UNDER $25 SCORES: IMPROVE YOUR K-CUPS WITH THESE QUICK & CLEAN KEURIG PODS
By Alexandra LaMassa, Published on CNN Underscored
There’s no doubt that Keurig has revolutionized one-cup, one-touch brewing for coffee lovers around the world. But have you ever wondered how the flavor of your coffee is affected by the cleanliness of the machine?
Like all coffee makers, Keurig machines are prone to mold, grime and residue in hard-to-reach spots that are not easily flushed out by water — which leads the machine to deteriorate more quickly. But most importantly, it also results in subpar-tasting coffee. Which is why I was eager to try Quick & Clean Keurig Cleaning Pods, which are single-serve pods filled with descaling solution meant to help disinfect your machine.
After using just one of these to clean my machine, I brewed myself a cup of coffee and was amazed at how much more flavorful it tasted. Here’s what you need to know if you’re ready for better tasting coffee at home.
How I Found the Quick & Clean Keurig Cleaning Pods
No matter the temperature, I almost always opt for iced brew. Too often I fall into the trap of spending too much cash at coffee shops or on copious amounts of bottled iced coffee … as my perfectly functional coffee maker collects dust on the counter. The reason? Brewing my own coffee always came with a lingering bitter taste I couldn’t shake.
While researching my options, I stumbled upon the Quick & Clean Keurig Cleaning Pods. There were a few similar options to choose from, but based on price, reviews and user-friendliness, Quick & Clean seemed the way forward.
All I had to do was pop the Quick & Clean Pod into my Keurig and brew on the largest setting. Within seconds, all the built-up sludge poured out of the spout and into my mug. After discarding the single-use pod, I brewed water through the Keurig, per the instructions. This expelled any remaining muck and cleaning solution from the machine, and the next brew was completely clean. The directions advise you to use one cleaning pod every three months (at least) so they won’t go too quickly.
Why the Quick & Clean Keurig Cleaning Pods are a score
For under $25, you can get a packet of 18 cleaning pods, which, if you use as directed, is over nine months of a squeaky-clean Keurig. (They also come in a six-pack for $10 and a 12-pack for $19). And for me, this was a total score because it helped limit my spending on Starbucks and Dunkin’ as well as bottled iced coffees from the grocery store.
Plus, it’s simple to work this fix into any schedule because it takes as little time as brewing just a couple cups of joe. And lastly, because they are the same size and dimensions as your normal K-Cups, you can easily stock your drawers with this low-cost, eco-friendly Keurig cleaning solution.
NOT ALL THEATRE MAJORS TAKE THE STAGE– SOME MANAGE IT
By Alex LaMassa
An alarm sounds at 8:30. John swats at his phone to snooze it. It is the start of another week in production for third-year BFA Stage Manager John Carpino. It is not any ordinary week, though. This is tech week: a week out of hell. Carpino rubs the sleep out of his eyes at 9 and scrolls on his phone to get his morning fix of social media and catch up on anything he has missed from the night before. Some 50 minutes pass before it is time to get active. He sits up, stretches in a cartoonish way, and observes the space around him.
John starts his morning with a shower to get his life together. He scans his closet packed with clothes for all seasons: “It’s a little cold. I have to look at this side of the closet and up there,” he says, referring to his collection of long sleeve T-shirts and sweatshirts. Ironically, he opts for a coral short sleeve T-shirt and army green drawstring shorts. “Until it hits -5 degrees outside, I will be wearing shorts and a T-shirt with a crew neck or a hoodie because I think that’s the cutest thing ever,” he says.
Before he leaves the room, he throws the covers over his bed, “because it’s tech week and I’m not about to go crazy,” he says. His last stop is the bathroom where he finishes his morning skincare routine. He says, “I use this Inkey List eye brightening cream because I look like a fucking raccoon every day.” Before leaving the house, John takes out his journal for his morning affirmations. “I usually write, like, how I’m feeling now and then how I’m feeling by the time I go to bed. It’s not a lot but it lets me get some of my thoughts down like a cool dream or something good,” he says.
