Entertainment
The Joy of Being a Beginner
Last fall, I moved into a Brooklyn apartment with a balcony and made a promise to myself that I’d learn how to garden. I poured over heirloom seeds online and set one reasonable-seeming goal: to hold a single vegetable in my hand that I’d grown from a seed.
Spring rolled around. When I opened the seed packets I’d confidently ordered months earlier, most of them were alarmingly tiny. Would a single extra drop of water kill this? I wondered. But after googling things like “overwatering vs under-watering” and reading a bunch of gardening tips that I immediately forgot, I planted my seeds in starter trays by my living room window. If everything went according to plan, they’d get big enough to go outside just as the evening temperatures stopped dipping low enough to kill them.
“I’m not sure this is going to work,” I told a friend who had a plot at a nearby community garden. “Seeds want to grow,” she replied. It was very reassuring, and sure enough, within days, little sprouts were shooting up.
From then on, the state of my seeds was the first thing I checked every morning. If I went away for the weekend, I’d drop my bag as soon as I returned and head straight for them with a pitcher of water. I was sitting on my apartment floor repotting when the April 5th earthquake hit New York City; I had to wipe the dirt off my hands before checking my phone to figure out what was going on.
By mid-April, however, things seemed a bit bleak. My plants had flatlined. They didn’t seem big enough to move outdoors, but I followed a planting schedule based on the last frost anyway. It was nice to have a reason to go outside so early, and gardening made me more attuned to the weather. Wind had been a minor inconvenience until plants with thin stalks that I very much wanted to survive were in its path. Temperature wasn’t something I accessed first through my phone’s weather app; instead, I felt it each morning when I opened the balcony door.
One day, carrying pitcher after pitcher of water from the kitchen sink, I also realized that I didn’t usually spend much time as a beginner. It felt good to experience the frustrations and delights of someone who’s just starting out. When I planted beans, I was reminded of how little I knew. I’d ordered Hidatsa Shield Beans mostly because they’re so beautiful. When it was time to sow them, I was confused: I plant a bean and it…multiplies into many beans? Grows into some sort of bean bush? But instead of turning to the internet for an instant answer, I decided to let myself be surprised.
Spring turned to summer. I picked a few dozen snap peas before the plants died of what I believe was heatstroke. I was on track to grow juicy heirloom tomatoes when they got some sort of brown rot that can be caused by over-watering, under-watering, too much fertilizer, not enough fertilizer, or maybe the pressure of being my most desired plant. The cucumbers that started out strong grew bulbous and tasted…off. I would not be 2024’s answer to a young Martha Stewart pulling up handfuls of vegetables in dirt-stained jeans and a cream cable-knit sweater, but I was still having a good time.
Despite some setbacks and a teeny yield, I met my goal and even surpassed it. I loved clipping fresh rosemary and chives from their pots. I made a few balcony-to-table kale salads. My favorite plant was the ground cherries grown from a seed that first arrived in North America with a Russian immigrant and had been passed down through generations of women. Once you peel off the papery husk, it tastes like sugary cereal from the nineties (in a good way). Plus, there were the non-plant gains, like watching bees buzzing around my balcony and chatting with neighbors about what we were trying to grow.
I recently texted a friend who has been gardening for years in California. “The beginner is shocked when a plant grows from a seed; the seasoned gardener expects it,” I wrote. He answered: “I think every gardener is delighted by what they grow.” It’s nice to know that excitement doesn’t diminish as you get more experience.
This first summer season, I made plenty of mistakes, but I didn’t let that get in the way of enjoying the process. Even though it was low stakes, every single thing that grew made me giddy. When something didn’t work out, I learned what I could or blamed the heat, which is easy when it’s August in Brooklyn. I’m still a bit heartbroken about those tomatoes, but overall, the whole gardening experience was a nice reminder that you don’t have to be particularly good at something to have fun doing it. I’m already making plans for next year. I also have a new goal: grow at least one big, juicy heirloom tomato.
Do you garden? What do you love growing? What tips do you have?
P.S. 14 readers share their gorgeous gardens, and a San Francisco home with a beautiful garden.
(Photos by the author.)
Entertainment
Grab the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart Booster Display Box on sale for under $100 at Amazon
TL;DR: Amazon has the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart 2025 Booster Box on sale for $99.62, down from its current standard price of $105.59. That gets you 24 ready-to-mix Jumpstart boosters, with every pack including 20 cards, all the lands needed to play, and at least one Rare or Mythic Rare card.
