End Of The Decade Nostalgia

The end of 2009 is fast approaching and with it comes the end of this Decade, which I guess doesn't have a name yet. And because of this, the usual coundowns, top-ten lists, and reflections by important people are abundant in the media. I've been eating it all up. I love it. I'm a reflective person and I just can't get enough of it. I've been skipping the 2009 stuff for the most part - I'm all about looking at the decade as a whole.

It started when I read TIME's December 7th issue. It bashed the decade although it did have a small article titles something like "The Good Times from 00-09," which talked about mostly research breakthroughs.

After that, I kept going. Newsweek online had a TON of material, and it was in a cool looking layout, so I spent a good hour on that one day. There is list of most memorable quotes (like Cheney's "Go Fuck Yourself."), things that were unknown in 99, but standard now, most important cultural moments, and even predictions for 2010 (even though they have a whole section about the last decade called "Worst Predictions"). They also have essays - one describes how it would have been if Gore won.

And the other night Stephen Colbert interviewed Tom Brokaw, who called the decade the "Holy Shit" or the "Oh My God" Decade, "where everything was out of sync with what it had been before" and the old rules didn't apply. He also said that we took a lot for granted in the 90s, such as national security and financial negligence.

On a silly note, my friend sent me this list of "That Were Popular At The Beginning Of The Decade That Aren’t Popular Anymore." It's great.

And then if you haven't seen them, check out the 2009 JibJab Year in Review. They do one every year . I started looking at them in 2007 and I think that one is my favorite. But the 2008 one is worth checking out too.

I think I may be so interested in it, because I really came of age in the 00-09 years. Personally, my years as a 10-20 year old were more enjoyable and fullfilling than my years from brith to reaching double digits. But it's also wierd to look back and say that I developed my values, principles, and identity in a time of poor leadership, terrorism, war, partisanship, technology and information overload, and clashing cultural values.

And there is no use looking forward to the next decade, because the world is ending in 2012. (It's true, I saw it on the History Channel!)

Well, here's to living our last hours of 2009 to the fullest before closing that book for good. And here's to a fun New Years Eve! My good friend is throwing a party at his apartment downtown. The theme is "A Very Lumberjack New Years." It should be a slendid old time!

Final Project

Hi All,

Here is my final project for my first semester of film school. For those of you wondering how exactly our projects are graded, I took the liberty of attaching my professor's critique. As always, please let me know your thoughts.

David,

Here are my suggestions for improvements:

1. I would have made a big head trim in the black and white shot of the lifeguard running to save Jesse. It is so obviously the same guard, and this is implausible since the near drowning supposedly took place in the past, most likely somewhere else.
2. You should have stopped them from over acting. You did not need the performances to be this broad. It does not make it any funnier. It just makes it look obviously staged. Broad humor has to have some reality to it, otherwise it looks like bad acting.
3. After Jesse gets caught trying to wear a disguise and you show him back in the lockerroom, the shot is too short. Also it would have been better if you had changed the angle, because it too obvoiously is the same shot you used before.
4. Jesse’s pov coming up from behind the trash barrel is a confusing shot. Only at the end of the shot is it clear to the audience what they are looking at. Zemeckis taught me never to shoot a mystery pov shot especially if the camera was moving because you see the camera moving if you do not know whose pov it is. I think this would have been better if you had done a shot of Jesse from between the barrel and his eyes. Of course you would fake this by removing the barel.

The action of Jesse saving the guard was well shot. You did an excellent job of putting the camera in the right place to cover the action. In addition you shot enough coverage to keep it energetic and disguise the fact that it was staged.

Overall this is a very good assignment. Not great or exceptional. So I am going to give you a B plus for it.

Fighting cyber-crime one fraudulent credit card transaction at a time...

It's been a while since I've blogged. It's been a while since I've communicated with most of you. It's been a while...

Anyway, the last month has been pretty interesting. I flew to East Hampton, NY for Thanksgiving on Wednesday the 25th - as I passed through airport security I began a 3.5 month long distance relationship. I arrived in East Hampton tired and confused, but after a few days of excessive eating and drinking (split a liter of Jameson w/ my brother and drank to Ted Mullin numerous times...) things seemed alright.

The Monday after Thanksgiving I started my month-long temporary gig as a customer service representative and fraud detection specialist at an eGift Card issuer based in downtown Portland, ME. This job was actually fairly interesting. The company issues eGift Cards for a large national pharmacy chain, a large national home improvement store, and a number of national restaurants chains, among others.. A lot of people who steal credit cards like to buy gift cards because it's effectively a way to launder the money that they have access to on their credit cards. My job was to stop them during this busy holiday season. Basically, my fellow CS reps and I would review orders, do a lot of research on customers (more than you'd like to think...) and decide whether we could build enough of a legitimate profile for a real person to determine that their transaction was legit. Sometimes we uncovered somewhat elaborate fraud schemes by people using proxies in other countries, prepaid cell phones, etc. I know a lot more about how to "be a fraudster" at this point. Pretty cool stuff. Sometimes stupid customers would call in as well and ask dumb questions and I would get frustrated. A lot of the time I would be on Facebook.

So, that job ended the day after Christmas and now I'm sitting around for a few days before I head back to the Midwestern tundra that is Minnesota. When I do that, I'll be in full-on job search mode and hopefully be able to land something at least temporary as soon as possible. I'm also considering being a valet parking attendant on weekends.

A few random stories:

I went skiing on a day off a few weeks ago. I ended up somehow falling so that my left leg, just below my knee, fell onto the inside edge of my right ski. The edge cut my snow pants, cut my fleece pants, and cut my leg to the tune of five stitches. It was gruesome and bloody, and therefore I will share the picture that I took before the ski patrol lady bandaged it up so I could go back out:

My high school swim team had their alumni meet on the 26th. I got to swim a bit. Kelsey also brought Cancer Sucks caps, so my bro, sister, Kelsey, and I all wore them and took a picture. The cause is spreading.

Also, a slightly funny story: In preparation for my arrival back in Minnesota, I decided to pay my internet and gas bills today. I also realized I had yet to receive an electricity bill at my apartment - I assumed it had been sent after I left, so I called Xcel Energy just to ensure that my electricity would be on when I arrived on the 5th. Turns out they have not had a name/address to bill to since November 2008, and so electricity was cut on the 29th of November. I find it really funny that nobody paid a bill for a year, and they only just got around to turning off the electricity. I also am glad that I called because I really didn't want to have to deal with no electricity when I arrive late on the 5th.

Training Trip 2009: Northfield and Puerto Rico

So we got back from our training trip last Friday. As I explained before, it was a new format with one week in Northfield, one week in Puerto Rico and then 4 days after in Northfield again.
I thought I'd share about what it was like because it was a pretty different trip from the past two I've been on.

While we were in Northfield, the women's team and men's team practiced separately. While this was really good for Men's team bonding, it meant that we saw very little of the women in the pool. ALSO, since our practices would be after their practices (or vice versa), we never saw them for meals either. By the way, having like a floor to share a small burton kitchen sucks when everyone eats at the same time...

The captains put together some whole/gendered team events in the evenings like movies (Inglorious Bastards = Amazing), bowling night (HOLLER), ice cream sundays, etc. We also went to the house of a freshman who lives in Farmington. His mom cooked a metric-ass-ton of good food and their house had a pool table, sauna, hot tub, etc. It was awesome.

But I think the highlight of the evening activity line up was The Men's Team Vs. Women's Team Trivia Showdown. We all gathered in the 2nd Burton Lounge and battled it out in a game of trivia pursuit. Long story short... both teams got REALLY COMPETITIVE. During the last few turns, 2nd Burton was erupting in clapping, screaming, and laughing. The Men's team obviously dominated. Some girls took it poorly. (EX: One Junior girl, "Just remember which team is a Conference Champion...")

Other nights we just chilled in people's rooms or lounges, watching tv, eating and chillin out.

On the last night of the First Week, the night before we left for Puerto Rico. Some shit went down in terms of a select few who decided to drink. They were drinking because we had finished the Mac Meet earlier and we were leaving at 2:30am for the airport, which meant no morning practice. Well long story short, ResLife/ Security is a bitch and shut down a little gathering and took names of a few people. And that SHOULD have been the end of it. But it wasn't...

