The Scene Tag

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

Last week, indie rock superstars Arcade Fire unveiled the music video for their song “We Exist.”  Released May 16th, it is described by the band as “the story of a young person’s struggle with gender identity” and stars Andrew Garfield of Amazing Spider-Man and Social Network fame.  Garfield is shown shaving his head, donning a wig and going out to a bar where he is victimized and beaten by the patrons before being resurrected at the band’s Coachella set. While intended as a shot of support for the trans community, the bandRead More

There’s nothing funnier than parody. Growing up, I had a number of friends who adored the video game Halo like it was their first girlfriend (and in a few cases, it still is). They would wake up in the morning and play, come home from school and play, go to bed and probably still play. Halo was not just a game, it was a culture. It had one of the biggest online communities this side of JDate. It was a legitimate excuse for any young boy not to turn inRead More

A text I receive far too often: Where are you? Are you dead? I see my home as much as I seem to see sunlight—almost never. I rise early in the morning every day, then return home late on a regular basis. There’s class, or work, or my attempt to be social, or always some reason to be out. This year, I have been trying a new plan of “productivity and proactivity.” My belief has always been that I have the same number of hours in a day as Obama,Read More

This morning, I left my beautiful, intelligent, Android (we’re in a committed relationship) on the counter of a public restroom. Just five minutes later, when I panicked at the emptiness of my pockets, I Usain Bolted back, only to find my phone no longer there. COMMENCE PHYSICAL SPASMS OF TERROR, PROFUSE BACK SWEAT, AND INTERNAL WATERFALL OF TEARS. For the rest of the day, I was forced to go about my daily schedule while feeling completely disconnected from the rest of the world. At one point, I probably convinced myselfRead More

I’m not a football fan. I have no desire to watch games on TV, and if drug to a live game, I will promptly grab the strongest drink that I pass and enjoy myself in that way. Football, for me, means alcohol and socialization, not watching a game. But, when something like Michael Sam’s media coverage is plastered on my Facebook and Twitter, I have to pay some attention; it’s the price of wanting to stay current. So naturally, I have some opinions. Apparently, Michael Sam was recently compared toRead More

Children Take Bounce House Ride of a Lifetime I know I really shouldn’t joke about this but come on…it’s kinda funny. Besides, the children involved are okay, despite some injuries. On Monday of this week two young boys in New York were swept away while in their bounce house. A gust of wind blew the bounce house 15 to 20 feet in the air and the boys fell to the ground below. I know this is pretty scary but just imagine the scenario for a second. You’re telling me youRead More

This is a period of time many “experts” like to classify as “emerging adulthood.” It sounds more glorious than it actually is. Unfortunately, “well adjusted” is a label we like to give ourselves for a few years of happy delusion. As young adults, we still feel everything (those teen hormones still need a Xanax), but now, we’re forcing ourselves to deal with situations in a “grown-up” manner. The Kübler-Ross model describes the 5 steps of loss and grief to be denial, anger, bargaining, depression, then acceptance. But we’re young adults, soRead More

Do you like magic? Do you like comedy? I’m guessing you answered yes to both of those questions, cause let’s be honest: who doesn’t like being amazed and laughing? NOBODY, that’s who. So, assuming you like those things and aren’t some miserable curmudgeon, I’d like to introduce you to your new addiction: Tru Tv’s The Carbonaro Effect, starring magician/comedian Michael Carbonaro. Haven’t seen the show yet? Haven’t heard of it? Well, worry not, because the show actually premieres May 15th at 10PM Eastern. However, a first glimpse of this surefireRead More

If you would have asked me ten years ago if I would have done most of my socializing online, I would have given you an emphatic no (and probably would have thrown the nearest drink in your face).  While everyone was busy glitzing up their MySpace profiles, I wagged my finger in the background swearing that social media would never take off.  Well, you can’t be right about everything.  There’s no getting around it, our lives today are inexorably tied to a little social network that you may have heard of. Read More

Although I wear high-waisted shorts, crop tops, and big-rimmed glasses every day, I am not a hipster! (See: hip-hop, see: I don’t shop at American Apparel, see: don’t like trash ‘staches, see: my intense love for guys who look like thug rappers). At the same time, the one thing I’m really hipster-y about is that I refuse to believe the hype. So much so, in fact, that when something has hype surrounding it, I’m automatically turned off to it. This has caused me to miss out on a lot of awesomeRead More

Netflix is a fickle friend. It’s difficult to resist falling victim to a Netflix addiction. It’s so easily accessible and not to sound like the stereotypical bad influence in a D.A.R.E. ad but…everyone is doing it.   Phase 1: Discovery With all this talk about Netflix I might as well see what’s up. Sometimes I like to have the TV on in the background while I do other stuff like clean my apartment or check Facebook.   Phase 2: Experimentation Top picks for me? Why thank you, Netflix. You’re so sweetRead More

I know everyone is really excited about the robot hype in Japan. Asimo is so cute and it’s super cool to watch him run and jump and do tricks! I know we humans are happy to think we’ll have extra robot hands help us around the house or at work, etc. However, did you know the UN is currently debating whether or not we should have killer robots? And by killer robot I mean a fully autonomous weapon that can select and engage targets without any human intervention. So, RED FLAG.Read More

So yesterday we came across this on the Internet: A Dutch, all-female band named ADAM recorded themselves trying to sing a song…while pleasuring themselves with vibrators and having orgasms. Interesting idea? Yes. Shock value? Yes. Good publicity stunt? DEFINITELY. See what happened below. No word on if the group is going to try this tactic while singing Usher’s “Climax” next…we think they’d be more successful.Read More