[Disclaimer: Both "Akira" and "Ghost in the Shell" contain very mature elements. If you are younger than 17, I do not recommend watching either of these movies without parental permission.] I've always been interested in cyberpunk. The idea of a neon-drenched future filled with skyscrapers, artificial intelligence, and morally dubious characters fills me with fascination, but my favorite part of...

[Disclaimer: Very light spoilers for Avatar: the Last Airbender ahead.] Avatar: The Last Airbender is, in a word, unique. The show, which aired on Nickelodeon from 2005 to 2008, is like no other kid's program I've seen. It features stunning action scenes, multi-layered characters, and some surprisingly deep subject matter. Where the show shines most, though, is in creating a universe that is simple...

The Thunder The Thunder have finessed their way into potentially having 17 first round picks for the next six years. [Ed. Note: This is the funniest thing I have ever read.] This involved trading away Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder for Danny Green, Kelly Oubre, and others, along with two first-rounders. They then traded away Oubre and others to acquire even more picks. I have to say I am very impressed...

Now that the COVID-delayed summer transfer window has come to a close, Serie A—the top flight of Italian soccer—began league action on September 19th. Coming into the season, many sportswriters predicted that Cristiano Ronaldo-led Juventus would make a run for their 10th straight Scudetto title. (The last team to win the league other than Juve was AC Milan, back in 2011.) Despite a successful...

If there's one thing that all this uncertainty has taken from most people's lives, it's structure. Mass quarantine has thrust people inside their homes for what feels like forever. Without consistent social interaction and the comforting structure that normal life provides us, many were left feeling aimless, bored, and disillusioned. And in the midst of all of this, Nintendo released their new game:...

“Everyone points to famous and historic ancestors in their family tree. It’s their way of being thankful that they themselves weren’t there when history was being made.” –Arkol, Argivian Scholar, The Shattered Alliance “May you live in interesting times.” –English expression based on a nonexistent Chinese curse -🛡️- Hey, it’s me, Ben Buyer. Someone remembers me,...

(or, and over Mr. [and the] Morales' most strenuous objections, "The Path of Yeast Persistence") If necessity is the mother of invention, then boredom must at least be the babysitter. Think of what an uncomplicated house Wallace and Gromit would live in if their inventions were driven solely by necessity. Certainly nobody would have invented game shows without boredom, that most monotonous muse,...

If you've so much as breathed near a copy of the New York Times in the last five years, congratulations—you're currently the proud ignorer of approximately 1.6 million emails from NYT Cooking, and that's assuming they've only made their insidious way into one of your email addresses. If, like me, you make it a point to keep a few around, you can't so much as think about food without Sam Sifton...

Greetings, fellow sinners of McQuaid Jesuit! I’m Gabe Knapp, resident biblical beastmaster and heresiarch, and I’ve come bearing horrible truths and unimaginable fears. This is the first (vocation willing) in my series of biblical "survival guides," starting with Seraphs.  As students of McQuaid Jesuit, we find ourselves close to religion on the daily, particularly Catholicism and other denominations...

EXT. BOARDWALK TAVERN, MORNING Three goblins sit at an outdoor table at a tavern, drinking foamy mead out of wooden steins. In the distance, two figures are walking on the beach towards a large brown blob. The goblins shake their heads in disapproval. GOBLIN 1 There goes Rulton. Gonna get himself killed in that stupid thing. GOBLIN 2 What a mess. Held together by cheap enchantments and nymph sap. GOBLIN...

White supremacy is inherent in music theory as it is taught today. This is an issue addressed by Professor Philip Ewell from Hunter College, who teaches about music theory's white racial frame and ardently supports diversifying the canon of music theory to be more inclusive of other races, instead of being limited to whites from German-speaking lands in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth...

One of the most underrated music genres, if it can even be called one, is movie soundtracks. Now, I say that because movie soundtracks are usually a collage of musical genres and styles, versus a collection of songs that fit the same genre. Movie soundtracks, instead, are made up of songs that belong to certain scenes within the movie and serve to strengthen their emotional impact. A lot of the nostalgia...

The following are the beginning of a series of intellectual essays I am writing which highlight a multitude of relevant and systemic issues ingrained in our society. Much like Alexander Hamilton, I have an agenda. Unlike Alexander Hamilton, I am not an elitist $*(#!. Enjoy! No. 1 In their hit song “What Makes You Beautiful,” One Direction commits a terrible sin under the guise of appreciation....

As we get closer to a possible reopening of the Finger Lake region, it is extremely important for the citizens of Rochester to adhere to CDC and local regulations to stop the spread of COVID-19. Local businesses must match this effort in order to provide a seamless, and safe, return to relative normalcy. Leading this front should be our local grocery stores, whose goods are necessities for all community...

Welcome back for a quick stop from your studying! Do you often find yourself hungry as could be? Is your pantry constantly air-dry? Are you simultaneously struggling to focus on your schoolwork? Or, alternately: do you like watching sports? Do you struggle with finding super good appetizers to munch on during halftime? Does your pantry haunt you during Thursday Night Football? If you answered...

As fossil fuels are depleted from the earth, humans are looking for renewable energy. Some of the most popular sources of renewable energy include solar panels and windmills. While these can effectively produce clean energy, they are not without flaws; solar panels require clear skies and do not produce electricity at night, while windmills require wind to produce electricity. While the idea of using...