Movie Review Monday: Silver Linings Playbook

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie is the 2012 hit, Silver Linings Playbook, starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro.

I hadn't heard much about this movie before it came out but good word of mouth after its release got me in the theater to watch it, and I am a big fan of this movie. All the actors are great in it and it has a nice takeaway at the end; everyone is a little bit crazy.

Cooper stars as Pat, a former teacher who gets released from a mental hospital in the wake of his wife's adultery, which highlighted his bipolar disorder when Pat beat the man his wife, Nikki, was cheating on him with. Pat is nevertheless determined to win his wife back by bettering himself and proving he can be a better husband, ignoring the fact she wants nothing to do with him. Pat eventually meets Tiffany, played by Lawrence. She is a recent widow and dealing with the aftermath through a sex addiction.

Pay and Tiffany are able to connect through their shared grief and ability to help each other with their own personal goals; Pat hopes to communicate with his ex-wife through Tiffany and Tiffany needs a dance partner for an upcoming competition. They make a deal and end up spending time together rehearsing their routine, bickering throughout. The movie is funny in an odd, sort of dark way. Pat can be terribly obtuse at times but his aloofness can be humorous. Pat's parents, played by De Niro and Jackie Weaver, are eccentric in their own right, along with supporting character Danny, played by Chris Tucker. All the supporting characters help lighten the mood most of the time but there is also some dramatic moments as Pat works to get better through therapy and stumbles from time to time throughout the film.

Much like my previous review of Reign Over Me, this movie provides an interesting, engaging, and entertaining look into mental health, how we deal with it, and how we work to overcome our issues. As I mentioned before, my big takeaway from this movie is that everyone is a little bit crazy, and that's alright. It normalizes our quirks, and encourages us to allow ourselves to accept each other and love one another unconditionally.

I highly recommend this movie. It is well done, well acted, and has a great story.

You can stream it right now on Netflix!

Let me know what you think of this movie and if you have any recommendations for what I should watch next.

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 10/03/14

Welcome to another edition of my week in geek!

Hey everybody, here is what is going on in my world lately!

• The Color Run

My partner Jenn and I completed The Color Run here in Bangor, ME this past weekend, and it was a blast! The run is 5K that has a great energy and a overarching theme of positivity. There is color galore, awesome jams, and great people all around. I'm not a runner by any stretch of the imagination and the run has a great vibe that is about the fun of the event and not about the competition. There are no winners and you can run or walk. They do events all over the country and even are going international. I highly recommend checking it out and you can see a few pictures of the event on my Instagram!

• Drunk History

I was perusing Hulu the other day and stumbled upon Comedy Central's Drunk History, one of its many solid new programs like Broad City, @midnight, & Nathan for You. This show has a simple premise, they get a friend drunk and they make them describe a historical event, to obviously humorous results. The catch is that the drunken stories are reenacted exactly as they are told by famous actors. You have to see it to truly appreciate it but there is a solid slate of episodes available from the show's two seasons (it is also coming back for a third season next year). The show was also originally on Funny or Die, so there is a whole other swath of episodes posted there to check out. As a history major and one who appreciates absurd comedy, this show is perfect.

• Cards Against Humanity

I've been playing this game with friends for a while now, and it is always a fun, fresh, and crazy time. I just got the fourth expansion and look forward to getting the recently released fifth expansion as well as a '90s theme pack that I had no idea existed (check the site for details on all the expansion packs). It's a simple card game like Apples to Apples where one player puts down a prompt and everyone else puts down their best answers but with a little more absurdity and crassness than it's more family oriented counterpart. It's a great way to get friends laughing together when you have a large group and I look forward to getting some more board games to share as great party activities.

Thanks for stopping by!

3 Ways to Learn From Geek Culture to Build Campus Community

With New York Comic Con drawing near and several other local conventions happening all the time across the country, it got me thinking about how there is such a vibrant community of geeks/nerds out there that come together wherever they are to celebrate what they love, whether that's anime, video games, comic books, television, or movies. Any organization or institution would love to see such a passionate and engaged audience come out for their efforts or programs. An audience that buzzes about things coming up, is willing to wait in line, and has no problem paying for content that is valuable to them.

