This Fourth of July I spent ten hours on Greyhound buses to and from my parents’ house. Needless to say, I had a lot of time for pondering the nature of the summer’s biggest holiday - a lot more time than I usually spend thinking about it. As I waited in line for the buses, which each showed up an hour or more late, I spent some time thinking about America and patriotism. More »

I remember having short hair. It was curly, a little crazy looking at times, but always cute. Well, at least that’s what I thought. No one was trying to holla at me though, and I swear I overheard a group of construction workers talking about my unruly tresses in Spanish. Little did they know, I understood every word. I was extremely self-conscious about it, especially on windy days when rebel curls located at different regions on my head changed shape and position more often than I was comfortable with. More »

My favorite food in the world is my mom’s home-cooked meat loaf. The thought of indulging in it instantly engages my salivary glands. Think of your favorite food, and imagine if the law prevented you from eating it. I’ll do you one better. What if you had to work with your favorite food on a daily basis, interact with it, sleep next to it, play with it, but you were never allowed to eat it? This is the cruel joke God played on Jeffery Dahmer. More »

The old maxim “Leave it to the experts” is familiar because it’s usually good advice. We wouldn’t let anyone but highly trained doctors perform surgery on us. But sometimes even the most elite of experts must be called into question when they get carried away. Let’s say, a group of world-class physicists wanted to use a machine that would unlock the secrets of the universe, but it was also capable of destroying the planet. Some might think it’s time to take those experts down a few notches, right? More »

From the abundance of hate group websites to “hater-themed” rap videos, the Internet makes it easy to examine hate. Click the links below to watch our video collage on hate.

Bow Wow • Haters: The Series • Maino-Hi Hater • Ku Klux Klan • Kat Williams • Freaky Zeeky-Hater What You Lookin’ At

Everyone I know hates. And I know most are thinking, “Nope. Not me. I’m not a hater.” Precisely. Just because you hate doesn’t necessarily mean you are a “hater.” What separates a “hater” from someone who is “hating?” Ownership. More »

  Though it seems most Hip-Hop promotes ‘watered down’ anthems, we must remember Hip-Hop originated as social commentary.  While CNN spotlights the likes of Rev. Al and Armstrong Williams, TROUBL spotlights modern day sociologists, Hip-Hop artists, in particular.  Hip-Hop artists provide the social commentary that is on point and accessible to us.  Weezy spits his social examination on The Carter III. More »

True corner store connoisseurs know where Lemonheads stand in the Hoodsnacks™ hall of fame. On my all-time list they rank somewhere between “Now Laters” and licorice. Developed in 1962 from the same formula that brought us Red Hots, Lemonheads have become one of the most successful candies of its time. Ferrara Pan, the company the produces Lemonheads, says it makes approximately 500 million per year. More »

After an exasperating run, I returned to my apartment to find an awkward black baby bird flailing at my entrance way. I live in a basement apartment and my doorway is below street level. This misplaced youngling endured a brutal fall and was yelping vigorously at my feet. I scrambled to recover this little bird and was reluctant to leave it alone in fear that it would be dinner for one of the feral cats in my neighborhood. More »

Loyalty is more than a laudable character trait. It’s in our blood. Humans, as well as other mammals, nurture their young until they are able to exist on their own. This form of loyalty is essential to our survival. We effortlessly learn by watching and then by doing, how to secure food, our responsibility to our families and the details of inter-species behavior. The transfer of this knowledge is what has allowed our species to exist through time. More »