I know I’ve been linking Monsters Calling Home videos on Facebook for some time now. But I just had to share this one – it’s a short clip on the back story of how the up-and-coming indie band Monsters Calling Home ended up performing on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Ok, I’m going to take a quick break from finishing up my take-home final that’s due this afternoon. This post will be about random tips for finals studying – whatever pops up in my mind as I’m writing.
1. Study in a well-lit, spacious environment - This one’s a big one for me, personally. I don’t care too much about noise or people around me. As long as I have a lot of light and a decent amount of space, I find that I’m much more efficient.
2. Eat and sleep well - Typically, I make sure that I eat well during dead week and finals. Maybe it’s partially stress-related, but if you’re suffering, you might as well enjoy good food. Just don’t each too much, you might get food coma and pass out. Fruits are a must. Also, don’t neglect sleep! You need to be well-rested, and you can’t afford to get sick.
3. Study in groups (only if it helps) - This really depends on the person. Some people study better in groups, some better alone. Figure out which you’d prefer, or if you like to mix things up a bit and do a little bit of both. Group study, when done right, can be extremely helpful, because you’ll gain new insight or learn difficult concepts you weren’t able to understand.
4. Listen to music or “white noise” - Music keeps me sane during long and tedious study sessions. I find that I’m good at tuning out lyrics and mentally allocating the sound to the background, but I know others might have a problem doing this. If needed, I recommend listening to “white noise,”which is just a soft noise constantly playing in the background that keeps out distracting sounds and calms the nerves.
5. Take some breaks (really) - Please please please take breaks. You deserve them! Get up, walk around, go outside, watch some YouTube clips. You need time for your brain to process information, and constantly stuffing your head with facts and figures hinders this. Just be sure to exert some self-control – you don’t want to be stuck on YouTube for hours on end, watching cute puppy clips and ignoring your studies.
As a final word of advice, if you find yourself freaking out, take some deep breaths, and realize that others, no matter how composed they appear on the outside, are probably freaking out as well. We’re in this together, and we’ll make it through.
Wish everyone luck on finals at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
“Who the hell is Rebecca Black? Did she do a cover of this song?” – mrtheblr
Because it’s Friday, here’s a little treat for you guys from a living legend. The original is way better than Black’s cover. 
Sometimes, you just have to love the trolls on YouTube. Reading the comments after hearing the song made me laugh so much. Some of them are so good, that I’ve spent a good chunk of my time compiling them for your enjoyment. So enjoy!
“Sublime. A shockingly-true tale of Stalin’s emotional unrest during his famous rise to power. Coping with a hatred for the German Nazi Party and a thirst for power, his attitude was one accompanied by frustration and rage. This song shares the path of light which Stalin traveled to bring his life, his mind, and his country, to salvation, through the saving graces of better healthcare, greater infrastructure, and general happiness (cereal, choice of seating, and “Fun, fun, fun” respectively).” – thiswebsiteisthebest
“Deceptively-simplistic genius. Even as a young folk singer, Bob Dylan had the forethought and grace to predict which direction the tides would flow in a world becoming increasingly-controlled by corporations. The lyrics “fun, fun, fun, lookin’ forward to the weekend” were a savage indictment against a government that strived to control the everyman’s working-week and end it on Friday instead of Saturday, or Sunday which came after Saturday. If only the rest of us could take a page from him.” – spankrod
“I heard this song for the first time before the March on Washington. It was a very strange time, and everything felt like it was going in slow motion. Then this song came on, and it happened to be a Friday. This song reminded us that change will come, and that yesterday was Thursday. The days will keep changing, and soon we will be at Sunday. Cause that comes afterward. Hard times then..but always good to look back and remember. Thank you for this post.” – VeronicaKanya
“‘Kicking in the front seat, sitting in the back seat, gotta make my mind up, which seat can I take?’ A master of metaphor, Dylan was referring to the choice faced by many young adults during the political and social upheaval of late 60′s: whether to conform to the increasingly authoritarian system of police oppression (ie, the front seat of the squad car) or to fight for change and join the mounting opposition, risking persecution (ie, the back seat of the squad car). A timeless classic.” – VHandtheAC
“Dylan’s prophetic elegy to the youth of the 60s has never been more relevant than today. Stark and uncompromising, it effortlessly blends metaphors of thoughtless hedonism – ‘looking forward to the weekend’ with the bitter counterpart of the reality of being sent into war ‘gotta get down…partying, partying, yeah’ he sings as apocalyptic visions of napalm swirl. While the irony is biting, after the tragedy of Friday follows redemption as ‘Sunday comes after…wards’ in the luminous climax.” – magicwheel1
“What does Dylan mean by Friday? The endless void stretching ahead of us; the broken American dream? Perhaps the dark abyss of death? Are we really looking forward to ‘the weekend’, or is it that all we have ever known is ending and so we look ahead, because we cannot look behind.” – cheesesandwich555
Gotta love the YouTube community.
Fun, fun, fun at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
I never found the best way to attach my Flip camcorder to my bike…and my bike is toast anyway. But I did find an awesome way to attach the Flip inside my car, so you guys will get the next best thing – car vlogs.
In this vlog post, I talk about my plans for the summer and do a little driving on some twisties near my house. I’m driving Baxter, my 08 Mitsubishi Eclipse. Fun fact: my car is an automatic transmission, but I have a weird habit of resting my right hand on the shifter.
This could be the start of a car vlog series, although I’ll have a few weeks to do them.
Click here for the video, and enjoy!
Vlogs and stuff at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
As you may already know, my business club (ABA) is hosting a charity concert featuring AJ Rafael and Jennifer Chung, two very popular musicians on YouTube.
The concert is on March 6 (Sat) at 7pm, and tickets are $20 $15. All proceeds will be donated to Save the Children, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of children in need, including those affected by the earthquake in Haiti.
So if you’re interested in helping out and listening to some very talented musicians, definitely check this one out. The details are on the beautifully-designed artwork above (good job Katie).
Take a look at these videos of AJ Rafael and Jennifer Chung, a good preview of the show to come.
Find some more shameless plugs at randomtidbitsofthought.wordpress.com.
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