THE LOOP
Rick

Sci-Fi, Hip Hop and Wrestling

Here are a few things that I stumbled upon during the lock-down and  a few old favorites that I go back to from time to time.

Podcasts:

  1. American Jihadi: If any of you are fans of Serial, this podcast reminded me a lot of season two. The entire series is made up of eight episodes that average about 20 minutes each describing the life and path of an American from Alabama who moved to Somalia and joined a militant Islamist group.
  2. The City (Season 2: Reno): This podcast caught my attention because of my own relationship with Reno. Throughout my twenties a couple of my good friends lived there so I spent a lot of time there. It is a place I know well and it holds a soft spot in my heart. This podcast dives into the struggle currently going on there between the old guard and the “seedy” reputation that the city was built on and the incoming tech industry's desire to clean it up. 
  3. People’s Party with Talib Kweli: This is probably my favorite podcast right now and I recommend it to any fan of hip hop. Talib Kweli is the host and he has conversations with some of my favorite emcees of all time and it is really cool to hear those firsthand conversations about hip hop history.

TV Shows:

  1. Into the Badlands: The entire series is on Netflix now and it is amazing. It is basically Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meets Game of Thrones set in a post-apocalyptic western. If that does not sound awesome to you, I guess we have different definitions of awesome(haha).
  2. Another Life: This one is on Netflix as well. It is a basically Sci-Fi horror. It mostly takes place on a spaceship where the team is traveling to a distant planet to make contact with an alien species.
  3. Dark Side of the Ring: Dark Side of the Ring is a documentary series on Viceland. Each episode covers a different person or event in the history of wrestling. The characters involved in and around wrestling are absolutely insane. From psychosis to murder, the stories are all interesting. You do not have to be a fan of wrestling or even know who the people are to enjoy it, but if you did watch wrestling as a kid, I guarantee you will like it. They are currently airing season 2.
Courtney

May Entertainment Recommendations

Here are a few of my current entertainment recommendations - let me know if you check any of them out!
 
Podcasts: Supernatural with Ashley Flowers: This is a fun one for spooky, unsolved, and unexplainable real life mysteries. One particularly weird episode was on the Dyatlov Pass incident, where a group of hikers in Russia in the 50s met a creepy and unexplained ending.
 
Movies: This one is a guilty pleasure, but the Catfish documentary finally popped up on Netflix, and it didn’t disappoint. This is the original documentary from 2010 that sparked the MTV show that followed it. If you at all like the show or the host, Nev, it’s interesting to see his own experience with a catfish and how it affected him all those years ago. 
 
Books: I’ve been re reading World War Z, and it’s kind of crazy some of the similarities between that story and current events, including the origin of the “virus,” certain steps taken by the government and media, the self quarantining, and the huge recession that it sparked. *Cue Twilight Zone jingle*
Saranya

Happy Quarantine 😊

This work from home has been pretty good for me. Honestly I was feeling a bit rough to be alone in my room all the time. No matter what I did to divert my focus, be it a walk or baking trials etc was always feeling lonely. Since work from home was issued I got a chance to be with my family. My sister has a 4 year old and a 6 month old at home. My breaks were involved with hugs and kisses from little ones or her doggy pushing herself on me for belly rubs. Lunch breaks were no more sad. No matter how busy we all were, we will have our meals together. By 8pm kids will be asleep and we will have time for ourselves watching Netflix or news together or doing anything fun. Last weekend we celebrated my niece’s 4th birthday at home. It was so much fun. We baked her cake at home. Decorated till 1am and in the morning, family from India joined us for celebration through video calls. We tried doing group video calls and still ended up with 6 devices. There were so many people. It was a new and fun experience. This little change made me feel so good. Being quarantined with our family or friends or even a person to talk is a blessing. 

Here are some happy pictures of happy quarantine.