On My Upcoming College Graduation

September 1, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

I just began my final semester of college last week. Is it a bit bittersweet? Maybe. Am I ready to be done? Absolutely. Despite college allowing for a person to take naps in the middle of the day and get super wasted while using the excuse that you are a college student, I’d rather be out in the real world. The real world has a never ending list of obstacles that a person has to face. Even with the obstacles, I’m ready to move past the academic world and into the real world.

It’s tiring having to constantly be around people that don’t want to think about or plan for their future. They spend the majority of their money on shopping trips to the mall, video games, Starbucks coffee, and eating out. I’m disconnected with most of the college culture. I say this with a little hesitation because I’m partly like them in that I don’t exactly know what I want to do after I graduate college. I do, however, have a list of goals I’m aiming for and things I want to accomplish (if you’re ever in the Austin, TX area, I can show you my poster board I have it all written down on, haha). I’m sort of like the male version of Leslie Knope (from Parks & Recreation) in how I plan.

Having my ambitions and goals written down doesn’t completely help whenever I discuss my post-grad plans. Anyone that is graduating college or has graduated college in the past knows how cringing and repetitive it can be whenever people ask the dreaded questions:

So what are you going to do once you graduate college? What are your future plans?

I want to run into a hole whenever I hear the question. It’s an awkward question to ask because I’m not exactly sure how things will pan out after graduation. This happens to nearly every soon to be graduate, not because they lack direction, but because life throws obstacles that make it hard to have a set goal (especially when you’re still trying to figure that goal out). Things cost more money than you expected, you can’t move to a new city due to financial reasons, student loans need to be paid back and the dream job that you want requires a minimum of three years experience.

It makes a soon to be graduate quickly go from excited about graduation to feeling depressed. 911, help, my life starts in a few months, how do I plan it?!? Sometimes I think my job search for my first post-grad job will be a lot like the one detailed in an article on The Onion. Hopefully not!

My answer for whenever someone asks the dreaded What are you going to do after graduation? question is straightforward.

I’m going to become a psychic, so I can see into the future and decide what I want to do for the next 50 years of my life.

I say that exact reply. People either laugh or look at me weird before saying ‘okay’ (It’s usually the latter). It’s okay though. Even though I’m constantly bombarded with the question of my future plans, I know in the end (as long as I stick to my goals and ambitions) I’ll be fine. Will my first job out of college be one I hate? Maybe. The career choices I make now do have a big impact but they aren’t set in stone permanent. Everyone has to start somewhere. Or as the characters in American Hustle would say:

Pulling from a Fast Company article, I have a list of questions I ask myself frequently (instead of the simply dreadful “What is my passion/what do I want to do with my life? question).

What type of work leaves me feeling challenged? (in a good way)
What keeps me up at night? What do I think about before falling asleep?
What are my superpowers? (character & personality strengths)
Looking back on my career 20 years from now, what do I want to say I’ve accomplished?
What did I enjoy doing as a kid? The things things that let me lose track of time.

To quickly add another quote, when I think about my future, a Martin Luther King Jr. quote comes to mind: You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.

I’m not going to have a burnout by stressing constantly over my future plans. *cue Macaulay Culkin Home Alone freakout face* I’ll vigorously research pathways to take but I’m not going to let it completely take over my life. I’m staying open to the many possibilities available to me.

Right now I’m taking 15 hours of classes for my final semester, working an internship at a public relations agency, and writing my first novel. I’m doing good right now and soaking up as much as I can.

As Pat from Silver Linings Playbook would say: Excelsior! (ever upward). I’m keeping this as my motto as I move closer to graduating and stepping out into the world.

*Side Note: Sorry for all the Fast Company links, I’ve had a bit of an obsession with their site lately*

Evolution of the Romantic Comedy

August 18, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

“Boring”, “Overdone” and “haven’t I already seen this?” are some of the common comments that sit below a YouTube Trailer for an upcoming romantic comedy. People are getting tired of the predictable genre and are moving on from it to cinematic romance movies.

Romantic comedies used to be viewed in a positive way for most. They were easy to follow, had a predictable but nice ending and made you feel a mushy gushy warm feeling inside. For the most part, women would go in attendance to these types of films. Now it seems as though no one wants to see the dying genre anymore.

