2023 JAN-MAY

Don't Make a Raptor Sad

Posted April 10 by Ryan Hiemenz

If you hadn’t heard by now, April is National Poetry Month. That’s cool and all but it tends to overshadow those who are honored on April 18th. The 18th is National Velociraptor Awareness Day, and I am saddened by the wide lack of care regarding our bird-ancestor friends. I did some (very light) research on why velociraptors are celebrated halfway through April, and every source kept telling me, “Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park films turned raptors into legitimate Hollywood superstars during the early ’90s.” Word for word the same on both National Day Today and WikiDates. They might need to fight about that. I understand that Jurassic Park popularized the velociraptor, likely because of the masterclass in tension that is the cafeteria scene:

However, the film released on June 11th, 1993, which unless my math is wrong, is not April 18th. It’s also an adaptation of a novel of the same name written by Michael Crichton. The novel was released in 1990, but I can’t find an exact date. It’s possible that it was released on April 18th, thus solving our mystery. I have another theory though.

Dinosaurs are cool. They always have been. Especially ones that look like the picture above. It’s been proven that velociraptors didn’t have scales and were feathered instead (someone tell Toronto), but this picture is badass so it proves my point more effectively. Anyways, since dinosaurs are so cool, Julius Caesar thought people should be aware of their existence back in 46 BC. So, he developed the Julian Calendar that we know and love, choosing to include a day especially for velociraptors (and T-Rex’s on June 1st but that’s besides the point). 

However, he loved velociraptors so much that he wasn’t sure what day was “good enough” for such a spectacular creature. What many history books forgot to include is that Caesar was also a poet, writing haiku before the form was popular. He was ahead of his time. It dawned on him late one night that he could combine his two favorite things, haiku and velociraptors, and so he did. The final draft of his calendar included April 17th as Haiku Day and April 18th as Velociraptor Awareness Day.

Clearly, this stuck, even through all of the revisions to his calendar over the last 2000 years. So, there you have it. That’s the truth behind National Haiku Day and National Velociraptor Awareness Day. Why does it matter though? It matters because not enough people celebrate either. I strongly believe that everyone should be given time off of work or school or whatever else to fully immerse themselves in the beauty of these holidays. Just make it a long weekend or something, it’s worth it.

Until that change happens though, I urge all of you to celebrate both holidays with me. To do so, we will write haiku about velociraptors all day on both the 17th and the 18th of April. If we remain strong and ignore everything other than our craft, our bosses, teachers, and parents will have no choice but to let us continue. Before we know it, everyone will be given off (or fired)!

I’ll get us started with some of my very one velociraptor haiku. Remember, it’s 5-7-5, not that lazy 3-5-3 bullshit. The raptors will know, and they will be sad. Don’t make a raptor sad. Here are my examples:

Velociraptor

Takes up a full haiku line

Because they’re so cool.

Raptors are not fast

No need for motorcycles

I’m sorry Chris Pratt.

Scales coated their skin

But like with Pluto it changed

And now they’re feathers.

So You Want to Try Humor Writing?

Posted April 3 by Julianna Reidell

Exciting news! After a “soft launch” last spring, Quiddity is now accepting submissions for our first full humor section, Quipstick Conspiracy! (If you still aren’t sure what a Quipstick is, that’s probably okay). And if you’re interested in submitting but have some hesitation about writing humor, that’s totally okay too! Humor writing, despite its relative popularity, doesn’t tend to be taught or incorporated into many creative writing lessons. I only ended up getting into the genre after a week-long summer camp sponsored by UPenn’s Philadelphia Writing Project when I was a rising sophomore in high school. Since then, I’ve returned to the camp annually to help teach and to talk about my own success at the high-school level; I also spent a good portion of 2020 and 2021 fine-tuning my skills as a curator at the teen-run humor website The Milking Cat. So for anyone interested in submitting to Quipstick but unsure how, I thought I would devote this blog post to sharing a few types of satire, as well as a couple of tips and tricks I’ve found to be useful when approaching my own writing. Enjoy!

What are some typical types of humor writing? 

Humor is actually a very diverse genre! It can range from anything to a script (think of the skits you might see on Saturday Night Live) to a list to a parody news article. Letters, quizzes, and op-eds are also especially popular forms of humor writing, but poems, short fiction, and parody song lyrics also work as well — assuming that humor is their primary purpose and that they manage to pull it off. Visual humor (think comics, memes) can be considered a separate genre, but some humor pieces do also incorporate visual aspects. 

Where can I read some good examples of humor writing? 

I personally find reading humor essential to getting into the mindset for writing it — and luckily, a good number of sites fully or partially devoted to humor writing can be located online. The two most prominent humor sites that I’ve encountered are The Onion, a parody news site, and McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, which publishes satire in a variety of categories, including lists, either/or quizzes, riffs on recent events (though not in a news article format), and “Open Letters to People or Entities Who Are Unlikely To Respond.” While these are arguably the “VIPs” of online humor, several smaller sites also produce great content, often within a specific theme. The Belladonna publishes work by and centered around women and other marginalized genders, The Hard Times has a punk and alternative focus, and The Broadway Beat covers exclusively theater-centric parodies. A few other sites which tend to be broader in range include Little Old Lady Comedy, Slackjaw, and Clickhole. 

How can I best approach writing a humor piece? 

There are so many ways to go about starting a piece of humor writing, but here are a few things that I always find useful to consider. 

1. Why this topic? While some humor writing can be genuinely ridiculous, a significant amount of humor today is also geared towards identifiable problems. This could be as broad as “parenting” or as specific as “whatever the government did today to make you angry.” For narrower topics, humor is a really effective way of establishing a stance on an issue, and pointing out flaws in an opposing argument, usually — though not always — through exaggeration. Richard Peck, a novelist whose books consistently make me laugh, said that “humor is anger that was sent to finishing school,” and he’s got a point. While an argument or a speech can employ more nuanced rhetoric, humor is often both snappier and a more accessible way to make a point. So if you’re searching for a topic to write about, one way to do that is to start thinking: what makes me angry? Or, more mildly — what do I find ridiculous? Look for the irony in any situation. And of course, what twist can you apply to it to make sure the piece is more than sugarcoated anger or angst — but instead truly, bitingly funny? But don’t feel obligated to pick an especially heavy topic; while those might have a lot of power, many of my pieces in particular have been more light-hearted parodies of cultural phenomena or events. Starting with passion or anger is one way to think yourself into a humor piece, but certainly not the only strategy that works. 

2. “Write what you know” is a frequently quoted piece of advice, and, depending on the type of writing you’re setting out to accomplish, its usefulness can vary. I do think, however, that it is absolutely crucial to writing humor. The more intimately you know a topic, the more detail you’ll be able to bring to making it funny. Are you a theater person? Think about cast dynamics, tropes about theater people, backstage antics — anything familiar that might help you pick what to write about. The same could apply to assorted sports, to academia — really to anything (which helps to explain why, as a classics nerd, most of my humor writing is made up of Shakespeare parodies and almost none involves pop culture). The most common danger of “writing what you know,” however (as demonstrated by my own experience), is that niche pieces can have a harder time finding a more general audience. Personally, I try not to worry about this, especially not during the initial drafting phase of my writing process. A piece that manages to be very funny about a hyper-specific topic would still be more interesting to me than a piece that only manages to glance off a very broad issue. And almost everything in the world has a dedicated community; sometimes it’s just a matter of discovering who’s out there to appreciate your piece. If it’s well-written, it’s almost a guarantee that someone will find it funny. 

3. Pay attention to power dynamics. This is probably the most common warning given to humor writers. Satirizing or skewering yourself or a group you belong to has certainly been done; it’s called self-deprecation, and while it might not please everyone, it generally doesn’t have a bad connotation. But minding the difference between “punching up” and “punching down” is crucial. If a group or individual — usually some aspect of “the system,” whether that’s a politician or a celebrity — has more power than you, they’re probably an acceptable target for a parody. There’s no real way that they (or other members of a group to which they belong) could be actually hurt by what you write. But “punching down,” or writing a piece that targets someone more marginalized than you — is strongly discouraged, for good reason. Real harm can be done here — and often, the “punching down” is obvious and the piece is therefore not that funny. 

4. Treat your humor writing the way you do any other piece you’re proud of. That is, work it through the traditional editing process — take the time to step away from it before revising, and, if possible, seek out feedback from a trusted person or group of people. While, as always, audience opinions on your piece will vary, humor is so intentionally geared to elicit a specific response from readers (laughter) that having a friend (or multiple friends) tell you that a joke isn’t working can be really valuable. And, as usual, there might be whole pieces that just don’t come together well enough — accepting this as part of the process, while difficult, is just as necessary as it is when writing poetry or fiction. That said — have fun with your writing! Scott Dikkers, co-founder of The Onion, opens his book How to Write Funny with a discussion of how purposeful and intense humor writing — especially in group settings — can be. I tend to disagree. While humor writing, like any writing, can be as intense as you make it, I personally don’t believe that a humor piece will have any real sparkle if you don’t enjoy yourself writing it. If you want to make others laugh — or appreciate something — amusing yourself first is absolutely essential.

