So classes all over the U.S. are closed until the end of the semester. I can’t help but feel conflicted about it. Obviously, any actions needed to stop the spread of a pandemic should be taken. However, us college students now face a threat most of us could only dream of: no class!

Well, no in-person class. We all watched Spiderman, we all know that with great power comes great responsibility. So why is it then, that I can’t seem to focus on my classwork? It feels like I should still be on break. I had no professor looking over my shoulder to make sure I wasn’t on my phone during the online lecture!

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s on us, the students, to actually stay focused, and that is terrifying. How am I supposed to do my homework when I could just stay in bed and sleep all day? Ok, let me reel it back in a little. It isn’t as bad as I make it out to be, and obviously, I prefer being able to do my classwork in boxers and an old sweatshirt.

I just find it interesting how immediate my shift in attitude was. I went from up and at ‘em at 6 a.m. to get ready for class to barely getting out of bed at all! It is an interesting social experiment I guess.

They say there are two kinds of incentives. There is the carrot and there is the stick. The carrot is a sweet, positive reward. The stick is the firm, sometimes negative, reinforcement. The challenge is balancing these aspects. So, before, the stick would be a poor attendance grade, missing your lecture or lab and a huge disadvantage on homework or exams.  

Now though, all the lectures are recorded. I have the full ability to tell myself I’ll get to it later! It is ALL CARROTS; there’s no stick! It’s like in Spongebob when Squidward eats all the Krabby Patties then gets fat and his thighs explode, except now I’m Squidward, the Krabby Patties are Netflix and my grades are Squidward’s thighs.

I’m sure we will get used to it after a week or so, but until then we have to stay strong. I know The Office is calling your name for the 5th time but you must resist; you have a lab report to write. Before you ask, no, you can’t promise yourself you’ll do it in the morning either. We all try that and we all know we hit the snooze button five times instead of getting to work.

I think I’ve gone on long enough at this point. We all have work we need to get back to. So let’s all agree to just watch one or two more episodes then really go hard at that class assignment, ok?

I’m not sure why, but I’ve been thinking of Mr. Rogers lately. I think in a world that seems so full of bad news and immoral people it can be nice to remember one of modern times’ genuinely good public figures.

I think most of us can remember watching Mr. Rogers as a little kid. Waiting for the little trolley to come around the bend or for Fred to take off his shoes and feed the fish. It’s the little things. I think it was a unique show in the sense that it encouraged patience and thought. Most kids’ shows can be educational in a math and English sense, but I feel like Mr. Rogers encouraged life lessons beyond that.

Encouraging kids to think about themselves and others as real people, to recognize that even we little people have a real impact on others every day, was a unique message. I don’t think any other show on for kids today really hits that message in the same way.

What’s more outstanding to me is that the show wasn’t an act. Fred Rogers was actually a genuine and honest person. There are countless stories of Mr. Rogers being awesome. One of my favorites was when he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.

Years prior, he had a child named Jeff Erlanger on. Jeff was paralyzed due to a tumor he had when he was a baby. On the show, Fred was just as warm and accepting as you’d expect. Fast forward now 18 years to the Television Hall of Fame award show. The person handing Mr. Rogers his award is none other than Jeff. Mr. Roger’s face immediately lit up.

You could plainly see he remembered this child he had on the show 18 years ago and was honored to be handed his award by someone he impacted in a real way.

Mr. Rogers also saved public television. In May of 1969, the U.S. Senate met to decide on budget cuts for PBS and other public media. Fred Rogers delivered a very moving speech. He emphasized the importance of children having a way to receive a message of acceptance, patience and positivity.

His speech moved the chairman so much the budget was almost instantaneously approved. The content of Fred Rogers’ speech wasn’t necessarily groundbreaking. However, he spoke from the heart, and he communicated his message and his mission with a kind of warm determination only someone like Mr. Rogers could.

It is rare that someone like Mr. Rogers comes around. Someone so thoroughly devoted to leaving the world better than they found it. I think we could all learn a bit from Fred. We should all remember our actions can impact everyone around us. Something as small as including someone who’s usually an outcast can completely change their day. Ultimately, we should all just try to be a good neighbor.

