Words by Carmen Macri   Once a day at random, I receive the notification “Time to BeReal: 2 min left to capture a BeReal and see what your friends are up to.” No matter where I am or what I am doing, I have to take two photos simultaneously; one is a selfie and the other is whatever is in front of me. The only way to enter the app is to post photos and there’s only one post per day. There is no mindless scrolling on BeReal. Why? Because it’s boring as hell.    Swiping through my friends’ posts …

Words by Carmen Macri Spirits were high during the third quarter of the Bar Brawl at The Volstead downtown.  The bracket-style competition calls for the best bartenders in the city to show the people what they’re made of, only it comes with a twist. The bartenders are given a spirit and a list of secret ingredients… though, they aren’t allowed to choose freely. There is a Plinko-type board with unique ingredients at the bottom and the fate of the bartenders’ drinks being left to gravity. The broad spectrum of components ranges from fresh pineapple to carrot turmeric puree.  Two bartenders …

Words by Carmen Macri If I told you Jacksonville is home to some of the most notorious liars, would you believe me? Everybody lies. Whether it’s a little white lie or a tale of a rogue military mission gone wrong. (We will get there soon.) The only difference between the lies we hear in our everyday lives and the lies that are so big they are turned into documentaries is these people got caught, big time. (That and some of them were stealing millions of dollars from global franchises, but that’s beside the point.) In their “honor,” I am going …

Words by Carmen Macri No, they’re not experts on the creepy crawlers hiding inside your mattress. (Well, they might be, I don’t know.) They’re just four Florida boys trying to make it bug, I mean big. Jacksonville is known for birthing some of the biggest names in the music industry: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Limp Bizkit, The Allman Brothers Band, 38 Special, Derek Trucks, Yellowcard and Shine Down to name a few. Bed Bug Guru checks off all the boxes of rising stardom: grungy guitars, angsty lyrics, dark smoky venues and a die-hard following. Taking inspiration from DIIV, Modern Color and Spirit …

Words by Carmen Macri Is it an evil omen? Bad luck? Or is it just a fluffy feline on an adventure? Whether we intentionally follow them or not, superstitions are all around us. Do not walk under a ladder. If you spill salt, throw it over your left shoulder. Do not step on a crack in the sidewalk. <Never> open an umbrella inside. Avoid the infamous number 13. And bad luck follows when a black cat crosses your path. For centuries black cats have gotten a bad rap. In European folklore, black cats have been attached to witchcraft, Satan, bad …