Transitioning the best of the geek realm to the worlds of higher education & student affairs may be a jump and easier said than done, but I think there are some valuable takeaways to be considered about how to get a community excited and engaged.

Traditions

All good geeks & nerds know the foundational times of their favorite cons and in an age of instant streaming on demand, still make an appointment of viewing their favorite shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead or make sure to go to midnight releases of the stuff they can't wait for. Making annual traditions on your campus allow for students and the community to have something to look forward to each year. A yearly week long series of events or an annual concert allows for people to know generally when something is coming and they can build buzz for the thing they're anticipating. There is also power in sharing in an experience like Comic Con. People can share the past years they went and what was special about it for them and there is a connection if you've ever been to San Diego Comic Con, it doesn't matter which year. A common example of this on college campuses is homecoming weekends, where current and former students always have it to look forward to and there is a connection to the tradition itself and what it symbolizes. Everyone there has a bond to the campus and feels like they're coming home. Striving for more events like this for students and our communities allows for a common identity and an engaged audience for our efforts.

Symbols

Shared symbols are another important way to get a community together. Be it the Green Lantern symbol, the Starfleet insignia, Spider-Man's emblem, or the mushroom from Super Mario, all good geeks and nerds know these symbols or any others as a sort of badge of honor and instant geeky credentials. Colleges benefit from this as well but shouldn't rest on their laurels. Maximize these symbols with traditions to connect students and the community with the institution so people will display the school's logo proudly. I've seen a lot of schools go all in on this to build pride in their students and an instant identity in their communities. Just think about the Nittany Lion from Penn State, the block R from Rutgers, or the other simple, commonly known emblems from the big state schools across the country. All they need is their symbol for instant recognition. No words needed.

Connections

Of course, all of this means nothing if you don't get people connected to each other. People are excited to talk about what they're passionate about, so if you provide and venue and context to do this, connections will ensue. I love to talk about geeky stuff I'm into with friends and I love finding new people to geek out with. Something similar to this in the college sphere is alumni of an institution finding each miles away from their collegiate home. They can reminisce about their time on campus and make a bond from their shared experience. Many institutions do this of course but it can be taking this a step further to actively make introductions, provide more contextual opportunities for alumni to connect with each other and alumni to connect with current students like workshops on particular topics or networking events centered on a certain major or affinity. There are numerous opportunities to capitalize on the passion folks associated with your institution have and all of us in student affairs can be the conduit or provide the conduits for this energy to be maximized.

Working through these simple avenues will help create a passionate community surrounding your institution. Your students will have an identity, school pride, and be excited to be on campus. Hopefully these simple concepts are helpful to folks, and that they at least start the gears turning of how to get your students to geek out with you!

Thanks for stopping by!

Movie Review Monday: Reign Over Me

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's movie is 2007's Reign Over Me, starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler.

A rare dramatic performance from Sandler, this movie follows Cheadle's character, Alan Johnson, as he seeks to pull Sandler's character, Charlie Fineman, from a deep depression following the loss of Charlie's wife and kids in the September 11 attacks on New York City. Alan and Charlie used to be college roommates and Alan recognizes a disheveled Charlie one day and that is where the story starts. Charlie has retreated into a immature bubble where he refuses to even acknowledge his loss, cutting himself out from the rest of the world.

The main story is supported by Liv Tyler as a counselor who works to help Charlie, and Alan's wife who is played by Jada Pinkett Smith. The story is hard to watch at times, in a sort of neutral way. Charlie is quickly prone to anger when people try to get him to open up and Alan keeps trying to help him, but to no avail. You feel Charlie's emotions strongly but you also feel the frustration of Alan and those around him who are all trying to help Charlie. It gets hard to watch when Charlie is throwing his tantrums right when you think he's getting somewhere, and you just want there to be a happy ending, but there isn't. The movie is raw and real and it makes it a tough watch if you're not looking for something gut-wrenching and emotional.

This movie explores dark nuances of loss and depression that I don't feel like I've seen in a lot of other films. It deals with the compulsion some people have to fix things, and how we can't force any one, even those we care about, to do anything they aren't ready for.