We get to Puerto Rico and are doing are thing down there, when in the middle of the week we get this email from Leon that he wrote to winter break athletes: (excerpt)

The party with the swimmers was broken up quickly and without incident. They weren’t so fortunate with the basketball party. Although the party itself was quickly disbursed, the building received considerable vandalism and damage (trash cans dumped all over the floors, broken window, a broken table, and food eaten out of the floor refrigerator). The RA on the floor and the resident who made the initial noise complaint also had harassing messages written on their doors.


The next morning at 5:30am, as we are meeting in the Lobby before heading to practice, Andy calls the people over and talks to them as everyone else heads to practice...

One way of looking at it: Andy wouldn't have known about it if we all hadn't gotten that email, and Leon wouldn't have sent the email if the BBallers didn't go crazy one night in Northfield.

Andy was pissed. We had a team meeting. Big talk about loss of trust and responsibility to each other. It was a damper on the day. There was some drama, because there were some people who were drinking, but somehow didn't get their names written down. Most eventually confessed to Andy. But afterwards, I was talking to Andy when everyone was clearly bummed and he goes "Aw common guys, I wasn't a perfect kid when I was in college either."

So there is still some fallout from that but for the majority of the team it's no big deal.

As for Puerto Rico, it was Puerto Rico. We stayed in a different area than from when the team was there 4 years ago. It was more touristy and there were no chickens anywhere. We didn't have kitchenettes, so we had to eat out everywhere which was expensive, but also fun. Eric Brenner and I (the thrifty bums we are) tried to not spend more than $100 dollars. But failed... BUT ONLY BECAUSE OF THE GOD DAMN AIRPORTS! It was okay though because we got a Stipend from the athletic dept. for the days we were in Northfield, which I carried over in PR. Overall I think I broke even. Which is awesome.

We had a half day off. Some people went snorkling, other went up to the rainforest (check out my pics if ya want, it was friggin awesome at the top), some went to a really nice beach, others checked out the old fort and an ambitious group went to the bioluminecent swamp/forest thing.

Back in Northfield, everyone was tired and broken down. We only had one day out of the almost three weeks of no practice and it was the travel day when we were up for like 24 hours straight, so it wasn't exactly restful. On the last day, we did a Pentathlon for our last practice and we had another team dinner, but at Perkins (classy, I know).

Overall it was a blast. The set up was interesting and Andy wanted our feedback on it. I liked the training in Northfield, but not coming back to it after going somewhere warm and training there. And Puerto Rico is nice, but the set up and conveniences of Ft. L are pretty nice.

And I'll leave ya with this.

Harry Potter

Hey All,

Just posting a link to a facebook group. No need to join, just read the gist of it. It's funny.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=194107497693&ref=nf

The group is called:

The hilarity of Harry Potter quotes when changing "wand" to "willy"

Some examples are:

1. "There was a moment, in the graveyard, where Voldemort's willy and mine sort of... connected."
2. Draco whipped out his willy, but Harry was prepared and his willy was in his hand before Draco could react....
3. "Snape lay panting on the ground. James and Sirius advanced on him, willies raised..."
4. "As you can see, we are holding our willies in the accepted combative position."

The whole list is hilarious

Just for you, Mark.

The whole powerpoint file is available if you email me. I can't figure out how to post a powerpoint.

Look what I found on a random flash drive.

As the title says, look what I found on a random flash drive filled with assignments from freshmen year. I must have not known yet that I could email things to myself. Anyways, as loud, obnoxious, and rhythmless as I am, you should really be watching Rick Frazel in this video. He has no idea what's going on. As I recall, he has no memory of this.

Old Moon (aka The Road)

Well, I just watched the film "The Road" and have some very mixed feelings about it, so I'm going to write a review here. For those who don't know, The Road just came out in theaters on Thanksgiving and stars Viggo Mortensen as an unnamed man. There are small appearances by Robert DuVall, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, and Michael K. Williams (from The Wire). It tells the story of a man and his son as they struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world after an unspecified disaster.

It's very difficult to not give spoilers, but I'll try. The reason for my difficulty assessing The Road is that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: its too real...

Okay, I'm done using the BK template for my review. Especially since I didn't specifically pay attention to the music or cinematography. One thing I can say however, is that the acting is incredible. You always get what you pay for with Viggo. Another thing I can say is that the film really reminded me of Fallout 3. Except there weren't any mutants or other fucked up looking people. And there also wasn't any form of organized government. BUT, there were plenty of Raider-like people. The movie was actually kind of an emotional rollercoaster. Especially if that rollercoaster consisted of two emotions: fear and sadness. Yes, I was scared for their lives, and yes I was crying like a bitch. The worst part about the movie was that it was depressing as shit. In a good way though. It has some nice messages about how there is hope for humanity...or at least human nature (1) (2) (3).

Overall, I'd give this movie a 3.5 out of 5, but I can see others giving it a 4.5. I attribute this to the fact that I had no idea that the movie was going to be so sad. To be honest, the worst part about this movie is that the trailers sucked. I guess that's what you get when you go to a movie that wins a shitload of awards at film festivals.

Also, while I'm writing a review, I should mention something. The show Bored to Death that I recommended a while back isn't that great. The episodes I reviewed, the first and second, were a lot better than the rest. On the other hand, the show Dexter is AMAZING. It's a showtime original series and you can watch it all on the web. I've only seen season 2 and I loved it. I've heard season 1 is better. The show is on its 4th season now. This show is about a serial killer who works for the police department and only kills murderers. The story is actually more complicated. I love this show. Honestly, I'd say its right up there with the Sopranos. Its hard for me to think of a better show. To put it into perspective for you, I'd choose Dexter over Jurassic Park.

New Moon

Well, I just watched the film "New Moon," and have some very mixed feelings about it, so I'm gonna write a review here. For those who don't know, New Moon just came out in theaters as the sequel to Twilight and the prequel to Eclipse. The film stars the incredibly attractive Kristen Stewart, the incredibly muscular Taylor Lautner, and the incredibly handsome Robert Pattinson, and is the sixth directoral project of fashion designer and novelist John Weitz' son, Chris Weitz. It tells the story of Bella, the resident of Forks, WA who is in love with a vampire named Edward Cullen. After an unspecified amount of time being in a relationship with Bella, Edward is forced to move away from Forks when his brother attempts to eat Bella's blood as a result of her getting a paper cut while opening a gift from the Cullen family on her birthday.

It's very difficult to not give spoilers, but I'll try. The reason for my difficulty assessing New Moon is that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: New Moon is vampire film. The vampire theme resonates strongly (but not too strongly) throughout this film - the mark of an intelligent and tasteful vampire-film-maker. However, the plot delves into the same questions that were asked by the vampire films of old (Twilight included), but does not shed any new light on where we have progressed since then. The beginning and end of the film are masterfully crafted; the story subtly creates the tension of true love (thanks largely to the unbelievable job that Robert Pattinson does in this film, I never knew he could act so well) and is intriguing. However, once the cat is out of the bag and the big "twist" is revealed, the film just trudges along in a predictable path to its conclusion. The film does feature a different take on the interaction between man and vampire within the film; I think this is one of the few times in vampire film history that the vampire isn't the bad guy. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is by Thom Yorke (Twilight, Radiohead).

So, do I recommend the film? Absolutely. I'm definitely too picky about my vampire flicks, but at the same time the conclusion of the film felt very empty. The questions that the film raises are not only left unanswered, they are unacknowledged. This could be due, in part, to the fact that the film has a sequel and the saga has yet to be concluded! I don't mind when a film raises questions and in the end they can't be answered, but New Moon's plot diverges from those issues and does not address them (I see vampires and humans as a metaphor for broader race relations in our society, but the film doesn't explicitly acknowledge this). The deeper issues are lost; at the conclusion the plot controls the film rather than the themes, and this diverged from the feel of the beginning and the middle. All in all, 4 out of 5 stars, and I'm looking forward to Eclipse, the final film in the Twilight Saga.

Moon

Well, I just watched the film "Moon," and have some very mixed feelings about it, so I'm gonna write a review here. For those who don't know, Moon came out this year, stars Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey, and is the directoral debut of David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones. It tells the story of Sam Bell, the lone resident of a lunar mining colony who is finishing up his 3 year contract. After 3 years of complete isolation from humanity, Sam begins hallucinating and has an accident while gathering samples to send back to Earth.

