- Monkey Monday
- Posts
- Monkey Monday #5
My doctor told me my DNA was backwards, I responed, “And?” Happy Monkey Monday y’all! The weather is currently acting schizophrenic (merely a figure of speech, deepest apologies if any of y’all got the ‘phrenia), who knows what it will be like outside when this issue comes out on Monday! But y’all ain’t here for the weather! Here we go!
Monkey Monday #5 Dropping in….
🚨PSA🚨
Before we get into this one, I have something to address real quick!
It’s come to my attention that some people are having difficulty getting the weekly emails. I have no idea why this is happening, but I have an alternative option for those that aren’t receiving emails after subscribing.
You can super easily turn Monkey Monday into an app on your phone! That way, you can just check it every Monday without needing to first receive an email. |  Isn’t it so cute? |
This is super easy! Just go to the Monkey Monday website on your browser, tap the little menu button, and tap “Add App to Home Screen”
(I’m not sure if this works for non-iPhone devices, someone will have to let me know)
Hopefully this provides some extra accessibility for some of you. You can also just do this for fun, easy access to Monkey Monday if that floats your boat! Thanks for reading my little PSA, now on to this weeks issue!
China Lights
Last month, Hailey, some friends and I went to the China Lights, which is an event that highlights the beauty, art and skill of traditional Chinese lantern festivals, using displays of LED lights! It’s really sick, you just kind of walk around this outdoor exhibit at night, looking at all the beautiful art.
 Here’s the entrance, and the first lights we saw! |  Here’s the cool dragon seen in the background of the last photo |
This structure was really cool
The first area we went to had figures of all 12 of the Chinese zodiacs. I of course, wanted pictures with the monkey, which also happens to be the Zodiac our birth year falls under! (Yes I was “OOH OOH AH AH”ing like a monkey)
 Flying with the [Cranes?] |  Elephants! |
“APE, TOGETHER STRONG” -Caesar
 Frog 1! |  Frog 2! |
Me and Master Mantis
 Now THIS thing was so sick |  And it constantly lit up different colors! |
 Chameleon! It’s tongue would fly out and retract, but I didn’t get a good photo of it. |  ASIAN GIANT HORNETS!!! RUN!!!! |
That’s pretty much all I got!
8/10 Would highly recommend. But show up 10 hours early if you want to get a parking spot. That was incredibly hectic, you’d think every driver was from Maryland.
-Nate
Pick of the Week
Dijon! You alone in your lamplit room, but in a good mood and want to holler and boogie to some fun jams? Then this is the record for you! This is one of the most fun, lively, “smack yo momma across the mouth cause I’m about to sing and dance!!” albums I know.
In all seriousness, I really love what Dijon has done here in his first full length album. It’s full of fun moments, sad moments, joyful moments, vulnerable moments, romantic moments, just a whirlwind full of life packed into a little album!
There is no other album that gets me the way this one does. When I put it on my record player, I can’t help but jump around, laugh, and scream about heartbreak with a huge smile on my face, and it’s so organic, like you can hear everyone laughing, hear every little live noise, it makes for such a genuine feeling environment.
Go give this thing a listen, top to bottom! You will not regret it.
-Nate
Is it Ripe?
New Bon Iver music! I’m a big fan of Justin Vernon AKA Bon Iver. His self titled album, Bon Iver, and his debut album For Emma, Forever Ago are some of my favorite albums, especially the latter.
After years of slowly experimenting, and moving away from his acoustic, rustic sound, SABLE, is Justin going back to the beginning, stripping everything away, being more vulnerable and open than ever before.
The first song (after the ten second intro) THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS is a beautifully reflective song about the complexity and layers behind the things Justin hopes to grow from.
S P E Y S I D E follows a similar tone, this time Justin reflecting that everything he touches he destroys, and his struggle to put things back together,
The last song AWARDS SEASON, caps off this project with a song of growth, of resilience. This whole project is way way way too short, but its beautiful. Go listen. If it was longer I’d give it a 10.
Favorite Songs: THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS, S P E Y S I D E, AWARDS SEASON
-Nate
Ripeness: 9
Interview Time!
This weeks interview is with fellow Music Therapy major Anna!
Parin’s Palette
 Handsome Parin -Nate |  Handsome Parin again! -Nate |
In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt was campaigning for reelection. Since he was far from home, and the internet didn’t exist back then, he would write to his wife Edith. Since the president and the first lady wanted their privacy, she would burn the letters after reading them. There is only one letter between these two remaining. It reads, “Babe wake up Parin’s Palette just dropped.”
