A&E

The 814: Visit Zodiac Dinor

By Victoria McGinty Managing editor

If you crave the traditional American diner experience, the Zodiac Dinor is Erie’s own American Dream.

Located at 2516 State Street, this place is a staple for breakfast or brunch in Erie.

Like any true diner, the Zodiac is home to an amazing staff.

They will give you tips on the best menu items and make sure your coffee is always hot.

When dining there to craft this article, the restaurant was packed, but the staff still made sure to give us a memorable dining experience.

Our server was very talkative and friendly, and she went above and beyond.

While the venue is on the smaller side and can easily become cramped due to its popularity, it is worth it for the menu and pricing.

The restaurant’s theme is iconic with a colorful exterior and a retro outer space theme to compliment the inside of the restaurant.

While most diners aim to capture the essence of 1950s American culture, the Zodiac does something different—and it works.

The result is a quirky, zany spot with incredible food and service.

As for the menu, the diner has an array of breakfast classics, lunches and a rotation of seasonal specials.

As someone who loves breakfast food, it was a very hard choice to pick just one thing off the menu.

Everything sounds absolutely delicious, so making a selection was nearly impossible.

While visiting the Zodiac, I chose the “Big Dipper.”

This is a breakfast menu item that includes two eggs of any style, bacon or sausage, and toast.

Priced at $4.99, this plate was bigger than one could have anticipated.

I dare you to find another diner in Erie offering better for less.

The serving sizes are enormous and almost impossible to finish.

The price is definitely worth the size and quantity, especially on a college student’s budget.

While one can find joy in the traditional breakfast choices, the Zodiac also offers a variety of Belgian waffles, French toast as well as Big A$$ pancakes.

Yes, that is actually what it is called on the menu, no joke.

While one can enjoy these griddle classics plain, the diner is always featuring these items with special toppings or inclusions.

As summer is quickly approaching, the diner is currently offering a special on strawberry Belgian waffles and apple pie French toast.

If sweet breakfasts are not your style, there are plenty of options to choose from.

Everything you try on the menu is sure to surprise and delight you.

If you are one who does not particularly like breakfast, the diner also has some classic lunch menu items as well.

One can choose from a variety of grilled favorites such as hot dogs and hamburgers, chicken sandwiches as well as a variety of salads.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is similar to any hometown restaurant.

It is very family-friendly and resembles what any small-town diner is good at, which is hospitality.

The staff is incredibly welcoming and attentive and the service, even on a busy Sunday morning, will go above and beyond to make your experience memorable.

While the restaurant may not be the most spacious in Erie, it is still incredibly special to the area.

Even better, it’s not too far from campus!

I would highly suggest you stop in at least once.

Currently, the diner is open from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm every day.

If you are looking for a new spot for a girls’ day brunch or somewhere local to try just because, then I suggest the Zodiac Dinor.

You’ll be back for more before you know it!

Hurst Hot Take: Freaks and Geeks

Contributed photo

The main cast of Freaks and Geeks.

By Hannah Brooks Features editor

When you think of your favorite television series, you most likely envision shows with wonderfully written character arcs, stories and other exciting components to them.

You most likely are not thinking of a show that did not even last one season and had a total of eighteen episodes before its demise.

However, a show that was arguably written before its time, “Freaks and Geeks” is the perfect comfort show to watch. The show premiered in 1999, but is set in 1980 in a small town in Michigan.

The show follows Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) and her younger brother Sam (John Francis Daley) through their interactions with friends, family and peers.

Lindsay is a mathlete who has started hanging out with the “burnouts,” aka “freaks,” at school.

Her brother and his friends belong to a group who has been given the title of “geeks.”

“Freaks and Geeks” focuses on a lot of the normal coming-ofage components that most shows touch on.

The Weir siblings are caught in teenage dilemmas of doing what is right versus wrong, standing up for their friends and choosing between friends and family.

Though the show was shortlived, in the first and only season of the show we got to see each sibling deal with relationships and the subsequent drama that comes with dating as a teenager.

The awkward interactions and cringey dialogue perfectly capture what it is like to be a teenager.

We are able to watch both characters grow and find themselves and what makes them truly happy over the series.

As mentioned, the show takes place in the 80’s but aired two decades later.

Funnily enough, it is interesting even now how similar situations are from both of those times to today.

For example, being that technology was not nearly where it is now in 1980, or in 1999, it is interesting to see a show without cell phones or any mention of them.

There are also many pop culture references made throughout the show that are so different from now.

References that would have been innovative or funny at the time remind you that the show was made before our time. It also provides insight into what it must have been like to be in high school in 1980 compared to being a high schooler during the 2000s.

