With the Seattle University Dance Marathon taking place tomorrow night, it struck me that a couple of my favorite bands are coming to Seattle soon. Then it stuck me that they could be considered dance marathons as well. In the hopes that you were already planning on busting a move this weekend, let me suggest two bands that seriously bust a groove. Here are a couple YouTube clips from both. You will probably add them to your favorites!

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9)

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Everyone these days enjoys the thrill of showing all of their friends the greatest new websites or youtube videos they found, however who has the time to search through all of the internet to find the jewels? In the sprawling vastness of the internet its nearly impossible to find any smaller sites that are unique unless you randomly fall upon one in between bored stretches of  Facebook time and looking up -ahem- educational “anatomy” videos.

However praises be answered! Instead of having to find sites yourself, now you can simply lazily click your interests online and the magical people of Stumble will find websites from around the inter-webs that match what you selected! All without you having to use any of your precious time to find them! Read more…

Hurt Locker Poster courtesy of Summit Entertainment

Lost in Translation Poster courtesy of Focus Features

The 21st Century began with a transformative decade in film. From films that captured the chaos and insecurity of a post 9/11 terror-centric world to comic depictions of post-modern family values; this decade’s host of films sought to depict a rapidly changing world with ingenuity and creativity. Directors challenged everyone from the food industry (Food Inc) to President Bush (Fahrenheit 9/11), and handled subjects ranging from dysfunctional families (Little Miss Sunshine, Juno) to a zombie infested apocalypse (28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland) to historic civil rights leaders (Milk, Bobby). This list of the 25 best films of the decade (spanning from 2000 to 2009), not only represent the best in filmmaking but also encapsulate the decade known as the naughts.

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Gives Me Hope is a website that began in May 2009 as a hopeful counter to F-My Life, a website dedicated to how posters days were ruined. On Gives Me Hope, posters write of incidents and moments of their life where they were inspired, sometimes by the simplest of things. In turn, the stories leave readers a bit more hopeful. The website was created by two University of Notre Dame grads, Gaby Montero and Emerson Spartz, who write in their about us section, that “with all of the hurt and suffering in the world, who couldn’t use a few more reasons to hope each day?” Read more…

Finals are coming, papers are due and, sometimes, that extra minute can work wonders on your work. 60 Second Recap, a website that synthesizes important points of the classics into sixty second soundbites, is the Cliff Notes of the 21st century. A mixture of quick answers, succinct explanations and immediate gratification, Recap has created a new version of the old Cliff Notes modis operandi. In the one minute videos, Recap explores plot, character, motifs, symbolism and theme. Each video is straight, to the point and manages to condense extremely complex books into one minute soundbites, without losing too much credibility. In fact, the short videos are surprisingly accurate.

If you are looking for more fully fleshed out avenue where technology and literature meet, check out Librivox.  Librivox is an all volunteer website that offers free audio recordings of books in the public domain. Thus far, they are over 2300 works to choose from. From poetry to classic literature to philosophical waxings, Librivox provides a unique service and one that helps we students who can’t manage read another word. You now listen, instead.

Whether you need a reaffirmation of the books you are reading or a new venue in which to explore books, these websites are fantastic resources to have in your bookmark.

Pretty much sums up my childhood. Courtesy of howstuffworks.com

People play video games for two reasons. Most play these time wasters as a form of recreation; to lay back with their friends and unwind with a game of Madden or two. A select few people, ie. the hardcore gamer crowd, play them for more masochistic reasons. The concept of a nerd with a need to prove himself is admittedly hilarious but video games easily provide that outlet.

Below is a small selection of five video games that nerds such as myself have found particularly challenging. They aren’t so much played for fun as they are played for pain. That being said, there’s nothing like wasting an entire weekend to beat a game that has been repeatedly stepping on your face for the last month.

I’ve omitted any games created before the year 2000. Eliminating 20 years worth of gaming back log is just easier. Keep in mind that this is just one man’s opinion.

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A curious window into the lives of East Germans during the Cold War. Courtesy of impawards.com

The Berlin Wall came down 4 days and 20 years ag. In light of “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”, Seattle U is celebrating the 20th anniversary with a full week of festivities appropriately titled ‘Fall of the Wall.’ This included a week-long nightly film showing in Xavier relating to East Germany. “The Lives of Others” is arguably the most high-profile of the four, having won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

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