This is gradually becoming my catch-all creativity blog. My latest Bullet article!
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A Plague on Both Your Blouses: Renaissance Festival for the Modern College Student

Think of Maryland, and what comes to mind? Seafood? Mediocre baseball teams? Bad drivers? How about thousands of people running around in Elizabethan costume?
The Maryland Renaissance Festival is the second-largest fair of its kind in the United States, running every fall season from August to October since its opening in 1977. The festival itself takes place in a recreation of an old English village just northwest …

This reaction could be a by-product of my fluctuating inner cynic, but there was something about the ending of My Year of Meats that I found really disturbing.
In a book where nothing comes easily and each issue is multifaceted, conflicting motivations abound, and no character is infallible, it seemed a little too easy to conclude the narrative with such a simple resolution. The way everything works out so perfectly is deeply unsettling. Akiko  finally escapes her abusive relationship and enjoys the freedom of exploring America and new experiences. Jane, upon …

So I was googling around for Japanese vending machines and came across this website. Vending machines for fresh eggs, hot ramen, water salad, “used” panties (ugh), pet beetles (not making this up!), toilet paper, alcoholic beverages… one machine even charges your cell phone while you shop! Seriously, go look.
Here‘s another fascinating site. And did you know that there’s one vending machine for every 23 people in Japan?
And here is further information on the used panties thing. Eeewwww. (But they also have an interesting commentary on cultural differences that …

ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007)
The official website for Across the Universe proclaims in proper Beatles fashion that “all you need is love.” All this film needs is a more cohesive plot, proper character development, and greater depth. Oh, and perhaps a replacement for Eddie Izzard, who provokes a significantly greater amount of terror than laughter.
Jude, played by Jim Sturgess, leaves his Liverpool home for America in search of his father, who he’s never met. Once there, Jude stumbles across rebellious Princeton student Max (Joe Anderson) and his attractive younger sister Lucy …

When I was doing research for our presentation, I came across the following YouTube video of Filipino prisoners dancing as part of their prison physical fitness program.

Curious, I kept searching on YouTube and found a news broadcast about it.

As strange as this seems, it may actually be a good idea. Music is an excellent way of creating connections between people. Now is this unique attitude towards methods of ‘getting to’ prisoners reflective of a significant cultural difference, or simply an …