The 2012 film What to Expect When Your Expecting, even with a star studded cast, made only $41 million domestically against a budget of $40 million. The Jason Segel and Emily Blunt romantic couple comedy The Five Year Engagement grossed $27 million domestically against a budget of $30 million.

Studios seemed to try to take on a different approach this year with the guy-centric romantic comedies That Awkward Moment and Cavemen. That Awkward Moment seemed more like That Awkward Movie to most viewers due to its lack of a clear theme. The movie’s success seems to be attributed mainly due to the star power of its leading stars Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan rather than any compliments to the actual movie.

The cinematic romance and romantic dramedy have faired well recently. 2013 featured the films Enough Said, The Spectacular Now, Before Midnight, Drinking Buddies, and many others. Enough Said and Before Midnight went on to gross more than $25 million each.

Movie goers seem to divert from the clique plots and happy endings of rom-coms in favor of the realistic portrayals of romance in the films like Enough Said, Before Midnight and others. The films feature characteristics like natural lighting, complex conflicts, *real looking* people and natural dialogue (particularly in the case of Drinking Buddies which had largely improvised dialogue).

So in the times of decreasing box office returns, studios should look into romance films that people want: ones that show there isn’t always a happy ending to relationships…and that’s okay.

On living in my car freshman year

August 15, 2014 - colinashby 3 Comments

So on Wednesday, USA Today College published my article about living in my car freshman year. I seriously didn’t think it would be read and shared so many times. All of my other articles on the site didn’t get super high viewership. So when I submitted my car story, I naturally thought it would follow the other viewership patterns of the other articles.

Well…the article was read a lot. Many people gave very kind words (THANK YOU SO MUCH!). Others got deep into debate about the challenging nature of higher education in the country.

Because of the concise nature of the piece, some people naturally had questions after reading. So I will answer some questions below that were commonly asked.

Where did you shower?!?! Did you shower?!?!

Yes, I showered every day. I used the campus recreation center at Texas State along with some other places.

So how did you eat? What did you eat?

Not having a kitchen was a huge challenge but I got by. I mostly ate prepackaged food. There was a microwave in one of the dining halls at Texas State and I used that to cook Ramen noodles, soup and other microwavable foods.

Did you do laundry?

There are laundromats in San Marcos…and I used them.

This guy is lying! All freshmen are required to live on campus!

I did live in my car for my freshmen year of college. I was able to do it because I classified as a commuter. Go to the Texas State housing website and click on the ‘Commuting from Home of Your Parent/Legal Guardian’. Reading the paragraph, you will notice that if a student lives within 60 miles of the Texas State campus, then they are exempted from living in the dorms their first year. My parent’s house is within 60 miles. So, I was exempted from having to live in the dorms, meaning I didn’t have to pay for a dorm room (remember that dorms are an additional expense that are NOT included in the tuition and fees). I instead lived out of my car.

Texas State University

I freaking love Texas State. I feel so lucky to be able to go here. It really is such a great school. The problem isn’t in the college I go to, it’s in the higher education system. Texas State has given me some amazing opportunities and I love going here. I don’t know what I would do without the Texas State advisors that helped me graduate in 2.5 years or the variety of student organizations they have. I’ve loved my time here so far.

Being a Mass Communications Major

Some people mentioned that I should have majored in something “better” than mass communications-public relations because supposedly I won’t be able to find a job after graduation. I understand the reasoning but I’d like to point out that my degree is more than just some typical liberal arts degree. Through my courses, I’ve been able to learn HTML, CSS, Photoshop, public speaking, news writing, campaign strategy and more.

Some of the jobs TXST mass communication grad’s get include: software engineers, public relations specialists, marketing coordinators, development, web designers, graphic designers and so forth. PR specialists, web developers and graphic designers are some of the fastest growing fields right now (and probably for a while). I feel confident in finding a job after graduation.

TV is the Anti-Hero

August 11, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

“Let’s see what’s on Netflix” is a phrase becoming all the more common. It seems to be said more often that the traditional phrase “Let’s go to the movies.” More people than ever seem to be turning on the remote (or computer mouse) instead of going out to the movie theater. While the film industry has had several disappointments, TV seems to be thriving more than ever.

