9 Things On the Internet You Should Know About

Happy Sunday all. As I've said before, I’m addicted to the Internet. Being Internet addicted gives me authority on what is great on the web, and lucky for you, I am about to share some Internet greatness with you all. You’re welcome.

1. The VlogBrothers. The VlogBrothers is the YouTube channel of brothers John and Hank Green. John and Hank take turns vlogging on different days of the week, and all of their videos are super interesting. These brothers are incredibly intelligent (John is the best selling author of books such as The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and An Abundance of Katherines (he also did the commencement speech at Butler this year)) and their videos are upbeat, informative, and entertaining.

2. DailyGrace. I blogged about DailyGrace here on my Butler blog, but I love her so much I just have to mention her again. DailyGrace is the YouTube channel for the ever so lovely Grace Helbig. Grace films comedy vlogs five days a week on her channel and they are hilarious. She’s my favorite YouTuber by far and I love everything she does. She has also been in a few Lowes commercials and just started filming a movie with her two YouTube buds and bffs, Mamrie Hart and Hannah Hart.

3. Buzzfeed.com. If you live under a rock, you don’t know what Buzzfeed is yet. Buzzfeed.com is a pop culture type website that posts humorous (and sometimes insightful) posts about current events in the world or pop culture. It’s like all the best things on the Internet all decided to hang out together. It’s the greatest.

4. Jacksgap.com. Jacksgap.com is a newly launched website created by British YouTubers (and twin brothers) Jack and Finn Harries. Jack and Finn run the YouTube channel Jacksgap (I blogged about that as well), and from there, they decided to expand into this website. Similarly to Buzzfeed, Jacksgap.com serves as a platform for showcasing cool things on the Internet. Since the website was created by two vloggers, there is a lot of YouTube related content, as well as a lot of tips and tricks for creating your own vlogs.

See more of their beautiful faces on their site.

5. U lala. Speaking of websites on the rise, U-la-la.com is one to watch. U lala is a fashion and lifestyle blog created by recent Purdue graduates, Katherine and Molly. These two ladies created this site, which has branches for different schools all over. The site is based on providing fun and inspiring content for college women, and it is definitely worth checking out. With so many different branches, there is a lot of great content to view. And what do you know, I just so happen to be a writer for the Butler branch!

6. The Free People Pinterest Page. I like Pinterest as much as the next college-aged female, and the Free People page is one of my faves. Free People is a clothing store with a free spirit, hippie type vibe to it, and their Pinterest page features picture after picture of stellar outfits and cool arsty things. Their Instagram is pretty great too.

7. The Lumineers Instagram. I blogged a bit about The Lumineers in my post about Lollapalooza, so obviously I enjoy their music. In addition to having rockin’ tunes, the band has a rockin’ Instagram account. All of their pictures are pretty artsy and really pretty. Check it out.

Enticing, isn't it?

8. 40 Days of Dating. I actually came across this blog on Buzzfeed, and I am incredibly fascinated by it. It documents a dating experiment between two friends, designers Jessica Walsh and Timothy Goodman. The pair decided to date each other for forty days and document the experience. They each answer a set of questions about the day, and it is super interesting how they each interpret different aspects of the relationship.

9. Humans of NewYork. I also recently discovered the website, Humans of New York. This site features pictures and quotes from strangers in New York City and provides glimpses into these interesting people’s lives. I did an art project similar to this this past year, so I am incredibly intrigued by this site.

The Internet is a wonderfully strange place, and hopefully with these recommendations, it will become all the more wonderful. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

Music Monday: LOLLAPALOOZA!!!!

Happy Music Monday to all! I went to Lollapalooza the first weekend of August, and let me tell you, it was magical. This was my first year going and I will definitely return in years to come. Here’s a review of all of the bands I saw (I saw a lot, so this post is going to be long. Sorry):

San Cisco: San Cisco hails from Australia and consists of four members, ranging in age from 18-20. This indie-pop group’s songs are insanely catchy and they are all so stinkin’ adorable. Since they are so young and so Australian, and their music is so rockin’, watching them perform was an absolute treat. Going into the show, I was only familiar with one of their songs, but they were so cute and sounded so good that I fell in love anyway.

