1. Wolfpack Swimming/Diving in the NCAAs

N.C. State Swimming and Diving is taking the NCAAs by storm. The women’s team had its competition last week, finishing very strong in several events. The men’s team is competing this week and finds itself in third place overall. One of the major highlights so far is State defending its NCAA Title in the 800 Freestyle Relay event. The team of Ryan Held, Andreas Vazaios, Justin Ress, and Jake Molacek not only won the event but shattered the school, U.S. Open, and NCAA record with a time just a hair over six minutes. Way to go guys! 

Day three is underway as we speak, so stay tuned to my Twitter and GoPack.com for up to date info!

2. A New Tune from Tyler Barham

If you’ve followed my blog for the past few years, you probably know about my friendship with talented singer-songwriter, Tyler Barham, and how our friendship came to be. Tyler celebrated his birthday this week and released a brand new song today! It’s called  “The West That Was” and it’s beautiful. One (of many) things I’ve always believed Tyler has a true gift for as an artist is telling stories with his music. He does yet another impeccable job in doing so with this one.

Check out “The West That Was” here!

3. Arts Funding Update

Here is some good news out of Washington. Finally. Congress just passed an omnibus spending bill. According to The Washington Post, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will receive an increase in funding of about $1.5 million each, despite attempts by President Trump and others to dismantle the endowments altogether.

This is welcomed news for both organizations. As a staunch supporter of the arts, I have been vocal in my support of increased funding and I’m glad to see that Congress agrees. 

4. Fantasy Movie League

I decides to go see Love, Simon for a second time on Thursday. While I waited for it to start, an ad came on the big screen regarding this new – or new to me – app called Fantasy Movie League.

It’s just how it sounds: you signup for the game and you get your own “cineplex” of eight theaters where you can pick which films you believe will perform the best at the box office. The better the films do, the higher you end up on the leaderboard. The game also features special bonuses for perfect picks and more. Plus, you can even win prizes! I decided to give it a try and I’m still getting the hang of it but I made my first picks. I’ll let you know how I do. 

5. New Film Review

I’m a bit behind on getting the film reviews out to you, but I did just post one on Black Panther. I won’t tell you what I thought about the film. You’ll have to check it out for yourself!