A reflection on Grand Theft Auto III, twenty years later
It’s a dreary night on the streets of Liberty City. Claude and Catalina are on the run from the cops after ransacking the money from the major Liberty City bank. With the heat dead in their tracks, Catalina betrays Claude, shooting him point-blank, and letting the authorities take him away.
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It bothers me
The last couple of months in California have been a nightmare because of the raging wildfires in the mountains, causing the smoke and ash from the sierras to pollute the air quality in the cities. I would walk out of my house to take out the trash and see the…
FIRST STEREO AND ALBUM CHALLENGE
What’s the name again?
My parents and I organized our belongings in our new home in southern California — a place I’ll spend most of my childhood in, and where I’ll have my first exposure to my parent’s music.
Before I was born, my folks would play music on a CD/Cassette player they no…
Bless you, Mister Tiny Tim
It isn’t surprising that many acts in the late ’60s had their 15-minutes of fame. Jerry Samuels (Napoleon XIV) astonished the masses with “They’re Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!” and a lanky whimsical character amassed crowds by playing his ukulele with a high-pitched voice.
This individual is Tiny Tim…
A guy and his pets
Storming into the house, I couldn’t wait to play with my pet fish. One was white with a red stripe, and the other a vivid coral. Two small fish called Santa Claus because of its alabaster and red scales, and the other I named Spider-Man. At six, my parents took…
RETROSPECTIVE SERIES
Crooning society’s underbelly
It’s hard to ignore the remarkable musicians of the mid to late 20th century.
We have Ray Charles: a blind man who wrecked the piano; and Bob Dylan, whose folk songs carried a generation. Dylan shook one individual from Southern California and became a musician because of him. …
Caught in the middle of an unknown mall event
On a night during the early ‘00s, I was a wee lad accompanying my parents to one place I’m surprised is still around: the mall. I was about five or six when this occurred. It was a time when I was an only child, and the siblings I yearn for…
A recording technique that sparked an uproar
In the ’80s, a technique known as backmasking swept through the United States.
Christians and worried parents believed it allowed rock bands to put demonic themes in their music, influencing teenagers to perform heinous acts and accept the devil. The subliminal messaging of backmasking led to a trial to discover…
An analysis of the Saints Row 2022 trailer and gameplay
A couple of days ago, I was scrolling through Amazon to see what games I can buy for my PlayStation 4, when I stumbled on a game with a light blue backdrop with a character sitting atop a sign or logo with bold letters reading: Saints Row. I couldn’t believe…
Putting them in the jacket of the one I love
It’s 2017, and my family and I settled in for the third time in my life in a rental home in an unfamiliar town. For the past two years, my folks and I have lived with my grandparents. Living there drove us mad, and we took the initiative in the…
Alexander Briseño
I’m a guy whose head is full of music info, pop culture, and book jargon unhelpful in getting a job, so I write about it. Website: https://ablatinwordy.wixsite.
