The Scene Category

“Being a patriot doesn’t mean prioritizing service to government above all else. Being a patriot means knowing when to protect your country, knowing when to protect your Constitution, knowing when to protect your countrymen, from the violations of and encroachments of adversaries. And those adversaries don’t have to be foreign countries.” – Edward Snowden     All of Snowden’s actions, up to this point, indicate that he is one of the few people who knows what our government is capable of, and has our best interests in mind. There areRead More

At the bottom of this page, below my words, are a few boxes with an image and one catchy headline – we’ll call it a hook. Most of them take you off this site 🙁 But where do they take you? I beefed up my spam filters, scrolled on down to some of the most popular internet leisure-reading articles and clicked. I did it for you, Writtalin reader. Check out these complete bullshit, waste of time, addicting but deceptive headlines and hooks, and what they actually mean.   Get LaidRead More

We have a sensitivity problem in America, and I’m done with it. I don’t care if you are black, white, yellow, or brown. I don’t care if you celebrate Jesus, Allah, God 1, God 2, God 3, or no God at all. If you go the bathroom in the men’s room or the ladies room, or have a hard time figuring out which one you should use – frankly, I don’t give a damn. And don’t chastise me for it. The reason I don’t give a damn is that noRead More

It’s 2014 and everyone is trying to win the Internet.  Or perhaps more accurately, the Instagram.  We all know why Beyoncé has 12 million screaming followers, but why does that 18-year-old nobody have 25k followers while your fan-base is dropping by the day?  Well, there are two reasons.  1) That 18-year-old is hot and has established a brand in the fashion industry.  2) You’re probably doing something wrong. Due to the undiagnosed depression I suffered after finding out my so-called “friend” unfollowed me (stay away from Statigram), I now take this social medium a little too seriously.Read More

If you use the internet, this should matter to you. Last Sunday, former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver leapt into a 13-minute tirade on his new HBO show Last Week Tonight, introducing millions of viewers to the very important, yet often misunderstood concept of net neutrality.  The video has since gone viral and – thanks both to Oliver’s pleas and the Reddit community – tens of thousands of internet commenters took to the FCC’s website and crashed the system with their complaints.  See the video for yourself here: It seemsRead More

Early today I greedily left my local library with a stack of 6 books feeling like I just won the lottery. Why? Because I took 6 books, FOR FREE. I know everyone is stoked on the Amazon Prime train with free 2-day shipping but come on, those books are pricey. Too pricey, in fact, for my young adult bank account to keep up with my reading obsession. Let me outline some important points that I’m sure will convince you to run to your local library and get a card rightRead More

Stranded Octopus Causes Traffic Jam Tuesday morning a giant polystyrene octopus was left in the streets of central London causing quite the traffic headache. Many passersby stopped to take photos and were told to approach with care. The van transporting the creature broke down in the middle of the road. There were few details given as to where the octopus was headed. The service used for transportation believed it was headed for the World Cup. However the owner of the octopus says it was being taken to a film location.Read More

So, lets talk about this Bowe Bergdahl business. Or rather, I’m going to tell you why you should be mad about it. You don’t have to agree; in fact, if you have a dissenting opinion, please share it below. But in my opinion, this is the situation as it stands.   Our President, Barack Obama, released five high-risk Guantanamo Bay Prisoners in exchange for one American Soldier. At first, that doesn’t look so terrible. So our price is 5:1. That doesn’t mean much if it means that one of ourRead More

A few weeks ago, Writtalin staff writer John O’Neill and I traveled to Comedy Works in Downtown Denver to check out the lovely and hilarious Iliza Shlesinger, a decorated comedienne, who we’d also just named as our #WCW. It was a packed house, as we anxiously waited for the Iliza, the evening’s headliner, to take the stage. As we sat through a few fantastic opening acts (special shoutout to Denver’s Troy Walker who was absolutely hilarious), we settled in, anticipating the winner of season six of NBC’s Last Comic StandingRead More

Growing up in the ’90s, it was hard to deny the magic of the Spice Girls.  They taught us about girl power, friendship, platform sneakers, and they made a movie worthy of significant fame and praise that is still played at sleepovers today.  Some of us were even exposed to our first ever tanned male ass via assless silky tuxedo pants in that very film. It was natural for us to emulate such role models on the playground.  Every girl had a Spice Girl she identified with (and if youRead More

On June 6th, just less than a week away, The Fault in Our Stars film, based on the New York Times Bestselling novel by John Green,will be in theaters nationwide. Self-proclaimed ‘Fault-Fanatics’ are on the edge of their seats as the premiere draws closer, and director Green along with the cast have only contributed to the torturous, unceasing anticipation. Quite regularly, new trailers, promotional videos, and music videos from the soundtrack are released—only to remind us of how much we will sob once the movie hits screens. The trailer:  Read More

Weed Fairy Visits Seattle Over Memorial Day weekend, the “Weed Fairy” distributed free nuggets of marijuana to people in Seattle. Yeni Sleidi calls herself the Weed Fairy and decided to do this to amuse people and give them a break from their stressful lives. She taped free pot fliers around the city that stated: “These are tough times. Take this weed. And keep your spirits high.” Ba dum tsss. Sleidi claims she first created the idea when she lived in New York and constantly witnessed stress from the government shutdown.Read More

Today is perhaps the greatest era of social commentary, even more so than just yesterday. We live in a world where everyone is a publisher and one-to-many-communication is the easiest it has ever been. Of course I am talking about social media. Any single person has the opportunity to express, document, and publish their view on anything – this restaurant, that movie, what your girlfriend did, how pretty your dog is. Lighthearted, flippant posting is great social fun, but challenging hard issue on social media brings a new level of responsibility to theRead More

By now we’ve seen the headlines.  We’ve scrambled to make sense of a horrific act of violence that brought a quiet college town to its knees.  We’ve cursed, we’ve mourned and in the case of us Gauchos, we’ve stood together – wounded but unified – in the wake of unspeakable tragedy. Last Friday, a gunman drove through the UCSB beachside town of Isla Vista slaughtering six and wounding thirteen more before turning the gun on himself.  Hours before the event, he uploaded a video explaining the reasons for his attack. Read More

It happened again. But this time, it was more than just another tragic news story – at least for me. This past weekend’s events hit way too close to home. I’m a UCSB graduate. I’ve partied in the same streets and eaten at the same restaurants where a coward named Elliot Rodger murdered 6 innocent people whom he blamed for his own personal shortcomings. If this had taken place three years ago, I could have been a victim. My friends could have been victims. It’s pretty surreal for a collegeRead More