The Hunger Games Was Almost Too Good

The Hunger Games was good; almost too good.

Let me explain.

Lionsgate's film adaptation of the Suzanne Collins book was spot on!  The producers should be congratulated for matching the novel's tone so well.  Every characters was portrayed exactly how I imagined them from reading the story.  Everything was perfect, which is the one problem with this movie.

Don't get me wrong, I loved it!!  The acting, cinematography, writing and directing were all fantastic! It's just that, if you had read the book, there were really no surprises.  I usually complain that filmmakers take too much liberty when converting something from the written page to celluloid, but in the case of The Hunger Games they could have done a little more. 

To us the old "it's not you, it's me" cliché; maybe I'm the problem.  It is possible that I need to stop reading books that eventually get made into movies.  Case in point; the last film I saw was John Carter.  Hardly knew anything of the story and enjoyed it immensely!   

Or, I need a book and movie buffer zone.  I did just finish The Hunger Games a couple weeks ago, so a bigger grace period between novel-reading and movie-going possibly needs to be implemented.

One final possibility is that I should start watching more bad movies, which almost never happens with me.  That way, when a "better" film like The Hunger Games comes around it really stands out.

Again, to be clear, this movie is just about perfect, except for, it's maybe too perfect? 

By the way, I really hope Jennifer Lawrence gets nominated for a ton of awards for playing such a strong female role in Katniss Everdeen.  And that Hollywood finally wakes up and realizes that moviegoers like to see heroic female characters such as this.

So, in conclusion; go see The Hunger Games!  It's exactly the movie you were expecting, if you've read the novel.  For those who haven't, you may like it even more.

Before You See 'John Carter'

I've been looking forward to seeing Disney's film adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs story of John Carter for a long time!  As the release day got closer I kept on seeing stories about how the movie was tracking negatively and that it might be a complete failure.  But there were also positive signs, including  reviews about how good the film was.

Now, after finally seeing John Carter I'm happy to report that those in the later camp were right!  It was really a great movie but, before you see it, here's a few things to know.

Keep in mind that I've not read any of the Barsoom series of novels or knew much about the story going into the film. If you want to enjoy it as much as I did, do the following.

Suspend all disbelief.


Forget what you know about science or anything you've ever learned about Mars.  Accept the fact that there is life on the red planet (Barsoom,) and that humans have super strength and abilities more than he or she would on Mars, given the gravitational conditions.

Enjoy the ride.


Buckle up, make sure your hands are inside the vehicle at all times and don't forget to drink the magic water that allows you to understand the languages spoken on Mars.  What I did was accept everything that was presented to me as fact and just enjoy the ride.  The less analysis you do, the better off you'll be.

It's a fantasy.

The filmmakers were smart for not getting too bogged down in details or technobable.  I think if you were to try to explain every little thing it would ruin the magic. And that's why I'm not calling John Carter a science fiction.  It's a fantasy.

Reasons I like the movie.


Okay, now the specific things that I liked about John Carter...

- It was shot beautifully!  From real life sets to the computer generated kind everything just looked stunning.  I even liked the look of the 3D, which it was converted to.

- It was funny!  You wouldn't think it, judging from all of the "action" trailers of Taylor Kitsch fighting the baddies but there were a lot of humorous moments in John Carter.  And, not funny ha, ha either, or pratfalls but comedy that just felt natural.  The characters and actors seemed to have a really good chemistry.

One of my favorite parts in the movie was early on when the Union Colonel (played by Bryan Cranston), was trying to  get the former Confederate Captain Carter to work for the Army.  John kept on escaping, which was presented in a quick series of cut takes.

I was also very impressed with Taylor Kitsch too.  I've been a fan of his for a while from his time on Friday Night Lights and this role really cements him as an action star of the future.

And last but not least, the character of Dejah Thoris (Princess of Helium) played by Lynn Collins was a strong female protagonist who was not only beautiful but also smart (a scientist.)  She is a really good role model for young girls going to see this movie.

So take with you what I wrote here to John Carter!  You'll be glad that you did.

Retro Robots

So, I thought it would be a cool thing to do kind of a follow-up blog to my last entry about retro rockets but this time post some pictures of retro robots.

I think they are equally as cool love the nostalgic feel.  When the singularity finally comes, I for one will welcome our retro robot overlords.

Startling Comics #49 from 1948

Art by Brian Despain

From Robots.net

Retro Rockets and Stuff

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is retro looking rockets and stuff.  Basically art created in the past depicting what they thought things in the future might look like, especially spaceships and robots.  This post is a collection a few images that I found online.

From vintagefuture.tumblr.com

From darkroastedblend.com

From blog.smithsonianmag.com

From darkroastedblend.com

What The Web - Tubalr

If you're like me, you probably love YouTube.  I could spend hours (and have) going from video to video, discovering what's new, or like some are doing lately, using YouTube as a music player.  The only problem with the that is, you need to be constantly clicking from one clip to the next, or take the time to build a playlist.

