i decided to be trendy and get a blogspot

goal: one day be one of those "aging hipsters"

school is going to be great this year. i can feel it.

i'm at grand view now, double-majoring in English and what will basically be a combination of photojournalism, photography, and some elements of radio broadcast (i'm hoping to eventually do video and photo documentaries).

this semester is looking like this:
comm151 - reporting
engl318 - global literature
engl231- american literature
relg330- some religions class
hist121- american history up to 1877
+ one credit for the radio show


radio show? that's right! Thursdays @ 8pm on 88.1fm. it'll be mike christiansen and myself for two hours each week. i'm hoping i can not only play some great music, but also get some great musicians in the studio for interviews as much as possible.




oh yeah, and i move in about 20 days.

(hannah, if you see this, please show it to dustin)

i've really been enjoying the controversy over the new Snickers ads with Mr T. here's the ad:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bUxi_Eo6fU&feature=related

the ad has been deemed "homophobic" by a lot of gays, so Mr. T went on Bill O'Reilly's show to defend himself...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXap2twPc-0
(i also love his laugh at the end)


and the remix of one of the snickers commercials:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGVZar5hmMs

someone the other day was talking about how they were concerned about the whole 2012 end of the world thing and i couldn't help but think about the y2k "scare"

party like it's 2011 (<---and why isn't this on a t-shirt yet?)








also, the new Dr. Dog album is pretty fucking great

So June finds me in an interesting place. On one front, I'm working TONS and making more than I have ever made BUT sacrificing any sort of a social life. The little social life I have outside of work is, I hate to say it, a bit unfulfilling. Everyone seems busier than ever this summer, and nobody can really hang out anymore. And when they can, it's not as carefree and fun. For me, summer is halfway over already, though it feels like it hasn't yet begun.

I'm also thinking more and more that I have some serious health problems. Not having any health insurance is preventing me from finding out if those suspicions are true (and what exactly, if anything, is wrong). Just feels like something inside isn't right.



On a lighter note, I got ahold of the new Alkaline Trio cd and it's amazing. So are Saves The Day's Bug Sessions Vol. 2 and 3. I wasn't all that impressed with the new Less Than Jake, but i've kind of been drifting away from the ska-punk-rock stuff for a while now.

Girls seem to be taking more of an interest in me this summer. Not sure why, but it's kind of nice. If i only had confidence and some sort of positive self-image, I'd say things were great.

i think if i'm only scheduled for the weekend on next week's work schedule, i'm going to go somewhere. not sure where yet. but i'm going to go there.

woo, hooray for procrastination! and for being easily distracted (like me posting this entry right now)!

i have a big-ass project due tomorrow for my visual merchandising and design class that i'm sooooooooooo not even close to finishing. i need to learn how to half-ass an assignment quickly. this project i'm dragging my feet on already looks shitty and i've spent all day on it-- preventing me from studying for two final exams that i really should have studied for. LUCKILY, i don't need any of these classes to graduate from DMACC this semester.
i'll probably still get a B in this class, but i could have gotten an A if i just tried a little harder and didn't suck on this project. i also should have hit on some of the ladies in this class because there were some real honeyz. no joke!


-my room is a goddamn mess and it's making me frustrated.

-i can't wait for school to be done and over with (3 days) so i can start doing more gay projects and shit i'll never actually finish.

Some new cds i've downloaded recently:

Thao - "We Brave Bee Stings and All"
:: Great for a sunny afternoon. "Bag of Hammers" is definitely one of the stand-out tracks. Overall it's a pretty solid album. Cute voice.

Throw Me The Statue - "Moonbeams"
:: Like a toned-down, synthy, poppier Thermals. Pretty good and worth getting, but nothing too memorable

The Terrordactyls - "The Terrordactyls"
:: Do you like kazoos? If yes, get this album. Well, get it anyway. Not only are there plenty of kazoos found on this cd, but the actual songs are simple in a great way. A couple of the songs sound like they should have/could have been on the Juno soundtrack- namely "Devices" which features Kimya Dawson singing a duet that sounds like the early version of the Juno hit "Anyone Else But You."

