The Power Of Blogs

Korean Netizens Attack Dog-Shit-Girl

"It began in a subway train with a girl whose dog made a mess on the train floor. When nearby elders told her to clean up the mess, she basically told them to fuck off. A nearby enraged netizen then took pictures of her and posted it, without any masking, on a popular website which started a nationwide witchhunt." - link

Moonlight Graham

A movie that might have inspired us all and gave Kevin Costner one good film to his credit was "Field Of Dreams". I have taken the pilgrimage out to that field. It's nothing much to look at. The baseball field is actually on two separate pieces of land, so there are two shops to buy from, from the two families that own the land. That kind of took away from the whole mystique of the baseball field, but I did walk through the corn field, and subsequently ended up in heaven but was kicked out shortly. In the movie Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones go up to the iron range in MN. There they look for Archie Graham.

At first they find this old doctor, Doc Graham. As they return to Iowa they meet up with Doc Graham as a kid on the side of the road hitch hiking, then he gets to play baseball again, yada yada yada.

Anyway, today the Twins honor Doc Graham for his one game stint in major league baseball. I think it's a great accomplishment. I think anyone who is a fan of baseball would like to say they have been in the majors, if only for one game or one at bat. One of my friends Dad was from Chisholm, MN and had Doc Graham as his well, as his Doctor. He never knew though of his baseball career until the movie came out in '87. -related link

Fricken Sweet: Quake goes Mobile

id games are planning a version of Quake that will run on the new generation of 3D-enabled mobile phones that are slated for release next year.

The mobile Quake will be faithful to the 1996 original (a direct port we are guessing) which was the first shooter to make use of true 3D and went on to spawn a run of sequels, as well as inspiring games such as Half Life and Unreal.

id CEO, Todd Hollenshead, said: "Quake [mobile] takes all of the action, game play, and atmosphere of the groundbreaking original and puts it right in the palm of your hands. Quake pushes the envelope of today's mobile handsets, and offers gamers a fun and addictive on-the-go entertainment experience. We're already looking forward to the first mobile deathmatch."

It is anticipated that Quake will be built into the first set of 3D phones. -techsmec.com

Lake Wobegon = Stearns County, around Freeport or North W. of St. Cloud, or some where in Central MN

"And then the cosmos peters out, and you emerge from hell and come into paradise, rural Minnesota." - Garrison Keillor on when you leave Division St., Saint Cloud, MN

I've spent a good part of my life in Central Minnesota. I was born in St. Cloud, and would stay there for the next 6 years. We moved to Blaine, MN, a suburb of the twin cities 60 minutes South on HWY 10. We would return to St. Cloud in the following 12 years for family events and holidays. After graduating High School I took the big leap back to St. Cloud to attend the State College. 5 years and 140 some odd credits later, I find myself back in Blaine. I am not yet done with college, with only student teaching left which will be done in another suburb, but I find myself with a longing to be once again inside of Stearns County.

If you were to take a map of the world and take a red marker to the places I've been to, (imagine the Indiana Jones movies when he takes a plane and it shows a red line following the plane) you would see a few streaks jutting out of the state of Minnesota, but mainly a big thick red line going back and forth between Blaine and St. Cloud on Hwy 10. That has been my life. This 60 mile radius. I think of people who have lived and died in the same town, my Grandpa was one of these people. I used to regard these people as close minded, or no fun. I now know the beauty of these people. The ones who stay. They are as if not more unique then your Jet Setter. They make up a town or community, or in this case the stories of Lake Wobegon. If I were to die tomorrow, you would look back on my life, and you could say the same thing. He lived and died in the same town. My town being the twin cities to St. Cloud tri county surrounding area, but it is forever my town.

I plan to live a long life. In this life I want to travel as much as possible, but I will always know where home is. My home, as it is to many others have been made into fictional stories by Garrison Keillor. My first introduction to Keillor came in the form of his radio show on Saturday nights. "A Prairie Home Companion" came on as we left Saturday Night Mass from St. Timothy's on the car ride home. I don't think I realized the significance of the area he was speaking of, but I like the humor. It's an odd humor, with the sweet spoken words of Keillor making them feel more of fact then fiction. There's an episode of the Simpson's where the family is watching TV. Homer is watching Garrison Kiellor, and the television audience laughs. Homer responds with something "What the hell is this? Why are they laughing?" It was that kind of comedy.

