Cuisines in the U.S. can be ranked in the average American consumer’s mind. French cuisine is usually considered the classiest, most complex and, respectfully, the most expensive. Japanese cuisine is likewise held in high esteem as part of a culture renowned for its perfectionism. Italian food as well, and consumers are willing to shell out considerable amounts of money for truffle oil and fresh pasta. These cuisines are part of cultures that the average American has respect for, and as such, Americans tend to view the food as higher quality.

One of my favorite cuisines is Mexican, and it hurts that it hardly ever gets the respect it is due. Mexican food and Chinese food especially tend to be relegated to fast-food, take-out, low-cost types of restaurants. You rarely see expensive or classy Mexican food restaurants. Until 2014, no Mexican restaurant had ever been awarded a Michelin star. When people go to eat Mexican food, they are usually referring to Tex-Mex and will be ordering off a menu consisting of generic ground beef burritos and cheese enchiladas. However, Mexican food can have so much more to offer ­— sauces like Mole Poblano have as much complexity as any French reduction out there. Foods like pozole and tamales can have wonderful complexity, and that is just scratching the surface of Mexican cuisine.

Likewise, Chinese food is generally relegated to take-out, easy weeknight type meals. Chinese food has its P.F. Chang-type chains, but this is about as extravagant as it gets in the average American’s mind. However, China is a country of 1.3 billion people that has a lot of regional variety not adequately represented in the Chinese-American restaurant scene. Instead we get generic sweet and salty and soy-sauce-heavy “General Tso’s Chicken” at every Asian restaurant.

This dumbing down of cuisines does not exclusively affect Chinese and Mexican-American restaurants. Some of the reason the Indian restaurant scene has had such a slow start is that Americans are unwilling to spend the money on a cuisine that is necessarily pricier due to the many intricate dishes which are not quick to make.

Much of this, I believe, is due to American biases towards cultures that they consider “less refined.” Look no further than one of our Presidential candidates to see the racial and anti-immigrant prejudice problem. Though much of it may be subconscious, Americans’ prejudices are factors when deciding what culture’s cuisines they are most likely to spend on.

Luckily, some of this is changing. Big cities like New York are seeing Michelin-starred Mexican and Chinese cuisine. In Atlanta, we have a few mid-end Asian or Hispanic restaurants like Gu’s Bistro and Bone Garden Cantina. But we still have a distinct lack of high-end restaurants featuring cuisines other than the classic New-American, Italian, Japanese and French. So I encourage Americans to reconsider Asian, Hispanic, Middle-Eastern and other underrepresented cuisines. They have a lot more to offer than what you might think.

What binds us as a people and as a nation is a combined experience, a common picture of today’s events. The source of those experiences is largely based on what is reported by journalists. The accurate depiction of events and the credibility of the sources are relied upon by our nation to gain knowledge, formulate opinions and to make sound judgements. What happens when that very foundation that we rely upon begins to crumble?

We are a democratic society, and as such, journalism has played a historical role in keeping citizens informed so that we can make our own judgement as to what is in our and the public’s best interest. It gives us a voice and spotlights inequalities. Most importantly, it has been crucial in the development of democracy by acting as checks and balances of our own government and by providing information on world events.

It is imperative to our freedom to be able to discern the facts and to be able to make well-informed decisions. How can we do that when journalism is changing, and not for the better?

Why am I so cynical? I guess it began when I read an article about the Killian documents controversy. On the news show, “60 Minutes,” Dan Rather presented documents, purportedly factual, that were derogatory of President George W. Bush’s service in the Air National Guard. It was later determined that the documents were never authenticated and deemed to be untrue. The report aired two months prior to the election. Whether done to influence an election or an act poor journalism was never determined.

Then there is the case of Jayson Blair, who resigned from “The New York Times” after an investigation found that he plagiarized and fabricated a number of articles. Ironically, he left to return to college with aspirations of going into politics.

In the footsteps of Blair came Jack Kelley, a reporter for USA Today, who blatantly committed fraud in his international news reports. He went so far as to report on a black notebook, which was never produced, that allegedly contained orders by the Yugoslav army to commit genocide of a village near Kosovo. He also wrote transcripts for sources he never met or interviewed.

