I’ve been thinking a lot about masculinity lately, and the more I sit with it, the more it stops feeling like something solid. It feels more like something people are just kind of taught to perform without really questioning it.

When I read a lot of one series, I need something to break it up so I don’t get burnt out. Most recently, the book I used to break up a series was The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst. It is a cozy fantasy with a found family storyline, which was just what I needed. It has a talking plant, a magic garden, and forbidden magic spells. I loved this book very much, so, of course, I had to read the next one, The Enchanted Greenhouse, another home run for me. With more talking plants,

Hi Ho Silver! When you're young you think you can do anything. Most adults like to wait a couple years to try and burst your bubble. This is something I’ve struggled with as someone from a small town who wants to go into acting. It’s just not something that happens. Or is it? I started doing some research into people from Mount Carmel who went on to do notable things in the broader world. My search took me to the Mount Carmel Museum on Market Street where I learned about some

Meet my gaming Heroes The cover of Red Dead Redemption 2 I have a complicated relationship with video game protagonists. Plenty of games decide to take the easy way out and make the protagonist the least interesting person in the room. Be it through making them faceless or voiceless or both. In a world where film, TV, and game writing decides that heroes are passe or that heroism comes from being awesome at everything already and experiencing no setbacks, I’d like to point ou

A ranking of 20 of the past kings to sit upon the Iron Throne in the history of Westeros.

Movie poster for Belle Other movies by Mamoru Hosoda You may know these movies by Mamoru Hosoda. They have all been well received in the world of anime. There is another movie by Hosoda that got a raw deal. Even though it was watched and enjoyed by many, and the critics gave it an "ok" rating, it didn't receive the fanfare it probably should've. This movie, Belle, was essentially the anime version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Photo of main protagonist, Belle/Suzu In Bell

Video games have plenty of normalized behaviors that I can't stand. From yearly release games charging full price for what is essentially an update, to day one DLC, to the topic of this blog. The silent protagonist is a problem. There are a whole bunch of stories that do the bare minimum when it comes to character writing. Their protagonists are walking cameras, and the supporting cast are cardboard cutouts. These games are not, in fact, the subject of my ire, as you might be

Fantasy is a lonely escape. We all have to grow up, even if it means leaving everything we know behind.

Spoiler Alert for Sunrise on the reaping! Every series that people care about has theories. One of my favorite book series is The Hunger Games. It has theories too. The most popular of the theories is, what happened to Lucy Gray This theory is from the prequel book The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. The book follows President Snow and follows the first victor from District 12, Lucy Gray. They grow a relationship, and at the end of the book, they are leaving together, and af

Is AI the death to artistic voice and creativity? What are the risks and benefits?

Tyler Durdan and Edward Norton from Fight Club Credit: Medium When 'Him' Is The Wrong Guy. There’s a certain type of guy online who watches a movie and immediately decides, “Yeah… that’s me.” It doesn’t matter if the character is unstable, violent, or completely out of touch with reality. If he’s confident and says a few cool lines, suddenly, he becomes something to look up to. Patrick Bateman From American Psycho Credit: Horror Fandom There’s a certain magnetism to leading m

My brother and I would come home from the library with a new stack of books every week during the summer. I have enjoyed reading my whole life. I’m not the fastest reader, and there have been ups and downs to work around the busyness of life. But since elementary school, I have always loved reading. When you open a book you can escape to another world. A plot twist that leaves your jaw on the floor, the tears that you shed when you lose your favorite character, the times you

Growing up, I wasn’t your typical kid in our small Southern Illinois town. I didn’t care to play, or watch for that matter, baseball, football, or basketball. I did and still do, however, like anime. My first encounter with anime was watching Fairy Tail at a neighbor's house. That got me curious-what is anime really? A Brief History of Anime Cover of Fairy Tail-The Game video box For the most part, when people speak of anime they are referring to Japanese anime. The first a

Record of Ragnrarok, written by Shinya Umemura and Takumi Fukui, started out as a manga series. It had its own group of loyal fans eagerly anticipating the next volume. Eventually, the powers that be decided to turn the manga into an animated series to be streamlined on sites like Netflix and YouTube. Unfortunately, the series created a lot of controversy over the depiction of its characters, the animation, and its heavy use of backstory. So, is Record of Ragnrarok a good man

Friends Aren't Waiting to Be Lovers: The Beauty of Platonic Relationships Have you ever been friends with someone, and everything is just great? You’re grabbing food, sending each other silly videos, and chatting about life. It feels easy, right? There’s no pressure, no games, and definitely no expectations. Then, one day, they sit you down and say, “I need to tell you something.” Suddenly, the friendship feels different. Jim and Pam from The Office. A common example of frien

Diverse themes from films created in Japan and South Korea.

In this episode of the Jazz and Ryker Show, the guys discuss the world of music and cinema.

The Grim Origin of "The Vampire"

A ranking of the Sonic the Hedgehog Series, focusing on enjoyment.

Movie characters that match MBTI personality types part 2