Grade: A

Twenty One Pilots: Twenty One Pilots is a duo consisting of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, both from Ohio. I’m not exactly sure how to classify their music because it is so eclectic and varies from song to song, but I suppose they are the indie pop/indie-hip hop type. Their songs vary from spoken word, to rap, to singing sweetly with a ukulele. These two were INCREDIBLE live. I had only ever heard maybe two of their songs going into the show, but it proved to be one of my favorites all weekend. Their high energy and unique sound was so fun to be apart of. I’m kind of obsessed with them now.

Grade: A + 

Imagine Dragons: Imagine Dragons are a fairly popular band, but just in case you don’t know who they are, they are an American alternative rock band widely known for their album, Night Visions, featuring songs such as “Radioactive” and “It’s Time.” I was honestly disappointed with this concert. The band didn’t sound bad, but their energy seemed to be lacking slightly. In their defense, halfway through their second song, the sound system shut down and they had to wait for it to be fixed, so that probably cramped their style a bit.

Grade: B-

Lana Del Rey: Another well known artist, Lana Del Rey is an American singer/songwriter known for her weird, slow kinda tunes. She is also notoriously known for her supposedly awful performance on Saturday Night Live a few years ago. I quite enjoy Lana’s music, so I was excited to see her. I was also skeptical because I often heard that her live performances were awful. I thought she sounded really good! She came out on the stage looking like an ethereal goddess in a long dress and slowly moving across the stage. At one point, after finishing a song, she announced she needed another cigarette and continued the show while smoking. God bless.

Grade: B+

Ben Howard: Ben Howard is an English singer/songwriter with a soothingly unique voice. All of his songs are fairly laid back and soothe my ears so much. His concert was really nice. It was very calm and laid back, and his band was incredibly talented. One woman in his band played guitar, bass, stand up bass, drums, and piano. Meanwhile, the main drummer played guitar on his lap and paused periodically to play the drums.

Grade: A

Local Natives: Local Natives are a five-dude indie rock group from Los Angeles. Going into this show, I was only familiar with one of their songs, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The group had a great energy and were really fun to watch. They sounded really good and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked the show since I wasn’t very familiar with their music.

Grade: A

The Lumineers: The Lumineers are a popular folk rock band from Colorado. They became super popular this past year with the release of their song “Ho Hey.” I quite enjoy the Lumineers, so I was pumped going into this show. They were so, so great. The lead singer sang a few songs in the audience, and the guy playing the accordion climbed up on top of some scaffolding with lights on it. They were definitely one of my favorites all weekend.

Grade: A+

The Postal Service: The Postal Service is an American electronic pop/indie-pop type band that joined forces again this summer in a reunion tour. Apparently, the Lollapalooza show was the group’s second to last performance ever, so the fact I got to see it was pretty cool. I honestly don’t know too many of their songs, but the concert was pretty good either way.

Grade: B

Tegan and Sara: Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie-pop duo consisting of twin sisters Tegan and Sara. They are both super cute and chatted briefly with the audience between songs, which I always enjoy. They also seemed really happy to be there and thanked the audience between every song. I don’t know many of their songs either, but I really enjoyed their show.

Grade: B+

Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend is an American indie rock/pop band consisting of four members. This concert was one of my favorites from the weekend. No one in the band looked particularly like rock starts, more like average dudes hanging out on a Sunday afternoon. All of Vampire Weekend’s songs are so fun, so hearing them live and being surrounded by thousands of people singing along with them was stupendous! A highlight of the show was when a random audience member somehow made it onto the stage and was tackled by security.

Grade: A+

Phoenix: Phoenix is an alternative rock band from France. If being from France and having catchy tunes didn’t already give them enough street cred, their concert surely did. This was the last show I saw all weekend, and everyone at the concert was dancing and singing like crazy people. Phoenix sounded so good and the vibe from everyone at the show was wonderful. 

Grade: A

Lollapalooza was so incredibly magical. If you are even slightly considering going, I highly recommend you do. It was certainly the greatest weekend of my summer and I am already anxiously awaiting next year!

