“While the store may simply label them as “pumpkin” within the produce section, there are a number of varieties good for eating, including baby bear, Cinderella, blue doll and others,” writes Bresin. “While the canned pumpkin puree is great for baking, pureeing fresh pumpkin is more versatile and can be used in nonbaked dishes, too.”

Read more on Laker/Lutz News here.

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In a recent article for Laker/Lutz News, our sister publication from Florida, staff writer Mike Camunas reports on the North Tampa Senior Softball League (NTBSS), a senior softball league formed over a decade ago that has grown in friendship, skill and fanbase in their local community. When first formed, there were just ten players. Today, there are more than 100 people involved including players, umpires and scorekeepers. 

“It was an adventure (10 years ago) because many of us were coming back to the game we hadn’t played in many, many years,” said Lutz resident Fred Eckstein, another one of the original 10.“We blew up back then and even sometimes now, where we get a new influx of players. But the play is good, the camaraderie is good — it’s a real diverse group, too, given everyone’s backgrounds and where they are from, originally. It’s really just fun to hang out with all (the players).”

Read more on Laker/Lutz News here. 

Senior softballers in a league of their own

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In a recent article for Laker/Lutz News, our sister publication from Florida, staff writer Doug Sanders reports on the history of Dade City, specifically how the area was explored by historic figure Hernando de Soto. Commissioned by King Charles V or Spain – a monarch who claimed possession of La Florida in 1539 – De Soto is regarded by some historians as the first European expedition to explore the interior of the North American continent.

“Spain’s quest for gold was a prime motivator for de Soto’s expedition, which traversed what would become 14 future states in the United States, according to the author [Charles Enloe Moore],” writes Sanders.

Read more on Laker/Lutz News here.

Explorer Hernando de Soto traveled through Dade City

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“Teenagers can be tough to figure out,” writes Farrell. “As one myself, I know that parenting us is no easy task. There are good days and some bad days. We struggle with trying to balance strong emotions, relationship problems, academics, and extracurriculars all while trying not to disappoint you, our parents.”

Read the full article on Marina Times here.

What teens wish their parents knew

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For the fourth year, SIMPLY returned to Orange County for a chic afternoon at Fashion Island, celebrating all things fashion and beauty for StyleWeekOC. Featured speakers included Erin & Sara Foster (Founders of Favorite Daughter), supermodels Josephine Skriver and Jasmine Tookes (Creators of JoJa), Catt Sadler, Jade Roper Tolbert, Kaitlynn Carter, James Aguiar, Katrina Scott, DWTS’ Sharna Burgess, Jessica Hall, Vanessa Simmons, Sara Aplanalp, Nicole Chavez and SIMPLY founder Sarah Boyd.

Fashion Island’s StyleWeekOC® celebrated the best in Orange County style on Saturday, September 17th in Newport Beach at Fashion Island. Presented by SIMPLY, the definitive style experience included panel discussions with highly acclaimed experts and influencers in fashion and beauty and in-store parties showcasing the season’s top trends.

Erin Foster, Sara Foster and James Aguiar attend Fashion Island’s StyleWeekOC In Partnership With SIMPLY. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Fashion Island)

The event featured panels, shopping parties and guest appearances:

• 1pm – JoJa (Jasmine Tookes & Josephine Skriver) in-store appearance at The General Store for their JoJa pop-up
• 4pm – Favorite Daughter (Sara & Erin Foster) in-store appearance at Anthropologie
• Keynote -Joja- 12-12:50 (Josephine Skriver, Jasmine Tookes, moderated by Catt Sadler)
• Fashion Panel- 1-1:50 (Nicole Chavez, Vanessa Simmons, Kaitlynn Carter, moderated by Sara Aplanalp)
• Content Creator Panel – 2-2:50 (Sharna Burgess, Katrina Scott, Jade Roper moderated by Jessica Hall)
• Headlining Keynote- Foster Sisters – 3-3:50 (Sara & Erin Foster, moderated by James Aguiar)

Vanessa Simmons, Sharna Burgess, Jade Roper Tolbert, Kaitlynn Carter, Nicole Chavez, Catt Sadler, Jasmine Tookes, Katrina Scott, Jessica Hall, Sarah Boyd and James Aguiar attend Fashion Island’s StyleWeekOC In Partnership With SIMPLY. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Fashion Island)

ABOUT SIMPLY

SIMPLY is all about connecting the dots. What began as an agency specializing in events and brand collaborations founded by Sarah Boyd, SIMPLY has transformed into a global force that joins together industry leaders and hopefuls. Through flagship fashion & beauty conferences and online courses, SIMPLY brings together fashion, beauty, and entrepreneurial mavens to network, inspire, and learn from one another. With the SIMPLY Digital Network, they assist brands with influencer marketing campaigns and work with a roster of celebrity bloggers in the digital sphere on media strategy, brand partnerships, and content creation.

