The Format

Haven't updated in awhile so thought I would write up a recommendation of one of my favorite bands. The Format are an indie rock/pop group from my home state of Arizona. Now Arizona isn't really known for it's musical groups but I feel like The Format is the hands down best. They have two albums out, Interventions + Lullabies and Dog Problems. Both are incredible, but my personal favorite is Interventions + Lullabies. Unfortunately the band is currently on hiatus and hasn't been working on new music for a few years now. I've had my fingers crossed that they'll get back together but sadly there hasn't really been any news about anything. However some of the band members are still involved in music and are working with other groups on some great stuff. Give them a listen and see if you like it. Below I posted my favorite song of theirs "On Your Porch".

Selling Back Textbooks

This is pretty just my personal rant about reselling my textbooks back to my school. To me it seems like such an unfair practice, but people still just accept it because of the convenience. To start with they charge you ridiculous prices for the books in the first place. And then they act as though allowing you to sell them back is some great favor, when they're just gonna take them and sell them next year to students for more outrageous prices. The profits they make off of these books must be high since they can keep on repeating this process year after year. I could make more money by selling them online to people for less than the school would sell them for, and then I make more money and the new students pay less. But I, and probably the majority of the students here won't do this. Allowing the school to buy them back is just so much easier. On my way to class I pass at least three tents that will buy my textbooks for a fraction of their worth, and since I'm lazy I know that I'll do it. It's an infuriating system to think about, but since all people like me do is complain about it but not actually do anything, I don't see it changing anytime soon.

The Lord of the Rings Screenings

During the month of June movie theaters all across the county will be reshowing the Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Trilogy. Watching these films again in a theater atmosphere is an opportunity you won't want to miss if you are a fan. Also, if you haven't seen the extended editions yet you need to! They offer so much more content and a bunch of really good scenes that didn't make it into the theatrical release.

This is all in an attempt to generate more buzz for the upcoming Hobbit movies, and each of the screenings will have a short introduction from Peter Jackson on the set of the new film. There are quite a few theaters that are participating in this from what I've seen, but for all the details look here http://www.fathomevents.com/originals/series/lordoftherings.aspx. This is truly an amazing chance to watch these films again, surrounded by other fans of the series. 

Choosing a Major

I'm currently a first year student at University and am having a lot of difficulty choosing a major. All throughout high school I never really had any solid ideas on what I wanted to study, and always just sort of assumed I would figure it all out once I got to college. Well now I'm nearly at the end of my first year and still don't know which direction to take. I've found a few things that I enjoy studying about, but nothing in particular that I'm really passionate about. Entering the year I was an undecided major, but have since picked one just to make the course selecting process go smoother. I know that it's okay to switch your major and that most students do at some point, but I'd still like to have at least some plans for my future. So far the majors that I am considering are:

• Philosophy
• English
• Political Science
• Economics
• History

If anybody has any first hand experience with these majors I would greatly appreciate any advice. Especially about possible career paths after I get my degree. I know a lot of my choices aren't really the toughest classes to choose, but I've never really been strong in science, or liked it very much, so I pretty much want to avoid all of those options.

GoT First Episode Review

I know that its' already been out for quite a few days, but I've been busy with some things so haven't been able to say what I thought about it yet. Just to start off with I absolutely loved this first episode. I know that I'm more than a little biased since I'm such a huge fan of the series, but even still I feel like it was a very well made show. There were some small things changed from the book that irritated, but I expected these things and overall was surprised that they were true to the story on such a huge amount of stuff. The characters were all incredible, with a special nod to Peter Dinkalge who played Tyrion and absolutely stole the show during his brief scenes. Can't wait for the series to progress and his role to develop. Most of the complaints I've noticed are directed towards the Dany and Khal Drogo sex scene at the end. I have to agree that they played up a strange rapey angle that wasn't really how it came across in the book. But I'm confident that they'll fix this relationship in the upcoming episodes. Other than a few small things like that I really can't find any faults with this episode. If you're not already watching I strongly encourage you to start while the show is still beginning. Critics seem to love it and it's already been renewed for a second season.

NHL Playoffs

Just thought I'd write a small post about the NHL Playoffs that are going on now. In my opinion they are the best post season in all of sports. Although this is the first year I really got into March Madness and I must admit that they can come pretty close. But still the Stanley Cup Finals are the best to me because it's seven game series so you know some fluke game isn't going to decide the winner. Also the level of intensity that they play with and maintain for two months in unmatched by anything else I've ever seen in sports.  This years playoffs seem to be shaping of pretty well so far, except for the seriously depressing fact that my Phoenix Coyotes are down 2-0 to the Red Wings currently. But hopefully things will get turned around tonight! In the East I'm hoping that the Rangers will be able to upset the #1 seed Capitals, but also a long shot I know. So what does everybody else feel about it? Have any favorite teams you're pulling for, or just not a fan of the game at all? Let me know what you think

Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair

This is the newest single from my favorite band "Arctic Monkeys". It's pretty different from most of their earlier stuff so a lot of fans don't really like it too much, but I still feel it's a very good song. With most bands that change their sound over time there's going to be some people who long for the older stuff, but this is just how things work these days. I personally do like their older stuff better, but that could just be my nostalgia. Maybe in five years or so this will be my preferred song. It's a single off of their upcoming album 'Suck It And See' which is set to be released in the US on Tuesday June 7th 2011. Whether you're already a fan or have never heard of these talented Englishmen I encourage you to check out some of their stuff.