ft. ‘The Serpent’ & Chocolate Raspberry Protein Oatmeal

April 16, 2021 by Sydney Grant

TGIF! Do you see that? Just beyond the horizon? Is that…it is! It’s Hot Vax Summer, ya’ll! It finally feels like summer and after spending 2020 locked inside our homes attempting to convince ourselves that cooking bread is “fun,” I think it’s safe to say that we’re all ready for summer 2021. I don’t know about you all, but I’ll be spending this weekend sticking my legs out of my very narrow balcony in an attempt to take advantage of this weather and soak up some well-deserved rays!

However you’re planning on spending your weekend, enjoy these quarantivities!

Quarant-streams

‘The Serpent’

Watch this to give an all-new meaning to Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”:

New true crime series alert! You’ve probably seen The Serpent slithering around on your Netflix trending recently, but if you haven’t, it tells the chilling story of conman and murderer Charles Sobhraj. Sobhraj, along with his girlfriend Marie-Andrée Leclerc and accomplice Ajay Chowdhury, murdered at least 12 tourists throughout the late 70s along what was known as the “Hippie Trail.” Posing in the guise of a gemstone dealer and his wife, Sobhraj and Leclerc would lure in their victims by hosting lavish parties at their apartment complex, where they would then drug, rob, and eventually kill them.

It’s a grisly enough tale that will make anyone second-guess that solo Southeast Asia trip they were planning on taking to “find themselves” post-COVID, but there is hope for a happy ending. After a young couple is found brutally murdered, Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg ties the case to Sobhraj and makes it his mission to put him behind bars, no matter what it takes. Aided by his wife, fellow diplomat Paul Siemons, and Sobhraj’s neighbor Nadine, Knippenberg’s cause gives you something to root for while stress-clicking “Next Episode” at 2 AM, because you just can’t go to bed without knowing what happens next. If you’re the type of person whose idea of “unwinding” is listening to some Dateline with a glass of wine, then this show is for you!

Stream it via Netflix.

‘Big Shot’

Watch this if you love an “irregular” take on a classic:

Picture Ted Lasso and Coach Taylor got together and had a love child. Now, picture the exact opposite of that child, and you get Marvyn Korn (John Stamos), the star of Disney+’s new series Big Shot. After losing his temper and throwing a chair during a game that hit a very unlucky referee (Coach Taylor would never!), Korn is fired from his job as head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team. So, who wants to hire a guy who throws chairs at refs? Crazily enough, not a whole lot of people.

There is one school, however, willing to hire Mr. Crazy Chair Guy: the Westbrook School for Girls. So suddenly, Korn finds himself facing the ultimate karma as the coach of a women’s basketball team. Of course, Ted Lasso or Coach Taylor would have leaned into this, determined not to let sexist stereotypes deter them! But not our Marvyn Korn. No, he has quite some character development to go before achieving Lasso greatness. But in true Disney fashion, after spending some time with these girls, perhaps our basketball Grinch’s heart will end up growing a few sizes after all. This show is perfect for watching with the fam, so take a break from The Mighty Ducks this weekend and give this one a try. We’ll just have to see if Stamos can fill those Sudeikis-sized shoes.

Stream it via Disney+.

Quarant-reads

‘When Breath Becomes Air’ by Paul Kalanithi

Read this if you love Lennox Hill:

At 36, Paul Kalanithi had devoted his entire life to saving others. A neurosurgeon with a decade’s worth of practice under his belt, he was no stranger to death. But suddenly, he’s diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer, and just like that, the doctor becomes the patient. Now, with his own life on the line, he’s forced to reexamine everything he thought he knew about death and, more importantly, what it means to live. A harrowing memoir that offers an inside look into Kalanithi’s brain and extraordinary career, When Breath Becomes Air is the perfect book for ripping through in one weekend — just have a box of tissues ready.

Purchase via Amazon.