Catfish is So Bad, It's Good

Since I have done nothing but work and sit around my house this summer, obsessively watching episodes of a television show back to back has become one of my favorite pastimes. The most recent show I’ve been serially watching is Catfish.

Catfish is a reality show on MTV (already sounds promising, right?) that reveals the truths and lies of online relationships. Nev Shulman and his filmmaker friend, Max Joseph, host the show and help people in online relationships figure out of the person they are in love with is truly who they are, or using a fake photo and name online. The term catfish refers to someone who poses as someone else online, hence the name of the show. Nev was catfished himself in the 2010 documentary of the same name when he discovered the woman he was romancing online was not who she said she was. I’ve only seen a handful of episodes so far, but I kind of love it.

The show is really bad, but I can’t stop watching. Part of the appeal is the Nev and Max dynamic. They are both really dorky and kind of awkward and their interactions with each other make me chuckle. I also don’t really understand why Max walks around with cameras the whole episode when the pair has a camera crew following them around as well, but it's part of the appeal for me. No episode is complete without Nev lovingly touching the catfish victim on the shoulder whilst consoling them, or without Max blatantly calling shenanigans on the person they are supposedly in love with, crushing everyone’s hopes and dreams. So classic.

The "Classic Nev"

The people involved in these relationships are so blatantly blinded by their “love” that you can’t help but watch to see what happens. In almost all of the episodes I’ve seen, the person on the other end of the relationship is lying about who they truly are. Before that is confirmed, however, it is so obvious that they are hiding something that you wonder why the person being duped hasn’t realized it yet. It’s also super exciting to watch Nev and Max when they investigate the person online and find crazy stuff about them. The best part obviously is when Nev and the crew confront the online liars in person.

As I watch the show, I know it’s bad and kind of stupid, but I’m still in love. My younger brother Ben and I have been watching it together and high five and shout “Classic Nev and Max!” whenever the pair does something uncomfortable, so that has made the show all the more enjoyable. I know I’m like super late to the party on this one since the show is fairly popular and is now in its second season, but better late than never for hopping on the crappy reality tv bandwagon, am I right?!

Have a great end to the week and thanks for reading :)

Books, Part Two

Happy Monday everyone! I have read a few good books lately and would love to share them with you.

1. Letting Ana Go by Anonymous. This is an anonymous journal belonging to a girl who died from anorexia. If you’re familiar with the popular book Go AskAlice, it is basically the same as that. The book documents the struggle of a girl named Ana with her eating disorder, all the way to her death. The book is obviously very sad because it is the real journal of someone who died, but it is incredibly interesting (and disturbing) to have the insight into the mind of someone with this disease. It is not a light-hearted read, but it profoundly affected me and it is worth sharing.

2. Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. I mentioned this book in my previous post about books, and have finally finished it. This book is the memoir of author Frank McCourt, documenting his time growing up poor in Ireland, through his moving to America when he was 19. Again, this isn’t exactly a light-hearted read, but hearing of McCourt’s rough childhood and seeing him overcome it was interesting. I didn’t particularly love this book, however. It was really hard for me to get through because it seemed to just drag on and on without too much happening, but it was also the first memoir I’ve read, so maybe that just isn’t my thing.

Mindy favorited my tweet. We're basically bffs.

3. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. I freaking LOVED this book. This is essentially a collection of essays by the wonderfully smart and funny writer, comedian, producer, and actor, Mindy Kaling. Mindy wrote and starred on NBC’s The Office and now has her own show, The Mindy Project. Kaling is incredibly relatable in this book and she is also hilarious. Please, please read this book. Also, I tweeted about loving it, and Mindy favorited it. Holla!

4. It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizinni. This book is about a 15-year-old boy named Craig who checks himself into a psych ward after he contemplates suicide. Although this book sounds like it would be depressing, it’s not at all. There are some funny parts, and I really enjoyed it. Apparently it was made into a movie a few years ago. Check out the trailer here. Judging by the trailer, the book is approximately two hundred times better.