The Top 5 Books I Wish I Never Read

Posted March 27 by Sydney Howse

Have you ever read a book and gone “wow, I can’t believe I wasted my own precious time reading this atrocity”? If yes, then you’ve come to the right place because I have too. More times than I’d like to admit. So here are some of the top 5 books that made me want a refund for the hours I spent reading some abysmal literature (if you can even call those incomprehensible words literature).  

#5 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen

First of all, how dare they put Jane Austen as a co-author on this monstrosity (haha pun intended). She had no say over this book being written where they literally took her own words and just casually threw zombies into the middle of her sentences. Yes, really. 

The book is copy and paste of the classic Pride and Prejudice just with Seth Grahame-Smith inserting a zombie in randomly. Oh, the Bennets are at a dance? Party crasher zombies. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are fighting again? Well just add some zombie tension. And then they kill the zombies with the blades that are conveniently hiding under their skirts and go about their days like nothing ever happened. 

So if it's so bad why is it at the bottom of the list? You ask. Well I only got to page 100 before giving up on it entirely. Soooo compared to the others on this list, I spent a lot less time wasting my youth on this Just Add Zombies Classical Retelling. A retelling, I might add, that could have been much more interesting if the author had used his own words and actually, you know, told the ‘classic’ part of the story in a different way instead of parroting Jane Austen word for word. 

#4 Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

I just want to start off by saying that I read this book before the Netflix Original Series was even in conception. I also never actually watched the series either, the book was enough time wasted on the sob story of Hannah Baker. 

To put it simply this is a book about a girl who commits s*****e and decides after the fact to comfort everyone who did her dirty. Oh, also, it has a romance subplot, how amazing. I think many of my own thoughts can be summed up in Emma’s review of it, cleverly titled, Thirteen Reasons Why I Hate This Book. The main reasons why I wasted my time reading this, why I wish I never read it, and why I hate this book are because it glorifies s******e, it doesn’t bring any attention to mental illness, and it is a terrible misrepresention of how depression and suicidal thoughts work (also don’t forget the romance subplot with the dead girl). Anyways, let’s move on.

#3 Allegiant (Divergent 3) by Veronica Roth

Wow, surprise, surprise, this book also has a cinematic counterpart. What is with these terrible books being turned into movies and tv shows? There is a conspiracy here that someone not only wants me to waste my time reading the books, but also watching the movies. And in this instance it sadly worked. 

This book was the worst ending to a series that I have ever read. Spoilers: (this came out in 2013 so if you haven’t read it by now it's not my fault and also you just shouldn’t) the main character dies at the end! You’re telling me that I read a trilogy about this insufferable teen girl only for her to sacrifice herself at the very end of the book. Yeah, I threw the book across the room. I didn’t cry, no, I was just angry. And she definitely didn’t have to die either. Also her boyfriend then moves onto her best friend, romantic, right? 

In sum, I wish I had never read this book and had just come up with my own ending to the already appalling series instead. Or better yet, never had read the series at all. (You’re not missing much).

#2 Fallen by Lauren Kate

I only remember one scene from this entire book. And that one scene is already taking up too much space in my brain. The main character (a useless, pathetic, tragically stupid female protagonist) looks at the future love interest for the first time, she stares at him because of course he is the most handsome boy she has ever seen and you know what he does? He gives her the middle finger. It’s love at first sight for the useless, pathetic, tragically stupid female protagonist and she will spend the entirety of the book going after him. That’s all I remember and it’s enough to know that I hated it. 

This book is basically a retelling of Twilight, but somehow worse. Twilight didn’t even make it on this list because at least Twilight can make me laugh and the movie is always a pleasure to talk about. But this, nope. I think we can move on to number one.

#1 Tiger’s Curse by Colleen Houck

This one also wins the worst cover design. I mean look at it, it's like the artist has never seen a tiger before. But at least the cover reflects the insides of the book too. Never have I read a more poorly written book in my life. It was terrible plot wise, character wise, thematically (did it even have any themes because I can’t think of any). 

This was also the most recent book of the five that I have read so it is sticking out in my mind even more. The main character Kelsey was the most annoying person I have ever encountered. This is a story about a girl falling in love with a 300 year old tiger-man and only knows him for a couple of weeks before agreeing to go around the world with him. Did I mention that she’s also stupid? Oh, and whiny. 

There’s also a buttload of awful tropes within this book. We have dead parents, teen girl with a ridiculously older man, a love triangle with the dude’s brother, chosen one, damsel in distress, oh, and, my personal favorite, the miscommunication trope. 

The real kicker to this book is that I own it. Not only did it waste hours of my time, but it takes up precious space on my bookshelf. I have been trying to get my roommate and my friends to read this, so that I can have someone, anyone, accompany me in my misery, but no dice. So if you haven’t read this, maybe you should, just so that you can talk to me about it. I already wasted my time with this one and now you should too so that you can put it at the top of your 5 Books I Wish I Never Read list. 

If you ever need a good laugh and don’t have time to watch the twilight movie, you should go find one of these books on Goodreads and look at the terrible reviews. I promise that they won’t disappoint. Happy reading!

Guide to Dirt Track Racing

Posted March 21 by Carlee Strunk

Picture this; It's a warm Saturday night, you're out with your friends, eating and hanging out. You paid a cheap entrance fee to witness some high quality entertainment. 

Except it's not any of your traditional summer activities, it's dirt track racing. 

Introduction to Racing

Twenty to thirty over 2000 pound cars rubbing, wrecking, and racing. Whether it's sprint cars, late models, modifieds, or any other type of dirt racing car, the action on the track is always intense.

There are rivalries between the top competitors that leave many fans at the edge of their seats. Some track incidents may even roll over into the pits (the place where all the cars park during the race and the drivers and crew members prepare for the race). Sometimes drivers may discuss their differences on the track, in the pits. In some situations this can escalate to physical altercations in which security steps in. This creates even more suspense for fans the next time those drivers are on the track. 

Even though drivers and fans may have their differences, overall the racing community is a very accepting and close community. We keep up with each other through social media and Facebook groups. If someone in the racing community is in need, you best believe everyone is going to do whatever they can to help you. 

This creates a very welcoming environment for new fans. As many race tracks are beginning to close, and car and fan counts are diminishing, fans are left pondering the future of this sport. So anybody who is willing to support their local race track, is supported by the veterans of the sport. 

It is also a very affordable event to attend weekly. Prices range from 5-20 dollars per person depending on age and race track. The food is always very good and affordable as well. Fans will have a variety of food to choose from, such as: Sandwiches, churros, pretzels, fries, some tracks even have fried oreos, nachos, and Ritas!

After paying the entrance fee and getting your snacks, fans will go on to choose their seats. Similar to many other sports, race fans watch the event from bleachers. My recommendation for maximum comfort is a bleacher chair. A small foldable chair with a backrest, that unfolds and attaches to the board underneath. Otherwise a nice thick blanket to put over the bleacher is your next best option.

For new fans the most appealing place to sit is probably the front stretch, where the flag man waves the flags.Sitting here you will be able to see the exact second the winning car crosses the checkered flag. It's also probably closest to the bathrooms, food, and the exit.

Throughout the night you will probably watch practice, qualifying events, and the final feature event for each category of race car. Some tracks may only have 2 different types of cars racing. While others can have 3-7 different types of cars racing on one night. 

After each event has been finished and the races are officially over, you have 2 options. You can dust yourself off and head home. Or the second option, you can head to the pits. During the race the pits are not accessible to normal fans, but when the races complete, tracks give fans the chance to meet their favorite drivers. In the pits you can see what really goes on behind the scenes. The cars and their trailers. Tools, jacks, tires, bumpers, everything that makes the race car. You also may be able to get autographs or merchandise from drivers. 

Then you head home and prepare to come back the next week. 

Where are the race tracks at?

Within the area of Arcadia there are a couple race tracks that students could attend. Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey hosts modifieds and sprint car dirt racing and is only a 45 minute drive. The Montgomery county Quarter midget race club is in Phoenixville, which is usually for children under 15 to race. As well as many other dirt tracks that are within an hour of Arcadia. There are also a ton in surrounding states for when Arcadia students go home for the summer. Like New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Ohio and so many more states. No matter where you find yourself in the United States, there is a dirt race track that can be attended. 

Why do people race? 

In order to watch racing, I think it is important to understand why these people are racing cars. For very successful drivers this is their job. They have no other full time job and the money they make from racing is how they pay the bills. However this is only a small perception of race car drivers. Many people race and work other jobs, even those who do win higher paying purses. I think there was a late model race that paid 1 million dollars to win this past summer, and that has been the highest paying purse ever in dirt racing. 

In normal circumstances though the purses are usually much lower.