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“While root vegetables are available at the farmers market all year round, the fall season through spring produces especially juicy options with deeper and sweeter flavors,” writes Stueven. “Right now red daikon radishes, red and white turnips and fresh ginger are at their peak at the farmers market.”

Read the full article on LA Weekly here.

Farmers Market Watch: Getting Back To Your Roots

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California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order making the state a “reproductive safe haven” for pregnant persons residing outside its borders.

“California will not back down from the fight to protect abortion rights as more than half the states in this country, enabled by the Supreme Court, ban or severely restrict access,” said Governor Gavin Newsom Monday. “We are ensuring Californians will have the opportunity this November to enshrine the right to choose in our state constitution.”

Following the recent SCOTUS decision, California will allow its voters to decide if abortion and contraception rights may be added to the state constitution during the November elections. Specifically, the measure asks “the state shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”

Read more on L.A. Weekly online here. 

California To Put Abortion Rights Decision On November Ballot

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In L.A. Weekly’s recent Meet An Artist Monday, Art Editor Shana Nys Dambrot interviews artist and photographer Matthew Brandt. “Particularly enamored of the rough-hewn and storied lands of the American West, Brandt seeks to describe and transport the landscape’s histories, damages, and glories through his unique photo-based multimedia language,” writes Dambrot. “Brandt is always devising new ways to make all of this clear and inherent in his photographs — large-scale, often fantastically colored and evocatively textured landscapes and portraits — by means of labor-intensive processes from photography’s early days and sometimes physical artifacts of the sites where they were captured.”

Read more on L.A. Weekly online here. 

Meet Light and Matter Artist Matthew Brandt

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Streaming services, cable TV and Primetime television are fighting for your viewership now more than ever. UnBinged is here to help you weed through it all, with reviews of the latest shows that highlight what we love, what we hate and what we love to hate-watch, too. As life slowly but surely returns to some degree of normalcy, so does your television programming schedule. New shows are back in full swing, giving us TV nerds a full feast to choose from. As Comic-Con returns to form next month and summer movies look to rule the roost once more, small screen geek cred heats up thanks to the sinister superheroes of The Boys, the incredible animation of Love, Death & Robots, and the odd outings of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Here’s what to binge (and not binge)…

The Boys (Season 3, Amazon Prime)

Amazon Prime’s dark superhero series The Boys returns for a third season, promising more over-the-top violence, more emotionally scarring sex scenes involving spandex, more Billy Joel tunes, and more demented situations.

Created by Eric Kripke and based on the Garth Ennis comic, the third season sees a slightly nicer, gentler Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), who has pulled back on killing “supes” while Hughie (Jack Quaid) now works for the government, and may or may not be controlled by an evil entity. Meanwhile, ticking timebomb Homelander (Antony Starr) is one bad day away from destroying the entire god-damn world.

This year, the Boys team has a goal: kill Homelander and destroy the company that made him – Vought International. But how does one kill a god? To do so, the gang must dig deep into the death of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), another superbastard from a bygone era whose powers were fueled by his Id.

What’s left for a series that once smashed a man’s head between the thighs of a drugged-out superhero during cunnilingus? Using a newborn with laser eyes as a lethal weapon, interspecies intercourse, superhero orgies and a shocking sex scene involving shrinkage (not what you think), to name a few things.

As always, Starr shines as Homelander as his sanity and humanity seems to slip even more. His cold blue eyes reveal not a single hint of human emotion while he terrorizes civilians and superheroes alike, and it’s absolutely chilling. A handcrafted hero whose lab-based childhood created a psychopath with superhuman powers, Homelander is perhaps the most vile villain to ever grace the screen and an absolute delight to watch.

