Recap of #SDCC15 "Geeks in Higher Ed" Panel

"College should be more like Comic Con..."

I had the distinct pleasure to attend the fifth annual geekEd panel at San Diego Comic Con this year. I've seen similar presentations that have been done by some of these professionals at ACPA, but this was an excellent showing by this group and featured many professionals I have never heard speak before.

The panel was moderated by Brian MacDonald and consisted of Brian Arao, Alfred Day, Michelle Kittel, Patricia Nguyen, Liz Krulder, and Emily Sandoval. It was really great to especially hear from Liz about her experience as a student at Fresno State University who worked on developing their first "Geek Week" type event for their campus. All of the panelists came from different institutions and organizations, which itself brought a diversity of perspectives. The panelists also had very different backgrounds and outlooks on what made engaging the nerd/geek community so important and how the mediums of comics, video games, and entertainment can be used to start important discussions of current events.

A few of the big, actionable takeaways I had were about making the college environment a place where students (and staff) feel safe to be themselves and be unabashedly into whatever they love. This could mean allowing for geeky decorations in your office, encouraging and celebrating clubs of all sorts for students to find their niche, and making being smart cool. So much bullying and unfortunate discouragement happens before students get to college, but we can make our campuses a welcoming place for all so that in this pivotal time for students to find themselves, they can figure out who that really is without any of the baggage they picked up beforehand.

I've created a resource page for the folks that presented, which will be continually evolving to include new books, videos, and articles that are relevant, as well as contact info to connect with some of the awesome geeky professionals out there doing good work in this space.

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Movie Review Monthly: June 2015

Welcome to this monthly wrap up of my weekly movie reviews!

This month had a wide array of movies available to stream instantly via Netflix. This month had just a few movies, mostly comedies and an enlightening documentary . Each week I hope to bring you a fresh new review of a great movie in the Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime streaming library. Recommendations are always welcomed!

• Pump
• Nick Offerman: American Ham
• It's a Disaster

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Mass Effect & Living With Our Choices

Mass Effect is probably my favorite video game series of all time. While many others come very close, Mass Effect has everything for me. It's an engaging, thought-provoking sci-fi action role-playing game where your choices matter. Characters live and die, planets are saved or left to ruin, and you personally benefit or sacrifice based on the decisions you make. With the fourth iteration in the franchise, Mass Effect: Andromeda, officially announced, I thought it proper to look back on the current trilogy and talk about making choices.

What I love about the Mass Effect series is how the choices you make starting in the first game carry over into each of the subsequent entries. Not a lot of other games do this. It heightens the stakes and forces you as the player to make tough choices. Just like in life, we have to make our choices and live with them, moving forward despite what we may have done before. It can be impossible to fully know what the ramifications of our choices will be so you have to do what seems best at the time and work with what you have in the future.

It can be paralyzing for people when faced with tough decisions. We can never really know what the "right" choice is, but we can make the most informed choices we can, and make them so that we can justify whatever we decided to do. We shouldn't make choices that we'd regret or that we don't fully believe in, or at the very least, can put forth reasoning for why we did what we did, perhaps being obligated to by work or family. As long as you feel they are valid reasons and you don't feel like you're being coerced or there is a large gap between your values and the values of whoever you're making your decision on behalf of, you can move forward with a clear conscience.

In Mass Effect, you can usually take a lot of time to choose your own path, but in real life, we have to make a lot of choices quickly, so we aren't afforded the luxury of infinite contemplation. The game taught me to go with my instincts, go with my heart, and to not overly obsess over what I should or could have done. I have to just do what I think is right at the time and learn from any mistakes I make along the way. I think those are some pretty valuable takeaways we can all use.

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Summer Movie Musings: Inside Out

I had the pleasure of finally seeing Inside Out in theaters this past week. It's been one I knew I wanted to see for a while now, even before it's release and positive buzz. The concept really intrigued me from the first teaser I saw and I was definitely not disappointed by the final product. It is a unique, fun, cute, and insightful film about emotions and growing up, which is something that is universally poignant.

The premise of movie follows a young girl, Riley, as she moves to San Francisco from her beloved Midwest home with her parents, and the struggles that come with that transition. We see the emotions play out inside her head throughout the story, which is obviously where a lot of the fun and heart comes from. The movie does a really good job setting up how the concept works with the different major emotions; anger, fear, joy, disgust, and sadness (as seen above from left to right). We see how memories are made, stored, and forgotten within the film's setup, which is very entertaining yet also very in depth and spot on. I'm not an expert on emotions and what not, but from what I understand (and have heard elsewhere) Inside Out takes the premise seriously and gets a lot of the science right.

