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 :)