The Social Side of Business

Twitter Tact – Social Media Manners

2011-12-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

My momma always said, "Manners matter."

And that's true for the new media frontier too.

Being polite is just as important (if not more) in digital communication as it is in real life.

In fact with the lack of voice intonation and body language it's even more important to practice good manners online than when communicating face to face.

Much of building online relationships rests on manners – whether you're writing as a brand or a company or as a single entity.

Just like real life – no one wants to talk to a jerk.

So with that in mind I jotted down three simple things that help foster relationships online (and in person for that matter):

1) Listen

A no-brainer. But there's nowhere else to begin. Like ALL communication, people mostly want to talk about themselves. That's not a slight anyone in particular it's just a plain fact about people.

A conversation is like a tennis game – the ball (a topic) is served, volleyed and returned. One of the players can't grab the ball and run, that's called keep-away and it defeats the point of playing tennis in the first place. It's important to return the ball.

Unfortunately some approach communication, whether online or in person, to be a game a keep-away in which you hold onto the attention for as long as you can. But it costs them the game. It costs them the game because no one wants to play with them.

2) Respond

Always tweet back. Promptly respond to blog comments. "Like" people's Facebook links comments and retweet with abandon. Show thankfulness for people's interest in your content and show interest in theirs. Validate others by validating their thoughts.

Whether or not you agree with everything everyone says, legitimize others by responding with legitimacy.

And always, always, always remember:

Social media is a communications medium – so communicate.

Twitter is one of those platforms where people seem to completely disregard normal rules of communication and instead operate by some sort of hybrid sense of social hierarchy. Some only respond to those with a greater or equal number of followers, which I find to be petty and shallow.

3) Engage

Social media is not a broadcast medium. It's a two-way street. Communication flows back and forth between communicator and audience. Writing a blog post or creating original content is merely the first step in what ideally becomes a conversation.

As much as we may try to pretend that digital communication is different and new, it's not. It's still communication, plain and simple. Being polite, being a good listener and being considerate still hold as much (or even more) merit as they once did.

The only thing the Internet does is make it easier to have MORE communication. Think about that...

Wenatchee's History In 2 Minutes

2011-11-27T17:28:00.000-08:00

A short video on Wenatchee's history that I produced for the Wenatchee Museum and Cultural Center.

Halloween In A Small Town

2011-10-31T20:41:00.000-07:00

Halloween in small towns like Wenatchee, Washington have an old-timey feel. Like you stepped into the 50s and you're experiencing that little slice of Americana when communities were close-knit and people celebrated the changing of the seasons together.

On Halloween night in Wenatchee everyone's out on the streets, taking a turn about the neighborhood so the kids can get their candy.

Although Wenatchee's not perfect, not by a long shot, it's night's like these that I really feel thankful to live in a real American town like Wenatchee.

2011-10-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

Tearing Through Paper: The Future Of Communication

Bands Battle At Taste Of The Harvest

2011-09-17T20:21:00.000-07:00

Wenatchee, Washington is a quaint little slice of Americana.

With a population just over 30,000, it's a centennial city with a nationally registered historic downtown and an economy reliant on the summer and fall cherry, apple and pear harvests.

It's large enough to have traffic at 5, a vibrant arts and culture scene and a few homeless people but small enough you can walk downtown, get a cup of coffee in the morning and see your dentist, a couple from your gym and that girl from that party who's name you can't recall.

Because the economy is so heavily invested in the agricultural crop the two biggest events in town are the spring "Apple Blossom Parade" and the fall "Taste of the Harvest" festival.

Last year, I helped judged the "Improv Chef Cook Off" – Wenatchee's equivalent of "The Iron Chef" and it was a great time. Though I didn't adhere to customary cooking competition rules...

I cleaned my plate, smacked my lips in appreciation and asked for seconds.

Check out this video I made:

So naturally this young squire was not invited back to sup this year – though I think that mainly due to the fact that they didn't have a cook off...

So this year I took pictures!

Mainly because one of my clients, Caffe Mela, organized and sponsored the Battle of the Bands and since I work for them it's kinda my job to help promote it...

But it was a great show!

The Pacific Northwest is a region with a rich and vibrant arts community. Great musicians, painters and writers live here and I really think that a lot of people who live here are spoiled. They take it for granted and pass by great music and great bands just because their poster isn't above a urinal or on a billboard.

Nevertheless, we here in Washington state enjoy great music and THIS year I had mine eyes opened to a luminescent young star by the name of Pickwick.

Everyone knows the Seattle music scene is blowing up right now – The Head And The Heart, Macklemore and more. But what I'm telling you right now is that this band, Pickwick, is going to be big, huge!

They headlined tonight after the Battle of the Bands wrapped up and all I can say is wow, wowy, wowzers!

As Brian from Poor Folks put it, "I thought R&B was dead, but it's not!"

I agree. This band, comprised of a bunch of super-white-looking, flanneled hipsters but they make beautiful, soulful music that would make Reggie Young break down and cry.

Check out this little tune from them:

It's not from tonight but you get an idea of what I'm talking about.

Yikesy-maroo!

I Interview The Town's Salty Old Man

2011-08-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a blog series for the local Chevy/Subaru/Cadillac dealership, Cascade Auto Center, and my first interview was with Wenatchee's resident "dirty old man" Harold Schroder.

Harold's a mostly-to-semi-retired, self-proclaimed "hustler" and he's not one to mince words.

He's been a bail bondsman, a real estate magnate and just about everything else one does when one buys low and sells high. We already knew each other because we haunt the same morning hotspot, Caffe Mela (another client of mine).

Now I've always been one of those people who gets along with older people famously – the "straight-shootin'" mentality and antiquated idioms intrigue me and older people usually like me because I love a good story.

So Harold and I get along.

Usually we sit at the bar and make small talk about life, love and ALWAYS, ALWAYS women. I'll cackle embarrassedly like a schoolgirl as Harold makes off-color remarks to the attractive baristas. He gets a kick out of harrying them like a fox gets a kick out of terrorizing the hen house. And I must admit – I live vicariously through him at those moments because a man my age would NEVER, EVER get away with saying the things he does (it's quite cathartic).

But the fact is – Harold's a really sweet guy. And if you take a moment to talk to him you realize it.

One thing many people don't know about him is how much he loved his late wife, Cathy. She died about six years ago and you can tell he misses her. It's kind of heartbreaking.

While preparing for this interview I was setting up the camera and chairs and such while Harold was talking to another old man, a friend of his who just happened to be at the dealership. They were talking about their recently deceased wives and I was struck by the intimacy of their conversation.

"How long ago did yours pass?"

"Oh, about six years now."

"Yeah, it's hard without 'em."

"Hell. It's hard with 'em! But there's not much to do without a good woman..."

Perhaps it was because of that pre-interview conversation that Harold wanted to inquire about my own love life. Which is bleak – to say the least.

But he persisted in asking about the details of my situation and so I told him. My last girlfriend was a smart but obstinate (part of the appeal really) lawyer and alas, she moved back to Seattle.

Thus, letting me off the hook in my mind. But Harold saw things differently.

He advised me to go find her, get her and marry her post-haste. In fact, his theory on marriage goes a little something like this: "Quick! Before she notices!"

In fact, he married his wife after the first date. He told me that he stole his beloved from, "Some dumbshit that didn't know what was happening." He took her on a date, she wouldn't sleep with him, so he asked her to marry him.

50-odd years, two kids, a family and a life later...

Here, watch our conversation for yourself:

"Is she smart?"

"Yeah."

"Why's she going with you?"

Haha.

Campy, but effective.

2011-07-06T22:48:00.001-07:00

Check out this video. It's campy. It's cliche. It's low quality.

But it's effective.

I shot this with a FlipCam, produced it with iMovie and published it on Facebook and Twitter.

Sure it's not high quality, in any sense of the phrase, but it gets peoples' attention.

And isn't that what media's all about?

A Little Baseball Video

2011-06-01T14:17:00.001-07:00

Check out this little video I made for the Wenatchee AppleSox a few days ago:

Nothing major - in fact it's a bit of a cliche "Rocky" spoof - but it gets the job done and illustrates my point about new media marketing needing to be consistent, creative, dynamic and engaging as opposed to high production quality and slick bells and whistles.

Twitter's New Photosharing Revamp - Pretty Cool

2011-06-01T13:56:00.000-07:00

Twitter's been undergoing some interesting changes lately (including purchasing TweetDeck) and their new photosharing revamp is pretty slick.

Check it out:

The Family Business Makes It To New Media

2011-05-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

So guess who's got a logo and Facebook page?

This guy.

Whaddya think?

Originally I was going to go with "Branding, Quality Content and Social Media Marketing" but y'know – there's a lot more to digital marketing than just Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. Plus the term "social media" suggests a certain informality – it makes one think it's something anyone who is active on Facebook can do. And that is not the case.

It's kinda like the difference between public access and primetime. Sure, both are broadcasted but it's all about how many people pay attention....

But please click "like" on my Facebook page because I need all the followers I can get. I just set it up and don't have many friends yet.

Will you be my friend?

Skiing To Baseball: Social Media Alla' Time

2011-05-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

A big part of being a freelancer writer, or marketing consultant, or new media Ronin ... whatever you wanna call it it - is constantly finding new clients.

(Side note, "New Media Ronin" is my favorite of those three titles and may or may not be on my card...)

But point is, working for yourself is a challenge.

Yes, it's nice being your own boss. It's also perpetually nerve-wracking. Next month I could be making twice as much as I am this month. But then again - I could be making half of what I am now.

So necessity ... er ... necessitates I keep signing clients. So I recently picked up the local summer league amateur club, the Wenatchee AppleSox.

If you don't know much about baseball - summer leagues are where all the good college players go to cool their heels during their summers. And by "cool their heels," I mean make a name for themselves and show the pro scouts what they're made of.

It's a really interesting time to watch baseball players because it's where the mental and physical aspects of the game of baseball really coalesce and make or break players.

It's where the wheat is separated from the chaff, so to speak.

But my job isn't to wax poetic about bygone aspirations of pro ball - it's to get people excited about baseball. So that's what I plan to do.

