Geeking out about higher ed since 2013.
Every Friday, I share what's on my mind from the past week. There was so much to geek out about last month, and to help you sift through it all, here's my monthly wrap up of all the stuff that was going on in August (another short month due to being really busy):
This week's film is the 2011 romantic drama One Day, starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess.
The plot of this movie utilizes an interesting device. Every year, on the anniversary of their college graduation (July 15), we see where each character is in their lives. Sometimes they are together, and others they are apart.
Emma (Hathaway) is an aspiring writer, and Dexter (Sturgess) struggles to find himself and become grounded. Both acknowledge a connection, but neither allows themselves to fully commit. Emma loves Dexter, but worries about his loyalty, and Dexter can't figure out what he wants from much of anything in life. We start in 1988 and go up until 2011. While Hathaway's British accent isn't convincing for me (I just can't reconcile it with knowing she is American) she gives a decent performance. Sturgess is a bit stronger, and both are nevertheless able to carry the film.
One Day was not what I expected. I thought I was going to get a bit more fantastical elements, but regardless of this, the emotional impact of the film is not lost. While I won't spoil anything here, the takeaway is apparent of how much of an impact a single day can have on our lives. We should make the choices for ourselves to make the most of each day we have.
While it isn't the best movie around saying this sort of thing, I enjoyed how it portrayed life and it's ups and downs. While I would hope that we all have more ups than downs, life is journey and it is a long one. We can never really tell where we're going for sure, but we can decide what we make of ourselves and can decide to make ourselves happy before it is too late. One of my only complaints, probably as an eternal optimist, is some of the darker elements of the story of this movie. At times it seems to be unnecessarily grim and bleak.
You can check out One Day streaming right now on Netflix.
Here's what is going on in my world this week:
I've been diving in with various courses on this online learning platform lately, completing three courses already within about a week's time, and starting work on three more courses. I want to expand my formal knowledge about workplace success, marketing, and social media. Coursera is providing an awesome, cheap, and nimble way to achieve this goal for myself. I wrote up a post on sites like this for the cool cats over at Nerd for a Living, so check that out for some more thoughts.
What has become a informal holiday for Apple tech geeks like myself, the yearly launch of the newest iteration of the iPhone operating system happened this week, and I updated my devices as soon as possible. iOS 9 is a more subtle improvement, but it is always nice to get a big refresh even if I don't get a new device in a given year. Apple is continuously improving everything they do, and it is a big reason I am an avid fan of their brand.
I got recommended this new podcast recently which is a Q&A show hosted by the Internet famous Hank and John Green. I'm a fan of much of what these two do (Mental Floss is a big one for me) so I was excited to check out their podcast. It is equal parts funny, poignant, and genuine. It perfectly embodies the brand(s) they have made together and on their own. Any fans of these two, either together or apart, should definitely check this show out.
* This post was originally featured on The Student Affairs Hub.
College students have long used the campus environment to work towards positive social change. The very nature of a university encourages this sort of intellectual discourse, and a common way for students to get involved in making a difference on campus is through student government. It allows for students to debate important campus topics, and provides a platform for the institution to directly hear the needs of the student body.
The beauty of student government is that it is typically accessible to all students. New incoming students can be encouraged to find a voice within this organization, meet fellow students, and start making their legacy known at their institution (Trust me, they'll thank you for the legacy stuff come graduation time).
I found out about the power of student government far too late into my undergraduate career. In my final year, I was passionate about getting hydration stations installed on campus, to provide cold, clean and filtered water in a sustainable way that would reduce the use of plastic water bottles while encouraging healthier habits in students. I realized a way to start to make this change possible was to lobby the student government to accept a stance of advocating for these to become a part of the community. Once they accepted, within months there were a few of these stations popping up around campus. This felt so inspiring to accomplish in such a short amount of time!
Perhaps they were already planning on doing this, but at the very least, through my efforts, the student body representatives let their voice be heard and for the future, the administration would know that students wanted to have the hydration stations and would feel more accountable to do so.