Though the show only lasted a season, the project was actually the first for many stars who ended up breaking out and becoming very successful.

A number of the actors rose to unbelievable success, and you may recognize many of these names today.

Linda Cardellini is well known for many shows and movies such as “Scooby Doo” and more recently “Dead to Me.”

Jason Segel is known for “How I Met Your Mother” as well as many comedies.

James Franco is well-known for many movies including “Pineapple Express” and the original “Spider-Man” alongside Toby Maguire.

Seth Rogen is known today not only for his many movies including “Knocked Up,” but he is also become somewhat of a TikTok celebrity with his pottery hobby.

While many of these stars rose to fame shortly after the demise of the short-lived show, they were just starting out when the show first aired.

Judd Apatow, the director, has also risen to prominence in Hollywood and is known for a number of movies that he has created over the years.

His family is a powerhouse in Hollywood, including the likes of Leslie Mann and Maude Apatow.

Getting to see so many actors that are famous today as teens is really unique, and I think that is what makes the show special.

“Freaks and Geeks” is the perfect comfort show and is one that would not require much attention to detail being that the show does not provide much of a conclusion.

Though that may seem like a bit of a letdown, that is just another interesting part of the show.

You get to ultimately decide where the characters of the show may be today.

As of 2021, the show is available to stream on Hulu.

This summer, as you look for new shows to binge watch and get lost in, make sure to check out “Freaks and Geeks.”

Raw Edges showcases senior talents

MIAC’s promotion for Raw Edges XXIV.

Contributed photo

By Annie Markel Staff writer

Costuming, lighting, casting, choreography, beats, rhythm, movement and energy are only a couple of things on the senior dance majors’ minds for their Raw Edges pieces.

Raw Edges is the senior capstone of the Dance Department.

All the hard work the senior dancers put into their Mercyhurst career leads up to this.

They must research their idea for their piece, cast dancers and put their work into motion, all in the spring term of their final year here at Mercyhurst.

This is the 24th showcase of Raw Edges, and each one is better than the last.

Each piece is so unique and special that any could easily bring a tear the audience’s eyes and for all different reasons.

Dance majors are taught throughout their years at Mercyhurst how to be good choreographers and go through many assignments and lessons to get to this point.

This is now the time they really get to explore their own voice and soul through movement.

Not only must they do self-exploration, but then they must express their thoughts and feelings through their fellow dancers. The seniors must have faith in their cast to portray their vision.

These are 8–10-minute pieces, so the seniors have a lot of music to fill. These are the longest pieces they have been asked to create in the Dance curriculum.

Each student has their own story to tell. Some derive from scientific research, others from personal pain and a few are just about having fun.

All are special to the choreographer. They share their story and ideas with their dancers which can sometimes be very hard to do, especially if the dance is about personal struggles.

Many of the dances this year come from pain. Chronic pain, illness, injury and loneliness are big themes that were clear to everyone in the audience this weekend.

The pieces are incredibly moving, and one can feel the choreographer’s agony sitting in the red seats of the Performing Arts Center.

One piece that was particularly moving was by Emmaline Devore called “(ANTI)Social.” This piece was about social anxiety and what it is truly like to be confined to your own self-destructing bubble.

It was so incredible to see a disorder many people struggle with silently be put into motion on a big stage.

The costuming of this piece was impeccable. It was simple, with a black unitard and each dancer wore a different colored blazer; this showed in the individualism that is plaguing our world today and how that only makes social anxiety worse.

In the end, when we shed our different colors, we are all in the same boat.

Another piece that was beautifully personal was by Angela Lutz. Her piece was all about no pain/ no gain, called “Do I Quietly Walk on this Path of Suffering.”

The trauma that comes with injury is something that is so individual to each dancer.

Not only is an activity and schooling ripped from the dancer, but also their art form. Imagine your form of self-expression being taken from you in one pivotal moment that you can not take back.

The isolation of injury is something that needs to be talked about more in the dance world.

Proper physical healing is there, but the mental healing is silent and can go without notice.

Angela did a fantastic job of painting a chronology of the highs, the injury and the healing process.

The costuming and lighting were so well done as well. The dancers were fierce and emotional all while portraying a story so close to their choreographer.

However, other pieces are purely from curiosity and self-discovery. Many seniors do not want to take a personal route and that is perfectly fine. Some choose to explore a different side of dance they have not experienced in their time, or some choose to take a scientific route to forming the theme of their dance.

Some researched different therapies, how the brain works and many other topics that many do not think about when it comes to putting a contemporary dance piece together.

