9.17.2009
10.13.2008
Extraterrestrials? In My Near Earth Orbit?
The internet is alive with alien arrival rumors for tomorrow, October 14th. What started as message board rumors blossomed into mainstream media coverage today. The story first hit Britain's Daily Star nearly 15 hours ago. As of right now, Google News is now tracking 11 mainstream media outlets running with the same story.
10.12.2008
The New Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center
Accompanying my first visit to Mt. Rainier National Park recently was the grand opening of the new visitor center in Paradise. As a recently displaced soul from the nordic tundra of Minnesota, I saw this as a good omen - mighty Tahoma was welcoming me warmly, and there was no way he would erupt on opening weekend.
After the South Hill area, traffic loosened up again and we were on our way to Eatonville. As we entered the central business district, we came upon another strange signpost of the trip - what appeared to be a house fire. After making sure this fire wasn't Rainier Supervolcano related, we pressed on carefully. I was able to shamelessly pull over and snap a picture of the blaze, and by then the damage was total. Perhaps this was another omen from Tahoma?
to 5,400 feet. The first building we saw as we reached Paradise was the old visitor center, built in 1966 and now looking forlornly upon the crowds who have indifferently moved on down the road. As we came upon the new lodge, we were greeted by a good-sized black bear. Not fifty yards from the parking lot, the bear was a star. Fortunately for myself and every one else staring with mouth agape at this mysterious visitor, the bear's omnivore guage was set to "vegetation" and not "meat."
10.05.2008
Back in Action
After a long hibernation, NW Jab arises from the ashes of spencerpost. I'm returning with alot of pent-up vitriol and passive-aggressiveness.
12.02.2007
South Metro Miscellany
A bittersweet day in local restaurant news.
patronized Copper Bleu often, and are sad to see it go. The place always seemed packed, but with an alleged budget of over five million dollars, maybe it just wasn't enough. Location may have been a problem, as you were basically sitting in a Cub Foods parking lot. The wall of pine trees just didn't grow tall enough in time. It's hard to give in to the ambience when you're watching people stuff groceries into their Dodge Caravans.
11.12.2007
Vikings Update: McNabb in Purple?
After yesterday's defeat in Green Bay and a possible injury to Adrian Peterson, this fan needed a ray of hope.
11.06.2007
Amazing Picture
When I get a chance to, I try to spot the International Space Station as it traverses the night sky. It's really cool- just a fast moving dot that zips from horizon to horizon within seconds.
11.01.2007
True 3G in Minneapolis?
I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise. It appears AT&T/Cingular has finally rolled out their UMTS data network in Minneapolis!
10.24.2007
This Week in Politics - Minneapolis Edition
The Good Guy himself was in town yesterday stumping for Hillary. Although I was unable to make it (press pass request failed), I sensed his presence from my office a couple buildings over. He was at the Graves 101, our ultra-fancy new hotel in downtown Minneapolis.
Pres. Clinton was able to lay the smackdown on one heckler, who wisely advised us that 9/11 was an inside job. Personally, I am impressed at the heckler's ability to escape the lethargic confines of his mother's basement and show up for the fundraiser. After all, being there is half the battle.
More info here
In other news, our Governor, Tim Pawlenty, is currently in India with a US trade contingent. Similar to The Mind's trade trip to China and Cuba, Mr. Pawlenty is selling the state of Minnesota to potential trade partners across the subcontinent.
Pawlenty has already made inroads, signing a sister-state deal with the Indian state of Haryana.
What is interesting to me is the reception of Pawlenty's trade missions compared to Ventura's. Jesse's trips were constantly derided as pointless and a waste of taxpayer money.
On the other hand, Pawlenty is "getting down to business" and "timely" in his visit to India.
This just goes to show how detested Ventura was in the press, and how the media is able to spin any story in the manner they see fit.
In RNC 2008 news, the GOP are now aghast at the thought of hundreds of homeless people hogging the cameras during the convention. As it turns out, the renowned Dorothy Day Center is just across the way from the Xcel Center in St. Paul. Although the GOP has sent a welcome wagon to the homeless shelter, and even had volunteers man the soup-line, the truth is that they want the shelter closed for the duration of the convention. GOP officials deny this claim, so we shall see what fate awaits the Dorothy Day come convention time.
10.19.2007
Calamity List
So many calamities, so little time!
y. 
No worries here folks, there is no credit crunch, the worst is over!10.15.2007
Happy Blog Action Day?
Woohoo, Blog Action Day! I am so excited! About what, I am not sure yet, but it is definitely exciting!
Ladies, I commend your activism, and I too deplore the frenetic disbursement of free radicals around the globe. Just think your strategy through. The gratuitous plastic handle of the shopping cart doesn't help the cause. Or is that an example of how to sensibly utilize plastic?
10.11.2007
New RNC 2008 Logo
The GOP today unveiled the new RNC logo for the 2008 convention in Minneapolis:
Oooh, aaaah.
