Berkeley is known for its diverse food options and, as a college town, cheap and affordable meals.
A notable mealtime hotspot, Top Dog is the ideal place for anyone looking for a quick and easy bite. It serves various hot dogs, almost all of which cost only three dollars each. Options vary from the typical frankfurter, “Top Dog,” to other sausage variations like the Italian Calabrese and the Bockwurst, down to a veggie dog appropriately named “the Wienie.” Each hot dog is served on a hot, grill toasted bun, and the establishment provides customers with choice condiments of ketchup, mustard, deli mustard, onions, sauerkraut, and relish. Drinks, a variety of off-mainstream sodas, start at one dollar.
One of the servers there was a tad brusque, but I suppose it was due to the long line forming up at that time. Service was fast and efficient, and I had my hot dog, a Bratwurst, in under five minutes. As usual, my hot dog was hot and delicious, with an added crunch from the toasted bun. It was not enough to fill me up, but at three dollars, it was well worth its price.
Top Dog is one of the best kept secrets of Berkeley — cheap and delicious food, located in several spots dotted in Berkeley. The one I visited was a bit off the main roads of Berkeley, but was approximately a two block walk from Sathers Gate in UC Berkeley at 2534 Durant Avenue.  Go try it the next time you find yourself in Berkeley!

People are familiar with Aloe Vera as a remedy for healing rashes and cuts, but not many know the health benefits of drinking Aloe Vera. Aloe is a spiky plant that has leaves filled with water. The water inside the leaves is held in by a layer
of jelly. Aloe juice, without sweeteners added, has a bitter taste.

Aloe Vera Drinks are cool and refreshing, and taste like
natural plants with a hint of sweetness. They usually come in a green,
square-like bottles. Aloe Vera Juice, in a glass, appears clear and contains
small jellies of Aloe. In addition to having a great taste, Aloe Vera can help
keep your body healthy.

Vitamins and Minerals: Aloe Vera Juice contains many essential
daily vitamins in your body, such as Vitamins A and B. It also contains
Potassium, Copper, and Calcium.

Digestion: Aloe Vera juice naturally cleanses the digestive system of junk food such as potato chips, sodas, and other unhealthy foods.

Reduce Inflammation: Aloe Vera juice can also reduce aches
and pains caused by swollen joints.

Healthy Skin: Drinking Aloe Vera will help your skin absorb
nutrients that help fight aging.

Dental health: Another benefit from drinking Aloe Vera is dental
health. Aloe prevents the gums from bleeding and keeps teeth clean because of
its anti-bacterial properties.

Aloe Vera can also be found in many other forms besides
drinks such as toothpastes, lotions that nourish your skin and ointments that
heal scrapes and burns.

Nowadays, who does not love retro music and clothes to spice up their life?  Hipsters literally roam the streets of San Francisco with their Ray Bans capturing the newest hotspots on their vintage film cameras, ages before any of us mainstream users get to it. It is not to say we hate hipsters, neither is the hipster clique synonymous with post-modern times of the 1940’s and 50’s, and nor are we hipsters ourselves.Nonetheless, we are in love with the indie band She and Him’s new Christmas album, A Very She and Him Christmas.

For the mainstream listener out there, She and Him might be more recognizable by mentioning its lead singer: Zooey Deschanel. Deschanel, more notably famous for being the shower singer from Elf, Summer from the indie movie 500 Days of Summer, or Jess from the latest hit show, New Girl. It may all sound a little too indie – by “indie” we mean independent, not Indian – but trust us, A Very She and Him Christmas is the holiday album to buy this year.

Back to our ramble about hipsters and the retro era, She and Him’s latest album brings us right to that feel. It sings of a Merry Christmas not in its conventional, modern sense, but of a Christmas in the way perhaps our grandparents might have felt it in their prime ages, albiet with a much fresher take in a much higher digital quality. The nostalgic feel of their voices is like a revamped contemporary Bing Crosby and Doris Day on their traditional Christmas tunes. While most of the songs retained She and Him’s cheery tones, they lacked the voice of the “Him” counterpart, M. Ward, who, although is the guitar player and production manager of the group, has a wonderfully deep voice that compliments Deschanel’s nicely.
While their version of “Baby it’s Cold Outside,” in which She is convincing Him to stay instead of visa versa made the song completely “adorkable,” not all of the tweaks they made on classic holiday songs came out to be successful. At least for us, some of the songs seem to drag on after Deschanel’s lethargic, yet beautiful voice seem more like a set of lullaby’s than up beat Christmas tunes. And despite what some hipsters might argue, indie music does not have to be slow, and making it faster will not make it automatically mainstream.
The opinions on the album are divided, as some listeners believe the opposite and think that She and Him have completely captured the spirit of a relaxing Christmas morning. Deschanel’s voice on “The Christmas Song” sounds nothing like the crackle of chestnuts roasting, and instead is like a smooth roaring fire and a great addition to the many leisurely songs on the album.
In total, if the need for a nostalgic retro Christmas is needed, buy the album; the CD would sound great with a steaming cup of cocoa and a warm loved one by your side. But, if the rush of buying last minute gifts is on your mind, this is probably not the CD you want playing in your car on the way to the busy parking lot. But, then again, buying gifts at malls is so mainstream.

This article was co-written with Harrison Kwan.

Looking at modern cinema, you might think that the Western is dead, but the Coen brothers beg to differ. Much like most other contemporary additions to that once-revered, now mostly forgotten genre, True Grit is a remake that gives its subject a new spin, without the polish and shine of Westerns of old.
Hailee Steinfeld stars as Mattie Ross, the movie’s fourteen year-old protagonist on a quest for revenge. Her father has been shot and she is desperate to bring his murderer to justice, enlisting allies along the way. It sounds cliché, and Mattie herself could easily have been one of the fainting, flaccid damsels in distress that usually populated Westerns, but Steinfeld plays her as steely, determined and, despite the many people along her journey who suggest otherwise, entirely serious. Matt Damon accompanies her as LaBoeuf, a Texas Ranger who provides much of the humor in the film, being more of a dandy than the worldly warrior he purports himself to be. And while Steinfeld may be the protagonist, Jeff Bridges is the real heart of the movie. He plays the roll of U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn beautifully, and makes filling the boots of John Wayne look easy. Josh Brolin doesn’t get as much screen time as you might expect for an actor of his caliber, but those handful of scenes he is in, he steals.

After more than a dozen movies, we know the Coen brothers, and we know what to expect. We know to look forward to breathtaking shots – this time of the beautiful, stark trees and terrain of Choctaw country – and the blackest of humor (Matt Damon nearly gets his tongue ripped out and it’s hilarious). And since these are the Coen brothers, they naturally find time to fit in a couple of bloody, brutal on-screen deaths. Not at all for the feint of heart or weak of stomach.
True Grit is one of the year’s best. With its sterling direction, casting and writing, it is certainly going to be a formidable contender come award-time. Definitely worth checking out for any fan of the Coen brothers, Westerns, or all-around excellent movies.