​Recreational fishing, also known as game or sport fishing, refers to fishing for leisure, competition, or exercise. Licensing recreational fishing promotes sustainability and conservation efforts. Fishing licenses control who can fish, where and how, and the type of fish and how many fish individuals may catch.

Local, state, and national authorities issue fishing licenses, which fall into two broad categories: saltwater and freshwater. They require the former for fishing inland in lakes, ponds, rivers, while the latter regulates fishing in open waters, such as the ocean.

Given the diverse range of fish species in marine bodies, saltwater fishing has stricter regulations. Consequently, some states may require saltwater license holders to report their catch to fishery management. Since marine water bodies cross state lines, federal and state bodies regulate licensing. Some states offer all-in-one licenses, combining freshwater and saltwater licensure.

The most common type of fishing license is the annual fishing license, which allows you to fish for a year. The day license is a short-term license that allows you to fish in the issuing state for a day, a weekend, or a week, depending on the state. The day license is ideal for anglers (people who fish with a rod and line) from out of state. A lifetime or multi-year license is the most expensive, requiring no renewal.

Licenses are only valid for fishing in the issuing state. You may also require a species permit to catch certain species, such as trout, in which case you must get an extra trout stamp. In Arkansas, you can fish, even trout, without a license on Go Fishing Days (June 6-8, 2025).

Some states allow children under 15 or 16 years old to fish without a fishing license in the company of a parent or guardian. However, there may be restrictions on the type of gear they can use or the fish they can catch. Some also exempt veterans, military service members, and older persons (over 65) from getting a fishing license. Also, you don’t need a license to fish in a private pond.

To get a fishing license, you must provide certain documentation, depending on the license type you’re applying for. You must produce proof of residency (e.g., voter registration or utility bill) to get a residency permit. You may also require additional documentation for special species permits and catch-and-release fishing. A catch-and-release fishing license may be mandatory in areas with vulnerable fish populations.

Failure to adhere to the specific laws and regulations outlined in your fishing license or fishing without one may land you in trouble. Consequences of fishing without a license include fines (up to $12,000), jail time, confiscation of fishing gear, and revocation of privileges.

Much work and resources go into keeping water bodies habitable for fish. What’s more, restocking is necessary to maintain the optimal fish population. Fish research also requires funds. Besides preventing overfishing, licensing is a significant source of funds.

A fishing license is not a pass to catch fish anyhow. For example, the Arkansas Game and Fishing Commission prohibits "netting" in recreational fishing. Also, you may not sell fish caught recreationally, as that amounts to commercial fishing, which requires a commercial fishing license.

Recreational fishing also reflects on enjoying the environment sustainably by not catching more than you need, not polluting water bodies, or minimizing harm to the fish and their environment by using appropriate gear. Responsible fishing is key, even with a fishing license. It enhances the fishing experiences while ensuring recreational fishing remains viable for future generations.

​History holds great mysteries and lessons awaiting discovery. Reading history allows people to rediscover the past, understand it, and connect current and past events.

Reading history encourages and satisfies curiosity. It tells the reader what happened and how it happened. For example, reading about prehistoric times may reveal how they shaped cultures, behaviors, and identities, which deepens the reader’s connection with the past.

History books inform facts through archives. They can also entertain. Powerful first-person accounts can offer a thrilling experience, immersing the reader in a narrative. Historical fiction books, for example, blend facts with compelling fictional narratives, events, and characters to both entertain and inform.

Many events humans experience have occurred before, perhaps in a different version, to someone else. Historical accounts provide context. They shed light on why things turn out the way they do, why the nations, societies, and cultures are the way they are, and why humans behave the way they do. Reading about the Great Depression and its impact on Americans helps them understand the development of Social Security.

History teaches how to cope with change. Many of the events people read about in history books may have seemed new to those who experienced them, but they somehow adjusted and survived, even thrived, in spite of or because of them. Studying the rise and fall of Rome or Imperial Japan offers immense lessons on the rise and fall of civilizations, allowing present-day societies to make better choices.

