My weekend was quite uneventful. That's good and bad. I was very lazy though this weekend... my apartment is a disaster (going to clean it tonight after work).

I also pretty much confirmed that the girl that I had went on those dates with isn't interested... so that kind of bummed me out. Ahh well... I guess I just gotta keep trying.

The other sad discovery I made about myself is I'm starting to lose hair. I am going to go see a dermatologist or something about how to keep the hair I have. No need to go bald yet. A bald Patrick would be very un-sexy.

I did start my running routine on Sunday... as I was inspired by Molly's running of the Helvetia Tavern run this weekend. I am going to plan on running a half-marathon the end of the summer (if I can find one near that time)... so I need to start training now.

Classes are done now though. I'm not taking any classes over the summer... as I know I lack the discipline required to take summer classes (I'm too easily distracted by weekend events and the nice weather). I am 95% sure I got A's in both my classes though... so that's good.

Anyhow, back to work. Hope everyone has a good week.

For those of you in Portland on August 13th, the Portland Bridge Pedal is happening. I've done it the last two years and I really loved it. You see Portland from a completely different light (as you cross over all these Portland bridges). And it's just lots of fun.

You don't have to be an expert biker to enjoy this either. They do have 3 different routes (14 mile, 24 mile, and 38 mile) and the last two times I did the 24 mile one (even though I was completely out of shape).

Be sure to check out any information about it here:

http://www.providence.org/oregon/events/bridge_pedal/default.htm

If several of you actually want to go, contact me and let's get a group setup. :)

I met this girl who has been in my dance class the last 3 Sundays... who I didn't really have much of a chance to talk to. Well, this last Friday, I went to the Crystal Ballroom for the big dance... and she was there. So I asked her to dance... and danced with her a few times. I had fun, so before Molly, Anna, and I left... I went over to her and just asked her if she wanted to get together.

Tonight, I picked her up from her place (she doesn't live too far from me... in Beaverton) and we went to Typhoon and then headed over to Rimsky's. Overall, we talked about a lot of things and no alarms went off in my head about anything she said... so that's good. Can't say she was or wasn't as impressed by me as I was by her... but things seemed to end quite well. I'll give her a call later this week and see how things go.

In any case, just one of the best dates I have had in years... so yeah... I'm in a good mood. Now going to head to a late night party at my younger brothers place. Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

I saw this Pearls Before Swine comic today.

Unfortunately, it hits way too close to home. :\ I do this all the freaking time. I hate it when I do it and I feel like a dumbass... but sometimes my mouth spits out something before my brain has time to comprehend.

It's been a few months since I last did my music reviews. Here's a whole new set of music reviews.

Tool - 10000 Days
Tool fans are generally fanatical. They worship Tool's music as if it were the 2nd coming of Christ. Personally, I tend to ground myself in a bit of reality. I do enjoy Tool's very different style of heavy metal and industrial blends. Overall, I really like this particular CD. I'm one of the blasphemers that likes their newer CD's over their older CD's. I really liked Lateralus and this CD built upon the sound of that last CD. The CD opens with Vicarious (which you may have heard on the radio). Their lyrics are very cynical generally about our society... and tends to reflect problems in our culture. The heavy metal riffs mixed with Maynard's haunting voice really works. There are 3 really boring "soundscape" tracks that is typical of Tool. They are transitional pieces without a lot of interesting beats or anything. My favorite song on the CD has to be track 5, The Pot. Very interesting vocals, good riffs, and very different lyrics. I also really liked the almost demonic sound of Rosetta Stoned. Overall, those who like Lateralus from Tool, will most likely like this CD. I would recommend it.

Flaming Lips - At War With the Mystics
I do not know how to describe the Flaming Lips. They are little bit of Pink Floyd, a dash of the Beegees, a pinch of Steely Dan, and even a little bit of an 80's twist. I can't say why I like them... but they are great. They have a very fun sound to them. The opening song, The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song is very catchy. Many of the songs on this CD though are very political in nature. Songs like Free Radicals makes fun of the leaders of the world, especially Bush. Other songs on there "Haven't Got a Clue" and "The Sound of Failure" are pretty political as well. There are some weird experimental tracks like "The W.A.N.D" is pretty different sounding than the rest of the CD... yet has an undeniable Lips sound. Personally, I don't know who to recommend this CD to... as they don't really easily compare to anyone. They are definitely influenced by older styles of music... but they have a unique sound that I just think needs to be heard. I really enjoyed this CD.

