The Worrier’s Guide To Life by Gemma Correll
If you’ve seen those “Pugs Not Drugs” shirts around, you’re familiar with at least one piece of Gemma Correll’s work. She illustrates a lot of adorable, relatable comics on her Tumblr, now collected in her new book. The Worrier’s Guide To Life contains Correll’s best recent work, a lot of which skewers the absurdity of women’s depictions in media (“Body Shapes: A Handy Guide” and “Problem Areas”) and millennials (“My Savings Account” and “Palm Reading For Millennials). Like Hyperbole And A Half’s Allie Brosh, Correll also uses her comics to explore depression and anxiety, and some of the highlights of the book are those sobering themes depicted through cute comics. “Depression Land” shows the author riding “It’s A Small, Grey, Pointless World,” the “Meh-Go-Round,” and the “Guilt-A-Whirl,” for example. It’s a brief, fun tour of a talented artist’s enjoyable works, perfect for a coffee table or gift for the millennial in your life. [Caitlin PenzeyMoog]
E:60, “Behind The Curtain”
ESPN’s E:60 recently dedicated an episode to the inner workings and personal stories from an unexplored corner of the often tight-lipped World Wrestling Entertainment. “Behind The Curtain” follows the paths of three performers from NXT. In essence, NXT is WWE’s minor league farm system, a place where new hires perform in front of smaller crowds to develop their characters and wrestling skills in hopes of making it to the main TV roster. Nowadays, NXT’s weekly show on the WWE Network and Hulu Plus—which our resident Monday Night Raw reviewer, LaToya Ferguson, is now covering for TV Club—is a must watch for wrestling fans, as WWE has been populating it with some of the world’s best talent. But “Behind The Curtain” started filming several years ago, when these established performers were less numerous. What this doc delivers, then, is something that I think non-wrestling fans would find interesting, too: The stories of three men on the precipice of achieving their dreams, the personal adversity that drives them, and a look at what goes into shaping a compelling on-screen character. [Matt Gerardi]
Taco In A Bag
Also known as “walking tacos,” my first experience with this mobile feast was at a high school baseball game in my hometown. Sold at the concession stand, this treat, courtesy of the “baseball moms” still holds up today: First, you open up an individual-sized bag of chips (Doritos and Fritos work best, but feel free to experiment) then you dump in a sizable portion of taco meat (ground hamburger browned with a packet of taco seasoning stirred in) and top it off with your preferred taco fixings. I’ve perfected my recipe to include spinach leaves, sour cream, salsa, shredded sharp cheddar, sliced black olives, cherry tomatoes, and jalapeños. Then you grab hold of the bag, shake it all up, and stick a fork in it. I especially like this as a quick meal when the weather starts to perk up and I want to avoid using my oven for days—it makes great leftovers once you reheat the taco meat and grab a fresh chip bag. Obviously, you can put all the ingredients in a bowl or on a plate, but somehow I don’t find that as satisfying. Regardless of where the ingredients land, don’t be afraid to have fun with them, and if you’re looking for ideas, take a note from Chicago’s Taco In A Bag menu, which advertises the meal as “gourmet nachos,” with varieties including everything from citrus marinated shrimp to crispy collard greens to roasted garlic infused sour cream. [Becca James]