Reading history helps build a sense of identity and develop a sense of belonging. Historical accounts of watershed events like the Invasion of Normandy in 1944 can bring together different nationalities. National history has a similar effect. Reading about how the likes of Abraham Lincoln changed the fortunes of America helps bring a sense of nationalism.

An individual's background, upbringing, or exposure may limit their perspective on a historic event. Reading history broadens that perspective. For example, reading about the Civil War offers the reader a glimpse into the range of human conditions. That can give individuals a sense of what they're capable of.

The perspective of history also helps individuals better understand others. Most people claim national, cultural, or ideological superiority. Reading about the history of other, least understood people and cultures may help counter such feelings, cultivating empathy and respect.

Few historical accounts occur in isolation. For example, there are several accounts on the emergence of religion. The various accounts emerged from the realization that historical accounts are subject to author biases and prejudices. Moreover, historical narratives naturally compel thoughtful readers to seek evidence for claims and arguments. This breeds critical readers—people who do not accept ideas or claims at face value or because a historical text says so.

In addition, reading history makes individuals more knowledgeable about topics that interest them. For example, there's a historical account of the evolution of computers, automobiles, medicine, or law. History books offer an opportunity to go beyond what mainstream sources say about a particular topic.

A history book isn't just a window into the past. It’s also a rear-view mirror, helping the reader uncover lessons and, hopefully, make better decisions. They caution and inspire. Reading history is the closest humans can come to predicting the future. Critical history readers are like detectives, piecing together historical narratives, accounts, and events to uncover patterns and understand their implications for the future.

​Chess can be enjoyed alone or in a club setting. Solo play relies on personal drive to improve, while clubs provide structured play, live competition, and more interactive learning. Club membership participation contributes to many benefits.

For beginners, clubs offer a better learning environment due to member support. Experienced players share knowledge on opening tactics, developing strategies, and end-game plans, allowing novices to ask questions and seek clarification. Members also help newcomers learn how to use a chess clock, record moves correctly, and follow standard rules and etiquette. Accepting and embracing beginners into clubs contributes to the growth of the chess community.

Chess clubs are social communities where players connect with others who enjoy the game. These clubs welcome players of all kinds, creating an inclusive atmosphere where friendship, learning, and personal growth thrive. Within clubs, players exchange ideas and experiences and engage in friendly competition. Smaller clubs promote stronger bonds and personalized guidance from coaches and other members, encouraging learning and skill improvement.

Club training often surpasses self-study and book learning. Competing against diverse opponents, including top players, enhances pattern recognition and exposes players to a wide range of openings and strategies. Observing top players' tactics, victories, and mistakes further aids learning. Additionally, club environments develop mental resilience essential for competitive chess, helping players maintain focus and manage game pressure.

Tournaments, including rated and casual events, that chess clubs offer test players' abilities in different formats. These events - in-person and online - cover various time formats like blitz (under 10 minutes per player) and rapid (up to one hour per game). Members receive priority notification of upcoming events for better preparation. Many clubs also participate in leagues governed by bodies like the United States Chess Federation. These events offer opportunities for rating advancement, titles, and prize money.

Membership also grants access to varied chess equipment and resources, including diverse chess sets in different themes and styles not easily available to individuals. For example, clubs may offer medieval, anime, or movie-themed sets, as well as professional-grade tournament sets, like those with algebraic notation and materials used in official play. Some maintain small libraries of chess magazines and educational materials for game improvement and learning about famous games and grandmasters.

Club members may also benefit from leadership, coaching, and community engagement opportunities. Members can take on management roles, organize tournaments, or plan events. Those skilled in writing can create content for club blogs and social media, while others can volunteer to teach chess to kids or use chess for charity events.