David Ford - I Sincerely Apologize for all the Trouble I've Caused
This guy is like an English version of Counting Crows (although a bit more subdued). It's the type of CD you put on when you relaxing on a Sunday afternoon while it is raining out. His voice is quite haunting at times, and it really is expressed in his first song on the CD, "I Don't Care What You Call Me". Then songs like "Cheer Up You Miserable Fuck" are a strangely uplifting. My favorite song is "State of the Union" which is a rant about everything from politics to his life. Overall, the album is a great way to play while relaxing.

The Raconteurs - Broken Boy Soldiers
I love this CD. I don't know what about it... but I've listened to it like 25 times in the last week. The CD opens with "Steady as She Goes", which is a very catchy song that is a little reminiscent of the White Stripes (although not as dirty sounding)... and considering it's Jack from the White Stripes singing... that's not suprising. "Hands" has a more classic rock song that kind of reminds me of the Led Zeppelin days. "Together" is a ballad that just keeps you swaying back and forth. My favorite song on this CD is "Call it a Day" which is very reminiscent of old Weezer ("The Sweater Song"). "Blue Veins" is a trippy little blues number that the CD closes with. The vocals, the use of the piano, guitars, just build a very strong distinction of a classic blues band. Overall, the CD is one of the best CD's I've heard over the last year. If you like White Stripes pick it up immediately. If you like classic rock... get it now. In fact, stop what you are doing and just pick this up now.

When I read the latest news stories about the NSA Wire-tapping program, big telco companies (like Verizon, AT&T, etc) handing over phone records, and the fact the government is trying to weed out reporter's confidential sources by forcing compliance to get information about phone calls... it all pisses me off. It's one of the things that really gets my blood boiling because it's really starting to turn towards the same sort of control China has over the communication its citizens recieve.

What really irks me though isn't just that the government is doing this... but the fact that no one REALLY cares. Sure, there are people saying, yeah that sucks. But too often have I heard the excuse that "It's war-time. We have to protect ourselves. We need to stop the terrorists." How short-sighted and simple-minded people are that they feel our very basic privacy rights need to be stripped away.

It has nothing to do with me worrying the government is going to find out something about me. I have nothing to hide. The problem is I do not trust any administration to have that much power. The fact they are using it to root out confidential sources for reporters is a big time problem. One of the biggest ways we keep the government in check is through the media. If people in the government who go to reporters as a confidential source are now at risk to be incriminated... nobody is going to speak out. It's how Watergate was broken... it's how government scandals are brought to light. So giving the government the power to silence or spy on it's own citizens... is a very very bad idea.

I have literally wrote in the last 3 months... 7 letters (all email) to Oregon State Senators... and always get back a canned response. I've written about the Net Neutrality issue, the NSA wire-tapping, gay-marriage amendments, Iran, etc... and always get some stupid canned response. Perhaps I should write an actual letter. In all honesty... I feel the system is full of people who don't care... the politicians don't care as long as their positions are protected (and with 95% incumbent winning rate... they are generally ok). The people don't care because they either don't understand the impact or are just generally too frightened to react intelligently.

Even if it does no good, the least you can do is make your opinion known to your senators by writing. Whether they get the message or not... I can't say. But it's getting to that point where we are so apathetic as a country... we are just destined for a huge downfall.

I thought this article was interesting as well:

http://www.wired.com/news/columns/0,70886-0.html?tw=wn_index_2

This weekend, I made some new friends. They are pretty young but cute twin sisters. I met them out in Hillsboro, early evening on Saturday, with Anna. I just really hit it off with them. I took them home with me that night and I think they really liked my place. I even made them dinner and they slept with me that night. It was a very nice weekend.

You can see pictures of my new friends by clicking here (Akila and Amunet).

Just watched the Series finale of the Office tonight... and I can just say... wow... great show. The show does such a good job of comedy, awkwardness, and a little bit of drama. Rather than say what happened at the end... for those who watched it... I can say it was an awesome way to end it. I sadly cheered, alone in my apartment, and then slowly cried on the inside as I realized I was cheering a television show.

Anyway... I think the second season has really proven to be great. The first season was a good taste... but the second season was just awesome. This and Scrubs are the two shows I can consistently laugh at.

I really need to pick this show up on DVD.

"I hate... so much... about the things you choose to be."