I'd recommend this movie, especially as the national conversation around mental health is ongoing. It was a movie ahead of its time, I feel, and is definitely worth a viewing now.

You can stream Reign Over Me right now on Netflix.

Remember to take care of yourself, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 09/26/14

Welcome!

Another week has gone by so that means we're here for another spotlight on what's been going on in my world lately. This edition is television centric in honor of the fall seasons of shows starting up. Enjoy!

• Nathan for You

I just started watching all the episodes of this show (also available on Hulu) and I've been loving it. It's dry, absurd, and very smart. It's premise is parodying the shows like Kitchen Nightmare or Bar Rescue where someone comes in with ideas to save a small business. Nathan Fielder comes in with ridiculous ideas but sells them with an aloof confidence. Watching the scenarios play out is hilarious and I highly recommend this show for anyone who loves to skewer reality television (like myself).

• Agents of SHIELD

I've been a fan of AoS since the premiere of season one, and while it has been sort of rocky getting this point, I'm excited for what season 2 has in store. The new season just started this past Tuesday and set up a cool new premise for the show with the SHIELD folks being made into fugitives and having to work in the shadows with no backup or most of their fun tools. The show is evolving with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and I'm eager to see how it develops on its own as well as along with the movies. Check it out if you haven't and especially so if you enjoy the Marvel movies of late!

• Gotham

This show also just premiered recently and is set in the city of Gotham where Batman (eventually) calls home. This is an origin series, much like Arrow, and has a very similar look and feel. We follow Jim Gordon when he's just starting as a detective for the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) and most of the rogue's gallery of Batman villains have yet to manifest. I'm curious to see what the pace of this show is going to be and what it works toward. Arrow has thrived as its been able to do flashbacks to Oliver's training and journey to be the Green Arrow while moving at a brisk pace in the present timeline to get his team together and evolve the storyline. I hope Gotham doesn't move too slow and gets to the sort of moments like Arrow has been able to achieve and do so well.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Writing Process: From Stray Thought to Full Out Geekery

"I hope people can have fun with what I write but also learn something useful for their lives."

I recently go a shout out from the marvelous Marci Walton to write about my writing. It's meta and I dig it so I figured I'd jump on here and leave some thoughts from my work here for the past year and a half of writing.

I have only been writing weekly since January of this year with my geek out posts and movie reviews, with other stuff sprinkled in between, but 2014 has been a good year for me to get in a regular habit of writing. I've written around 160 posts for this blog, covering all sorts of geeky topics that matter to me. I hope the framework of stuff below helps others get into a flow of writing however they wish about whatever they want.

On My Writing Process 

What are you working on? 

I'm currently working on a few different blog posts about stuff that has been popping up in my head recently just as stray thoughts or from reading books, articles, and keeping up with the news. I'm also working on reading more books to review and keeping my regular schedule of movie reviews from Netflix and geeking out about new, cool stuff. Keep an eye out for some awesome posts coming soon!

How does your work differ from others of its genre? 

I feel my work is pretty unique since I always try to find connections to student affairs in geeky topics, such as Star Wars, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Spider-Man, and Green Lantern. I don't see a lot of that out there in the blogging world and I enjoy being something original and unique. I think we should all seek to do our own thing and not just create an echo chamber for the usual zeitgeist.

Why do you write what you do?

I write what I do because it is what interests me and it is how my brain works a lot of the time. I always joke that I take my entertainment seriously. I look into their subtexts or symbolism to see what they have to say about society or greater topics like choice, love, friendship, family, or any number of other things. I hope people can have fun with what I write but also learn something useful for their lives. I seek to provide value and happiness to my readers!

How does your writing process work? 

I usually just let my mind wander and allow for ideas to pop in. Whether that is something about one particular show or movie or is about a general topic, I usually make sure to draft up a blog post for it so I don't lose the idea. A lot of the time I'll be watching or reading something and find something relevant in it, like with Green Lantern. For something like Star Wars, I was surprised I hadn't blogged about it specifically already. I also just think a lot about topics like positivity, social media, sustainability, or nerdy stuff in general so ideas will come to me all the time. I typically will bounce ideas off my partner to see if they make sense or not instead of always just having them rattle around in my head all the time. I don't have a formal, structured, or detailed process for getting the content together. I just let the writing flow out and then I'll proof myself afterwards. This works well for me but I know it might not work well for everyone! I'm also a very brief writer so I don't feel the need to prepare too much for posts since they're just quick bits and thoughts I want to share.

