as I am going stir bananas. I try to find ways to make each day productive by setting small goals. I could be doing better. I could be doing worse.

Oh boy am I lonely like everybody else in the whole world right now! Taking a walk makes me feel less lonely because I get to look at other people’s houses and see all the yards that have been so carefully manicured while everyone is stuck home from their normal routine. I am lucky enough to live in a small town where this is a reality for me. If you live in a city or in a rural area you probably think I am an idiot and that walking is dangerous or boring or some combination of both. If you are like me and live in a walkable neighborhood that has enough space for you to take walks within a safe distance of other people, then I strongly encourage you to do it at least once a day. At the very least it breaks up your day and helps you get out of the same space. I personally am up to my neck in school work and work for my internship which is transitioning into my career in August. My walks are my favorite part of the day because I get to leave all the stress of my workspace and just explore my town. I try to walk down a new street or route each day. I do not always because there are so many streets in a small town haha. I feel the fresh air energizes me and I am even more productive after a nice walk. Break away from the screen. Stop watching the news for a little bit. Listen to nature or listen to some music. But get outside. Your body and mind will thank you. Have a nice day.

Churches are for the first time in a long time like the song title says, “Closed on Sunday.” This song and music video feels different now that we are all isolated in our houses. Its chorus to stay away from Kanye’s family feels all the more serious in this time of quarantine. The video illustrates the distance we feel from our friends and families. At the time of release it was thought why would Kanye be in Wyoming far from everything. Why is he shooting this video in the middle of nowhere. The middle of nowhere is now where we all are in our homes or wherever we are lucky enough to take shelter. Closed on Sunday. Closed everyday. Keep your family close and watch out for them. Especially now.

“I don’t want lunch. I want breakfast.” Such a simple line delivered with such power. In Falling Down (1993), Michael Douglas plays William Foster. A straight edge office worker fed up with modern life. This is an example of the scene in which Foster is faced with the perceived absurdity of modern society. Foster wants a fast food breakfast at about 11:35. The manager informs him that their policy is to stop serving breakfast at 11:30. Foster carries out a fantasy that many have dreamed of. Being able to tell people cut the corporate bull shit and just give me a god damned sandwich. I am not condoning pulling a gun on anyone please do not report me and make it so I cannot graduate. I am just trying to review a scene. Back to Foster. Michael Douglas captures the pure chaotic energy of the laid off, divorced office drone of the 1990’s. What does he have left to lose? He lost his family and his job. He just wants to get to his daughter’s birthday party, but first he needs something to eat. Foster feels empowered by his newly acquired arsenal and the power has clearly gone to his head. On any other day he would have apologized and ordered off the lunch ,menu. Not today, he was in charge. He is not used to this, however. He shows it by accidentally firing off shits scaring the life out of the customers in the restaurant. This captures both the rage and the vulnerability of the character. The filmmakers put Foster in a relatable situation and made the characters act in a believable way. It is not some thriller or action event, it is the minutia of daily life. William Foster wants a fast food breakfast. Corporate policy says no. The manager needs to follow protocol if he wants to keep his middle management position. Thus this small scene speaks on commercialism and corporate life at large. The man and woman behind the counter have nothing to gain from withholding a burger but the faceless corporation demands no. What I could gain from this scene for my own film making is believable dialogue and having the characters act like normal people rather than characters in a scene. There can be beauty in the normal as well as exaggerated and theatrical. This movie is a favorite of mine, and this is for sure my favorite scene. Cheers!

Based on the description of the assignment and the title of the possible works I was expecting an artsy work. Oh boy was I underestimating the film that I was watching. What I thought was a cool opening dance number foreshadowing themes of the film turned out to be the film itself. It is a large song and dance. What an interesting concept for a film that I would not seek out myself. But it told a story with no dialogue. The camera angles made the characters feel almost as though they were miniature dolls dancing inside of a cardboard box. The lighting frames the figures and hides their features. It is silhouettes and human figures moving and dancing more so than individuals. The figures dance with such a frantic pace I had to check to make sure my YouTube player was not in double speed. The movements are so aggressive and quick they have to be sped up right? I admittedly also did not really understand what was going on. I could not tell if it was a series of skits or one interlocked story. At times it seemed like the female dancer was mentoring a young boy. Could that represent a mother child relationship? Maybe, but then there were times it looked like the woman was being man handled by the male figures. I really have no idea what is going on here but the way the dancers move left me on edge. The stressful music contributes to this in many scenes. I did appreciate the parts where the music stopped for a second and all you could hear was the footsteps of the dancers. The setting helps focus the attention on the dancers rather than what is happening around them. Perhaps there is a clear story here but the lack of words makes it up for interpretation. I could maybe decipher some story line out of a scene and someone else in the class doing this same assignment may derive a completely different understanding of the scene. I am not proud that it took me 10 minutes of watching the people dance before I figured out that it was not going to end. The last 10 minutes were especially bizarre and impressive to me. Especially at https://youtu.be/ZHU5QLEjGAg?t=3054 50:54 where the female dancer crawls all over the male dancer somehow. This giant box they are dancing in has weird physics. Dancing is cool though I certainly could not do anything I saw here today. I feel like I needed to be wearing all black drinking red wine to properly watch this. Also cool hat. All in all a good way to spend an hour.

Believe it or not, there was a time before YouTube was a playground for brands and creators got their videos demonetized seemingly whenever Google felt like it. There was even a time before Google became the stewards then cruel overlords of YouTube. A time before the YouTube Terms of Service would take a lifetime to read. This was a time without videos being 2 minutes of content and 8 minutes of filler to meet the 10 minute requirement. This was the time of organic viral videos posted by goofy usernames with little or no description. Here are some examples.

This was a simpler time. Not a straightforward better time as creators are able to make unthinkable amounts of income from YouTube videos. But it was a more genuine and free time on YouTube. A time that myself and others remember fondly. Thank you and have a nice day.

Hello, my name is Dan and I went to Yellowstone.

In a world where Dan went to Yellowstone, one man… goes to Yellowstone and its um Dan. He went to Yellowstone and that is me.

Ayy take it easy!!! I’m walkin’ here!!!

You ever just like think, man, like damn that’s deep…

Janet please come back I miss you and the kids and I know we can make this work I know you are seeing other people but the kids need a father not their mommy’s boyfriend. Please I am nothing without you and the kids.

For sure brother!

Sometimes I just like to wonder man like what is the biggest thing that’s ever been man and it just trips me out like wow… makes you think, makes me think at least like makes me feel small but like I feel safe knowing there is something bigger out there man…

Oh my god! Wow!

Uh ha ha!

Most people, especially college students are trying to figure out their lives. Trying to streamline their routines and decide what they want to do as their career. The career shapes the day to day life of a person. It decides what they do, where they go, and who they meet. All of this routine can grow to be rigid and unbending as life goes on and college students become professionals. This structure can be comforting and rewarding but sometimes suffocating. Sometimes it’s fun to be spontaneous.

One man took this to the extreme. Max Hawkins did a TED talk about randomizing his life. And I see this as an extreme attempt to break out of their comfort zone and break the monotony of life. I see it as akin to a mid life crisis. The classic example is a guy getting older and buying a fancy sports car. Hawkins when faced with getting older and probably his own mortality, decided to take his mid life crisis to the extreme and let computer based math decide what he does, where he does it, and who he does it with. It sure does seem exciting. I give him a lot of credit!