The season starts June 3rd and so far a few of the highlights of what I've done is make the AppleSox mascot, Coyote, a Facebook page. And I made this video:

Nothing major - just a little messing around in iMovie.

Follow the AppleSox on Facebook and Twitter to keep track of my progress through the season.

Go AppleSox!

Why I Love 'The Twitter' (Prt. I: Content is King)

2011-03-31T18:08:00.000-07:00

I once read a Tweet that went, "Facebook makes you hate people you know and Twitter makes you love people you've never met."

That, ladies and gents, pretty much sums it up ...

Facebook is a relationship-based network while Twitter is content-based.

When it comes to Facebook you usually know the people who populate your feed. And let's be honest - how many people from high school or your last job share your taste in music, political beliefs or interest in 18th Century romantic literature? (Or to be more honest, who else among your peer group just finished the latest episode of Real Housewives of Atlanta and want to rant about how Laquisha got her weave pulled out?)

Probably not many. And the people you actually know and interact with on a regular basis would judge you for your voyeuristic quirk, compelling you to keep tabs on the dredges of humanity residing along the Jersey Shore or the suburbs of "Hotlanta."

If you're honest you run the risk of alienating the people you actually know.

Enter, Twitter and the Meme.

Personal enough to get to know someone but not personal enough to have to meet face to face.

You can be MORE honest about your views because it's not like you have to attend a cocktail party with anyone 3 months down the road. There's no mutual acquaintances, no small talk, no chit chat.

You have 140 characters to say what you think - so say it. And points are awarded for being clever.

Meanwhile, in Facebook-land, you have to justify why you think things like child labor human trafficking are morally reprehensible to the likes of your Grandma, 2nd grade teacher and ex-girl friends.

Granted, Twitter takes more effort, it's harder to use and it's more obscure. But those are the things that make it great!

You're perceived solely about what you think - not by reputation, action or who your friends are.

Scary when you think about it....

Checking In Kinda Creeps Me Out

2011-03-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Dominick Bonny is at Caffe Mela getting a cup of coffee.

Dominick Bonny is at Nike Town buying new shoes.

Dominick Bonny is at Dr. Miller's receiving a colonoscopy.

Some things are better left off social networks.

Until very recently I maintained that geolocation and social networks shouldn't mix.

Everyone knows about the Facebook Check In application by now and personally, I've been reluctant to engage in the relatively new Facebook feature. My initial reaction to the development was: "Ugh, too far Facers..."

I thought it re-enforced the stereotype that social networking is nothing more than a collection of narcissistic nitwits obsessively cataloging every mundane detail of their lives in lieu of actual social interaction.

It wasn't until Facebook deals came along that I began to change my opinion about "checking in." Deals is basically Facebook taking FourSqaure's checking in function and marrying it to Group On's discount deals function and adding the mass popularity of Facebook.

It's pretty much a holy trinity of good ideas.

Typical Zuckerburg, taking someone elses' good idea and executing it better than anyone else can.

With Deals you can incentivize check ins and give those who check in a reward, in the way of a discount. You can also claim group discounts - prompting people to bring their friends. You can also give a donation to charity through deals - which is kinda cool.

As a social media marketer with service businesses as clients the implications of these apps are exciting and could make for increased business. As a social media user I still have my reservations about engaging in the activity personally.

This piece by The Onion kinda summed it up for me:

But I guess I'd better get with the program.

Dominick Bonny is in his kitchen, toasting a bagel.

Work, Work, Work (with Embeds!)

2011-02-13T05:33:00.000-08:00

So this ski season I took a job as a snow reporter for Mission Ridge Ski & Board Resort.

Yes, there is such a thing as a "snow reporter" and it's actually quite challenging. You have to know and describe all the different types of snow, weather terminology, terrain conditions and most importantly: what that all that will mean to the average rider.

Anyway, this photo is of the quarter pipe we had set up in the base area this week. I wish I could say I took that shot but I didn't. It was one of the guys from Evo Gear.

Mission's just 12 miles outside of Wenatchee and the upside of the job is I get to ski for free.

The downside is I start at 4 a.m.

Basically, I wake up at 3:15, drive up to the mountain, hop on a snow mobile and ride it up to the summit.

On my way I check temperatures and snow levels at two markers. Then I jump back on the sled and high-tail it back to the lodge so I can update five websites, record a telephone snow report people call for updates and then record a short radio report to send to area stations.

Here are a couple examples, the first one is from Thursday, Feb. 10 and the second is from yesterday, Feb. 12, 2011.

I'm usually off by 8 a.m. and I can ski all day if I want. However, I rarely do because once I'm done snow reporting my main job starts - new media consulting.

And Mission Ridge is actually one of my clients. So follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

The stuff I do for them is all new media stuff - blogging, tweeting, Facebook, photo work, copy writing, strategy, video production, etc. Take a look at their blog - I help write it and take some of the photos.

I'm actually working with a couple fellow Cougs too. The web guys is Nick Winters of Ridgeline graphics and the video dude is Richard Lutz. It's all about the WSU.

Here's a series of shots I took during the Mountain Music Festival we've got going on every Saturday night.

So yeah - I'm a busy boy...

If you wanna check out some of my other clients here are some links. The first is to Caffe Mela's blog, which I also write. Our last blog post went viral - which makes me happy.

And here's a link to the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center's blog. We did a lot of new media marketing for their annual wine gala recently and got a record-breaking number of people attending this year.

That's probably not just due to Facebook and blogging, but hey, I thought it was neat...

2011-02-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

Totally Awesome

2011-02-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

Working on 'ze foto taking

2011-01-31T21:58:00.000-08:00

So basically in my new job I'm a freelance journo for hire and one of the things I've been working on is improve the ole' photography skillz. Here are some shots I took up at Mission Ridge recently.

What think you?

My Personal Whirlwind (aka Life of Late)

2011-01-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

Life has been whirlwind as of late - I've changed more during the last three months than during the entire 25 years prior.

In September I moved to Wenatchee to take a job as a reporter at the local business journal and hated it. I was happy and grateful to get a job as a journalist after graduation. Getting a job as a reporter right out of college is a tough thing these days.

But in college I worked hard, paid my dues, spent copious amounts of time in the newsroom, and became editor-in-chief of WSU's Daily Evergreen - a 12,000 readership daily. The next step was to get a job as a reporter. So I did.

I moved up here and decided I would listen a lot and say a little, start back at square one, and be polite to everyone. And I was. And it worked well - with sources.

But being a new media kid in an old media company was a bit like being an unsuspecting lamb wobbly walking into the wolves' den. If you haven't heard - print media is dying. Older journalists are scared and confused and print media companies are doing one of two things: 1. Embracing new media and transitioning to the new norm or, 2. burying their heads in the sand, downsizing and hoping the Internet will just GO AWAY.

But it's not going away. And I'd had enough of being treated like dirt, overworked and underpaid. I wasn't raised to be the sort of fool who waits around for orders or gratefully accepts scraps from his master's table when there's opportunity to be had and money to be made.

So I went into business for myself. I went to the dark side: marketing.

I signed my first client two days after walking out of my former newsroom with nothing more than a handful of business cards and righteous anger.

Since then I've started working with Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort, Caffe Mela coffee shop and the Wenatchee Valley Museum. I'm doing social media and digital media for them - which is what my business, Strategically Social, is all about.

I've also been freelancing for the Wenatchee World writing business stories and writing for their satellite site: The Leavenworth World.

And other than a setback as of late (my truck, computer and iPhone all got stolen yesterday, while I was at Mass) things have been good.

I've been happy and busy and best of all - there's competition to be had and competition to be won.

I shoulda been a business major...

Marketing and such...

2010-12-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

So ... I recently made the move to marketing. Or, as hardcore journos would put it, I made "the move to the dark side."

But hey, it's more fun, more creative and more lucrative – so goodbye print. And hellooooo new media!

Anyway, one of my clients is Mission Ridge Ski and Board Resort and one of the things I've been tasked with is promoting a hip, youthful atmosphere for the mountain.

And this is one way to go about that. See, I get up at 3 a.m. to do the morning snow report – I ride a snow mobile, record snow levels, update websites, send a mas e-mail, texts and record for the radio but when it comes to Facebook, video and the website I suggested we have a pretty girl do it.

See, I am a firm proponent of the "pretty girl garners more attention" school of thought. So we snagged Alex from the Mission Ridge ski team and I think she preforms quite nicely. She is a former ski model and sponsored by Rossignol after all...

But I can't take credit for the video production – that was fellow Coug alum and video BAMF Nick Winters.

The campaign's only in its second week now and I think we're gonna do great things this season. I'll keep you posted...

The Truth Rite Hurrr

2010-12-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

Best Facebook hack ever, indeed

2010-12-13T12:11:00.001-08:00

Found this via @nprfreshair and it linked to a tumblr blog called GwenAnnigans!

I thought it was too cool for school. So I had to reblog it.

This is viral marketing

2010-12-03T16:45:00.001-08:00

This is a viral video Leavenworth, Wa contracted a local video production company to produce and I feel privileged enough to have witnessed a part of the creative process.

For those of you unfamiliar with Leavenworth, it's a Bavarian-style mountain town in the Wenatchee Valley that is a huge tourism draw to the area and a major factor in the local economy.

Traditionally, the tourism trade has been based upon dollars from an older demographic but the town seems to be trying to brand itself as a wintertime spring break-type vacation destination for the younger generation to come play, hang out and have fun.

The challenge here is to promote Leavenworth's traditional image of a family-friendly niche draw while also building an image of being a place where young singles and pre-family spenders can come and enjoy.

You can be sure I will be following this campaign's progress with the watchfulness of a hawk.

Hark! Truth scorches the room full of suits.

2010-11-18T21:45:00.000-08:00

This is a scene from "Good Night, And Good Luck," an amazing film about Edward R. Murrow, his unflappable courage and his boundless honesty. The man is my hero.

Ed was a history maker. He reported from rooftops during the London Blitz – while people were scrambling for bomb shelters. He took down McCarthy and defended the First Amendment at a time when it was at its most fragile – during the Red Scare.