Even worse is the apparent influence of politicians on the media. As reported by the Washington Post, just a few short days after Dr. Drew stated on a radio show that he was “gravely concerned” about Hillary Clinton’s health and health care, he was fired from his show on HLN.David Seaman, a longtime reporter for The Huffington Post, claims that after a second article questioning Clinton’s health, he was fired and his articles removed from the website. Seaman even went so far as to infer that he was afraid for his life.

Weekly Standard editor Daniel Halper claims in his book, “Clinton Inc.,” that the Clintons lobbied General Electric, former parent company of MSNBC, to fire David Shuster for reporting that Chelsea Clinton was being “pimped out” by Hillary Clinton during her presidential campaign in 2008.

“Finally, [the campaign] sent a message to the media: You may like Obama more than Hillary, but you’d better watch what you say because we have the power to destroy you,” Halper wrote.

In additional to these extraordinary examples, there is also the general acceptance that the media is no longer unbiased. CNN is too far left. FOX News is too far right. Too many journalists are knowingly — and unabashedly­ — advocacy journalists.

A survey conducted by the PEW Research Center in 2010 found that “the majority of news executives believe that the Internet is altering basic journalistic ethics, and more often in ways they find worrisome.

“When asked to explain what they meant, majorities of both groups appeared most worried about loosening standards (62 percent of newspaper executives and 67 percent among broadcasters), and the bulk of these responses referred to a decline in accuracy, a lessening of fact-checking and more unsourced reporting,” the survey continued in its report of the data collected.

So, what is the solution? First, we need to give credit to those journalists who are ethical and honest. To do that requires due diligence on the part of you and me, the consumers. We have to be incumbent upon ourselves to know the difference between gossip media and true journalism. We owe it to ourselves to do the research and listen to an array of newscasts. And even when you think you know what the answer is, question it.

On Sept. 30, Atlanta’s cheese connoisseurs descended on downtown’s Georgia Railroad Freight Depot for the fourth annual Cheese Fest @ Atlanta, a festival showcasing cheeses and artisanal foods from around the world.

The festival series, originally held in Atlanta and expanding this year to include events in Houston and Cincinnati, moved this year from its original location in the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to the freight depot, right in the heart of the downtown historic district. The move brings the festival closer to its patrons in hip, gentrifying neighborhoods like Old Fourth Ward and Grant Park, and ensures that the festival remains a distinctly Atlantan event as attendees now get to sample their favorite cheeses in the shadow of the Atlanta City Hall and explore drink pairings inside downtown’s oldest surviving building.

For $35, festival-goers could sample as many cheeses and artisanal foods as they wished, enjoy one beer, wine, or soft drink on-the-house, and sample grilled cheese sandwiches from a variety of restaurants that came to the festival to participate in the Meltdown, a competition based on votes cast by guests. With a $75 VIP ticket, attendees got everything a standard ticket included, plus an additional drink, entry to the festival an hour early, and access to wine, beer, and bourbon pairing experiences.

The festival featured more cheeses than any cheese-lover could ask for, including international icons like Swiss Gruyere, French Brie, Spanish Manchego, and English and Irish Cheddar, lesser known products from dozens of U.S. states, and several offerings from local Georgian fromagers. The festival was not exclusively dedicated to cheese as the additional vendor lineup included several charcuteries, olive peddlers, honey makers and even one blacksmith selling handmade knives.

Among the most eccentric offerings were pickles from Detroit, wafers and fruit paste from New Zealand, deliciously spicy honey from New York City and water buffalo cheese made in Columbia. There was even a barbecue master offering samples of a full suckling pig roasting over a wood-burning flame.

Some of the most interesting and popular vendors were those offering foods made in Georgia, including cheeses, jams, honeys and chutneys from all over metro Atlanta. Perhaps the best cheeses at the whole festival came not from Italy or France but from Many Fold Farm in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia. The tiny creamery specializes in goat cheeses and offers a delightful mixed milk cheese, though it houses only four cows.