While the movie is not as laugh out loud funny or heart-wrenching (at least for me) as some of the other Pixar movies, I appreciate it for its originality and insight. We could use a bit more empathy in our lives and this movie has a great message about that as well as how to process our own feelings and how to help others process theirs. A great moment in the movie showcases how sometimes we just need to feel our sadness and not just pretend it doesn't exist.

I definitely recommend seeing Inside Out if you get the chance before it is out of theaters. If not, it would absolutely be worth a rental. I'd also love to hear your thoughts if you saw it!

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What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 07/03/15

Greetings!

Here's what was going on in my world this week:

• Massages

I celebrated my one calendar year work anniversary this past week, and it unintentionally coincided with some self-care I took upon myself. Part of this was getting a professional massage at a local spot, which was sorely needed (see what I did there? Because I was sore...). I always carry my tension in my shoulders and lower back, which isn't helped by hunching over a keyboard most days. I'll definitely have to look into making this a regular thing or maybe even doing yoga on a regular basis. Something would be helpful to ease my tension and keep me loose and nimble.

• Counseling

I went to speak with a counselor this week as well. It is a part of an employee assistance program, where staff can get a few free sessions with local counselors to work out any issues they're having, which is certainly a nice benefit of working at my institution. While I won't go into the details of what I talked about here, just suffice it to say that it is so important in taking care of ourselves to not forget about our mental health. I always value the opportunity to work through things with someone whose job it is to listen and help. Massages are great too, and both are crucial to staying well, physically and emotionally.

• 4th of July

I have the pleasure of coming down to the Greater Boston Area this weekend for the Independence Day celebrations to visit my partner, Jenn. There seems to be no shortage of festivities around here and it is always nice to hang out here and spend quality time with my partner. We're seriously considering moving ourselves down here in the near future so it is always cool to check out the scene here and continue to vet it as somewhere we could settle down and put some roots down. Be sure to check out my Instagram for photos from the weekend!

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Going to #SDCC2015? Come Geek Out With Me!

For any and all going to San Diego Comic Con this year, I'm helping promote and cover a panel consisting of some awesome student affairs colleagues from across the country talking about the geek community within education.

Check out the program page here for more information, but I'll be there snapping photos, taking notes, and will also be at the convention for the rest of the time too, so expect some coverage of my experience (a first for me!) right here the week after the convention.

Hope to see some friendly faces there!

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Reflecting On All the Things I've Done

I have felt at some points in my life that I have had a tragically mundane, ordinary life that hasn't had much good or bad happen in it. It was a depressing thought to consider, especially in my darker moments, but recently, I've taken time to sit down and put my mental energy to work writing down all my "greatest hits" (just like with Charlie Pace in one my favorite television shows of all time, Lost). Moments in my life, big or small, that I'm proud of. They include the places I've traveled, the accomplishments I've achieved, and the small things we should all think of more. Here are some specific examples of what I'm talking about:

• Smiled so much my face hurt
• Presented at a national conference
• Visited Las Vegas, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC
• Gone to a comedy club
• Gave good lives to my pets

Some of these things are concrete experiences in my life that I am happy to have done. Even if they aren't that special to others, they're special to me. Others are things I look back and affirm for myself. People can have regrets, doubts, and think negatively about the experiences in their life, but I challenge myself to think positively. I can never know for certain if I gave a good life for my pets, they can't tell me, but I choose to believe that I did based on the memories I have and the things I did for my two wonderful dogs I had growing up.

I'm keeping a list of experiences I want to partake in before I turn 30 in a few years. I'm making intentional efforts to accomplish them and keep updating my list of "greatest hits". It will help me in my darker moments realize that I have lived a full life and have the ability to take actions to make change my life.

I encourage folks to do something similar to this to keep the positivity flowing in their lives. Things like this or a happiness journal can let us be more mindful of what happens around us each day, and what brings us joy.

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Movie Review Monday: It's a Disaster

Welcome to another awesome edition of Movie Review Monday!

This week's film is the 2012 black comedy It's a Disaster, starring David Cross, Julia Stiles, and America Ferrara. It was directed by Todd Berger.

I have seen this movie on Netflix for a while now and just recently got around to it. I had no idea what to make of it before I started watching, and I will say that I was pleasantly surprised in some ways, and in other ways, I was frustrated.