5. 642 Things to Write About by the San Francisco Writer’s Grotto. Just as the title suggests, this book is filled with pages of 642 things to write about. Prompts range from writing an ode to an onion, to writing a scene in which the only words spoken are “uh-huh,” “Umm,” “Urrrrr,” and “Mm-mmm,” to documenting the difference between the first death you can remember to the most recent one. Although this book isn’t a novel like my other suggestions, it is super fun and I love it.

Use the rest of your summer well and read some of these lovely suggestions. Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

Where I've Been

Happy Saturday to all! I haven’t posted in a really long time, and that is because I have been a tad busy. Let me fill you in on my life as of late.

If you follow me on Twitter, you would have seen I tweeted about writing for a blog called U lala. U lala is a fashion and lifestyle blog focused on college students and fun things to do around a college campus. I obviously write for the Butler branch, and am quite excited to contribute to this site. It is really pretty to look at and the posts range from music recommendations (like my Music Monday posts), to DIY crafts, to cool things to do around each school’s campus. Check it out. I promise you’ll like it. Here’s my first post for the site.

My student's sketch of me. #SoProud

I was also busy this past week because I was back at Butler teaching an art camp. The camp was through the Butler Women’s Volleyball Camp that was going on. The kids played volleyball in the morning and then I had them for art in the afternoon. I was incredibly nervous going into the week because I had never taught art to anyone before, let alone a group of 16 seven to ten-year-olds. Luckily, all of the kids were super well behaved and loved all of the projects we did. A few of the kids told me I looked like Carly Rae Jepson, one girl drew me in her sketchbook, and a few others proudly exclaimed they loved art. Needless to say, it was a great week.

Now I’m back at home and anxiously awaiting my trip to Lollapalooza next week. I will definitely blog about that, so watch out if that interests you at all. I have also read some good books lately, so I will blog about those later in the week.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend :)

7 People You Should Follow on Twitter

Happy Tuesday to all. I love the Internet quite a lot, and one of the parts of the Internet I treasure is Twitter. If you only follow people you went to high school with who tweet about “getting’ swoll” or “chillin wit their bbe,” then your Twitter experience will turn sour real quick. Lucky for you, I have some brilliant accounts that you should follow.

1. Grace Helbig. I’ve blogged about Grace before when I posted about her YouTube channel, DailyGrace. Grace is hilarious and you must follow her.

2. Mindy Kaling. You might now Mindy as Kelly from The Office, or from her lead role on her tv show, The Mindy Project, or from her best-selling memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns). She is smart and incredibly funny and I want to be her best friend. 

3. Hipster Mermaid. A man named Braden Graeber runs this Twitter feed and it is hilarious. I don’t know what it is, but all of his tweets  get me good. 

4. Awkward Girl Problems. I love Awkward Girl Problems. She tweets about the strangest things and I just really enjoy it.

5. Anna Kendrick. Anna Kendrick is hilarious and adorable. If you haven’t figured that out yet, please follow her on Twitter. 

6. Steve Martin. Judging by his Twitter feed, Steve Martin seems incredibly strange. I love it.

7. Steve Carell. Steve Carell’s Twitter is as delightful as you imagine it would be. He also tweets about his kids sometimes, which is adorable.

 Go ahead and improve your Twitter life by following these accounts. Also, feel free to follow me because I'm hilarious. Just ask me.

Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

Music Monday: Bear Puns

Happy Music Monday! Let’s talk about a band called Bear Puns.

My friend Alexis introduced me to this band (she also introduced me to Lorde, check her out!), and they are pretty fly. Bear Puns is a fairly new band, so I don’t know much about them, and there is not much on the interwebs about them yet, but I do know their music is a bit indie and a bit quirky, and what’s not to love about that?

The band consists of a singing/songwriting duo, and they have released one digital album entitled A Blank Portrait. Their album is available here on their bandcamp website, as well as on their Facebook page, so pop on over to both sites and give it a listen. My favorites are “All in a Row,” “California is Waiting,” and “Hey Girl,” but mostly “Hey Girl.” They also just started a YouTube channel, so you should check that out as well.

P.S. Their Facebook page only has a bit over 1,000 likes, so if you’re like super hip and into knowing about bands before they make it big, you should go like them.

Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

 

Monsters University

Happy Saturday to all! From my observations, summer seems to be the time where crappy movies are all released at the same time. Fortunately, there have been a few released recently that have broken my preconceived notions. One such movie is Monsters University.

Monsters University is a prequel to the 2001 Pixar film, Monsters, Inc. This film follows Mike Wazowski and his dream to become a professional scarer. Mike enrolls and Monsters University, and shortly after meeting James P. Sullivan (Sully,) they both get kicked out of the scarers program. Mike, Sully, and his new misfit friends compete in the school’s annual scaring competition to fight their way back into the program.  

I am not a fan of prequels or sequels, so I had low expectations going into this movie. Much to my surprise, I loved it. An appealing part of this film is that most of the original fans of Monsters, Inc. are in, or recently out, of college, so seeing the characters from the first film in a similar situation is enticing. Well played, Pixar. Well played. After seeing this movie, I am also 100 percent certain that if I went to Monsters University, Mike Wazowski would be my best friend. He is so gosh darn loveable.

Another highlight was the animated short at the beginning of the movie. (For anyone who doesn’t know, Pixar movies always have a short animated video preceding the actual film). This animated short was titled The Blue Umbrella. It was so good! The clip followed a blue umbrella through the streets of a busy city to find a red umbrella he is in love with. There was no speaking, and all of the characters were inanimate objects that came to life in the rain. I’m just flabbergasted by the fact that inanimate objects, incapable of speaking, can captivate an audience and make you feel emotion.

Overall, Monsters University was very entertaining. The movie was just plain fun to watch, and it was cool seeing how everyone from the first movie was in college. If you are a fan of Monsters, Inc., or even if you’re not, you should go see this movie. Fo’real. 

P.S. I linked the Monsters University website up above. It is like an actual college website, so you should check it out. Pretty cool stuff. 

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading :) 

That One Time My Blog Got Deleted

Happy Monday everyone! My sincerest apologies for my lack of posts lately. I do have a legitimate excuse, but it’s kind of a long story.

My high school assigned each student an email address set up through gmail. Blogger is set up through gmail, and so is YouTube, so when I started a YouTube channel, and then started this blog, my high school gmail account automatically hooked up with these two sites. When this syncing happened, I thought nothing of it, and carried on my merry way.

Unfortunately, one morning a few weeks ago, a day after posting my Ai Weiwei blog, I tried to log onto YouTube, only to find that my gmail account no longer existed. I soon realized that meant ALL of my blog posts on here were gone forever as well because, being the smart girl that I am, decided to not back up my posts anywhere and type them directly onto this site. Bad idea.

All of my blog posts, as well as my YouTube videos and subscriptions, were gone. After panicking and being angry for about two days, I emailed the tech people from my high school, explaining the situation. They were super helpful and reactivated my old account so I could recover my blog and link it with a new gmail account. Unfortunately, my YouTube channel cannot be easily transferred because of the way YouTube functions now, so I have to start over with that, meaning, if you were subscribed to me before, you will have to resubscribe in order to see my lovely face! (Click here for that link!)

My reaction to seeing my blog was GONE!

Thankfully, the blog transferred over without a hitch, and now I will get back on track with my writing! Sorry for the lull, but I will post regularly again so don’t fret! Most importantly, though, learn from my mistakes and back your shiz up!

Have a righteous week and thanks for reading :)

Ai Weiwei: According to What?

Happy Tuesday all! In a previous post, I mentioned that I saw an exhibit at the Indianapolis Museum of Art by an artist named Ai Weiwei. The exhibit was incredibly inspiring, and convinced me that Ai Weiwei is a total bad ass.

Ai Weiwei is a Chinese artist from Beijing. He was born there and moved to the United States for a period of time, but moved back in 1993. Weiwei's work focuses on human rights and social change, which caused him trouble with the Chinese government, starting in 2009. Three years prior, Weiwei began blogging, commenting on the politics of China. After he began a project to collect names of over 5,000 children who were killed in the May 2008 Sichuan earthquake, the government took notice.