Despite membership advantages, potential members should consider certain factors. Membership may demand significant time commitments, annual fees, or participation in club operations. Prospective members should assess their schedule and finances before joining. Finding the right club or class can also be challenging, and starting might seem daunting to some, requiring patience and persistence.

To join a club, searching online can help locate local or virtual options. Contact the organizers or leaders for details and requirements, and consider visiting as a guest to experience the club's environment and activities firsthand. Upon finding potential clubs, choose one that best matches your interests and needs and fulfill the membership steps. Maximize club experience by participating in activities, attending meetings, and building connections with other members.

The video game industry is one of the most profitable entertainment sectors in the world. In 2024, the global video game industry approached $455 billion, with the rapidly expanding mobile gaming market contributing nearly $99 billion. By comparison, the global movie box office in 2024 was $32.3 billion, down 3 percent from the year prior. There are many reasons for the popularity of the video game industry, including the diversity of games available.

Experienced and first-time gamers can refine their search for an enjoyable video game by determining which genres they do and do not enjoy. Gamers have access to games in countless genres, some more niche than others. The sports game genre is one of the easiest to explain - sports game franchises such as Madden NFL, FIFA, and NBA 2K provide gamers with opportunities to play as their favorite athletes of the present and past or create their own players. These games typically try to create a simulation-type experience that imitates real-life athletics, while games such as NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, and the Mario series of sports games take a more arcade or fantastic approach to different sports.

Many of the most successful video games of all time, especially in recent years, fall under the genre of open world, though there are many unique sub-genres. An open world game is exactly what it sounds like - rather than being placed within the strict confines of Pac-Man's maze or Bowser's castle, players are dropped in a large open environment that encourages exploration. While certain areas of the game may be blocked off early on, there is no strict level progression and players can often take on story missions and side quests in any order they choose.

As mentioned, open world games come in many shapes and sizes. Rockstar Games is known as a developer of the most technologically ambitious and profitable open world experiences in gaming history. Its Grand Theft Auto series takes place in different approximations of famous American cities, while Red Dead Redemptions games are set in a fully realized rendition of the Wild West. Games like Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Death Stranding take place in completely invented or far-future worlds that feature magic and imaginary technology.

Despite being extremely different than open world games, first- and third-person shooter games are very popular. In shooters, players use fantastic or realistic weaponry to take out enemies in enclosed environments. These games may feature single-player modes, but are better known as multi-player experiences. First-person shooters such as Call of Duty place players in the shoes of their characters, while third-person games provide an over-the-shoulder view of the player's character.

These are only a few examples of genres popular with modern gamers. More niche genres are named after innovative games, such as Souls-like games inspired by FromSoftware's Demon Souls or roguelikes, which imitate a repetitive gameplay loop inspired by the 1980 game Rogue. Additional genres include Metroidvanias, action and adventure games, platformers, JRPGs, and fighting games, among others.

Finally, certain terms may be used in place of genre classifications to give some idea of the experience players can anticipate. For instance, an "indie game" is not a specific game but rather a video game developed by an independent studio. While indie developers can make games in any genre, budgets and resources place certain limitations on the scope of the games they can make, rendering genres such as open world difficult to achieve. AA games are made by medium-sized studios, while AAA games are developed by the largest, most recognizable studios in the industry.

​Fishing is a popular activity in Arkansas. Arkansas is the second most productive aquaculture state in the nation, according to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, and leads the nation in the production of bait fish. Anglers in the Bear State can fish for a variety of aquatic species. The major groups include the alligator gar, catfish, panfish, striped bass, and walleye.

As the name suggests, alligator gar rank among the largest and most formidable fish Arkansas anglers can target. Often referred to as "primitive" and "living fossils," alligator gar can grow up to six feet in length, though some estimates are closer to 10 feet. With alligator gar weighing as much as 350 pounds, they rank among the largest freshwater fish in all of North America. Although there are no reported instances of alligator gar attacking humans, anglers must be wary of the animal's long sharp teeth while handling the fish.