But his most fearless act, in my opinion, was taking on corporate, the networks.

A battle he ultimately lost, but one that I respect him all the more for. He saw the days of 24-hour news networks, their divisive drivel and their drain on society coming. He saw it coming from a loooong way away.

"Our history will be what we make it ... Just once in a while let us exalt the importance of ideas and information."

"But if they are right and this instrument is good for nothing but to amuse, entertain and insulate – then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost."

2010-11-08T11:18:00.000-08:00

2010-11-08T09:51:00.000-08:00

Stepping Out by Poor Folks, Live Well from Charley Voorhis on Vimeo.

A cool local band I recently had the pleasure of stumbling upon.

Man! This is so cool!

2010-11-03T21:37:00.000-07:00

Wow ... crazy much?

2010-11-02T07:52:00.000-07:00

Dig the scrawl reminiscent of a deeply disturbed young sociopath frantically scribbling in his murder notebook.

First thing I thought when I saw this: "Dude, get a blog. It's less weird and at least you don't have to wash your truck."

I love going to "a cinema"

2010-10-31T23:44:00.000-07:00

The Columbia Cinema in East Wenatchee could use some new light bulbs.

2010-10-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

GPOYW: Vince's Bar and Grille

2010-10-20T12:26:00.000-07:00

I usually don't GPOYW anymore but my friend Saki (right) posted this shot of some of us at my buddy Vince's Bar and Grille (he has a bar in his kitchen – oh, college). I like it because you can see Kurt grinning in the mirror over my left shoulder.

Classic Kurt.

And because of the disapproving look on Mitsuko's (left) got on her face.

Made me laugh.

Shots I can't use but don't want to waste

2010-10-17T19:14:00.000-07:00

This baby was so freakin' cute. Momma was so proud.

I had to stop and grab a shot because when they say, "stop and smell the roses," this is what they mean.

I love Oktoberfest

2010-10-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

Lager, Liederhosen and pretty ladies ... What's not to love?

(*Sidenote: I talked to an inside source at the Leavenworth chamber of commerce about Oktoberfest and she said they've almost doubled attendance in the last three years. Even though the organizing body mandated they cut the attendance numbers in half, haha.)

Best way to raise awareness EVR

2010-10-12T14:22:00.000-07:00

This is the pedestrian bridge across the train tracks that leads to Riverfront Park in Wenatchee. I ran across the footbridge with my dog and had to find out more about why there are hundreds of artistically decorated brassieres lining the thing.

So I wrote and reported a story about it.

Interesting fact: It takes 450 bras to span the entire footbridge.

Music Monday: I like this band

2010-10-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Forgive me if I think people in the PNW make amazing music. Because I do.

Eternal, legend.

2010-10-09T10:44:00.000-07:00

Even though you can't have a birthday once you're dead – happy birthday John.

The time I was on Craigslist rants and raves

2010-10-04T21:12:00.001-07:00

From time to time I like to read Craigslist Rants and Raves because it gives a good rough sketch of what people in your community value and are thinking about. Usually it's just stuff like: "I hate bad drivers!"

But the other day I read this and my jaw dropped. That's me. That's the way I drive to work. And my truck is dark and dented (gotta get that fixed). But I definitely remember that.

Anyway, here's the text:

"This morning has not been the best morning. However, on my way to work a man looked at me and gave me an innocent, kind smile, that brightened my mood. I just wanted to say thank you to whoever you are. At the stop light in front of Jack in the Box in a dark colored truck with a dent on the side. Its amazing how a random smile can make your whole morning turn around. Thank you!"

I remember smiling at a very dejected-looking woman and it looked as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

It wasn't even a grin – just a simple smile.

I was amazed and flattered when I read this because lately I've been trying to smile more. And it works! I brightened someone's day. That, in turn, brightened my whole week.

Rockin' AC/DC on the accordion

2010-10-03T15:31:00.000-07:00

Rockin' the AC/DC at Oktoberfest in Leavenworth.

There's three more weeks of this. #centralwashingtonlove

Football, friends and the good 'ole alma mater

2010-09-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Headed back to Pullman this weekend for the USC game. We played two minutes of good football. So it was totally worth the trip. Better, though, was the company.

I'm pretty sure I have some of the coolest friends the world has ever known.

The time I helped judge a cooking competition

2010-09-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

Been eating locally lately for a journalism project and the Wenatchee Downtown Association invited me to help judge a local chef cook off at the Taste of the Harvest festival last weekend. I accepted and ate like a king for a day ...

Football, killing people and Whitman

2010-09-21T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched Monday Night Football in a bar with train-conductor veteran of 3 Iraqi tours who told me about the time he killed a guy in a knife fight in Mogadishu.

To be fair he was fighting for his life. He also told me he ran over a dunk guy with his train one time.

Tonight I ran by a church and watched a baby being baptized and saw the very moment as the family all leaned in while the priest was pouring holy water on the baby's crying face and I thought – isn't life amazing?

So cliche I know.

It's also cliche to say that we are capable of great love as well as great evil but most cliches are true.

So I don't really care.

I thought about what it would feel like to have to shove a K-bar up through someone's jaw just to save my own life. Then I thought about those 40 or so people in that church and how I could feel the love that was passing through them all that moment and how it hit me like a wave through the glass of that church window.

Then I thought how lucky I am to be privileged enough to see these things. And I thought about having the ache to describe it and something that Whitman wrote:

"Dazzling and tremendous how quick the sunrise would kill me,
If I could not now and always send the sunrise out of me."

I think it means he's rejoicing and reveling in the beauty of life and acknowledging that if he couldn't describe it – if he couldn't write it – he would die.

I understand what he's talking about.

The business of blogging

2010-09-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

Periods of growth and transition are rarely recognized by the people living in the time period in which change is occurring.

Almost every contemporary media expert out there says that this 10-to-15 year period in communications technology and business is going to shape the next 100.

I believe that is true.

According the most recent Social Media Marketing Report 2010, via Forbes:

* 81% of businesses using social media generated exposure
* 61% Increased subscriber/traffic/opt-in list
* 56% Resulted in new business partnerships
* 52% Increased search engine rankings
* 48% Generated qualified leads
* 45% Reduced overall marketing expenses
* 35% Closed more business

What’s more – recent statistics on social media users show:

* 33% visit social media sites to engage in product research before making a purchasing decision
* 47% say social media sites influence their decision to purchase specific companies services & brands
* 26% of respondents changed their minds about purchasing a product after reading about it on a social media site.

Fact is – business hinges on barriers to entry.

Not everyone can do what you do. That's how you make money.

But the Internet has destroyed the business model of traditional publishing.

Blogging, social media and the Internet has made everyone and anyone author, advertiser and publisher. And it's here to stay. And businesses that get with the program are making more money. Bottom line.

Content is still king but there are no barriers to entry.

People only pay attention is the information that is relevant. And the Internet actually jives with the way we've evolved as a species. Think about it – when you step into a meadow, or a bustling city square, you size up the situation. You evaluate the important stuff. Threats, danger and possible ways to propagate the species. That's the way we work.

And that's the way the Internet works, too. Just on a macro level.

Instead of evaluating a threat to our physical person we evaluate threats to our time on earth. Pointless things that limit that precious time. So we avoid them because the time we waste on them actually leads us one step closer to death.

Access to everything means infinite time can be wasted. We have to be choosy.

We are much more savvy than we once were.

Things like classifieds, commercials and billboards are relics of the past. The modern equivalent are cookies and analytics that track Internet browsing trends, following consumers around the net and placing ads on the sidebar of every Web page you look at.

If you don't believe that there are program that track you, via your IP address, every time you Google something, check out this story.

Kinda blows the mind doesn't it?

But it goes right back to what I was saying at the beginning – times change faster than people can change with them. And that's especially true in law and legislation. There's a lot that tech companies are doing right now that will probably be illegal in 20-30-50 years (at least I hope). But the geezers in Congress aren't thinking about regulating the Internet – they've got bigger problems.

Oil spills, war, and economic depression.

Meanwhile, we are experiencing the democratization of the media – a blessed decentralization of power.

The ethics of business

2010-09-16T20:05:00.000-07:00

While listening to The Diane Rehm Show on NPR the other morning I heard something that got me thinking about business, ethics, the recession and how our economy got to the point that it has.

Rehm was interviewing former Disney Exec Michael Eisner, who is rumored to be taking the reins of the Tribune Co. after it exits bankruptcy protection, but what he had to say about business ethics really piqued my interest.

Basically he said maybe the economy wouldn't be so shredded if this generation of businessmen were better, more ethical people.

Check it:

"We always teach our children when they're, like, in Kindergarten share, share. Don't throw that toy at your brother, don't throw up on your sister, be nice to your -- all your friends.

And then they get to be about fifth or sixth grade and now what are we telling them?

You know, succeed on your own, get the high SAT score, take that football alone across the goal line. And I think it's the wrong message.

If the message were the continuing message from Kindergarten right through high school and college and business school, you tend to work with somebody and you tend to be a governor on them, let's say. You tend to do the right thing, you tend to be more ethical, you tend to be a check in balance.

And I do believe that the present loss of integrity that we have seen in business and everywhere over the last 10 or 20 years would be less so if people were more inclined to be partners."

Then I read this Salon piece about how Goldman Sachs execs were allegedly doing business deals in strip clubs and hiring escorts for office parties.

It just seemed to put everything in perspective.

I wondered: is it possible to put a literal price tag on being a bad person?

I wondered if someone could through the financial records of a given company and say, "Ok, here's where integrity went by the wayside and these are the economic repercussions of that loss of ethics."

Then I laughed because the whole concept of having to justify good behavior with economic incentive is pretty absurd.

Then I went and played XBox.

We are Washingtonians

2010-09-14T08:23:00.000-07:00

The time I made a video

2010-09-13T17:13:00.000-07:00

Positively metropolitan

2010-09-10T18:56:00.000-07:00

In Carlton, Wash. the mall rats are literally rats.

Ahhhh FREAK OUT!