Thanks again to Marci for sharing her process and for the shout out! I nominate Tom Krieglstein & Jennifer Keegin. Why do you write what you do?!

Thanks for stopping by!

The Human Side of Social Media

"Anytime there is a tweet, post, picture, or any sort of content on social media...there is a human being behind that."

After recently reading some interesting perspectives on the popular app Yik Yak from folks like Eric Stoller and Paul Gordon Brown, I recently had some thoughts of my own on the subject in a macro sense.

Anonymity on the web is a topic for serious discussion and there have been a lot of concerns lately about privacy and protecting our information, which are definitely completely valid. I personally typically fall on the side of being open and authentic online. In general though, especially when it comes to the civil discourse of important topics while on social media, I feel being ourselves is always valuable and necessary.

Whether it is the use of a screen name on YouTube or cyberbullying incidents that have become more common on campuses across the country, there is a basic tenant of being ourselves in the various social networks we inhabit. Much of the vitriol and negativity online comes when there is no accountability to the person saying it. The types of things we say to each other on the web would never be uttered in public. The protective shroud of anonymity allows for hateful things to come out of us, which I would attribute to being emotional knee jerk responses rather than how we all know we should treat each other.

A public, personal web is one where people can be accountable to what they say, and represent what is truly behind their words; a human being. We often forget that anytime there is a tweet, post, picture, or any sort of content on social media, there is a human being behind that. Someone took the time to type something out and send it, no matter what you might think. We should engage with empathy, as we would in any other venue.

I look forward to a more civil, respectful web where we are able to authentically connect about the issues and topics that matter to us. How we get there is through being mindful of the other people out there with us, and through digital literacy. As a student affairs professional, everyday I help people understand the power of their actions on others, we should be doing the same for the digital realm. I fully support programs, workshops, and tools to help students (and anyone really) learn how to best behave online. I believe the type of negativity I see on Yik Yak and elsewhere is not us. I am optimistic in people's true natures and have seen the type of positive outcomes that can come from online communities. We can and will do better in our online interactions in the future, we just have to work to make that a reality sooner rather than later.

I appreciate your thoughts on this...and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Movie Review Monday: Trainspotting

Welcome to another edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film comes to us via Netflix, and is 1996's Trainspotting, starring Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller, & Robert Carlyle, among others.

I've had this film in my queue for quite a while. So long I don't even remember why I put it there in the first place. I know it's a classic film with its own sort of reverence and respect in the film world. After watching it, nearly twenty years after it came out, I can see why it was so engaging to folks. It's a highly unique, stylistic, surreal, fast-paced movie that leaves you disoriented, but still getting a fun ride and a interesting character study in the process.

Ewan McGregor's Renton is the main character, and the story follows his journey to get clean, literally and figuratively. He and his friends are addicted to drugs but Renton is looking to get off the stuff and clean up his life and go straight. A great deal of the interesting elements of the film come from Renton's struggles with drug use and the trippy sequence when he is in withdrawals. Most of the movie is Renton's narration, so you're able to get behind his actions and hear what he is thinking versus imagining it. It is done in such a way to not belittle the audience's intelligence, but to provide a more complex context to the happenings in the film. We also see how Renton's actions affect others, which is a nice touch too. Most of the movie could be watched being against Renton, since he is very morally gray. It makes for an interesting story, that I would liken in spirit to something like Breaking Bad, where you're rooting for and against the main character at different times.

My only criticisms might be that the other characters seem sort of two dimensional at times. It is Renton's show to be sure, but the other folks just seem to be a one trick pony or even just sort of vanish altogether. It's not a major gripe, but the most evident one I can think of.