TV is becoming everyone's BFF — TV is becoming everyone’s BFF

In 2013 Netflix released a slew of original programming including the political drama House of Cards, the Arrested Development comeback and the much-beloved women’s prison drama Orange is the New Black. Two of Netflix’s shows received Primetime Emmy Award nominations, a first for web syndicated television content.

With big-budget flicks disappointing and movie making becoming more riskier, TV seems to be a safe haven that many are flocking to.

Anna Faris: Launched to the spotlight after starring in the horror parody film Scary Movie, Faris had a good amount of films under her belt. In 2013 she shifted gears and accepted her first full-time television gig, playing a single mother with her recovering alcoholic mother in the CBS series Mom.

Kevin Bacon: No need to watch Footloose again, Kevin Bacon leads Fox’s thriller drama series The Following.

Kerri Washington: Known for her wide array of film credits, in 2012 Washington became the first African-American actress to lead a prime-time network series in 40 years. Scandal airs on Thursdays on ABC.

See more film stars who switched over to TV here.

Snowpiercer: You need to see it

July 21, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Snowpiercer, the South Korean directed sci-fi thriller, was shot in 2012 and released to basically everywhere except the U.S. in 2013. The reason for the hold-up? Probably due to the conflicting perspectives on how the final version of the film would be. Harvey Weinstein, the film’s producer, didn’t seem to like the final cut by the film’s director Bong Joon-ho. Weinstein wanted major cuts to happen to the film and Bong Joon-ho refused. The outcome? The film was released on June 27, 2014…the same weekend opening as the latest big-budget franchise movie Transformers: Age of Extinction.

Snowpiercer, however, has become the underdog favorite movie for the summer. The reason? Despite a limited opening release of just eight theaters, the film went on to have a video on demand release two weeks after the theatrical one. Within a few days after releasing to VOD platforms, a swift internet chatter of admiration developed for the dystopian themed movie. It currently holds a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

When the opening credits come up, it’s 2014. The earth has reached high temperatures due to global warming. A chemical by the name of CM7 is released into the atmosphere by several countries in an attempt to cool down the earth’s temperatures. Things don’t go as planned. The chemical released experiment causes a massive ice age that kills almost all life on earth. The only surviving people are ones aboard a train that circumnavigates the world.

Curtis (Chris Evans), lives at the tail-end of the train along with his fellow inhabitants Edgar, Gilliam and Tanya. The train is led by wealthy businessman Wilford (Ed Harris). Wilford has the train structured into a class system. The wealthy stay up at the front of the train, near the engine. Various aquariums, animal habitats and gardens are in the middle of the train. The poor live in the tail-end.

Curtis, fed up with the conditions the tail-end people endure, sets up a plan for a revolt. He draws experience from previous rebellions when planning. He carefully watches the pattern that the train doors open in every time the guards come to deliver food. Making note of timing, guard behavior and revolt’s of the past, he notices a key element the guards are missing. Once the notice of this missing element is picked up, the revolt is on.

Pep talked by his elderly mentor, Gilliam, Curtis leads the revolt. With a pack of people, he charges through the doors of each train car. Along the way, he enlists the help of former train security officer Namgoong Minsoo and his daughter, two people with the ability to open the train’s doors.

The society on wheels is thrilling with its different compartments. Curtis and his team fight off a group of creepy masked soldiers, marvel at an aquarium compartment and take in the staggering differences between the tail-end and higher up sections. Tilda Swinton gives a refreshing comic performance as Mason, the high level citizen who leads tail-end rebels through the train’s sections.

Snowpiercer isn’t something that can be pigeon-holed like most dystopian action films. The dialogue is filled with mindful anecdotes. CGI only supplements the real gritty action taking place. The ending twists into something the viewer wouldn’t normally expect. Lessons taken from the ending of the dsytopian film could include:

Upsetting reality even if revolts are successful
Complex nature of how to run a society where everyone is in need
Reflection of how exactly leadership should be handled

Forget CGI and robots, this is real action!

Best way to enjoy this film? Watch it twice.While it is refreshing to watch on the first take, it’s one of those movies where the little details start to become clearer on second viewing. A must see for anyone tired of mindless big-budget franchises and endless sequels. A+

Indiewire did a great article detailing the theater vs. VOD numbers for anyone looking for an informative read on the marketing side of this film.

