Geeking out about higher ed since 2013.
Hard to believe July is already over! Here is the month's movie reviews from Netflix for you to enjoy in one bite sized cinematic morsel.
We had a nice slate of movies this past month. Hope you enjoy them all! Keep coming back every Monday for another movie review for you to stream instantly.
Here is what I was geeking about during the magnificent month of July!
Keep up with all of my geek outs every Friday! There will always be something new to discover, fun to follow, and you'll know what's going on with my life all in one spot.
Hello and welcome to another Movie Review Monday!
This week, I'm reviewing 2013's The Spectacular Now, which is actually available to stream on Amazon Prime Instant Video (not Netflix). In an effort to include more awesome movies for you to stream at home, I'm including now some movies I've found on Amazon. You can get Prime for $99/year (which also includes free two-day shipping on products sold and shipped by Amazon, music streaming, and other benefits). That equates to $8.25/month, which is pretty comparable to Hulu Plus and Netflix, but I digress.
The Spectacular Now stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley (the latter most recently of Divergent fame). The plot is a basic coming of age tale for Miles Teller's character Sutter. Both Sutter and Woodley's character Aimee are graduated seniors trying to figure out their respective lives. Sutter is the popular kid who is lamenting the prospect of the future while Aimee is the simple "girl next door" that Sutter takes a liking to. There is a subplot of Sutter exploring his relationship with his deadbeat father that eventually intersects with Sutter's relationship with Aimee in a dramatic fashion.
I found this to be a fresh, modern take on a pretty routine story of growing up after high school. Both Teller and Woodley are great in the movie, and I look forward to seeing more great movies from them in the future, with Woodley probably taking on more Divergent films and Teller starring in movies like the new Fantastic Four reboot.
This is a good movie if you're looking for a realistic love story intertwined with a classic coming of age tale.
Check it out streaming now on Amazon Prime Instant Video! Hope you enjoy it!
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Hey there!
Welcome to another week in my life of perpetual geek outs. Check out what I've been into lately:
I'm surprised I haven't highlighted Songza here before, but I wanted to give it a shoutout since I have been jamming to various playlists a lot lately due to my new job. I enjoy some soft, easy listening music on in background while I plug into a project. For those who are unaware, Songza is a free music streaming service whose cool, unique feature is having a "concierge" service that serves up music contoured to your current context. Having a lazy Sunday morning? Songza gives you a few different choice playlists for that particular occasion. It is so spot on and awesome that I have been utilizing Songza pretty exclusively as of late. I also discover some great stuff through them too. Definitely give it a try whenever you need something to listen to next.
I just got turned onto this podcast by a friend of mine and I've listened to a few choice episodes from their library so far. I love their casual, fun feel (which is what I always enjoy in podcasts) as well as their classic informative, engaging, NPR sort of vibe. They have a solid slate of episodes so far that should connect with anyone's specific geekdoms, be it space, technology, science, or film. I particularly enjoyed their episode with Richard Linklater about his recent movie, "Boyhood". I'm always about sharing great podcasts with the world so here is one more for you all!
The other day, I had two very diverse things I wanted to get; a new business card holder for my desk and an anniversary gift for my partner. I was able to get these two things in original, awesome forms that I know I couldn't have found anywhere else. I don't explore Etsy nearly enough for stuff and this experience furthered my commitment to change that. Etsy is great since it is a storefront for anyone to post up a shop with their handcrafted goods to sell online. There is everything from jewelry to clothing, trinkets to art. I highly recommend it, especially for the next time you are having difficulty find a gift for someone. You'll find something really cool on Etsy, I guarantee it!
Thanks for stopping by!
I recently took this quiz at the behest of my partner. It seeks to show you, based on a series of questions, how you prefer to receive love. This can be used for romantic and platonic relationships alike and I have heard about it from both friends and work colleagues so I felt it was about time to check it out.
Similar to a previous post of mine on leadership inventories like MBTI and StrengthsQuest, I found relevant connections to student affairs and leadership with this survey. Figuring out one's "love language" allows for an unique insight into how we prefer to receive praise, how we make connections with other people, and how we would prefer to achieve that precarious work/life balance, harmony, etc.
There are five love languages that you get varying point scores for (much like True Colors). The languages are physical touch, acts of service, quality time, receiving gifts, and words of affirmation. After taking the survey, I found my top languages to be quality time and words of affirmation. I found this to be highly accurate for myself. I really appreciate, in all my relationships, the opportunity to spend time with the people who are important to me even if that is just hanging out. I also very much appreciate when people tell me how they feel and even more so how I make them feel. I never really ask for the words of affirmation from people but I enjoy it when I get them.
Taking this survey allowed for me to objectively see what I need to feel loved, appreciated, and valued, at work and in life. Just like the other leadership inventories, it allows for a common language of leadership that can create better teams that are heard, understood, and given what they need to succeed.
Check the quick Love Languages survey here and make sure to have coworkers and partners take it too. It's really helpful!
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Last week I shared my love of the Scott Pilgrim movie, this week I want to give a shoutout to to the great books that inspired that great movie.
The story, split into six books, covers Scott's trials with Ramona's seven evil exes and his journey toward finally growing up and accepting the failures of his life. The book is drawn in a great "manga" sort of style and the dialogue is great. It is very referential to all the sorts of things I know and love and it has that sort of geeky augmented reality that those of us that play video games for far too long can easily relate to.
The Scott Pilgrim movie, when compared to the books is a sort of loosely adapted cliff notes version of the books, glossing over some of the nuances and tightening the story for what makes for an awesome film that has a great pace and still captures the spirit of the books. I enjoy both in their own ways, and was inspired to read the books after watching the movie. It gave a more fleshed out world to dive into and allowed for all the characters to be featured more and the whole experience was fun, readable, and engaging read.