2010-09-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you smoke crack rocks before a speech. I would pay cash money to see the faces of the people in that room.

i WANT!!!

2010-09-03T22:46:00.001-07:00

This bookshelf is the coolest thing ever. I want.

I ripped this photo off from Off the Page's Elizapaa. She didn't think much of the disorganization but I adore it. I think the whole thing might be a metaphor ...

The Locavore's Dilemma (or: I want Domino's)

2010-09-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

So I'm only eating local food this month. No Micky D's, Taco Bell or China Buffet (yeah, my eating habits aren't that great, hence the reason why I run ...)

But you can read about it on the blog I started just for this project: The Locavore's Dilemma.

A link should be up on the Wenatchee Business Journal's homepage soon but I wanted to throw in a link on my personal blog because I figured I'd get a few people looking for the food blog but finding this abomination instead (I kid, this isn't a bad blog, a bit eclectic perhaps – I've blogged about everything from poetry to police records).

Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think. I also need recipe ideas because it's day three and I only know how to cook about three things. That does not bode well for variety ...

My new favorite song

2010-09-02T11:38:00.001-07:00

Oh, propaganda ... you so crazy

2010-08-31T07:31:00.001-07:00

Found this onlinez yesterday and it cracked me up – an old propaganda poster from WWII aimed at keeping allied soldiers from picking up "good time girls". They'll get ya!

Different times for sure ...

From time to time I blog about old ads and propaganda, see: How to avoid ... boners?

Music Monay: Art, or expliotation?

2010-08-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

This is Wesley Willis playing at the Graceland in Seattle in 2002.

Willis was schizophrenic and died in '03 but before he did he put an indelible impression on punk.

I heard about Willis recently from a friend and as I was watching his YouTube videos I kept wondering, "are people at these shows because they like the music or for the spectacle?"

Maybe both. And if people merely went to laugh then that's on them but I say kudos to Willis because he wanted to make rock and he did. He wanted to make music and he didn't let his disability get in his way. Quite the contrary – it was a part of his art.

I think that's cool.

Pizza dancer

2010-08-29T08:40:00.000-07:00

So this guy is apparently a local Wenatchee institution and he's out on that corner most everyday shaking his money maker in a pizza-selling mission of dance.

A buddy of mine told me that he used to be quite rotund but all the aerobic pizza selling has chiseled his frame. He also told me the guy used to homeless but because of this job he now has a house.

I think that's a pretty interesting story so next week I think I'll go talk to the guy and maybe do a little profile. I'm intrigued ...

Music Monday: Best breakup song EVR

2010-08-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, so your feelings about country music aside – John Prine transcends mere genre classification and is lifted up into that echelon reserved for the most pure of poets.

He is in the league of such greats as Dickinson, Whitman or Dylan. The man is a god.

And this song is the best breakup song ever. It's about that thing that's hardest to do after a breakup, something you sometimes can't even do for years – and that's wish your ex happiness.

But it's Prine's touch – the humor, the folksiness and the intelligence of his ultra simple lyrics that touch you and stir the soul.

He is the embodiment of some of the best American traits – wit, simplicity and honesty, as he plays this simple tune that conveys so much complexity.

The reason I chose to post this was because I went out for a bro-bonding drinking/holla-at-the-ladies sesh. with a fellow reporter last weekend and, as is customary – the obligatory breakup song singalong/share time had to go down.

I think HE chose THIS song ... (Haha, j/k Lee)

Lookin' fly

2010-08-21T19:49:00.001-07:00

Found a car-slash-dog wash-slash-coffee place today. Gotta keep this girl lookin' fly.

Also - pretended to not be able to figure out the coin machine so I could talk to the cute barista and get her number ... I'm a stinker.

GPOYW: New job edition

2010-08-11T17:01:00.001-07:00

Being a reporter is fun because every morning you can wake up and say: "What do I get to learn today?"

Music Monday: The working man edition

2010-08-09T15:21:00.001-07:00

Yes. I like Huey Lewis and the News. Wanna fight about it?

In honor of my new job at The Wenatchee Business Journal.

Sowing seeds of radicalism (the good kind)

2010-08-03T10:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I stopped in Olympia to visit my old alma mater, Saint Martin's University.

My two years at SMU had it's ups and downs and I loved every minute of it. I played goalie on the fledgling men's soccer team, became a senator for our student government, gave campus tours and served as an freshman orientation councilor. I even acted in a play (yikes).

But it had it's downs too. I was hired as an RA but got fired before I started. The reason, you see, is because Saint Martin's campus is a dry campus – meaning no boozey-booze in the dormy-dorms.

But I, being the hardheaded idiot I am, decided that no one consulted me when they were making these rules so I was not obliged to observe them. And besides, it's college right?

So I did what I pleased and the consequences came in their due time.

But more important than any of that – it was at St. Martin's that I found the academic voice to articulate my distaste for unquestioning acceptance of authority. And it was where I began to think I could help make the world a better place.

And, perhaps consequently, since adopting that belief I think I have, and will continue, to do good.

One of the many reasons for this is a man named Dr. David Price, someone who came to embody freedom of thought and independence of mind and spirit for me. He is a moral educator and the first teacher I really respected (but not the last).

You can't see it very well but that little note he pinned to his office is a job offer from the CIA – displayed here with an obvious wink and nod to illustrate the inherent absurdity of the Company inviting someone like Price to join its ranks.

It was because of Price that I developed a great love and appreciation for public records.

See after someone dies, their FBI files become public information, so whenever someone interesting (radicals, activists or worse – peace-mongers) dies he files FOIAs for any federal records on that person. Because of these FOIAs his basement now resembles the FBI archives.

Citizens like these do not make the government happy.

That, in turn, makes citizens like me extremely happy. And that glee, the joy that comes from knowing something somebody doesn't want you to know, is what planted the seed for my eventual headlong dive into journalism.

From him I took a class on how to be an effective policy-and-society changer and I remember him saying: "The most effective radical is the one wearing the tie."

Meaning, if you really want to change the system, if you really want to effective lasting and positive societal change – do it from within. Be the Trojan horse.

It was at that time I decided I want to be an agent of real, lasting and good change. For now that's writing – journalizing. And I have to thank Dr. David Price for being a great educator – and for teaching me about the Freedom Of Information Act.

Dom runs

2010-07-28T20:12:00.001-07:00

So recently I got it into my head that someday I'd like to run a marathon.

So I hit the road, Jack.

But before I did I searched my iTunes for some good workout tunes. Here's what gets me going.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

GPOYW: The winky-winky edition

2010-07-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

This is what "on a date Dom" looks like – this model comes with breath mints, flowers and amusing anecdotes.

Commitment not included.

The first, last, and only line of defense: Spanish guitar

2010-07-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

While looking for a good video of the this song, "Tamacun," by the nothing-short-of-amazing Mexican duo Rodrigo y Gabriela, I found a comment by a YouTube user who said:

"If aliens came, and said 'show us why humans are special, or we will kill you', I would show them this."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

The talent, the passion, the beauty ... if you can sit still while listening to these two wail on those acoustic guitars than you gotta be a zombie.

What an awesome poem

2010-07-23T14:28:00.000-07:00

This is a poem by the famous Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. It's called "Letter of Recommendation" and it's about his father.

I loved this poem from the very first line: "On summer nights I sleep naked in my bed in Jerusalem."

It made me imagine standing on a huge balcony overlooking the holy city, its ancient buildings and sands lit up by a luminous Middle-eastern moon.

Jerusalem – the very word is like a prayer. When you say it it lingers on your lips, uttered in a hushed tone because you know you're saying something too important to toss off so cavalierly like a "London" or "New York."

And that's just the first line!

It's the exquisite blend of sentimentality, lack of pretension and pure poetic brilliance that makes it a thing of beauty.

He is a believer, in a holy city, and the poem pays tribute to his father, his people and his faith.

He is not the center of the poem – how refreshing.

But it's stanza about his father waking him up in the morning that really brings it home for me. It's earnest and beautiful and sincere:

I remember my father waking me up
for early prayers. He did it caressing
my forehead, not tearing the blanket away.

Wow. I remember when my step-father would wake me at 5 a.m. to feed calves in the cold winter mornings – it wasn't like that. He would rip the blankets and say "Move your lazy ass, Furr-dama," rolling the R's so it sounded like a Wookie was trying to pronounce a human word. (He's Dutch and "Furrdama" means "God damn.")

But I hate to blather on. Here is the poem. See what you think:

On summer nights I sleep naked
in Jerusalem on my bed,
which stands on the brink
of a deep valley
without rolling down into it.

During the day I walk about,
the Ten Commandments on my lips
like an old song someone is humming to himself.

Oh, touch me, touch me, you good woman!
This is not a scar you feel under my shirt.
It's a letter of recommendation, folded,
from my father:
"He is still a good boy and full of love."

I remember my father waking me up
for early prayers. He did it caressing
my forehead, not tearing the blanket away.

Since then I love him even more.
And because of this
let him be woken up
gently and with love
on the Day of Resurrection.

Can't believe I Sparknotes'd this!

2010-07-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

I took American Lit sophomore year and for the most part loved it. But for some stupid reason I had a bit of prejudice toward poetry. I thought it was like the poet Mary Karr says, "A trick on smart people."

So I Sparknotes'd "Leaves of Grass" and didn't really join in on the conversations that required detailed knowledge of the book.

But I picked up a copy of the most famous American poem ever written at the library recently and it has been blowing my mind.

I had to read this three times before I understood what he was talking about. But when I read it once I realized I had to read it a few more times ...

"Dazzling and tremendous how quick the sunrise would kill me,
It I could not now and always send the sunrise out of me.

We also ascend dazzling and tremendous as the sun,
We found our own my soul in the calm and cool of the daybreak.

My voice goes after what my eyes cannot reach,
With the twirl of my tongue I encompass worlds and volumes of worlds.

Speech is the twin of my vision....it is unequal to measure itself.

It provokes me forever,
It says sarcastically, Walt, you understand enough....why don't you let it out
then?"

Music Monday: A post-collegiate anthem

2010-07-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

"MONEY! Where have ya gone to?"

Cool lady, cool band.

