The Champion in London, England

The Champion in London, England

Walking into this pub near the westerly end of Oxford Street, visitors may think that they have time-traveled back to the Victorian period. The bar is indeed from the late 1800s and features historic fixtures like a “snob screen,” a panel of etched glass that swivels, allowing the patrons to have an air of privacy between…

Watch: Orphanage Monster Award-Winning Short Film ‘Milk Teeth’

Watch: Orphanage Monster Award-Winning Short Film ‘Milk Teeth’

“Just send one of your teeth down the drain…” This is definitely one monster I do not ever want to meet… Milk Teeth is an award-winning 13-minute horror short film from Colombian-American filmmaker Felipe Vargas, who is making his way in the industry establishing himself with excellent shorts. This picked up a few awards at…

How an Arizonan Company Turns Cacti Into Candy

How an Arizonan Company Turns Cacti Into Candy

In mid-August, 17-year-old Lynette Alvarez and her aunt, Nellie Botello, put on matching camouflage snake guards and steel-toed boots for their work gathering prickly pear cactus fruit. Snake-season is year round in the Arizona desert, and there are baby rattlesnakes in the summer that may not make warning rattles yet. Along with a handful of…

Talk Hard With Our Home Video Pick of the Week

Talk Hard With Our Home Video Pick of the Week

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in Home Video for February 23rd, 2021! This week’s…

Page To Screen: Who Is LOVE, SIMON’s Happy Ending For?

Page To Screen: Who Is LOVE, SIMON’s Happy Ending For?

Page To Screen is a column examining literary adaptations in conversation with their source material. Call up your book club and set out some canapés, we’re talking reading. I have yet to watch Love, Victor, the sequel series to the 2018 gay teen romance film, Love, Simon. But when I do I hope the series treats Victor better…

Can the Mighty Bankhar Dogs of Mongolia Save the Steppe?

Can the Mighty Bankhar Dogs of Mongolia Save the Steppe?

On the Mongolian steppe, there are predators, there are prey, and there are the bankhar. These large, powerful dogs weigh up to 125 pounds, with shaggy, thick coats that give them a bear-like appearance. For 15,000 years, bankhar dogs have been the guardians of the steppe. In these grasslands, sheep and other livestock kept by…

THE COLUMNIST: Effective, But Muddled

THE COLUMNIST: Effective, But Muddled

Who doesn’t love a bit of satirical horror? Horror is a genre that is able to provide a violent lens through which societal issues can be examined and discussed without sacrificing the entertainment value of a film. Director Ivo van Aart attempts just this with The Columnist, a bloody, entertaining thrill ride that tackles feminism,…

The Bowder Stone in Borrowdale, England

The Bowder Stone in Borrowdale, England

Located near the River Derwent is the quirkiest tourist attraction in the Lake District.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonStanding around 29 feet (nine meters) high and 49 feet (15 meters) in diameter, there is some debate over whether this massive rock is a glacial erratic from Scotland or a huge piece of…

9aam Classile 7aam Paadam short film review

9aam Classile 7aam Paadam short film review

★★★ Directed by: Dhanush S Nair Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Dhanush S Nair, Anand Manoj Film Review by: Jason Knight Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’A man develops a very sinister perspective towards sex and women. The film begins by showing the…

George Stephenson Statue in Chesterfield, England

George Stephenson Statue in Chesterfield, England

Situated right outside this train station is a life-sized bronze statue of steam railway innovator George Stephenson, often known as the “Father of the Railways.” Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonStephenson lived in Chesterfield at nearby Tapton Hall during the latter part of his life. At the time, he was working on…

The Tiny Building That Pays Tribute to a Larger-Than-Life Civil Rights Leader

The Tiny Building That Pays Tribute to a Larger-Than-Life Civil Rights Leader

If you’d driven along Pittsburgh’s Webster Avenue decades ago, you may have caught a glimpse of Black suffragist and civil rights activist Daisy Lampkin at her home. The red-brick building on the corner stretches three stories tall, with ornamental cornices and rows of windows. It was Lampkin’s house for four decades, when she wasn’t traveling…

Tounj Bridge in Zdenac, Croatia

Tounj Bridge in Zdenac, Croatia

This impressive two-level bridge spanning the canyon of the Tounjčica is also historically important.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe first level of the bridge was inspired by Roman architecture. It was constructed in 1775 to honor the Austrian emperor and Croatian king Joseph II. In 1836, with the renovation of the…

Cresta Aqueduct in Oroville, California

Cresta Aqueduct in Oroville, California

At first glance, this structure appears to be an enigma. It’s a bridge between two granite monoliths, an above-ground tunnel, and an aqueduct carrying water over a creek. This structure is actually part of an elaborate water system. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe Feather River Canyon is a scenic wonder. Sheer…

The Los Angeles Times Bombing Memorial in Los Angeles, California

The Los Angeles Times Bombing Memorial in Los Angeles, California

During the early 20th-century, several violent and controversial Iron Workers’ Union (IWU) strikes, protests, and a lengthy, but largely victim-free bombing campaign enraged Harrison Grey Otis, publisher of the Los Angeles Times.  Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe IWU had a rare stronghold in Los Angeles and the two were on a…

Saamaanya Saadhaka Documentary film review

Saamaanya Saadhaka Documentary film review

★★★ Directed by: #SrinathRao Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: #SrinathRao Starring: N/A Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Theo Rintoul Unscripted, unearthly, and undeniably pretty; photographer Srinath Rao has created a beautifully framed and composed documentary. This first episode is filmed…

Sundance 2021: Interview With Composer Gavin Brivik Of WILD INDIAN

Sundance 2021: Interview With Composer Gavin Brivik Of WILD INDIAN

The tension in Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.‘s Wild Indian is palpable to say the least, and the film’s illuminating score by Gavin Brivik helps cement the cinematic experience as one that is both dark and enthralling. Having started off his musical career as a guitarist, a wrist injury re-directed Brivik to music composition classes during…

Now Online: A Free Library Devoted to West Africa’s Food Heritage

Now Online: A Free Library Devoted to West Africa’s Food Heritage

In a Youtube video, entitled A Tale of Two Fritters, Ozoz Sokoh is in her kitchen making both akara, a Nigerian bean fritter, and acarajé, the Brazilian equivalent. As she reviews the ingredients and aromatics—black-eyed peas, Thai and Scotch bonnet peppers for heat, tomatoes, ginger, and orange-red palm oil, it’s easy to see that the…