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I’ve been gone — A life recap?

I had not realized how long I had been gone from doing this.  Seems like just yesterday I was writing my Academy Awards post.

But now, in mid-April, everything is much different.  I live my life by a new motto, one which was inspired by Siegel + Gale’s value system: Smart, nice, unstoppable.  Since I’ve heard a lecture from a strategy director at the firm, I have been ruthless in my mission to be the best that I can be.  I live my life by a daily checklist (which honestly helps the flow, rather than make each day feel robotic), dive into my studies, and have toned down my attitude for trivial matters.  As a result, I’m much happier.  Give it a go.

And now the semester is almost over.  Less than a month until I’m officially a junior in college.  Wow.  I can still remember the day I got my NYU acceptance letter.  The excitement that I did not really show on the surface, but felt boiling within me.  Then the ups and downs of actually getting to NYU: the money, the trips to New York, the room situation, the scheduling, and the final drive here.  My first year at NYU flew by.  I made some amazing, life-changing friends at Rubin Hall, who I still hold dear to me.  I joined the best fraternity in the world, Delta Phi, and my number of brothers increases every 6 months.  I spent a few weeks at Georgetown, and expanded my circle even further.  And this school year has flown by.  I’ve been involved, I’ve been challenged, I’ve been living life.  In two short years my life has changed so drastically — better than I ever could have imagined.  Who would have guessed that I would come to New York, join a fraternity, get an amazing internship, get straight As in school, and still stay true to myself?

And it would be unfair if I didn’t mention my amazing family at home.  The sacrifice that they have all taken for me has been truly exceptional.  It’s hard to express that in person sometimes, but I know that they understand my gratitude.  And hey, they just bought a new house, so kudos to a new hot tub this summer!  Thank you at home, especially my mom.

Oh hey, this post wasn’t what I intended it to be.  But a lot has happened in the past couple years, and sometimes you’ve just got to express that through summary.

Here’s to growing up, looking young, and being awesome!

Academy Awards: Best Picture

So I’ve finally gotten my life in order enough to get back to posting.  I’m also working on getting a whole new look and feel to the site, but that will come later.

Anyway, the Academy Awards are this Sunday!  Should be a pretty obvious list of winners this year, as the standouts truly were standouts.  I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot of The Artist taking home big awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, etc.).  And since the awards are paired with my birthday weekend, I’m left even more pumped.

Best Picture

Will win: The Artist

Should win: The Artist

Honorable Mention: The Descendants

This film was truly a joy to watch, even though it had no spoken words.  This had to have been such a hard project to pull off, from the writer to director to the actors.  I can’t even imagine having to express an entire film through music and expression alone.  Both lead actors were amazing in their roles (and are both nominated) as they were able to tackle the expression-driven film.  I actually want to go and watch some silent films now.

When I first heard of the film, I was skeptical of the idea.  This was definitely a stretch and experiment for 2011-2012 (hopefully no one tries to copy).  It could have easily gone the opposite direction, with a boring story and stale actors, and still been a silent film experiment.  What separates this film from the 1920s films that I’ve seen is that its a silent film about silent film (and then “talkies”) making.  What an interesting world it would be today if we didn’t know what our celebrities sounded like.

Overall, it left me very happy.  The Descendants, which is probably it’s only true contender, left me very sad.  I’m all right with being happy.

We so excited!

I’m usually very critical of crappy, auto-tuned, manufactured music.  Artists that come to mind are Ke$ha and LMFAO.  They used to really bother me, mainly because they were taking valuable space on the Billboard charts that better musicians deserve.  But, I’m beginning to rethink all music.  Music made purely to sell might not be the most creative process in the world, but it seems to please a lot of people.  Valuing self-written, genuine music is still very important, but everyone needs some trash here and there, especially to reel in a crowd.

I’m still going to place the real artists over the manufactured ones, but I guess admitting my liking of cheap isn’t such a bad thing.  Cheers to all the musicians who don’t write, produce, or actually sing half their notes (apparently robot is in)!

February: A month of shout-outs

This month, I will give a shout-out each day to something or someone important in my life.  Look forward to these daily posts and see if you relate or agree.

Florida Primary!

Oh hey, another primary is almost underway.  Tomorrow, the Florida Primary will commence, and with it, a victory for either Gingrich or Romney.

Romney is the high favorite to win this vote.  I would be shocked if he didn’t win by a 7+ pt margin.   As well, tomorrow is the first meeting of the year for NYU Students for Barack Obama, so look forward to some liberal tweets coming your way @SteveOHare.