P.S. Adam... it seems your anonymous commenting doesn't stop the spammers... as they just replied to a very old blog entry from May. But at least I have a link to where to buy Viagra now.

So good news and bad news about the new Smash Bros. game.

Good news:
You can see a new trailer for the game here... WMV Trailer or Quicktime Trailer.

Bad News:
Looks like the game won't be a launch title... and is tentatively planned now for 2007.

More Good News:
The new Zelda game will have a version available for the Wii that will include some of the control schemes using the new controller. Yay! And I believe the Wii version will be available at launch.

E3 (the big game developers conference) is going on right now. I haven't really been keeping up with too much of the details... but here's some interesting things:

I don't know why I am so easily amused... but I am. Here's a fun little toy. See if you can catch what it is doing.

http://milaadesign.com/wizardy.html

I posted about this comic once before... but last night I read through the archived stories and I was laughing the whole time. I don't know why I find it funny... but I do.

http://drmcninja.com/archive.html

It's absurd and silly... but I like absurd and silly. :)

Why is it that I am 25 years old and I still act like a complete buffoon when it comes to women.

Last night, I went with Anna to the Crystal Ballroom for their monthly swing dancing event. I feel a little bit more confident about my dancing... but not by much. I wanted Anna to go meet a man... so I didn't stand next to her and waited for some guy to ask her to dance. That happened pretty quick... and so I hunted for some girl to go dance with. I find this nice girl who seems really energetic... and very friendly. Talk for a little bit and then go dance.

Well, it seems when confronted with attractive women (not that Anna ain't attractive... but she's a friend)... everything I know about dancing disappears. I kept messing up... I couldn't remember ANY moves... and when I did try to lead her... I was incredibly stiff. She of course tried to help me out... but that didn't help much. Because I'm nervous... my brain shuts down and I'm not able to do things properly. We danced for a couple more dances and then she said she was thirsty. At that point, I should have said, "Oh... I'll go get you some water." What came out instead was, "Nice to meet you. Thank you for the dance!" And off I went. Why oh why God do I do these things? I didn't ask for her number or anything. Grr... punch me now.

I did have a lot of fun overall at the dance... and Anna and I just practiced moves. I kind of wish I had a constant dance partner that was at the same level as me (Anna is definitely much better so I feel bad for being so crappy)... but as long as I keep dancing. Last Sunday was my final dance class for Beginner 6-Step... we are looking at starting Beginner Lindy Hop... so we'll see how that goes.

By the way, for those in Portland area... on May 26th (a Friday) the Crystal Ballroom is having another dance. For those in town... you should go... lots of fun. I think from 6:30 - 8:30 they have various dance lessons... and then 8:30 - Midnight they actually have DJ'ed dancing.

Jesus... I just watched Stephen Colbert from the White House Correspondents dinner on CSPAN... and all I can say is wow... just wow. If you don't watch the Colbert Report... he basically pretends to be this super right-wing pundit (in the vein of O'Reilly) but in reality you can tell how disingenious he is being. Personally, I like John Stewarts style better... but I have found myself liking the Colbert Report more than when it was first on air (I watch the clips from the Comedy Central website).

In any case, he was chosen as the closing speech for this dinner and the President was sitting literally less than 5 feet away from Stephen. Stephen in the style of his show, the Colbert Report, praised the President and members of his cabinet... but in a very swarmy way. In fact, it was the most critical and out-right scathing attack I have ever seen the President endure in person. Colbert was definitely funny (although the nervous or non-existent laughter from the audience at half his jokes made it harder to know whether to laugh or not)... but what I found amazing about it was how he just carried forward with no hesitation. He ragged on the President, his cabinet members, the press, everyone. It was awesome.

I would post the video up, but I can't find it yet on the net. So I'll check tomorrow and see if it's somewhere. It does remind me of a funny skit that Clinton did though... and the skit reminds me of why Clinton was such a damn likable guy. I'll hopefully find the CSPAN coverage of the Colbert speech tomorrow and post it up.

After this though, I have a LOT of respect for Stephen Colbert... as he told the President (in a very mocking manner) that he and his people have fucked up so many things... and did it to his face. Despite the cold audience (of which many were the very folks he was making fun of)... he never hesitated or backed down.

EDIT:
Found the videos. It's broken up into 3 parts...

- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3

Enjoy.

Long ass post ahead (wrote most of this last night).

