BY: ALEXANDRIA LEE I’m a 5’2”, 95 pound, quiet Asian girl with glasses and braces. I also have social phobia, agoraphobia, and a love for brutal, disgusting, ear-bleeding music. Hardcore, grindcore, sludge, doom, noise, I listen to it all, and…
Expression & Culture
American grocery store offers discounts to the less fortunate in exchange for volunteer time
BY: JESSICA BEUKER This summer, a non-profit grocery store opened that offers healthy foods at a discounted price to those who volunteer their time. The Good Grocer, founded by former pastor Kurt Vickman, is an attempt to restore the dignity…
Hunter S. Thompson’s letter to aspiring photographers is a must read lesson in creativity
BY: CONNOR BRIAN It’s fair to say that in the creative process most of us have no idea what we are doing. Some turn to their next purchase feeling new equipment gives them the tools they need, while others find…
Stephen King wrote this letter to his 16-year-old self about drugs, booze and creativity
BY: EDITORS In the 1980s Stephen King was at the height of his career. He had written The Shining and Carrie. His work had been read by millions. He lived in a massive 24-room mansion. But he was also at…
Memo written by the South Park creator about an R rating is the best memo ever written
BY: EDITORS South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker have been known to ruffle more than a few feathers. When Jerry Seinfeld got in contact to say he would be interested in becoming a voice actor for the show,…
Single father redefines parental roles by teaching a hairstyling class for dads with daughters
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Single father, Philippe Morgese, would do anything for his daughter Emma. Despite the many challenges that come with being a single parent, Morgese is finding ways around them and doing everything he can to make Emma healthy…
John Steinbeck’s enlightening letter about the crippling, beautiful reality of falling in love
BY: TYLER FYFE It has been said that love is form of blindness. In the autumn of 1958, John Steinbeck’s oldest son, Thom, wrote home from boarding school. In the letter Thom wrote that he had met a girl named…
This cinematic virtual tour of Banksy’s Dismaland is an eerie and disturbing satire of modern society
BY: ROB HOFFMAN Street artist, Banksy, once notoriously erected a guerrilla art piece in Disneyland—a sculpture of a Guantanamo Bay inmate that would haunt and confuse the whimsy-seeking “Rocky Mountain Railroad” riders for an entire hour. Recently, Banksy’s designed his…
Afghan weavers are putting images of drones on their rugs as a form of silent protest
BY: TYLER FYFE In Afghanistan, weavers have used designs on rugs as a way of preserving the cultural fabric of home. Weavers of the past were drawn to images of flowers and traditional geometric patterns. But with over a decade…
Research shows that people are ditching religion and turning their attention to nature instead
BY: SWIKAR OLI Science is showing that the spiritual experience of watching the sun cascade through a ceiling of trees is being preferred to the long-winded sermons of synagogue or Sunday mass. A Baylor University study confirmed that people who…
The 2015 Wildlife Photography winners were just announced and the photos are incredible
BY: ERIC ZDANCEWICZ The London Natural History Museum announced the winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition on October 13, and the photos show the beauty and the struggles of the diverse creatures we share this planet with.…
Haunting photo series will open your eyes to the sad reality of the modern relationship
BY: JESSICA BEUKER A family sits down for breakfast at a New York café. Illium café it’s called. The family sits together, yet no one is talking. The father and two daughters have their phones out, while the mother, who…
Two physicists are defying the Israeli army to bring this village sustainable energy & clean water
BY: SWIKAR OLI Palestinian residents in the Southern Hebron hills of the West Bank don’t have access to electricity, save for a rare few who can afford expensive diesel generators. Israeli soldiers have tried restricting the villages’ energy access and…
Apartheid era minister seeks controversial repentance by serving a community he once brutalized
BY: SWIKAR OLI For many, Adriaan Vlok was among those most feared in the apartheid era. He was the law and order minister for five years, for which he was the face of terror. His job was to quietly snuff…
How these insane work habits were responsible for the success of this legendary novelist
BY: ADRIAN SMITH It wasn’t until after Honoré de Balzac gave up his banal work routine that he became the pioneer of realism—a major genre in literature—and one of the greatest novelists and playwrights of all time. Under traditional work…
In order to avoid online dating, I tried stone-age Tinder— also known as Speed Dating.
BY: JESSICA BEUKER Since about the time it came out, I have remained heavily anti-Tinder. Of course I would never pass judgment on those who actually use it, I just personally have zero interest in receiving dick pics from self-righteous…
Photographer left his cushy accounting job to capture the soul of urban homelessness
BY: JOHNATHAN MOSS Photos by Lee Jeffries Accountant by profession, self taught photographer by design, Lee Jeffries left his longtime career to capture the soul that breathes through our city streets. He uses the homeless as his primary focus, casting a light…
There are no guards in this prison—instead it’s run by the world’s most violent gang (Photos)
BY: M. TOMOSKI When the family members of inmates come to the Penal de Ciudad Barrios in El Salvador for their routine conjugal visits the police stand guard outside the prison walls and only outside. In 2013 British photographer Adam…
They told me to go after my dream— too bad I wanted to be a female Hollywood director
BY: ANGIE PICCIRILLO When you walk the hallways of any elementary or middle school, the walls are lined with inspirational posters pushing kids towards higher education, and reminding them to “follow your dreams.” The pessimist in me is somewhat sad…
Photos tell the disturbing yet intriguing stories of feral children from around the world
BY: CONNOR BRIAN Images © Julia Fullerton-Batten There has long been a fascination with feral children, who in their earliest stages were neglected by their parents, lost to the wilderness, and raised by animals. They live isolated in the woods…