His politically charged work and blog angered the government, prompting them to shut the blog down in 2009. Soon after, Weiwei was beaten by police, and later put on house arrest. In early 2011, his studio was destroyed by authorities, and he was secretly detained in April of that year. The government said he was detained for tax issues, but Weiwei denies that as the reason. He was kept for three months, and released, then released a documentary called Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry about his art and social activism, clearly showing that this run-in with the government would not change his art or ways of thinking.

Since his release, Weiwei has been carefully watched by the government, which is reflected in his work through a marble surveillance camera sculpture featured in the exhibit at the IMA, Ai Weiwei: According to What? His "fuck you" attitude is also reflected in his work through a series of photographs of him flicking off national monuments, as well as a series of photos where he smashes a Han Dynasty urn.

Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn

He blatantly showcases his interactions with the government in the exhibit through a photo he took right after he was taken by the government,

Picture he took after he was arrested

as well as an enlarged photo of a scan of his swollen brain after being beaten.

He has gotten so much crap from the Chinese government for his work, he has been physically beaten, and has been detained for 81 days, yet he still produces work that speaks to what he believes in. Ai Wewei is a total bad ass. There is no other way to put it. He sticks to his guns and produces controversial work, no matter the consequence, because it provides commentary on issues he thinks are important. As an artist of any sort, that is the main thing one strives for. Seeing him achieve his goal, despite physical consequences, is inspiring beyond belief. I could honestly talk about the exhibit for many more paragraphs, but I don't want to make this post too long. Instead, check out this really great video John Green made about the exhibit.

If you live near Indianapolis, please, please go see the exhibit! It will be at the IMA until July 21st, and costs $12, but it is so worth the money.

Have a great week, and thanks for reading :)

Books

Happy Wednesday to all. Since summer has been in full swing for about a month, and I am starting to feel slightly guilty about sitting around the house all day watching television, I have started sitting around the house all day reading books. Here's what I've been reading lately:

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I know I'm a little late to the party on this one, but I finally read The Hunger Games. I didn't love the first book, (probably because I saw the movie and already knew what was going to happen) but I loved, loved the second. I also really enjoyed how the third book ended, although a lot of people weren't happy with it. The series is very easy to get through, so if you've even considered reading it, I'd say go for it.

2. Looking for Alaska by John Green: I read The Fault in Our Stars by Green earlier this year and enjoyed it. After reading that book, I discovered he and his brother Hank run the YouTube channel called VlogBrothers. I checked it out and it is a good time, so I decided to read another book by him. Looking for Alaska is about a 16-year-old kid who goes away to boarding school and meets some pretty cool people. The first part of the book wasn't super great, but the last half or so was enjoyable.

3. Peanut by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe: This is a graphic novel about a girl who starts at a new school and pretends to be allergic to peanuts. I read a few graphic novels in one of my classes this past year, and loved them, so I thought I would give this one a go. Unfortunately I did not love it. The story was a little weak, but I did enjoy the graphics.

4. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon: This book is a ten step guide to becoming more creative and gaining inspiration. Kleon is an artist, as well as a writer, so he has so many great ideas for inspiration, and he understands the way a creative mind works. I'm about halfway done with this book, but it is so incredibly inspiring, I just get jazzed thinking about it. If you're a creatively minded person, or want more creativity in your life, please please read this book!

5. Wreck This Journal by Keri Smith: This is another book for creative minded people, or someone who needs to lose some control in their life. This book is essentially a journal with simple instructions of what to record on each page. The pages range from instructions to draw circles, to putting a string around the book and taking it for a walk, to using it as a napkin and wiping your food on a page. This is another incredibly inspiring book and I can't wait to fill each page with whatever my heart desires!

A sample page from Wreck this Journal

Next on my list is Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, so I will most likely blog about that in the nearish future. Have a great week and thanks for reading :) 

Music Monday: The Flight of the Conchords

Happy Monday to all! My cousin recently recommended that I watch the HBO show The Flight of the Conchords. Since his recommendation, I have been feverishly watching, and just finished the first season. I am legitimately obsessed.

The show is based around the real life band The Flight of the Conchords, but is a satirized version of their real lives. Since the show is about a band, every episode has at least one of the band's songs. The show stars the real-life members of the band, Bret McKenzie and Jermaine Clement, who play comedic versions of themselves on the show. The band, along with their band manager Murray, is from New Zealand, so there is an added bonus of hearing fun accents while you're watching.