As with all sports, racing teached children sportsmanship, how to be kind, and a variety of other good qualities. The one thing it teaches that many other sports don't, is how to drive a car. Save to say all my race car driver friends got their licenses immediately. It teaches skills that are beneficial in real life driving, and anymore accidents are happening all the time and to everybody. Something these race car drivers have that other people don't,  is quicker reaction time and better reaction skills when it comes to driving in bad weather or bad road conditions. Racing these cars weekly for years teaches people they better figure out how to avoid accidents because it can make or break your race, especially in the cars newer drivers drive, as they have less skill and usually more accidents. This prepares them for moving up to the more competitive faster group. But like I said, it also benefits them in their real life. 

Something I hear a lot being a fan of racing is, “How is it fun to watch cars go in circles”. It is so much more than that. It's a community and it creates a group of kind and friendly people. It's entertaining, it's very suspenseful and has much higher stakes than other sports. It is a summer activity that I suggest students at Arcadia look into, and consider supporting your local dirt track.

Taylor Swift is More Than Just Her Exes 

Posted March 6 by Allison Schmidt

Taylor Swift is a well-known pop star. She is a singer-songwriter with ten original studio albums, two of which she re-recorded,  four EPs, and many other minor works. Taylor Swift sold over 100 million album units in the entire world. She has broken multiple records when it comes to her music. One example of a record she broke was being the first musician to hold all top ten spots on the top 100 billboards in the U.S. 

Unfortunately, many people fail to recognize her accomplishments as an artist. There are many reasons for that. One reason is that, years ago, the media painted Taylor Swift as someone who just wrote songs about her exes. This blog is to show people that Taylor Swift writes other songs that aren’t about her exes. I’ll be naming five songs and describing what I think they are about. I will also include some of my favorite lyrics of each song. Lastly, I’ll name some honorable mentions at the bottom of the list. 

The Man

This song is a part of her album called “Lover,” and it is the fourth track on the album. Personally, I think this song is about sexism in the workplace. It is about women not having the same advantages as men in the workforce - especially, in male dominated fields. One of my favorite lines in the song is, “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I could get there quicker if I were a man.” This song perfectly describes what it’s like to be a woman in the workforce.

Blank Space

This song is a part of her album called "1989," and it is the second track on the album. At first glance, this song may look like a breakup song. In my opinion, this song is actually about how the media portrayed Taylor Swift. It's how the media painted Taylor Swift to be this girl who dated guys to break their hearts and then wrote a song about it five minutes later. A favorite lyric of mine that is from this song is "Got a long list of ex-lovers. They'll tell you I'm insane."  Another favorite lyric of mine is, “Ain’t it funny? Rumors fly. And I know you heard about me.This song perfectly shows people what it's like to be a woman who is a celebrity and dating.  

This is Me Trying 

This song is a part of her album called “Folklore,” and it is the ninth track. After I analyzed this song, I concluded that this song is about anxiety, depression, and adjusting to the hardest of changes. A lot of my favorite lyrics are in this song. One lyric I think is so honest and genuine is, “Pulled the car off the road to the lookout, Could’ve followed my fears all the way down.” Another lyric that is just as honest is, “They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all of my potential.”  Lastly, “I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere” is another favorite lyric of mine. These lyrics and this song describe so many honest feelings about what it’s like to be someone who no longer has the energy to give one hundred percent but is still giving the best that she possibly can. 

BeJeweled 

On a happier note, "Bejeweled" is part of her latest album, "Midnights," and it is her ninth track. This song is about people realizing how special they are after dating someone who may not have treated them as uniquely as they should've. One of my favorite lyrics from this song is, "Best Believe I'm still bejeweled when I walk into the room. I can still make the whole place shimmer." This lyric is so fun to sing. Many people deserve to feel this way. They deserve to regain what was once lost. They deserve to feel like a beacon of light in a dark room. 

Your On Your Own,  Kid

“You on your own, Kid” is also a part of “Midnights,” and it is her fifth track on the album. I think this song is about taking risks for the future you dream of having. This song is about leaving the past behind and pursuing the life you always wanted. There are a couple of lyrics that I love in this song. One is, “Everything you lose is a step you take. So make the friendships bracelets. Take the moment and taste it. You have no reason to be afraid.” This song is a reminder not to look back, to enjoy the moment, and go after your future without regrets. 

That concludes the list of five songs that aren’t about breakups. As you can see, Taylor Swift has much more to offer than her exes. She has so much more songs than just songs about her breakups. Not only that, but Taylor Swift is a genius in songwriting. Some of the lyrics she wrote are lyrics that some artists dream of writing. Her accomplishments deserve to be recognized. Taylor Swift is more than the men she dated in her past. 

Honorable Mentions: “New Romantics,” “The Last Great American Dynasty,” “The Archer,”  “It’s nice to have a friend,” “Karma,” “Mean,” “Welcome to New York,” “Marjorie,”  “Soon you’ll get better,” “Dear Reader,” and “The Best Day,”

Navigating Anxiety and Homesickness as a First-Year Living on Campus

Posted February 27 by Quinne Boyle

College is often painted as this great opportunity to expand your education and what you're passionate about, to meet new friends, and to experience freedom that you didn’t get when living at home. And while this is true, college is also nerve-wracking and can be a hard adjustment. Although I have had a pretty great first year so far, it did take a lot of getting used to (and still does). Being away from home for a majority of time after being constantly around my family and friends for most of my life was hard and triggered a lot of anxiety and homesickness on my part. This new freedom and responsibility had also caused a lot of anxiety because suddenly I had to ensure I was making good decisions and managing my time wisely when it came to classwork. Whereas during senior year of high school, I had my parents constantly checking in on me and making sure I was doing my homework, getting to class on time, eating at least two meals a day, etc. Suddenly, I was feeling the pressure of this title of “adult” I was given when I turned 18. 

One thing that made me feel better about these negative emotions I was experiencing was knowing that I wasn’t alone in feeling these things and that others also found adjusting to college life hard. It took me a long time to get comfortable with living on campus and being responsible for so many things compared to those I had in high school. Even now I still experience my fair share of late night panic attacks over an assignment I pushed off until last minute because I was overwhelmed or the sudden onset of tears over missing my dog and my family. But with one full college semester under my belt I have found a few ways that help manage this anxiety and homesickness that I wish to share in the hopes that it may help another first-year student or anyone else dealing with these feelings.

Spending time with friends

This may seem like an obvious piece of advice and perhaps a cliche one, but if it works it’s worth suggesting. Spending time with friends can have a lot of positive benefits and be a great distraction from feelings of anxiety or homesickness. One of my first times truly hanging out and bonding with my friends was when my roommate and I hosted a movie night to watch Crimson Peak (a phenomenal movie that I highly recommend and is currently on Netflix). Now, whenever any of us are stressed out or feeling down we call for a movie night to destress. We even have a list of must watch movies we’ve been collecting since the first semester. Sometimes we stray from movies and will take a detour to rewatch some of what we deemed to be the most messed up Criminal Minds episodes (don’t judge). My roommate and I also try to have Glee nights at least once a week before we go to bed on a night where we weren’t too busy or got a lot of work done as a way to reward ourselves for our hard work. 

Another great option is to have game nights with friends. This can also help distract from negative feelings and lead someone to focus on more positive emotions instead. There have been so many fun memories and experiences that have come out of game nights with my friends that have helped me when I’m feeling down and remind me of who and what I have here on campus to rely on.

Simply talking about these feelings and leaning on one another is also something that I think is important to do because sometimes you just need to know you’re not alone and have support from friends. Getting these feelings off of my chest and talking with them have also helped relieve the weight of anxiety and homesickness. 10/10 would recommend. 

Practicing Self Care

Self-care is extremely important for physical and mental health and can look different depending on the person. For me, self-care is listening to music for a bit between classes, putting aside some time to read my recent book in my room or by the green (when the weather permits), or putting on my favorite face mask from Lush while watching my favorite show. For others it may be working out, taking a walk, performing a concert in the shower, etc. Find what makes you happy and set aside time during the week to act on it. This can really help when feeling overwhelmed and anxious by class work and give you time to rest and regain energy necessary for going about your day. 

Going outside

This is obviously dependent on the weather, however thanks to a little help from global warming the weather is getting nicer earlier each year. Yay! Anyways, I think sometimes being a part of a generation that more or less grew up in the age of technology can make it hard to peel ourselves away from our electronics and enjoy time outside. But spending time outside, whether by yourself or with friends, can help boost your energy and your mood. I personally have become fond of laying on the hills behind the parking lots near Murphy and the sports field as it has a great view of the castle and provides ample opportunity for cloud watching. But there are other great spots around campus to hang around outside like the green and also off campus like the Wissahickon trails nearby that make for a fun hike.  

Managing your time

Something that was really scary to me at the start of the first semester was how much free time I actually had outside of class compared to high school. In high school, you’re in class for 7-8 hours with a variety of different classes throughout the day, every day, five days a week. But in college your schedule is a lot more flexible and results in a lot more free time. At first, it was easy to lose track of time and assignment dates because I wouldn’t use my free time as wisely as I should have and professors put the responsibility on me to remember when assignments were due compared to in high school where teachers were constantly reminding me of them. Eventually the anxiety would build up because I was constantly pushing off assignments thinking I’d have all this time later to get them done, except I would tell myself this until it was too late. It wasn’t until my roommate recommended I use google calendar to keep track of my classes and class work that I started to get more on top of things. I would definitely recommend using this app to anyone who struggles with their anxiety interfering with their time management skills to record assignments and their due dates and to also set reminders for them and other non-school related tasks. 