Finished Netflix List? Summer Books to Check Out

June 15, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Making a list of book recommendations can be pesky task to do. Thinking about books so subjective. Although film reviews are also subjective and I post those on this blog. Books are different. People get really defensive and think highly about what makes for a good read.

I try to read books with a wide perspective to see who would like them. Below I give a list of books to check out this summer. Happy reading!

Young Adult

Eleanor & Park (Rainbow Rowell): Set in 1986, the book is about two teens from vastly different upbringings that connect over a love of comic books and 80’s alternative music. Eleanor, age 15, is the new kid at school who is bullied for wearing “weird” clothes and being overweight. She has a bad homelife and stays quiet. Park is a boy who, despite coming from a loving household, feels like an outsider in the world.

Reason for its acclaim? The themes of not fitting in and finding oneself are universal. The story is about teens but can be enjoyed by anyone with less-than-stellar high school memories. Even John Green (author of The Fault in Our Stars) loved the book!

Looking for Alaska (John Green): Everyone has read The Fault in Our Stars by now. Looking for more Green in your life? (sorry, I couldn’t resist saying that). Looking for Alaska was John Green’s debut novel. It follows 16-year-old Miles Halter as he attends a preparatory high school for his junior year. He is going to seek “a great perhaps.” Starting his classes, he meets a unique group of friends who go by a variety of nicknames: The Colonel, Takumi. Alaska Young is the pretty but emotionally unstable girl he meets after being introduced by The Colonel.

Alaska is smart, adventurous and attracts all the boys at the school with her looks. Through a series of late night conversations, Alaska’s story of sadness, depression and unhappiness start to come to light.

Reason to read: The book is unique in that it’s told in a series of “before” and “after” intervals rather than the traditional chapters. The book goes through the struggles of growing up, dealing with painful memories and figuring out ways to move foward even in the wake of sadness. Even with its sad nature, it somehow is able to have bits of humor and leave the reader with a rediscovered sense of dealing with painful circumstances.

Other books

Attachments (Rainbow Rowell): Rowell does dialogue between characters very well. Hence the reason for giving out recommendations of two books by her.

Attachments is about love in the workplace. Lincoln O’Neill gets a job as an “internet security officer.” His job? To read people’s emails at the company and write up a report if he see anything bad/suspicious in nature. He comes across two workers emails, Beth and Jennifer. Reading the emails, he know he should turn them in but the emails are just so entertaining to him. He is drawn to the stories they tell in the emails.

Lincoln falls in love with Beth from the emails he reads that are hers. He knows so much about her. It’s a little late to introduce himself to her without coming off as a creep for knowing so much about her.

Reason to read: This is one of the few books about love in the workplace that heartfelt and touching to read. Most books about love in the workplace usually have a bunch of sex in them and have a soap-opera-ish vibe to them. Attachments is different. The characters are fully carved out and realistic to read. It’s one of those books (for girls and guys) that will have you biting your lip and waiting to turn to the next page.

Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn): Read it before the movie comes out in October! If you want a novel full of suspense that will keep you wondering as you read, Gone Girl is the book to read. Flynn is a genius with her words and crafting of a great suspense story.

The novel centers on the uncertainty surrounding main character, Nick Dunne, and whether he killed his wife, Amy Dunne.

Reason to read: To read something new and refreshing. Are you tired of reading young adult/new adult novels about cliche romances and/or the typical quirky hipster? Gone Girl is a novel that will keep your eyes wide and wondering throughout the chapters. Great thriller novel full of twists and turns.