This show is absolutely hilarious and showcases very dry, subtle humor, which I think is the best kind. Bret constantly quits the band and wears funny crew neck sweatshirts with animals on them, while Jermaine interacts awkwardly with most people he meets and wears collared shirts and blazers, reminiscent of a disco man.

Literally everything about this show is perfect. It is really quirky and weird, and the songs the guys sing are absolutely hilarious and tie into whatever is happening in their lives. Unfortunately, the show only lasted for two seasons. If you like humor similar to that in Napoleon Dynamite (my favorite movie,) you will love Flight of the Conchords as much as I do.

Have a great week and thanks for reading :)

A Trip to Indiana

Happy Saturday to all! Sorry I have not been posting too much on here. I have a lot of stuff I want to talk about, so I will most certainly get back to posting several times a week.

Earlier this week, I went to Westfield, Indiana to visit my (former) roommate, Ashni, as well as my good friends Katie and Brandon. It was so, so great to see the three of them because I missed them quite a bit. On the second day of my visit, Ashni, Katie, and I went out to lunch with my (former) RA, Kelly.

Katie, Ashni, and me

Ashni and I became great friends with Kelly this past year, and since Katie was always in our room, she did too. After we went out to lunch, we went to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. I went and saw the Ai Wei Wei exhibit, and it was glorious! I am going to blog about that next week, so keep an eye out for that!

After the museum, we took Kelly back to Butler where she is taking summer classes and being an RA for the other summer class takers on campus. Being back at school, even for a short amount of time, was really refreshing. I am quite enjoying being home, but I deeply missed my friends from school.

Kelly, me, and Ashni

Highlights from the trip: 1. When at lunch with Kelly, I had an allergic reaction of sorts to what I was eating. My throat and lips were really tingly and tickly. It was strange.
2. When driving home on Thursday night, I was caught in a treacherous rainstorm!! There was no rain for a very long time, then I drove under a little bridge underpass, and when I emerged, the downpour began! It was intense.

Have a righteous weekend, and thanks for reading :)

Music Monday: Lorde

Happy Monday to all! My apologizes for a lack of a Music Monday last week, but this week's artist is pretty darn good. Today I would like to talk about Lorde.

Lorde (her real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor) is a 16-year-old singer/songwriter from New Zealand. She made her musical debut in late 2012, so she has not been around too long. Due to her novice status, she has only released one EP so far, titled The Love Club. Despite being fairly new in the music game, her single "Royals" debuted as #1 on the Australian charts. Rock on, sister. Rock on.

My friend Alexis introduced me to Lorde last week, and let me tell you I am so glad she did. Lorde is only 16-years-old, but she is incredibly talented. It blows my mind. She sounds like the super talented love child of Adele, Ellie Goulding, and Florence Welch. Oh, and did I mention that she writes all of her own songs? Here are a few songs by her, so give them a listen and enjoy!

Thanks for reading and have a rockin' week :)

Love?

Happy Saturday to all!

Recently, I have been thinking about the way we, as humans, view relationships. In the average human's mind, being in a relationship and being in love is seen as ultimate happiness; the highest achievable goal and accomplishment possible. In our minds, we view people in relationships to be on another level of happiness, and those who are single are seen as sadder or more lonely than those in love. This is a bit of a generalization, but seeing this thought process got me to thinking: as humans, do we view being in a relationship/in love as the ultimate happiness and something we should strive for because society tells us we should, or do we view it as such because as human beings, we are programmed to feel our happiest and function best in a relationship?

I have been asking my friends and family this question quite recently, and almost everyone says it is a mixture, but tends to lean one way or the other. This is quite impossible to know for certain, but I also think that it is a mixture of both, but lean more towards society. Thinking of just the friendships I have in my life now, I know that they make me happier than I would be if I did not have these relationships in my life. Humans do thrive by being around others. This leads me to believe that we do need some sort of companionship, whether it be romantic or not. Being alone without human contact for a week would make me sad, so I personally find happiness in my relationships with the people in my life. Consequently, if I had continual human contact for a week without alone time, that would also make me sad. Overall, though, I think that any sort of human relationship brings us happiness, and it does not have to be a romantic one.

