Greetings, Rookies! IF YOU DARE, I mean. (Imagine that said in the SPOOKY VOICE of a CARTOON GOBLIN of some sort.)

This month’s theme is PLAY, and we will be talking about all things playful: HALLOWEEN, comedy, sports, pop music, comics, cartoons, board games, candy, etc. I’m really excited, because after a middle school identity crisis’s worth of believing that liking anything made purely for entertainment value was a compromise of my intelligence, I feel such a RUSH when I listen to One Direction while walking to class. My demeanor would have you believe I’m listening to black metal mashed up with puppies crying, but I swear it’s just my inability to control my face. Inside, I am smiling like the baby sun in Teletubbies.

Liking things is fun; wasting time and energy figuring out what your taste says about your personality is not. I think that if you can differentiate between taking everything with a grain of salt, and just plain snobby hating, you will live a life full of all the joy that Netflix has to offer. (This is not even a Netflix ad, it’s just very much my best friend.)

But we have a lot more on that later this month. Right now I’d like to announce that we are starting weekend content! Not our traditional three posts a day, but a links-roundup from our favorite internet stuff each week on Saturday, and we’ll alternate between original videos and comics on Sunday. Now those of you who say Rookie makes you look forward to Mondays will just have to go back to dreading the school week. May I recommend some ONE DIRECTION?

Also: please send us any Play-inspired artwork! [email protected]. We always want more reader stuff on the site, but I know it can be scary to send something in. This is me encouraging you, with my not-at-all-creepy Teletubbies baby sun face, and my cartoon goblin voice completely forgotten. And, as always, continue to tell us what you want to see more of (or less of).

Oh man I’m so ready for this month. Here’s a playlist I’ve been enjoying lately, just ’cause.

Illustration by Minna

Love,
Tavi