2010-07-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

How forlorn.

I love women, too

2010-07-16T19:18:00.000-07:00

I just finished the Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy and all I can say is wow. wowie. wowzers.

It seems that he used his first book, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", to teach himself how to write a great novel then perfected that formula until he had the literary equivalent of nitroglycerin.

The novels just explode.

I also blogged about the series after I finished the first book and some of my opinions about Larsson have changed a bit – you can read my thoughts here.

Larsson was a Swedish financial journalist, just like the protagonist of his series, Mikael Blomkvist, and Blomkvist is a pretty thin disguise for the man that Larsson obviously considered himself to be.

Blomkvist is a financial journalist from Stockholm. But not only that – he's an ace. The kind of genius journo that is one part gumshoe, one part spook and two parts super lover. Over the course of three books he breaks two stories so huge it would give any journo a total rager.

But it's Lisbeth Salandar who steals the show. In my opinion Slanadar is the best fictional character since Huck Finn. Tiny, bisexual, goth, and severely anti-social, Slanadar is a computer hacker with possible Asberger's, a photographic memory, killer tats and an attitude a mile long.

Simply put – I adore her.

Larsson was a master of his craft. A ruler of plot development. In "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" he introduces the characters and intricately weaves a storyline of financial malfeasance, sexually charged murder, torture, rape and a family mystery. Then he wraps everything up quite nicely. So nicely in fact that after you read the last page of the first book you wonder what he's got left in the tank for the next two.

But Salandar is the key to the entire saga. I'm not going to spoil anything but she's the ball you should keep your eye on. Not that it will be that hard to do – I think I fell in love with her somewhere between her tattooing "I am a sadistic pig, a pervert and a rapist" on a guy's stomach and her breaking a biker's jawbone with her tiny, yet heavily-booted, foot.

My only complaint is that among the male characters there are only two variations: the paternal savior or the misogynistic pedophile/rapist. The same is also true for the female gender, the two variations are either: a) the victim or b) the heroine.

I did appriciate the fact that Larsson puts more effort into Blomkvist's character development in the second and third books. My main complaint about the first novel was that Larsson felt compelled to make his characters screw at every available moment. And believe me, I am not a prude, but when the characters shed their clothing whenever they can it becomes as predictable as a bad porno.

But Larsson's predilection toward promiscuity – moreover his justification for infidelity and a distinctly European disdain for the idea of faithfulness – provide interesting insight into his opinion of what constituents a "healthy relationship."

In the novels Blomkvist has a long-time ongoing relationship with married woman, Erika Berger. Berger is married to a bisexual artist but she has been Blomkvist's lover for longer than her marriage and her betrothal didn't put the brakes on her sexual relationship with Blomkvist.

Though he frequents the beds of other women she has sex with him because "he's the only man that can truly satisfy her womanly needs." All the parties involved are OK with the arrangement and the justification given for the whole thing is that human desire is equal to human need and it's just not natural to deny yourself.

I found it interesting that the most important aspect of any relationship, according to Blomkvist, is trust. Yet sexual infidelity does nothing to break down the trust in any of the said relationships. Over the course of entire series Blomkvist only spends time alone with one female character without having sex with her, yet the fact that he sexes up roughly half the characters introduced in the novels that fact causes no interpersonal sparks – save for one, major spark (but I'll leave that alone because it's a pretty big plot point).

But other than that I have no complaints. I am sad to be finished with the books because a good book is like a good drug - you get hooked on the purity. I mean who wants to go from Colombian bam-bam back to cut up ghetto crack rock?

And believe me, the Millennium trilogy is some really good ish, yo...

2010-07-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

Music Monday: Oly groove-fest y'all!

2010-07-12T12:25:00.000-07:00

Gossip is a band from Olympia, Washington and I remember them playing gigs in and around Oly when I was going to school at St. Martin's University.

The band's frontwoman, Beth Diddo, is the constant fodder for discussion on feminist blogs and forums Internet-wide because of her weight. I don't really care personally. I mean if John Popper can push 3-hundo without getting a sidelong glance I really don't see why Diddo's weight is even a topic of discussion.

No body ever wrote an analytical dissertation regarding Biggy's obesity and it's impact on gender relations among hip-hop listeners.

Good music is just good freaking music and Diddo's got a set of pipes that just won't quit. This video had me dancing in my basement.

Yes I was ...

2010-07-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

This is why they call him The Boss.

And I have been known to do that simultaneous fist/knee pump from time to time when really groovin' to this tasty jam ... Our secret.

Happy Fourth, everybody. For all its faults we're all extremely lucky to be living in this great nation – The United States of America!

It's hard bein' a man

2010-07-03T19:18:00.001-07:00

Had this stuck in my head all day. Now stick it in your head.

Lou is God.

2010-07-02T19:43:00.001-07:00

I love Lisbeth Salandar

2010-07-02T16:06:00.000-07:00

I just finished "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson. It was one of the best books I've ever read.

It's the first book in trilogy penned by Swedish journalist Stieg Larsson before his death from, what some would say, foul play ... (?)

I won't go there but the novel is set in Sweden and its got two protagonists – Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salandar – the latter of which I am in love with. It's a strange feeling, being in love with a character in a book, a work of fiction, a figment of another person's imagination. A figment of a dude's imagination no less ...

And alas, Lisbeth is not real and besides ... I'm pretty sure it wouldn't work out.
She's a euro-punk-goth with Asberger's, a photographic memory and a past full of mystery, inner pain and trauma. I, on the other hand, am a relatively well-adjusted American farm boy who is not a bisexual nymphomaniac.

We just don't have much in common.

But back to the book. Blomkvist is a financial reporter from Stockholm who's reputation has been dashed upon the rocks of libel prosecution because he can't, or won't, back up a story he wrote exposing a evil billionaire banker. Exiled from Stockholm, Blomkvist retreats to the backwoods – roughly 100 miles from where he was (I love Europeans' sense of geography) and begins working for an aging lion, a retired industrialist with a considerable fortune and a lot on his mind ... murder! Duh, duh, duuuuuh!

The old man, one Henrik Vanger, employs Blomkvist to unravel the half-a-century-old mystery of his missing niece – Harriet.

I won't spoil anything but along the way Blomkvist's and Salandar's paths cross and there is plenty of rape, sadism, torture, journalism and intrigue to go 'round.

One of the most interesting aspects of the novel, and of Larsson's writing, is the role of sex and gender relations. If any of you are planning to read the novels I hope this won't taint your view of the story but I think that Larsson was a really good journalist, but a man preoccupied by eroticism, gender-guilt and skewed priorities.

The way he crafts a story is almost flawless. But it all hinges around violence towards women and the characters' reactions, both positive and negative, to that. As for women characters there seem to be two types – victims and Lisbeth, who is herself the perfect victim (as one character muses in the novel). As for the males there are also two distinct character types – the pedophile/sadist/rapist or the paternal hero – aka Blomkvist and every other pervert with a penis.

Forgive me - that will be my most critical graf of the post - because as I said earlier: It really is quite good.

Yet I find myself frusterated by the the author's "European sensibilities" towards gender relations, his unquestioning bias against faith and personal commitment (and question is what a journo should do, mind you) and his all-together droll attitude toward the familial relationship.

First I should mention that Blomkvist is an unquestionable surrogate for Larsson himself – Larsson's self image. The man that Larsson sees himself as. An ace reporter, good looking, confident, a ladies man, able and resourceful. He's everything a sophisticated European man would want to be.

But in him I see the elements of a little boy. Though he is respectful and kind he sleeps with women because it pleases him. After that he gives them little lasting thought. He is a father. And his daughter gives him the key to unwraveling the entire mystery! Yet he speaks to her for less than six grafs in a 400+ page novel. And the tortured soul of Lisbeth Salandar – an asocial misfit crying out for a someone, anyone that won't use her, rape her, or otherwise urinate on her dignity is left wanting because a Blomkvist thinks that sleeping with women can be as calm, rational and emotionally uninvolved as buying a pineapple at the grocery store.

I supposed I don't love Lisbeth Salandar – I identify with her. I wished the character peace.

But she will never have that. She can't. It spoils the conceit. And the conceit comes from the fact that people depend on each other, everybody needs somebody, but if you're selfish – no matter if you like to rape, murder or simply philander – you choose yourself, your knife or your penis before others. And that act of selfishness, whether bloodily violent or happily erotic, leads only to pain and isolation.

But that's just what I think.

Know your job!

2010-06-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

So this is what I've been doing lately – making a training video for the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

When I have no other irons in the fire during the summer I work cherries for the USDA and this year I pitched an idea for a new video ... Since the old one was only a few years older than me.

You like?

Also be warned ... it's kinda boring unless you're REALLY into cherries. Not the best pitch for my vid but y'know ...

I abhor hearing the sound of my own voice btw ...

Music Monday: Glam rock explosion sauce

2010-06-28T11:10:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard of The Scissor Sisters you should really check 'em out.

They've got a retro-dance-pop sound and I like it, like it, yes I do. They sound like the test-tube love child of Elton John, Freddy Mercury and Leo Sayer. But bottom line is the music is just plain fun and it makes me want to move.

And isn't that what music's supposed to be all about anyway?

They also get style points for those outfits ...

Motown? Izz'at you?

2010-06-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

Good song.

Man, if had a nickle for every time I had to break up with this many women in one day ...

I'd have no nickles.

Thoughts on Father's Day

2010-06-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

I believe the people of my generation know intimately the damaging effects of a childhood spent without a father. I also believe even more of my peers know the greater hardship of a bad father.

All the more reason that on a day like today we take a moment and recognize that being a husband and a father is harder than it looks. It is a feat worth our thanks and respect.

Though raised mostly by a single mother, I was lucky enough to have a positive father figure early in life – my grandfather. If you follow the link you can a read a post all about Pop but I mention his influence on me briefly because it's very important for a kid to have good role models.

I watched everything my grandpa did – from the way he screwed in a light bulb to the way he said grace before supper.

My stepfather, Will, has also been a huge influence on my life. A Dutch immigrant and farmer he is the very personification the American perseverance, individuality and hard work.