Well, not anymore, thanks to Tubalr.com

If you've never heard of this website, there's a good reason for it; they're brand new.  Debuting just recently, Tubalr, (a mashup of YouTube and Tumblr,) creates custom playlists based on a keyword search.  Get back only videos specifically for what you were looking for, or search for similar clips as well.  It's your choice, and really takes the time and effort out of looking for the right videos.

Tubalr is a bit deceiving at first because it's billed as mainly a music discovery service but, along with Lady Gaga or Metallica, you can also type in virtually anything.  For example, I searched for Simon Pegg and spent the next hour watching everything from a rare standup comedy appearance of his from 1995 to a bunch of recent interviews with the actor.

It's fun but be warned, Tubalr is definitely a time suck.  

Oh, and the website doesn't have a smartphone app yet but I tested it on my iPhone and you will be able to use it via the Safari browser.

Greetings From 2112

Hello from the future!  I've commandeered this persons web log to communicate with you, the people of the 21st century to assure you that humans do survive past 2012.  After reading some of the history files of your era that whole Mayan calendar thing seemed like a big deal so I just wanted to put your minds to rest.

Let me back up a little.  The Mayans were right, our world did come to an end on December 21st but luckily there was a fleet of alien ships waiting to rescue us.  The Creeedithoscarlats were a race of creatures that were big fans of the television transmissions that we beam into space from Earth, particularly those of a show called "Jersey Shore." They wanted to meet someone named "Snooki" so we really have to be thankful for bad taste.  The Creeds had heard about the possible end of the world through the broadcasts and thought they should come, just in case the predictions came true.  Wow, what are the chances right?

Anyway, here we are on Earth 2.  Yeah, it's not a very creative name but after the war of 2015 over what to call our new home, the Democrats and Republicans compromised on something simple and easy to remember.  Oh, I forgot to tell you, after the move it was decided that our new world would be governed by the U.S. leaders.  The educations system hasn't been the same since.  

2112 will mark 100 years and we're planning a big anniversary celebration this coming December. The first thing our scientists did, thanks to the mandatory DNA storing bill of 2013, were to clone the members of Canadian rock band Rush, so they could perform their album 2112 in it's entirety.  The cloning process isn't exactly perfect and Neil Pert 2 doesn't keep time as well as the original so his android counterpart is standing by, just in case things don't go as planned.

Speaking of androids, Steve Jobs Mark IV will also be appearing at the anniversary.  Of course he'll be at a different location and it won't part of the official celebration.  He's expected to announce the iPhone 104S, rumored to be even smaller than the iPhone 104 but it may also just be a software upgrade since it was just last year that the device became something that is now implanted in a persons brain.  Of course the Apple faithful will get the surgery again but experts believe most new business will come from people switching over from Windows Phone.

So, there you have it, the news from 2112.  I'd better wrap this up before the singularity I'm using to transmit this back through time closes.  One more thing though, Google+ does survive but now it's called Google Infinity.

Happy New Year.   

Life In A Day

I just got done watching the YouTube movie Life In A Day and all I have to say is WOW! Sorry for yelling but I was blown away by this film.

In case you're not familiar with Life in a Day, it's a crowd-sourced documentary film comprising an arranged series of video clips selected from 80,000 clips submitted to the YouTube video sharing website, the clips showing respective occurrences from around the world on a single day, July 24, 2010.

In my opinion this movie should be required viewing for everyone living on this planet.  Not only because it shows how similar we all are but at the same time demonstrates our differences. For example, one segment featured a wife separated from her husband, who is serving in Afghanistan and at the same time in Kabul a young Afghani photographer gives a tour of his city to show how hopeful he is for the country's future.

The film was put together in chronological order and showed the daily life of people from all across the globe, performing all the same tasks you and I do on a daily basis.

Life In A Day was beautiful and gross at the same time, from the father and child waking up somewhere in Asia and saying good morning then lighting incense for the mother and wife they had lost.  To the killing in the slaughter house of a cow in a scene that seemed to last forever.

It was also both sad and uplifting, from the little boy earning his living shining shoes on a Saturday, to the montage of births, both human and animal.

I believe that if everybody saw this documentary, there would be a little less war and a tad bit more peace in the world.  

Go ahead and watch Life In A Day now below.

Twin Cities Native Trying To Get Back Home

In the United States there are a lot of people without jobs, including me so I wanted to take this opportunity to tell my story in the hopes of maybe someone in the position to hire will read this and, you know...

My name's Dave Nelson and I'm a former radio DJ.  Early in 2011 I lost my job (due to a Borg invasion of my planet) and for a few months looked for another position within my industry.  Realizing that the broadcast landscape had a lot fewer jobs available than the last time I was on the market and for the fact that I've always wanted to return home, I decided to make a career change and focus on finding employment in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) metro area.

