Category: the audacity of potential
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L7’s Last Hurrah at Saint Andrews: Mortality, Punk, and the 90s
Thirty-two years after Lollapalooza ’94, L7’s farewell tour brought them to a newly renovated Saint Andrews Hall. Reflecting on a night of raw punk energy, the evolution of downtown Detroit, and why 90s music is slowly moving up the radio dial.
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I Am the Highway: The Song That Saved My Life
A personal reflection on Audioslave’s “I Am the Highway”—a song that didn’t just alter my musical taste, but saved my life during a dark season of change, loss, and self-preservation.
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Beyond the fifth wall 
What happens when your private online world collides with your real life? When Sierra accidentally discovered my podcast and blog through the TikTok algorithm, I braced for an earthquake. Instead, I got complete support—and a whole new perspective on opening up, setting boundaries, and writing with a fine-tooth comb.
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I Gots to Know
Three years ago today, I ran the numbers on love and decided the math of heartbreak wasn’t worth the risk. Looking back on that 2023 post now—and seeing where lowering my guard for Sierra brought me—is a lesson in what happens when you’re willing to take one more chance.
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Artificial Intelligence vs. Actual Intelligence
As AI advances, will we lose our ability to think for ourselves? A look at the future of tech, ethics, and preserving actual human intelligence.
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Why The Handmaid’s Tale Terrifies Me More Than 1984
Exploring the ultimate dystopian book worlds we’d never want to live in, focusing on why The Handmaid’s Tale feels chillingly closer to reality than Orwell’s 1984.
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The Most Mismarketed Movie of the ’90s: Pleasantville
Discover why 1998’s Pleasantville is one of the most mismarketed and underrated movies of the ’90s. Beyond its high-concept premise lies a powerful story of conformity, social change, 90s authenticity, and a gateway to Dave Brubeck’s legendary jazz classic “Take Five.”
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Episode 3.9 No More Glaciers in LIVE!
Season 3, Episode 9 of Rebuilding Rob: The Podcast is live! In “No More Glaciers,” we’re talking about shedding an old era, buying an SUV solo, committing to graduate school, and breaking the fifth wall with a special MCU-inspired post-credits stinger.
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The Fifth Wall
When you build a life in public, you draw clear boundaries between the stage and the street. But what happens when real life crashes through the backdrop? In this entry, I reflect on 1,100 days of blogging, an unexpected collision, and the night the “Fifth Wall” finally shattered.
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The victory lap
After a total-loss car accident and weeks of stress, getting back on the road in a new car was just the beginning. From standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the “No Kings” rally in Livonia to an unforgettable night seeing Mike D live at the Masonic Temple in Detroit, this weekend was a…