- Monkey Monday
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- Monkey Monday #15
Happy Monkey Monday y’all! Unfortunately, I have some sad news for y’all. Things are getting financially famished around here, and Monkey Monday costs a lot to run on a monthly basis, so we will be going on a hiatus for a short while, probably a few months at most.
I love and appreciate all of you so much for reading this weekly! I can only speak for myself on this, but putting each issue out there, and seeing it bring just a little joy to my friends is so awesome.
So let’s go out with a bang. This week we’ve got a little bit of everything. I talk about anime, music, we got a bit of sports, we got a bit of animals, you know how it is.
Monkey Monday #15, waddling in….
Boo! Anime!
I have news for y’all…. I watch anime 😱 😱 😱
For those who are unaware, anime is a completely normal medium of media, just like live-action, just like cartoons, just like music, just like games. There’s good anime, and theres bad anime, just like anything else. Sadly, over here in the west, there are still many uneducated folks that hold onto the stereotype that anime is weird 😔(shoutout Hailey)
But thats enough politics! I’m here to geek out about some of the anime I’ve been watching as of late!
BLUELOCK Season 2
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BLUELOCK Season 2 is one of the most recent things I’ve watched. BLUELOCK is an action packed, crazy hype psychological battle anime disguised as a sports anime. Where most sports stories are exciting, heartwarming, all about teamwork, BLUELOCK is all about becoming an egomaniac, devouring everyone around you to become the best. It’s actually so hype, and the animation (not including the first half of season 2) is so sick.
If you like mindless hype, this show will get you up on your feet. Shoutout Nagi.
Horimiya
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Another one I just watched! On the complete opposite site of the spectrum, we got Horimiya! A short, straight to the point slice-of-life romance. Our main cast feel so realistic, and act like actual people. They like each other, and tell each other, instead of spending a whole series being cornballs.
If you’re lonely and want to feel more lonely, give this a shot! It’s very good.
Death Note
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Recently, I’ve been watching Death Note with my mom. Probably one of the greatest of all time, Death Note follows the story of a genius high-schooler who finds a notebook that allows him to kill anyone he wants. He uses this to “cleanse” the world, (he’s just a mass murderer), and gets the attention of the smartest detective in the world. The plot of this show is so omega-brain 4d chess, it’s so sick. We watch as these 2 dudes dance around, catching each other.
If you’ve never watched anime before, this is a great place to start. Plus it’s on Netflix.
Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle
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Okay! Another sports anime! Haikyu!, unlike BLUELOCK, is actually a pure sports anime. We follow the story of the Karasuno High School volleyball team as they get good at volleyball and defeat the opps. It’s very wholesome, hype, and rewarding!
I watched the Dumpster Battle movie a couple months ago, which is basically part 1 of the finale, and yeah it was super good! But to get there, you gotta go through the series first.
Jujutsu Kaisen: Shibuya Incident
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Jujutsu Kaisen.
Yeahhhhhhhh this one’s just perfect. (apparently the manga ending is wack, but we will get to that in a few years when it gets animated.) JJK has seriously crossed boundaries into mainstream media, and caught the attention of lots of people who have never watched any sort of Japanese animation.
Got my mom on this show this past summer, we binged it pretty quick. It’s so good man it’s SO GOOD. We follow a young man named Itadori, as he accidentally gets himself involved with, how should I put it, spiritual politics? I actually don’t know how to explain this very well. Season 1 is incredible, shoutout the Versus Mahito arc and the Kyoto Goodwill arc. But nothing can possibly compare to the Shibuya Incident. It’s the best.
Yeah just watch JJK, it’s popular for a GOOD reason.
-Nate
Pick of the Week
Okay there’s no way I write 14 issues of this thing without recommending Deftones right? You thought we could go on hiatus before I talked about these guys? NO.
This album revolutionized music for me. For a long time, I hated anything close to “Metal” (with an exception to instrumental virtuoso guitar music, shoutout Polyphia). I hated heavy guitars, any vocals that resembled a scream, a growl, a shout, really just anything with a little bit of angst to it. I had even tried listening to Deftones once before, but it was too much for me.
But something changed in me. As I started to sink my teeth into the band Brand New, I slowly got integrated into vocalists yelling, which was a huge step. The whole album Daisy by Brand New, as well as the songs Limosuine and You Won’t Know single handedly opened my eyes to the world of grit, the world of raw emotion.
Fast forward to 2022, I’m working out in my basement, and I decide to give this cool owl album cover a listen. I hit play, and as the first song of the album, titled Diamond Eyes started playing, I was transported to another plane of existence. I had a revelation, that the music in my ears was painting a beautiful, still image, capturing a particular moment, and it’s mesmerizing.
Seriously seriously, if you’ve always been scared of the words “metal”, or scared of any vocals with any kind of yelling to them, this band is an incredible bridge into that world. Deftones mixes moments of beautiful, gentle, mesmerizing sounds, with earth-shattering explosions and riffs, creating a haunting, atmospheric, gorgeous experience. Every song, top to bottom HITS, especially the 4 track run of You’ve Seen the Butcher → Beauty School →Prince → Rocket Skates.
And if you like this, go check out my other favorite of theirs, Koi No Yokan.
-Nate
Is it Ripe?
Some might say this album is a little wacky. Others might say it’s a little goofy. Some more might even describe it as, silly. I however, am not like any of these folks. I, a man of unlimited wisdom, and a refined taste, would describe this album as
This week I decided to listen to Go To School, by The Lemon Twigs. No particular reason why. Definitely not foreshadowing anything. And yeah, it’s pretty fun. It reminds me of Mk.gee in a way, the way it feels so original, yet clearly wearing it’s inspirations on their sleeve, is so awesome. The tone of this album feels so intelligent, yet so light-hearded and wacky. I feel as if my brain has grown so big that society rejects me for not being able to understand my vast intellect.