I have wanted to talk about the stuff I'm learning in my class. So in my class we have been dissecting the media and what the impact it has on our society. This is all stuff I have heard before, but you know when you are learning a subject, it just makes you a lot more aware of the impacts it truly does have around you.

I have always been skeptical of major news networks and absolutely abhored local news. When I lived with my parents, my mom would half of the time have some kind of news on in the house. The major reasons I hated it is it was obvious it wasn't really news. It was entertainment. It was there to draw viewers in, not to inform viewers. Local news is actually worse as it fills most of its stories with the most blantant scare tactics ("YOUR CHILDREN WILL DIE IF YOU LET THEM OUTSIDE", "SEXUAL PREDATORS AT EVERY CORNER", "HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOURSELF AGAINST TERRORISTS").

Some major networks are worse than others and more blatant about it (Fox News is worse than MSNBC about it)... but they are all very guilty of this behavior. Obviously, the major driving factor behind it is money. News is driven by advertisements. Those ads essentially pay the bills. You have to draw in viewers though for the ads. So how do you do that with channel surfers? How do keep the interest of these low-attention-span viewers? Flashy graphics, simplified headlines, scare tactics, pundits, opinionated anchors, consistent high drama stories. These are all parts of how you keep these users glued to their televisions.

These things are fairly obvious. The things that are less obvious though is the agenda that isn't blatant. Simplified, yes we can say it's all about money. But delving deeper into the subject, we can see that there are specific political and social agendas that are pushed out. What those agendas are depends on the network... but what many people fail to realize is how tied in everything is. There are literally 5 major corporations that dispense all the news, movies, television, music, books, sports, newspapers, and magazines we read. When you think about the fact 5 corporations control 90% of the information we recieve on a daily basis... you should be very skeptical of what kind of messages you are receiving. Disney for example owns ABC, A&E, History Channel, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, MIramax, Buena Vista, Hyperion Books, Discover Magazine, US Weekly, Several Daily Newspapers, some major radio networks, etc. To get an old list of these mega corporations and what they own, you can check this PBS special on it called the Merchants of Cool. This was done in 2001 and since then, there's been more merging and these main 5 in the US control even more now.

Given that these companies want to keep making money... they will have an agenda to dictate the way we should live. That "way of life" they disseminate through advertisements, through movies, through books, through news, etc. They can keep out the things that disagree with their agenda, and highlight the ones that reaffirm their agenda. If you can paint a picture of women living a certain way in your films, books, newspapers, movies, television stations... this will in turn give an image to which women will be pressured to live by. The marketing becomes much easier for a group that is defined in such a simple fashion... and in the end it adds to the bottom line.

It isn't that people don't think... but when you are bombarded with images each and every day of what things you should have as a man/woman, American, student, or whatever demographic you want to define... psychologically it is going affect you somehow. I don't care who you are, you will find yourself affected by it in someway. Now the more you understand the agendas being pushed through and the more aware of how skeptical you should be, the less you will be affected. But ultimately, the average person will never see this information because there isn't going to be any reason these mega-corporations would want to attack themselves. You aren't going to find information through these mega-corporations.

What we define as a good American, or a man... or a woman... is all dictated through these mediums which we are exposed to everyday. Sometimes the messages are blatant. Many times the messages are a lot more subtle. Our perception of black Americans is skewed through television, movies, and music which comes out of these companies. Our image of what a woman should be is defined in Vogue articles, News Corporation owned movies like Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Disney owned shows like Desperate Housewives.

One thing that is happening right now, which is sort of scary, is that the major bandwidth providers in the US (Comcast, Verizon, AT&T) are trying to push legistlation through that allows them to give preferential treatment to their own services. It's not hard to imagine that in years to come, they gimp the Internet for those sites that don't fit within their structure and that they will push sites that do. It will be another form of controlling the information we recieve even on the net... as they could essentially block or kill sites that are against their agenda. You can read a little more about it on BBC News.

I would recommend that if this is all new to you, please do some research on it. Talk to people you know about it. Not because we should boycott all that we consume information wise... but it will be less apt to affect us if we know about the clever manipulation. And to understand that every source is biased in some way... allows us to make sure we take a look at several different sources of information before we make a conclusion. I think most of us who read Sehti... are generally skeptical folk... and we understand that business has influence in almost everything... but to understand the relationships of who owns what and to try to dissect their agendas... will help us stay more informed.