Film Review: Wish I Was Here

June 9, 2014 - colinashby 4 Comments

Aidan Bloom is a 35 year old struggling actor trying to find his purpose in life. His dad gets cancer and cannot pay for Aidan’s kids yeshiva school tuition anymore. This leads to Aidan attempting to homeschool his children. Throughout the film, Aidan reflects on the unpredictable and hard circumstances that come with raising a family. He wants to provide for his family yet follow his dream of being an actor. He wants him and his wife, who supports the family, to be happy. Throughout the film he tries to find meaning in life’s nature. Aidan Bloom is a 35 year old struggling actor trying to find his purpose in life. His dad gets cancer and cannot pay for Aidan’s kids yeshiva school tuition anymore. This leads to Aidan attempting to homeschool his children. Throughout the film, Aidan reflects on the unpredictable and hard circumstances that come with raising a family. He wants to provide for his family yet follow his dream of being an actor. He wants him and his wife, who supports the family, to be happy. Throughout the film he tries to find meaning in life’s nature. Although Braff has good intentions with Wish I Was Here, the film falls flat. The film has nice cinematography, pacing and acting yet it seems like something is missing. With Garden State, Braff explored a lost twenty-something. In Wish I Was Here, he explores a lost thirty-something. The film doesn’t seem to deliver any insightful nature because it’s caught up in Braff’s mind fantasies. It seems as though he wrote down all the challenges of raising a family, trying to be happy, making sense of life’s hardships, and so forth…but the film doesn’t ever go past depicting these things to provide any insightful nature. The film ends, basically saying “Hey, raising a family and trying to be happy is hard.” It never really has a full solution to Aidan’s endless doubts about life. B-

Wish I Was Here: Austin Advanced Film Screening

June 5, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

On Monday, June 2nd, Zach Braff hosted an advanced film screening in Austin, Texas for his film Wish I Was Here. I was a bit (a lot) excited to go since it’s been a long time coming. I backed the film in April 2013, happy to see Braff making a new film after 2004’s Garden State. Braff was making a film chronicling a thirty-something father struggling to come to terms with the unexpected circumstances of life.

Braff directed the film, co-wrote it with his older brother, Adam Braff, and starred as the lead character, Aidan Bloom. In the film, Aidan is a struggling actor hoping to find something that will explain his purpose and life’s unpredictable ways. His wife, Sarah (Kate Hudson), holds a steady but boring job as a data cruncher at a water company. She provides for the family. Aidan and Sarah’s kids, 12-year-old Grace and six-year-old Tucker attend an expensive yeshiva school paid for by Aidan’s dad. An unexpected blow hits the family when Aidan finds out his dad has cancer. Needing the money to pay for treatments, Aidan’s dad can no longer afford to pay the school tuition for Aidan’s kids.

Below is a slideshow of the event

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Wish I Was Here: Austin Film Screening Q&A

June 3, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Zach Braff brought his film Wish I Was Here to Austin, Texas on June 2nd for a special advanced screening for Kickstarter backers that helped fund the film. After the film was screened, Zach came out and answered questions about the film with fellow co-star and friend, Donald Faison. He answered questions about the motivation to do the film, challenges of making a movie, soundtrack selection, and so forth. Check out this exclusive video to hear Zach answering some of the questions during the Q&A.

This is Where I Leave You (Book Review)

May 29, 2014 - colinashby Leave a comment

Judd Foxman’s life isn’t exactly the best at the moment. He wife has been having an affair with his cocky boss. WIth a broken marriage heading towards divorce, he becomes unemployed and starts to live in a basement. Then Judd’s father passes away after fighting cancer. A final wish of Judd’s father is for the entire Foxman family to come together and sit shiva for seven days. Judd and his three other siblings of varying nature return to their childhood home and revisit their lives so far.

This is Where I Leave You offers a dark but realistic look at the inner workings of a family. Paul, Judd’s older brother, faces a grudge against Judd for a past incident. The youngest sibling, Phillip, still hasn’t figured out how to grow up. Judd’s sister, Wendy, deals with the staleness of her marriage while revisiting an old flame.

Reading this novel may bring up a lot of funny anecdotes one may have about their own family. Jonathan Topper’s writing resonates well in the reader. The novel is full of sentiment, humor and tenderness. Topper writing expresses depressing yet realistic situations with great honesty.

The novel is categorized by many as a dark comedy. It seems to be more than that. Tina Fey’s coined term of it being an “emotional comedy” strikes the right balance of this book is. Must read if you like realism type stories of everyday life.

A film adaption is currently in post-production and scheduled to be released on September 12, 2014. It stars Jason Bateman (as Judd), Tina Fey (as Wendy), Dax Shepard (as Judd’s cocky boss, Wade) and Rose Bryne (as Penny).

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Colin Ashby

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