Especially for new, incoming students, building confidence, connections, and communication skills are all pretty valuable goals for student affairs professionals. So I encourage you to empower your students to get involved in student government. Even more importantly, I encourage you to bring students to the table and let them be heard when it comes to decision making. They'll have some important insights and they are the ones who it will affect, so I think it is only fair to hear them out. At the very least, they'll benefit from the experience.
This week's film is the 2014 crime thriller, Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
The story follows Louis Bloom (Gyllenhaal), who searches for crime scenes around Los Angeles to film and sell to local news channels. The more violent and sensational, the better. From the first scenes of the movie where we meet Bloom, we immediately see him as an amoral, anti-social character who is intense and is willing to do whatever he needs to to get what he wants.
After some initial stumbles, Bloom eventually becomes very good at getting the shots he needs, going to whatever lengths he has to. The stakes increasingly get higher, and the movie does really well building the tension. Bloom is a strange character, but you can't help but be fixated by his wild exploits and behavior. Gyllenhaal carries the movie wonderfully, with only a few brief supporting roles. Rene Russo is the main supporting character we see, with her playing Bloom's local news station contact, Nina.
The film reminded me a lot of the Ryan Gosling movie, Drive, which is appropriate since Nightcrawler was produced by the same people who made Drive. Both are great, dark, character driven thrillers that you can't help but watch.
I definitely recommend checking out Nightcrawler (even if it isn't about the X-Men character of the same name). You can stream it right now on Netflix!
Here's what is going on in my world this week:
I began checking out this show on Amazon Prime recently after I got some nods of support from friends and folks on social media. I just finished the first season and I'm definitely enjoying it. The show is mostly carried by Jeff Daniels as the newscaster Will McAvoy but it also has a wonderful ensemble cast to support him. It is essentially West Wing meets cable news. I haven't watched West Wing (I'm getting to it) but I know Sorkin's style and it embodies a lot of his usual tropes. Nevertheless, I find the optimism refreshing when compared to some of the other stuff I've been watching lately. I'm looking forward to continuing on with this series, since I know it is a bit short-lived and is a sort of love it or hate it kind of show.
My partner finished watching all of the series Friday Night Lights recently (which I came in and out for) so she was looking for a new show to dive into. Parenthood jumped out to her since it comes from the same creator as FNL. We've only watched a few episodes together (it's available on Netflix) but I can already tell it is going to be a great emotional journey with the large ensemble cast. These sort of shows work best when they hook you in to be invested in the characters early (which this one did) so I'm in unless the show somehow drops off. I look forward to sharing the experience of watching Parenthood with my partner as a way to relax whenever we have time to sit down together for it.
I'm usually a patient person. I'm content with waiting for stuff (especially since I usually arrive places way too early for my own good) but for some reason, lately I've been getting antsy. I mentioned last week that I've been thinking up some ideas of where to take this site. I'm also thinking of ideas for improving and expanding some of my other ventures as well as possible next steps for my job. When I get all excited for these ideas (I love coming up with stuff), I just want to get going on them immediately. I think I need to take a step back and calm down, since anything good is going to take time, and I also want to do it the best that I can.
I recently interviewed ACPA President Gavin Henning for The Student Affairs Spectacular Podcast which went out as a quick bonus episode in addition to our usual offerings. It was a great opportunity that I am grateful to have had.
Gavin has been making himself very accessible recently, which is very refreshing in my opinion. Usually, someone in his position would seem to be very out of reach, but Gavin has been giving much of time to do interviews, Twitter chats, and even the podcast! I hope that student affairs folks have been engaging with all of this great content, since it allows for the veil to be lifted on how someone gets to be ACPA President in the first place, and humanizes the whole organization. Accessibility and transparency are big for me, and I appreciate when leadership embodies these values.
I think more organizations should take a cue from ACPA and their recent efforts. You can engage a community a lot more by being free and open with communication versus having everything tightly controlled and infrequent. ACPA has been my professional home of choice for the past few years as I've entered the field, and while I think no one is perfect, they've done a lot of great work recently that I know has benefited the field.
While I don't think I'll be pursuing the ACPA presidency any time soon, it is nice to know more of Gavin's story and that if you work hard and commit to something, good things will come out of it. Things like that are reassuring to hear for a young professional like myself.
Check out some of the other interviews Gavin has done with some fine colleagues, Kimberly White and Brian Proffer (also both are past guests of the podcast!).