So, I’m not much of a live stream viewer. The lightning-fast chat and emote spam doesn’t really do anything for me. One part of live streaming that does interest me is the weird, cultish fanbase some streamers garner.

I think to make good money online you have to form a group. Some may call this a fanbase, I’d tend toward a cult of personality. There really isn’t that big a difference between a popular streamer and, say, a celebrity. Well, I guess there is one very big difference.

Scarlett Johansson absolutely has a gaggle of thirsty, creepy fans. She doesn’t have to interact with them though.  A Twitch streamer makes their money by interacting with fans, and often times the more devoted they are, the more valuable.

I find the whole Twitch dynamic interesting. Fans get very little for actually donating or subscribing to a creator. They may get a speech bubble pop up on-screen or a callout, but beyond that and a few emotes there’s not really any pragmatic reason to donate to a streamer.

Yet, they convince people to pay them. I’ve noticed a strange social relationship form on many Twitch accounts. The viewers feel indebted to the streamer. It’s like in middle school, and you had your first crush and anything they did or said was absolutely perfect in your mind.

So, where am I going with this? I’ll be straight up. It’s creepy. Streaming can often cater to, let’s say, socially challenged people. Because there is some limited interaction it is very easy for a fan to grow attached to a streamer, and form a bond that really doesn’t exist.

It is no secret. Sex sells. I don’t want to belittle female streamers and say the only reason people watch is because they are attractive. What I will say is the majority of their viewers are male, and a subsection of them are really, really thirsty. 

Because the internet is the internet there are dozens of horror stories of fans digging up real names, addresses, and other personal information on their favorite streamers. One streamer named Kaceytron had to file a police report after a fan found some of her personal information. (Thanks to Cecilia D’Anastasio from Kotaku for the article.)

Some fans go so far as to say in interviews that they love their streamers. It seems silly, but this is some seriously creepy stuff. Imagine if you had some stranger from who-knows-where suddenly fascinated with your every move. Now multiply that by ten, or even a hundred.

What’s the solution? I have no clue. I know pretty much nothing about streaming. I’m sure some streamers love their devoted fans. It can certainly be an ego boost and create job stability.

I guess the only final thoughts I have on this topic are to always look at everyone as another human being. That goes for both on- and offline. It is very easy to see some of our heroes, be they famous scientists, actors, athletes or streamers, and assume they are perfect. The truth is they are people just like you and me. So before you idolize someone, remember they’re pretty much just like you.

Also, don’t be weird, like, actually take a second to think about what you type online. Before you confess your love for a streamer stop, stand up, step into the fresh air for a second and think about if you really mean what you’re saying.

So, I try to keep my articles at least somewhat interesting to most people, but this time I’m gonna talk about video games, so if that’s not your thing look away now.

When I was around 10, I came across a game called Earthbound. Its gameplay is pretty run-of-the-mill RPG style gameplay, but the story, music, and writing are incredibly unique.

If you were to ask anybody who’s anybody what the most underrated Nintendo property is, they’d likely say Earthbound. Have you ever played Super Smash Brothers? You know that weird kid Ness who spams “PK Fire” repeatedly and wears a striped shirt? He’s from Earthbound. This is honestly the extent of what most people know about the series.

Ok, enough background. What is this game and why do I think it’s so special? Earthbound is the story of a young group of friends banding together to save Earth from some unknown evil called Giygas. The game is set in 1990’s America, which is noteworthy because when the game came out, 1994, almost every RPG game was just about medieval wizards and dragons and stuff.

Earthbound is remembered because it is a bit of a story-writing anomaly. It features pastel colors and smiling characters. Your characters fight trees and mischievous crows. Simultaneously though, there will be shockingly dark storylines sprinkled in unexpectedly. One scene features one character, a young boy, entering a psychic trance with a disembodied head. The head tells you it will break your legs, take your eyes and ruin your ears; all the while you, a preteen boy, must sit there and agree.