Notice the Democrat Red used for "2008"? Dastardly!
10.05.2007
This Week in Politics
Poor Fred Thompson. The media spotlight's been on him for months, breathlessly awaiting his Grand Announcement. Now, here we are post-announcement and he's getting about as much press as Brownback. The non-excitement seems palpable in Iowa, where Mr. Thompson has to coax applause from the crowd. Where did it go wrong? The GOP base has basically anointed him the next Reagan without hearing a word. Now that they are hearing Thompson, he's coming across more Bonzo than Reagan. He won't commit, cannot articulate his positions, and is not a big fan of the meet and greet. Mr. Thompson needs to get focused and start taking chances. He needs to be out there speaking his mind, grabbing headlines. It may be risky to actually talk about issues, but that's kind of what we expect from candidates for President of the United States.
But, as my Republican friends like to remind me, it's still early.
Yes, the GOP is a mess. 9/11 remains the front runner, despite the veiled threat by James Dobson to vote for a third party if he wins the nomination. Mitt Romney is raising alot of cash, but he's Mormon (not that there's anything wrong with that). As I have written before, do not count McCain out. Even though Dobson and his ilk despise the man, McCain has the broad appeal of 9/11, without all the personal baggage. I firmly believe McCain will be a strong candidate well into 2008.
Meanwhile, there is relative peace in the Democrat camp. Hillary continues to improve in national numbers, crushing Obama by a mind-boggling 33 points in the latest polls. I must admit I do like Hillary, but I like Obama even more. He's the one candidate on the Dems side that attacks issues and discusses them, whether it helps or hinders his candidacy. The bottom line is that he is confident in what he speaks of and is quite erudite. So what if he talks hypotheticals, that is what voters want to know. What would you do if___?
Plato would approve of Obama, as he is the philosopher-king of this election.
Back to Hillary for a moment. Peggy Noonan wrote today about the Bush/Clinton fatigue factor. While there is some truth to the dangers of handing the Presidential reigns over to family dynasties, I am having a hard time digging up a Noonan column on Bush's campaign in 2000. I find it convenient that this piece comes out over Hillary's efforts. When Jeb runs in 2012, I will be looking for Noonan's opinion then.
10.03.2007
Top 4 New TV Shows of 2007
Another new season, more of the same. Hey, have you checked out Chuck on NBC? No, not Ed -that was the other smarmy show from a couple years ago. Oh, what about Journeyman with Scott Bakula?
Not all is Lost, however. There are some new shows this season that are actually quite entertaining, and chock full of originality!
4. Cavemen
I think I tun
ed in to this for the schadenfreude of seeing a television show fail at such a degree that ABC would have to shut down out of pure shame. Was I in for a surprise. The show is not that bad...even (gasp) funny. The Ikea scenes (Norskbild I think they call it) were priceless - I do hope Nick Swardson stays on. He bumps the funniness up a few notches automatically. The breakout star of this show will be Maurice, played by the same actor from the Geico commercials. Although he is not one of the three main characters, Maurice steals every scene he is in. Look for this show to grow some legs as the season goes on.
s annoying, it is the innacurate portrayal of nerds on television. If you have to mock us, at least get it right. The Big Bang Theory makes that attempt at realism, and for the most part succeeds. I do like the character played by Johnny Galecki, who plays a good geek. Geeks really are the new jocks, and this show is bringing that fact to the forefront. 
wcomers, Bionic Woman has the best chance of sticking around. The premise was set up nicely, and the tone is alot darker than the original.
special effects are better than Bionic Woman. Plus, this show is on the CW - how can that be? The premise is that a twentysomething guy was sold to the devil long ago by his parents, and now must work for Satan himself as a bounty hunter. What more do you need to know? Already sounds awesome, right? Interesting premises come and go, but this show delivers the goods. If Dead Like Me and Shaun of the Dead were to mate, the offspring would look alot like this show. 9.28.2007
WOW Signal Part Deux?
9.25.2007
Top 5 Internet Memes of 2007
There's a meme born every second. Some are funny, some are lame, and most are instantly forgettable . However, there are a few that elevate themselves above the rest, gaining the ability to stay in our collective conscience for more than a day or two. The below list represents the five most impactful and visible internet memes of 2007, for better or for worse.
Perhaps the most annoying of the recent memes is the continued destruction of original thought and desecration of the written word. Half of all posts on any message board or forum will contain one of these four phrases/acronyms. These one word responses are used in lieu of actual thought and/or creativity, as our ADD + caffeine-addled brains can't seem to process much more than that. At this pace, we'll be reduced to grunting and staring at pretty colors in no time.
nother video in a long line of freaks of the week. What made this one stand out was its ability to escape the internet and hit the mainstream. Coworkers that could barely find the Start button were singing it in their cubes. People were asking how to get the CD, or what radio station was playing the song. 
