Entertainment

October 2014 - Posts

  • RED Hearts: Entertainment: This Movie Is The Best

    By Zulay Regalado, 25, reporting from Miami on a sweet Swedish film about two girls who start a punk band

    We Are The Best is all about girl power and wild hair—and I mean that in the best ways. This sweet, Swedish film touches on every element of the adolescent spectrum, from awkward crushes to unmistakably homemade haircuts and dreams of starting your own hugely successful band with your closest friends.

    Anyway, in this film we first meet Bobo and Klara, two 13-year-old, punk-rock-loving best friends in early-80s Stockholm who don’t quite fit in with other girls at school. Meaning they’re much cooler. These girls embody everything I wish I could’ve been at their age: adventurous, fiercely original and brave with instruments, including musical ones that are new to them and a pair of scissors. (They both rock some killer punk mohawks; me, I accidentally gave myself a mullet in the seventh grade that I still haven’t emotionally recovered from.)

    Together they recruit shy, conservative and insanely talented guitar-playing classmate, Hedvig, and form an all-girl punk band. You’re cheering them on as they learn to make music to defy their social counterparts, showing the world that it’s OK—better than OK—to be the outcast. That’s what punk was built on. That and awesome haircuts. I’m sorry, but I’m still not over all the pixie-meets-rocker looks in this movie.

    The film is equal parts humor (their first band rehearsal is pretty much what my Spice Girls tribute band would’ve sounded like) and drama (all love triangles and musical rivalries and embarrassing parents playing the clarinet in their underwear). Thankfully neither of my parents ever owned a clarinet. Still, the story is powerfully, irresistably relatable.

    For those of you who can’t find the film in your local artsy theatre, We Are the Best is available on Google Play and Amazon. Oh, and pay close attention to Hedvig’s acoustic rendition of Sex noll tva (“Six Zero Two”) by Swedish punk band KSMB and thank me later. Or just join my band! Make music, make a difference. Change your hair, change the world? This movie is the best.

  • RED Hearts: Entertainment: Si Here: Language Learning Made Game-Fun

    By Lisa Chau, 26, reporting from Chicago on an app that makes it easy to say anything (in another language)

    Who are we kidding? If you had asked me if I could speak Spanish a few months ago, I would have straight up said no (albeit maybe with a ridiculous attempt at an accent, no). I’d taken two semesters of Spanish in the 7th grade, so the extent of my skills ranged from hellos and goodbyes to asking for permission to go to the bathroom. Other than that, I would have been completely hopeless if I ever found myself deserted on the streets of Tijuana.

    Good thing I found this awesome mobile app called Duolingo, which uses gaming mechanisms to help you learn a new language. If their claim is correct that 34 hours spent on Duolingo equals an entire semester of language in college, then I’m a quarter semester in now. How scholarly of me! The app also offers English speakers lessons in French, Italian, German, Portuguese—even Dutch, Danish and the old Irish “of your ancestors.”

    Duolingo is fun enough and reward-motivated enough to feel like you're playing a game. Except here you're actually being productive. (Seriously, crushing candies has gotten me nowhere in life.) In order to unlock the next level of lessons, you need to earn a certain number of hearts. In order to score a full set of hearts, you have to answer all the questions correctly. Pure addiction.

    The app give you in-lesson grading so you can go over your mistakes right away. It also uses type and audio to help you exercise both writing and speaking skills on a daily basis. Over time, the score bars for earlier lessons weaken—your earned hearts begin to disappear, encouraging you to go back and re-earn them. This push to review past material keeps the learning fresh in your mind.

    My favorite place to play Duolingo is during my commute. Not only does it keep me occupied on the train (eight-plus hours of entertainment and knowledge to date!) but it also usually ensures me a spacious corner to myself. Nobody wants anything to do with the crazy girl muttering to herself in any language. I'm not fluent yet, but at least I can ask, "Why are you going to the bathroom here?" if I ever have to. Let's hope that never happens.

  • RED Hearts: Entertainment: Say Queso: An Easy DIY Nacho Bar

    This is the first for fall in a RED Hearts series of seasonal recipes — things you can cook or bake, usually healthy things, always easy things — for the people you heart. Served up by Erika Kwee, 24, “the baker, photographer and typo-maker” behind vegetarian food blog The Pancake Princess

    In the spirit of football, pumpkin, and back-to-school shenanigans during the still warm and beautiful transition into fall, I think we should officially dub this next month Nacho Season.

    Nachos are my new favorite party trick—so much so, they’re what I served at my own birthday party. (Yes, I am someone with the good fortune to have been born during Nacho Season. ) I love thinking of a nacho bar as a glorified salad bar that just happens to have chips.

    This version is a simple but serious upgrade from the fallback microwaved-cheese-on-chips thanks to queso, a thick and creamy-cheesy sauce that is heavenly drizzled over a plate of chips with tons of toppings. My first experience with queso was in college, sitting on the floor of a common room after a late-night food run and dipping pieces of warm tortillas into a gooey cup of melty cheese. Making perfect queso (that puts highly-processed versions to shame) is actually as easy as cooking up a little butter and flour and stirring in some freshly grated cheese.

    A can or two of beans and the addition of some fresh veggies and herbs can really turn nachos into a fun and healthy party star. This queso was enough to feed about 12 of my friends with leftovers—you can easily half or double these quantities as needed.

    Easy Queso
    2 tablespoons butter
    4 garlic cloves
    3 cups milk, divided (2 percent is best)
    ¼ cup flour
    ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
    2-3 cups grated cheese, to taste (I used a blend of sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, and colby)
    1 4-oz can diced green chiles
    3-4 roma tomatoes, chopped finely

    Melt the butter over medium heat in a pot. Mince the garlic cloves finely and cook for a minute or two in the butter, until just starting to brown.

    Stir 1 ½ cups of milk into the butter mixture. Whisk the flour into the remaining 1 ½ cups of milk, then whisk flour into the pot along with the salt. Once the mixture starts to simmer and thicken slightly, remove from heat and stir in 2 cups of cheese until melted. Taste and continue to add cheese, ½ cup at a time, until you reach a consistency and flavor that you like. Stir in the chiles and tomatoes and serve hot with chips to hungry friends!

    Topping ideas:
    Veggies: Shredded lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, bell peppers, salsa, cilantro, green onions, red onions, olives
    Protein: Black beans, refried beans, chickpea taco “meat”