Keep in mind this is an “E For Everyone” rated game. This scene comes totally out of the blue. This is the same game where you have to tussle with stubborn police, who say “Get ready for my super ultra mambo tango foxtrot martial arts.” One moment you’re trapping cartoon zombies in flypaper and the next you’re infiltrating a cult to rescue a kidnapped girl.

By far the biggest shock though is the final boss. This mysterious, vague, evil figure is mentioned throughout the game. They never mention what it really is. In the end, you eventually reach its lair, a dimension outside time. You walk along what looks like entrails until you see a reflection of your face coming out of a giant cervix (I want to remind you this has for the most part been a lighthearted E for Everyone trip with some childhood friends).

You then enter a fight that, even by modern standards, is among the most shocking and uncomfortable moments in gaming history. Giygas is not really a being, it is only shown as an illustration of a face in agony. It says strange, eerie things like “I’m h..a..p..p..y” and “It hurts, Ness.” The head designer of the game, Shigesato Itoi, said in an interview that the Giygas fight was a reflection of the fear and confusion he felt when he was young and witnessed what he thought was a rape in a movie he accidentally watched.

I could go on about Earthbound all day. If you’re at all interested there’s, like, a billion hours of video essays on YouTube about it. If you’re at all interested in good writing in general, or video game history, I can’t recommend it enough.

So, I try to keep my articles at least somewhat interesting to most people, but this time I’m gonna talk about video games, so if that’s not your thing look away now.

When I was around 10, I came across a game called Earthbound. Its gameplay is pretty run-of-the-mill RPG style gameplay, but the story, music, and writing are incredibly unique.

If you were to ask anybody who’s anybody what the most underrated Nintendo property is, they’d likely say Earthbound. Have you ever played Super Smash Brothers? You know that weird kid Ness who spams “PK Fire” repeatedly and wears a striped shirt? He’s from Earthbound. This is honestly the extent of what most people know about the series.

Ok, enough background. What is this game and why do I think it’s so special? Earthbound is the story of a young group of friends banding together to save Earth from some unknown evil called Giygas. The game is set in 1990’s America, which is noteworthy because when the game came out, 1994, almost every RPG game was just about medieval wizards and dragons and stuff.

Earthbound is remembered because it is a bit of a story-writing anomaly. It features pastel colors and smiling characters. Your characters fight trees and mischievous crows. Simultaneously though, there will be shockingly dark storylines sprinkled in unexpectedly. One scene features one character, a young boy, entering a psychic trance with a disembodied head. The head tells you it will break your legs, take your eyes and ruin your ears; all the while you, a preteen boy, must sit there and agree.

Keep in mind this is an “E For Everyone” rated game. This scene comes totally out of the blue. This is the same game where you have to tussle with stubborn police, who say “Get ready for my super ultra mambo tango foxtrot martial arts.” One moment you’re trapping cartoon zombies in flypaper and the next you’re infiltrating a cult to rescue a kidnapped girl.

By far the biggest shock though is the final boss. This mysterious, vague, evil figure is mentioned throughout the game. They never mention what it really is. In the end, you eventually reach its lair, a dimension outside time. You walk along what looks like entrails until you see a reflection of your face coming out of a giant cervix (I want to remind you this has for the most part been a lighthearted E for Everyone trip with some childhood friends).

You then enter a fight that, even by modern standards, is among the most shocking and uncomfortable moments in gaming history. Giygas is not really a being, it is only shown as an illustration of a face in agony. It says strange, eerie things like “I’m h..a..p..p..y” and “It hurts, Ness.” The head designer of the game, Shigesato Itoi, said in an interview that the Giygas fight was a reflection of the fear and confusion he felt when he was young and witnessed what he thought was a rape in a movie he accidentally watched.

I could go on about Earthbound all day. If you’re at all interested there’s, like, a billion hours of video essays on YouTube about it. If you’re at all interested in good writing in general, or video game history, I can’t recommend it enough.

Every day I’m convinced I’m becoming an old man. Not, like, in an “I’m an adult now, watch me do taxes” way. More like “We gotta get to Shiloh’s for their early bird special” kind of way. What has sparked this realization? I think I might kinda enjoy getting up early.

