Tag Archives: TV

The Magic of Sunflower Seeds

By Qianhui Ni

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

“Among all the foods in the world, only sunflower seeds can meet the conditions conducive to killing time. People who can snack on sunflower seeds are great and active implementers of leisure.” — Zikai Feng (1934), Essays in Yuan Yuan Tang

If you ask me what my most satisfying online order was last month, without a doubt my answer would be sunflower seeds. I have been a big fan of snacking on sunflower seeds since childhood. However, I hadn’t had them for a while since I moved to LA for my graduate studies. Finding packaged shelled sunflower seeds was a big surprise for me since I had only seen people here in the United States eating unshelled seeds as sides or as an ingredient to season food. As you may expect, I excitedly purchased six bags of sunflower seeds in different flavors. My most enjoyable time of day soon became the half-hour after dinner when I got to lie on the sofa, watch TV shows, and snack on sunflower seeds. 

Photo by Zobia Shakar on Unsplash

Eating sunflower seeds is a fairly simple process–you place one seed between your upper and lower incisors with its tip facing inward. Then, simply squeeze it between your teeth, and you will be able to hear a crisp cracking sound, indicating that the shell is open and what’s between your teeth is the seed inside. This sound is quite relaxing for me because is it clear, crisp, and seems to come from the inside of my own head. I guess it is the reason why eating sunflower seeds is also called “cracking” sunflower seeds. In Chinese, the verb for this action is pronounced as “ke”, which sounds almost identical to the sound when the shell cracks. After you crack the seed open, you can throw away the shell and enjoy the seed. With enough practice, the experienced sunflower seed eater (like me) can complete the above steps in one second without the shell touching their tongue or getting their hands dirty. 

After snacking on sunflower seeds for the whole week, I started wondering about the magic of these little seeds. Zikai Feng, the influential Chinese artist, summarized three advantages of eating sunflower seeds that make it the best activity for leisure and time killing. First, people never get tired of them because their flavor isn’t that strong. Imagine you are eating salty barbecue-flavored chips; you would get bored easily of the strong flavor after a while. Sunflower seeds taste like plant seeds with a very light smell. After being pan-fried, the bluntness caused by the soft textures disappears. The seeds become crispy and stiff with a light taste.

Photo by Adrian Swancar on Unsplash

The second reason is that sunflower seeds cannot provide a sense of satiety. Even after eating the whole bag of them, you will not feel full. They are too small to be a staple food. I find it hard to stop eating them once I start since my stomach never sends my brain a signal of being full.

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Friendships, Fun, and Funny Situations: MY FAVORITE SITCOMS

By Matthew Kim

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3.5 minute read]

When I need a good laugh or a moment to escape the hardships of reality, I always rely on sitcoms to cheer me up. A sitcom is a comedic TV show that typically focuses on the funny day-to-day interactions of a group of characters. With most episodes being around 20 minutes in length, it’s very easy to mindlessly continue watching your favorite characters and enter their universe. Sitcoms are usually packed with ensemble casts with diverse personalities that create relatable content. With good chemistry, a sitcom show can gain popularity for their loveable characters or for just being straight-out funny. For a non-native speaker, watching sitcoms is also a great way to improve your English as they typically contain jokes with references to American culture or customs. Over the years, I’ve seen a countless number of sitcoms and wanted to share two of my favorites with you all!

Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash

New Girl

The premise of New Girl begins when Jessica Day, played by Zooey Deschanel, goes through a bad breakup with her ex-boyfriend, Spencer. In the pilot episode, she moves out of her shared home with Spencer and moves in with new roommates Nick, Schmidt, and Coach. Thus, she is the “new girl” in the apartment. Jess, is a quirky, offbeat teacher who is seen as a dork by most. The show mainly follows her life adventure of relationships and work. Nick Miller is one of Jess’ roommates who dropped out of law school so he could work as a bartender but he has aspirations to be a writer. He’s apathetic, socially awkward at times, very sarcastic, and struggles to share his emotions. I consider him to be the rock of the group because he provides stability for the craziness around him. Schmidt is another roommate who lived with Nick in college. He’s a funny character and in my opinion has amazing character development throughout the show. The third roommate is Ernie but he is better known by his nickname: Coach. He leaves after the pilot for undisclosed reasons but makes recurring appearances throughout the show. Due to this, his character lacks a bit of depth but he’s generally a force of good in the show. Following the pilot, Coach is replaced by Winston Bishop who is Nick’s childhood friend from Chicago. His facial expressions and love for his cat are some of the most entertaining moments on the show. In my opinion, the on-screen chemistry between Nick, Schmidt, and Winston is one of the key factors to the funniness of the show. The last member of the core gang is Cece: Jess’ best friend from childhood. Her character seems a bit stuck-up in the beginning but as the show progresses, she becomes more and more loveable. All in all, this hilarious, feel-good show features a cast of characters that’ll show you what real friends look like.

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother is one of my favorite shows ever and actually the first sitcom I finished from beginning to end. It is packed with comedic content but is a deeper show than most initially anticipate. The show follows Ted Mosby as he tells his children the story of how he met their mother. Ted Mosby is an architect who believes that he will eventually find “the one”. He is a romantic and constantly entangled in all sorts of drama in his love life. His best friend is Marshall, who he roomed with in college. Ted and Marshall’s friendship is something that I really admire in the show because they are always there for each other. Marshall’s wife, Lily, is a kindergarten teacher who can be the most loveable in the gang but also the most aggravating at times. The last character in the group is Barney Stinson, who is a wealthy serial playboy. He is another one of Ted’s best friends and has numerous catchphrases. Initially, he’s the most “immature” out of the gang but he transforms into a character that is loving and caring. He is my personal favorite out of all of them. This is a another great show to watch if you like shows focusing on groups of friends. It is packed with a lot of relatable content: first cars, relationship problems, financial hardships, childhood traumas, embarrassing situations, etc. All of these components make me feel more connected to the show.

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Close Out 2021 With a Good Movie

By Nikhita Datar

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

It’s weird to think that very shortly, 2021 will be coming to a close. With that being said, Hollywood is releasing what seem to be a couple of hopeful major award-grabbing movies. Here’s what films to look forward to for the rest of the year, which you can watch over winter break in preparation for awards season:

  1. Dune 
Photo by Wolfgang Hasselmann on Unsplash

Based off of a novel written in 1965 by Frank Herbert, this narrative brings together all of the elements of film that we love to see on the big screen: a star-studded ensemble cast (Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Momoa, and Oscar Isaac), innovative costume design, a hard-hitting soundtrack (composed by Hans Zimmer), and intricate visual design that is attributed to director Denis Villeneuve. I would recommend this movie with a warning: it’s definitely not for everyone. Not much background is explained in the film, so if you haven’t previously watched David Lynch’s adaptation of the book or read the novel itself, you may have a more difficult time understanding the plot. With minimal dialogue and more focus on the sound/visual elements, it might feel slow to some. 

  1. Eternals

The movie industry’s biggest franchise is finally gracing us with another highly-anticipated film with Marvel movie Eternals. Similar to Dune, the ensemble cast is filled with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Including Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, and Gemma Chan, and directed by recent Academy Award winner Chloe Zhao, this film is said to be different from anything that Marvel has ever released before. If you like larger-than-life stories, then this is the perfect fit for you. 

  1. Spencer
Photo by Tim Alex on Unsplash

If you’re a fan of Netflix’s The Crown, then this movie is the perfect match for you. With Kristen Stewart in the titular role, this story named after Princess Diana’s maiden name unpacks the Christmas festivities at Queen Elizabeth II’s Sandringham Estate leading up to the divorce between Diana and Prince Charles. Directed by Pablo Larraín, who also made Jackie, this film is predicted to make Stewart a potential Oscar candidate from the looks of the trailer itself.  If you’re a history buff or simply want to know more about the beloved Princess Di, then Spencer is the movie to watch. 

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