Patrick Anderson Jr.'s Blog, page 7

Bigotry is America’s (Not So) New Guiding Principle

[FYI: There’s mad links in this one, check them out as you please] Back in 2016, the Secretary of the Navy at the time, Ray Mabus, decided to name a few Navy ships after some prominent civil rights leaders. Nice, right? I thought so too. One of these ships was named after Harvey Milk, a […]

The Real Reason Video Games Are So Damn Fun (That Nobody Talks About)

My earliest memories of video games don’t really match up with the facts. Like, I think I remember my parents bringing home an Atari? It was there, sitting in some old boxes with all its cables until we eventually didn’t have it anymore. I don’t remember it getting there, or leaving. The first thing I […]

Back to the Future and Biff Tannen’s Cartoonishly Dystopian Reality

At like four or five when I first saw it, Back to the Future wasn’t just a movie. It was a piece of goddamn art. My gateway into the realm of speculative science fiction, more than Star Wars even. So today, in honor of the superiority of Back to the Future, I’ma be real—I loved […]

Andor and Rogue One Are the Best Star Wars Has Been Since the Original Trilogy

It’s right there in the title: Andor and Rogue One are the best thing to happen to the Star Wars franchise since Return of the Jedi. Some of y’all might roll your eyes like “yeah, obviously,” and I would bet that response is because you too know the bar for live action features from Star […]

ICE and Abductions Masked as Law Enforcement

Once upon a time—back not too long ago when it was a little easier to pretend this is the land of the free—law enforcement officers typically wore uniforms or, at the least, flashed badges during arrests. They also (at least ostensibly) operated under the constraints of the Constitution. Wild ass concept, huh? Today though, factions […]

The Black Grove: How Miami’s Oldest Neighborhood Was Purposely Held Back

Turn off US-1 down Grand Avenue and you’ll get to Plaza Street where a row of apartments stand dead center in Coconut Grove. There’s a ton of history there, but I’m talking about a different story than you might read in a brochure some dude outside a smoothie café handed you. Coconut Grove is one […]

The Weight of a Piece of Paper with the Word Immigrant Up Top

My cousin left for what was supposed to be a quick trip to Jamaica in 2000 or maybe 2001, don’t remember the exact year. What I do remember is by that point he and his mom had moved from Miami to Atlanta where he’d finished high school. Four months older than me and a grade […]

Trump’s 2026 Budget Proposal Will Decimate the U.S. Science Community

From a personal interest standpoint I’m totally on board with AI and quantum research development but Trump’s budget proposal prioritizes that over all other scientific fields which is going to be a disaster for the United States in the near and far future. 56% reduction for National Science Foundation (NSF), 40% for National Institutes of […]

Free Choice (Fiction)

The night before a zombie apocalypse wipes out 99% of life on the planet, Clint walks in his crib and an empty plastic bottle bounces off his chest, landing on the door mat at his feet. Clint looks up at Becca and she’s in the hallway like “WHATTHEFUCKISTHISBULLSHITCLINTYOUMOTHERFUCKINGASSHOLEWHOTHEFUCKIS—” Clint closes the door and picks up […]

Time for Compassion

I’m turning 41 in three weeks which is mind blowing on its own but it’s also got me thinking about why I truly am happier to be here now, at this age, than I ever was in my teens or twenties (not including my thirties, those were kinda awesome actually). And I’m happier now because […]