The whole point of this boring dissertation is to remark on the movie "Prairie Home Companion" being filmed in St. Paul. Read the linked article to find out more about the movie, but It's about the closing of 30 year old radio show similar to Keillors. It's bringing in A list actors and some other actors like Lohan. Maybe this role will prove her abilities. I'm really looking forward to this movie because it sounds like it has some substance to it or an actual story. Here's the article about the Movie. - Movie Link

Other links I would recomend related to this:

National Geographic: "In Search of Lake Wobegon"

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, homepage

Photoshop Phriday: "Sensationalized News Stories"

Something Awful's Photoshop Phridays was really good last week. It depicted the news on tv and all the hilarities that ensue. One of my favorites had the headline "Breaking News: Scientists announce that pretty much anything can kill you." It reminds you to LIGHTEN UP FOR CHRIST'S SAKE. The next time somebody tells me I'm going to get cancer from eating or doing something or not to eat something cause my heart will blow up I swear to god I will go on a rampage and none of you will be safe. WICK SMASH! -Link

Today's Lyrics Brought to you by the Letter "a"

The things that I’ve loved the things that I’ve lost
The things I’ve held sacred that I’ve dropped
I won’t lie no more you can bet
I don’t want to learn what I’ll need to forget

I like throwing my voice and breaking guitars
Cause it doesn’t remind me of anything
I like playing in the sand what’s mine is ours
If it doesn’t remind me of anything

Audioslave Out of exile Doesn't remind me

Sweet Soccer tricks movie

"Great for any soccer fan, dribbling made into an art form " - Movie

Wierd Zelda Flash Movie

I guess this is what happened in between zelda one and two. -Link

My Love of 2-D Fighters

My inspiration for writing today's column comes from gamespot.com's review of "Capcom Fighter Evolution" for the XBOX, and is also brought to by the "Number 2". "Capcom Fighter Evolution" received a 6.5 out of 10 from gamespot.com, the same people who write EGM magazine. As any boy obsessed with video games from the age of birth, I've been reading EGM and the online site for some time. The editors there have a love for Street Fighter and other 2D fighters as well as platformers like I do. So when the rating of 6.5 for great 2D fighter emerged it appeared to me as a sign.



It was the 5th grade field trip to Cheap Skate when I first laid my eyes on it. I had to shuffle my way with skates through the arcade filled with kids who couldn't skate and didn't dare leave the arcade to the roller rink. There were was an audience surrounding the machine, as I got closer I got a glimpse and heard "yoga flame". "Jesus, that guy just spit out fire from his mouth!" And then I was hooked.
It took me a while to get a turn to play. Kids in front of me had laid down quarters on the machine marking their turn.



The next three days I couldn't get the game off my mind. After hours of persuasion my Dad brought me to Funcoland to buy Street Fighter 2 for the SNES. I remember the next day I brought the game manual and box to my school to show off. During this time my friends and neighbors would come over to play Street Fighter for hours. We would challenged each other. The winner would stay until somebody beat him, while the challengers would rotate equally. Eventually sequels came out and I would pounce on them like a hooker to crack. Every time my parents went to the mall, I would tag along just to get to the arcade to play SF. I really enjoyed playing at the arcade because every once in a while somebody would try to challenge you. I can't say I won them all, but my percentage of winning was higher then losing. My friend Godwin and I would go sometimes and then when somebody would challenge me he would become my cheerleader. It was great, although this proves that I am a total nerd. The funniest experience was when I played this younger kid, he was probably 12 and I was 15. He walked up the machine I was playing and said "are you ready for a beat down?" I just looked at him with a stupid face. My friend Nick Lingren was with me and his face could be best described as WTF? So the kid puts his quarters in and we play. 2 rounds later his player is dead. His little brother walks over, and asks if he won. I shit you not, he backed his hand up and bitched slapped his little brother. I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for his brother.



The game was a way of escape for me. It would relieve stress, kill time, and actually let me think. There would be times where I would blank out while playing and think about something else and then realize I fought and match and won. I do this while shooting hoops sometimes. So to see a 2D fighting game receive a 6.5 is a show of the times. Although anybody who disregards a 2D fighter as being old or lame was either born after 1992 or is really into Dungeons and Dragons. Every time I see an old Street Fighter 2 arcade machine I'll stop what I'm doing and give it a play. I hope to one day own a Street Fighter arcade machine and put it in my basement. My girlfriend laughs at me when I say this when we are looking at houses. All I have to say to her in response is you wouldn't be able to rip away the arcade machine from my COLD DEAD HANDS. And then the rest of the day is awkward and silent. She'll probably be leaving me now, but that makes more time for street fighter! HURRAH FOR LONELINESS!

