Jesus Camp: Why This 2006 Documentary Is More Urgent Than Ever

April 12, 2020 Kelli

I wanted to write something Easter-themed for today’s blog post, but after typing “easter,” “bunny,” and “rabbit” into all of my streaming apps and finding nothing even remotely appealing to watch, I decided to search “Jesus.” That was when I came across 2006’s Jesus Camp, which despite its acclaim, I’d never seen.

Just a couple of weeks ago, President Donald Trump said he wanted to have our country “reopened” by Easter, saying, “So, I think Easter Sunday, and you'll have packed churches all over our country. I think it would be a beautiful time.” Watching Jesus Camp for the first time in 2020, I was surprised by how much the film resonates with the current moment, especially when it comes to the role Christianity plays in politics.

Survivor S40: e09 War is Not Pretty

April 10, 2020 Todd & Mary

Hello, all! While time has become even more of an illusion than usual, we need things to anchor us during the week. Maybe you look forward to watching your church service from bed on Sunday mornings, or you are watching Devs (the next Othersode) and you can’t wait for each Thursday, or maybe you are a big fan of Jeff Probst and those wacky castaways, and so each Wednesday you sit down to watch Survivor. Well then welcome, because we are here to recap this episode, which was especially wild, even by Survivor’s standards.

The Bachelor Presents: Listen To Your Heart - First Impressions

April 9, 2020 Mary & Emily

When The Bachelor announced the spin-off Listen to Your Heart, no one knew we’d be where we are for its air date mid-April.

We’re all stuck in our houses. We’ve learned The Bachelorette has been indefinitely postponed so we’re not quite sure when we’ll be getting the next season. Where does that leave us? Bored and hungry for mindless reality tv. Enter Listen to Your Heart: a television show a lot of us were not planning to watch. But now suddenly the tides have turned, and here we are. Not only watching the show but recapping it.

Yes, that’s right. Mary and Emily will be recapping this show. We don’t know anything about it. We don’t know the format. We don’t know what the premise is, really, aside from people falling in love and playing music together. But we’re going to give you our first impressions of the cast members anyway. Here we go!

Why Animal Crossing is the Perfect Quarantine Escape

April 8, 2020 Mary

Nintendo’s Animal Crossing has charmed gamers since 2001, when the first installment was released. Created by Katsuya Eguchi (who also had a hand in such cute games as Yoshi’s Story), each game in the series lets the player create an avatar to represent themselves in a world filled with anthropomorphic, cute animals. Responsible for maintaining the town and keeping residents happy, the player must make friends with the various residents of the town, who are free to move in and out as they please. The attraction of the game comes from a collector mentality; the player can choose to work on a museum that collects the various fish, bugs, and fossils available throughout the game.

Revisiting The Visit: They're Old, It Just Be Like That Sometimes

April 5, 2020 Kelli & Emily

Why are Kelli and Emily revisiting The Visit? No one’s sure. It’s a weird time. But spoilers to follow.

Emily: So it's a very special time in our history. It's the 4 Year, 6 Month, and 25 Day Anniversary of the theatrical release of The Visit by M Knight Shyamalan. For those of you who forgot this movie, how dare you, but also, here’s a quick summary: “Becca and Tyler plan a week-long stay at their grandparents' place, whom they have never seen. Little do they know that their visit will be the most terrifying experience of their lives.” And the trailer.

Kelli: I had to pour another glass of wine for this. Anyway, I don't remember why we decided to talk about this movie. I think you said something like "we should watch The Visit," and I was like, "oh yeah, we should," and then we were like, "Revisiting The Visit, that's funny!" And here we are.

Emily: It's been a long couple of weeks.

Tiger King: "Animal People Are Nuts, Man"

April 4, 2020 Susan & Mary

Hey, all you cool cats and kittens.

The new Netflix documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness follows several figures in the world of big cats, but it particularly focuses on Joe Exotic (or Joe Maldonado-Passage) and Carole Baskin. These two figures work against each other, with Baskin taking the side of big cat preservation (with the goal of eventually having no big cats in private captivity), while Exotic wants to continue to breed and raise big cats at his small and privately owned zoo in Oklahoma. Things turn sour when Joe Exotic is tried for attempting to take a hit out on Baskin; however, the documentary itself covers so much more than that case. Susan and Mary are trying to parse through what they’ve seen, and boy, did they see a lot. Spoilers for Tiger King to follow.

Survivor S40: e8 "This is Where the Battle Begins"

April 3, 2020 Todd & Mary

Well, we made it, everyone. The Merge is here, and one player returns from The Edge. Admittedly, not a person that either Mary or Todd hoped would return (c’mon, Rob or Yul!), but still. Tyson’s back. Sandra is still gone, and one more player is headed to the Edge. Ready to find out what Mary and Todd have to say about all of this? Then you are in the right place.

Also, not that it matters, but Mary is still winning the fantasy Survivor league by a hefty margin. Whatever.

YA Book Club: I Hope You Get This Message

April 2, 2020 Mary & Emily

It’s time for another edition of Young Adult Book Club, the place where Emily and Mary talk about YA books. This month, they’re talking about I Hope You Get This Message by Farah Naz Rishi, a diverse tale of aliens, pandemics, friendship, and family. Without further chit chat, here we go!

Survivor S40: e7 & 8 Recap

March 27, 2020 Todd & Mary

We’re back! Last week was a little hectic, but at least half of us are sad to see the two Queens of Survivor, Parvati and Sandra, head off to the Edge. As we see at the top of this episode, Sandra decides that 20 minutes on the Edge is more than enough for her, making her the first (and, I suspect, last) person to raise the White Flag this season and head off to three weeks of vacation time spent in a real bed with actual food. Honestly, who can blame her? Sandra has nothing else to prove, and she already has $2 million in the bank thanks to Survivor. The Queen stays Queen, and she gets to live it up in a Queen-sized bed for the rest of the season.

Art, Empathy, and Crime: An Interview with Catherine Linka

March 20, 2020 Mary

After reading author Catherine Linka’s latest novel, What I Want You to See, I had the pleasure of talking to her about her experiences with art, the housing crisis, music, and of course her dog, Carter.

Mild spoilers for the novel to follow!

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