In Arkansas, fishing for alligator gar is prohibited from noon on May 1 until noon on July 1. Anglers and bowfishers can only catch one alligator gar per day and the fish must measure at least 36 inches. Furthermore, anglers must possess an Alligator Gar Tag.

Catfish represent some of the most common fish in the region and can be found in nearly all of the state's waters, including rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Nearly one-fifth of all sport fishing activities in Arkansas target catfish. Annual harvest limits are managed by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) Catfish Management Team. AGFC is also tasked with maintaining a healthy stock of catfish, with fisheries producing as many as 1.3 million catfish every year. About 400,000 of these fish meet the state's requirements for legal catches.

Arkansas is home to several panfish species, mainly the crappie and the bream. They are much smaller than alligator gar and catfish, one of many reasons they make ideal targets for young and inexperienced anglers. Bream are especially popular with game fishers: they are easy to find, inexpensive to pursue, and make for a delicious meal. Even better, bream are an active, feisty species, forcing younger anglers to develop various basic skills before taking on more challenging species. AGFC recommends live bait for bream, including crickets and small garden worms.

Striped bass are a highly protected and regulated species in Arkansas. Outside of a single striped bass population on the Arkansas River, the fish does not reproduce naturally within the state. Striped bass typically make an annual migration from the sea to inland estuaries, where they lay eggs that later hatch and make their way back to the ocean. AGFC hatcheries strive to replicate this migration through a complex process that involves harvesting migrating striped bass, removing eggs and milt, and manually fry hatching the eggs. This process results in roughly 500,000 striped bass fingerlings entering the Arkansas fishing stock each year. They are most common in the regions of Beaver, Hamilton, Norfork, and Ouachita.

Finally, walleye are part of the true perch family. They are regarded as one of the most delicious fish species in Arkansas. They are relatively common in Arkansas but are more concentrated in certain parts of the state, including Lake Catherine and Greers Ferry. Like striped bass, the majority of the state's walleye population is produced in hatcheries that mimic natural spawning conditions.

​One of the seminal events toward a unified system of US governance involved the founding fathers drawing up and ratifying the Articles of Confederation. On June 11, 1776, the Lee Resolution forwarded a framework toward American colonies’ independence. The Second Continental Congress created an appointed body responsible for deciding the exact form of a confederation of the colonies. Each colony had one participating representative, and Delaware delegate John Dickinson was principle author.

This attempt was not the first. Benjamin Franklin had created the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” the previous year, and this competed with the Albany Plan and a plan crafted by the New York provincial Congress. A major obstacle of all of these pre-Declaration of Independence plans was that the colonies didn’t want to lose jurisdictional power.

However, the calculus changed when the colonies declared war against Great Britain on July 4th, 1776. They saw it as imperative to officially join common interests and create a centralized government, which would take the place of the temporary Continental Congress.

The Dickinson Draft of the Articles of Confederation forwarded “the United States of America” as a name for this proposed confederation. As with previous plans, serious disagreements arose around issues such as state representation within the larger body, and whether voting should be state by state or proportional. This extended discussions surrounding the confederation well into 1777 without ratification.

Britain's march into Philadelphia on September 26, 1777, where the Second Continental Congress had been based, provided impetus for speedy ratification of the Articles of Confederation. Delegates agreed to state by state voting, as well as state tax burdens that were proportional and had land values as a basis. Left unresolved were competing claims to territories to the west. Congress delivered these Articles to states in November. Ratification would create a "league of friendship" among the 13 states, which maintained full independence and sovereignty.

Safeguarding their individual power, whatever their size, the proposed plan allotted each state a single vote in Congress, with representation not tied to territory size or population. In addition, the Articles, written on six sheets of stitched-together parchment, held that states retained all powers that were not “expressly delegated to the United States” within.

This focus on state sovereignty reflected the framers’ experience over the past decade of British intruding significantly on their political and civil rights. Government was placed subordinate to states’ rights.