I am gandolf lord of the orcs

Leeroy!
Guys playing a MMORPG are forced to deal with a loose cannon.
They get the power up and win the game. -Video

6 Ways to Ruin a Wedding

I've been to a lot of weddings recently, and more to come. I'm at the age where my peers decide that it's cool to go find a "life partner" and live with this "life partner" for "life". So because of this new found trend, I've been going to many weddings in the past year or so.

Something Awful's latest post involves 6 ways to ruin a wedding. It's just another thought you can use if you find yourself in the same predications. Kudos to the newlyweds. - link

Nintendo Revolution games set to retail at $60

"GameStop (Video game retailer) has listed Mario Revolution, Super Smash Bros. Revolution, Zelda Revolution, and Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles Revolution for Nintendo Revolution at a retail price of $59.99.
The $60 price tag follows the footsteps of rival Microsoft's Xbox 360 games, all of which have been set at $59.99 reports Punch Jump.
Nintendo has not confirmed the retail pricing of the Revolution or games, but the system is expected to cost less than Xbox 360 and Sony's Playstation 3." -ployer.com

Dear lord that's a lot of money. Can you just sell me the game with out the instruction booklet and the game case for fitty instead? I don't buy as many games as I used to. Honestly there aren't that many console games that appeal to me anymore. I think I bought "Street Fighter 2" for the SNES back in the day for $60 at funcoland when it first came out and everyone was going crazy for it. It was worth all that money because I spent a lot of time playing it. I'm not going to pay 59.99 for a three star game though. I like the way some of the games have been selling at 20 bucks, like the 2k series. I guess if you really want the next big title game, they can easily get that extra ten bucks from you and if you purchase it at comestible you'll probably spend another 10 on a gameinformer sub and then another 5 to reserve the sequel to the game you just bought and then you'll want to get the 1 year extended warranty for your XBOX 360 and spend another 20, and another 200.00 to file a restraining order against the game advisor who won't get off your back from buying useless crap you will never need. YOU HEARD ME ANDY MACNEANMENAREA, editor and chief of GI. The only reason you have the top selling gaming magazine is because idiots buy it up after a game advisor gives you high pressure sell and some lame excuse into signing into a sub. -fin

DDR Playa

I found a video on the net that reminded me of this guy I used to work at Funcoland with, Eric something or another. Enjoy - Video

Politicians

If you don't know, I'm an Art Education Major at SCSU. Since I've joined the bandwagon known as the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), I take part in lobbying and notifying representatives about the arts. I wrote to my local Rep. Mark Kennedy a few month ago regarding certain upcoming amendments. Today I received a response from Kennedy, which to be honest was very nice to get. It was a very nicely written letter regarding the letter I wrote to him. I have no gripes with his reponse, because it comes with no surprise. He does mention he enjoys the arts, which is great, and has looked into a way to help support the arts. It's not the full support of which I was looking for, but like other Republican representatives I wasn't expecting it to go all the way.
My letter entailed support for the NEA by $15 million. That did pass, but by a voiced vote. This means no record of who voted for it will be taken. He didn't mention if he voted for it or not. I think republicans who do vote for things like the arts or education are afraid to let those opinions known to their core voters. That's my opinion, and if I'm right, it's a sad state of affairs. I'm not going to complain more about the Republicans in office, or give my opinion right now of them, but I would like to hear yours. This is the letter I received today from Rep. Mark Kennedy. Let me know what you think.


June 21, 2005


Mr. David Wick

Blaine, Minnesota 55449-7905


Dear Mr. Wick:

Thank you for contacting me with your support for increased funding for
the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). I appreciate hearing from
you.

As you may know, last year Congress passed the Omnibus Appropriations
Act for FY 2005, which included $122 million for the NEA. I believe
that with a budget deficit projected to exceed $400 billion this year
alone, this amount represents a noteworthy accomplishment at a time when it
is crucial that all government spending be carefully scrutinized.