Taking advantage of the study rooms at the library is another thing that has helped me stay focused and get my work done. Oftentimes, I just have to get out of my dorm room where I am constantly getting distracted by my phone or the temptation of taking a nap. The study rooms are a near perfect place to get work done because it still feels secluded and gives you privacy and space to focus and to be productive without distractions. 

On that note, it can be tempting to get a study room with your friends and do work together. While that may seem like a fun and relaxing idea, sometimes it can cause more harm than good. Speaking from experience, I get extremely distracted sometimes when just working by myself so when I add friends to the equations I am ten times more likely to goof around than I am to actually get work done, which results in a lot of panic on my part when I leave the study room at 10:00pm with a days worth of work to get done before classes the next day. Saying no to your friends and working by yourself is not something to feel guilty over if it benefits you in the long run. 

Utilizing Counseling Services 

Finally, the last piece of advice I have is if you’re struggling with anxiety, homesickness, or other mental health issues, use the counseling services available at Arcadia or seek help somewhere else. There is a lot of stigma surrounding mental health in today’s society so it can cause hesitation to seek out help for it, I know it felt that way for me. But there’s no shame in getting help when you need it and it can really make a difference in the long run. 

The Emerging World of Flash Fiction… and How to Write your Own

Posted February 20 by Jewel Miller

This is it! Quiddity has decided to break into the recently popularized world of flash fiction!

I was incredibly excited to learn that this would be the subject of one of Quiddity’s contests this semester. Despite this, I have to confess that I don’t actually know all too much about flash fiction as a genre, let alone how to write it. The idea of telling a whole story in such a small amount of words can feel limiting. All this considered, maybe you don’t know a whole lot about this strange genre either, so perhaps we can explore it together. 

Flash fiction refers to any short form fiction—typically only a few hundred words. On many of the websites I looked at I saw it referred to cleverly as “short short fiction”, which seemed fitting. It is still a form of fiction and adheres to the same general notions of character and plot, but may do so in different ways depending on its length. The most important idea here is that flash fiction isn’t just an idea, fragment, or excerpt of a larger narrative. It still evokes a complete story all by itself. 

The further I researched the more I realized that flash fiction is actually an umbrella term for all kinds of ultra-short fiction. Some sources said that Flash fiction turned into a short story at 1,000 words, while others said 1,500. Some defined “microfiction” (less commonly known as a “Drabble”) as a separate category of stories 100 words or less. I found a pretty clear list on this blog that outlines all of the different types and their word counts, ranging from Twitterture (280 characters) to the famous six word story (six words, of course). 

Being that there are so many types with their own general practices, it may be difficult to provide examples or guidelines for every one, but maybe looking at just a few could be helpful. The smallest starting point for flash fiction is generally considered to be the six word story. Maybe you recognize this one:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

I first read this in my twelfth grade english class, right before being asked to create our own six word story. These particular six words are commonly attributed to Ernest Hemingway (although if you actually look into this you may find that the evidence supporting this claim is not as extensive as it could be). Either way, it’s a good example of the six-word story, and a good starting point for writing some of your own or even just brainstorming some fun ideas that can turn into longer works. Just this week I actually did a six word story exercise in one of my classes, boding some interesting results:

Seagulls fly, wrapper crinkles, sandwich disappears.

Six words is probably about as simplistic of a narrative as you can get that still makes sense, and the boundaries of flash fiction only increase from there. As for further examples, specifically ones that may be more appropriate for a certain Quiddity contest (hint-hint, nudge-nudge), we might begin to look at longer form flash fiction, more in the range of a few hundred words rather than a few words period.  

One of the coolest things I've noticed in my research of flash fiction is the range of both boundaries and creativity that it brings. It can bring in styles and ideas from any genre. We can find more traditional examples of it in the form of classic authors like Virginia Woolf (“A Haunted House”, 710 words) and Mark Twain (“A Telephonic Conversation”, 810 words), or we can take a look at modern writers like Hugh Behm-Steinberg— who in 2015 won the Barthelme Short Prose Prize for his story about a society in which anyone can order clones of Taylor Swift off the internet (Yes, really. And it’s not half bad. “Taylor Swift” by Hugh Behm-Steinberg, 500 words). For an even more experimental example we could look at the collection titled Severance by Robert Butler, which consists of sixty-two 240 word stories cataloging the thoughts of people post-decapitation. That’s right. Severed. Heads. Morbid, sure, but the concept alone made me do a double take so hard that I almost considered coughing up the money for it on Amazon. This is also an excellent example of the ways in which the limits of flash fiction can spark creativity that may not have otherwise been realized. In this case, Robert Butler uses the concept of consciousness-after-decapitation in a way that goes hand in hand thematically with the few-hundred word structure in which it is written. 

The various ins and outs of writing flash fiction can be nuanced, since each word count brings different limitations, but below are some general tips to at least get started with writing some:

1. Having a complete plot — short stories are not just excerpts of prose or a vignette, they still explore their themes within the structure of a beginning, middle, and end. 

2. The element of surprise — some flash fiction stories lend themselves well to a surprise or twist at the end, which can help reveal the overarching themes or ideas you’re trying to convey. Even if it isn’t a huge twist, your last sentence should be hard hitting. 

3. Don’t overdo it — don’t try to cram too much complexity into one piece. If needed, try to focus on one specific scene or moment in time. Likewise, try to keep the story limited to one or two characters at the most. 

4. Titles matter — Much like with poetry, the title of a flash fiction piece holds an extra sense of importance because of how few words your story contains. 

5. Imagery — Strong word choice and imagery helps make every word count. 

For more tips, take a look at these guides from The Guardian and Self-publishingschool.com. 

With all this in mind, it’s not hard to see why this style of writing has risen in popularity. Examples of it can be found in many small and large literary magazines all over the world. If you need more examples—such as more normal ones that aren’t about severed heads or Taylor Swift clones—check out the flash fiction pages in publications like The New Yorker, The Los Angeles Review, Smokelong Quarterly, or Vestal Review. 

Hopefully all these different examples give some sense of just how far reaching this genre is. Though it might be a strange adjustment at first, especially if you’re used to writing longer form fiction, soon you’ll be off writing 600 word accounts of a spaceship crash, or a 100 word memory of a dropped popsicle on a hot summer day (which you’ll submit to Quiddity’s Spring 2023 flash fiction contest, of course). I even found some prompts to get you started. 

Happy Writing :) 

Everything's Wrong Unless It's Old: Insta Poetry and If It Should Be Considered "Real" Poetry

Posted February 12 by Carly Maloney

With each generation there is always a hierarchy of criticism, usually preaching that younger generations are not doing things the “right way.”  Baby Boomers and Gen X judge the things that Millennials and Gen Z do, whether it comes to professionalism (what is appropriate to wear in a formal setting, or even what is considered to be a formal setting today), communication (how texts and emails are used to communicate with others virtually and how younger generations hate talking on the phone), and general behavior (what language is appropriate to use in certain settings, how to act around and address people of authority).  What I want to focus on, though, is the generational opinions and perceptions of what constitutes “real” poetry, and how insta poetry is viewed as a form of writing and art.

Insta poetry is a relatively new form of writing that came about because of the rise of social media and usually describes shorter-form poems that can be easily shared and spread online.  Some insta poets that rose in fame such as Rupi Kaur, Courtney Peppernell, and Atticus have books of poetry that have actually been published and sold online and in bookstores but many insta poetry remains exclusively online on various Instagram accounts.  People who enjoy it usually are very engaged with the poet on whatever social media platform they post on, say that they connected with their poetry on some emotional level, and enjoy reading the short, relatable poems.  However, other people who prefer more “traditional” poetry criticize insta poets and their writing for a number of reasons.  They believe that the poets are lazy, taking vague, general, or relatable phrases and breaking them into poetic format.  They criticize insta poets for writing cliched, done-to-death statements about the moon, the sun, and other space- and nature-related metaphors, even though traditional poets have been doing it for years.  They also criticize them for just doing what’s popular in order to gain some attention and potentially profit.  With all this discourse about insta poetry, along with my own mixed feelings about the art form, I wanted to look at some popular insta poets as well as compare insta poetry to what is considered to be “real” poetry.  I feel that with the everyday use of social media people online read insta poetry and feel entitled to an opinion that it is wrong or annoying in some way,  and because they express these opinions very loudly people may see them as the only voices defining what can and cannot be viewed as “real” poetry.

