From the moment I arrived I could tell the city had changed drastically since my last visit only a year prior. As the airport bus pulled into Kowloon I spotted the first of many riot control soldiers. While at a red light I witnessed a direct standoff between a protestor and an officer.

After checking into my hostel, I hit the streets to witness this historic fight for democracy first-hand.

As the hype of NFT crypto art has inevitably blown to out-of-this-world proportions, valid arguments have arisen from both sides. It is an unavoidable fact that every cryptocurrency transaction entails a considerable amount of electricity usage, and as a result, a large carbon footprint. On the flip side, thousands of artists and collectors have built an income stream during a time during which unemployment is scraping all-time-highs.

Unfortunately, the polarizing nature of the internet has encouraged the spread of ‘moral high ground’ arguments. People form their initial judgment based on one or two articles their friends posted on social media…

The Ethereal Network is a web of creativity hosted on the Muse platform, made possible by the Ethereum blockchain. Muse seeks to inspire the artist within everyone. Our multiversal gallery bridges the gap between known realities such as the physical world, digital realm, and ethereal plane. The Ethereal Place is where it all comes together. Ethereal Access Points in the real world provide keys which can be entered at the Ethereal Network Surfer. This is one of many ways Muse art can be enjoyed, and I will go into more detail below regarding Ethereal Access Points.

The network is built…

A sedentary lifestyle involves little to no physical activity, with most of one’s time spent socializing, consuming food and media, or browsing a smartphone. While it is important to rest on occasion, the negative risks of leading a sedentary lifestyle are worth considering. Studies have shown that obesity, type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer are all possible outcomes from living a sedentary life. In addition, the psychological impact increases the risk of developing a mental health disorder such as depression. …

As you may have read in the crypto news, developers of decentralized applications on the Ethereum blockchain have recently enabled the tokenization of digital art and other collectible virtual items. In the same way that cryptocurrencies have value despite no real, physical backing, digital art ‘Non-Fungible Tokens’ have already begun fetching enormous sums on the market. With this technology, artists can tokenize one-of-a-kind digital art pieces with verifiable authenticity and list them for sale. Unlike physical art collecting, artists can choose to receive a commission every time their art is sold amongst collectors. Digital creators of GIFs and other animated…

If these 'real moments of life' are purchased in the same way as material goods, then is that not also a way of filling the void? When Henry David Thoreau describes the meaning of life he would disagree that real life moments can be purchased. He would argue instead that walking down to the local pond is a real moment of life, at least more-so than a group tour planned by someone else. Bring yourself back to childhood, and recall how easy it was to be happy with a friend. When one's admiration of the world is akin to that of a child, it doesn't take money to have authentic experiences with others.

As university students undergo their third semester of the COVID-era, a lot has been learned about the virus. I am senior at Boston College, studying marketing and entrepreneurship. To be completely honest, senior year has been quite dreadful. We live on the sixth floor of a completely full dorm building, in a six-man room. Some classes are completely online, some are completely in person, and some are hybrid. Ten days ago, my direct roommate, the one who shares my bedroom, was called by the university’s contact tracing team. He was in contact the day prior with a friend of ours…

Millions of dollars worth of jet fuel is wasted each year carrying loose change in the pockets, bags, and wallets of airline passengers. This dense metallic weight adds up across the whole plane summing to a value that is certainly not negligible, especially over a full year with thousands of flights.

My proposal is simple: Install coin collection boxes in airports allowing passengers to trade their change for an equal amount in cryptocurrency, using their phone to make the transfer. Passengers are rewarded with slightly more crypto for the more change they provide, incentivizing them to remove as much of…