The Checklist - April 2012

The internet is full of magical, mystical things. So much, in fact, that it is sometimes hard to sift through all of the crap to get some decent information. In the interest of providing you with colorful ideas for everyday life, we here at the What present the Checklist so that you may find some helpful information from other sites along with a comic that makes us giggle.

Seduce Her With Your Space

Men's Health Magazine

Men's and women's magazines often times are a bit out of touch with the reality of everyday men and women, but every once and awhile they have some good information. For example, the Men's Health website recently posted an article about sprucing up your living space to boost your attractiveness to a potential significant other. Many of the tips in this article are spot on, a provide a good lead-in to some of our upcoming features relating to snazzing up your apartment. 

Rittenhouse Fair and Square

Philadelphia Art Alliance

I am a big fan of local, handmade goods. I even run a shop that focuses on the sale of such goods. So you can imagine how pleased I was to find that the Philadelphia Art Alliance has put together a special pop-up shop featuring some of Philly's finest artisans and craftspeople for the month of April. This shop will be open from 11-5, Tuesdays through Sundays from April 10-24. Be sure to swing by next time you find yourself in Rittenhouse Square.

The Checklist - January 2012

The internet is full of magical, mystical things. So much, in fact, that it is sometimes hard to sift through all of the crap to get some decent information. In the interest of providing you with colorful ideas for everyday life, we here at the What present the Checklist so that you may find some helpful information from other sites.

Survive the Zombie Apocalypse
Cool Material
Everyone knows that Zombies will run free in search for tasty brains when the world ends this year. So you had better be prepared. Thanks to the crew over at Cool Material, now you can be ready to fight back with a small rag-tag group of fellow survivors. While I am sure that the Zombie Combat Manual has great advice, this handy little survival bundle from Think Geek is actually quite useful in situations not involving the walking dead.

Comprehensive Guide to Sweaters
Primer Magazine
Is it really necessary to have a guide for sweaters? Absolutely. As a guy who has ruined 90% of his sweaters on hangers, this Primer Magazine article was a beacon of hope. Thanks to Grant Harris of Image Granted, no longer will my V-Necks resemble half pipes. Gents, you are doing yourself a disservice if you are not reading Primer.

The What's Last-Minute Gift Guide

The What is dedicated to providing recent college grads with colorful ideas for everyday life. We understand that life gets a little hectic in those first few post-collegiate years and you may forget things, such as Christmas. No fear, we are here to give you a handy guide to suggest a few last-minute gifts for those special people in your life (i.e. the ones who will probably be buying you something).

READS
Who isn't a fan of quirky little books? Quick, entertaining little reads like Grandma's Dead ($9.99 on Amazon) are everywhere. Urban Outfitters usually has a decent selection, or if you're shopping at the couch mall, try Amazon.

Weekly Top Five - 18.Nov.10

In  High Fidelity, the characters compare their top fives in a variety of categories. Being big fans of both the film and novel, we here at the What bring you our Weekly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Harry Potter Random Facts

 

 In honor of the first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows being released at midnight, The What decided to dig deep and pull up some interesting things that you may not have known about the Boy Who Lived and his story. J.K. Rowling's series is one of the most detailed, well-written and intricate stories ever told, and these are just a few of the reasons why.

5. Harry Potter is 30 - That's right, the Boy Who Lived is now a man. Harry's date of birth is 31.Jul.1980, meaning he just celebrated his thirtieth birthday earlier this summer. That means that the happenings of the epilogue to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows will not happen for another six years. Also, this puts the events of the Deathly Hallows in the 1996-97 school year.

4. There's science behind the magic - Many Harry Potter readers wish that the magical world they read about was real, when in many ways it is. A good portion of the book's lore has its roots in science. For instance, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded over a thousand years ago. Each founder not only had an animal to represent them, but an element as well. Gryffindor (lion/fire), Slytherin (serpent/water), Hufflepuff (badger/earth), and Ravenclaw (raven/air). Furthermore, the Philosopher's Stone refers to alchemy. Alchemy is the ancient study of the transformation of metals, and shares a root word with chemistry and algebra.