Because I don’t generally read insta poetry, I tried to look through multiple accounts and read through a few poems from each to determine which I liked and thought were well written, and which I disliked or even detested for some reason.  I personally believe that Rupi Kaur has some solid poems.  Yes, most of them are very short and I understand why that can garner criticism, but in some of her short poems there is strong imagery and language that effectively evokes emotions.  Some of the poems in her first book Milk and Honey have seemed pretty good (because I didn’t actually buy the book, I've only heard or read some poems from other sources).  Though her poems don’t usually have names, an example that I found regarding the way she writes poetry is “milk and honey dripped/ from her my lips as i answered/ cause people have not been kind to me.”  Her poetry delves into personal traumatic experiences that she is coping with and sharing with her audience who might have gone through similar experiences.  Though I don’t personally relate to it, I can see how and why many people can while also finding healing through reading her poetry.  An insta poet that I do not like, however, is Atticus.  Some of my dislike of his content might be biased or instinctual and I can’t exactly explain all of it, but I genuinely think his poems don’t have a lot of effort put into them.  The three main issues I have with his poetry are that it seems like he often takes generic statements and puts them into a poem-format, making him sound disingenuous; his poems feel like they should be one or two lines in longer poem that elaborates on an idea; and as far as his writing process goes it seems like he doesn’t put much effort into the intention behind the poem.  A good example of this is that reading a lot of his poems both aloud and in my head sounded extremely awkward because the way he decided to break it up didn’t really make sense.  It seems like he doesn’t understand or know what enjambment is and just took a general sentence or statement that could have remained in prose but broke it into a few non-descript lines to turn it into “poetry,” which is a common criticism from people who dislike the art form.  An example displaying all three issues I have with his poetry is “Love exists/ somewhere between/ a girl pretending/ she can’t open a jar of pickles/ and a boy pretending/ not to know she could.”  In contrast to Rupi Kaur, he just sounds more pretentious and detached from a lot of his writing which gives the impression that he’s just an insta poet for a profit.  When looking at each of their Instagram accounts, where they are most accessible, Rupi Kaur’s posts are a relatively normal mix of her life and her poetry, while about half of Atticus’ posts from the past few years are related to the merch he is selling (books, jewelry, makeup, his coffee brand, tattoos people have gotten of his poetry, etc.).  

There is a debate as to whether insta poetry is “real” poetry at all.  While some criticisms are valid, such as people writing and posting this poetry just for the sake of attention rather than for the sake of art, I don’t think that this means it’s not real poetry.  The length of a poem does not define it as a “real” poem either.  There are plenty of traditional poems that are relatively short, while others go on for paragraphs or even pages.  From “We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks to “The Waste Land” by T. S. Eliot, poems can be as short or as long as the poet wants and can contain whatever content they desire.  I think what makes a difference between (what I consider to be) a good poem vs. a bad poem, specifically regarding insta poetry, is intention.  Poets don’t have to be masters at all the various linguistic techniques to make a poem sound and look nice or have memorized methods to writing the “proper” poem, but there has to at least be some intention about how the words are written and how they are placed throughout the piece.  Intention and the desire to create, for whatever reason, has produced many poems throughout the years, each one gaining some form of criticism.  But specifically because insta poetry is newer it seems to have gained even more criticism because it is seen as “wrong” to those used to reading more traditional poetry. 

Pokémon Scarlet/Violet: A Story of Trauma and Loneliness

Posted January 30 by Rosie Stein

Disclaimer: Some characters/locations have different names depending on which version one plays. Since I played Violet, I will be using the names of the characters/locations in this version because it is what I am most familiar with.

Spoilers ahead!

Pokémon! It’s my favorite video game series. I’m one of those people who gets every new game and plays it in under 24 hours. In recent years, that has been easy to do. The story is sparse, linear, and if you understand the battling mechanics it is not much of a challenge. The fun for me has come after the main game, when I can look for shiny Pokémon (which are the same as their non-shiny counterparts, just a different color.)

But I did not do that with Pokémon Violet. In Pokémon Violet are three separate story lines that all converge towards the end. The game is open world; you can go anywhere in the Paldea region at any time. There is no order that you have to do things in, you can just do them. I was so busy exploring the region and catching Pokémon that I did not complete the story for weeks. Admittedly, this was partially because the end of the semester was upon me and I did not have time to play. Once I did start playing again, I still did not do the story. I was having too much fun running around Paldea.

But then, finally, I started playing the story quest. Your character just moved to Paldea and is about to start their first day at a Pokémon academy called Uva. The headmaster arrives to give you your starter Pokémon, you meet your rival and neighbor – her name is Nemona --  and then you head off to school. On the way there, a weird looking Pokémon falls from the sky. Obviously you go to help it. After doing so you meet a boy named Arven, who knows the mysterious Pokémon, and tells you its called Miraidon. Arven absolutely hates the thing, so much so that he’s willing to give it to you, a stranger, after you battle him.

Finally, you and Nemona arrive at the city Uva Academy is in. There you meet a girl called Penny who is being bullied by some kids from a group of delinquents called “Team Star.” After you help her, you’re able to finally go to school.

At the school you receive the information for the three main storylines. Victory Road:  Nemona enjoys battling with you, she wants you to do the gym challenge and become a champion level trainer. Path of Legends: Arven wants to find these rare herbs and needs your help because the herbs are guarded by these massive Pokémon – called Titan Pokémon – and he’s not good at battling. Starfall Street: Someone named Cassiopeia hacks your phone, she wants you to take down Team Star. In addition to these three quests, Professor Turo reaches out to you; he wants you to take care of Miraidon and help it recover fully from its injuries. In the meantime, you can ride Miraidon like a bike –a bike that’s shaped like a friend.

And then you’re set loose into the world!

But I want to go deeper into the story. Because even though the surface of the story is bright and cheerful the story goes much deeper.

To start, I need to address the three storylines.

Victory Road: This is the gym challenge. It is just like every other Pokémon game: you fight gym leaders, get badges, challenge the elite four, challenge the champion, and become the champion yourself. Easy. As you defeat the gyms, Nemona follows you. She really wants you to complete the gym challenge. With every badge comes another character who tells you that they haven’t seen a battler like you since Nemona did the challenge. It all comes to a head when you defeat the champion and become a champion level trainer yourself. Finally, you are on Nemona’s level, and she can battle you at her full strength. You beat her. For a moment, you think that she’s going to be upset. She has gone all out against someone for the first time in ages and lost. However, she’s thrilled. Nemona has not lost a battle in so long that she’s excited to learn and improve from her mistakes. She immediately challenges you to a battle again, and that’s where “Victory Road” comes to a close.

Starfall Street: Cassiopeia declares war against Team Star (a group of bullies) on your behalf. About two years ago, Team Star bullied people so thoroughly that their victims left the academy. Cassiopeia wants you to take them down. You also learn that the leaders of Team Star have not been to school since that incident and are facing expulsion if they do not show up for class. Team Star has a rule: if you defeat the leaders in battle, they are forced to step down. This is how you are meant to disband Team Star. So, you go to the bases and fight the leaders.

But as you defeat them, you realize that everything you thought you knew about Team Star is a lie. It turns out, the leaders of Team Star were recruited by a mysterious person – the true leader of Team Star – in order to take down bullies. All of the members of Team Star were victims of bullying themselves. The event that lead to a large group of students dropping out of school in fear was not a mass bullying incident. Instead, it was a group of outcasts banding together to overthrow their bullies once and for all. And they succeeded! However, Team Star became villainized because the school completely overhauled their staff – from administrators to teachers, everyone was replaced – and removed the history of bullying pre-Team Star from the records.

As you take down the Team Star bases, it becomes clear that Cassiopeia has a history with Team Star. It is also clear that her “delivery person” – Penny who shows up to give you TMs (these teach your Pokémon new moves) and items to make TMs – also has a history with Team Star. After the leaders are defeated, Cassiopeia reveals that they are the true leader of Team Star. They challenge you to a battle in the school’s courtyard in the middle of the night.

Surprise! Cassiopeia and the leader of Team Star has been Penny all along! She reveals that she was bullied so badly before Team Star that she was too scared to go to school. She refused to leave her house and hid from everyone. It was only through her hacking skills that she found others to help her lead Team Star and get rid of the bullies plaguing the school. After the bullies left, and Team Star was to be expelled, Penny took the blame. She was kicked out of the academy for two years and has just come back. Penny wants you to defeat her because if Team Star is disbanded, her friends will have to come back to school. She does not want them to be expelled.

When you beat her, the other leaders of Team Star show up. They have never met her in real life, only through phone calls. And they’re thrilled that they get to finally spend time with her in person. She had been worried they would hate her for not telling them who she was, but they did not care. Team Star may be officially disbanded, but they still stick together.

Path of Legends: The Titan Pokémon are massive, terrifying creatures. There is nothing scarier than stumbling into one by accident in the overworld as you explore the region. You see why Arven did not want to take on these Pokémon alone. Sometimes he shows up after you’ve already battled them once, but he always is there to help by the end, even if he is not able to do much himself. He wants the special plants “Herba Mystica” that these Pokémon guard because he wants to create the ultimate sandwich.