It's very difficult to not give spoilers, but I'll try. The reason for my difficulty assessing Moon is that its greatest strength is also its greatest weakness: Moon quotes nearly every great scifi film ever made. Alien, Blade Runner, and 2001 resonate strongly throughout this film, which is the mark of an intelligent and tasteful filmmaker. However, the plot delves into the same questions that were asked by Blade Runner 27 years ago, but does not shed any new light on where we have progressed since then. The beginning and middle of the film are masterfully crafted; it subtly creates tension (thanks largely to the unbelievable job that Sam Rockwell does in this film, I never knew he could act so well) and is intriguing. However, once the cat is out of the bag and the big "twist" is revealed, the film just trudges along in a predictable path to its conclusion. The film does feature a different take on the interaction between man and AI within the film; I think this is one of the few times in film history that the computer isn't the bad guy. The cinematography is gorgeous and the music is by Clint Mansell (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain).

So, do I recommend the film? Absolutely. I'm definitely too picky about my scifi, but at the same time the conclusion of the film felt very empty. The questions that the film raises are not only left unanswered, they are unacknowledged. I don't mind when a film raises questions and in the end they can't be answered, but Moon's plot diverges from those issues and does not address them. The deeper issues are lost; at the conclusion the plot controls the film rather than the themes, and this diverged from the feel of the beginning and the middle. All in all, 4 out of 5 stars, and I'm looking forward to the next film from this director.

Just what the world needs right now

Whenever I don't want to do work, I watch movie trailers. Boy oh boy did I find a movie trailer this time. The movie is called Bitch Slap. After watching the trailer I have no idea what the movie is about. All I know is, I want to watch it.

I would like to point out a few parts of Apple's summary.
a) one of them might not be human
b) the movie runs backwards, like Memento
c) "the fate of the world hangs in the balance"

What kind of movie is this!? It comes out January 8 and I insist that the Men's team sees this.

A Dowist Perspective

So the term is over and for a few of us (sorry non-Carleton folks), winter break has started.

First, a few updates:

I think where I left off last was when the men’s team Tasted the Rainbow on Halloween. I said I was gonna write a whole post on it. But now I feel as if too late. I could probably write a whole novel on the night, although not from my perspective, which is missing completely… I’ll just say this: We started at 8 and I don’t remember anything after 9:45pm. 12 shots in an hour and a half is NOT a good idea, but hell I knew what I was getting into. We went through the rainbow, then did primary colors, then did our favorites. Allegedly, people were trying to make me drink water as early as 10:30 and I was two people I don’t know tried to take me home and put me to bed. I also know that I woke up at 5am in Davis 304 (Sjoberg’s current room) not knowing where I was, how I got there, or what was going on. I also felt great. But that is because of the massive purging that occurred around midnight…

So clearly the rainbow was a success.

On the last day of classes we had a flippy cup swim party at Dow. It started out with just the swim team, and then a jewgressive when through my house because of one of my housemates (the swimmers challenged them to a few rounds of flippy cup), and then all hell broke loose. The place blew up. It reminded me of that one party we had in the winter of last year in Stadium when the hall director came. Not only was it packed to the brink insider, there were probably about 100 people outside. The RAs kept wandering outside asking people, “Does anyone know who lives here?!” And supposedly the hall director came and was ignored by everyone she talked to. Security eventually came at 12:47 exactly and shut it all down. If you want to hear really funny stories, talk to Alfredo about this evening - you won't be disappointed.

Finals came and went. They sucked. Much of my time was spent on papers. But to give myself a pick me up in the middle of writing them, I would watch the video that Nonberg acted in for his friend’s project. Nonberg, your zombie walk made me laugh out loud so hard that some girl in the library asked me to keep it down or move to the 4^th floor. I recommend everyone watches it. It was so good that Mia and I thought we’d send it to btin.

Overall, I’d say this was my worst term at Carleton. But I won’t bore you about that. It mostly was because of my classes - very hard they were. But I think the fact that I had the best term of my life in the spring made this one seem worse than it really was. I do think that the living situation played a part as well. Living with swimmers is just so much easier. I think its the fact that everyone is on the same page and all. I’m very much looking forward to the break though, which is going to be much different than winter breaks past, mostly because of the difference in the training trip.

For those of you that don’t know, the team is doing something different in terms of winter break training this year.

Starting Monday of next week, the whole team (I think except for one or two people) is meeting back at Carleton to train. We are going to train twice a day for a week. Practices are 8-10 or 10-12 and 2-4 or 4-6. Morning practices are lift/swim (four days a week for sprinter and 2 days a week for distance) or all swim, and the swim is mostly technique based (filming, experimental stuff, etc). Afternoons are, as Andy put it to me one day when we were teaching SwimFit, “We are really gonna hammer you guys.”

OH! And practices are all gendered, which will be a fairly new experience for the team. It should be fun, since we don’t get that opportunity much during the normal season. But it also will be weird because we probably won’t see the women’s team during meals either, because we are cooking our own meals in the floor kitchens (because Bone Ape Tit isn’t open during the break).

So yeah, we are cooking our own meals. And because our room/board over the Northfield part of the training trip is covered by some fund from the Athletic Dept, we don’t have to pay for our food. The original plan was to have us buy all of our food and then give the business office receipts. Turns out, they are just gonna put the money ($22 a day!!!) directly in our checking accounts. And if we don’t spend it all, we get to keep it… Obviously, this part is awesome because I’m a thrifty/stingy asshole. We had a good chuckle about how if Jared was here, he’d be eating PB sandwhiches for the whole trip.

We also are going to go a Macalester Invite on the 5^th of Dec, which I’m glad about, because I have not been doing so well at meets this year and I want another opportunity before January.

Then we head to Puerto Rico! Group flight, which should be awesomely chaotic. In PR, we are practicing from 6-8 and then 3-5 and we gotta drive to the pool. The hotel we are staying at is a different one from when the team went before. This one doesn’t have kitchenetts – only a microwave and a minifridge (which should be interesting). But we do get like an amazing continental breakfast (with like omelets and stuff).

Then we all head back to campus and train like hell for 3 or 4 days until the 18^th, when we all go home for the rest of the break. Andy said those three days are gonna be the hardest of the whole time.

Should be a pretty cool time!

We’ll that’s all I really gotta say. I’ll leave ya with this.

Fall Term: A Reflection

Holy shit, I haven't posted in forever. I've sat down to start to write several times, but most of those times I was a little closer to Pluto than I should have been and ended up just listening to music and playing Mario Kart.
This is the laziest term I've ever had, and quite frankly I can't repeat it. I've set a new standard of laziness for myself, but at the same time I very much enjoyed Fall 2009. The defining factor of this term was Hill House. Although my Hill House triple cannot compare to the size and epicness of Stadium 110, Hill House as a whole has proven to be as historical and adventure-worthy as Stadium. Filled with winding staircases, hidden closets, ping pong tables, abandoned drum sets, and the ghetto Cave of Wonders (the room that controls who gets cable tv and internet), we took full advantage of every aspect of Hill House. Beer pong in the basement is perhaps my fondest memory, even though one night we were shut down at 11 and I cussed out the RA (oops). However, said RA was not the Hill House RA, who is by far the coolest RA I have ever had ("You guys shouldn't smoke on the porch. But if you do smoke on the porch, smoke on the right side"). The 3rd floor fire escape was also an oft-visited location, typically by Granger and I. Hill House has one of the best groups of people anywhere at Carleton. While Andrew, Ken, and I are the people you probably know, the presence of Granger, Aaron, Darian, and Sam made "quiet" nights in Hill House fairly raucous.
In Stadium, much of our time was dominated by COD4, Little Big Planet, and TA. This year, our room has a Wii, and we play Mario Kart nearly constantly (I'm the best). We also play lots of Laser Hockey (which some of you experienced during Alumni Weekend). I beat Metroid Prime 3 in the first 2 weeks, and I've been working on beating Resident Evil 4 for the last few weeks.
In terms of music, I've been listening to a lot of new stuff that I'm pretty confident you guys will enjoy. On the electronic scene, I've been listening to Crystal Castles, The Knife, Digitalism, Nosaj Thing, and of course, lots of Aphex Twin. I've found a lot of good hip hop in the past months, and would suggest that you all check out Buck 65, a Canadian artist who has been called the Tom Waits of hip hop (intrigued yet?). Get his album, "This Right Here is Buck 65" first because it's a good intro, mostly because his early albums sound like they were recorded in a basement... which they were. Also, check out the new Tech N9ne album, K.O.D., because it's awesome (Tech featuring Three 6 Mafia and rapping backwards=awesome). I've really gotten into Brother Ali recently as well, plus Cunninlynguists and Sage Francis. I saw Atmosphere live in Wichita over the summer, which was disappointingly uncrowded but one of the best shows I've ever been to. Minneapolis has the best hip hop scene of any city in the US. Period.
The main sad news from this term is the passing of Beelzebub, aka Mephistopheles. He was an excellent companion, be it morning, afternoon, or night, Monday or Sunday, and it didn't matter if it was just him and me or if there was a big group of people. Beelzebub was loved by all who knew him, and will be sorely missed. One day a new companion will be found, and it is my hope that you will all meet him someday.
So now I'm living in Davis 104 with Mering, KEG, and 2 international students over break. We dragged the TV and Wii with us, so Andrew is playing Mario Kart while I'm writing. We cooked brats outside and had some brews, so all in all this "Thanksgiving at Carleton" thing is going pretty well.
Nonberg, Elliot, Ted, Tim, and Toto: I miss you guys a lot. This place just isn't the same without you, and I've enjoyed reading your post-grad posts. I haven't been doing my job to keep the blog alive, but I'm going to try harder.