While the local offerings attracted surprisingly large throngs of attendees, the most popular table at the festival was the one run by the Parmigiano-Reggiano Consortium, a union of Italian cheesemakers who produce Parmigiano-Reggiano, sometimes called the “King of Cheeses.” At this table, festival-goers could eat as much of the delicious hard cheese as they wanted, and many took full advantage of the opportunity since, in addition to being one of the most widely acclaimed varieties in the world, the cheese is also one of the most expensive.

The festival-organizers maintained a laid-back but sophisticated atmosphere, at first entertaining attendees with unique pre-recorded acoustic covers of songs including “Hey Ya” by Atlanta’s own Outkast and “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor, and later providing live music by bluegrass group the Packway Handle Band. Still, the organizers had nothing to do with the highlight of the event: the weather. Temperatures during the festival remained comfortably in the sixties, while blue skies kept the festival atmosphere convivial and relaxed.

Perhaps the only stain on the unique and enriching experience was the price. While the offerings were delicious, an attendee would be hard-pressed to spend more than two hours at the festival, meaning that for $35 dollars, it is practically impossible for an attendee to get their money’s worth in cheese. Still, the cost of entry affords attendees not merely a night full of cheese samples, but a priceless opportunity to discover new and unique offerings from around the world.

It has become incredibly challenging to emerge as a musician, especially in a town as musically inclined as Atlanta. Sure, one can land a gig at a coffee shop performing a special rendition of The Fray’s “How to Save a Life” and be certain to gain a few admirers who only looked up from their coffee because they recognized a familiar chord. So while cover artists have a place in the music scene, they do not offer a fresh take on the art of expression through music — a fresh take that is severely lacking in recent productions. However, Matt Hobbs is no cover artist.

Matt Hobbs is a man who interprets music beyond its aesthetic appeal. His lyrics become a definitive statement of one’s past, while the accompanying notes offer the right amount of audible feedback to induce the respective emotions upon the listener.  Matt’s new album, “17th Street,” is several years’ worth of work that defines his principle that music, especially when written to an ambiguous “you.” “[‘You’] is the most intimate, direct way to talk about events” because this “you” can be interpreted however the listener desires. Thus, “17th Street” becomes an almost ad lib work in which one can present any character as the recipient of the progressive lyrics within each song.

Matt describes “17th Street” as a concept album that chronicles his adaptation to life in Atlanta after moving from a well-established social spectrum in Gainesville, Fla. The two acts of the album, divided by an instrumental “Interlude” at the middle of the track list that serves as a mental recess, depict his various responses to fluctuations in work, relationships and musical opportunities that culminate in his realization that Atlanta has become his home in “The Night This Town Got Beautiful.” Though Hobbs has his own personal interpretation of the album, he emphasizes that what makes his work special is that it appeals to that ambiguous “you” whose interpretation is left to the listener’s design.

What is most astonishing about Matt as an artist is that his choice of genre for the album, piano and acoustic rock, was simply based upon his belief that said genre was the most fitting means of telling his story.  “17th Street” could have been written just as easily to an indie rock or soul tune, and performed just as well because Matt is that good, but its meaning would have been altered from the emotional development that Matt masterfully wove into it.

With “17th Street,” Matt has broken through the confines of unoriginal, uninspiring music. Matt Hobbs is Atlanta’s next John Mayer. That statement holds a lot of weight, but it is true. No other artist of late has produced an album that chronicles such emotion while allowing for such open interpretation.

“17th Street” was released on Sept. 27 and will be available for free digital download on Gumroad as well as iTunes, Spotify and through limited physical distribution.

When the Jackets play host at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday, eyes are trained on Paul Johnson’s triple option offense and opportunistic defense. Yet in the same confines is another spectacle on the sidelines: that of the cheerleaders, notable athletes in their own right.

Ali Mac Jinks joined the cheerleading team during her third year at Tech. Now in her penultimate fall on campus, she balances cheer with a rigorous extracurricular, social and academic schedule.

She also works as a Georgia Tech tour guide, is on the LEAD recruitment team, does speaker procurement for TEDx Georgia Tech, is a member of Alpha Delta Pi, and plans to work at Capital One following her graduation in the fall of 2017. The Technique sat down with Ali Mac to learn more.

Technique: What got you into cheerleading in the first place?