Carpino’s class schedule is two or three classes per day with breaks sprinkled between. Luckily for John, his 11:15 Women’s Studies class is canceled so he schedules a meeting with his Production Stage Manager and the sound supervisor for the show he is working on, “Hit the Wall,” to learn how to operate the new headset system they will be using throughout the run.
It is almost time to leave the house, so John transfers his keys and wallet from his weekend bag to his backpack, puts extra deodorant on, and heads out the door. The walk to class is cloudy, misty, and a bit nippy. On his walk from North Atherton Street to campus, John likes to listen to music because it helps him walk faster.
Within 15 minutes, John reaches the Pavilion Theatre for his meeting, which lasts about 45 minutes. When he walks in, he is presented with a headset, puts it on, and begins his training. He learns what each button does and what channel he will speak through. After the meeting, he crosses the street to the Theatre Building to work on his stage management final project at his station in the Stage Management office. The office is quiet while John focuses on his project. He is to call an entire virtual production. He writes down the cues he will need to call, and he practices saying them to himself. After an hour of work, he takes a break before his 1:25 class, CAS 100 in the Thomas Building.
John sits on the left side of the second-to-last row of Courtney Wright’s CAS 100 class with fellow School of Theatre student, Owen Smith. The two are glad to have each other in one of the few general education classes that theatre students take, where they are not the majority. Class begins and both John and Owen are attentive throughout. They learn about rhetorical analysis speeches and write notes on how to perfect them.
After 50 minutes, it is time to return to his stomping grounds for his Stage Management class. Today’s class is focused on making professional websites. The room is, for the most part, quiet while the stage managers develop their websites. The clicking of their keyboards fills the otherwise quiet room. Their program head, Jenny Lang, breaks the quiet throughout the class to give them tips. Their homework is to create their own websites by the following Wednesday.
Class ends at 3:20 and John runs upstairs to make it to his program meeting by 3:30. There was a prospective student in town so everyone in the program got to meet her. This is a big deal considering the BFA Stage Management program is among the most competitive at Penn State. It is so selective that there is not even a current sophomore class, so this meeting was important for John to be at.
After the meeting, John gets a call from his best friend, Ethan, and stops to see him on his way home. “I never have time to do much during the day because of the classes and I have rehearsal, like, so soon, so whenever I can see my friends, I try to. But this seems kind of, like, hard to do that because I’ve just been so busy. I started rehearsal the first day of classes and then I don’t end my rehearsal process because I’m doing another show once this one closes. I’m not ending until November 12, he says.” Ethan lives down the road from John so he can swing this trip. They chit chat about their days and gossip about the production they are each a part of. This meeting is short-lived, though, as it is almost time to go to the Theatre Building before the first rehearsal of tech week.
“I leave for the Theatre Building at around 5 every day. I usually eat dinner there. It’s like 10 times easier. I meal prepped yesterday,” he says. Rehearsal is from 6:30 to 10:30 every weeknight and, as a stage manager, John arrives at around 6 and does not leave until around 10:45 or 11. John and the other stage managers working on “Hit the Wall” grab extension cords and other supplies from the stage management office and head to the Pavilion Theatre. Upon arrival, John sets up the stage management table and ensures set pieces and props are in their place for the start of the show.
Tonight’s rehearsal was a run-through of the play. Actors and designers trickle into the theatre warming up and setting up for the night. At the top of rehearsal, John announces, “It is 6:30, actors, please gather on stage for a boundary check!” The actors show each other their physical boundaries and then proceed to fight call and intimacy call, practices that take place before every run of the show. During the run of the show, John is on book in case anyone calls for line while updating his notes of any changes made during the run.
“Hit the Wall” is 90 minutes long. At the end of the run, John announces, “It is 8:31 and we are due for a 10. Please be back at 8:41.” To which the room replies, “Thank you, 10.” When they reconvene, the director gives his notes on the run, and they work scenes as needed for the rest of the night. At 10:30, they are ready to break for the evening. This is the third full run the cast has done, and everyone’s energy was left in the rehearsal room.