This week I decided to try Crumbl Cookie for the first time! I got a box of four cookies. One was a Chips Ahoy-themed cookie. The next was a Pumpkin Cake Cookie (a pumpkin cake but cookie-sized), the third was a Halloween-style macadamia nut (or white chocolate chip?) cookie and the last was a dirt cake cookie.
Cookies from left to right: Halloween, Pumpkin Cafe , Chips Ahoy Blue Monster, Dirt Cake
The Halloween Cookie was my first victim. I am not the biggest fan of sprinkles, however, this cookie was great. It was a sugar cookie with what they call white drops (white chocolate chips???) and Halloween sprinkles. The cookie was great, that’s it.
Spooky/10
The Pumpkin Cake Cookie was my next victim. This is the greatest “cookie,” I have ever eaten in my life. It tasted like a pumpkin cake, and the icing was like cream cheese, the flavor combination was literal heaven. The texture was airy and soft, with no inconsistencies whatsoever.
Yum/10
The Chips Ahoy Blue Monster Cookie was my third victim. It was great. The cookie tasted like a chocolate chip cookie but it wasn’t too sweet, it was the perfect amount of sweetness. Normally I’d get sick of the sweetness of a cookie but not with any of these cookies. The icing was great, again not too overbearing, and overall this was a delectable treat.
9.24/10
My final victim was the dirt cake cookie. When I took my first bite it was Tuesday the 29th, at 10:42 pm, I had it with the gummy worm. It was great. Everything that a dirt cake was supposed to be and then some. One problem. After that first bite, it is now just a mega chocolate cookie. No more dirt cake :(
More gummy worms out of Ten
💀 💀 💀
Shout out to Priscilla and Haley for tagging along with me to Crumbl. That’s all for this column of Parin’s Palette, you're welcome.
Ballboy Ben’s Ball Update
I like a lot of players in the NFL, but here is my list of my top 5 current favorites! It was tricky to narrow it down to just 5… but here they are!
Number 5 - Aaron Jones He is a running back for Nate’s Minnesota Vikings, but also a former Green Bay Packer! Aaron is a super nice guy who is super passionate and was the heart and soul of the Packers throughout much of my time growing up. It’s cool to see his impact being felt across the league on another team now (and he’s pretty darn good.) |  Aaron Jones |
Number 4 - Jayden Reed The only current Packer on this list! Jayden Reed is a small wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers. He is small and quick and athletic and fun and a really good ball player! Not much else to say for my pookie bear #11! |  Jayden Reed |
Number 3 - George Kittle My man George is a tight end for the San Francisco 49ers and is an absolute DAWG! But he is also a super goofy guy who always manages to find the camera during games. He is a great guy who has set the foundation for what a modern NFL tight end should be: great at both blocking and receiving! |  George Kittle |
Number 2 - Jameis Winston He is undoubtedly the funniest player in the NFL. He is a quarterback on the Cleveland Browns right now. If you havn’t seen any of his interview clips before, I highly encourage you to watch some videos of the man. Absolute comedy. |  Jameis Winston |
Number 1 - Taysom Hill He is on the New Orleans Saints and is basically a Quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end all at the same time! He also plays on punt coverage sometimes and even returns kickoffs, so he’s pretty much the definition of a Swiss Army knife. He is a really cool player to watch and also a strong follower of Christ! -Ben |  Taysom Hill |
Ashley’s Scary Shoebills
Shoebill!
Shoebills are very tall, 110 to 152 cm (3.6 to 5 ft) and very heavy, 4 to 7kg (8.8 to 15.4 lbs). They have a wingspan of 230 to 260 cm (7.7 to 8.6 ft). |  |
Shoebills are ambush predators, and with the help of their strong sharp bill, they eat turtles, snakes, other birds, frogs, and even baby alligators. Their favorite foods are things like lungfish, eels, and catfish. |  |
Shoebills are solitary and territorial, but are surprisingly nonaggressive with humans, with no recorded deaths from shoebill attacks. They even allow careful birdwatchers and researchers to get as close as 72 inches (6 feet) to their nests in the wild. |  |
In captivity shoebills will imprint on humans, and with the proper display of bird courtesy, such as bowing (a friendly shoebill greeting behavior) may allow themselves to be pet, and will accept snacks. Here’s a picture of the famous, friendly shoebill named Sushi of the wildlife conservation education center. |  |
Shoebills are a vulnerable species. It is estimated that 3300-5300 mature individuals left in the wild. -Ashley |  |
Quan Quotes
Due to popular demand, Quan Quotes has returned!
“Anna’s asking too much. She thinks she’s the main character”
Verse Of The Week
“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”