Featured Writing Blog

Gun$linger performing live at Bombs Away Cafe while Jaapur keeps the beats flowing from the dj booth.                      Photos Courtesy of Aaron Ojeda   Jasper Eckert preps his DJ equipment on stage. His partner, Zack Stevens, is connecting the sound equipment and making sure the sounds are loud and vivid. Eckert begins to play some beats off speakers that make the whole room shake. The bumpy noise is introduced to Stevens’ voice as he begins to rap. They are practicing for their performance at Bomb's Away Cafe. These aspiring musicians combine to make the duo ZAP. Stevens, known as Gun$linger, is the rapper/producer, and Eckert, known as Jaapur, is the engineer/DJ of the group. How did you get involved with music? Gun$linger: Through probably lyrical writing first, I was inspired by music from a very young age. Inspired by rock, blues and most of the music that my parents were listening to. I also got involved with rap because my brother was heavily into that

Jordan Peele’s new film “US” balances horror, thrills, comedy, and layers of meaning within that takes you on a ride you won’t expect. Since Peele put himself on the director map with his last film “Get Out,” expectations were high for “US.”. Although “US,” doesn’t come with the layered meaning of racism within society, it plays with psychology and other similar aspects within society. The movie’s opening credits start with a white rabbit caged in a lab. As the camera zooms away we see a whole room of caged rabbits. Rabbits are known to be symbols of prey or fertility, setting the tone for the movie right off the bat. Photo Courtesy to Wikimedia Commons In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes : Peele was asked about the rabbits: “Rabbits, you can tell in their eyes, they have the brain of like a sociopath. If you put a rabbit brain in a human body, you have Michael Myers, the killer. They have no empathy,” Peele said. Maybe Peele is just afraid of rabbits. Once the bunny