Guest star, managing editor and (possibly) divine being, Ellie Albin: As the NTT IndyCar Series heads to Long Beach, California this weekend, keep in mind that you’re watching the best racing series in the world. Yeah, Formula 1 may be the most popular — and I can say this because I watch both series — but where IndyCar is a rollicking rock song with unexpected key and time signature changes, Formula 1 is a squeaky-clean pop bop with autotune. Do I love both? I do. But one is clearly more interesting, more unexpected and more demanding of its audience.
Danny William: Foreign cinema is such a weird, interesting and diverse place, and so many more people should be exposed to it. Watching non-English films is definitely a different experience, but it’s completely worth it. As Bong Joon-ho famously said: “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”
Joey Sills: Vanilla ice cream is far superior to chocolate ice cream and it’s not even close. Of the three classic Neapolitan flavors, it’s the one I eat the most. Otherwise, my go-to flavor is butter pecan which, I’ve been told, is an “old-man choice.” I resent that, but nonetheless, if butter pecan ice cream is for old people, then you might as well call me Dick Van Dyke.
Elizabeth Valadez: Eight years after their breakup, One Direction remains the superior boy band. Call me crazy, but I still listen to them almost daily.
Jared Quigg: Socialists should read the liberal philosophers. Understanding the ideas of Marx, Engels and Lenin is important, but you’ll probably understand them even better if you also read liberals like Locke, Rousseau, Smith, Kant, Hegel and others. Rousseau’s “Discourse on Inequality” and Smith’s “The Wealth of Nations” would be good places to start.
Audrey Vonderahe: People always say comparison is the thief of joy, but I think the real thief is expectation. It might sound cynical, but if you raise your expectations for and of a certain thing or event, inevitably the thing or event will disappoint you in some way. Removing arbitrary expectations from things in your life just makes your life more enjoyable. You can enjoy the spontaneity life has to offer without needing control.
Ravana Gumm: McDonald’s tastes good, and I will die on that hill. I cannot get with the people who act like they are too good to eat some McDonald’s from time to time. Get me a six-piece chicken nugget with buffalo sauce and a medium fry and I will be eating that up so fast.
Leila Faraday: Pet rabbits should be kept free-range and not in cages. There’s no space for them to hop around if they are confined all day.
Special guest, news editor Carter DeJong: Domestic beer exists only for intoxication. No love or care is involved in brewing Bud Light, Coors Light and other domestic beers. I would much rather enjoy a crisp American-style lager from a local microbrewery while hitting the links than a beverage whose ingredients could be listed on one hand.
