Where are your fruits and veggies really coming from? Find out in this episode of Our Planet Earth. Listen here:
Evolution Podcast Network – Our Planet Earth
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Author Archives: Sophie Tomei
Evolution Podcast Network – Our Planet Earth
In this episode, we’re stepping into the woods and hanging out with the trees. Listen here:
Evolution Podcast Network – Our Planet Earth
What’s the deal with salmon? To eat, or not to eat? Tune in to this episode of Our Planet Earth to find out. Listen here:
Yves Tumor TONIGHT
New style of concert article–I haven’t been to the show yet, but I AM going to it tonight! Yves Tumor at the Vogue Theatre downtown, very exciting! I missed them last year so I’m excited that I get a chance to see them this year. Yves Tumor is an American musician and producer who makes experimental pop/r&b music? It’s kinda hard to categorize their sound, but trust me, it’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t say I’m like a massive fan of theirs, but I did like the album they put out this year.
Their fifth studio album came out back in March of this year, and it is called Praise a Lord Who Chews but Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds). That took a while to type out. I was a fan! I like most of the stuff Tumor makes, so it didn’t come as a shock to me when I also enjoyed this album. I think it’ll be really fun to see live, too, so I’m looking forward to it.
The Vogue is an interesting venue. I have some weird personal associations to it that I will NOT be getting into here, but it is a bit of a strange place for me, personally. Outside of my own feelings, it’s not a bad venue, it just…needs a bit of updating. The first time I ever went there, I was immediately overwhelmed by the smell. It just smells like a musty old building mixed with a vague hint of B.O. I’ve been there multiple times since, so I’ve gotten a chance to get used to the smell, but it was BAD. I know that the Vogue is historic and stuff so I won’t rip it to complete shreds–I think their marquee is cool. It’s got a cool art-deco architectural vibe, so I’ll give it that.
I haven’t really been paying that much attention to their tour, so I’m not certain what their live performances have been looking like or what their setlists have been like either, so I’m going into this pretty blind! It depends on which artist I’m seeing but most of the time I don’t like looking at previous setlists cause I don’t want the order of songs to be spoiled. I feel like doing that kind of spoils the whole performance, in a way, but it depends.
Summer Olympics 2024
Two years ago, we had the Winter Olympics in Russia, and next year we have the Summer Olympics in France! The 2024 Summer Olympics are taking place in Paris, which is très chic. I am personally more of a fan of the Winter Games (mostly just for figure skating), but the Summer Games do feature a lot of really neat events. Interestingly, the Winter Games were actually created because of the success of the Summer Games! So technically, the Summer Games are the true olympics. The first ever games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896, which seems like a million years ago, but was actually only 127 years ago. Still though, that’s a really long time ago. For some dumb reason (it’s because I’m uneducated) I thought that the Olympics have just been consistently happening since Ancient Greece times. In my unlimited wisdom, I guess I just failed to consider history in its entirety. But anyway, my favorite events are archery, volleyball, and gymnastics! I also like to watch swimming, too, because I used to be a swimmer myself. Reportedly, next year’s Summer Games are set to be one of the most viewable games in HISTORY, which is a pretty crazy fact. I guess the time zones around the world line up so that it makes it easier for everyone to tune in at once. Also, France is making a lot of strides towards LGBTQ+ acceptance at the games! Go France, we see you, nos alliés européens!
I remember the last time I actively watched the Summer Olympics was Rio in 2016. I thought that the equestrian events were, for the most part, pretty cool, but I remember thinking that the DRESSAGE event was super weird. Dressage is basically riding the horse around in a circle for a little bit and then getting a score. HUH? If there are any horse girls reading this, please explain, because I was so confused, and still am. Every other event is sporty and athletic, which, you know, makes sense for the Olympics. Sometimes I wish that I could do like one event, just to see how far I could get. I think it would also be really hilarious to have like one normal person participating in the games next to all these super-athletes. I like when all the countries come together at the beginning, too, to do the opening ceremony. When it’s Canada’s turn, the true patriot within me makes herself visible.
The SPORTS article
So, I must come clean about something. My job right now as an online writer is to write about culture, of course, but I was also supposed to be writing about…SPORTS. Culture AND sports. Not just culture. Well, being the silly little individual that I am, I know next to nothing about sports. I keep up with figure skating to a degree, but very casually, and as of late I haven’t really had time to get all the updates from the figure skating world. Other than that, the realm of professional or local sports is a complete mystery to me. So, to compromise, I figured that I would write an article about sports as a concept, instead of any actual sports-talk, because no matter how much research I do, I know that if I make even ONE mistake, I will get flamed by some jock who salivates at the screen whenever his favorite player does something to the ball or puck or whatever. Alright, I am playing a little dumb right now, and I am also not a complete sports-hater.