It all started last semester. I got a job as an early morning custodian. I’d get up at five a.m., toss some garbage in a big dumpster for three hours and go to class. So, five a.m. is pretty early but I got used to it. Now I have to wake up at four a.m. to do the same job. I won’t lie, that’s too early of a wakeup time.

I’m not here to brag about how inconvenient my alarm schedule is though. I’m here to report my findings after being an early bird for almost half a year, for the people. What have my takeaways been? I think I might like the early morning better than the late night, honestly. My entire life I’ve been a super night owl. Like, go to bed at two or three and wake up for my nine a.m. class kind of sleep schedule.

I gotta say though, since I’ve taken the four extra hours at night and moved them to the morning I’m a bit happier. Instead of working late into the night, tired and noticeably less focused, I just get some sleep and wake up rested and able to finish the work much better. Not to mention, and this is a peak boomer sentence, the sunrise is like, way better than the sunset. When I walk to class and see the sun coming over Portage Lake, it is honestly one of the few moments of color Houghton in the winter actually has.

What are some cons to the morning lifestyle? Well, for one, a lot of the time going to bed early just isn’t feasible. We’ve all got midnight deadlines for assignments and we all push it to the line sometimes. It is also very hard to adjust to waking up early. I won’t lie, if I didn’t have to wake up early for work I’d never have started waking up early. I also want to be clear, on my days off I don’t still wake up at four in the morning, I like to sleep in till six.

If you’ve gotten this far into the article, I’m honestly pretty impressed. I don’t know what compelled you to listen to me ramble about my sleep schedule for roughly 450 words. I’m not saying we should all wake up before the sun,  because that’s kind of ridiculous. What I am suggesting is to try setting that alarm clock back an hour and go to bed an hour earlier. You might be surprised how much you like it.

Being at an engineering focused school, it is easy to get lost in all the numbers and principles I hear in class. Sometimes it seems like the only thing that matters is the hard numbers and facts that will help out in the real world. What then, is the purpose of artistry, or fiction?

I think the answer is simple. Although things like science and engineering may help us progress and reach new limits of understanding about ourselves and the world around us, art is what makes us human. Culture is based almost entirely on artistic expression.

To me, art is a sign that we have made it as a species. We aren’t constantly worrying about our next meal, or whether a predator is just around the tree ahead of us, so, to occupy ourselves, we create. The art we produce is also entirely unique to the circumstances in which we are found. It is often the product of strife, an outlet for those under oppression.

Let’s look back at classic jazz music. Jazz is a direct product of blues and also stemmed pretty much entirely from African Americans. Blues was a way to express the hardships an individual was going through, I mean, it is called the blues for a reason. Jazz took the fundamental instrumentation of blues, the prominent bass, the improvisation, the telling of a story, and punched it up.
The history of jazz is the history of modern America. It is the product of the horrific slave trade mixing the cultures of both Africa and Europe. From this crucible came what, to me, is the most influential musical movement on the planet.

Today’s bass-heavy, beat-dependent style can be traced right back to the greats like Miles Davis and John Coltrane. Don’t believe me? If you’re able to, take a look at the song “Take Five” by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. That song in particular has a prominent cycle throughout it. The trumpet assues the role of vocals, center stage, while percussion and bass tones accompany the background. Now take a look at “Award Tour” by A Tribe Called Quest. Listen to the background, the cyclic style of the percussion and the piano in the background. The latter is definitely its own unique style, but the DNA of styles long past is there.

In a way, this style has evolved into the hip-hop hits that top the charts today. Now, I’m not about to say you’ll hear many trumpet solos and walking bass on the top 40 charts but this music is certainly descended from some classical greats. I think it might even be reasonable to say the style of modern rap, the choppy start-stop way the lyrics are sung could be traceable to the very beat-centric style of classic jazz.

Now, I am no music historian, and it is absolutely possible I that I’ve been talking out of my rear end. But I did take a music appreciation class online two years ago. Either way, I think it is an innately human activity to go back into the ways we express ourselves and look at all the ways we have changed, and how we may change in the future.