On the other hand, society stresses so much what being in a relationship is like that it slightly skews what the source of being happy can be. One of my friends pointed out that on sitcoms or in movies, the people who are in relationships are often presented with their lives in check and seem happy, while single people are often presented as unsure of their futures and scatter brained or sad. This makes the viewer think they need to be in a relationship to be happy. Assuming you will get married and have children is another societal implication. Growing up, almost every person you are around casually speaks about what they'll do when they're married, or when they have kids. We truly have no right to assume that. Who knows if we will all get married some day? Even if you do get married, who knows if you will have children? We so quickly assume that this will be our future because that is what everyone else does. It is what society teaches us to be the norm, and the way to being a happy American family. This does make me wonder: if we did not feel pressure to get married, would we naturally gravitate towards that anyhow?

There is no way to know for certain if you will or will not get married, or if the longing for that is societal or not, but that should not dictate your happiness. I by no means want to depress anyone or make you feel sad about being alone. This post is a little more intense than most of the other stuff I blog about, but it is something that I've been asking people about, so I thought, why not blog about it?

Please comment and let me know what you think! It is quite interesting to hear everyone's take on the situation.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading :)

The Great Gatsby

Happy Wednesday everyone! A few nights ago, I saw The Great Gatsby with my brother. I was very anxious to see the film because it is always tricky when movies are based on books. Despite my hesitation, I was pleasantly surprised.

For anyone who does not know, the movie is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The book is wildly popular and is considered to be one of the greatest American novels of all time. Because the book is so well known, and I read it for a second time earlier this year, I was afraid the movie was going to ruin the book.

Yes, Leo. Yes.

The movie was pretty good overall, proving to be better than I anticipated, but not as good as I hoped. The costumes and set were spectacular, and the first party scene at Gatsby's house was an intense explosion of color and excitement. The film's soundtrack included modern songs and covers by Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Florence Welch. There were parts in the movie where the modern soundtrack went really well, but there were moments where the up-to-date music contrasted the 1920s feel a bit too much. The movie was also incredibly long, and sometimes focused too much on the set and atmosphere, rather than the story.

Leonardo DiCaprio was a perfect Gatsby, and Joel Edgerton was the Tom Buchanan I pictured when reading the book. Carey Mulligan did a good job as Daisy as well, and after seeing the film, I fully came to realize how much of a B Daisy Buchanan really is. Another plus of the film is that it followed the book very well and used many direct quotes, which I was really excited to recognize. But most importantly, Leonardo DiCaprio wears a pink suit and looks crazy good doing it.

 I would definitely recommend seeing The Great Gatsby, especially if you've read the book. It had a slight modern twist, but still maintained the 1920s feel, and followed the novel very well.

Have a great rest of the week, and thanks for reading :)

Music Monday: Alabama Shakes

Happy Music Monday to all! For any new readers, my name is Bekah. I blog for Butler University, but decided to start a different blog for the summer. You can check out my Butler blog here. Every Monday, I blog about music that I recommend to my readers, dubbing it Music Monday. This Music Monday is dedicated to the Alabama Shakes.

The Alabama Shakes are an American rock band from Alabama. They formed in 2009 and have released one album, Boys and Girls. The group was nominated for three Grammy's this year for Best New Artist, Best Rock Performance, and Best Recording Package. Their debut song was "Hold On," but some of their songs have gained notoriety as well. Their song "Always Alright" was featured in the film Silver Linings Playbook. Righteous.

The Alabama Shakes are incredibly soulful and just make me feel good when I hear them. I have not heard a huge amount of their music, but what I have heard is really good. A few of my favorites by them are down below. Check em out!

Thanks for reading and have a great week :)

Hold On

Always Alright

Boys and Girls

First Post...Kinda

Hi friends! I will start posting regularly on here real soon. Sorry there's nothing to look at yet. In the mean time, take a look at my blog through Butler University: http://www.butler.edu/admission/student-perspectives/blogs/bekah/