The third season of The Boys delivers in spades. It’s got more violence, more random musical numbers, more heartbreaking moments of despair, and more to say about the state of today’s affairs. It feels like a punch to the cranium with its nihilistic doom, gloom, fucking and fighting. It might be crude. It might be savage. But it is also outstanding…for those who can handle it.

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+)

Disney+ continues to expand the Star Wars Universe with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Mouse House’s latest small-screen attempt to keep Star Wars audiences engaged and happy after the success of The Mandalorian and The Book Of Boba Fett (once it became The Mandalorian). Although the IP is considered sacred to the fandom, love for the character cannot save this somewhat paltry and overused story.

Set between the trio of prequels and the Holy Trilogy, Obi-Wan Kenobi follows the heavy-hearted Jedi Master (Ewan McGregor) after the fall of the Jedi Order. Ten years into his exile on the desert planet of Tatooine, he watches over Luke Skywalker from afar. But fate has more in store for Obi-Wan, as little Leia Organa (Vivien Lyra Blair) requires his assistance. The two embark on an adventure together, creating a bond strong enough to explain why she named her son “Ben.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi attempts to capture the lightning in the bottle that was Rogue One: A Star Wars Story by taking disparities within the narrative and fleshing them out to add depth. To do this, the series tacks on the mentor-student road trip aspect of The Mandalorian, attempting to recreate the magic between Din Djarin and Grogu. But the problems with the story undercut any attempts to play on the fanbase’s love for previous properties.

Obi-Wan’s story development and supporting characters are uneven and at times, inane. Inadequate villains seem to fumble at the finish line like buffoons from comic book serials, which might work for the page, but not the screen. Why is the Empire hiring evildoers who are just gonna kill each other at the finish line? And why is that a reason to promote them?

It might just be a shaky start, but so far, Obi-Wan comes off as the one thing it shouldn’t be – cliche. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of pure glee, like when Darth Vader Force-chokes randos out of a window. Watching Obi’s interactions with Vader (Hayden Christensen/voice of Jones) make up the best parts of the series, but the story that surrounds their interactions is flimsy. The creatives behind Obi-Wan seem to want to exploit Star Wars fans here, hoping an occasional lightsaber battle between Vader and Obi-Wan will satiate the masses.

Obi-Wan is fine for die-hard Star Wars fans who need their fix, but not compelling enough for casual watchers looking for a good story. At its best, Obi-Wan Kenobi is pure nostalgia fuel for the die-hard fanbase, but at its worst, it is a series unworthy of its lineage.

Love, Death & Robots (Season 3, Netflix)

Created by Tim Miller and exec produced by Miller and helmer David Fincher, the third installment of Love, Death & Robots feels as unique as it did when the series first came to Netflix, delivering on the promise of the first volume’s mind-blowing animation. The techniques seen here elevate the sci-fi gore and homespun horror of its content and make for an impressive experience, even when the tales are a little lackluster.

To be clear, the title is a tad misleading: sometimes there is love, sometimes robots, and there’s a lot of death, but very rarely does the audience get all three in a single story. Edgier and a bit more bitter all around, this round of tales take a darker turn than in previous years, which is saying a lot for toons that usually encompass dystopian futures and the end of humanity.

“Swarm” is by far the most impressive when it comes to visual aspects and storytelling, following two scientists as they attempt to study an ancient insect-like alien society with somewhat dubious motives. Also good is Fincher’s “Bad Travelling,” which offers the salty tale of a ship crew battling a monster crustacean called a thanapod. “Vaulted Hall Entombed” is another impressive animation outing about a mission gone awry in an ancient temple.

Other amusing episodes include the shipwreck saga “The Very Pulse of the Machine,” the Scottish vermin Terminator tale “Mason’s Rats,” and the return of the delightfully dismal trio of bots in “Three Robots: Exit Strategies.” Less effective installments include “Kill Team Kill” and “Night of the Mini Dead” an adorable if not bland effort of a zombie invasion in the world of Polly Pockets.

In all, Love, Death & Robots proves why it deserves every one of its animation Emmy wins as it advances the industry while blowing our little minds. And this time around, there are a bit more terrifically twisted tales to match the tremendous array of techniques.

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Sesame Dinette In Long Beach Is An Incubator For The AAPI Community

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