Rick Frazel: Fall From Grace

You guys voted for it, so I'm going to make it....well a trailer that is. With winter break coming up I think I may be able to whip something up. Should be fun

Also,

Let me leave you with this. Above is a picture of our rainbow night with none other than soco. Yeah that's right, Southern Comfort. We not only tasted the rainbow, we expanded the color spectrum.

I've been moved to write.

It's been a while since I last wrote. I wish I could say that I've been extremely busy and unable to find the minutes to do a quick blog post, but in reality that's just not true. I'd be lying to you... and I wouldn't lie to my friends.

Anyway, what's moved me to write this post is the latest story involving Chad Ochocinco, the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver. Beloved Chad was fined $20,000 by the NFL for jokingly flashing a one dollar bill at a referee when a play that involved Chad himself was being reviewed. Clearly, the idea of the stunt was to pretend to bribe the official. Also, rather clearly, he was kidding.

I recognize the sanctity of sports, and their rules, and all that. I also realize that gambling, betting, bribing, etc should not be tolerated by the NFL or any other professional sports league because of the obvious implications. But let's be honest here, the guy was very clearly joking. The league hates him - he's been fined for plenty of other things before. But he's just a dude that wants to have fun, and all of his previous stunts (and there have been many) are all in an attempt to lighten things up a little bit. I mean really, the man officially changed his last name to "Ochocinco".

In other news, I'm finally up in Minneapolis in my new digs. Through a stroke of luck I got a fully furnished one bedroom apartment in the southern part of Uptown for pretty cheap. I'd put up pics but I can't find the cable for my camera. So anyway, I'm living by myself and trying to find a job. The job search hasn't been the most fruitful but I've been keeping myself entertained. I usually run by Lake Calhoun each afternoon and every time I do I realize that despite being funemployed I really do enjoy this city because that lake is gorgeous.

Beyond running, I've been playing a lot of Bouncing Balls on Facebook, going to a local coffee shop, etc. I've chilled with Liz and Caitlin and Anna some - Liz and her housemates had a party last night from which I now sit here recovering (don't dangle your prepositions). We spent the whole night playing Cornhole/Bags in the basement - pretty good fun.

Since I lack a job, I'm headed home from Nov. 25 until Jan. 5 (yes, I doing winter break and I no longer go to Carleton). This is an attempt to preserve both finances and sanity. While I've been decently entertained and not too bored, sitting in my apartment in December without a job and no real prospects (since nobody hires in December) is not my idea of fun. If any of you east coasters want to find a cheap way to chill during this period, I'd be up for it.

That's all folks.

Maddie the Baby doesn't want a public option

Congressmen Shadegg (R-AZ 3rd) brings his staffer's baby onto the House floor to tell the Congress what she thinks about health care reform. She has an incredibly precocious, well-formed opinion.



Is it just me or is she actually trying to keep congressman Shadegg from speaking into the microphone?

I wonder how she'll feel fifteen years from now when she learns she debated health care on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives when she was 7 months old. I think I'd feel a little bit humbled and incredibly weirded out.

Taste The Rainbow: The Story

The biggest problem I have had with film school is that I don't get to write a lot, or for that matter read very much. So please excuse me if my writing seems sub-par.


When I got the text that said: "FYI Gentleman. Some of us are tasting the rainbow this weekend.", I could not help but question how many of those people participating actually knew the true history of Tasting the Rainbow. Well, that is what I am about to relate to you.

The origins of the rainbow date back in 2005 at the start of "The Flock's" freshman year. With no one of legal age to purchase alcohol for us, Tim, Elliot, Ted, and myself were forced to ask upon Will aka "The Shepard" to buy for us. With no idea what we liked we decided to try out everything. We had a "we have gold in our bodies" evening consisting of gold schlager and cider; a rum evening, and a couple other failed experiments. Then one evening, as if receiving a signal from a higher power, we decided as a group to get two flavors of Schmirnoff Vodka; our choice, one citrus and one orange. We never looked back, and for that matter probably generated enough revenue for Firehouse workers to put six kids through college.

The first time the nectar hit our lips we knew we had found something great. Vodka that you could mix with almost anything and it would taste good. So, what to do with our new found discovery? At first we played with the basics like mixing the flavored vodka with soda, juice, etc..then we got creative. Strawberry Sunday toppings fanta with lemonade powder, you name it, we mixed it.

Every weekend not only brought a chance for us to try new flavors, but make new drinks as well. Eventually, our flavored vodka palette seemed to have reached a climax. Over the next three years what began as two bottles a weekend slowly trickled to virtually no bottles. Many of us took a respite from the flavorful sensations we once championed.

Then in true Stadium 110 fashion, an older "Flock" decided to push the limits. As we all sat around our obnoxiously big living room the old gang decided to reminisce about the good old days. I remember Tim saying "Man when we were freshman we used to drink two bottles a weekend". All of a sudden, all our heads seemed to think as one. Why not buy as many flavors as possible and have one last hurrah to the liquor that had once made our nights magical. Thus, the first taste the rainbow was born.

That faithful night as the entire flock and some new members sat around the table in our Zubaz we knew we were about to embark upon a special journey. 20 minutes into the adventure, I, as was in my typical fashion, sneaked away to make room for the other flavors. As the rainbow began to fade, we knew we had to share our adventure with the world. As we "journeyed" from Stadium to the swim town house, the 7 or 8 of us knew we had accomplished more in that hour than most people achieved their whole time in college.

I don't need to go into details about the rest of the evening; mostly because I don't remember much of what happened. What I do know is we made that party better, we made Carleton better, we made Stadium 110 brighter in the constellation of great landmarks on campus, we started what will soon become a grand tradition.

My biggest problem with the real world...or at least DC

When I graduated from college, I assumed my heavy partying days were over. I am happy to admit that I was wrong. However, going out is a completely different experience.

The first time I drank with the graduate students was at Maryland's Oktoberfest. What a day. We got there at around 1pm and left at 8:30pm. It was for sure a day that rivaled Rotblatt...and maybe even spring concert(That is Nick Gazel and Will Kruesi passed out my freshman year). Upon entering the festival, which takes place on Maryland's fairgrounds near Baltimore, you are given 10 chips. Each chip corresponds to a small beer. Additional chips are a buck apiece. I was for sure expecting a mug that could hold a pint, but I figured I could manage.
The best part about this place was that every beer I drank was way better than PBR and bud light. And they were all about 9%+. There was one beer that was 21%! It was ridiculous. So as the day progressed, everyone got pretty drunk. The live music they had playing was called "The Reagan Years" and they played all the best songs from the 80's. It totally brought me back to freshman year and our endless playing of Journey and Duran Duran. I was happy.
Throughout the day, there were several contests. The first one was the biggest beer belly contest. It was funny, but kind of sad. It wasn't sad because it was encouraging obesity. It was sad because there were really really attractive women dressed up in slutty outfits that had to act like they wanted to sleep with the contestants.