3. Birthdays and holidays hold much importance - As for birthdays, Harry, Ron, and Hermione each have a wand that refers to when they were born. Their wand cores almost serve as gemstones, but using the Celtic Tree Calendar instead. As for holidays, Christmas played a major part in each novel, save the last, and other holidays held significance as well. Fred and George Weasley were appropriately born on April Fool's Day and on a sadder note, Voldemort murdered James and Lily Potter on Halloween. And about that fateful Halloween night, the Potters were not in their thirties, as shown in the first film, they were both only 21 when they were killed.

2. Family and relationships are key - Throughout this epic tale, family has always been of the utmost importance. Voldemort became what he was based on his lack of a family and later orphaned Harry, creating his nemesis. It was clearly stressed throughout all seven books that it was his mother's love that gave Harry the protection against Voldemort. Even once the books were finished, Rowling kept going, mapping out the relationships of the surviving characters, which can be seen here.

1. The entire arc has been planned from day one - While there certainly are minor aspects of later novels that may not have been planned from the get go, the major plot line of the Harry Potter story was set in stone from the first book. One good example of this is Nearly Headless Nick's offhand mention of the Gray Lady being Ravenclaw's ghost in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She would not be mentioned again until page 613 of the Deathly Hallows. Another key moment in book one has Harry thinking to himself that he couldn't help but think that somehow Professor Snape could read minds, which, in a way, is true as Snape is a master of Legilimency and Occlumency.

Weekly Top Five - 11.Nov.10

In  High Fidelity, the characters compare their top fives in a variety of categories. Being big fans of both the film and novel, we here at the What bring you our Weekly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Good Reads

 

 I often find myself searching for a decent book to read, whether it be for a lazy Sunday or something to hold my interest on the train ride into work. Over the past year, I came across these five books and really enjoyed them. Each features a main character who, at least at some point, is in the demographic we aim to cater to here at the What. So whether it is running away and joining the circus during the Great Depression or dropping out of college to immerse yourself in the early 1980's punk scene, each of these books touch on familiar situations in fantastic settings.

5. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath - Reading this novel is an interesting experience. It chronicles the breakdown of a young woman working in New York City in a manner that is, in a way, disturbing. The progression of her breakdown is so seamless that it almost feels natural. Having survived the stresses college can bring, you should find some familiarity with the protagonists thoughts, eerie though that may be.

4. Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen - Of the five books on this list, this is the only one I do not personally own. I fully intend to purchase it, although I have already read it, because the story is that good. Gruen's tale of an elderly man reminiscing about running away and joining the circus as a youth draws you in and wraps you in the somewhat bizarre world of circus life. I had trouble putting this book down, and can not wait to read it again.

3. Pretty Little Dirty by Amanda Boyden - This is one of the most aptly-named novels I have ever read. Boyden interweaves scenes from punk concerts in with a narrative about two best friends. The girls first meet as suburban twelve-year-olds and go on to experience more in ten years than most will in a lifetime. For those of us who have lived a little and taken risks in life, this book at times is a happy trip down memory lane yet also a harrowing reminder of what could have been. The story is beautifully told, and the author truly makes the reader feel as though they are experiencing the story as opposed to just observing.

2. Rules of Attraction by Brett Easton Ellis - This novel takes place in the late eighties at a New England Liberal Arts school and its protagonist is the younger brother of the titular character in American Psycho. If that doesn't sell you on this book alone, perhaps you should skip this one. If it sounds like your cup of tea, prepare for yourself for a raucous tale of sex, drugs, and rock and roll that brings debauchery to a new level. If you saw the film version, while good, it's only the tip of the iceberg with this story. An unnamed source once said about this book, "This book is so dirty it makes me want to snort some coke and then go punch a hooker." You will understand exactly what they meant once you read it.

1. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby - Rarely do I come across a Hornby novel that I do not love. Yet, out of all of his works, this is by far my favorite. High Fidelity is the quintessential break-up story as the main character examines his most recent romantic failure by looking up ex-girlfriends and asking "Where did it all go wrong?" Much like Pretty Little Dirty, you feel less like an observer and more like your friend is telling you this tale over a few pints. Also, aside from the romance aspect of the story, you have to admire the characters' passion for music as told through their many top five lists.