27th January 2022

The Store-House of Wonder and Astonishment | Seattle Book Review

The Store-House of Wonder and Astonishment With its blend of scientific and theological histories, Sherry Rind’s The Store-House of Wonder and Astonishment speaks of age-old histories through the tender wisdom of the Earth’s animals and philosophers. The varying perspectives of each poem and section solidify an underlying truth: while the vessel for each “voice” might be different, the message remains universal. Rind is gentle, taking her reader through her thought process. With each poem, Rin

San Francisco Book Review • 16th December 2021

Virga

Virga, much like its namesake, evokes gentle gasps and realizations. Transforming Wordsworth’s “poetry is the reflection of spontaneous emotion recollected in tranquility,” Shin Yu Pai creates contemplation from strife.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

CTRL by SZA: A Love Letter to Ourselves and Each Other

The best albums are the ones that grow on you, the ones that sink their grip inconspicuously until you notice you can play the entire album without skipping a single song, until you notice that you've been listening to the same album multiple times in a row in the same day. I knew nothing of SZA prior to my sister belting how you want me when you got a girl, and I knew less about CTRL itself.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Mexicamericana by Eloisa Amezcua: An Honest Reflection of the Hyphenated Identity

Children of immigrants, especially among people of color, live a dual identity. The severity of this 'split' is dependent on the individual's immediate environment. When there is a lack of acceptance and encouragement of cultural exploration, this dual identity can cause stress and confusion. Eloisa Amezcua shares the journey of her duality and reconciliation of her ‘self’ with her chapbook published by Porkbelly Press.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Proper Dose by The Story So Far: Growth and Maturity in its Finest Form

Pop punk has been (and continues to be) supplemental to the emotional coping mechanisms of the youth. From blink-182 to Green Day, these lyrics of rebellion help ease the anger that comes with the rampant hormonal shifts of adolescence.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

On Redefining Home

Straightforwardly, home is defined as ‘the place where one lives.’ A more detailed definition is, ‘a place where one lives permanently, as a member of a family or household.’ More often than not, home is very inextricably tied to family in Filipino American families, which can comprise of clusters of strong-willed folks rooted in an obligation of togetherness. ‘Home’ being where one’s nanay and tatay or lola and lolo are, even long after you moved out of your childhood home.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Daydreams & iPod Nanos: An Ode to Adolescence

Adolescence is madness. Nothing further asserts this claim than the thrum of the seemingly never-ending jail-time routine: shuffling from period to period with brief breaks to gasp for air before sucking in, holding your breath, and ever diligently diving back in.

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Separating Shame from Sex

Sex is inescapable in modern society. The internet is inundated with articles on how sex influences media, or vice versa, and how it permeates into young, adolescent, and adult minds. Sex, in of itself, is used as a marker of “lost innocence,” and even to indicate one’s becoming an adult. But why do we scrutinize sex with such fervor? More importantly, why are the repercussions of sex so heavily weighted on feminine-aligning folks?

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Intersectionality and Activism

Intersectionality, though an imperative part of activism and civic work, is sometimes a difficult concept for activists to reconcile, especially white activists because it necessitates the acknowledgment of privilege. As defined by Oxford Languages, intersectionality is the “interconnected nature of social categorizations, such as race, class, and gender.”

Mid-Heaven Magazine • 10th December 2020

Miles Davis And The Jazz Giants: Cultivating Black Artistry

When my partner learned I was a jazz pianist, he introduced me to Bill Evans with Portrait in Jazz. In the pre-COVID era, I would browse the local Half Price Bookstore for John Coltrane vinyls and CDs. When Governor Gavin Newsom announced the shelter-in-place order back in March, I rushed back to Half Price Bookstore to make my last in-person purchases. I texted my partner to ask which new jazz CDs I should look for, and one of the names in his response was Miles Davis.

The Rational • 10th December 2020

How Manga Became a Medium for Everyone

As for consumers, manga readers can be found all over the world. Christine Ro attributes manga’s “crossing borders in so many forms” to its “cultural malleability.” Ro even believes that manga will only continue its internationalization, “as an art form that’s both intensely Japanese and infinitely adaptable around the world.”

Headcanon Magazine • 7th October 2020

Run with the Wind: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Kaze Ga Tsuyoku Fuiete Iru, or Run with the Wind, is a sports anime developed by Production IG for the Fall 2018 season. There is a level of standards for sports anime: it has to breed excitement, suspense, and the sweet, sweet taste of victory. Heartfelt moments are shared after dreaded hardship and rivalry.

Headcanon Magazine • 22nd September 2020

“Room Camp” is the Short to Watch

The short anime, “Room Camp”, or Heya Camp, originally began as a manga titled Laid-Back Camp. However, this anime is anything but ‘laid-back’. Though this is a short series, with each episode averaging about three minutes, it is packed with ridiculous and often times confusing moments.

CBR • 14th May 2020

Doflamingo: Why One Piece's Flamboyant Character Is Anime's Fiercest Foe

Thanks in large part to its Devil Fruits, One Piece has featured some of the fiercest and most powerful villains in all of anime. However, there's one among them that might just stand head and shoulders above the rest: Donquixote Doflamingo.

CBR • 19th April 2020

Devil Fruit: The Strange Source of One Piece's Superpowers, Explained

Superpowers can be something you're born with or something you're accidentally afflicted with. Rarely do they come from something you can eat, but this is exactly how the characters of One Piece are able to empower themselves with weird and wonderful abilities. In the long-running manga/anime series, Devil Fruits are the strange source of many a hero and villain's power, including the franchise's straw-hatted protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy.

ayaskala • 30th March 2020

What Stops Fil-Ams From Seeking Help?

According to WHO, mental illness affects one in four individuals. More specifically how does this affect Asian Americans (and not Asian-Americans. In respect to Asian Americans and Filipino Americans, we will not be using a hyphen. In respect to non-binary Filipinos, we will be using the ‘Filipinx’ iteration.)

CBR • 11th February 2020

Is A Destructive God Sits Next to Me Queerbaiting Us?

A Destructive God Sits Next to Me is one of the new anime additions to the current Winter season. At face value, it is a high school comedy about a second-year student called Koyuki Seri attempting to have a "normal" high school experience, namely by avoiding the eccentric Hanadori Kabuto. But could it also be about a blossoming romance between Koyuki and Hanadori? So far throughout the series, there have been small instances and gestures that hint of an attraction between Koyuki and Hanadori.

CBR • 4th February 2020

Beastars: Anime’s Murder Mystery Answer to Zootopia Is Coming to Netflix

Though previously believed to premiere October 2019, Netflix announced the definitive release date for audiences worldwide for the anime, Beastars, on March 13, 2020, with a second season already in the works. Beastars began as a manga by Paru Itagaki, which was first released with Weekly Shonen Champion magazine. Paru comes from a family of manga and anime fame, as the daughter of Keisuke Itagaki, the author of Baki.

CBR • 22nd January 2020

ID: Invaded Catches a New Killer and Tests the Id Wells' Limits

In ID: Invaded’s third episode, we see a little more about the inner workings of the id wells -- the surreal, digital worlds that help homicide cases to be solved. However, these details only lead to more questions on the technology's limitations in the anime.

CBR • 10th January 2020

ID: Invaded's Two-Part Premiere Brings More Questions Than Answers

The first episode of the sci-fi crime thriller, ID: Invaded ended with the audience's stand-in, Hondomachi, disappearing in the real world and then reappearing in the id well after the infiltration of suspected serial killer, Tamotsu Fukuda's (better known as the Perforator) home.