If I were to describe this sound, it’s as if Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys and Dolittle by the Pixies gave birth to a harvard-bound Gen Z kiddo.
While listening, I noticed some recurring themes throughout the album, especially about some figure named “Shane”. Upon further research, I have learned that this album tells the story of a young chimpanzee named Shane (pictured on the album cover), raised as a human boy, traversing through many hardships, and coming to terms with his differences and place in the world. Monkey album!!!!!!!!! +10000 bonus points.
Shoutout the twigs. Huge shoutout to Shane, you’re a good no-tailed monkey. Fun album.
Favorite Songs: The Bully, Born Wrong/Heart Song, The Fire, This is My Tree
-Nate
Ripeness: 9/10
Interview Time!
This week we’ve got rank #1 lunch buddy, and rank #2 MDR employee: Rafaella!
Parin’s Perfumes
I’M BACK
In the summer of 2023, I randomly came across a perfume tester my dad gave me. It was for Jean Paul Gaultier’s Le Male Le Parfum. When I tried it on I instantly knew I had to get it. Unfortunately, this was an extremely popular fragrance that I would buy a whole year later (it was out of stock everywhere, I tried 5 different malls including one in Europe). What makes this fragrance so special? A plethora of components. If you’ve never seen a JPG fragrance before the bottle can be a bit concerning but it is a small sacrifice to pay for a lucrative reward. This is easily the best-smelling fall/winter fragrance I have ever smelt. It is warm and spicy with vanilla accords tucked underneath and has a powdery texture from the iris note. For $100 this is a solid fragrance for the cooler seasons. Easily a 10/10.
Le Male Le Parfum
Side note: When I say a fragrance is good for colder weather, it means that it tends to havea thicker scent, whereas a summer france, for example Light Blue by Dolce & Gabanna, would not be able to be smelled in the winter. The scent is too light that the cold weather outright suppresses the fragrance from projecting. On the other hand, a winter fragrance like JPG Le Male Le Parfum would be suffocating in the summer.
Hope you learned something!
Ballboy Ben’s Ball Update
It’s that time of year again, the Playoffs! Where one fanbase for both College Football and the NFL get to celebrate a championship, while the rest get to go cry on the floor and feel hopeless (lol Vikings are 0-4 all time in the Super Bowl ... sorry Nate). Anyways, this year’s playoffs are going to be fascinating for a variety of reasons.
College Football
Starting with the College Football Playoffs, which are already almost complete. This is the first season ever with a 12-team format, significantly different that the 4-team format that had been used previously. In the first round, some good teams were quickly eliminated: Clemson, Tennessee, SMU, and Indiana. The same 4 teams that won in the first round also defeated the next opponents they faced, each which had a first-round bye: Arizona State, Oregon, Boise State, and Georgia.
The 4 teams responsible for eliminating these 8 teams are Texas, Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame. And now it’s down to just Ohio State and Notre Dame. Who’s most likely to win it all? That’s a tough question; these teams are both so good! But Ohio State has been on fire recently and looks primed to win it all. Personally, I am rooting for Notre Dame to win the championship! I really like their head coach, school colors, and their history
NFL
As for the NFL, the playoffs this year are headlined by some amazing teams with the top seeds and some sneaky good teams in the lower seeds, especially in the NFC. The AFC’s top 3 seeds belong to the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens. And in full transparency, it is almost certain that one of those three will be the AFC’s team to make the Super Bowl. But the NFC is where it gets wild.
On Sunday, January 5th, the Minnesota Vikings took on the Detroit Lions in a game with HUGE consequences. The winning team earned the #1 seed, a first-round bye, and home-field advantage for every game they play except for the Super Bowl, if they get there. The losing team got the #5 seed, no first-round bye, and will have to play at least the first game of the playoffs on the road. This is not how it usually works, but because the Vikings and Lions were both 14-2 before this game and they are in the same division, this game was easily the biggest of the year so far! And the Lions came out on top, 31-9!
Ahem Ahem this is Nate, giving y’all an update Sunday night on the playoff picture.
Texans beat the Chargers
Ravens whalloped the Steelers (go my pookie Lamar I love you so much)
Bills decimated the Broncos
Eagles beat the Packers (sorry Ben)
Annnnnnd the Commanders beat the Bucs in an epic nailbiter, just as I predicted.
Nate out, adios
Ashley’s Animals
Foxes!
Foxes are generally solitary animals, but may be found living in a family group called a skulk, which consists of two parents and up to 6 kits. The parents are monogamous, typically, but only long enough to raise their babies. |  |
Foxes can sense the earths magnetic field, and with it can judge distance, depth, and direction. They use this to hunt for small prey in tall grasses or even up to 3 feet of snow. |  |
Foxes have cat-like vertical pupils to help them see at night, which is when they’re most active. Grey foxes can retract their claws climb excellently, like a cat, yet are still members of the canine family. |  |
Foxes can make between 20-50 different vocalizations, including various screams, howls, barks, and yips. Some of the sounds can be quite scary at night. |  |
Arctic foxes only have their trademark fluffy white coats part of the year. During early April to late June they have shed their winter coat and have a dramatically different, thinner, darker colored coat. Red foxes, by contrast, may have slight coat color changes over the span of their life. -Ashley |  |
Quan Quotes
“I lost my wallet at the airport”
Verse Of The Week
“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God”