Just because I don’t let hockey game schedules rule over my life, doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy watching sports, too! I have very basic knowledge of hockey, and the only reason for THAT is because I had a boyfriend who was very obsessed with it, and he taught me a lot. Go figure. I think hockey is still fun to watch if you don’t fully understand the rules, but I think that (American) football is probably also really fun to watch, but you need to understand the rules really well. I played a lot of sports growing up, but no matter how hard my parents tried to force me to be athletic, it never took. I can run kind of well, and wasn’t half bad at basketball (mostly because I was really tall as a kid), but otherwise, I lack athletic ability. I am much more suited to a typewriter than a tightrope, ha ha. Seriously though, I think being athletic and stuff is cool and I wish I could be like that, but the only exercise I get is walking literally everywhere, going on my long jogs, and whatever random YouTube workout I decide to do in my room. Which isn’t bad but also, I am not the pinnacle of health or anything. Sports can be really fun at an intramural level, though!
Do you play sports? Are you athletic? Do you watch sports (i’m gonna assume that’s a “yes”)?
Seasonal allergies
I feel like I am a little late to the game on this one, but heyyy, it’s allergy season! If you have allergies in any capacity then I’m sure you’ve definitely already noticed this, and you may or may not be frowning at your screen reading this. I’m sure a lot of you DO experience seasonal allergies. I definitely do. Mine have never gotten bad enough for me to have to take any prescribed meds for them, but I’ll pop a Claritin every once in a while. Allergies are incredibly frustrating because they’re always a somewhat minor inconvenience that you can’t really do anything about. Maybe stronger allergy meds actually do the trick, but for those of us who are stuck suffering without them, the constant slightly runny nose, mild sinus congestion, and itchy eyes kinda suck. I have very sensitive skin on my face, and I try my best to not touch it that much throughout the day (I always fail at this), so when my eyes start to burn and itch, it is really not a fun experience.
Seasonal allergies are caused by an excess of pollen (which is plant sperm, by the way. Have fun inhaling all of that!) in the air for a certain period of time, which is typically spring/late spring. In my research I also just learned that when people talk about having “hay fever”, they mean allergies! I always thought hay fever was its own type of illness, like scarlet fever or yellow fever or something. I now know that those two are way worse. There are other ways that people attempt to combat these allergies–I’ve seen those nasal sprays before, but they kinda freak me out. I don’t like the idea of anything going in my nose like (I will not make a joke about coke here, but I did consider it for a second). If things get really dire, there are injections you can get that are supposed to help make the symptoms go away over time. Allergy shots are a thing for other allergies, too, not just pollen. For instance, I am quite allergic to cats, but I love them more than anything else on this planet, so I’ve considered potentially doing some kind of immunotherapy treatment so that I can someday, MAYBE have my own cat. Having springtime allergies is a pain, but at least you are super super unlikely to experience anaphylaxis. Cool word, terrifying, life-threatening experience.
Do you experience seasonal allergies? If so, what do you do to combat them?
Picky eating
I must confess that I used to be an extremely picky eater growing up. I had major sensory issues with food, so I did not have the best diet. Vegetables and meat were terrifying, so I ended up eating a lot of spaghetti. Soooo much spaghetti, actually. Since then, though, my taste buds have slowly but surely developed over the course of my 21 years of life, and at this point, I feel like I have a pretty diverse palate. I’ll try basically anything once, except for maybe fugu–pufferfish sashimi that has an actually high chance of killing you if prepared incorrectly. I’m really not that much of a thrill seeker. Other than pufferfish, I am willing to try almost any food! Just the other day, my dear friend Cindy and I had dinner together and I tried fried pork intestine for the first time, and it was tasty! I feel like a lot of Western palates would not be inclined to give intestine a shot, but I’m glad that I did, because I enjoyed it.
Being a self-described “picky eater” after the age of like, 14 at the LATEST, is kinda silly, in my opinion. Food sensitivities and allergies are NOT included in the realm of picky eating, by the way. Trust me, I understand that there are a million reasons why someone could be picky when it comes to food–as a former picky eater myself, I GET IT. But at the same time, there is a certain level of maturity that comes with it, too, that as an adult I feel like you are expected to have. I had a friend in the past who was INSANELY picky, he basically only ever wanted to eat pizza. Like greasy American pizza, nothing with any semblance of real veggies. He made doing things in the friend group really, really annoying because we always had to accommodate him and his weird pizza thing. Anytime we went out anywhere, we had to make sure that there was a pizza place relatively nearby. How ridiculous is that?? I get not liking certain foods and stuff but, man. Boxing yourself into one singular safe food item is strange and impractical. Not to mention really unhealthy, too. Anyway, he was an extreme case, but he definitely contributed to my relative lack of tolerance when it comes to adult picky eaters.