The movie focuses on a couples' brunch between four different pairs all with their own problems. Cross and Stiles are just getting to know each other, others are long married and struggling to keep it afloat, others are not able to move forward towards marriage, and all of this happens in the backdrop of a massive chemical weapon being unleashed on the city they're in, forcing them to stay inside and work out their respective issues. The premise was intriguing to me, enough so to have me watch the film. The acting in the movie is also good, being very subtle, real, and funny at times. The thing that frustrated me is how petty and mean some of the people are. That started to be a stretch for me. It also takes a weird turn in the end which I did not feel was good or well done for the most part.

This easily could have been a worse movie. It's not bad, but it just seemed to miss the mark for me in the end with all things considered. I feel like it would strike others completely different, with them either loving it or hating it. I can see it's appeal, but it also started to lose me.

You can check out It's a Disaster streaming right now on Netflix.

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What I'm Geeking Out About This Week - 06/26/15

Greetings!

Here's what was going on in my world this week:

• New Student Orientation

This past week has been our summer New Student Orientation at my institution. It's always a fun, exciting time welcoming new students to college and this was the first time I've been able to go through the entire process here. I even helped plan and track everything ahead of this week, so it was really nice to be able to see everything come together. A great NSO can go a long way with paying dividends for the upcoming academic year. If we really a good job getting our new students excited to come to our institution, properly prepared, and generally just feeling like they have support for this big life transition, we can retain more students and have them thrive instead of just survive. I see myself easily (ideally) transitioning to a position with orientation in the near future. It's just so much fun as well as important for the rest of the institution's operations.

• Spider-Man Casting!

I was really excited to see the news this week that we finally have our Peter Parker/Spider-Man casting for the new Marvel Cinematic Universe iteration of the beloved character. Tom Holland will be portraying the webslinger, and since he is a relative unknown, there isn't much baggage coming for the actor, which is good. He has the look and physicality down, so I'm intrigued to see if he has the comedic chops, which is so important for the character, especially go along with the current vibe of the MCU. I'm we'll see much more of Holland ahead of his debut in Captain America: Civil War in May 2016.

• Seinfeld on Hulu!

Seinfeld is one of my favorite shows of all time. I've seen most of the 171 episodes of the show, but I know there are some I've missed. Hulu now has the entire series streaming as of Wednesday, June 24 (only for their paid subscribers). It brings so much more value to the table for people paying into their service, and now, with a Showtime add-on on the way, it is continually proving to be a solid competition (or companion like I do) to Netflix and the other up and coming streaming services.

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Why Graduation Isn't The End, It's the Beginning

* This article was originally posted on The Student Affairs Hub.

Graduation is a huge life milestone that is a mix of so many emotions for college students: excitement, fear, accomplishment, sadness, and anticipation all come to mind. It can feel like the end of something, which it is, but it is also the beginning of an era of endless possibilities for students. Once you have the time, knowledge, income, and courage to do so, life after college can be even more full than one's life at their institution. The world awaits all the recent graduates to do whatever they so choose, and it's something students should work hard to take full advantage of.

As higher education faculty and staff members, here are three key pointers to give to your students in order to encourage their personal growth and their thirst for learning after college."Keep on Being a Student"

There are numerous ways to keep on learning in the classroom like you're used to. You can keep taking one off classes at institutions near you, you can take classes online with established colleges and universities, or you can take advantage of the plethora of other web-based learning tools. Everything from Lynda.com, udemy, Codecademy, or even YouTube can help you learn new skills, master new software or tools, or even just learn some fun trivia. A lot of things can be found for free too, which is even more awesome!

 

"Travel the Country (and the World!)"

Whether for business or for pleasure, traveling around to new places can be an amazing learning experience. Even just going to visit a friend in a new city locally can help you understand more about what makes us all different and what makes us all the same. You can take in local sights, museums, fairs, festivals, and shows to build a list of cool and unique experiences to the fabric of your life. It's hard to capture the immense importance of traveling, but it's such a great way to become more acutely aware of the world that you just can't replicate. I encourage you to get out as much as you reasonably can so you can learn and grow as a person (and have some fun in the process!).

"Read!"

Since graduating and being done with college for the foreseeable future, it's been nice to have the time to read for pleasure. Some of you may not want to see another book for a while, but trust me that it is a tried and true (and often cheap) avenue to better yourself. There are classic works, new writing by cool current authors, and even several comic books (I'm personally a big fan) that can convey some deep concepts that enlighten you to morals about life. I've always heard that it doesn't matter what you read, it's that you read. So by all means, it can be that you read a lot of articles online about any number of things, just make sure you're keeping current on the world and reading something every once in a while for pleasure. You'll thank yourself later for it.

If you follow these tips in whatever way makes sense for you, you'll grow, learn, and be active mentally (and physically) which will help you better achieve any other goals in your life or career that you might have.

 

Go forth and do good, Class of 2015!