Monthly Top 5 - March 2012

Hey, remember the What's Weekly Top 5 feature? So do we. The only problem is that it rarely came on a weekly basis, so we're switching gears. 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 Monthly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Reasons to become an MLS fan

I love sports. Watching or participating in athletic competition is great. But there are a few things that get annoying after awhile. The prima donnas  of the NFL and NBA who seem more at home on reality television than in stadiums or arenas. The agonizingly slow pace of baseball. Hockey teams existing in cities that have never seen ice outside of a cube tray in the freezer. And in any sport, the same damn teams winning year after year and many games being forgone conclusions before the opening whistle. If these things annoy you as much as they annoy me, I urge you to check out Major League Soccer.

Monthly Top 5 - February

Hey, remember the What's Weekly Top 5 feature? So do we. The only problem is that it rarely came on a weekly basis, so we're switching gears. 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 Monthly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Movies to See in 2012

Last year we did two top five lists for movies to see, one for the first half of 2011 and one for the second half. Since I only made it to four of the ten movies listed last year, this year we will focus on five films for the entire year.

5. American Reunion (6.Apr.12) - The original cast of the initial three American Pie offerings are back for a high school reunion. For the demographic that we cater to at the What, this is kind of a big deal. We went through high school and that awkward first year of college with these characters. Now, as many of us are going to our ten-year reunions, we once again have this group of oddballs to show us how off the wall it could be.

4. The Amazing Spider-Man (3.Jul.12) - After having three different guys playing the Hulk in the past nine years, Marvel has shown that they won't shy away from a reboot. That's why this summer they will rely on Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone to make you forget about Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. I have high hopes for this reboot with it's stellar cast and seemingly new approach to the Spider-Man origin story. Back in 2002, Spider-Man kicked off a string of quality superhero flicks. Let's hope that is the case once again.

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.

Monthly Top Five - November

Hey, remember the What's Weekly Top 5 feature? So do we. The only problem is that it rarely came on a weekly basis, so we're switching gears. 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 Monthly Top Five, a feature focused on five fantastic things that you should become familiar with.

Fall Beer

Though we are less than a week away from the biggest holiday shopping day of the year, it is still fall, and there is still plenty of time to enjoy some fall beer. Seasonal beers are always interesting, but there is something special about the fall varieties that stand out. Last year's Fall Beer Tasting was a blast, and while 2011 boasts no official tasting, we here at the What have still done our civic duty by going out and enjoying beer.

5. Saint Benjamin Evening Wheat Dunkelweiss - So maybe a dunkelweiss is not technically a Fall beer, but this brew's overwhelming popularity at the Elfreth's Alley Museum's Brew Fest was undeniable. This up and coming Philadelphia brewery has been making a name for itself by providing exceptional, full-flavored beers like this one at a number of events around the City of Brotherly Love. Saint Benjamin will return to Elfreth's Alley for Deck the Alley with a colonial-style porter, so be sure to check them out!

4. Flying Dog Dogtoberfest Märzen - Sometimes it is easy to get confused by brewery names that are similar like Flying Dog, Flying Fish, and Dogfish Head. Luckily, all three are known for their quality brews. Dogtoberfest is no exception. Nor is Flying Fish's Oktoberfish, for that matter. Admittedly, as you will see after the jump, I was focused on pumpkin beers this year and did not devote enough time to Oktoberfests, but you can rarely go wrong with Flying Dog.

Guide to Dating: The Trait List

As a late 20 something man or woman you can easily become overwhelmed in the dating scene. Not only do you have to go on those dreaded blind dates (which are probably set up by a friend of a friend or your mother). Now with E Harmony and those tempting, but scary, online dating services, what is a single person to do?

My mother has told me time and time again about the dangers of dating online and the internet becomes a scary but also very tempting place. I will admit that I was tempted in checking out one of these online dating services. I mean you can check out people's histories, pictures, hobbies and values without actually ever meeting them. It saves you a lot of time and possibly saves you from those horrible dates where you know nothing is going to happen with the person. Then, you have to think of some excuse why you need to leave early and, for someone like myself who can not lie to save her life, that excuse is really hard to come up with.

Finally, I just gave up on looking for that "right" person and started asking myself some serious questions about what I would like from a significant other. I find that it is easy to become blinded by finding that new person and you sometimes make excuses or ignore traits because you don't want to be alone. But what is so wrong about being alone? I loved living in my apartment by myself (a Jack Russel named Ziggy being my only room mate), and having that alone time to figure out what I really wanted. Yeah sure it was scary for the first month, but after you get over that hump it's wonderful to be completely independent.