Categories
Short Stories

How to Solve Hatred with Honey Bees

A friend once told me, “it’s impossible to understand and hate someone.”

I laughed at the time. It was a bold and, to some extent, generous claim considering that the most evil people to ever walk the Earth usually have a sympathetic sob story at the root of their remorseless tendencies. As a result, I wholeheartedly disagreed with her assertion. She rolled her eyes, unwilling to argue with me. We quickly moved on from the topic after, reminiscing about ex-friends over flat soda early into the morning. 

Strangely, it wasn’t an encounter with an impatient driver or a despotic professor that struck the memory back into my skull. It was a honey bee. 

Categories
Classic Album Review

Album Review: Ricky Montgomery – Montgomery Ricky

Ricky Montgomery is an artist who is overplayed in the niche he created… for good reason.

If you were a Millennial or Gen Z with working internet and access to TikTok during 2020, I can guarantee you’ve heard Montgomery’s hit singles “Mr. Loverman” and “Line Without a Hook” at least once. 

Wait…Who is Ricky Montgomery?

But for those of you who are unfamiliar, Montgomery is an American singer and songwriter who composes music of the indie alternative pop rock variety. Today, his song “Line Without a Hook” has more than 840 million streams on Spotify and 200 million views on Youtube, with runner-up “Mr. Loverman” at 829 million streams and 70 million views as of December 2025. While both songs were already available in 2016, they only skyrocketed Montgomery to fame four whole years after their release. It isn’t hard to see why. 

Categories
Miscellaneous

Comedic, Cocksure, and Charming: Sureni Weerasekera at Goodnight’s Comedy Club Show Review

“There I am—smoking weed in the bathroom of my own house avoiding my mother on the couch!” Sureni Weerasekera quips, the venue erupting in laughter. “That’s crazy isn’t it? The house I bought with my own money.”

I am no exception, my voice joining the chorus that zings through the room. But weirdly, between laughing, I also felt a little like crying.

Categories
Miscellaneous

Book Review: “Serenade to the Big Bird” is an Unfinished Tragedy

Have you ever heard the saying, “the cameraman never dies?” The phrase is a viral internet meme that Reddit popularized in 2020. 

The joke references survivorship bias, a logical error in studies where statisticians only collect data on entities who ‘survive’ their trials, while ignoring those who do not. But for internet-users who enjoy videos of daring stunts and perilous expeditions, “the cameraman never dies” is a comforting mantra to repeat as their favorite YouTubers barely finesse death on camera.

By nature, war memoirs are very similar. Only someone who survives a war can publish an account about it, no?

Background

“Serenade to the Big Bird” is an unfinished WWII memoir written by American author Bert Stiles through 1943 through 1944. He was a B-17 copilot, serving in the 401st Bomb Squadron, 91st Bomb Group for the U.S. Airforce. 

On November 26, 1944, he shot down a Luftwaffe Fw 190s before his plane careened into the ground in Hanover, Germany.

I had skimmed past this fact written on page nine. When I finished “Serenade to the Big Bird,” flipping to find more, a chill raced down my spine when I realized that there wouldn’t be.

Categories
Concert Review

Open The Book of Beasts: Castle Rat Summons Raleigh

A Rat Queen, a Count, a Druid and a Plague Doctor walk into a chapel. There’s no joke here, because the audience is screaming their catchphrase: “In this realm, now and forever.”

On Oct. 3, Castle Rat shattered a Molotov of doom metal, retro ambiance and fantasy storytelling on North Carolina, setting fire to Chapel of Bones.