Staff Picks of the Week – February 16th, 2017

Staff Picks of the Week – February 16th, 2017

Roses are red, violets are blue, Happy Valentine’s Day, I have some staff picks for you! Ok, so that was pretty bad. Forgive me, I could have done worse….trust me. Anyway, Friday is here, it is time for the Staff Picks of the Week! Each week a select few of our staff share with you what has been keeping them entertained. As always, I am going to first share with you what has been going on this week at Rogues Portal! First up, new comics! We all love comics! Check out reviews for Another Castle: Grimoire, Spell on Wheels, Quantum Teens are Go #1, Batwoman: Rebirth #1, The Wild Storm #1, as well as our own Sunny and Owl Girl. I mentioned Valentine’s Day, we had plenty of romantic content this week, check out such articles as The Many Loves of Tina Belcher, The Many Loves of Sterling Archer, My Valentine’s Birthday, the Top 10 Most Romantic TV Episodes and there is a lot more where those came from! But Dave, I am single and I hate love! Fair enough, check out our review of Star Trek Enterprise: The Complete Series on blu-ray and our review for the newest Netflix show Santa Clarita Diet! We have plenty of podcasts for you to enjoy too! Check out the latest episodes of Comicsbound, Scooby Dos or Scooby Don’ts, The Comics Agenda, and if you follow Stephanie Cooke on Twitter and enjoy her interesting, sometimes crazy stories, then make sure you listen to her newest podcast, The Weird Magnets where she dives deeper into her adventures! I have said enough, enjoy the Staff Picks!

Anelise’s Pick of the Week – My pick for the week is the new Netflix original series Santa Clarita Diet. I like zombies, and I’ll take them in any form so long as it’s done well. And, after recently binging iZombie (the show and the comics), I wasn’t sure what would be next. This is where Netflix stepped in, as Santa Clarita Diet is conventional zombie programming (blood, gore, consuming of flesh, the works) but it is also funny and affecting. The main family composed of Sheila (Drew Barrymore) and Joel (Timothy Olyphant) and their daughter Abby (Liv Hewson) is so likable, and I think their chemistry is what really makes this show work. To be fair, if you are looking for zombie horror, this is not it, but if you are looking for a more multi-dimensional zombie show with fantastic acting and well-timed humor, then definitely check it out!

Ryan’s Pick of the Week – I realized the other day I haven’t played a Zelda game since the release of Twilight Princess in 2006. With Breath of the Wild right around the corner I finally decided to jump on the HD remaster on the Wii U and it is fantastic. Aside from the excruciating long ‘tutorial’ phase at the start of the game, Twilight Princess HD really cements itself as a solid Zelda game. Is it the best Zelda game? Nah, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad Zelda game. Some of the changes made in the HD version are welcome, such as fewer Tears to collect for spirits, but others make my head hurt. In the Wii version of Twilight Princess anytime your opened a door or revealed a chest, the iconic Zelda ring would blast out of the Wii Remote speaker. It was charming, but annoying. In Twilight Princess HD, that sound now plays overhead, but for some reason it sounds like they didn’t update the sound quality. So now you get the exact same low bitrate sound from the Wii Remote over your television speakers. But that amiibo right?

Hafsa’s Pick of the Week – I would recommend Cut It Out!: 30 Papercut Designs to Cut Out and Keep by Poppy Chancellor. This book is the best paper therapy I have ever experienced. The point of this is to cut out the images and either stick it around area or stick it on the coloured paper. There are themes to the chapters and different stylistic designs with explanations of what the images represent. The experience is as therapeutic as the colouring trend and even more engaging for the reader in my opinion. The designs are flexible so that the user can produce what they need from the designs whether they want cards for special occasions or decorations for a party with whatever level of detail wanted. The choice of how to cut is left up to the user since there are no clear instructions on how to interact. Using certain safety precautions, it can be a family activity as well. So I recommend this book because when I’ve reached a certain level of stress, colouring can be even more stressful while this book gives me a certain level of freedom that I still feel in control during the activity.

David’s Pick of the Week – My pick of the week is the soccer documentary Paleda. Made in 2010, the doc follows Luke Boughen and Gwen Oxenham, two self-described “failures” who were on track to become excellent soccer players, but didn’t make it.  The pair take off on a journey around the world, visiting different countries and participating in various pick up games of soccer. Their adventure includes them bribing their way into a Bolivian prison to play with prisoners, watching a game in Israel where Jews and Arabs play on the same pitch, but never on the same team, to almost getting their footage confiscated from officials in Tehran after Gwen is caught playing a soccer game with the men. I am a huge soccer fan and player, so I appreciate this movie from a different perspective than maybe the non-soccer fan or casual watcher. But the documentary displays the beauty of the game and how it effects people from all over the world. Paleda shows how soccer crosses classes, nations, and religions in a way like nothing else does.