December 28th, 2025, 5:30 AM, we’re up early to catch the northbound Amtrak to San Francisco–the San Joaquin Gold Runner. My sister and I planned this trip impromptu. Only about three days prior did we get our train tickets, as well as our tickets to the de Young Museum. Poorly planned was the commute–mom’s tire was too bald to drive on the 180, so we opted to take my sister’s car, but the rear-view mirror had fallen off. Into my Ford Flex we piled, window ticket and all. Upo

Intro    When you think of Las Vegas, it’s impossible not to think of casinos and shows. So, it makes sense that its reputation makes its way into videogames like Fallout: New Vegas . Though New Vegas draws on an older version of Las Vegas. For context, Fallout: New Vegas  is a game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where bombs were dropped sometime in 2077. The game holds a vintage feel, drawing from styles from the 1940s and 50s; it uses music, clothing, and ling

On August 11 th , 1919, the first president of the Weimar Republic of Germany, Friedrich Ebert, signed into effect the Weimar Constitution. This constitution detailed a representative democracy with provisions commonplace in many governments of this sort. Nationally, power was split between the executive and legislative branches. The executive branch consisted of a nationally elected president and a chancellor who was appointed by the president and was required to cosign on a

I’ve heard of Dave Weckl once during my High School year while I was doing Jazz Band. My old jazz teacher, Mr. Harmon, introduced two different drummers that he really enjoyed. The first was Neil Peart from the band Rush (a band I also listen to for the bassist Geddy Lee), and the second, Dave Weckl. The first song I heard from Weckl was from “Island Magic,” featuring Chick Corea from his first album, Master Plan . The moment I heard this song, it reminded me of Sonic the Hed

When you go to a vet clinic, you are paying for the expertise of these medical professionals, no different from seeing a doctor who studies the human body. Clients subconsciously downplay the professional advice they are receiving and complain that vet care is so expensive because they do not view it as real medicine. Vet clinics  are  a business, and they must charge what is necessary to make a profit to stay in business and continue to do their job of helping animals. Often

We are living in scary times, and it feels like each day has new horrors to inflict. Tragedies and threats to liberties are non-stop; it can all feel so hopeless. Which is exactly what those who threaten our rights and environment want; they want us to resign ourselves to our fate and wither away. If we are hopeless, we won’t fight back. If we don’t push back, they’ll take all.   The cynicism that is becoming common among people is a temporary balm to the near constant w

When Henry Ford released the Model T automobile to the world in 1908, it was initially met with hesitancy by consumers. Seen as a temporary fad that would ultimately never replace more traditional forms of travel (horses, trains, feet), this vehicle struggled to take a foothold in early-20th-century life. This changed in part when the Ford company pushed an advertising campaign introducing the Model T as a tool for connecting isolated rural families, who could reach each othe

On the evening of Saturday, 12 September 2025, I read an article in The Atlantic magazine that profoundly annoyed me. The article’s title...

Last month, I wrote about a jazz musician named Roy Hargrove who became a well-known figure in Jazz. I really enjoyed writing and...

Spooky season is among us, so it seems appropriate to talk about what to me is the spookiest thing of all: late-stage capitalism. The...

When the air felt crisp and the trees’ leaves were only beginning to turn a rusty orange, my grandma set a big plate of cookies on the...

The Neo Geo AES (Advanced Entertainment System) was released in 1990 by the video game company SNK. This sleek black and gold home...