Image sourced from umlconnector.com The modern trend cycle is unconventional today, running at unprecedented speeds and cannibalizing itself to produce more and more. SHEIN, Zara, Forever 21, etc: Each brand has been pumping out new clothing styles en masse, in some cases having 100-plus new garments listed each day in an effort to appease the ever-fickle internet fashionistas, and to try and take a slice of the newest micro-trend before it collapses and is reabsorbed into so

Illustrations by Devin Singh “Falsettos” is a musical introduced to the world in 1992 that saw a very successful Broadway revival in 2016, which is what I’ll focus on. This Tony Award-nominated performance with its small cast of seven stands out with Christian Borle and Andrew Rannells starring. There are 34 unique songs in the two-act play, which runs two hours and 30 minutes. The Broadway run with this cast closed in January 2017, but thankfully there are two live recording

The theatre department here at Mt. Hood is gearing up for another Spring Term performance, “Everybody,” opening Friday, May 10 at 7 p.m. In anticipation, I chatted with a couple of the actors in the play about what makes this show a special treat. They explained that Everybody is a play that welcomes the energy of chaos into the fiber of the performance. There are several roles, shared between 16 actors (including understudies). There is a lottery process that happens each ni

Near the end of 2024 (Nov. 9, to be exact), the most-beloved sequel of a genre-defining launch title from the original Xbox will be 20 years old: “Halo 2.” Released to a resounding success and gaining tons of praise from tons of gaming journalists and critics, Halo 2 hits the nail on the head of what a sequel to any piece of media should do. Even though development of the game was a very difficult and tedious task, it ended up being worth it and deserving of its glory. The Ha

“Be useful” is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s motto in his recently published book, “Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life,” which dives deep into the journey of one of the most interesting men in Hollywood, and one of my heroes. And yeah, it’s kind of a self-help book, too. Be Useful takes us from Arnie’s humble upbringing in post-World War II Austria to dreams of success and a meaningful, purpose-driven life in America. He became the biggest bodybuilder and action star on the planet, a

Comic books are one of the most fascinating mediums that have evolved in the world and inspired many things, including our video games, music, and most popularly our movies – especially with the Marvel blockbusters and the occasional guilty pleasures of DC films. Not many people know where some of these wonderful worlds of fantasy and exciting set pieces first took root, however. There are so many great stories behind comics history, both in the separate world in which its in

On Thursday, April 4, I was invited to attend an art show titled “States of Being” hosted at the Erickson Gallery in Portland’s Pearl District that would be featuring the work of my aunt, Rita Alves, and several other artists. Market Street Ash by Rita Alves Photos by Lacoda Kiesel Howe I am passionate about art and its impact on the world, both now and in all moments of history, so I was thrilled to attend and see how each piece would affect me. Here, I highlight my three fa

Cillian Murphy, winner of the leading actor award for ‘Oppenheimer’, poses for photographers at the 77th British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA’s, in London, Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP) Right: Image sourced from usanetwork.com, Left: Image sourced from npr.org The 2024 Academy Awards show – aka The Oscars – had some of the best presentation and performance I’ve seen in years. The 96th edition of the event opened with Jimmy Kimmel, marking his fou

Horror fans everywhere have a lot to get excited for in 2024, between whispers of some anticipated projects to confirmed productions with concrete release dates that have been long awaited! Here, I’ll cover what I’m most excited about in the year ahead. First on the list is “Late Night with the Devil,” a film that premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW, an Austin, Texas, festival centered around film, music, and interactive media) from Australian sibling directors Cameron and

Image sourced from gq-magazine.com For many sci-fi fans, the wait for director Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune Part: Two” was unbearable – but now is finally over. In 2021, “Dune (Part One)” earned box office receipts of a whopping $434.8 million, easily turning a profit on its budget of $165 million. Within its first six days after release, Part Two has already hauled in nearly half of Part One’s total, breaking $200 million – a clear success. It’s no surprise that Part Two has m