Credit: Magic: The Gathering
$99.92
at Amazon
$105.59
Save $5.67
If you’ve been thinking about getting into Magic: The Gathering without immediately needing to learn every corner of deckbuilding, Jumpstart is still one of the easiest ways to get started with the trading card game, and you can now do so with its biggest box on sale.
As of June 3, Amazon lists the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart 2025 Booster Box for $99.62, with the item shipped and sold by Amazon itself rather than a third-party seller. This is a 90-day low price; Amazon’s typical price for the 24-pack box is $105.59, saving you $5.97 with this sale price.
On the other hand, you can save even more when shopping outside of Amazon. TCGplayer listings starting at $89 with shipping included, dropping below its $89.09 market price. Slightly higher, Walmart sits at $89.99 via Flipside Gaming.
Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart Boosters are built around the idea of getting started simply by opening two boosters, shuffling them together, and starting to play — with no drafting, no decklist research, and no digging through your bulk box for lands required.
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Each of the included 24 Jumpstart boosters contains 20 Magic cards with all the lands already included. Every booster also comes with one anime-inspired card and at least one Rare or Mythic Rare, which is a plus for collectors.
There are over 46 possible themes, too, including Goblins, Dinosaurs, Ninjas, and other chaotic little pairings that can make each game feel different.
To get ready for what’s to come in MTG, you can preorder the 30-pack Marvel Super Heroes Play Booster Box for under $140 — a record low price. Right now, though, you can also buy the Magic: The Gathering Aetherdrift Bundle on sale for $40.
If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although it is currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.
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Entertainment
Samsungs 32-inch Odyssey G5 QHD gaming monitor has dropped to a record low price on Amazon
TL;DR: Amazon has slashed the price of the Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G5 (G50F) QHD gaming monitor to $219.99, $130 off its original $349.99 price; that’s its lowest price with the retailer ever, and it still offers a 1440p gaming display with a 180Hz refresh rate.
$219.99
at Amazon
$349.99
Save $130
With the rise of OLED and 4K gaming monitors, HD and QHD models are getting more affordable than ever — and you can now score $130 off a top-tier 32-inch unit from Samsung.
As of June 3, the Samsung 32-inch Odyssey G5 (G50F) QHD gaming monitor is on sale at Amazon for only $219.99, down 37% from its usual list price, and is sold and shipped by Amazon directly. With that $130 drop, this gaming monitor is now at its lowest Amazon price ever, as confirmed by price-tracking site camelcamelcamel.
For this massively lower price, the G50F offers QHD 2560 x 1440 resolution, similar to standard HD but with 1.7 times the pixel density for a fuller display, without making the more expensive jump to 4K. Whether you’re catching up on RPGs like Crimson Desert or linear action-adventures like 007: First Light, everything will still be sharper and pleasing to the eyes.
For lovers of fast-paced multiplayer games like Fortnite, the fast IPS panel also brings a 178-degree viewing angle to help keep the picture clear, while the 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms GtG response time keep gameplay both buttery smooth and far more responsive
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Despite not being 4K, the Odyssey G5’s display still includes HDR10 for brighter highlights and deeper-looking shadows. Plus, the included AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility helps keep any visuals intact by reducing screen tearing as much as possible.
On the off chance you’re open to diving into 4K, LG’s 32-inch OLED UltraGear monitor has been cut to just under $800 on Amazon, too.
For a model that’s a bit smaller, the 27-inch, 1440p LG OLED UltraGear gaming monitor is now only $500, down nearly half.
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If you’re also a Pokémon TCG fan, although currently not available on Amazon, the newly announced Pitch Black expansion — Booster Packs, ETBs, Display Boxes, and Booster Bundles — is available to preorder at TCGplayer.
Want to learn more about getting the best out of your tech? Sign up for Mashable’s Top Stories and Deals newsletters today.
Entertainment
The New Star Wars Movie Just Made History In The Worst Possible Way
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Disney originally intended for The Mandalorian and Grogu to be a crowd-pleasing movie that would bring the fandom together. After all, this was the first Star Wars film since 2019, and one that brings the most popular franchise characters from Disney+ to the big screen. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before everything started falling apart. The movie got dragged by critics and had a worse opening weekend than Solo, making this the lowest-ever opening for a live-action Star Wars movie. After that poor opening, Disney had just one hope: that The Mandalorian and Grogu would get such positive word-of-mouth that the second weekend would bring in more money than the first weekend.