Whenever you defeat a Titan Pokémon, he makes a sandwich for you! Miraidon always shows up then. See, Miraidon really likes sandwiches, and they want yours. Because they’re friend shaped (and because the game will not let you choose another option) you give it to them. Arven gets mad because he made that sandwich for you, not Miraidon (remember, he hates Miraidon). Then, Miraidon gets on their hindlegs and roars. The herba mystica in the sandwich helped restore some of their power. Arven is pleased by this, but does not elaborate. He’s hiding something.

When you leave Arven, the professor calls and praises you for taking care of Miraidon and tells you which ability you’ve unlocked (kind of like a bike upgrade if your bike was a living being who could climb walls.)

It is only after you fight the second Titan that you learn what Arven is hiding: he is the son of Professor Turo. About a year ago, Turo stopped answering his emails. Arven was worried and went to Area Zero to investigate. Area Zero is off limits to students, and Arven finds out exactly why when a weird creature attacks him and his Pokémon. This is where you meet Mabosstiff (imagine a dog, --more specifically, imagine a Mastiff. That’s Mabosstiff.) Normal medicine and doctors have not been able to help Mabosstiff recover from its injury. Mabosstiff is all Arven has, and the herba mystica he read about in a book he stole from his dad is Arven’s last hope.

So you help Arven, and you get to watch Mabosstiff slowly recover. But when you have gathered all the herba mystica, it still seems like Mabosstiff is not going to recover fully. Arven is distraught; you’re distraught; even Miraidon is sad. Then, Mabosstiff gets up, he picks up a ball that Arven dropped and brings it over to him. Arven’s plan worked.

Then the professor calls. He congratulates you on getting Miraidon back to full health. Arven is mad. It has been years, and his dad is calling you instead of contacting him. Then instead of a “hello Arven,” his dad asks that Arven give you access to his lab. Arven is irritated, but he does.

At the lab, the professor reveals that he needs your help with something. He needs you to come to Area Zero. He doesn’t give details, but he insists that it’s urgent. You have no choice but to agree.

After a battle with Arven to see if you can handle Area Zero, he tells you that the two of you still are not good enough to take on Area Zero. You need someone who can battle well, and someone who is good with computers.

Fortunately, you know just the two people for the job: Nemona and Penny.

The Way Home – Zero Gate: This is where the separate stories all come together. The four of you go to Area Zero to see the professor. You learn that there is another Miraidon in Area Zero. Your Miraidon is scared. They do not want to be in Area Zero. In fact, once you reach the surface, Miraidon refuses to come out of its pokéball. The others assume that its because Miraidon is nervous about seeing their family again. But there might be something more nefarious afoot. You can only find out what it is if you keep going.

You head down to the bottom of a massive crater. On the waym you have to go to the stations to unlock the main door to the lab. As you all travel down the crater, you see strange robotic creatures that look like Pokémon. There’s something wrong with them, but you can’t stop. You have to keep going.

The others talk about their lives. Nemona reveals that she has no friends. She likes battling and no one else around her does. That’s why she likes you so much, you’re willing to battle with her. You also learn that she’s the eldest daughter of the only cell phone manufacturer in the region. But she’s not the one who is going to inherit the company, her younger sister is.

You already know the details about Penny’s life from “Starfall Street” – she was bullied so badly that she could not leave her house. Now you learn that her dad is incredibly overbearing and has no idea how to relate to his daughter at all. She finds him embarrassing.

Arven already told you that his dad stopped answering his emails last year. But now Arven reveals that he has not seen his dad in years. He has not told anyone about it because well… he’s the professor’s son. His dad probably has important work to do., and Arven resents this. The reason Arven hates Miraidon is that Miraidon is a result of Turo’s experiments working. Arven believed that Turo cared more for Miraidon than for him.

Finally, after being attacked by weird Pokémon and learning more about each other, you reach the fourth station. It’s a mess. There was an explosion of some kind that destroyed everything inside of it. The professor contacts you there, but is behaving erratically. Something bad happened here. But you don’t know what.

You have to keep going.

Finally, you reach the bottom of Area Zero, the main lab. Before you can enter more weird robotic Pokémon from earlier surround you, including the other Miraidon. You try to send out your Miraidon, and that’s when you learn two things: one, the other Miraidon is territorial and hostile; two this is why your Miraidon was injured. It’s no wonder your Miraidon is afraid of Area Zero.

You manage to fight your way through to get into the lab. Finally, you meet Turo face to face.

Except its not Turo. It’s an AI. Turo died a year ago – killed in the explosion in station four – and the AI in his place wants you to do him a favor. He wants you to close the portal the professor created. It turns out Turo created a time machine. The weird Pokémon are all from the future. AI Turo believes that these Paradox Pokémon are dangerous and the portal needs to be closed before they escape Area Zero and cause harm to Paldea.

But he can’t do it alone. He is part of the time machine’s protections. If it is shut down, he is programmed to attack whatever it is that is attempting to shut it down. He apologizes for this as he takes you to the machine and you go to shut it down. He battles you, you win.

Your friends arrive to help you, but before you can celebrate shutting down the portal another defense mechanism activates. The other Miraidon is called, and something prevents all pokeballs that are not registered under the professor’s name to work. Fortunately, your Miraidon still technically belongs to the professor. Miraidon is able to fight and defeat their aggressor – they are finally able to defend themselves and their loved ones from harm – and the defense mechanism is deactivated.

AI Turo declares that as long as he is here, the portal can be reactivated. He says that he needs to go through the portal himself to stop this from ever happening again. The AI is sucked into the portal, and with that, the time machine is deactivated.

At this point Arven has learned that his dad died. But he still had to see an AI who looks like his dad get sucked into a time portal. He’s understandably rattled.

You all leave Area Zero. Nemona decides that you all need to go hang out together immediately. Arven wants to be alone, but everyone – including Miraidon who literally pushes Arven towards the rest of you – thinks that’s a terrible idea.

So, you all go off together.

End Game. Credits Roll. Ed Sheeran plays. (Yes really. I’m not kidding. It’s called “Celestial” and was made specifically for the game.)

I have not been this invested in a Pokémon story since Pokémon Black/White. The open world is fun and the characters are extremely compelling. All of them have survived some kind of trauma. Most importantly that trauma is addressed and not brushed off in favor of a happy ending for all. Yes, there is a happy ending, but it feels like the traumas suffered by the characters are treated with an appropriate level of gravitas and respect. It’s also not a story about the world potentially ending because some evil organization is doing something evil. Yes, the Paradox Pokémon are a danger, but the stories of the characters are all personal.

Nemona has no friends because she’s too passionate about battling. She has trouble relating to her peers because of it. With you, she finally finds someone who can understand her. You get her, and she has never had that before.

Penny was bullied so badly that she developed agoraphobia. Even after the bullying ended, she still has difficulty interacting with others and prefers to be on her own. She believes that she is friendless and will remain that way. You help her learn that there are people who love her – the other members of Team Star, and after the climax of the story: Nemona, Arven, and you – who care about her and want to be her friend. She’s still not completely recovered, but she is no longer alone.

Arven was neglected by his father. Over the course of the game, he nearly loses the only living being that loved him unconditionally – Mabosstiff – and learns the truth about his dad. Of the three, he is the one who does not have a fully happy ending. His story isn’t about completely overcoming the years of neglect he faced at the hands of his father; it’s a story about getting closure. The story ends with Arven finally given the opportunity to start recovering. It’s not an end for him, but a new beginning.

This is why I loved the story for this game. I love each and every one of these characters, which is something I have not been able to say about a Pokémon game for a while. It is clear to me that Game Freak went above and beyond to create a story with compelling characters and a compelling plot for this game. (The same effort was not put into the graphics or the glitches, but I’m willing to compromise.)

Please Game Freak, give us another good story like this in the next game!

2022 Aug-Dec

A Poetic Adventure: A Day at the Dodge Poetry Festival

There’s something nostalgic about riding on school buses.The aggressive rattling, the low staticky music buzzing through the radio speakers, the near concussion that the window pane gives me every time the bus hits a pothole. I graduated high school almost three years ago now, and there is little I remember more vividly than the full sensory experience of the iconic yellow bus. 

I was reintroduced to this the other week at around 8am on a Saturday morning. It was a sleepy hour and a half ride to Newark, New Jersey alongside a handful of my fellow Arcadia students. Where were we headed? The Dodge Poetry Festival of course! 

Truthfully, I hadn’t been feeling as enthused as that exclamation point would imply before stepping off the bus. It had been a hectic week in the very center of college midterm season, it was an early morning on what should’ve been a day off, and I couldn’t even catch some zzz’s on the bus because of the ride’s brain-rattling nature. On top of all of that I always had preferred fiction over poetry, and while I initially thought the trip could be fun I cursed my past self’s decisions as soon as that 6:45 alarm went off. 

Don’t let this seem too miserable though. I’ll admit, I was wrong. My initial tired-induced regret faded soon after arriving at the festival, and paved the way for what turned out to be a really cool experience. Sometimes following through with plans does turn out to be worth it after all, and that day was one of those days. 