Guess what, that guy is the contest winner. His belly was very round. Other contests they had were the "carry your wife contest" where the winner won his wife's weight in beer and the Miss Oktoberfest contest. Let me expand on the latter. Winning this contest would not be a good thing. Though I suppose it does parallel girls dressing up slutty for halloween. Anyway, the winner was determined by who could eat a German sausage sexiest. WTF. No one managed to deepthroat the sausage, and every woman ended up taking a bite out of it, which of course ruined any chance of me enjoying it. One girl did eat it out of another girls top though. By the way, every time I write "girl" I mean middle aged woman. Overall, the day was awesome.

I realize that I haven't gotten to the bulk of this post, namely, my biggest problem with the real world. The above story had nothing to do with it. My biggest problem is going into DC. I live right by the metro station, so I can easily invite people over to my place, pregame a bit, and then walk to the metro. It takes me about 30 minutes to get into the city. BUT, there is still a big problem with life after college. At Carleton, we loved getting drunk at around 8:30 and going out at 9:30...that is, if the party didn't come to us. I have found that in the real world, you don't really want to be at a bar when people are sober. Thus, I end up arriving in DC at around 11pm and leaving at 3am, which is when the last train leaves DC. I get back to my house at 3:30am. So that's my biggest problem...which isn't all that bad. I definitely like living close to a big city, especially when that city is DC and there are lots of young people. On Halloween, I went to bed at 6am. What a night.
Now that I've mentioned going to the bar, let me give Mark, Alfie, and BK something to which they can look forward. Whenever we went to the bar at Carleton, we went with our friends and only talked to people we knew. Completely different story now. Especially when I go out with my friends from high school who are always ALWAYS looking to get laid. Good for them though, right? When I go out with them, the night isn't fun until they're talking to girls. Which brings me to another point I would like to make about life outside the bubble. Girls outside the bubble don't consider guys that hit on them to be creepy or sketchy. It's so...normal! On occasion, girls try to pick up me and my friends! That part is a little strange. The pick up tends to go like this:

Girl: (bumps into Me) Oops, sorry, did I spill your drink?
Me: Whoa! Oh, no, that was close though.
Girl: I'm Angela and this is my friend Sarah.

Damn they're smooth! I'm still with Liz and all (she is actually coming to see me tomorrow), but I do enjoy the conversation.

Well, there's nothing else I can think to write right now. Life is awesome out here. Everyone should live in DC. Actually I thought of something. A few weeks ago I saw Kevin Nealon and Russell Peters perform live at Maryland. The ticket costs me $5. It was hilarious.

On a musical note, you all should check out Lil' Wayne's newest mixtape "No Ceilings." You can easily download it off the internet. Lil Wayne basically takes the music from rap songs that really suck but have a good beat (like wasted and ice cream paintjob).
Also, I heard a band the other day called M83. Now, I'm sure Ted has already heard of them, but they're pretty good. Definitely no Passion Pit, but still good. I recommend "Kim and Jessie" and "We own the Sky."

Do You Guys Still Organize Your Life By Weeks? or WTF: It's 8th week

Well I think its time for a good ol Carleton update.

Let's start with one of our most common threads: swimming. Bottom line - its goin well. We are well into our 2nd three-week cycle. So its been a bit more intense, except for Halloween practice, which made me miss the class of 2009 quite a bit. We turned in our forms for winter housing last week, which made me realize how close winter break really is. We are on campus from November 29th to the 7th of December then off to Puerto Rico for a week and then again for about 4 days. Pete is already planning some pranks that he wants to pull on the basketball team. And Joe is planning the party we are gonna have the last night. Are any of you gonna be in the area?

Most of the freshmen boys have acclimated well. Some of them are still a little awkward/shy, but I think its just their personality. We got one with humor similar to Casey, a few hardscore partiers (for their grade), a spacecase/"baller", and some funny dudes. They good people. Its kind of weird because it makes me think of when some of you guys were Juniors and I was a Freshman. And then also when you guys were freshman and Free-Ho and Will were Juniors. I think the college social system is prone to Juniors being more willing to better befriend freshman as opposed to sophomores and freshman. But its just a hypothesis.

So Dan Deacon came to campus this past Thursday. I actually started exploring his stuff a few weeks ago and I like it for the most part. But I like most electronic/techno stuff. I'm not as good as talking about music as Ted, Tim and Bk are. But I know what I like. I didn't stay long because of morning practice, but I'm glad I went because he is a really good performer. He likes to get the whole audience involved, which I always appreciate as a concert goer. Plus he's a legit name (a rarity for Carleton). I will, however, admit that I was kinda annoyed with some of the audience members. There are quite a bit of pretentious muisc snobs are Carleton.

So H1N1 has hit Carleton by storm. I remeber last year joking about it a bit, but it's kind of crazy how its affecting our year. Professors are more lenient about attendence and students now have a better excuse to feed professors when telling them why they aren't gonna go to class. One of my professors is pretty paranoid because she doesn't want her kids getting sick. And actually Andy is pretty crazy about it too. He frequently reminds us to wash our hands and he has been telling us to shun members of the team who are sick and to stay as far away from them as possible. He got sick this week though with like a fever of 104! As far as numbers go, According to Carleton's H1N1 Influenza Website,

"Simply put, the College is experiencing nearly double the amount in the number of reported influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) this week compared to last. So far, we’ve had 114 new cases reported this week alone, compared to 65 cases reported last week."

When it gets cold out, its going to be even worse... Winter is gonna be crazy in terms of sickness.

Last night we also tasted the rainbow... but I'm too lazy right now, so I'll update on that later.

What Chapman Computers Think of The Blog

When I went to visit the blog on one of the school computers this is the message I got. Keep in mind this is also a school where 3 landmarks on campus are named after W.

www.stadium110.blogspot.com/ may try to steal your information.

Why were you redirected to this page?

When we visited this site, we found it may be designed to trick you into submitting your financial or personal information to online scammers. This is a serious security threat which could lead to identity theft, financial losses or unauthorized use of your personal information.

A product for women...

The Shake Weight^TM:



I keep expecting the money shot.

16mm Project

So here is my 16mm project. We were given 100 feet of film (Roughly 2 and a half minutes of footage) and told to shoot a one minute chase scene. I got to add music to this one. As always let me know what you think.

P.S. Stadium 110 shenanigans were my muse.

_

Hey Guys,

Just a funny as hell video my friend showed me. This guy is so wasted. He kind of reminds me of BK...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZQsA7G0hvQ

Bears on skates!

The most popular article on the BBC tonight is about a Russian circus trainer who was mauled and killed by a bear that he was training to ice skate (the bear was wearing skates when it mauled him). Here is the last line of the article:

"Bears on ice are common in Russian circuses. Some are equipped with helmets and sticks and trained to play hockey."

This led me to do a google search, which quickly led me to this:



Did you see any ice-skating bears in Russia BK?

They are surprisingly good, although the goalie is a bit lazy.

Frontline: The Warning

If you have time (Tim), I'd recommend watching this week's Frontline.

It traces the story of a confrontation between Alan Greenspan's Laissez-Faire crowd and little-known bureaucrat Brooksley Born over the regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market. Born essentially warned of the financial meltdown that we've been experiencing ten years before it actually happened. But she was defeated in her attempt to get any regulation (even after a near meltdown) by an economic junta of sorts led by Greenspan (not to mention I'm sure the financial lobby).

The story is pretty interesting but also pertinent to the ongoing debate in congress (though very little in the media these days). I can't claim to understand OTC derivatives at all, but the market apparently continues to be secretive with no government oversight, and a lot of the bad assets that led to the financial crash were derivatives. Greenspan has since admitted that his philosophy had been wrong, and there is a bill working its way through congress, but the financial lobby has been working hard to make it better suit their tastes.