Everybody Else - "1 1/2"
:: Since it was just an acoustic version of the studio album (which I really enjoyed) but with nothing new thrown in, I was a bit hesitant to get this. To my surprise, though, it is pretty well produced. Each song is done in the same style of the original but manages to sound fresh and fun at the same time. Although the drums and electric guitars are absent, much is put in their place to fill the gaps- finger snaps, claps, keyboards, piano, tambourine, and plenty of 'woahs' and 'ahs.' The only thing that sounded off was the over-vibrato-ed harmonica on "I Gotta Run" and background vocals on "Born To Do." Other than that, the ballad "Alone in the World" and clap-happy "Meat Market" are almost better than the originals.

Neva Dinova - "You May Already Be Dreaming"
:: Done in the similar often slurring, slow style as the first full-length, this album is much the same except for one thing. Listening to the lyrics you can tell things still aren't quite okay, but there's at least some hope this time around.

Scissors For Lefty - "Underhanded Romance"
:: The singer made a wise choice trading his whisper (first album, "Bruno") for a dirty, sexual sounding talk-singing voice. Where the first album was pretty quiet, timid indie pop, this one is more like the "ok, seriously, step back and dance and we'll plug in our guitars"-type album. Best tracks would be "Lay Down Your Weapons," "Save It Cory," and "Mama, Your Boys Will Find A Home." So skip their first album for now and give this a listen. It's tough not to like it.

Panic At The Disco - "Pretty Odd"
:: While it may not be the most respected band, I've got to be honest and admit it... I actually like the new Panic At The Disco album. There's no denying they've detoured from the bouncy pop-punk and taken a more mature route as is obvious when listening to the 60s and 70s-influenced rock. But therein lies the problem. Some songs sound too much like other songs. "Northern Downpour" is one of the strongest tracks in my opinion but an obvious part of it sounds like a popular Beatles song ("Hey Jude" anyone?). Also, what is the deal with everybody covering the Zutons' song "Valerie"? There's a live cover of Valerie as a bonus track and other bands have been playing the exact same song as of late (Kate Nash just did the same song on a Spinner.com live video performance not too long ago).

I'm soooooooooooooo close to buying the Amazon Kindle.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FI73MA/ref=sv_kinc_0

Lake Of Fire = fucking brilliant

everyone should see it at some point. just have an open mind and a strong stomach

The pain in my neck is a real brick-shithouse, but hey, what's new.
Also, it would appear warmer than it actually is outside (<-- this effect is really sucks).


I read megan's entry on past entries that had funny pictures (or maybe i'm just assuming this is what part of it was about since i really didn't read it), and it made me think about some of the pictures i've seen in the fairly recent past that i thought were post-worthy.

(fuck the cut [not a reference to the billy short "sex with a c-section" "joke"] also, probably not work-safe)



most of these involve kenny knutson. if you know him, you'll understand why (if you don't know him, he just does the craziest/dumbest shit)




























feel free to comment with other pictures you might want to add

so i was watching Lord Of The Rings: Return of the King and i noticed something for the first time... Bret McKenzie (of Flight of the Conchords) is the elf guide!

also something i found out yesterday, "PC" from the mac commercials is john hodgman, author of "The Areas of My Expertise." i read the book a few months ago and heard him now and then on NPR, but i never made the connection until now. (if you haven't read his book, you should- it's hilarious)


i suppose i'm on some string of finding weird connections with minor celebrities in various areas of media

oh no!

the st pattys day troll escaped!

stagnant water

yo, shit. i'm going to belize in may

DANNY GLOVER!!!
DANNY GLOVER!!!
DANNY GLOVER!!!
SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS!!!

not being nice to customers at work is kind of fun. i make better tips and i have to do less work for them. and it's not that i'm being mean, i'm just not being nice.

The Fratellis - Costello Music is a pretty good cd.
looking forward to the new What Made Milwaukee Famous cd. i heard the single and it's way better than any of their previous material. maybe i'll write some cd reviews for some high school paper or some shit.