The #relatable factor

By Apple Parry The mass production of relatable content is discouraging genuine opinion. A few years back, the term “relatable” became a popular saying. People involved in social media started to become more and more “relatable.” But like all things that start out good, the mass locals with follower mentality…

Unwrapping the gift of Christmas cinema

By Apple Parry This holiday season is upon us, folks. So grab your cocoa, sit back, and get critical. I picked five different movies that don’t have anything in common except for the time of year they were set in, and I rated them. ‘Elf’ Will Ferrell gave his most…

L’Editor: Give me education or give me debt!

By Ken Johnson Community college helps to bridge the chasm between the American dream and the American reality. The United States, more than most other countries, prescribes a narrative over the lives of its citizens: grade school, university, career, retirement, and then an uncomfortable death at an unfamiliar hospital, doped…

L’Editor: Matthew Whitaker: tall tales of toilets and time travel

By Ken Johnson Matthew Whitaker is the acting U.S. attorney general. He is a criminal, equal parts boner-pill hawker and H. H. Holmes. His antics are entertaining and stupid, but fundamentally Midwest horrible, like Chick-fil-A pumping legions of children to obesity. He is the personification of the land of all-American…

“The Kissing Booth”: Creepy and condescending

By Apple Parry “The Kissing Booth” is truly the worst movie I’ve ever seen. Without analyzing the entire script, the side plot inconsistencies, or the incredibly overdone romantic plot, let’s talk about how sexist the film is. The opening scene shows Elle’s childhood and longtime friendship with Lee Flynn. It…

L’Editor: Climate Change: Endgame

By Ken Johnson I want to point out something that might not be obvious: Climate change is going to screw up the world — irreparably. There are three, not four, horsemen of the apocalypse: climate change, immigration, and nationalism. These harbingers of the end times are compounding each other, building…

L’Editor: The U.S. Supreme Court is jammed with villains

By Ken Johnson The Supreme Court is supposed to be the Super Friends: wise, fair, and moral. That’s the impression my American Government class left with me. The executive branch might be brutal. The legislative branch might be corrupt. But not the judicial branch, not the Supreme Court, they weather…

Libraries: hallmarks of freedom, democracy

Guest column by Trish Navarre In March when I headed to Beijing for another teaching stint on behalf of Whatcom Community College, my wallet held an international VISA card from WECU, a recent “upgrade” from my conventional card.  Little did I realize that this card would prove almost useless, while…

Bellingham gets an arcade upgrade

By Ken Johnson Over the past year, three gaming lounges have sprung up around downtown Bellingham, which is a little weird, because “gaming lounges” didn’t seem to exist five years ago. College towns are magnets for odd business ideas. Some of these ideas, like Hops N Headz, a taproom with…

Throwaway to gourmet; dealing with America’s food waste

By: Kai Vieira da Rosa Americans love food. Food culture has become integrated into the American psyche. Aside from eating food, we write about it, we travel for it, and we accessorize our love for it on our clothes and hats. Now it seems eating has changed from a primal…