Music to My Ears
Released on January 26, 2004, this power ballad is Hoobastank's most commercially successful single, peaking at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart. [It was also dedicated to Austin during her first breakup in 8th grade]
What is the song "The Reason"?
This historic battle was the first major military campaign of the American Revolutionary War and is remembered by poet Ralph Waldo Emerson as the "shot heard round the world." The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay [where Austin lived]
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
This type of scientist is technically a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes.
Who is a Volcanologist?
In the development of this mid-laner (okay sometimes jungler) Riot wanted to make his ultimate be able to properly rewind enemies along with him, but no matter what they tried, it was considered too busted and confusing.
Who is Ekko?
Ark: Survival Evolved is a 2015 action-adventure survival video game featuring dinosaurs, prehistoric creatures and hazardous environments and was developed on this open-source game engine.
What is Unreal Engine 4?
Honored as the "Queen of Soul," Rolling Stone magazine has twice crowned this artist as the greatest singer of all time. [Austin's mother instilled in her a love of Blues, Jazz and Soul music starting with this woman]
Who is Aretha Franklin?
Widely considered problematic now, this project has been part of California's 4th-grade curriculum since the 1960s. It was intended to highlight the Spanish influence on California's culture, language, and architecture. Students construct their dioramas of these landmarks, sharing the project's name, using materials like cereal boxes, sugar cubes, and prefab kits.
California Mission Project
This scientist wears many hats! Or should I say flippers? They must understand all versions all scopes of life pertaining to the ocean from diverse ecosystems, habitats, to conservation, and species (macro and micro).
Who is a Marine Biologist
The Collector's physical edition of this game comes with a physical deed to the farm you build in-game.
What is Stardew Valley?
History lovers unite! Or Not.
Sid Meier's Civilization series are a group of turn-based strategy video games, first released in 1991. They most-comically feature a genocidal version of this Indian 'peaceful resistance' leader.
Who is Mahatma Gandhi?
Austin once got in trouble at daycare for singing "Bodies," the debut single by this American rock band. [Her Dad played metal music in the car ride to daycare every morning so it was stuck in her head]
Who is Drowning Pool?
Much of California's Native History is only just now being recognized and taught in schools. This tribe's Native land encompasses much of the East Bay area into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Hint: The Star Wars films feature a fictional species of forest-dwelling creatures known as Ewoks, who are ostensibly named after this tribe.
The Miwok Tribe
This subset of biologists is a field shared by Austin and her Dad. It involves the study of a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body.
Who is a Cancer Biologist?
This American game series is beloved by Austin, her Dad, and the filmmaker Quintin Tarantino. It is the first game to have the CD key copy protection system for online play and the first game built by the creators Valve Corporation. The game is built on the Quake (1996) engine and supports Direct3D hardware acceleration and skeletal animations.
What is the "Half-Life" Series?
Austin's Dad would often play video games as a 'bedtime' story for Austin and her brother. But... this often required some censorship. The "BFG" (AKA Big FIERY gun) weapon first appeared in the beta release of this game.
What is Doom 1993?
This artist's debut studio album, My 21st Century Blues (2023) was released independently to critical and commercial success, and won Album of the Year at the 2024 BRIT Awards. Among five other awards for which she was a recipient, she broke the record for most wins and nominations for an artist at the ceremony in a single year. You might know her for her tracks "Escapism", "Prada" and "Genesis".
Who is RAYE?
Elizabeth Cady Stanton organized the Seneca Falls Convention, creating this civil rights movement in 1848.
Women's Sufferage Movement
Austin got her start in collegiate research studying this field within biogeography that examines the factors that affect the species richness and diversification of isolated natural communities. The theory was originally developed to explain the pattern of the species–area relationship occurring in oceanic islands.
A 16-year-old Andrew Cauwels pre-ordered this revolutionary procedurally generated open universe game. Though he would be legally an adult by the time the game was deemed 'playable' by the fanbase.
What is 'No-Man's Sky"? AKA "One Man's Lie" by fanbase
The concept artist, Adam Adamowicz, and senior designer Emil Pagliarulo, built the language in this hit game. It features 34 unique runic characters for which was used for the game's theme song.
What is "Skyrim"?
This famous composer is best known for his video game score from the early 2010s, featuring live and synthetic instruments to blend plainchant, Nordic folk music, and classical tradition. His entire discography has been the background music for Austin's focus times (particularly when writing), and he was her Spotify-wrapped top artist three years in a row.
Who is Jeremy Soule?
This unethical study was conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the United States Public Health Service (PHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on a group of nearly 400 African American men with syphilis. The men were not informed of the nature of the experiment, and more than 100 died as a result.
Tuskegee Experiment
This scientist studies a branch of biology that seeks to understand the basis of biological activity inside and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions.
Who is a Molecular Biologist?
This iconic gem is displayed above a character's head and the symbol associated with The Sims franchise.
What is a Plumbob?
This company designs, develops and publishes adventure-mystery games, most of which are based on the Nancy Drew franchise.
Who is HeR Interactive?