You specifically mentioned your support for an amendment to H.R. 2361,
the Department of the Interior Appropriations Act for FY2006, to
increase funding for the NEA by $15 million. You will be pleased to know
that this amendment passed by voice vote and was included in the final
version of the bill passed by the House. H.R. 2361 is now before the
Senate for its consideration. This funding is in addition to the
substantial funding the NEA receives from private donations and membership. In
fact, in 2003, the NEA received $1.5 million in donations.

As a fond admirer of the talents few people possess to make truly
beautiful art, I believe that there are other ways in which we can help
encourage the arts. That's why I have cosponsored H.R. 1120, the Artists'
Contribution to American Heritage Act of 2005, introduced by my
colleague Representative Jim Ramstad. This bill would allow artists,
musicians, authors, and scholars to take a fair market value tax deduction for
contributions of their work, the copyrights to their work, or both to
certain tax-exempt organizations. H.R. 1120 will help museums and
galleries with limited financial resources acquire new works of art, and
help give artists more financial freedom. This bill is currently under
review in the House Ways and Means Committee.

I want you to know that your thoughts and concerns are an important
part of my decision making process, and I value your opinions. Again,
thank you for taking the time to contact me. I hope you will continue to
do so whenever there is anything I can do for you.
Sincerely,

Mark Kennedy
Member of Congress

Play 20 Q. with Darth Vador

This was freakin sweet! Darth try's to guess an object you have in your hand in 20 questions or so. I had a backscratcher and it guessed it after a few trys. Simply amazing. Give it a try. - Link

Swimming in the Streets

Tomorrow is the beginning of Summer, hopefully a dryer season over spring. Rain is good, but today it felt like God decided to dowse us one more time like a water balloon hitting you unexpectedly.

"A powerful system of thunderstorms carrying winds up to 60 mph swept through Minnesota today, downing trees and knocking out power. At one point, rain was falling at an estimated rate of two inches per hour." -StarTrib

Gallery of Storms Path, pretty cool.

Spin magazine named Radiohead's "OK Computer" the top album of the past 20 years

I've enjoyed some songs off "OK Computer", but I wouldn't call it revolutionary nor my favorite album in the past 20 years. These articles are fun to read once they come out, and as usual the only people who will agree will be the devout fans of the artist. It was funny because at the end of the article, the art staff @ Spin threw a tantrum because they left out some of my favorite band of all time, the Red Hot Chili Peppers material. - Article Link

Battlefield 2 Updated Q&A

Locked and Loaded and Ready to Go, Battlefield 2 ships Monday. Gamespot.com interviews the BF2 with a Q.&A. -Link

Bush visits Maple Grove, MN

President Bush arrived in Minnesota today to promote a new medicare drug plan. "Bush made no mention of his controversial plan to overhaul Social Security but crowds of demonstrators the private gathering used his visit to protest the Social Security plan, which is drawing low ratings in polls." -StarTrib

On the topic of Social Security, I think protesters have lost the connection of what SS is... or was. Socal Security was created to help people who were falling into the cracks, not a retirement fund. I think people need to become more realistic about the whole idea. Clinton offered up some of the same ideas, he knew there was a problem, but now that it's Bush, people get all defensive. And rightly so, but this time I think people should listen, even if he doesn't have the right idea. He's trying to generate some and people should help. You would have to be retarded not to consider investing for the future and your retirement, even if you get SS 30-40 years from now, I doubt it will get you by or if you run into hard times it most likely will not support you, and your family. -Article: StarTribune

Battlefield 2 Preview

1up.com's preview

In the Year 2000

Citizen’s paper-thin digital clock
Posted Jun 16, 2005, 1:40 PM ET by Donald Melanson
Related entries: Misc. Gadgets



Citizen Watch recently unveiled a digital clock that’s as thin as a piece of paper and fully flexible. The clock uses E Ink Imaging Film, which doesn’t require a backlight and consumes about 1/100th the power of traditional displays. It also apparently has an inherently stable “memory effect”, requiring no power to maintain an image. No word yet on how much it’ll cost, but Citizen plans to market the clock in Japan sometime this year, with a possible international release to follow. -article

The Greatest Albums Ever Suck

SomethingAwful.com has a segment, "Your Band Sucks,_______" enter band name. This past week they took a look at Top 100 albums. It's an encouraging look some of the top albums of all time. It's a refreshing review of albums with that you know you loved at one point or still do, and the bitter reality of the lie that is your life. The author makes good points about the albums but his opinions get old. Kinda like SomethingAwful.com. It's like one of those things that are great at first (like back in '98) but lose its luster over time. -Article SA.com