As a boy his father died an untimely death. Afterward Will went to work on a farm to help feed his family. Eventually, he made it to the states and though his English was broken he got a job at a dairy farm in California. He worked his way up, performing every menial task on the farm and mastering it, all the while improving his English. He saved, moved to Washington and got his own place.

In high school my stepfather taught me about hard work, responsibility and staying true to your word.

But I have been even further blessed to have an amazing dad as well. There is no one more fun to hang out with than my dad. There is an unspoken currency among people, we all know about it, and it's attached to one's likability. The more affable/caring/funny/genuine you are – the more people like you.

And if that translates into this currency I mentioned before, then my dad is a very rich man. This is us after a particularly sunny day on the lake. We ran out of gas and were stranded ... then I fell asleep in the sun.

But you could say that in the lotto of life I got lucky. I've had three good men to look up to and learn from.

I know many others that have not been as lucky. I did youth ministry for a year and while on the road I would meet different kids in different towns but they all had pretty much the same problems. Girls with eating disorders who cut themselves to deal with their family issues or how their boyfriend was treating them. Or guys with anger or drug issues because they ultimately wanted the approval, attention and love of their father, mother and family.

Pretty much every woman I've ever dated has had some kind of daddy issue and I know I'm not alone on that one.

Simply put, a good man is hard to find and a bad man can really mess peoples' lives up.

So thank you to the three men who had such a great impact on me: my grandpa, my stepdad and my dad!

Happy Father's Day and thank you!

Follower Friday: It's been a long time

2010-06-18T10:26:00.000-07:00

1) @BettyNibbler: I'm not sure about Betty's background but judging from her tweets she seems to be a holocaust survivor. And I don't know if she's going for the whole so-depressing-it's-funny angle but her tweets are both irritated and despondent ... and pretty freaking hilarious.

To wit: "This Justin Bieber... Hitler was the last person I can remember with funny hair and millions of followers."

Or this: "We didn't have b12 in Warsaw, but you didn't see us complaining."

Mostly she tells people to watch their mouths but her tweets are usually entertaining.

2) @thevuvuzelahorn: If you've been watching the World Cup or even paying cursory attention to sports news and pop culture lately you probably know what the Vuvuzela is.

It's a plastic trumpet originally from South Africa and a common soccer noisemaker since the 70s'. It's the reason all the world cup games sound like they are enveloped in a swarm of giant, angry bees.

That's why the only thing this twitter handle tweets is: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
for lines and lines. Not as annoying as the hundreds of actual Vuvuzela at the World Cup but a fitting digital homage ...

3) @YakimaGirlBlog: Like the name implies, this is a handle linked to a blog about Yakima ... by a girl. And it's a girly blog – about art and design and wine and shopping and stuff. It's very colorful and bright and she knows Yakima very well.

You should definitely check it out if you live in the Valley.

4) BBC_TopGear: I've never met anyone who didn't think Top Gear is too legit to quit. It's the best thing to come out of England since The Beatles – most def.

Suffice it to say, The Stig has the best job in the world ... And if you don't know who The Stig is, follow that link. Best. job. in. theworld.

Their twitter handle has cool links to extra stuff about cars n' stuff, of course.

5) nprobin: And speaking of people who have awesome jobs ... Robin Hilton is the producer of NPR's All Songs Considered, my absolute favorite podcast. Also, of the people on the show, he usually picks my favorite songs out of the myriad of genres presented during the show.

And this has actually led to me discover a lot about myself because typically he picks the more sensitive emo-boy songs that I didn't think I'd dig so much but I do, and I like it, like it, yes I do.

Anyway, Hilton's at the Bonneroo music festival this week and I'm sooo jealous but some of the clips they played on the podcast sounded pretty good. I have some new music to buy ...

GPOYW: Young buck edition

2010-06-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

I kinda quit doing the whole Gratuitous Picture of Yourself Wednesday thing because I felt it extremely vain. But I thought I'd make an exception this week because I came across this picture ...

Look at that innocent young lad ... That was me freshman year of college. Breaking hearts and not even knowin' it. I was just a good Catholic boy, having all the fun I could.

Haha, good times.

Music Monday: My next girl

2010-06-14T11:40:00.000-07:00

So The Black Keys are pretty much my favorite band right now. Everything they do is pretty much solid gold in my book and their new album, "Brothers," is no exception. I've been listening to it on repeat.

And that's because I'm a rock fan, through and through, all I wanna hear is a good beat, some raunchy electric guitar and inspired vocals. Is that too much to ask?

I think not. But the only two bands that have seemed to delivery on consistently good rock 'n roll are The Black Keys and any project with which Jack White is involved.

But I digress ... I picked this song because it rocks, it resonates with me right now, it's got hot chicks and the dinosaur cracks me up.

Oh cheeky dinosaur ...

RE-MIXXXX ... A success story

2010-06-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

John Prine's "Bruised Orange" was one of the first CDs we got when I was a kid and is still one of my favorite albums to this day. It sits in a place of honor in my truck, ready to be injected into my tune-age system at a moment's notice.

And Bon Ivar's frontman and artistic driving force, Justin Vernon, is also one of my favorite musicians. Vernon's 2007 album "For Emma, Forever Ago" is, in my opinion, one of the greatest albums ever. The fact that Vernon chose to remake this song is a delightful homage from one great singer-songwriter to another.

Parting is such sweet sorrow

2010-05-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

Man. I am going to miss Pullman.

The people. The paper. The parties. All my friends. The girls. ... The girls.

As I stand in my empty apartment, preparing to depart once and for all, I think about all the friends I've hung out here with. I think about all the steaks we've grilled, all the pre-funking, all the X Box. But most of all I think about the affection I have for everyone I shared this amazing time with.

And I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness. It's like losing family.

But life goes on. I look forward to the future and what it holds for me. It's the people here that I'll miss and am so thankful for.

And I'm thankful for my real family, too. No one ever said graduating college would be such an emotional time. My mom and grandparents and all my family have always been there for me but now more than ever do I appreciate their love and unconditional support.

I. am. so. grateful.

I mean – I've never had to rent a U-Haul a day in my life. See?

All you need is a horse trailer and an awesome family.

But I'd be lying if I said I'm not crying a little bit as I write this post ...

So much of who I am is wrapped up in Pullman. I've learned so much about myself here. I've fallen in and out of love here. I learned how to work with people. I learned how to manage people ... mostly through trial and error. I learned how to write here.

But all things must pass.

Now we'll see what the future has in store for yours truly ...

Words of hope for a life in limbo

2010-05-22T13:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I caught Anderson Cooper's commencement speech to the graduating class of Tulane University on the radio in my truck and I sat riveted – hanging on his every word. I felt like he was speaking directly to me.

And I have to admit after listening to his speech I felt comforted.

Cooper is one of my personal heros. He is a member of a group of elite journalists I venerate like secular saints.

Like Ed Murrow, Cooper is a broadcaster. And like Ed Murrow, he is a rarity among broadcasters. He has sterling ethics, a fiery passion, a thirst for justice and most importantly – he does his own reporting.

I admire journalists like Cooper and Murrow because you can tell that there is something – deep and unyielding – inside them that drives them to shed light on injustice, and in doing so they make the world a better place.

As proof of how bad ass Anderson Cooper is you should watch this video of him rescuing a Haitian boy from a pack of looters during the Haitian earthquake crisis. Yeah, he was reporting on the streets of Port-Au-Prince and saw this going down and stepped in – perhaps saving the kid's life.

I know right? Freakin' awesome.

Anyway, in his speech he told the story of his rise from a young, unknown journalist trying to make his bones reporting from the war-torn battlefields of the world's hot spots to a CNN anchor and host of his own show: "Anderson Cooper 360."

He said that right out of college he couldn't find a job in journalism anywhere. In his words:

"When I graduated there were hiring freezes at most TV news networks. I tried for months to get an entry-level job at ABC news, answering phones, xeroxing, whatever, but I couldn’t get hired. At the time it was crushing. But in retrospect, not getting that entry-level job, was the best thing that could have happened to me.

After months of waiting, I decided if no one would give me a chance as a reporter, I should take a chance. If no one would give me an opportunity, I would have to make my own opportunity.

I wanted to be a war correspondent, so I decided to just start going to wars. As you can imagine, my mom was thrilled about the plan. I had a friend make a fake press pass for me on a mac, and I borrowed a home video camera… and I snuck into Burma and hooked up with some students fighting the Burmese government… then I moved onto Somalia in the early days of the famine and fighting there."

My first thought was: "Man! ... I gotta get down to Cuidad Juarez with my Flip Cam."

But then I had a vision of being ransomed by some Sinaloa hit man by the name of "Felipe the Pig Killer," "Machete Pete" or "El Loco Grasshopper," (all the cartel guys seem to have gotten their nicknames from Quentin Tarentino) and I thought better of such a foolhardy decision.

But Cooper's words did give me comfort nonetheless and his speech made me realize that just because I haven't filed a story for a few weeks, and just because the job market is cutthroat and disheartening, doesn't mean I won't have a future in journalism.

These words especially gave me hope:

"Everyone I know who is successful, and by successful I mean happy in their professional or personal life, every successful person I know could never have predicted when they graduated from college where they’d actually end up."

You mean I'm not a failure because I'm not working at The New York Times or interning at The Washington Post?

Thank you, Anderson.

TMI Thursday: The time I had my legs, and heart, broken

2010-05-13T15:04:00.000-07:00

In the winter of 2007 I broke both my legs skiing, suffered internal bleeding, tissue swelling, potential organ failure and almost died from my injuries.

It was the single most intensely painful experience of my life ... Then I had my heart broken.

This is me after surgery. Not my best look ...

But let me back up. I was a sophomore at Saint Martin's University, playing soccer, dating a girl whom I thought I loved and having a grand ole' time.

Christmas break came and I decided to go on a skiing trip in Oregon.

Because I was pretty ripped and fit from a season of playing goal keeper I figured I was pretty much invincible and could handle anything the mountain could throw at me. On the second day I tried to do a flip and ended up bashing the back of my head on a rock and knocking myself out for a few minutes. This should have been my first clue to slow down ...