I have this awesome box set that I got as a gift a few years ago that comes with a cool poster too (pictured above). For anyone who loved the movie or just loves great comics, check out these great books, which are now also being re-released in full color!
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Hey there and welcome to another edition of my continuing series of reviewing movies available to stream (for now) on Netflix. This week I had the pleasure of watching 1996's Fargo, starring Frances McDormand, William H. Macy, and Steve Buscemi.
I have heard a lot about this movie over the years and it is a modern classic to be sure, being inducted into the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress the first year it was eligible. I think this was mostly for the fact that it is sort of pure Americana, and essentially American. The premise that is the hook of this movie is how a grisly murder takes place in a small town out in Minnesota/South Dakota. The folksy characters and context of these small town American environment is what gives the movie its unique flavor. If you were to take that away, it would be a pretty dull, average movie.
Each of the characters in this movie are great in their own way. Macy is a schmuck ne'er'do'well who is in over his head trying to make ends meet, and Buscemi as the criminal Macy hires to try to get some quick cash, but in turn accidentally murders a police officer and two witnesses to the aforementioned killing. McDormand is great as her classic detective investigating the slayings, and seems to be the only decent main character in the whole film.
This film is a dark comedic crime film, a unique blend to be sure, especially due to its setting. I enjoyed it now even almost twenty years after its original release, it's just that good. I can't pinpoint a favorite part about it but just the original, quirky, unique flair to it had me hooked. I definitely recommend it as a great film, and an American cinema classic.
Check out Fargo, streaming now on Netflix and let me know what you think!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hello fellow geeks and nerds!
Happy San Diego Comic-Con! Here is what I'm geeking out about lately:
I have shared my love of this movie before but I am getting more and more excited for it. I've heard a lot of good, positive buzz ahead of the release and all the footage from the movie looks great. It's an ambitious move for Marvel but I think it's going to pay off, and open up the entire intergalactic aspect of the Marvel Universe. Now all we have to do is get that Doctor Strange movie rolling, with its magical elements and we'll have most of the rich Marvel Comics tapestry covered in the Cinematic Universe. Click above for an awesome recent trailer for GotG. Be on the lookout for my thoughts on the movie in the near future!
I've been living in Maine, and more specifically Bangor, for almost a month now and it has been fun to explore a new place. I liken the area to when I lived in Delaware for most of my life, so it feels familiar and new at the same time. I look forward to continuing to explore, network, and settle in here. I feel like I can get used to this place since I'd like to stay for at least two years. Stay tuned for more tales of my adventures in Maine!
This weekend is the geek mecca of San Diego Comic-Con. There has been some neat nuggets from the convention already but the meat of the awesome news is yet to come. I always enjoy what comes out of this amazing event, and having checked out New York Comic-Con last year before I moved, I feel like I know first-hand the magic of these conventions. I look forward to going to more Comic-Cons in the future!
Thanks for stopping by and keep on geeking on!
I just wrote a post for The Student Affairs Collective about my first few weeks at my new job. Check it out for some formal thoughts and learning that has gone on since I got here.
I went out with a group of my coworkers who I knew to varying extents in my as of that moment, short stint working with them at my new job. Our plans for the night had hit a wall so we all decided to just hang out at a local draft house to chat and relax after a long week. When there was a natural lull in the conversation, I noted how I love great questions and have collected a list over time. This peaked my colleagues' interest and I started rattling off some of the questions to the group. After a few questions (and maybe a few drinks) we were sharing stories and experiences from our lives and bonding over the deep dialogue we were having.
I learned some profound things from evening that I feel like can be helpful to others, especially my colleagues out in the wide world of student affairs. I learned the importance of people feeling safe, the value in self-disclosure, and the power of great questions.
Throughout the course of the evening, I made sure to really listen to the people in my group. They were sharing very personal anecdotes at times so I wanted to really hear them and appreciate their bravery being vulnerable with the group. We all got meta at times where we felt like I was being a group therapist but many of the skills I learned in my counseling courses during graduate school are just great tips for life when listening to people and encourage genuine emotional connections. No one would have been into my gauntlet of questions for us all to get know each other better if they hadn't felt safe in the group. Everyone bought in and helped create a safe environment, even in a public place like a bar, which was an important foundation to build off of for the entirety of the discussion.
Being an unofficial leader of the discussion as the keeper of the questions, I had an important role in the discourse. While people felt safe through my active listening and appreciation of their vulnerability, taking it all one step further was my own self-disclosure. I didn't fancy myself better than anyone else there and would often give my own answers first, if not second. I have a strong feeling the steam of the conversation would run out pretty quick if I was never sharing anything about myself
Lastly, the engine of this fascinating chat I had was my questions. I felt out the vibes of the group and kept my questions to more positive ones that asked about interesting concepts like what would be your desired superpower, your personal motto, the best vacation you ever had, and what profession you'd like to attempt other than your own. People shared as much or as little as they wanted and weren't made to share anything too vitriolic. The questions were some of my own creation, submissions from others, and some from the famous list used on Inside the Actor's Studio. Great questions get people thinking and sharing beyond topics relegated for "small talk". My all-time favorite question was the inspiration for one of my favorite blog posts, and simply asks "what do you geek out about?". I've gotten a wide array of answers to this question and it never fails to get a great conversation going since people are talking about what they love.
I always like to gleam grandiose life lessons from even the most mundane things. This night is a simple example of how personal conversations can create deep connections and allow for great positive change. People learned new things about people they thought they knew and appreciated each other not only for sharing, but for the new things they learned about one another. I hope for more fun nights like this in the future and I hope you can have some of your own too.
If you have any awesome questions you'd like to submit, leave a comment or tweet at me.