Study Music: Martin Boehme – “The Gloom EP”

Thomas Frank Music

Alright, we’re back to weekly music reviews!

I have a pretty big list of albums I want to review in the coming weeks, but I’ve just got to start with a release from one of our very own writers - Martin Boehme! (check out his archive if you haven’t read his stuff yet)

You may not know it, but aside from being a writer, Martin is also a rapper and a linguist. Both of those talents are utilized on his first rap EP, The Gloom.

Note: I originally posted this review up on SputnikMusic. I felt that it should be posted here too, because Martin’s new album is awesome.

The rise of the internet has done so much to break down stereotypes in music. When I was a kid, the fact that a prominent rapper like Eminem was a white guy was seen as somewhat of an oddity. Now, something like that seems like no big deal – people of all different races, ages, and cities are making and sharing music with the world, all thanks to miles of Cat5 and routers.

Due to this phenomenon, you may not be surprised that a white college kid who’s never been outside of Iowa and Nebraska can release a rap EP that seamlessly blends English and Spanish lyrics and flows better than what many east and west coast rappers have to offer. It certainly doesn’t surprise me. It does, however, keep me coming back for repeated listens.

It’s A New School Year! Here’s What’s Next For College Info Geek!

Thomas Frank Announcements

Why did I use a picture of me wearing a fox mask and holding nun-chucks for this post? Just because.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get down to business!

I’ve Been Lazy as Hell Lately.

Yep, I’ll come out and whole-heartedly admit it. This summer was a bit of a lazy one for me. While I did do cool stuff like meet awesome bloggers in San Francisco, explore Japan, run a Warrior Dash, learn to surf, and jump out of an airplane, I didn’t do a huge amount of actual work this summer – and that’s a bad thing.

I learned something important over the last few months. I learned that you can actually have too much freedom, and that a healthy amount of structure and obligation in your life can be a reeeaaaaallllyyyy good thing.

For me, quitting all my scheduled commitments in order to free up my life for College Info Geek stuff seems to have backfired a bit. Read More →

Contest: Win One Of Four $30 Best Buy Gift Cards… And Maybe $50,000 Too.

Thomas Frank Announcements

So picture this: you’re sitting at your desk one day when, all the sudden, you’re stricken with the uncontrollable urge to go and purchase the movie Redline on Blu-ray.

Who could blame you? The movie’s ridiculously fluid and vibrant animation, dynamic characters, and edge-of-your seat plot make it one of the greatest anime spectacles ever released upon the unsuspecting throngs of humanity.

There’s just one problem: you don’t have the $15 to buy Redline.

It’s August. School is coming soon. You’ve tried to save money on textbooks and keep other nagging expenses from leaving you destitute, but your money seems to be leaving you like water out of cupped hands that suddenly developed tremors.

All is lost.

Or is it?

What if… what if you had a snazzy $30 Best Buy gift card in your pocket? What would you do with that epic buying power? You’d be out buying Redline, that’s what.

So yeah. Oddly-specific example aside, that’s what’s on the table today; Best Buy has teamed up with yours truly to offer up four $30 gift cards to my lovely readers.

However, these gift cards are just scraps of icing on a very large cake compared to what else is at stake here – and that’s what I really want to point you towards… Read More →

7 Awesome Retro-Inspired iPhone Platformers

Thomas Frank Mobile

School is less than a month down the road, and now that I’m moving about 3 miles off campus, I’ve got a lot of time sitting on the bus in my future. Usually, I’m content to just read my Kindle on the bus, but sometimes I need a game to play. I know I’ve said in the past that focus is a super-important quality to have, but there are times when distractedly jumping around levels is the best way to pass the time. And while I do have my DS with me sometimes, I generally like to carry the least number of gadgets around as possible. So that leaves my trusty iPhone.

During some downtime this week, I took the time to look for the best platformers that the iPhone has to offer. Since platformers are pretty much my favorite kind of games (other than DDR and MvC3), I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are actually a good number of iPhone platformers that can be called excellent.

So, for those of you who are packing an iPhone, I offer up 7 of my favorite retro-inspired iPhone platformers. I know this isn’t a gaming blog – but hey, I can write about what I want. Plus, I want an excuse to get into E3 next summer

Let’s get non-productive! Read More →

How To Be Successful

Thomas Frank Living

How do you determine whether you’re successful or not? How do you know if you’re on the right path?

The other day, a reader emailed me and expressed some concerns over what she saw as a lack of success in her life. These concerns were based upon how she though other people viewed her.