Image from IMDb Having an internet show on YouTube reach television is something that has only happened a handful of times. Some examples are “The High Fructose Adventures of Annoying Orange,” “The Dude Perfect Show” and “Oddballs.” These were all massively popular web series before they got picked up by TV networks and streaming services. Now, the newest series just wrapped up its first season – which to me, offers both hits and misses. “Hazbin Hotel” was created by YouTub

Image sourced from troutdalegames.com Have you ever wished there was a place nearby where you could play board games or find new minis for your next game of Dungeons & Dragons? Just down the hill from MHCC on Southeast Stark Street sits one of my all-time favorite small businesses, Goin’ Gaming, a hub for all things tabletop and more. This lovely place, inside the Troutdale Market Center, has been operating for seven years, and is owned by Alan and Becky Schmid. I was able t

The MHCC Theatre Department’s annual winter musical, “Be More Chill,” opens a two-week run today at 7 p.m. (Friday, Feb. 23) on the College Theatre big stage. It’s not just the actors who provide the magic: There are just as many people working behind the scenes as we will see on the stage. It falls on Daryl Harrison-Carson –instructor, designer, and technical director for Mt. Hood’s theatre program – to manage all the technical aspects, including things like planning, build

In the newest addition to the Avatar franchise, “Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora” takes us back into the world of Pandora to explore a new story, separate from the main characters of the movies and comics. “Frontiers” is an open-world shooter, but it’s easy to spend most of the game getting lost in the vibrant, beautiful landscapes that it boasts. This game follows a loosely similar plot to the original “Avatar” movie. The RDA, hellbent on colonizing Pandora for humanity, crushe

Artwork by Devin Singh Are you looking for a new hobby to get into? Maybe even an exciting sci-fi/fantasy franchise to read about or play video games on, based on the setting? If so, you don’t have to look any farther than the “Warhammer” franchise that began as an exciting fantasy franchise that started in London, England. Warhammer was inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien fantasies such as “Lord of the Rings,” then later in 1987 evolved to have a sci-fi spinoff called “40K” that eve

The Super Bowl LVIII halftime show on Feb. 11 was a fantastical mix of sparkly fashion and behind-the-scenes madness. Photo by Godofredo A. Vásquez Usher, who has been in the music industry for 30-plus years, headlined the show along with several celebrity personalities, including his ex-girlfriend, Alicia Keys, H.E.R, will.i.am, Ludacris, and Lil Jon. The performance itself was a wonderful showcase of the many hits over his own successful R&B/pop career and paid homage to p

Living in Oregon, many of us know the winter months can be tough to get through. With the lack of sunshine and ever-pouring rain, many find themselves longing for warmer months. To help combat the cold and dark, the Willamette Light Brigade, a nonprofit arts organization, now puts on the Portland Winter Light Festival. The popular annual event brings the community together to view and enjoy the many talented artists we have in the Portland area. This year’s festival took plac

With 2023 a closed book with more than enough newly minted movies to recap and review, the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony has us waiting with bated breath until the winners of each genre and category are announced. Until that fateful day on March 10, here are the three biggest movies to keep an eye on during your next lazy day and a glance at what people have to say about the nominees and movies themselves. Kicking things off with 13 nominations is “Oppenheimer,” a popular

Images from IMDb It’s been a long time since I walked out of a movie theater and thought, “That was one of the best films I have ever seen.” I did just that after viewing “Poor Things.” Yorgos Lanthimos and the cast have set the bar incredibly high for all feature films in 2024. Though it was released in December, I truly believe Poor Things sets the tone for cinematic releases this year. The film is incredibly artistic, from the colorful, whimsical set design to the emotiona

Photos by Tony Acker Have you ever gone to the drive-thru, ordered your favorite meal, then when you pulled up to the window to pay for that extra-cheesy steak burrito, realized you forgot your wallet and your phone is at 2% battery, so you either had to beg the poor worker to hand you the bag for free, or drive away in utter embarrassment? That kind of “Oh, sh*t!” moment happens to a lot of people when they attend their first metal concert. It happened to me, too! I was 13