If you are a picky eater, I am going to ask you to perhaps try a vegetable sometime soon, and get back to me.
Movies to look out for this summer
FILMBROS–I’ve got another article for you guys. I know you’re probably too busy cooped up in your bedroom with the blinds drawn watching a Tarkovsky film only half-paying attention because you’re trying to think of a perfectly witty one-liner Letterboxd review, but hear me out. There are some interesting CONTEMPORARY films to watch out for this summer. Very shocking, I know. Good cinema from the 21st century? Nuts.
Twee fans rejoice, because your boy Wes Anderson is putting out a new movie this June. Asteroid City (2023) hits theaters on June 16, so less than a month away. From the trailer, I can already tell that Anderson is returning to form. The French Dispatch (2021) kind of drifted off from his typical colorblocked static-shot kitschy vibe, but Asteroid City falls right back into it, which I’m glad for. I do think the movie is his most saturated flick yet, and I don’t love that, but I appreciate that he’s going back to his beloved schtick. The plot itself is also very Anderson-standard–crazy things happen to quirky characters on a vaguely New Mexico-inspired set.
Another big-ticket movie is Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (2023). I have to say this before continuing, but, I personally really LIKE Greta Gerwig movies. I think they’re fun and cute and, first and foremost, they are for the GALS. Gerwig-hate based on the premise of her movies seeming trivial because they’re about girls just doing things and existing will not be tolerated! If you have a problem with her directing or whatever that’s fine, I don’t care. Anyway, star-studded cast for this one, and it looks very vibrant and colorful. I’ve heard some rumblings, though, that it’s actually going to be spooky and scary, so I guess we’ll see. This one’s out July 21st this year.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cqnn2-VJ2V1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Guess what? July 21st will truly be a day of decisions, because Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is ALSO coming to theaters. Which way, Western individuals–Barbie or Oppenheimer? This movie is about the guy that worked on the Manhattan Project developing nukes. It is two and a half hours long. War drama. Me? I actually eat that kinda stuff up. I watched Full Metal Jacket (1987) at age 14 and was never the same.
I actually have no idea if I’m going to see Oppenheimer or Barbie first, but chances are good that I will be working that day anyway, and will not have the time to see either in theaters. Those will most likely be laptop viewings for me.
Are you planning on seeing any of these? Which one are you most excited for?
The horror genre
BOO! I feel like horror as a genre is pretty divisive. People either love horror movies, books, TV shows, etc., or they HATE THEM. Some of us like to be scared, while some of us do not. I’m a weird case, because I absolutely love the horror genre to death, but I do NOT enjoy being scared. I don’t like being startled, specifically. I’m a very jumpy person, so jump scares/being startled send me into cardiac arrest 99% of the time, no matter how minor the scare is. I will never forget walking through the Walking Dead haunted house thing at Universal Studios in LA with my family and being the only one who sobbed through the entire thing. Everyone thought it was hilarious, and, looking back, it WAS funny, just not for me!! Despite all of that, I do really love horror–movies in particular. Horror is a distinctive genre because a lot of horror media is BAD. There are definitely some really incredible horror movies out there–The Thing (1982), Black Christmas (1974), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Martyrs (2015), Saw (2004) and the list goes on.
I really respect it as a genre, but there is no denying that a lot of the movies that get made with the intention of being scary are just not that scary, and end up being really cheesy instead. Many would view this as a bad thing, but I actually love and appreciate this phenomenon. “Bad” horror movies are often really funny–bad acting, poor writing, cheesy sfx, all of it can contribute to a very entertaining 90-minute experience. Another important facet of horror is gore. Now, I can handle fantasy gore, or anything that isn’t very realistic, but as SOON as that stuff starts entering the realm of possibility, I check out. You know Grey’s Anatomy? The hospital drama that middle-aged women love more than their husbands? Yeah, that is like the scariest show I have ever seen in my life, and I’ve only seen brief clips of it. Any type of surgical ANYTHING is terrifying. So, if someone is a big fan of Grey’s, but claims that they don’t like horror movies, they have NO IDEA what they’re talking about. Horror movies are also a very good bonding experience for the friend group–going to the movies to see the latest horror film is always a fun time, if there aren’t any scaredy-cats in the group, that is. I feel like the horror movies that have been coming out this year have actually been pretty good! In like, a campy sort of way.
Are you a horror fan, or are you toooooo scared??