For anyone who doesn’t know, the poetry festival is set up like a big network of different events at different Newark locations. During any given time slot there may be an open mic at the city historical society, a poet’s reading at the performing arts center, or a panel on environmental-issue-based poetry at the city museum. There are a whole host of events going on all at the same time, and it’s something like a scavenger hunt to try to figure out which combination of them you’d like to experience and where to go. 

The 5-6 hours we were there was sadly not enough time to experience all the festival had to offer, but it did come with some interesting experiences. Even as someone who has had a hard time getting into poetry, I found that sitting in on panels gave me a new perspective on the craft. One panel we sat in on in particular titled “Poetry and Memoir” explored how poetry and other genres (like memoir) can intersect in ways I hadn’t fully considered before. 

As someone who always enjoys exploring new writers and genres, I think sharing the work of others is important. Furthermore, there were poets that we listened to throughout the day that drew my attention more than others. Maybe their poetry resonated with me or they just had lovely stage presence, or both. I’ve highlighted a few of them below. 

Stephen Kuusisto

What’s better than poetry? Poetry plus dogs! Stephen Kuusisto is a blind poet who writes frequently about disability in his work. In doing more research about him I found out that he’s also a professor at Syracuse University. He was my favorite panelist in one of the first panels we heard about the intersection between poetry and memoir. His lovely guide dog Kaitlyn, who appeared to greatly enjoy her panel-long nap under the stage lights, was certainly a part of this. But even aside from that Stephen Kuusisto was funny and authentic in a way that I hadn’t felt from any of the panelists we had seen so far that day. Kuusisto did not share any poems that I was able to find online, but did talk about his various memoirs and poetry collections, like Planet of the Blind and Have Dog, Will Travel, that I’m eager to get my hands on when I can. They seem like works that would make me laugh and help me see perspectives I hadn’t considered before, and I think we could all use more of that. 

Camille T. Dungy 

Later in the day we had an opportunity to hear readings from Cammille T. Dungy. Similar to Kuusisto, Dungy struck a chord with me with her down-to-earth attitude and phenomenal poetry reading skills. There are some people who read in a way that makes you hang onto every word, and she was one of them. Two of the poems I had the opportunity to hear spoken were “Requiem” and “First Fire” — both lovely reads for anyone interested. 

Patricia Smith 

With the last little bit of time we had before needing to board the bus back home, we stopped in to see the beginning of a panel called I am not free while any woman is unfree. This panel showcased a group of female poets and a conversation about various aspects of justice and womanhood. The poets on the stage read some of their respective pieces to start off the conversation. They were all fantastic, but our group experienced a dramatic sendoff with the very last: Patricia Smith’s “Mammy Two-Shoes, Rightful Owner of Tom, Addresses the Lady of the House”. This was our very last poem of the day, as we had to run shortly after to catch our bus, but boy was it worth it. I left the theater with the rest of our group immediately after in an open-mouthed silence. I mean, woah. 

As it turns out, going to the Dodge poetry festival was worth the trouble after all. Even the early wake-up. Even the rattling, flashback-inducing bus ride. Sometimes it’s just nice to have the opportunity to see cool people doing cool things, and that day was one of those days. 

Frankenstein: Or, In Praise of Messy Complexity

As Spooky Season is now upon us and several other posts have also addressed Halloween or horror in some way, I thought I’d let my inner English Major run rampant and write a little about my favorite classic Gothic novel: Mary Shelley’s one and only Frankenstein. 

Admittedly, Frankenstein and I didn’t always have the best relationship. If we were a romance trope, it would absolutely be an enemies-to-lovers situation. This primarily came about because I was introduced to the book in 8th grade — too early, in my retrospective opinion, to appreciate some of the novel’s nuances. Admittedly, most of what I complained about as I plodded through the plot then is still pretty accurate now — I’ve just become better able to think about some of the mechanisms Mary Shelley also employs to complicate issues of responsibility, agency, and even the seemingly simple matter of who should be classified as the story’s antagonist. 

Frankenstein is, rather inarguably, a slow read. Shelley, like most authors of her time period (Britain's Regency era), is a master of what I’ve ironically dubbed “tell, don’t show.” Characters — especially in a first-person narrative — state their emotions outright; this combined with the almost too-exquisitely wrought description and dialogue gives an artificial feel to the entire story and helps sever what emotional connection the reader might have been able to make. It’s also frequently overwrought, a trait not uncommon in the Romantic writers but which for several years I simply attributed to the story’s co-protagonist Victor Frankenstein being a drama queen. Nature and new locations are painstakingly described; the book bores the most whenever Victor and co. take an extended trip and Shelley decides to flex her travel-writer muscles.

But genuine complexity exists here too. The story is told through a “frame narrative” of an explorer sea captain, Walton, who encounters a desperate Victor Frankenstein on the ice floes of the Arctic Ocean; when taken aboard Walton’s ship, he agrees to tell his story, which Walton records to send home to his sister in England. Within Victor’s narrative also falls the story of his monstrous creation, recounted to Victor at an earlier date. The resulting subjectivity piques the reader’s curiosity — because so many narrators’ “filters” have been applied to the story, how close are we as readers actually getting to “the truth?” This concept is also compounded by the fact that Victor Frankenstein is (formally) unreliable and biased — informally, an enormous jerk. Though sea-captain Walton adores him (“as a friend,” assuredly), the reader is gradually made more uncomfortable with his confessed activities, most notably the torture of animals and desecration of human remains in order to build his monster — a creation he leaves to fend for itself the moment it opens its eyes. He’s also very determined to minimize the extent of his cruel activities and resulting responsibility, alternatively blaming the monster, his father, or capital-f Fate for his current misery. In a first-person narrative, readers tend to identify and sympathize with the “I” character; here, they are torn between Walton’s idolization of Victor, Victor’s idolization of himself, and the little hints of monstrousness that Victor can’t quite hide, even in his own narration — details that point to a narcissistic, disturbed narrator with a very real god complex and an almost total lack of empathy. 

In Frankenstein, absences demand to be noticed — not only in Victor’s skirting around the details of the reanimation process, but in the result of his experiment, an apparently hideous creature called “wretch” and “daemon” but never given a name. It is absolutely unsurprising that peoples from a plethora of marginalized groups have seen themselves in Mary Shelley’s monster. How better to disempower someone than to deny them the decency equated with recognition of a common humanity? To deprive someone of a name, of instruction, of companionship is to lead them — as it leads Shelley’s monster — into self-loathing, and from that despair into a desire to inflict a similar pain on others. Shelley’s monster is not without fault — he uses Victor’s friends and family as pawns, killing them one by one in an attempt to control and punish his creator. He also demands to be made a companion — essentially a bride — with no consideration of the hypothetical female monster’s own agency and potential desire to choose a partner for herself; ironically, it is Victor who instead thinks of this possibility (and then uses it as an excuse to destroy the as-yet-lifeless female monster before the eyes of her future “mate”). 

In these choices and others, Shelley cultivates imperfection: her morally ambiguous characters, their incomplete decision-making processes, partial justifications, and willingness to leave some voices silenced reveal jagged facets of the human soul and force the reader to make uncomfortable decisions. Who is to blame in the death of an innocent woman — the monster who killed her or the man who made, and then rejected, that monster? And what does it say that the woman herself — as well as the monster/Victor’s other victims — are never given the opportunity to reveal their own interiority and speak for themselves? 

Mary Shelley was nineteen when she wrote what is now considered the first science-fiction novel of all time; her own fascinating and turbulent life could fill up another blog post. Frankenstein, her best-known work, has survived — in a fashion — through Hollywood movies, though for me their reduction of the book’s eloquent, tormented monster into a grunting brute is something like a second form of violence to the creature. Though the idea of a man who “plays god” and makes a monster is the one that has stuck in popular culture, the perspective of the creature — in all his loneliness, his complexity and isolation and rage — is just as crucial to Shelley’s plot, and just as urgent a reminder for our modern world. It’s only in the inclusion of all voices — and the amplification of those that have been traditionally silenced — that we arrive at something most closely resembling truth. And the consequences for silencing, for ignoring, dismissing and dehumanizing? 

Well, sometimes they can be downright Gothic. 

The Spooky Season and the Portrayal of Disability

Spooky Season is upon us. The time of elaborate costumes and scary movies. Oh, and a bunch of children knocking on your door and begging for candy because they know how to repeat one phrase.  You’ll see people who make the most of the season, their souls practically one with the spooky season. Or you’ll see people who dodge every spooky thing they see. Listen, either one is fine. You can go to that haunted house, just don’t ask me to come with you. Seriously though, as we soak in this season with whatever emotions we wish, we cannot forget that the Halloween season can be frustrating for disabled people, whose experiences with Halloween are usually dictated for them. What I mean by that is two things; Halloween and its traditions don’t prioritize accessibility or authenticity,  and society loves to make our experiences into costumes. 