At 10:30, John presets all props and set pieces to top-of-show for tomorrow’s rehearsal, cleans up the stage management table, and confirms tomorrow’s schedule with the director to include it in the rehearsal report and daily call. John returns home slightly after 11 with only enough energy to finish his homework for the night and send out some last-minute emails, “even though its 11 p.m. and no one is going to read them,” he says. It is a long day, but this is nothing out of the ordinary for Carpino.
“I am going to get myself some water and maybe some chips for a snack,” he says, before he gets to bed and repeats his hectic schedule every day until the closing of his second production this semester.
CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED PLAYWRIGHT JAMES GRAHAM TAKES YET ANOTHER PIVOTAL MOMENT IN POLITICS TO THE STAGE
By Alexandra LaMassa
London, England– Best of Enemies explores the fierce relationship of William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal, two political commentators, and its impact on modern day broadcast media and politics in the United States. David Harewood and Zachary Quinto, playing Buckley and Vidal, respectively, master the physical, emotional, and mental characteristics of the two and their performances complement the accuracy of the writing.
The production premiered at the Young Vic in 2021 and moved to the West End in 2022 with only a few written changes. The script explicates how the 1968 debates between Buckley and Vidal shifted how broadcast media covered politics and flaunted individuals with vastly different stances for the benefit of the news station.
The production features verbatim televised debates between the two as well as observed and supposed off-screen banter, personal relationships on each side, other socially historical figures, and a background of the inner workings of broadcast television. Despite its outdated setting, audiences are able to draw comparisons to modern day politics in this West End revival.
Alongside the coverage of Buckley and Vidal’s debates is the focus on societal issues and diversity. Historical figures such as Andy Warhol and Aretha Franklin make strategic cameos throughout the piece to illustrate the various societal issues that ensued during the Election of 1968. More specific to the story, Best of Enemies shares Gore Vidal’s half-private half-public homosexuality in a personal manner. We are taken through Vidal’s inner and outer struggles with being a gay man in politics and how it unfortunately has the power to ruin his reputation. This compelling side of the story leads audiences to sympathize with Vidal and connect with him as a character.
A widely debated aspect of the West End’s production of Best of Enemies is the decision to cast David Harewood, an African American, as William F. Buckley, a known conservative racist figure in politics. Buckley is even seen on stage in a debate with James Baldwin regarding racism that does not completely represent Buckley’s stance as it may have conflicted with the casting choice made by the creative team. Theatre is becoming a more inclusive community in terms of casting, race, and gender, but this casting diluted the conservative opinions held by Buckley, an integral part of his character.
Director Jeremy Herrin breathes life into the production with pristine staging and dynamic use of the set, appreciated fully by those with an eye for physical direction. Despite being dropped into the conflict as soon as the lights come up, the production is well paced and mostly keeps audiences engaged. In moments of dense, fast-paced dialogue, Bunny Christie’s set along with Jack Knowles lighting design and Tom Gibbons’ sound design keep the production alive and on its feet.
With glass boxes, television screens, and sleek, grayscale background with pops of color in accented set pieces, the set replicates the average 1960s television, enticing the audience to glue their eyes to the stage as they would a television set. Max Spielbichler’s video design enhances this feeling with close-up moving images of Buckley and Vidal speaking in real time as well as historical footage to support the story. Stark, vibrant lighting feeds the audiences understanding of each character’s purpose and sounds of 60s echo throughout the theatre to create an immersive experience.
Much of this performance is entrancing and it is refreshing to see this kind of media representation on stage. However, this trance comes to a halt at the end of the play as the audience is coaxed to formulate a certain opinion on the subject matter at hand. Graham’s Best of Enemies seeks to represent the media and illustrate the impact it had on modern-day politics and politics of the time, but it instead painted slightly too much of the picture for its audience when that should be left for the individual to debate.
Alexandra LaMassa 