The First Echo

When a new Taylor Swift single drops, the world pretty much stops (whether you love it or hate it). And it's a rare for a pop star nowadays to possess such power. I'll give Tay-Tay that. So, upon giving her new single, "Look What You Made Me Do," several listens (you know, to be fair ), I had several knee-jerk reactions. But first, I feel I like need to provide some context with my assessment: I am not a diehard. With 1989 , her epically successful previous album, I was actually a fan of tracks like "Style," "Out of the Woods," and "New Romantics," singles that, unfortunately, weren't as ubiquitous (read: overplayed) like the unrelenting "Shake It Off" and "Bad Blood." I appreciate some of her songwriting. She could deliver a good chorus. I could understand the passionate fandom. However, we're entering a new era: the snake-filled social media teasers and black-and-white key art covered in newspaper he

Back in the sixth grade, I was an enormous bookworm. This is not news for the few of you who witnessed my reading habits firsthand during my junior high years at Blessed Sacrament Elementary (and still do to this day). My voracious appetite for horror novels, as well as an occasional bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, was obvious. Being a rabid reader arguably correlated with my sterling spelling skills in school. There was no spelling test on which I scored below 100%, and if you need proof, I'm sure I have some old papers buried in boxes labeled "Hiko's Old Spelling Tests On Which He Never Scored Below 100%." Before I turned 12, Blessed Sacrament Elementary held a spelling bee for Grades 6 through 8. Each class conducted its own preliminary round, and from there, entered its top ten spellers into a schoolwide competition, which took place on the stage of our auditorium. Up until this moment, this was the most nervous I had ever been in my Catholic school educatio

This is the scariest piece of television I've seen in a while -- absolutely horrifying, disgusting, infuriating, and soul-crushing. That said, I usually try to use the right words during sensitive situations like these, but if it wasn't clear before, here it is: I hate our president . I hate that I have to even use that word because it breeds nothing good, but it is what I'm feeling right now. I hate that this cruelty has been exercised in his name. I hate that his reaction to this evil is a mediocre, cowardly, and selfish attempt at being neutral. I hate that, in less than a year, the escalation of evil in this country -- and in some parts of the world -- is undoubtedly a direct correlation to his rise in power. (It all trickles down from The Top.) I hate that my friends in other cities will have to brace themselves for similar acts of evil planned for this weekend. But I don't want this hate I'm feeling to inform what I do next. And at least I can

The music video for Jax Jones's "Instruction" (featuring Demi Lovato and Stefflon Don) dropped a week ago, and finally, I have some visual evidence to support my argument for the Summer Song of 2017. The 30-year-old English DJ enlisted the "Sorry Not Sorry" singer for this reggaeton-infused, cardio-friendly single, which is sadly only burning up the UK and being delayed to officially make a splash on our American summer charts. Get with it, people . @TheFirstEcho

Today in WTF is Going on in America? : This story right here. And here . And in response, @JuliusGoat had some words to say on Twitter this morning: “Imagine if these people ever faced actual oppression. Nobody is trying to legislate away their right to marry. Nobody is trying to make them buy insurance to pay for 'male health care.' Nobody enslaved their great-grandparents. Robbed their grandparents. Imprisoned their parents. Shot them when unarmed. There is no massive effort at the state and local level to disenfranchise them of the vote. There is no history of centuries of bad science devoted to 'proving' their intellectual inferiority. There is no travel ban on them because of their religion. There is no danger for them when they carry dangerous weaponry publicly. Their churches were never burned. Their lawns never decorated with burning crosses. Their ancestors never hung from trees. Their mothers aren't being torn away by ICE troopers and

Last month, I posted a letter I had written to the woman who purchased the apartment my Florida-bound parents have called home since I was 6 years old. (You can read it here .) Today, I was pleasantly surprised to find her response waiting in my inbox. And after reading it, I was even more pleased to hear that this stranger and I have a few things in common. Here's what she wrote... Subject: Greetings from Apartment 3D Dear Hiko,  Thank you so much for your congratulatory wishes! It took me over a year to find a home that I loved as much as Colonial House. The building, the neighborhood, and especially the apartment itself, has real charm! Thank you so much for the tips about the area. It's been fun exploring all the different restaurants and shops. If the weather is nice this weekend, I'm definitely going to take your advice and head to Glen Island Park. I really enjoyed reading your letter. I can certainly relate to your feelings because I am in a similar

Ever since news dropped that Fox is developing not one,  not two , but three (3!) theatrical films based on R.L. Stine's uber-popular YA horror book series from the 90s,  Fear Street , my mind has been a whirlwind of fanboy-fueled possibilities. To say I'm well-versed in this horror universe would be an understatement. The history and proof of my devotion can be found  HERE and HERE  --  in addition to the below photo of one of my bookcases at home and a framed, signed letter from R.L. Stine from 1992 . Therefore, I would like to offer some unsolicited advice and guidance for the producers and Hollywood puppet masters behind this ambitious adaptation. I hope I speak for millions of others who came of age while reading these books when I say: please don't fuck this up. There's still time to ensure that this impending franchise will live up to the enormous  fan ticipation surrounding it. Director Leigh Janiak is reportedly overseeing "a writers room of so