The Weekly Write-Up #13
In this newsletter…
The greatest war novel of all time?
The Santa Clause, but a show!
This app FINALLY came out!
My brand-new desk setup!
Something I Read
ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT
This week, I finished 2 books that I’ve been reading! I finished both The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. I decided to talk about the latter this week. My reasoning for this is twofold. First, I want to have more time to ponder and consider The Lord of the Rings series as a whole before I review it. Second, All Quiet on the Western Front is a sorrowful book and not really what I would like to review on Christmas Eve. With that being said, let’s get into my thoughts on this book.
I read All Quiet on the Western Front as a school assignment, but it was another book that I enjoyed reading! I didn’t like it as much as To Kill A Mockingbird, but I still liked it a lot. All Quiet on the Western Front is a war novel that discusses World War 1. It tells the story of Paul Baumer, who is a German soldier in this war. It gives the reader an eyewitness view to the war and what it does to a person’s life. Remarque did an impressive job at being descriptive, and since the story is written in first person, you really sympathize with the soldiers. The reason he wrote this book was to make people realize how awful war is and because of this, the book is very violent as well as graphic. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone under 14 or 15 because it contains soldiers literally getting blown to pieces, people dying in hospitals, lots of blood, some swearing, and other graphic elements. Also, not everyone is going to like this book because it is just sorrowful. Most of the characters die in unfortunate ways. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons it is such a great book. I don’t like that so many of the characters died, but that is war, and Remarque did an outstanding job of expressing that in his book.
In summary, this is a really great book! It is hard to read because it is so sad, but I think you will come to appreciate how well this book is written. Remarque certainly accomplished his goal by showing the reader how terrible war is and how much it destroys everyone’s lives. I would recommend this book to older teens and adults. So, is it the greatest war novel of all time? Well, I don’t know because I haven’t read all the war novels out there. But, out of all the ones I have read, this is absolutely one of the best!
Something I Watched
THE SANTA CLAUSES
I’m certain that you have heard about The Santa Clausemovies. There are 3 of them, and they were released between 1994 to 2006. Recently, Disney released a new show that takes place after these movies. It is called The Santa Clauses, and it is a Disney+ original, meaning Disney+ is the only place where you can watch it. The Santa Clauses is about Scott Calvin (Santa Claus) considering retirement and everything that entails. He has to choose a new Santa, and his family has to get used to being regular people.
My family has been watching the show for the past few weeks. The sixth and final episode came out on Wednesday, concluding the show. I actually really enjoyed this series! It was pretty interesting and a nice addition to the other Santa Clause movies. I enjoyed the plot and the way the show went on. It is one of those shows/movies where the “bad guy” isn’t really trying to be bad, but is actually trying to be kind. That makes the show intriguing and something that I enjoyed about it. The ending of the show may seem to some a little ‘corny’ or like a Hallmark movie. While it may have been predictable, the show was still appealing and I, personally, enjoyed it!
I would recommend the show to any age group. It was actually very clean and great for kids as well as adults! I would recommend watching the Santa Clause movies before this show, so you understand it a little better. I hadn’t seen the Santa Clause movies in a while, but I was still able to understand most of the show! One more thing, the intro is really weird (you will see what I mean if you watch it)! This is a great show, though, and something you should consider watching this Christmas season!
Tech Thoughts
APPLE’S NEW APP: FREEFORM
I will be honest, I’ve been waiting for this app for months! Since Apple announced this app back in March, I’ve been waiting for it to come out. After much delay, Freeform finally came out this week with IOS 16.2, iPadOS 16.2, and macOS 13.1. Freeform is a digital white-boarding app, like many others that you have probably seen. This one is from Apple, so it is free, as with all apps created by Apple.
This week, I’ve been extensively testing out Freeform and found that I really like it, though maybe not as much as I thought I would. I love how you can just throw everything onto the endless whiteboard! You can add sticky notes, shapes, text, files, scanned documents, photos, and links! On top of all of this (literally), you can write with the Apple Pencil or just draw with your finger. This is really nice because it allows you to annotate and make quick notes. I think that Freeform could do more, though, and I’m sure Apple will add more in future updates. I think they could add tables, graphs, and boards within boards. It is a really great app and can do a lot, but those are just some features I wish Freeform had.
