culture Tag

As a twenty-something, you’re at a major crossroads in your life.  You’ve graduated college, or are so close that you can taste it – the stale beer, that is. You’ve already had a taste of being abroad, whether it involved studying abroad with your classes in a foreign language, or a spring break trip to Cabo. At this point, you’re settling into a phase of your life where you’re expected to be semi-responsible, which is making that creeping wanderlust you’re still feeling an issue. On the one hand, your twentiesRead More

“Thailand? You went to Thailand?” And so begins any conversation about Taiwan. Many expatriates will tell you the confusion between Thailand and Taiwan is common. I mean, they sound the same. And isn’t Taiwan in China? Why go there and not Japan, Thailand, Laos, (insert favorite Asian country)? After two years living in Taoyuan, Taiwan, I can tell you: there is every reason to make your next stop Taiwan. Forget Thailand, forget Laos. Come to the rolling hills of bamboo, the marble mountains, the people welcoming you at every turn.Read More

  GoPro Goes Skydiving, Lands in Pig Pen This is a pretty awesome video that everyone needs to watch, right now. Apparently the story goes like this… A GoPro was about to go skydiving with some jumpers, but unfortunately, they dropped it. Amazingly, the camera continued to record all the way down to the ground until it finally landed in a pig pen. You also get some sweet footage from inside a pig mouth. The camera was found intact 8 months later  and the owner uploaded this video. There isRead More

Occasionally, while scanning my Facebook timeline, I stumble upon an article that leaves me swearing at my computer screen, scratching my head, and questioning my online friendships. Elite Daily’s “Could It Be? Millennials Are The New Hippies But With Better Weed” is one of those articles. The article appeared on the website this week and quickly gained popularity for all the wrong reasons. I say that because, although author Lauren “LMoney” Martin (ugh) bills herself as a “comedy writer,” and the piece appears satirical, it seems that just about everyRead More

Hosting the Olympics is like the real world equivalent of running for Senior Class President in high school. You’re put under the magnifying glass and just asking to be critiqued and ridiculed. Everything you do is being translated to people of very different backgrounds. And every once in a while, there’s a slim chance that you might just be epically successful. Key words: slim chance. The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi are not off to a great start in their bid for epic success. Even before the games began thisRead More

In the cluttered world of YouTube, it’s often difficult to decide what to watch.  Between the sea of cat videos, epic meal suggestions, and the ever-growing FAIL catalogue, it can sometimes seem like you’d break a greater mental sweat (*ahem) “brushing up on your typing skills” than keeping up with your subscriptions. Luckily, there are oases scattered across the brain-dead wasteland of YouTube, the most refreshing of which is provided by none other than the Public Broadcast Service.  Hosted by spirited think-geek Mike Rugnetta (@mikerugnetta), PBS’s Idea Channel deconstructs InternetRead More

Writtalin’s very own Patrick Smith composed a poignant and touching ode to his past self a few days ago (okay it wasn’t an ode…wait, what is an ode? Ode, ode, ode. Haha. Funny word. Sorry.). In it, he endearingly reminisced over the olden days of high-school when everything seemed to suck a little better than it sucks now. I think we can agree that most of our hair-styles were fun while they lasted, along with the relationships, and the fears of never getting to second base. But hidden under the laughsRead More

So I’m going to assume most people reading this are over the age of 18. Therefore, you are an adult. Act like one. Here are seven situations in which I see people continuously act like lazy children and I CAN’T DEAL WITH IT ANYMORE.   1. Pick up after the messes you make. -We’ve all been there. You’re in a rush at the grocery store trying to make it home in time for the Bachelor. There’s that last item you need to grab so you run down the aisle withRead More

With the late and great Philip Seymour Hoffman passing away, all of a sudden EVERYONE is a fan of his work.  My Facebook feed is flooded with people posting up long sonnets about how he truly was one of the greatest actors of his generation. The whole situation is very reminiscent of when that drug addict Amy Winehouse – who was simply living on borrowed time – passed away.  Or Whitney Houston, who I thought was dead a few years before her “untimely” passing away in 2012. It saddens me that weRead More

I would like to thank Brigham Young University-Idaho for the production of the following video. This inspirational anti-wanking PSA gives us all something to think about. The video begins with clips of a young man who is apparently “addicted to pornography” (and watches it in the most unnaturally relaxed manner). His roommates know, but really don’t seem to give a shit or find the need to step in, leaving him “spiritually wounded on the battlefield of a great war.” The video continues with a series of combat scenes, in whichRead More

I truly believe that the hallmark of any great artist, of any great musical outfit, is the ability to evolve musically, to grow personally, and to have every new album serve as a showcase for that latest great step forward. There is little more impressive than progress. Against Me!‘s latest album, the deeply personal Transgender Dysphoria Blues, not only represents a bold new step for the band and frontwoman Laura Jane Grace – it represents a colossal step forward for the LGBT society, and hell, the American public at large. If TransgenderRead More

Breakdown of my time spent while the Super Bowl is on during any given year: 50% eating snacks, 40% seriously asking everyone who’ll listen why they don’t just have Beyonce perform for halftime every year, 9% watching the commercials, and 1% pretending to actually watch the game. For those of you who spend your time otherwise (I don’t understand why you would), here’s a recap of the best commercials worth looking up on YouTube.   Arnold Schwarzenegger Plays Ping-Pong for Bud Light Seriously, watch this. Bud Light took a randomRead More

Ahh…the Super Bowl. If you’re anything like me, it’s a time for merriment, poor eating habits, a chance to see David Beckham running half-naked, and, best of all, a kickass halftime performance. Bruno Mars was the league’s pick for 2014 and yet, regardless of the artist’s proven talent and popularity, many critics questioned whether the fresh young performer was ready to live up to the likes of last year’s show brought to us by the amazing Queen Beyonce. After delivering a killer performance complete with drum solos, heartfelt messages fromRead More

For those of you who do not know, Paris Fashion Week happened recently. For most American men, this kind of information is not even on the radar (especially with the hype leading up to today’s Super Bowl). Lucky for all you males, I have the style highlights. In menswear, it is hard to completely re-design what has already been made. However, this year I have been pleasantly surprised. If you ever wonder how to dress, you should take notes from Thom Browne, Hermès, Ami, Saint Laurent, and their Fall 2014Read More

Happy Friday! Here’s more of the WTF news that makes us appreciate the wacky world in which we live… GERMAN COWS WITH EXPLODING FLATULENCE When I heard about this one earlier in the week I laughed like an immature 3rd grader. In the German town of Rasdorf, some dairy cows–who must have had something awful for dinner–needed to pass some gas. 90 cows let it rip, building up the levels of methane gas in the shed. According to a Reuters news agency, “a static electric charge caused the gas toRead More