Jinks: I started in cheering in middle school. I always had one of those peppy personalities so it was kind of an expectation for me to be a cheerleader, and so I started in middle school, really liked it, continued to like it in high school, but then I didn’t know if there was an opportunity for me to cheer in college. … It turned out that there was a team that I could try out for when I was a third-year.

Technique: How did you find out about that opportunity?

Jinks: From friends who were cheerleaders.

Technique: Do you cheer in competitions or do you focus on game-day festivities?

Jinks: I am on the Navy squad, which is our spirit, no- competition squad. We do gamedays and appearances.

Technique: What is the practice schedule like on average?

Jinks: For the team that I’m on, we practice Tuesdays and Thursdays for 2.5 hours, so five hours a week, but the Gold and White squads, which are the skill squads, have Sunday practice as well. They also have morning workouts two days a week.

Technique: Which cheerleaders travel with sports teams?

Jinks: My team, the Navy team doesn’t, but the Gold team travels to away games.

Technique: What is your favorite thing about cheerleading?

Jinks: It’s a really fun way to exhibit your school spirit and get that out of your system.

I know that Georgia Tech sometimes is not the most fun or competitively successful place in terms of athletics, but it’s still so fun to go out there and get people amped because we love our school, no matter what.

Technique: What is your least favorite  aspect of cheerleading?

Jinks: Either when a game ends or noon games, because we have to be at the stadium really early for Yellow Jacket Alley.

Technique: What is your favorite memory from cheering on the Jackets?

Jinks: Cheering the Florida State game last year. Although sometimes I don’t understand all the rules because when Lance was returning the blocked field goal, I was wondering, “The time ran out, why is he still running? That’s not allowed!”

And then all of a sudden, we won and I was thought “Holy shit, this is so awesome!”

Technique: If there was one piece of advice you could give to someone thinking about becoming a Tech cheerleader, what would it be?

Jinks: I would say do it. I think that with our cheerleading program, there’s opportunities for a lot of different people.

You don’t have to have to be the best tumbler or you don’t have to have certain skills. If you have passion about our school, then that’s enough to be a cheerleader.

A third of the season is  through and Tech’s 3-1 record is very far from telling the story of the season so far.

First of all, by no means is Tech’s chance of winning the Coastal Division of the ACC gone. However, based on their performance this year, the Jackets have a tough road ahead.

This season can be summed up into three key moments. In the Boston College game, it was the 4th and 19 pass from senior  quarterback Justin Thomas to sophomore A-back Qua Searcy to keep the miraculous fourth quarter drive alive.

On a drive that looked like it was destined to stall, Thomas stepped up and made a play to keep Tech in the game. The momentum it provided was unquestionable. Moreover, it proved that the 2016 Tech offense was capable of moving the ball downfield, if only in spurts.

The most important point in the Vanderbilt game came from the defense on a 4th and 1. Vanderbilt received the ball to start the second half and was driving down the field looking to force its way back into the game.

Down 10 points and on Tech’s 28-yard line, the Commodores decided to go for the first down with one yard left. However, the Jackets’ defense would not allow Vanderbilt’s needed momentum.

The defensive line broke through the backfield and stopped sophomore running back Khari Blasingame for no gain. This stop proved to be a huge turning point as the Jackets proceeded to run away with the game from there.

The pivotal play against Clemson was also perhaps the most memorable for Tech fans. With two minutes left in the first half and Clemson leading 14-0, Ted Roof’s defense did what it needed to do most: force a turnover.

Unfortunately, that success was extremely short lived as junior defensive back Lance Austin proceeded to run the ball a couple yards out of the end zone and fumble it back into the end zone for a safety. While the result wasn’t the most points Tech could’ve given up on the play, it was extremely deflating and made what could have been a two-posession contest one that was out of hand by halftime.

The most common rhetoric being used to describe the Jackets is that it is slowly building up like the 2014 team did. That still seems to be the perfect description.

In 2014, the Jackets suffered two tough losses in a row to Duke and UNC. This year, Tech is coming off a crushing loss to Clemson in which the offense was dismantled. Hopes may be bleak right now, but Tech has been in this situation before.