It's pretty crazy that a bunch of companies just pushing around money can bring our entire economy to its knees and put so many people out of work. It's also surprising that after the economic collapse and resulting public anger they are still so reluctant to change. Anyway, I'm glad that Frontline did this piece, because it's pretty clear to both the Wizard and most of the American public that a certain amount of regulation is actually good for the economy. Hopefully our lawmakers are able to stand up to their financers and get something meaningful passed.

What Exactly I'm Up To.

Hey there everyone,

So I have been off the radar for a couple weeks on the blog, so I figured I would write a post. I promise that I am going to post another video soon. The reason it has been so long is one of my hard-drives crashed and I lost my project, and the second reason is I had get my 16mm film project digitized. Anyway, you should see something this week.
Right now I am currently waiting for my over 80 gigs of football footage from the weekend to convert on the computer....super fun. Although what is cool is that all that footage is stored on a small SD card. No more tapes, no more film (A big debate here at school)
My guess is a lot of you are wondering: "Hey, how come you get a masters degree for watching and making movies?" Sometimes I wonder the same thing; but as of late, I can better understand and appreciate the amount of time and craft that goes into making your favorite movies
Over the past couple of months I have learned just how much film and television blends art and craft into one cohesive process. There are so many different factors when shooting a movie both from a technical point of view, as well as an artistic one. What lights to choose, what type of film (super 16, super 35, digital, 1080i 1080p...etc). Who to cast, how they should act, where there eyes are, making sure you are moving the correct direction in the frame..blah blah blah
Anyway things are really busy but really interesting. Like I said earlier I will post a project or two this week.

On a quick side note I played a zombie in one of my friends films. I'll see if I can get the footage to post up here.

Something That I Will Only Think is Funny

I am easily amused.

Thoughts on the Weekend

As always, last weekend went by far too quickly. Of course, being alumni weekend, it went by even faster than usual. But what little time we had was jam packed with tomfoolery, debauchery, half-baked schemes, nostalgia, and just general fun.

At first it was strange walking around Northfield and Carleton but knowing that it was no longer my home. But as the weekend went on the familiar feelings consumed the unfamiliar, and I felt at home once again.

Despite not setting foot in the illustrious confines of Stadium 110, there was a lot to remind me of last year, and the years before it as well.

1. The meet itself. Despite being a year older and considerably more hung-over this year, the meet itself was the same as always, and the atmosphere embodied the spirit of my Carleton swimming memories.
2. The homecoming game. Beating the Oles (and winning in general) was much more reminiscent of last year than any of my other years. The near fourth-quarter meltdown was also mostly reminiscent of last year.
3. Video games. But I can't believe we never even thought about getting a Wii last year.
   
4. Lamenting the loss of the Carleton Penis.
   
5. Upper Dow party. This reminds me much more of my first two years when the swim team got scandalous in Dow. But the cast was nearly the same as last year at Stadium 110 parties.
6. Beating undergrads in Beirut (Thank you to the guy whose jacket I borrowed because I thought it looked lucky. It was lucky.)
7. The Cow, The Reub, Ho Bros, Basil's
8. First Mate Charlie

In response to Mark's post. I'd say that it's not necessarily the values of Stadium 110 that set us apart. It's the way we embrace them and claim self-entitled ownership of them. This may not sound like a good thing. But I honestly mean it in the best possible way.

By the way, this weekend was midway through the 7th lunar phase of The International Year of Stadium 110: The International Celebration.

A Reinforcement of Values

As I sit in the shithole that is Dow House right now after a weekend like this one, I do the only thing an astute Carleton student would do; engage in the practice of insightful reflection.

...Or I'm just putting off the scrubbing of the bloody kitchen floor that desperately needs tending to.

So lets get down to it. For me, this weekend was a reinforcement of the values and principles of Stadium 110.

We had it all. We spent some quality time at west during the swim meet, enjoyed some time at the northfield bars, ate some northfield food, enjoyed time with the coaches, went to the football game, and played some video games.

And then in the evening! Nonberg DJ-ed a bit, Bk had his jacket, we drank out of cups, Scuba girl was there (Toto, I saw her this morning and I think she was trying to avoid eye contact, but I said "Hey!" anyways), some of us went on adventures to Boliou/ Sevy, there was inappropriate dancing on tables, Tim and Ted playing pong together, doing and planning various debaucherous activities.

It almost felt as if it was last year. It actually felt a little weird not waking up in Stadium this morning... Actually it felt a little weird waking up anyways, probably because I slept on the floor and woke up with my winter hat on.

But its not last year. And can never be. In fact, last night was missing some key pieces as well. We dearly missed Elliot's presence and once Toto(tototototototo) left, there was a hole in my heart to be sure. Not to mention, we weren't in Stadium.

But even so, last night was a reinforcement of why I try every god-given day to life my life in a Stadium 110 fashion. I tried to explain Stadium to Kellen and Julia whilst talking to them on the other side of Dow, but they just couldn't get it. In fact, I don't know if many other people "get it."

Now, I am not saying that those who did not live in Laird Stadium cannot subscribe to these principles of drinking, debauchery and fun* and I am not saying that these same values are not embraced by other blocs or communities (such as the past swimmers of Dow House, whom I learned much about from the Dow history lesson given by Julia a mere 10 hours ago).

A fun weekend to be sure, and while it'll just get harder and harder to gather in such as manner, that'll just make it even better when we all do.

I guess I'll put my sharpie and my copy of 10 Things I Hate About You and wait till next year...



*While I agree that these a values which are pretty much embraced by all college students, I would argue that the way we go about doing them is what makes the Stadium 110 Lifestyle different. (Examples: drinking - finishing off a keg on the morning of Spring Concert/Tasting the Rainbow, debauchery - stealing benches from soccer fields, clocks from sayles, moving Nonberg's desk into the bathroom, radio terrorism, and making Anna Gallager think her roommate has gone missing, fun - The crow's nest, blacklights, and drunk dining hall with shades.)

Trailer Park Boys

Canadian tv fucking rocks. I've always loved watching The Red Green Show, and until recently that was my only exposure to Canadian television. But now I've found Trailer Park Boys, which I've been watching ceaselessly for the past few weeks.
TPB is shot mockumentary style, like The Office. It takes place in Sunnyvale Trailer Park and revolves around the lives of its residents. Ricky and Julian are the main characters, and at the end of every season they go back to jail. Each character has various quirks, for example Julian carries a drink with him everywhere and Ricky always takes smokes from people. Julian's best friend is Bubbles, who was abandoned by his parents in a shed in the trailer park and has lived there ever since. Ricky and Julian always have Trevor and Corey do their dirty work because Trevor and Corey are dumber than most dogs and cats. And then there's J-Roc and the Rock Pile. They're hard as fuck. J-Roc spins rhymes like a lazy Susan and he's innocent until guilt is proven.
http://www.tvokay.com/tv/trailer-park-boys.htm

Bored to Death

Just to set the record straight, I am not bored to death. Rather, tonight I watched a new HBO series called Bored to Death. I know we normally talk about music, but I really like this show. I'm going to try to tell you all why...

Let me start by telling you about the characters in the show. The main character is a thoughtful, loving, sensitive pothead and alcoholic. He is also kind of a loser and has reminds me of the Shepard. Not because he's a loser, but because of his haircut. He is bored with his life and attempting to get over a breakup, so he decided to start being a detective on the side by posting an ad on Craig's list advertising himself as an unlicensed private investigator. He is very unprofessional but his heart is in the right place.
His best friend is the weird guy from the Hangover. By weird guy, I mean best character. Anyway, only two episodes have aired, so they haven't really developed his character as much. He's funny though.
The main character's boss is Ted Danson. I don't really know what the company is, but he and the main character get high and drink quite a bit. Everything that happens to him is funnier because he's Ted Danson. Plus, I suppose Ted Danson himself plays the role quite well.

I know I said that I'd start by telling you about the characters, which would imply that I was going to go on about something else, but I don't want to give anything away. If you are a skeptic about this show at least watch the 2nd episode (I watched it first, then I watched the pilot, and I thought the 2nd one was way better. You know, after the pilot gets taken up they have to make some changes at HBO's request or something). Just remember this too. When has HBO ever let you down? C'mon. I will warn you though. It is VERY different from shows like the Sopranos and the Wire. My friend and I found ourselves laughing way more than we did in Entourage and Flight of the Conchords...or at least as equally as we did in the conchords.

