2020 started with the impeachment of Donald Trump, the first attempted presidential ousting since Clinton twenty-two years prior. A volcano in the Philippines erupted, killing thirty-nine and leaving many without homes. LA Lakers player Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Maria-Onore died in a helicopter crash. A novel SARS virus

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been used to the idea that vaccines simply are part of life. The youthful fear I may have indulged in as a toddler notwithstanding, I’m pretty sure that before I was ten I found that their practical application made sense. Moreover, on more than one occasion throughout my life, my mother related her experience of catching scarlet fever as a very young girl in the 1940s, back when such a thing was commonplace. In fact, her older sister, who was infected at the same time she was, nearly died of the disease.

As 2024 winds down, we’re reflecting on another incredible year of sharing the stories, art, culture, and nightlife that make the Bay Area so unique. BrokeAssStuart.com wouldn’t be what it is without you—our community of readers, supporters, and believers in independent media. This year, instead of asking you to join Patreon

Written Anonymously: Trigger Warning The pandemic affected everyone. I couldn’t begin to describe the innumerable amount of ways that COVID-19 challenged our view of what is normal. What I can do is explain how it affected me and my normal. When the political upheaval surrounding the pandemic resulted in lockdown-based

I’m sure you’ve seen the weather lately. It’s been raining on and off since mid-November. Soaking rains washed over the Bay Area these past couple weekends, reminiscent of wet seasons past. Forecasters say another storm system should move in this Friday. It is hoped this seemingly plentiful rainfall will reduce

I remember January 1st, 2020. I was living in Vallejo. People were still blowing up leftover fireworks. I listened to the explosions and thought about how everything in life was reduced to repetition. Nothing ever seemed to change. I was bored but ultimately stagnant.  A few weeks later, I first

The Fourth of July supposedly symbolizes freedom. It means liberty, self-governance. Independence from tyranny. July 4th is supposed to be fun, because living in America was supposed to be fun. The ruling fathers wove opulence into the foundational documents of this nation. They killed and enslaved for extravagant wealth, for

It’s been 2 years of masks, distancing, stress, anxiety, and shifting the way we live our lives. Some of us still worry and have anxiety every moment of every day if simple everyday activities like going to the grocery store were safe or if you’d get Covid just by trying

Are you feeling shitty? Do you think COVID-19 is behind that shitty feeling, but need proof? Is the inflated price of COVID-19 testing kits bringing you down? Well Uncle Sam, yes, that vaguely racist looking geriatric who is very into flags is actually doing something helpful!  Every home in the