Unfortunately for Tech, the saving grace that is usually the triple option has looked shaky this year. In their first two games last year, a season many want to forget, the Jackets scored 134 points. This year, Tech hasn’t even broken into the triple digits through four games, putting them towards the bottom of nation in scoring.

The best offensive game this year, against Vanderbilt, can be seen as a fluke right now. It  doesn’t matter how good a defense is, the biggest thing that shuts down Tech’s offense is a smart defense; Boston College and Clemson both displayed that in their games against the Jackets. Showing discipline against the option is the key to stopping it.

The offensive line’s inexperience has displayed itself in ineffective blocking, preventing the running backs from being able to get the ball rolling. If Tech wants to succeed in moving forward, Coach Paul Johnson and the offense will have to open more holes against the run.

Too much of the load on offense is being put on Thomas. Two years ago, when the Jackets went 11-3 and won the Orange Bowl against Mississippi State, Thomas had other tools on the offense to help him out, the biggest one being the great blocking done by the offensive line, which allowed for Tech to run the ball inside to open up the outside for the triple option.

Although the offensive situation seems dire, the defense provides hope for better times; defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s bend-but-do-not-break defense has bent quite a bit, but rarely broken.

In most years under Johnson and Roof, the implicit agreement has been that the offense will control games and the defense will play average football. The tables have turned. Looking back, if this season is to be like the success seen in 2014, Tech will have to look at its turnover margin. So far this season, Tech has a zero turnover margin. In 2014, the turnover margin was +11 according to cfbstats.com. Furthermore, through the months of August and September, that number was already at +3.

One thing is very clear: Tech thrives on forcing turnovers. It allows the defense to rest and puts the offense on the field to keep burning clock. If Tech wants to recover from this brutal home loss against Clemson, they’ll need to work on blocking at all three levels and forcing turnovers while on the other side of the ball.

It isn’t even the spring season and it already seems like Tech baseball is heading in the wrong direction. This past Tuesday it was announced that Head Coach Danny Hall’s contract had been extended by five years to go through to 2021.

In the article on ramblinwreck.com, it’s mentioned that Hall ranks 28th in career wins in Division I baseball; however, it seems that Tech is more focused on what Hall has done in his early years at Tech than his most recent campaigns in Atlanta.

The problem with the stats surrounding Hall is that they are extremely inflated from when he first started coaching at Tech, 12 years ago in 1994.

In his first 12 years at Tech, Hall managed to make it to the College World Series (CWS) three times, quite the impressive feat. However, when you look at the past 10 years of his work, signing Hall for half a decade seems more and more like a mistake.

Since placing seventh at the 2006 CWS, Hall has failed to guide the Jackets past the regional round of the NCAA tournament. In two of those years, the team failed to qualify and in another four (all in a row), the regional was hosted here at Tech with the Jackets as the number one seed.

I can understand not making it far in the tournament every year; after all, down years are expected. However strong starts have to materialize into something more down the stretch, a phenomenon that has not happened under Hall.

Another thing to address is Hall’s first year at Tech, in which he guided the team to a second place finish at the CWS, the best ever at Tech. While some of the praise definitely goes to Hall, it seems that more of it should go to his predecessor, Jim Morris.

After all, the players who played under Hall that year were all recruited by Morris. Nomar Garciaparra? Jason Varitek? These players were Morris recruits. Hall was the beneficiary of a solid foundation to begin with.

The most important thing to see in a coach and a team is improvement. Hall has failed to show that over his 23 seasons at Tech. In fact, his winning percentage has dropped since he first started. Some of that can be credited to his fast start, but no one would confuse last year’s Jackets with a College World Series contender. Responsibility must fall upon the coach.

In his first five years at Tech he boasted a 0.682 winning percentage, while he has posted a 0.587 in his past five years on the Flats, a noticeably poorer mark.

The final grievance against Hall and his program is his recruitment and care for pitchers. College baseball is gradually shifting towards a focus on good pitchers in general, yet Hall is still set in stone on his more hitting focused style.

After the introduction of BBCOR bats it was plain to see that the power of the pitcher increased, and even with changes to the size of the seams on the ball, pitchers are still the lynchpin holding teams together.