Even with these compromises and concessions, significant differences on western land claims, voting, and representation remained. Maryland was the last state to ratify the Articles of Confederation, fulfilling a mandate that the document be unanimously agreed upon. The Articles of Confederation only took effect on March 1, 1781.

Comprised of a preamble and 13 articles, the Articles of Confederation functioned in many ways as a treaty of alliance, though it described this alliance as a “perpetual union.” The loose compact, which provided for self governance, did establish significant common freedoms and rights across states. For example, Article IV held that all US citizens enjoyed the same privileges and immunities, including freedom of movement.’’ Article IV made courts and magistrate decisions in one state applicable to all others, while Article V enshrined the one vote per state rule in Congress. A supremacy clause in Article XIII placed each state under obligation to adhere to the Articles of Confederation, setting the groundwork for the United States Constitution.

​The cradle of the Renaissance, Florence comes with a rich mix of centuries-spanning art, history, and culture. This city draws you into an experience whereby the past coexists peacefully with the present, whether in terms of the grandeur of its churches or the whispering of old cobblestones. Florence shows its appeal in a complex mosaic of art, history, and gastronomic customs rather than only grandeur.

The Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore, was constructed by Filippo Brunelleschi and dominates the city skyline. This architectural jewel above the metropolis showcases human creativity. Climbing the dome offers panoramic views of Florence and the Tuscan countryside, connecting the city to its history.

You may find yourself pulled to the Piazza della Signoria, an open plaza that acts as a living image of Florence's rich past as you negotiate her streets. Apart from the massive Palazzo Vecchio, the piazza features statues depicting stories of gods, heroes, and legendary animals. Every monument, from Cellini's Perseus to Michelangelo's David copy, captures Florence's artistic intensity. Such places act as reminders of the city's function as a Renaissance creative furnace. 

Florence's creations go beyond buildings and sculptures. The excellent collection housed in the Uffizi Gallery documents the change in art over many centuries. Works by painters like Botticelli and da Vinci provide a window into the intellectual and aesthetic currents guiding European history. With each chamber reflecting the creative attitude of its age, the gallery is a trip through time.

Standing since the 14th century, the Ponte Vecchio is among the most recognizable landmarks in the city. More than simply a crossing over the Arno, this ancient stone bridge packed with stores offering gold and silver jewelry represents Florence's fortitude and flexibility. The bridge's history of surviving floods and battles contrasts with its busy modern environment, where traders carry on the millennia-old trade legacy.

Florence's natural charm lies in its ability to blend grandeur with subtlety. While it is known for its artistic treasures and historical landmarks, the city's allure extends to the experiences that take you beyond its celebrated attractions. Strolling along quiet streets, indulging in local flavors, or encountering lesser-known works of art contributes to a fuller understanding of what makes Florence timeless.

Florence's appeal also comes from its less busy areas, away from the well-traveled roads of historical sites. The Oltrarno neighborhood across the Arno River offers a glimpse into daily Florentine life, where artisans craft leather goods and restore paintings with the same dedication shown centuries ago. Narrow streets lead to hidden courtyards, inviting cafes, and small shops filled with handcrafted treasures, presenting Florence more intimately.

No Florence study is complete without sampling its cuisine. As the gourmet capital, the city's cuisine reflects its multiculturalism. Florence's cuisine reflects its roots and customs, from ribollita, a hearty Tuscan vegetable soup, to bistecca alla Fiorentina. Entry to a local trattoria generally brings more than a supper; it also reveals the area's rich agricultural background.

Beyond the obvious, Florence mesmerizes with its ambiance. The city's cadence invites guests to stay in its piazzas, taste a bottle of Chianti, or enjoy the view of a street musician playing beneath the moonlight - a slower pace. Florence keeps a feeling of closeness even at her busiest times, where times of introspection seem both feasible and supported.