Dr. W. A. Frost's Ides of Revolution

  “Alright, my Musical Mentees, welcome back to my Channel! I am your friendly neighborhood musical critic, Kyle Donaghue, and today we’re going to be reviewing something a little bit out of our typical wheelhouse!” Kyle sat with feigned excitement in front of his webcam. Though on the outside he eagerly drew out his intro for the 250th episode of his “Musique Critique” web series, internally he was livid. The young YouTuber had dreamed of becoming the go-to modern music critic on the platform but after almost two years of barely breaking a thousand views, he recognized he needed to do some market research on what his 347 subscribers wanted to see. Thus, after asking his audience for requests, the music of some newer wannabe rockstar gained traction to be reviewed. To the music conservatory graduate, such low-brow “music” was beneath him; yet reality dictated that the business of content creation was based upon supply and demand. His audience demanded it, and if he wanted to gain a...

Stepping out of the Uber, you let the hot, humid air breeze across your face for the first time. Pulling out your french dictionary, you hoped that someone in Marseille would be able to speak your language, but you weren’t holding your breath. It was your first time outside of your home, outside of your little bubble of cultural comfort, and it was exciting. You had a few goals for this little excursion: one, embrace yourself in the gay culture. Two, find a summer boyfriend. Three, have your beach body ready. That third goal, however was a little delayed. But sitting there, letting the hot sun and the cool ocean air, the sounds of crashing waves, honking horns, music and chattering… You knew immediately you’d be in town for a while. The issue was finding a local guide to help him navigate this brave new culture. After all, you were far out of your element. Pulling out your phone, you start to google local hostels to crash at for the night until you catch someone peering at you from dow...