I mean, having to navigate dark paths of gravel or cobblestones all to be forced to talk to a stranger to get candy that may be an allergy risk? Or having to navigate dark haunted houses that could have jumpscares that could be dangerous for disabled people with motor or sensory lights? Or being subject to walking  through a sequence of fog or flashing lights? Doesn’t feel very accessible to me. Now, listen, I’m not saying that it’s wrong to enjoy haunted houses, or graveyard tours, or corn mazes. It is okay! But please be aware that activities like these can be  difficult or even impossible for disabled people, and each disabled person knows what is right for them, so don’t pressure anyone into these activities or shame them when they don’t want to take part. Also, if disabled people want to take part in something, but they physically are obstructed, try to make some changes to accommodate disabilities. 

And don’t even get me started on using disability as a costume or as a scare tactic. Don’t do this, please. I shouldn’t even have to be saying this, but it still happens more  than you think. Don’t use our daily lived experiences as a costume. We don’t dress up for a  day, this is a lived experience, so please do not treat it like it is disposable. As a disabled person, having to see ableism in costumes from a young age, can further internalize it, especially within young children. Disability should be told authentically, and it is not a joke. Disability is beautifully  complex, and disabled people should be able to portray it  that way. 

As we navigate this Halloween season, speak up when you see something that could be problematic, and don’t assume that just because Halloween is fun for you, that it could be fun for everyone. Sometimes we don’t have an opportunity for fun. Sometimes we’d rather just pass. Treat us like we’re human, listen to disabled people when it comes to Halloween-related things, and respect boundaries. And ultimately support us during our decisions, but sometimes making  decisions in this season are tougher than they seem. Talk with your disabled friends before you plan things. Check in on your disabled friends during this time, I’m sure they’d appreciate it.

Overall the storytelling, along with the mechanics of the game itself ruined the experience of playing this game that was once enjoyed by some people (somewhere – I still don’t know how it was critically acclaimed).  The other games from Quantic Dream have much more fleshed out stories, connecting the characters in a more subtle (yet also more tangible) way.  For example, bringing all three main characters together in Jericho in Detroit: Become Human was a comprehensive way to begin the finale of the Battle for Detroit.  There were logical events that brought all the characters together.  Kara learned about Jericho through Rose, Connor learned about it after studying the evidence in the precinct where he was investigating “deviants,” and Markus had made a name for himself in Jericho as a leader.  Heavy Rain fails its attempt to connect its characters— though it manages to conveniently bring Madison (an investigative reporter) and Ethan together in a random motel, the connection between Ethan and Shelby was muddled in the game’s unnecessary attempt to throw the players off Shelby’s trail by leading them to believe Ethan was the killer.  A more developed relationship between the killer and the parent he is tormenting would have added so much to the game and could have made for a really interesting story, but instead we got a vague hatred of Ethan from Shelby and an attempt to make Ethan a red herring.  I guess the graphics might have been good for its time, but since storytelling is more timeless it just didn’t work.  The sloppy writing put a spotlight on the poorly developed relationships between characters as well as the more technical issues with the game, making for a mediocre game at best.

Just Use Subtitles: The 2022 Remake of Goodnight Mommy

I have red hair. Some could say that’s because my family is partially Irish and I get my red hair from them. That’s a fair belief. However, others could say that my hair is red due to the seething rage that I hold in my brain. Again, that’s fair. I think I’m a pretty calm, level-headed guy, but there are quite a few things that absolutely do not matter in the grand scheme of things that really grind my gears.

One of those things is seeing an American remake of a foreign film I love. Why do they need to remake it you ask? Well, it’s because Americans are lazy and dumb that’s why. So much so, that they can’t just read the subtitles that are quite literally one press of a button away. It would be one thing if you had to translate the movie yourself, but no, all you have to do is a bit of light reading. Grow up.

Now, this pisses me off for two main reasons. First and most simply, the remake is rarely as good as the original. You’ll never be able to capture the same essence of a film that was made by someone else. I’m not saying a remake needs to be a carbon copy by any means, but many of these remakes are trying to do the exact same thing as the original but in English. Second, because it is an English remake, it often gets more recognition than the original since it can reach a wider audience. This in turn means that everyone involved in the production of a truly special film gets pushed down while an English version gets all the viewership. Sounds quite American doesn't it?

An example of this comes from one of my favorite foreign films ever, Let the Right One In (2008), which grossed $11,227,336 at the box office worldwide. This is very successful, and since then it’s grown quite the cult following. However, an American remake was released just two years later titled, Let Me In, and this one grossed $27,093,592 at the box office worldwide. Of course, money isn’t everything when it comes to film, but it’s something that bothers me a bit. I guess it should also be said that both movies are adaptations of John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel of the same name, so maybe all of this information goes out the window. Who knows?

This all came to fruition when I heard that a remake of Goodnight Mommy (2014) was on its way to Amazon Prime Video. Goodnight Mommy is an Austrian horror film written and directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, and starring Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, and Lukas Schwarz. It’s a brilliant psychological horror film that follows two twins as they move into a house with their mother who has recently had cosmetic surgery. However, the boys are not quite convinced that the person under the face bandages is actually their mother. It’s a fantastic film that captures so much tension and uncertainty before dropping into panic and terror. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it (I’m also going to be discussing some more details below, so if you’re interested go watch before reading the rest of this). It’s one of my favorite horror films, and also one that genuinely has an effect on me while watching. It also has one of those endings that lingers in your mind far long after the credits have ended.

I’m writing this on Friday, September 16th. The American remake of Goodnight Mommy, directed by Matt Sobel and starring Naomi Watts, Cameron Crovetti, and Nicholas Crovetti released today and I just watched it. It’s bad!

The plot is about the same, but with some choices (both smaller and larger) that do impact the film in certain ways. I’m not going to run through scene for scene and point out differences, but I am going to just pick out some that I thought were particularly important. For starters, the film’s intensity is toned down A LOT, which is pretty unfortunate but the Austrian counterpart gets pretty wild so I can’t really blame them. All of the scenes that were the most uncomfortable or scary are replaced with what feels like half baked attempts at replication.

For example, there’s a scene in the Austrian version where the twins have tied their mother to her bed while she was asleep, and when she wakes up they demand answers. One thing leads to another and the boys end up torturing her. This is a tough to watch torture scene, with some fucked up methods and visuals that increase the agonizing sequence. To be specific, in the original, Elias uses a magnifying glass to reflect sunlight and burn his mom’s cheek. In the remake, this is replaced with him dumping ice water on her. Scary! That’s about how this remake goes though, something creepy and distressing reduced to nothing.

Another pretty large change early on in the film is the presence of the twins’ father. He’s referenced maybe once in the Austrian version, but in the remake he’s in the very first scene. This impacts the film because it offers the boys a way out. Lukas talks to Elias about being able to get to their dad’s house to get away from this person who isn’t their mom. Personally, I felt like this took away some of the apprehension because in the Austrian version, there is no escape.

The mother’s mask gets a massive downgrade when it comes to creepy, but it does look more comfortable so good for her I guess. It’s like a sock for your head rather than a bunch of bandages. The masks are not even in the same ballpark of scary, the original has the mom looking like a faceless demon but the remake has her looking like bank robber Sponge-bob. Take a look for yourself:

I will say though that Naomi Watts’ performance was impressive, especially later in the film. She did an amazing job of communicating through her eyes, whether that be through their movements or lack thereof. I could read the emotion on her face, which is very important for this film due to her face being covered for most of it. That was a very powerful detail that I noticed in this viewing.

This next change is MAJOR and it really takes away from the film in my opinion. The big twist in both stories is that Lukas is actually never there. He dies in an accident prior to the first scene, but Elias is swallowed in grief and denial and fully believes his brother is still there. In the original, there are tiny details that point to this before the big reveal for those paying close attention. For example, their mother only makes one plate of food for Elias when Lukas is sitting right next to him, or when Lukas speaks to her she ignores him (because she can’t actually hear him). I did not notice ANY of these types of details throughout the remake. Could I have missed some? Absolutely, but I was looking very closely for them specifically and could not find anything. In my opinion, the twist is much more effective when there have been seeds planted throughout it and you can go back and have those aha moments. It’s as if they remade The Sixth Sense (1999), but took out all of the clues that Bruce Willis’ character is dead and just went “Surprise!” at the end. That would suck right? Well that’s exactly how this change feels.

There are two final details that change in this version of the film, both of which I think are the biggest key failures. First, remember how I said that the Austrian version has an ending that lingers? This one does not. In fact, I had to re-watch it a second time just to give it another chance (and because I forgot about it by the time I got to this point of my writing). I’m not going to say why that is though, you should just watch the original and you’ll know what I mean.

All of this pales in comparison to this final change though. Take a look at this image from the original:

You might notice that the boys are wearing these totally epic crocs that I am disappointed to say do not make a return in the remake. Yes, you heard it here first, the American boys do not have crocs and therefore do not have any style whatsoever.

I think this new Goodnight Mommy does a good job of showing us exactly why we shouldn’t remake movies just to have them in English. It flops in almost every way, and will probably exist only as a stain to the Austrian version’s legacy. Do yourself a favor and skip this remake. Save your time for the original, you can watch it and you can enjoy it much more than you would the remake. Trust me, just use the subtitles.