I responded to her with my thoughts on success, and I think they warrant being re-posted here. I’m sure there are other people out there who would benefit from them.

While I can’t give you the answer to making other people think you’re successful, I can tell you what my definition of success is. To me, success is three things:

Having the ability to do what I want, where I want, and when I want (sanely)
Having close relationships with people I love
Being able to help other people out without having to worry about how it’ll affect me

None of these things involve looking good to other people – and that’s just the thing.

Success is something you define. It’s not something others define for you. [Tweet this]

That’s one of the main things I try to teach people – you don’t have to have a $80,000/year salary, a big house, and a really nice car to be successful. You don’t need a corner office to be successful.

You could have $800 in the bank and be out in South Africa helping to build houses and be successful – if that’s what you want to be doing. Define your own vision and success and then pursue it – the expectations of others be damned. Read More →

Study Music: “Homestuck Vol. 9″

Thomas Frank Music

The talented segment of one of the world’s biggest (and often most annoying) fandoms are at it again: they’ve released yet another Homestuck album.

Back in December of last year, I reviewed Volume 8 of the Homestuck soundtrack series, and found it to be quite awesome indeed. Does Volume 9 match up?

The college info geek says… indeed it does.

Homestuck Volume 9 is yet another triumph in indie electronic music. While I don’t read (play?) Homestuck at all, I’m sure the creator and the fanbase would be proud.

Volume 9 seems to be slightly more biased toward chiptune music than the last outing, and takes a lot of inspiration from video games – both classic and neo-classic. Read More →

What I Learned From Almost Dying On The Side Of The Road

Thomas Frank Experiences

So, there’s a bit of a story behind this one. But before I get into that, I’ll just say that I spent much of Tuesday nauseous, almost puking, and definitely dehydrated.

Ok, let’s get into it. You know those people who spend hours trying to get every achievement in every Xbox game they play? Yeah – the Achievement Whores.

I do not have the patience to be an achievement whore with video games. However, there is one thing that gets me standing on a street corner in leopard print leggings (metaphorically of course), and that’s Fitocracy.

If you haven’t heard of this website, it’s basically a social network that turns fitness into a game. You log the exercises you do, and you get points for them. Get enough and you level up. There are also achievements to get and quests to complete.

I’m fucking addicted to this thing, man.

Really, I am. And honestly, that’s not a bad thing. I wish everyone was – it gives me incredible motivation to work out. In fact, I plan on writing a full post on how awesome Fitocracy is in the near future. Until then, all I can say is that you should join it. Also, follow me and join the College Info Geeks group so we can get some epic challenges going.

So. On to how this relates to me almost dying.

It’s Always About A Girl

My friend Arthur linked me to a certain girl’s Fitocracy profile a couple weeks ago. Anything special about it? Oh, no, not really… except she’s a level 41 and has almost 650,000 points, which means she’s on the front page of the leaderboard. Every day she logs an insane workout totaling anywhere from 3,000 to 9,000 points. Most people’s workouts rarely exceed 1,500, and they’re definitely not doing them every day.

Oh, and one more thing… she goes to my school. Read More →

How To Get (And Keep!) Your First Client As A Freelancer

Jessie Spielvogel Entrepreneurship, Guest Post

This is a guest post from my good friend Jessie Spielvogel. You might recognize her from my exceptional bloggers list I published earlier this year. She’s pretty awesome!

Freelancing is one of the best job options in the world right now. If you’re a student or if you’re currently in the market for a job, freelancing may be for you!

Think about it: jobs are hard to come by, you’ve got a set of skills that you’ve been trained for through school and/or previous work experience, and you certainly have some expertise in an area that others could use you for. So why not put those great skills to use immediately, and begin helping others while bringing in some extra cash?

If you’ve decided that you want to start freelancing, that’s awesome (and it puts a HUUUGGEEE smile on my face)!

First things first – if you’ve currently got a “real job,” make sure to check with your employer to be certain that there won’t be any issues with you working the side gig! Being sneaky about moonlighting will only end up with you either getting fired, or simply feeling paranoid and guilty all the time. Don’t let this happen to you.

If you’re employer-free, then you’re good to go! Let’s find you your first client!

“How do I start?” – you

This is one of my favorite questions (and one of the most frequent that I receive), because this is what I’m best at: getting you started!

Whether you’re a graphic designer, marketing consultant, personal fitness trainer, yoga instructor, rodeo clown, or barista, there are ways for you to get the word out about what you’re good at and what you can do to help others (and you can get paid to do so)!

Here’s How. Read More →