In addition, it seems that every year, multiple pitchers are hurting their arms, rendering them temporarily unable to contribute to the team’s success. In a period where it seems that every pitcher worth his salt is getting Tommy John surgery, college coaches are expected to develop and maintain a deep rotation. Hall’s pitchers’ ability diminishes in value if they succumb to injury.

Because of all of this, I can understand signing Hall on for another year or two; that would make sense as a sort of final warning for him to improve or get out. Instead, he is signed on for another five years after a decade of wallowing in mediocrity relative to the ACC and Tech baseball.

Perhaps the most disappointing part of this decision is that it was made in between former Athletic Director (AD) Mike Bobinski’s departure and new AD Mike Stansbury’s hiring. The role of interim Athletic Director Paul Griffin should have been handling day-to-day operations and ensuring that all was in place for a smooth transition. It should not have been to saddle Stansbury and Tech athletics with Hall for another five years.

Make no mistake: I have high hopes for Tech baseball this season, and they no doubt have the talent to make a serious impact in the conference and NCAA. Until it happens though, this move should be viewed with a healthy portion of skepticism.

When Danny Karnik got the camera as a gift, he didn’t think much of it.

It was fall 2007, his last autumn as a Tech undergraduate, balancing a demanding Electrical Engineering course load with a social life and a job search. However, he loved sports and decided it would not hurt to take a few pictures. He made his way to the front of the student section, armed with a camera, and clicked away. He was hooked.

“Some of the football players had seen some of my pictures, and they were like, ‘Oh, man, you should go … talk to [the Georgia Tech Athletic Association (GTAA),’ so I went to talk to the Athletic Association, but they said they had people to help them. … They turned me away the first time,” Karnik said.

Undergraduate studies ended, and graduate classes at Tech started, but Karnik kept shooting pictures. His season tickets put him in the front row of the end zone, right next to the student section.

For three years, Karnik documented moment after moment in Tech football history, building a portfolio that grew more impressive by the day. He was ready to make his pitch to the Athletic Association again.

“Eventually, I found the right person to talk to … and showed him my work. They were interested in giving me a shot.”

After more than half a decade in the Bobby Dodd stands, the Fayetteville, Ga., local was ready to cover the Jackets like a professional photographer: from field level. The memories of his first game as a GTAA photographer, working alongside the players themselves, remain strong.

“To be down next to those guys, you know, you’ve obviously had classes with them,” Karnik said. “To see them in their full pads and stuff is sort of intimidating. You can actually hear Coach [Paul Johnson] yelling on the sideline. You just kinda get a different experience down there.

“The first picture I took was the Wreck coming out. To have that … kind of driving straight at you is pretty cool. … I actually have that picture hanging on my wall. It worked out to where it was a good picture where the banner wasn’t stuck to it. … It was perfectly clear, a nice, sunny day,” Karnik said, detailing that first moment photographing the Jackets with credentials.

That picture has its place in Karnik’s memories, as do many others. Ask him about a picture, and he traces it to a moment.

A picture of Tech defensive back Lance Austin returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown against Florida State brings to his mind more than just the shocking Jackets victory.

He remembers switching camera lenses three times during the play, pinning himself against the wall as Austin and his brother ran towards him, hoping all the while that in the midst of the chaos, he would successfully capture the intensity of the moment. Moments later, he did.

“I had to run around and get pictures of what was going on on the field. I didn’t even realize what had happened,” Karnik said with a smile. “I knew we blocked it; I didn’t realize who had blocked it, though, because I hadn’t had time to look back at the pictures.

“ … I saw Adam [Gotsis] was … emotional, so I was like, ‘Oh, maybe Adam blocked it,’ so I was kinda getting some pictures of him. Then I saw Pat[rick Gamble] was kinda emotional, so I got pictures of him too. … It turns out Pat was the one who blocked it,” Karnik said of his thought process during the FSU game.

Tech’s overtime win against Georgia the previous year was Karnik’s best attempt to follow Michael Jordan’s legendary “flu game.” He took pictures while suffering from a fever, ignoring the symptoms as best as he could.

Tech’s Orange Bowl win against Mississippi State in January 2015 led to what he considers his best photo ever, one he can describe without even looking at it. Synjyn Days looks on victoriously atop a platform as fireworks erupt behind him. The perfect ending to an almost perfect season, immortalized.