But I didn't. And the next day, on the final run of the final day, I decided to go big or go home.

I got off the lift and took the hardest run at break-neck speed. I found a line through the trees and bombed it.

I picked up so much speed that when I shot out of the treeline I hit the first mogul and went air born ... gaining about seven feet of air before coming down hard on another mogul about 15 feet down the run.

I landed at the apex of that mogul and almost face planted. I knew that if I fell at this speed I would really hurt myself so I battled the mountain, wrenching my body this way and that, trying in vain to cut my speed and gain control. I was heaving my body left and right with such force that it felt like my hips were going to pop out of their sockets.

I wasn't slowing down. I was getting desperate. I could feel my muscles losing the strength it would take to stop me so I put in one last-ditch effort to stop and torqued my entire frame to the left, in an attempt to cut across the face and burn off some speed.

It didn't work. As I jerked my body left I heard a deep, wet crack and felt my left leg crumple.

It sounded like a carnival strongman had taken a 2X4 soaked in water and broken it over his knee.

I was three-quarters of the way down the mountain and the last thing I remember was my face smashing into the iced-over apex of another mogul, then ... nothing.

I awoke at the bottom of the run, looking at the sky, on the edge of a run-merger lane – skiers and riders blasting past. It was then that I felt the most intense pain of my life. I could tell my left femur was shattered and felt the shards of fragmented bone were piercing the muscle tissue of my quads and thigh.

I looked down. My left ski was still attached but my toes and knee were pointing down into the snow, the heel pointing up toward the clouds. Screaming in pain and with great effort I sat up and removed the ski. Like a corkscrew the leg began to right itself, twisting back to roughly where it should be.

I watched in horror as my foot made a 45 to 50 degree turn so that my toes were once again pointing upward.

Because of a storm I couldn't get an airlift and it was almost two hours before the ambulance arrived. I was taken to the nearest hospital and went into surgery immediately. Three blood transfusions and hours of surgery later I woke up with a plate and screws keeping my left femur together.

This is a picture of the hardware after it broke a few months later, leading to another surgery.

But that night I woke up in the ICU and all I wanted to do was talk to my girlfriend. And whadda know? She wanted to talk to me, too!

Amid the haze of morphine I remember calling her and asking her to come visit me in the hospital. I missed her and I was in a lot of pain.

She said that she couldn't come see me because she'd never driven across the Cascade Mountain passes in the winter and she was too afraid to fly in one of "those little planes."

Then she said her mom thought we should break up. Now I should mention that her mom disliked me intensely and, in my experience, if a girl's friends and/or mother don't like you it doesn't matter if your Gandhi – you're pretty much screwed.

She said that I wouldn't be back that year (something I was in denial over) and then she said it would probably be a good idea for us to see other people. Yeah – see other people!

I told her the only other people I would be seeing were the nurses who came to change my IV.

Now, at this point my impulse control was considerably hampered by the constant intravenous flow of Dilaudid.

I lost it.

I told her I would have never done that to her and in so many words that her mom could go to a very hot place for a very long time ... I told her to never speak to me, that she was dead to me, and that was that.

It took a long time to get over the emotional pain. It took longer to get over the physical pain but the entire experience was one that forced me to grow stronger.

It's an experience that I never wish to repeat but one that I am grateful for all the same. You don't really know how strong you are until you've been tested by something that almost breaks you.

Into the great wide open

2010-05-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

I've been a bad blogger lately. I'm sorry.

But that's because I was kinda unhappy for while. And unlike great writers like Hemingway, Keats and Fitzgerald, nobody wants to read my depressed, alcohol-fueled scribbling.

And also I've been struggling with the blog's identity.

I graduated on Saturday and this blog is about WSU, The Daily Evergreen and Pullman Washington ... but I'm leaving WSU, The Daily Evergreen and Pullman Washington so will "Go Coug-sars" die?

Then again, the blog is more about my perceptions and experiences related to those things and less about the actual objects themselves so maybe the blog will survive the move to ... where ever it is I might be moving to.

And this fact, the fact that I really don't know what I'll be doing in four months, has me panicking too. It's not that I don't have options but is a bird in hand truly better than two in the bush?

What if the bird in hand is the beet beat in Scranton, Pennsylvania (see what I did thur?) and the two in the bush is a sweet gig learning the craft from grizzled old cop shop reporters at someplace cool like the Baltimore Sun or something?

I guess what I'm trying to say is if I had the choice of covering a PTA meeting or getting shot at on a battlefield or ghetto – I would take the hot lead any day of the week.

For me the fear of the mundane is worse than the fear of death but I – like everyone else – am not immune to the all-encompassing fear of the unknown. That's the worst fear there is.

But for now I'm focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and taking every day at a time. And I'll get back to blogging, too.

Air Belle the Hoosier pooch

2010-05-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Playing 21 with my dog is like having two defenders on you at all times. She's the best defense there is.

Music Monday: Coolest video in the world

2010-04-18T23:48:00.000-07:00

The "OK Go" are a product of the Internet. Their first hit was that awesome treadmill music video but with this video they take things to a whole new level.

This video is what would happen if rock n' roll met the board game "Mousetrap" and had an awesomely cool baby.

My Mom is so ...

2010-04-09T02:02:00.001-07:00

My mom is so classy she makes Princess Diana look like Amy Winehouse.

My mom is so kind she makes Mother Teresa look like Stone Cold Steve Austin.

My mom is so good with animals she makes Jane Goodall look like Michael Vick.

My mom is so generous she makes Oprah look like Scrooge.

I wrote my third and final Mom's column for The Daily Evergreen this year and it was bittersweet. I leave as the editor but writing my final mom's column calls to my attention my rapidly nearing rebirth into the real world.

But that's neither here nor there, my Mom is the reason I write this post. Simply put – I lucked out in mom lotto.

She faced adversity. She raised me as a single mother. When she got pregnant she was young, unwed and Catholic – she could have had me taken care of without anyone knowing – if you know what I mean.

Her life would have been much easier. She had an education. She had the freedom to do whatever she wanted.

But she did the right thing. She had me. That’s because she always does the right thing. And that’s why today, I’m the kind of man who does the right thing.

My mom taught me to be a good man, and she did a good job.

Today, I am the man women wish most men were.

I don’t stare at cleavage. I don’t lie. I don’t cheat. I don’t kiss and tell. I don’t call women “honey,” “sweety” or “dear,” and I never refer to them as “girls.” I hold doors. I make eye contact. I listen. I remember things. I’m confident. I’m considerate.

It may sound like I’m bragging. And I am. Oh God, am I ever. But I don’t find it vain to be self aware enough to realize and openly admit I’m a good person. There aren’t many of us out there and what I am is a reflection on the person most responsible for my development – my mom.

I'm stable because she's stable.

So mom, thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you for feeding me. Thank you for taking me to see “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for my 10th birthday, and for bailing me out of jail in high school, and for caring for me for months after I broke my legs.

Mom, you are my role model, my friend, and you’re the coolest person I’ve ever met. Thank you for showing me what real woman acts like.

And the ones that didn't make it:

My mom is so self-reliant she makes Ralph Waldo Emerson look like Paris Hilton.

My mom is so fashionable she makes Lady Gaga look like Ugly Betty.

My mom is so prudent she makes Warren Buffet look like Snooki.

Wing night at Valhalla

2010-04-08T21:59:00.000-07:00

Wednesday night is wing night in Pullman and people get serious about it. Every bar has their spin on the classic finger food but Valhalla Bar and Grill hosts a wing eating contest once a month to crown the king of wings.

This is a video from last night's contest. The guy who wins finishes 20 wings and a pint of beer in 3 minutes and 30 seconds flat. Not gonna lie, it's kinda epic.

I don't envy the indigestion but that is pretty burls.

Things I'm gonna miss about Pullman

2010-04-06T19:16:00.000-07:00

Football.

The spring 2010 semester will be my last in Pullman and even though the football has been dismal since I came to WSU, the whole affair is a whole lotta fun.

Watching practice on my walk to work is one of my favorite things to do.

You no like Pullman?

2010-04-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

UO, USC ... WSU was your last choice, huh?

Music Monday: This is your life

2010-04-05T17:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of my all-time favorite songs. I remember when my mom brought the "Graceland" CD home. It was right after we got our first CD player. We only had three albums. I listened to every song by Paul Simon over and over again.

On my knees, 10-years-old, scrubbing the kitchen floor and singing "and I say losing love is like a window to your heart, everybody sees you blown apart" at the top of my lungs. I didn't even know what those words mean.

I do now.

And it's funny to listen to this song of heartbreak and restlessness as a man – it's not just a catchy tune anymore. I guess a good song can speak to you at any age.

Al reacts to my prank

2010-04-01T21:29:00.000-07:00

In the last post I embedded the April Fool's Day ad I made for The Daily Evergreen's General Manager, Al Donnelly. I advertised free pizza for one but you have call Al and do your best Cougar growl right when he picks up the phone.

Here are his reactions to a few of the voice mails:

Haha, I love April Fool's ...

I love April Fool's

2010-03-31T22:01:00.000-07:00

Every April Fool's Day, the editors at The Daily Evergreen pull a prank on our general manager and WSU faculty member, Al Donnelly.

Usually, we mess with his office, but this year I decided to go a different route and get the public involved. I found some funny images online and the photo editor, Alicia Carlson, made the graphic. After that, I created the ad and the copy editors put it in the paper!

I think it turned out pretty well. Not gonna lie, I think it's a pretty good prank ...

Here's a photo from a previous April Fool's Day, after the editors newspapered Al's office.

If you're reading this you should call Al and give him your best Cougar growl today. That would crack me up ...

Music Monday: What I wish Country was

2010-03-28T21:02:00.001-07:00

Here's an indie country band called The Maldives playing one of their songs called "Goodbye" at Birds on a Wire a few days ago.

Bands like this, The Avett Brothers, Union Station and a few others make me dare to hope that perhaps Country music could become a little less NASCAR and a little bit more artistic and fun to listen to.

You like?