Now, let’s talk about reasons to use this app. In my opinion, I think this app is DEFINITELY best on the iPad because you can use the Apple Pencil. While you can use it on the Mac or iPhone, I believe the experience is lesser because you can’t use the Apple Pencil. Apple mostly advertised this app as a collaborative white-boarding app, but I think I will use this app for my personal use, more often than with other people. I can’t wait to use it in real life! Two great recent uses for me would have been when I was searching for desks (see the wild card) so I could put all the links in. Also, I could have used it when I was doing a research project on Mark Twain for my History class. I would have used it for those if it had come out sooner, but I intend to use it for other things in the future. Freeform is a great app, and you should check it out because it is free!
Wild Card
MY ULTIMATE DESK SETUP
For the past few years, I’ve been wanting to redo my room and get some new furniture and the like. I didn’t really start that until this year. This year, I’ve moved furniture around, gotten rid of items, and bought new items. The most recent, and perhaps most exciting part of that process, has been getting and setting up my new desk. If you or someone you know is considering on redoing their desk setup, then this newsletter is for you! I will talk about my new desk and everything on it! (Feel free to refer to the pictures above to see what I’m talking about.)
The Desk
First, the desk itself. After endless searching for desks, I finally found the ODK L Shaped Desk. The main reason for choosing this desk may have been that I was just sick of looking for desks, but I’ve actually come to like this desk. First things first, it isn’t too difficult to put together. You will need two people to put it together because you won’t be able to do it yourself. It wasn’t too difficult to understand the instructions, although I did have my super smart, younger brother help me on some parts because I didn’t understand.
The desk is actually really nice even though it is under $120, which is cheap when compared with other desks! I got the black one, and I really like it. My only gripe with it is that it does show up some handprints and fingerprints on the wood surface, which actually surprised me. Otherwise, the surface is very nice! This desk also comes with a tote bag, which is pretty cool. I don’t have a ton of items in it right now, but it is nice how it attaches to the side and can store a few things. It also comes with a headphone hook, which I didn’t even attach because I don’t have over-the-ear headphones that could hook on it. Finally, the desk also comes with a monitor stand which I usually set my iPad on, providing storage space underneath. So overall, this is a great desk! I really enjoy the L-shape because I can essentially have two different work areas!
Accessories
Now, to share the array of items sitting on my desk or near my desk (Also, many of these things could make nice Christmas gifts)…
iPad 9th Generation: I’ve talked about this astonishing device before! If you want to read my review on it, read it here.
Logitech K380 Keyboard: I love this keyboard, as talked about here. Oftentimes, I put it under the monitor stand to store it.
AirPods 3rd Generation: My favorite headphones! I discussed them in a past newsletter. They typically charge on my desk lamp.
Flymuda Desk Lamp: A great desk lamp that sits in the corner, so it can illuminate the whole desk. It doubles as a wireless charger. I’ve talked about it in a past newsletter.
Desk Chair: This is a comfortable chair which fits pretty well at my desk. I spend a lot of my day in this chair, so it needed to be nice and comfy!
RAVPower 60W 12A 6-Port Desktop Charger: This allows me to charge up to 6 devices at one time! This device is super useful, and I’ve had it for years.
IKEA Power Strip: I have this power strip under my desk to plug in my iPad, lamp, and anything else I might need to plug in.
Command Strips: I used these command strips to attach my RAVPower charger and my IKEA Power Strip to the underside of my desk. That way, they are out of sight and keep all the cords hidden!
Bostitch Quiet Sharp 6: This is a very nice pencil sharpener. It allows you to sharpen pencils of 6 different sizes!
Swingline Stapler: I’ve had this stapler for a very long time and use it all of the time.
Bostitch Office 3 Hole Punch: This is a great hole punch that I use all the time.
Amazon BT1 Speaker: This is a pretty nice speaker for a good price. It is currently unavailable on Amazon, though, so they may not sell it anymore.
Storage Caddy: This has three compartments and is great for storing tape, glue sticks, envelopes, whiteboard cleaners, cleaning clothes, protractors, etc.
Draw Storage Organizer Bins: I use these to store things like notecards, keys, AirTags, and my Apple Pencil adapter. Pretty much anything small.
Pencil Caddy: This is a great holder for pens, pencils, markers, or scissors! This isn’t sold anymore.
If you need to get last minute Christmas gifts, you can also check out my newsletter from last week! Thanks for reading! See you next week!