That’s exactly what happened with Obsession, making it the first horror movie of the millennium to earn more in its second weekend. As for Disney, it looks like the studio should have bought a One Wish Willow and made a wish. Right now, The Mandalorian and Grogu’s box office is set to drop at least 69 percent in its second weekend, which will be the biggest drop in Star Wars history (previously, Solo was the biggest loser with a 65 percent drop). Even worse, this latest movie set in a galaxy far, far away is likely to get blown away at the box office by Backrooms, another tiny horror movie with barely any marketing.
This Is Where The Fun Begins
Why is the second weekend box office for a film so important? Basically, it helps fans and filmmakers alike estimate how much money a movie will make before it leaves theaters. Outliers like Obsession notwithstanding, movies almost always lose money in their second weekend; therefore, it’s not a question of if the box office drops than how much the box office drops. A smaller drop indicates that a movie has legs and will likely make a major profit. A major drop, however, indicates that a movie won’t be nearly as profitable and will likely end up on digital and streaming that much sooner.
Right now, Deadline reports that The Mandalorian and Grogu will have a box office drop of at least 69 percent for its second weekend. That’s especially bleak for the franchise, as Star Wars films were once considered reliable, billion-dollar blockbusters (yes, even The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker). The poor box office performance of Solo: A Star Wars Story forced Disney to pivot and turn multiple intended film projects (like solo movies for Boba Fett and Obi-Wan Kenobi) into Disney+ TV shows. The studio knew things would be bad when Solo’s box office dropped 65 percent in its second weekend. Therefore, Mandalorian and Grogu’s 69 percent drop is absolutely devastating.
They’ve Got A Bad Feeling About This
In a vacuum (including the cold vacuum of space), The Mandalorian and Grogu’s box office failure would be very embarrassing for Disney. However, it’s almost impossible to avoid comparing this sci-fi film’s failure to the inexplicable success of the two major horror films it’s currently sharing a multiplex with. You see, Disney reportedly spent almost $100 million domestically to market its latest Star Wars movie. Meanwhile, Backrooms reportedly had a marketing budget of a little over $10 million, and it’s likely to beat The Mandalorian and Grogu’s box office this weekend. The House of Mouse spent 10x more and may ultimately lose its top spot at the box office to a low-budget horror movie.
Speaking of low budgets, Obsession was made for under a million dollars, and it’s currently earned over $108 million. What’s the secret with these horror films? Obsession director Curry Barker and Backrooms director Kane Parsons both got their start on YouTube, where they achieved a mass following before setting out to make major motion pictures. YouTube taught both filmmakers how to make the most of a limited budget, and they are now utilizing those skills to make horror movie history. As for Star Wars, its producers are spending a small fortune to budget an aggressively disappointing movie to an increasingly shrinking number of fans.
Help Me, Indie Filmmakers: You’re My Only Hope
There’s a bitter lesson in all of this for Disney: ever since they took control of the Star Wars franchise, they have been pissing away the goodwill of the most loyal sci-fi audience in movie history. The Sequel Trilogy was a disappointing bust, and the TV shows on Disney+ have been very hit or miss. Plus, producers used their popular platform to absolutely ruin the magic of this franchise. Star Wars no longer feels special; it’s just more crappy streaming content you put on while you’re doing the dishes. After more than a decade of creative mismanagement, Disney has driven away countless fans through one sh*tty movie and even sh*ttier show after another.
The fandom will never completely die out, of course, and loyalists whose walls are lined with action figures will always support new Star Wars films. But there are only so many loyalists left, and the dwindling numbers for The Mandalorian and Grogu prove that there aren’t enough fans to turn these movies into blockbusters like A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, or even The Phantom Menace. The only way forward for the franchise is to hire young filmmakers with a distinct creative vision. But that won’t happen because talented directors focused on their own IPs have done what the Star Wars fandom cannot: left their favorite childhood toys firmly in the past.
Grab the Magic: The Gathering Foundations Jumpstart Booster Display Box on sale for under $100 at Amazon
Jose Ramirez hits 3 doubles to guide Guardians over Yankees