This week's film is the 2002 sci-fi action thriller, Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise.
This is another sci-fi movie that has been on my list to check out for some time now. I rented it on iTunes for full transparency (it isn't on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime yet) so this will be a review with that in mind, meaning is it worth paying for outright (short answer: yes).
The plot follows John Anderton (Cruise) who works in the prototype "Pre-Crime" division in Washington, DC in the year 2054. Utilizing special individuals who can tell the future, "pre-cogs", Anderton and his team prevent crime from happening and imprison the individuals for their future crime. Everything is going well until Anderton gets caught up in a conspiracy and finds himself alleged of the future murder of someone he has never met.
Minority Report is carried mostly by the performance of Cruise, and it works. They build a universe around him and give some depth on his character's personal struggles and drive. Anderton fully believes in the system he works in, until he has doubt in it and then is alleged of a crime himself. The twists and turns all make sense and add to the fun of the movie, which has some great action and a solid performance from Cruise.
This movie is certainly worth paying a few dollars for to rent. It's not the best movie or a perfect movie, but it works and is entertaining. It is also certainly of it's time. With the John Williams score and early 2000s CGI, it reminded me of Star Wars Episode II, but this movie is far better than that. Colin Farrell gives a strong turn as a skeptical federal agent in one of his earlier major film roles. It also has some substance, depth, and a dark angle to it as Anderton is a depressed, grieving, drug using cop who is compelled by a regret for losing his young son years before.
I recommend checking out Minority Report if you are looking for some unique, original, modern sci-fi. I also enjoy finding new, different stuff in the genre, so I am happy I was able to watch this movie.
You can find Minority Report on any and all of your favorite VOD services!
I haven't written a new post in a little while, but I'm happy to be back to the regular flow now after starting the new academic year!
So with that, here's what is going on in my world this week:
Almost by accident, I've pretty much caught up on this show through Netflix and Hulu. It's a silly show that is different than a lot of other comedies and is nice to just have on in the background while I do other stuff. I'm sure I won't keep up with the show week to week, but it will definitely be something I check out and watch a bunch of episodes at a time. I recommend checking it out for sure!
I had some time over the summer to think about where I might want to take this blog (and honestly my life) in the next several months. I've done a lot for my own life in these past few weeks, through getting involved in some marketing work as well as looking into online courses to continue to grow and learn. I also have some great ideas for Higher Ed Geek and I'll need you to help make it happen. Stay tuned for more details!
I've been wanting to get back down to the NJ/NY area again since I left the last time I was there back in May. I'll be spending a few days with my lovely partner in the area next month when we both have fall break. I just booked our flight down there so I look forward to seeing some old friends and checking out the old haunts too! Let me know if you want to connect if you're in the area.
This week's film is Welcome to Me, starring Kristen Wiig alongside a splendid ensemble cast.
The plot of this movie surrounds Kristen Wiig's character, Alice Klieg, who wins the lottery and then creates a daytime talk show centered around her and whatever she feels like doing or talking about. She is obsessed with Oprah Winfrey, and has been off her mental health medication so the results are odd, goofy, surreal, and absurd, but very entertaining to watch in a strange sort of way.
Seeing what Alice decides to do with her newfound show is awkwardly cringeworthy, but fascinating to watch. If someone (a little off-centered) with millions of dollars had their own talk show all about them for hours a day to do whatever they want, I feel like the product would be very similar to what we see in the film. It's funny to see the reactions of the television production team, who have no choice but to indulge the eccentric desires of Alice since she is paying them millions of dollars. Her family and friends also have reactions to her antics, but try to be supportive of her new endeavor. This is where the film gets a little deeper.
As Alice goes all in on this vanity project, she becomes egotistical and distanced from the people she cares about most. It's nice to see the film sort of ground itself like this, since it could have just been about the silliness of Alice's show and not much else, but the conflict arises in a natural way that allows the film to move forward to a conclusion.
This is an odd film, but a good one. Kristen Wiig is great in it (as she always is) and the supporting cast is wonderful as well. I definitely recommend checking it out.
You can catch Welcome to Me, streaming right now on Netflix!