It is true that lolcats have been around for a while now, but 2007 has definitely been the breakout year. So much so that I can't stand them anymore. I don't even participate in Caturday anymore.9.21.2007
Calamity List
It's time for the weekly look at what is going to Bring Down America. They say that sex sells, but so does impending doom.
1. The Loonie
The Canadians are gonna take over the world! Ok, maybe not, but that was my Pavlovian response to the latest drudgereport headlines.
So, what is the real deal behind this parity with the Canadian dollar? No more cheap prescriptions for the old folks hightailing it to Thunder Bay. No more cheap Molson. More Canadian tourists at Disneyland.
On a serious note, parity doesn't mean much of anything. When looking at the currencies individually, it may be a bit unnerving to see a weaker US dollar. When looking at those dollars in a macro sense, the US dollar is light years beyond the Canadian dollar in terms of purchasing power, personal income, and over economic influence worldwide.
In addition, the Canadian dollar is inflated in value due to the decline in the US dollar, not because of exponential growth in all things Canadian. When the US dollar bounces back, the loonie will return to normal levels rather than maintain parity.
2. Ahmadinejad vs. Ground Zero
I may be missing the point about all this hoopla surrounding Ahmadinejad's desire to visit Ground Zero. There are two major memes floating around the internet that are quite disturbing. First of all, Iranians are Persian. Are they Arabian like the internets seem to believe? No. Second of all, Iran has never been complicit in the events of 9/11. The current thinking seems to be Osama=Iraq=Iran. Not only is this a major fallacy in thinking, it is a deep misunderstanding of world cultures.
However, I do have misgivings about Iran in that they are supporting terrorism in their own right. How can we rightfully allow this man to visit the most sacred memorial on American soil - a site that is a direct result of terrorism?
The answer is that we allow him to visit because we are America. Despite our tensions with Iran, we are still America. Just the thought of us allowing a diplomat from a terrorist-supporting nation to visit Ground Zero is a testament to our openness and freedoms. Are we the land of the brave or the land of the meek? By not allowing Ahmadinejad to visit Ground Zero, we have given in to our fears.
3. OJ Simpson
The Great American Bogeyman is back, but not with the same flare as before. I guess robbery just doesn't capture the zeitgeist as a good old-fashioned murder.
Despite the overall indifference from everyday Americans, the media is trying their best at hyping this is OJ Trial 2008.
There are just too many "wtf?" moments about this entire episode. Why did Riccio call up OJ, suggesting they go get his stuff, then turn around and stab him in the back a la TMZ.com? Setup much? What the heck is going on with that other guy that stormed the breach with OJ, pretending to be a cop? Wasn't OJ just trying to get his stuff back? All these questions and more will most assuredly be answered in the coming weeks.
Until then, as Tupac once said, "...free like OJ, all day."
9.17.2007
We Can Read Friedman Again!
And I was this close to signing up for Times Select. No, seriously.
More info here
Ode to Sunday Night HBO
I've been a holdout, refusing to give in to conventional wisdom and concede that HBO is over. However, after last night, I've grabbed my hammer and nail. The coffin that is HBO Sunday Night is coming along quite nicely.
Tell Me You Love Me (Sun. 9pm EST.)
As with every new HBO show, I'm giving it a shot. Even though I saw the previews and caught the blatant Sopranos-inspired therapeutic theme, I figured there had to be som
The root cause behind this boredom is the fact that I loathe these characters. All of them. Every scene is a depressing look at domestic life at various stages. There is no happiness here. There are no lighthearted scenes filled with loving banter and knowing glances that help character development. Every scene is a downer filled with whiny people. Any good drama would intersperse these tension-filled moments strategically, enhancing their impact as they develop. What this show does is bludgeon you over the head with whiny, depressing situations...over and over again.
Again, I enjoy high drama when done right. There is some realism to these couples and the inner workings of real relationships. The key for the show is to juxtapose their issues with other aspects of their lives. The viewer has nothing to contrast these characters with. As it is, we're left with comparing how the couples handled one argument over the last.
Which brings me back to the sex scenes. Since we have no emotional interest in these characters and know nothing of them other than their problems, the steamy scenes feel out of place. And sure, there may be a bit more nudity, but come on, we all have the internet. Nothing new here.
Perhaps these scenes are meant to be cold and lifeless to reflect the overall health of their relationships. If so, mission accomplished. But it's leaving the viewer bored.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (Sun. 10pm EST.)
After two episodes into the new season, I'm already afflicated with the same concerns I had with last season: the notion that I've seen this before.
The situations may not be exactly the same, but it's hard to not to get that deja-vu feeling. That Larry, at it again! I hate to bring out the f-word here, but Curb Your Enthusiasm is feeling forced.
I remain a humble servant of all things Larry David, so I will continue to tune in. I am just hoping for more. I know the newness of the premise is long gone, but there has to be something better than getting laughs out of innuendos and misconceived ideas that lead to uproarious misunderstandings. If I wanted that, I'd fall back to the masterful duelings of Jack Tripper and Mr. Roper.