Walking across the 5th Street bridge as a new year began after a flight home from a bowl game. The businesslike atmosphere on the team plane on the way to games. The jubilance in the Jackets’ locker room after a key win. These images stick with Karnik more than any box score does.

His work spans beyond football. He takes photos for each and every Tech sport sanctioned by the NCAA, from basketball — where Tech’s McCamish Pavilion apparently provides superior lighting than UGA’s Stegeman Coliseum — to volleyball — the hardest to shoot because of its fast-paced action and sometimes difficult camera angles.

He is a familiar face at Jackets athletic events of every type and often keeps in touch with Tech athletes after they leave campus.

“I’ve shot in about 90 venues in 34 cities in 24 states in two countries, and I’ve probably submitted more than 280,000 photos to the Athletic Association,”
Karnik said.

How long does he plan on taking photos for the Athletic Association?

“As long as they’ll let me keep doing it.”

Jason Isbell and Josh Ritter kept a packed house at the Fox Theatre engaged for over three hours on Sep. 24, treating the audience to classic American narratives, intense swings of emotion and a uniquely powerful concert experience.

Isbell, the recent recipient of the American Music Awards for album and song of the year, played an 18-song set accompanied by his band, the 400 Unit, and by his wife, Amanda Shires, who normally tours separately.

The group played before three fake stained glass windows on a stage enveloped in smoke. For “Decoration Day,” a hard-driving tribute to a (fictional) classic American family blood feud, the stage-lights turned a fiery red, obscuring the group in a smoky hellish haze, perfectly complementing Isbell’s anguished howls, Sadler Vaden’s stabbing guitar licks and the sinister sound of Amanda Shire’s fiddle.

Isbell, born in the Shoals of north Alabama, identifies strongly with his roots: the influence of the legendary studios in the area including Muscle Shoals Sound Studios and FAME Studios, where he worked in his early twenties. Isbell made himself known on “Goddamn Lonely Love,” “Palmetto Rose” and “Super 8.” These are songs that embody the “muscle shoals sound” and harken back to the classic Shoals recordings of the Rolling Stones and Bob Seger. During these songs, the audience could be forgiven for mistaking Isbell and the 400 Unit for Ronnie Van Zant and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The most touching moments of the concert came during love songs such as “Cover Me Up” and “Flagship.” The former grew from an acoustic ballad between just Isbell and his wife into a pounding anthem to love as the rest of the 400 Unit joined in. “Flagship” is a slow serenade featuring only Isbell, Shires and the keyboardist Derry DeBorja on the accordion. On these songs, audience members feel like privileged guests looking in on the most intimate moments between Isbell and his wife. Isbell masterfully dispersed these slower songs throughout his set, granting the audience moving reprieves from the exhilaration of his other, more intense songs.

Perhaps the only disappointment of the night was that Josh Ritter, Isbell’s supporting act, could not play a longer set. Ritter, sporting a constant smile and exhibiting palpable humility in telling the audience, “We’re having a total ball,” played a forty five-minute set, delivering lyrical elegance packaged with rock-band energy. He brought the audience to its feet  for the jovial “Getting Ready to Get Down” and dark, tragic masterpiece “Henrietta, Indiana.”

On dark songs, Ritter’s passionate vocals were complemented by the deep thumping of an upright bass to bring the audience to terror and anguish, while on lighter pieces, his smile and detached lyrics evoked humor. Playing in front of a large, abstract mural of two jagged mounds, one on either side, Ritter looked as though he was being physically born of the earth, emphasizing the connection between his Americana music and the land which inspires it.

Ritter’s performance perfectly complemented Isbell’s; Ritter’s humble smile and Jack Kerouac-like lyrics evoke middle Americana, while Isbell’s hard-driving southern rock and Levon Helm-like vocals align with southern Americana, treating the audience to two different forms of the genre in one show. Even the venue was perfect; one cannot help being overwhelmed by nostalgia when entering the Fabulous Fox, an ideal atmosphere for inherently nostalgic Americana music.

Altogether, the night was not merely a great concert, it was an immersive exploration into the essence of Americana.