Rocky Votolato plays Pullman

2010-03-27T09:55:00.000-07:00

The Birds on A Wire indie folk music festival in Pullman kicked off last night and I made a point to catch Rocky Votolato while he was performing in Gladish auditorium.

I love simplicity in music and I'm a sucker for Americana so him coming out and playing only acoustic guitar and harmonica, reminiscent of Springsteen, appealed to my musical tastes.

The music was great but I felt out of place. I think my absence of Al Borland flannel, matted indie beard and disdain for life in general gave me away as a non-indie kid.

Between shows I hit Greek row. Something struck me while traveling between these dichotomous worlds – the indie/hipsters at the bottom of the hill seemed like they chose their lifestyle as a reaction to the bros. Yet the bros didn't even consider the hispters.

While waiting for any given artist one could overhear countless faux-intellectual conversations – the ultimate goal of which was to reaffirm every participants' status as a heart-breakingly unique poet Laurette of the new age. There were smelly Birkenstocks, there were ironically pristine work boots – it was annoying.

Yet, while walking to a friend's house, I came to an intersection with massive amounts of broken glass from shattered beer bottles. As I walked up, I noticed two guys on the corner, holding bottles. They looked at me, finished their beers, and hurled their now empty bottles to the pavement and then laughed. A few seconds later a car ran over the broken glass.

It was then that I realized, I don't dislike hispters – I dislike douche bags.

In short, the music was awesome but the company ... not so much.

Follower Friday: Jokes, journalists and politics

2010-03-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

1. Jessica Druck - Jessica is a 20-something blogger from Northern Cali and her blog, "Hello, my name is Jessica" is funny, entertaining and most of all, informative.

I like her use of white space, art and her text formatting - things that when done well, are the hallmark of a good blog.

Reading her posts are like reading the other team's playbook. They give telling insights into the mind and motivations of the modern American female. Not everything is surprising, but as a guy, I have definitely developed more empathy for women because of her blog.

2. GOPBoner - Whoever moderates this Twitter account is a genius. I wish I would have thought to start a fake Twitter account for Rep. John Boehner. If you're not into politics, it was Boehner, the House minority leader, who almost single-handedly held up Democratic legislation during the last few months – inciting the wrath of many.

The day after the historical vote, which the real Boehner abhorred, the GOPBoner Twitter feed got hilariously craaaazzzzyyyy. To wit:

"Dreamt that Jesus was watching me pull the plug on my own grandma. A single tear fell from his eye. We won't stand for this, America."

3. Andrew Zahler - Zahler produces online content for Spokane's paper, The Spokesman-Review. Journalism is undergoing a sea change and guys like Zahler are on the cutting edge of that tide.

Producing online content, reformatting print content for the Web, multimedia, audio, video, SEO, blogging – you name it, Zahler and his counterparts are doing it all in this online age.

The scarcity of jobs in journalism, coupled with the relativity new and obscure body of knowledge it takes to handle the myriad responsibilities in new media, combine to make guys like Zahler marketable in ways that few other journalists are nowadays.

4. MunchyzPullman - Anyone who has lived or partied in Pullman knows the legendary Muchy'Z hot dog. Adorned with grilled onions and cream cheese, it is the ultimate Pacific Northwest drunk munchy.

And their business savvy is admirable, they put their stand right on the sidewalk every weekend and the scent of grilled onions billowing off the grill cannot be ignored by famished local inebriates trekking from one watering hole to another. Munchy'Z just started a Twitter account so I thought I'd give 'em a shout out so local people would know about their Web presence.

5. Dirt_ Nasty - Former gay porn actor, white rapper, comedian, D-list celeb ... Dirt's resume is as varied as it is strange.

He pops up from time to time on cable TV or YouTube but I'd never really paid much attention until I started following him on Twitter. Like many other non-celeb celebs, his Twitter is the best part of his career.

His Twitter bio: "I'm so L.A. I got fake tits" made me laugh. And really that's all you can ask for, y'know?

Good music, near and far

2010-03-23T21:58:00.000-07:00

Spoon is the band Wilco wishes it could be. And American rock ‘n’ roll is alive and well – it just doesn’t get enough attention.

Spoon, a 17-year-old band from Austin, Texas, has seven studio albums under its belt. The latest album, “Transference,” is proof that when recording, the band knows exactly what they’re doing.

And, man, they are good at what they do. I hate to rag on Wilco, and if you’re a fan of Jeff Tweedy, I apologize if I’ve offended you. It’s just that when I first heard Wilco, it was love at first listen.

The fifth album, “A Ghost Is Born,” was simply amazing. But since then, they’ve adopted a sound reminiscent of the Eagles after being roofied.

Every time a Wilco song comes to that point where I want them to start jamming and get into it, maybe give me some tasty licks with strained vocals, they devolve into a meandering bird walk of acoustic guitar picking. It’s frustrating.

Spoon, on the other hand, sounds like Wilco’s tough older brother, the kind of child who would beat you up if you took Wilco’s lunch money.

Spoon produced “Transference” themselves, and it has a homemade organic charm that is instantly magnetic. It doesn’t have that studio polish that I loathe. Instead, you can hear that this group of guys has gotten extremely good at playing together, and they have fun doing it. I confess that I wasn’t really a Spoon fan until “Transference” came out. I own more Wilco albums in fact.

That all changed when I stopped at Starbucks on my way out of town for spring break. On impulse, I did something I told myself I’d never do – I bought music from Starbucks. I had been listening to individual tracks online, and in a moment of weakness, I purchased the overpriced CD sitting next to the biscotti and chocolate-covered coffee beans. Yet once I got to my truck, I was consoled by track after track of hypnotic rhythms, cryptic lyrics and creative guitar hooks. If you don’t want to get the whole album, I would definitely recommend checking out the biggest single from that album, “Written in Reverse,” and my other favorite “The Mystery Zone.”

And of course, if you’re in town this weekend and you’re not planning on going to Steropathic Music’s Birds on a Wire music festival here in Pullman, I just feel bad for you because you’re going to miss out. Seriously.

Rocky Votolato, Justin Townes Earle, Damien Jurado, Joe Pug, basically my entire Pandora music catalog, are going to be here, the wheat-swaddled armpit of Eastern Washington.

Why you ask? I have no idea either, but I’m going to be there with bells on.

Of course, that’s not the entire lineup. It’s a two-day music festival, and there are 32 acts in all. However, it is a folk music festival, so if flannel button-ups, indie beards and heartfelt acoustic musings brought to you from a cabin in the wild wood aren’t your thing, that’s cool.

But Spring is in the air, the girls are looking fine, and after that first week back in class, it’s going to be nice to grab a cold beer and listen to some good music.

See you on the streets this weekend – and keep rockin’.

And here's a video of Joe Pug singing one of his best known songs, "Hymn 101," it's sick.

This column originally ran in The Daily Evergreen.

My bionic dog

2010-03-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

My dog is the best personal trainer there is. She can run and jump. She's agile and fast. But she will eat dead things. Only downside.

I took her running today and decided to see if I could out-sprint her. Didn't work.

D.E. Life editor and fellow blogger Morgan Smith started calling her "the bionic dog" and I think the term fits.

Music Monday: Too legit to quit

2010-03-21T21:39:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite music video in the whole world. And Zach Galifianakis is my favorite comedian in the whole wide, wide, wide world.

I've been a fan of Z.G. for a long time, I started watching his stuff after I broke my legs and was on morphine. It was legal but I was blown away. I totally dug him from the first moment I saw his stand up. I'm so glad they both got popular because of the same movie.

I think this music video is too little known. It must be remedied.

I gotta join a band!

2010-03-20T13:47:00.000-07:00

I hung out with my old roomy, Dan Paris, in Seattle last night. He's in a band. Here are some clips from our prefunk/jam session last night.

You can hear us all talking a bit before they start playing.

The guy on the keyboard is named James. He's a musician, writer and music blogger. His blog, seattlemusicblog.com, is pretty cool. You should check it out.

The guy in the green shirt is Bill, he was playing with this Casio 606 drum machine.

You know in that song by Outkast, where he goes, "well I know you rocking that 808"? He's talking about an old school drum machine – this machine is that machine's grandpa.

The band rents a studio space in a large building that caters to bands that need a place to practice. The bands decorate their cubicles of sound to their taste and this was the first I noticed when I walked in and met these guys:

It's a painting by the lead singer, Jessie, who I didn't meet. But even though we went to an art house/bar later, this was the most interesting piece I saw all night. It originally struck me as nothing more than a artistic-looking girlie poster, something you might see hanging in a dude's garage.

But as you look deeper you can see there are hidden things in the painting.

The woman's image was taken from a magazine titled, "Finally Legal," which I think fits the theme. It's as if you, the reader, where waiting for years, parked in a station wagon outside this girl's high school – just waiting for her to turn 18. It's creepy as shit.

You can see an animal skeleton on the middle right edge of the painting. Meaning she is nothing more than a carcass, something to be used and discarded. I think it's an interesting commentary on the way that we, as a society, treat women.

We would never systemically rape women, like warlords and despots in Africa, but we have no problem psychologically raping entire generations of women through the deceit and commerce-driven guile of a lifetime of reinforced negative messages.

We put so much pressure on the American woman to conform to an unattainable image of beauty and lust that it is nothing more than mental foot biding. But rather than being able to actually see the gnarled, mutated remains of the damage our advertising, agendas and reinforcement, one can only wonder to the extent of mental damage any given female under the age of 40 has had to endure.

It's criminal. And I never meant to get into a tirade about the way we treat out sisters and mothers but that painting got me brooding on the subject. Hope you like the band!

Oprah loves it. I love it. Ezell's Chicken.

2010-03-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

Word on the street is that when Oprah craves fried chicken, she has Ezell's from Seattle flown in specially. After trying it for the first time yesterday I can see why.

It's deep fried, crispy and glorious. The meat is plump and juicy on the inside and the outside is crispy and delicious. It will make you believe in God.

I've got a new must-stop-at place in Seattle. I'm just glad there's not an Ezell's in Pullman because I would be dead of a heart attack before I hit 25.