After you watch it, leave a comment and tell me what you think. The main character is just so lovably clueless.

Tim went to the Tiki Bar

TRi does not know what;s goingon.

Tim

P.S. see you all enxt weekend

tim

Goldfish Swallowing, Neon Indian, Washed Out, DFA, and all things funemployed!

I was originally going to write a post a week or two back about all these sweet bands I found through Wikipedia.  I did this by originally looking up Hot Chip and then clicking through on the "related acts" link to see a bunch of others.  I soon realized that all of them shared a common label, DFA (Death From Above), and consequently downloaded everything from that label.  Then I realized all these bands were supposedly popular freshman year and I was, once again, late to jump on the bandwagon.  But nonetheless, if you were too, I would highly, HIGHLY recommend Out Hud, The Rapture, The Juan MacLean, and Black Leotard Front if you like Hot Chip.  I would also recommend The Knife.  

After my original music idea, I was going to write about the phenomenon of goldfish swallowing (apparently a common frat-party activity) originally popularized in the 1930s by Harvard freshman Lothrop Withington.  I think this is absolutely hilarious/repulsive and I'm confused as to why it was so popular.

Once it became apparent that my thoughts about goldfish swallowing were limited, and thus so too was my ability to write anything about it, I sat here, funemployed and without pants, and waited.  Then, I discovered some new music.  This stuff is actually new.  I hope nobody has heard it yet.  

I was just recently encouraged to listen to Washed Out.  My source told me, "If you like Passion Pit, you may like this."  He then sent me the EP (which has yet to be released?!).  I must say, this stuff is great.  It's sort of MGMT, sort of Passion Pit, all chill.  iTunes calls it "Synth-Pop".  Other people call it "Chill Wave".  I'm not enough of an indie/hipster dude to really know what I'm talking about, but I know enough to like this music and enjoy it for what it is.  Find the "Life of Leisure" EP on a rapidshare feed at your convenience.  To give you an indication of its liveliness, I would not end a pre-game with this music.  I would begin a night with it, and maybe end a night with it, but definitely nothing in the middle.

My enjoyment of Washed Out led me to another artist.  Neon Indian actually came before Washed Out (according to Hipster Runoff), but who really cares?  It's a similar style (Chill Wave) and very enjoyable to listen to.  Both projects aren't quite as lively as Passion Pit or MGMT, but they exude similar musical styles and therefore are very enjoyable.  I loved MGMT but got sick of them fairly quickly.  I think the variety that these bands provide will be quite useful in avoiding such an illness again.  On the pre-game scale, I think Neon Indian would prove to be a good pre-game band throughout most of an entire pre-game session.  Again, snag the EP (Psychic Chasms) on a rapidshare feed.

Enjoy the music.  See you all in a week.

When does everyone arrive?

...

The Wrong Hole

Hey All,

Great video here. Whoever made this video is hilarious. Especially what happens at 2:36.

See everyone at the meet!

Exercise 3

Hey everyone,

So here is an exercise I had to do for one of my production classes. I know making movies for homework is a sweet concept.
So with that said, the goal of this assignment was to show a character making a decision. We were not allowed to use sound which made us focus solely on telling a visual story. Let me know what you all think. (This is just a rough cut, but the final product will look very similar.)

A Carleton College Week One of Fall Term 2009 Update from Third Year Student Mark "Scourge of the Midwest" Olson

A man without a mustache is like a cup of tea without sugar.
-English Proverb

I like that quote and it reminded me of when Ted and I (and sorta Nonberg, although he cheated) did mustache club.



Okay, So here is my Carleton update. I forget that several of those who read this blog are not anywhere near Carleton.

Swimming Stuff:
So on Wednesday, we had our first team meeting. First things first, the email said there would be snacks. Upon arrival, I soon found out... that there were actually no snacks to be found. I made my unhappiness known to a few select individuals. There were a lot of us there. I think the girls have somewhere between 5-9 freshman, and the guys have about 12ish. I know some are on the fence though. The coaches and captains introduces themselves and then we broke off into genders, where we did introductions and a lil Q & A for the freshman. Then that was pretty much it. We went to a team dinner at Burton, which has experienced some changes (I'll explain later).

The freshman seem cool. Rumors are that some have a bit of a cockiness to them (I don't know what about, exactly - someone just said that). I think they just might be freshman, and I'll give em a chance. Some are quite cool though. Some of the guys played knock out today, which was tight. A few of the fresh ones showed up and a couple of them were pretty damn good (Momoru, for example). I think the Cocktail Party is going to be a gee golly good time.

Okay, Burton - Bad things first: The long tables are gone. Instead they have been replaces by small tables that are perpendicular to the windows/wall. They seat about 6 - 8. This new format does fit more people in the space. However, it is terrible for team unity. I've already started a "Comment Card Campaign." Louise, Brenner and Djem are quite enthusiastic about writing serious and silly cards about the issue. Boo short tables.

Another change is the elimination of Mundo Latino... Instead there is a World station that will supposably serve mundo latino-like dishes occasionally, but has only served bad curry for the past week. (Also this new World station is where heartland prairie used to be and the heartlannd is now where mundo latino used to be...) Boo no Mundo Latino.

They have also changed the entry way to the Sevy side of Burton. Now the ONLY enterance is through the double doors by the bathroom. That big block door where we used to enter is now always closed. Boo it being harder to sneak in.

Also (this is temporary but it still sucks), the new freshman dining hall workers are still scared to give more than the serving size their boss says they can. MEANING that I had to go up and get THREE plates full of Sweet Potatoe Fries, because the little chubby white girl freshman was to afraid of the big black chef. Hopefully this will subside soon. Boo incompetent dining hall workers and fear mongering supervisors.

Positive changes to Burton (there are only a few):
The mysterious room behind the double doors which where right by our long table and the coat rack is now a dining area. There are a few bigger tables and the team is considering taking over that room each dinner. (Providing more space there gives them less of a reason to not change back to the long tables, right?)

There is now a tray return over by the tea room. Although I do not use the tea room (like at all), this is good for the Carleton community.

Also, on an unrelated note, last weekend Caitlin and Black Ice stopped by when Megan's townhouse (Euchster) threw a lil rager! Good times were had by all.

Okay, that was the Burton Dining Hall Status Report Tangent and Carleton Status Report. Over and Out.

Wolf Blitzer is dumb

I was watching celebrity jeopardy today and the strangest thing happened. In hindsight, I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. The three contestants were Wolf Blitzer, Andy Richter, and some lady actress I didn't recognize. Basically, at the end of the 2nd round, Wolf had -$4,600 (the negative sign is not a typo) and Andy Richter had $39,000. The segment I'm talking about can be found here.

I'm not going to lie, I've always thought that the women in the news mostly got their jobs because they were attractive. I mean, let's be honest, most of them are (see exhibit 1, 2, 3). And they're just reading a teleprompter anyway, right? Well, because I'm a sexist pig, I assumed that the men got the job based on merit. I guess male anchors are just as dumb. Now it could be that he just isn't as good at jeopardy. But to get -4600! C'mon, Wolf! You'd think he'd have learned something with that hologram they have at CNN.

This makes me so happy though. Of course there are wonderfully smart people out there who are doing their best in academia and the government, for example, but I'm talking about the wonderfully smart people who entertain us. And for some other reason, I'm not talking about in writing books. I'm talking about the smart comedians. Here are some:

Andy Richter (apparently)
Elizabeth Banks - UPenn magna cum laude
Steve Colbert - Northwestern
Conan O'Brien - magna cum laude from Harvard
Natalie Portman - Harvard, she's mostly funny because of this.

Okay, I suppose the real point of this post was to show how smart elizabeth banks is. Isn't she a babe? I love her...I think I might have a chance too.

a comparison between umd and carleton

I've been at the university of maryland in college park for about 3 weeks now. There are so many differences between UMD and Carleton, so I am only going to point out a handful.

1) Famous people. Today, President Obama came to campus to talk about health care. Ya'll might be upset, but I didn't go. Obama was supposed to talk at 11am, they opened the doors at 9am, and they allowed people to line up at 5am. I really did not want to wait for 4-6 hours to hear him talk. I know, I'm a piece of shit. It's kind of like how I didn't go to see Scarlett Johannson when she visited. I suppose Al Franken and Kip Thorne also visited Carleton...but those are the 3 most famous people that visited in the four years I was there...at least that I know of. Anyway, Obama spoke here within 3 weeks...beat that!