Driving with the Stereo Turned Off & the Future Of Television

Last Saturday I came to my car after parking it overnight on a side street off Hennepen in Minneapolis. The doors where unlocked and the passenger door was open ajar. My car console was ripped out and clutter was all over my car. Given my car was messy before, but now the mess was not in the order I had left it. My car stereo was gone. I'm not sure what was going on in my head when it happened. I think my first thought was very odd. I almost felt commended.
As if I had joined an exclusive club of people who had been the victims of car theft. When you listen to people tell you their car had been broken into recently, your usual response is oh man I'm sorry, that really sucks. You try to have remorse for them, but you don't know how to help them, because you really can't. So going through it yourself gives you a better realization of their story.

I called the Minneapolis Police and made a report. The officer on duty was extremely nice and optimistic about the whole situation. I know the Minneapolis Police get a lot of crap and rightly so in some cases, but in this case my hat goes off to that officer. So for the past couple of days I've been driving around with out a car stereo. It was very hard at first. I always have something playing while I drive. I need some sort of noise or human voice to keep me company while I drive, even if I'm driving with someone the car stereo is on, maybe muted a bit, but on. So to get to my point, I've been weaned off the car radio, and now, now I enjoy the quiet or sounds of the road.

Perhaps my brain is only capable of doing two things at once. Because now without listening to the car radio, I began to think about things while I'm driving. Not that I couldn't think prior with music, I'm only Mildly Retarded (medically proven),but I've been thinking with deeper thoughts. I also am able to hear my car engine. Which shows how loud I usually listen. That brings up another point. Have you ever gotten into your car and turned it on with the radio so loud you where like what the hell, how was I ever listening to this that loud? Anyways, if you where like me, try turning your car stereo off for a bit. Take in the drive. Relax and think about other things, like the jackass infront of you going 45 in the left hand lane on i94.

The Future of Television
I read this article online a couple of weeks ago. I recently read it again in an old News Week. Conan O'Brien gives his insight on the future of television. Very funny and thought provoking

Meanwhile, computers will continue to be used more and more to watch digital streaming video, eventually turning them into televisions. With no computers available to solve complex math problems, people will have no choice but to return to the abacus. Within a few months, this ancient device will be abandoned when it's realized that there is no good way to make "abacus porn."

- Article: The Future of Television: By Conan O'Brien

Ron Burgundy Says NO!

A funny Video clip from Anchorman, this is one of my favorite scenes! - video clip

Triumph the Insult Dog - Micheal Jackson

For those who missed Conan the other night: Video of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the Michael Jackson Trial. Very funny. - video

Audioslave live in Cuba

Out promoting their new album "Out of Exile", Audioslave played recently in Cuba. You can view songs from that show including "Your Time Has Come", "Cochise" and "Be Yourself". The quality of the video and audio is alright, nothing spectacular, but if you missed the live show when it came to Minneapolis this is definitely a treat. -Audioslave live in Cuba

News of interest: Music Oddities

Christina Aguilera has found her niche in the music industry. Her music is used as torture in Guantanamo Bay according to a recent article from Time. -drudge report

Chris Martin, lead singer of Cold Play reveals the hit song "yellow" was inspired by the yellow pages. Go figure, not that I ever looked for the meaning of the song, but concludes a long epilogue of my college life. When the song came out my freshmen year of college and we would sing it in Luke and Dan's dorm room with a bottle of silverwolf. Goodtimes. - The Sun

My first post

Hi I'm Dave. Why did I want to create a blog? I needed a project to keep me busy. I'm home from College for the summer, going to student teach in the fall and began to feel the days at home moving by slower and slower. So hopefully this will pass the time. I once worked with a guy while I was in high school who was home from college for the summer. I asked him what he did today before he came to work? He replied "I went in my backyard, picked up a stick and pointed it at trees." At the time I thought he was a waste of space, but now I am that waste of space.

I enjoy writing, and by all means my grammar is horrible. I'm just going to let it flow though. I also draw a lot too, and like my drawing I don't really erase I just keep going... so bare with me. Maybe you'll learn something from my vast wealth of knowledge, but most likely not.

-adios