That being said, I definitely recommend Trainspotting. It has a cinematic vibe similar to Scott Pilgrim VS The World in the way it is edited and shot, so I was definitely sold on it in that way.

You can stream Trainspotting now on Netflix!

Thanks for stopping by!

What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 09/19/14

Come geek out with me!

Hey there! Thanks for checking out what I'm geeking out about this week. This has been a random week of awesome stuff that I want to share with you all so lets dive in!

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 Trailer

This amazing trailer dropped this week and it is really getting me hyped for this movie. There isn't much else coming out this fall that I'm getting a lot of buzz for so I'm definitely going to look forward to seeing THG: Mockingjay P1 when it comes out November 21. I've warmed to this series of films, especially with Catching Fire being really great. The first movie didn't do too much for me and I was just left wanting basically what is happening in this movie to happen. Catching Fire was a solid bridge movie though and definitely worth a watch before Nov. 21!

• Apple iOS 8

I upgraded my various Apple devices this week to the new operating system and have been loving all the new little features. I always appreciate that every year, with the new iOS updates, I feel more value coming into my pocket at no cost to me. Apple definitely does well by me with their continuous improvements. I can't wait to get OS X Yosemite on my laptop and desktop!

• @midnight

I've been enjoying this late night comedy show hosted by my role model, Chris Hardwick, since it premiered earlier this year. They've been very consistent with the quality and the guests and I find myself watching it every day along with current episodes of The Daily Show. They crush it with their signature Hashtag Wars on Twitter (even when they're off the air for breaks!). I also can't complain with seeing Chris Hardwick more often on my television. He's so great, the show is great, check it out now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Star Wars & Always Seeing the Good in People

"No. You're coming with me. I'll not leave you here, I've got to save you."

"You already... have, Luke. You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister... you were right."

I have surprisingly not blogged a lot about Star Wars yet, even though it is one of my major fandoms. I've loved it for a long time now and I am cautiously optimistic about Episode VII that is due to come out next year.

A major arc of the Star Wars films is Anakin's journey toward the dark side and coming back to the light in the end to save the day and rescue his son, Luke, from the Emperor. Luke, after discovering that Darth Vader is actually his father, Anakin, can't bring himself to simply kill his father for the good of the galaxy. He knows Anakin is a good person who did bad things, not just simply an evil person who must die without any chance for redemption. Others see Luke as foolish for believing he can save his father, who others see as too far gone. Luke commits to his stance to save his father AND the galaxy, not willing to give up simply from the pressure of others. In the end, he is able to accomplish his goal and give Anakin a brief moment in the light before he dies from his injuries inflicted from his rescue of Luke.

If you've seen Return of the Jedi, you know the whole sequence I'm talking about and if you've seen the whole saga of films, you know Anakin's arc from the six films. While there is a lot of valid gripes folks have with the two trilogies (myself included), the thing I love about the story is Anakin's character arc, going from a wide-eyed kid on Tatooine, to Jedi Knight and hero of the Clone Wars to a broken man (literally and figuratively) and back to his good natured self that has always been there deep inside.

A major takeaway here that I really appreciate is not giving up on people. People make bad choices, we all do, but that doesn't mean they're bad people. People make choices based on their past, what they're feeling now, and what they want for the future. All of this is subject to flux based on who they surround themselves with, their environments, and who may not be around them to help them make positive choices. I'm a empathetic person, and I always see things from others' perspectives. It can be a gift and a curse, but I would never want to not feel anything for others when they're suffering, confused, lost, or misunderstood. Working in student affairs, and especially in residence life, I see this a lot. I can't ever assume everyone is hiding something, has ulterior motives, or is doing this to hurt me personally. I prefer to stay positive, give people chances, and trust people until they give me a reason not to.

This lesson from Star Wars is a big one, I feel, in my ongoing effort to reach zen status (or perhaps Jedi Mastery?!). I don't ever want to be someone who is just mad at the world and thinks everyone is evil, selfish, and immoral. I think when people are given the opportunity to do what's right, they'll do it. We just have to trust each other, love unconditionally, and put good energy out into the universe. Maybe then we'll be able to work together to build a more decent, good, and just galaxy here and far, far away.

Thanks for stopping by!