2) Exploring Campus. Maryland is huge. One things I've realized about Maryland is that I will probably never go into most of the buildings. So far I've been in the materials science building, the physics building, the mechanical/aerospace engineering building, the student center (like sayles), and the rec center...and I suppose the football stadium counts too. And I've only been in the mech/aerospace engineering building to talk to a prof. who's office is there. Its as if I went to Carleton and only went in Olin, the CMC, Sayles, and the Rec. It takes so long to walk around everywhere...fortunately there are plenty of state-school grade girls everywhere.

3) the Segregation. I'm not talking racially here, I'm talking intellectually. There are literally "smart" and "dumb" dorms. It's basically the university's attempt at building a community. All the first years who come in with good grades and high test scores live in a group of buildings called the "Cambridge Community." The 4 dorm buildings (which are huge), surround a little courtyard that has banners that say things like "Economy, Environment, and Technology." Anyway, this dorm building is on the other side of campus as the other dorms, which are apparently like interest houses in that an entire dorm could be devoted to students who put on their application that they were interested in spanish. Okay, I'm starting to ramble now, so this section is done.

4) Athletics. I went to my first D1 football game last weekend when Liz visited. It was Maryland vs James Madison. There were over 46,000 people in the stadium and 2 jumbotrons. Of course there were all the overpriced foods like boardwalk fries and funnel cake too. I was sitting in the student section, and apparently its customary for the students to stand the entire game. Also, anytime a JMU student walked by, everyone would start chanting "Asshole, Asshole, Asshole" and point in their direction. I was so happy to be wearing a Maryland shirt. It was tight though. I was amazed when I first walked in. Did I mention that the stadium has night lights? Carleton should get some of those. The one thing I do love the most about Carleton athletics is that I am watching people I know play. At Maryland, I really couldn't care less. And tailgating! Wow. So many people chilling in the parking lots drinking. And littering like crazy. When Liz and I were walking back to the car, there was trash everywhere. It's like the cops pretend not to see or something.

5) Cops. Speaking of cops. I see at least 3 cop cars everyday. They are everywhere! Of course I never speed, so I'm not too worried.

6) Independence. Carleton does not prepare you for the real world. Carleton holds your hand throughout all 4 years. If you want to get things done at Maryland, you have to do it yourself. No one is going to come to you and let you know what you have or haven't turned in...unless its for money.

7) Freebies. There are so many things at Carleton that I took for granted. At Maryland, it costs $35 to get a locker at the rec center for one semester, $25 to get towel service for a semester, and $18-$30 each time you want to use the climbing wall or challenge course. I hope this doesn't make me sound cheap. On a side note, inside the rec center here is a place that sells the same smoothies we used to have in the snack bar. I was so happy about that.

8) Office Hours/Faculty. This is a huge difference from Carleton. A lot of faculty I have met with (especially the older ones) have offices both at Maryland and somewhere else, most commonly at NIST. Basically, they are only on campus on the days they have class. It's such a bummer when you're stuck on a problem. Some of the best faculty members don't even teach classes sometimes because they have so much grant money to do research that teaching would get in the way.

Well, those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head. I'll have to write a real blog post one of these days...

Since we all know it's never too early to plan a party...

...(except if it's Tuesday and your party is on Friday).. 

WE ALSO KNOW IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO PLAN A PRE-GAME!! YEEHAW.

Given that Ted mentioned pre-gaming in his post, and that I am currently "funemployed" (thanks Dave), Nonberg and I have decided that I am going to compile a pre-game playlist for Friday night of alumni weekend since, well, there's nothing else to do!

So, send suggestions via comment and I will SadSteve them and make everyone happy.  And I will also entertain myself while doing so. 

There's also plenty of new music I've been listening to in my new, funemployed state of being.  So, maybe I'll post about it sometime soon.

Addendum to "I Know What I Did Last Summer": What's Wrong With Bars That Serve Too Much Beer

I never, ever thought I'd have a problem with bars that serve beer.  In fact, I don't have a problem with bars that serve beer.  The bars that serve TOO MUCH beer are the ones with which I have a problem (never hang your prepositions!).  And really, I never thought I'd have a problem with too much beer, either.  Alas, things change.

I hope you all know what I'm talking about.  We've all been to the-best-beer-bar-in-the-world, with the-biggest-selection-of-beer-on-the-planet.  But, we've all been to different places.  How does this work!?  Places like Capital Ale House in Richmond, VA, The Flying Saucer (a chain!), and the Brickskeller in Washington D.C. all come to my mind.  I've been to all of these, but others exist as well.  Ebenezer's in Lovell-fucking-Maine is supposedly the best beer bar in the world (according to our favorite site, Beer Advocate).  But, really, bars like this exist everywhere.  In fact, as I mentioned in the previous post, I went to one in Dallas and it was so fucking pedestrian that I don't even remember the name.  My main problem is simple: they all claim to be unique, and yet, they're all the same.

Every single one of these beer bars claims to have the best selection, and be the only place in the world where you can have such an experience.  But, really, they all have exactly the same selection, and they all make the world of beer seem rather small.  They also all claim to serve ridiculous Belgian beer and be the only place that does that, but really, they all serve ridiculous Belgian beer and are NOT the only places that do that.  I could go on and on.  They've all begun to blend into one stupid beer-serving entity in my mind at this point.  I used to love these places.  I'd eat them up.  But now, when offered the chance to go to one, I'm emotionless because they don't move me.  They shouldn't move you, either.

My second problem with these places is that they're all so fucking expensive.  Ordering a bottle of High Life will cost you at least 4.50.  That seems ridiculous, because I can buy a six pack of High Life for about 5 bucks.  That's more than the rule-of-thumb traditional 400% markup on booze that bars and restaurants follow.  The 400% markup is absurd enough, so paying anything more is stupid.  Don't even get me started on how much is costs to order anything even remotely crafty.  Plus, half the shit is in bottles anyway.  Who goes to a bar to drink beer in BOTTLES?  I can drink beer in bottles at home!  When I do that, I'm not limited by some stupid menu, but rather only by what I can or cannot buy.  

My third problem with these places is that they are boring.  Their ambience, their atmosphere, their overall drinking environment all lack any interesting qualities.  Nobody goes to these places to get schwasted (because everything is so fucking expensive), so you never see any interesting people.  Rather, you simply see people doing what they could be doing at home: sipping on beer.  Yet, they'd prefer to come to a place to be bored with other people and pay too much to sip on beer together.  When I was in D.C. at the Brickskeller I began to play darts with Elliot's friend on a dart board that had barely been used.  If you've been to the Brickskeller you know this place has been around a while.  It's a bar, people!  Play darts! Don't sit there being bored.  Also, we played some music from their juke box and I think the fact that the atmosphere went from soft talking about the Belgian brew to actual music was difficult for some to handle.  It's a bar, people! Play music!  Don't sit there with your hushed voices.

My fourth problem with these places is that the people who frequent them think they know way too much about beer.  I know amongst all of you myself and perhaps Ted are viewed as beer snobs.  But really, I don't pour different types of beer into different types of glasses to accentuate the bouquet that may or may not exist.  I don't sit there with my collared-shirted friend discussing the many aspects of the creamy head that sits atop my glass.  I say I like the taste and I drink it.  I drink more than one.  I drink it rapidly.

My fifth problem with these places is that they carry an unwarranted air of sophistication about them.  Case in point: Deep Ellum, Boston, MA.  This place is not even a very good "beer bar", but they had perhaps the most snobbish attitude of any of which I have yet visited.  After each person was served beer in a different type of glass to best present the beer that was ordered, we enjoyed what seemed like liquid gold, as we had paid just about that much for the privilege of drinking such nectar.  Soon after, I decided that I was sick of beer (because these places kinda suck), and I wanted a Red Bull Vodka.  Well, apparently this place was too-fucking-good for Red Bull.  I went to the bartender and asked, "If I were to order a drink that necessitated the use of Red Bull, would you be able to serve it to me?"  Not only did she just say "No" (which would have been at least acceptable, albeit quite sad), she laughed in my face and said "Absolutely not!"  Fuck that.