One dance that really stuck out was by Sydney Gondringer. Her piece was titled “Painting the Brain.” Sydney said she researched how color can remind people of memories, make emotions appear and affect our overall lifestyle.

Color theory is such an interesting topic to choose because it is all mental; no one can see it. However, using notes from research, making motions from this phenomenon is really quite incredible.

This would be like trying to put love into motion.

Gondringer did a fantastic job with her colors, lighting and choreography. Her music was a mix of disco-funk and contemporary which helped to bring out emotions of the audience as well.

As said, some dances are derived from learning a new type of dance in a self-taught way.

The beginning of the show started with a flamenco piece choreographed by Jenna Fritz. The piece, called “Crimson” was fierce and bold. The girls wore black and carried traditional fans.

Every movement was so sharp it could cut diamonds. The rich tones of the lighting and coloring were so seamlessly put together to create an experience as if one was truly watching a traditional Spanish women perform.

Jenna was heavily inspired by her love of women in espionage, which is her choice of genre. It was incredible the detail she put into her dance and seeing how powerful the women felt on stage. It really was like watching a spy work.

Ramani Rosa was very open about his self-exploration inspired piece. His dance was straight out of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The piece was called “Club Confiteor” which translates to “Club Confession.”

Ramani says this is a confession of his soul’s movements. He wanted to put all of himself into this piece with the costuming, lighting and movement.

It is a fun, poppy piece that makes the audience’s inner partier come out. However, the ending is quite tragic.

The dance ends with the dancers falling one by one until there is only one left. The piece is dedicated to the Pulse Night club shooting in Orlando, Florida, in 2016. Sadly, this was a mass shooting that ended with 49 people dead and 53 wounded.

Rosa dedicates the piece to the victims of this horrific act and anyone who has ever felt hatred or intolerance.

Another fantastic piece was the finale of the whole show. This was one for the books.

Maya Richards knows how to put on a show and she did just that. Maya is half Japanese, and her culture is extremely important to her.

Her family is a part of a Japanese drumming group out of Cleveland, Ohio, which is where much of her love for music derives from.

She decided that, for her senior thesis, she wanted her beautiful culture and family to be a part of her choreography.

The drummers are a part of the dance, and the dancers work seamlessly with them. This was such an incredible dance that everyone said that was their favorite of the show.

The musicians and dancers all looked so happy to bring Maya’s vision to life. Nothing is more important than sharing one’s culture with others.

The choreography, lighting, costuming and drumming were so powerful and strong that the audience members felt like warriors enveloped in the piece.

Of course, there are many other senior choreographers in the showcase as well.

Grace Sinke had two pieces in the program. One was her independent study about chronic pain and the spoon theory called “Beautiful Life.” This dance was agonizing and inspiring at the same time with dancers supporting each other through hardships.

Her other was a piece called “Pomp and Sunscreen” dedicated to her last few weeks at Mercyhurst and the emotions one goes through when preparing for graduation. It was fun and inspirational with a twist of speech, which is not common in this showcase.

Taylor Lowe was another choreographer who decided to pursue a more theoretical route in her capstone by researching why people are drawn to explore. Why are humans always curious?

Her piece, “Just Go,” was inspired by the wanderlust of humans and our instinct to seek out more, always more.

Libby Bullinger’s piece, called “Healing Bones, Fractured Minds,” was another about the effects of injury on a dancer’s life and mental health.

The dancers were quick to understand Libby’s desire for raw emotion. She had the biggest cast of 14 people, which is undeniably hard to work with. Libby certainly took a leap with her piece in casting that many people; however, it was successful in the end.

Some pieces were even on the creepier side. Payton Carroll took a different approach than her fellow students by creating a feeling of eeriness and desolation.

Her piece, “_topia,” was about the dystopian society that many authors love to imagine. Her movements were all sharp and the dancers hardly made an expression, which made the piece even more hair-raising.

Finally, MJ White choreographed a piece that was incredibly moving. Her dancers moved so fluidly and seamlessly.

Each time she watched her piece, “Compatior, Compati, Compassio”, MJ cried. It was so personal to her, and one could clearly see the emotion and time she put into her piece.

Her piece was about having compassion for others and never knowing what another human is going through. We have each other on this earth to help one another, but we still cannot seem to understand this.

The show was so incredible, and one could clearly see the intense emotion, hard work and challenges these choreographers and dancers went through to get to this point.

Congratulations to all the people who were part of making this show possible. Every single person was important, and the show wouldn’t run like a well-oiled machine if it was not for every single individual.

These seniors should be so proud of their work and will go on to do incredible things beyond graduation.