Me At One Of My Radio Jobs

Let me tell you something, making a career transition is hard.  Surprisingly more difficult in fact than killing that zombie last night. I can only imagine that a lot of potential employers look at my resume, see all those radio stations I've worked at and move on to the next candidate.  I'm here to tell you though that I can do a lot more than turn knobs and talk into a microphone.

Below is a compilation of additional skills and qualities.

- Familiarity and experience with the complete Microsoft office suite of services.
- Hands on knowledge and experience with multi-line phone systems.

Okay, for the rest I'll just list each thing without going into too many details.

- Fax and copy machine.
- Vampire hunting.
- Outlook email and Google Apps.
- X-Wing Fighter pilot.
- Social media management (Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube, etc.)
- Website maintenance.
- Basic HTML.
- Time-Traveling Expert.
- Video shooting and editing.
- Digital photography.
- Secret Super Powers.
- Voice-over and audio editing.
- eBay and e-commerce.
- Basic office work (filing, mailing, etc.)
- Stand-Up Comedy

Me Doing Stand-Up Comedy

Now for the qualities.

- Hard working.
- Quick learner.
- Independent while working well with others.
- Detail oriented.
- Devoted and determined.
- Responsible.

As one final plea I'd like to say that I'm from the Twin Cities area but haven't lived there in 20 or so years.  All of my family lives there and would love to be able to just hop in my car and be at Thanksgiving dinner within a few minutes, instead of a few hours.  I'd use some kind of teleportation device but those haven't been invented yet.

Me With My Brother and Sisters

When I'm not pleading for a job I like to surf the web, take pictures, communicate with spirits, read and watch sci-fi, travel to alternate realities, listen and create podcasts and many other fun things.

So, again, if you're in the position to hire and think my skills match your job, please send me a message HERE

Thank you.

Dave.

P.S. Despite all the funny things that were included within the text of this blog post, I assure you that I'm a normal and well adjusted human being.

The Undead Diary

Let's create a brand new zombie story for the Halloween season this year. I'll start it and the best comment will determine the way it continues. 

It was the one thing that Al Gore never mentioned in his climate change movie; I guess because he didn't know. Hell, none of us knew that it was lying in wait. 

In the year 2026, as the world's temperature rose and the ice caps melted, something buried long ago, deep beneath all that ice was exposed again. Some scientists believe it's actually what killed off the dinosaurs but that's a debate for another time. This contagion, which was locked in a frozen prison for millions of years, was now free to be picked up by the wind and carried to all corners of the globe. 

The disease was first presented as some form of exotic flu, with rather typical symptoms, cough, fever, etc, until it's final stage. By that time the patient, who all along had no hunger or thirst now exhibited an appetite for human flesh. The nurse, who was changing exhibit A's iv was the first victim of human to human transmission of the virus; as far as we knew. After that first bite, the disease spread rather rapidly. The only people who seemed immune from this contagion were...

How do you think this story should continue?

10 Myths About Introverts

I'd very much consider myself an introvert and to know me and others like me read the following.

10 Myths about introverts

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun. 

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts. 

A world without Introverts would be a world with few scientists, musicians, artists, poets, filmmakers, doctors, mathematicians, writers, and philosophers. That being said, there are still plenty of techniques an Extrovert can learn in order to interact with Introverts. (Yes, I reversed these two terms on purpose to show you how biased our society is.) Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

Note - I did not write this but couldn't find the original author or source but whoever it was, thank you!

What The Web for Tuesday, September 13th, 2011

Hi and welcome to a feature which I hope to make a regular thing here on theinterdave.com and it's called What The Web.  Every once in a while I'll be highlighting sites and/or apps that I think will make an impact in the future.  Today I have two.

The first is You Now, which is described as a self-promotion live-video social entertainment platform.  Basically the website combines the competitive elements of American Idol and the Gong Show.  You can perform and get your act voted up or down or watch others and become the judge yourself.  So far there are two categories, Music and Talk.  Coming soon, Confessions and Comedy.  It's an awesome concept that I hope gets some traction.


 http://www.younow.com

I also wanted to spotlight Turntable.fm 

It's a website and iOs app that allows users to interactively share music. You can either create or join a "room," and become a "DJ," who then chooses the songs to be played or you can just listen and vote the songs up or down.  Get enough "down" votes and the next DJ gets to pick a song.  Each room usually has it's own theme.  It's like being at a party where everybody is fighting over the musical selections, but in a good way.


The reason I think both of these services will succeed is because of their interactive and social aspects.  


Whether you're a performer, critic or both, you'll love You Now and Turntable.fm

Restroom Wall Poetry

Here's the kind of stuff you get on the walls of trendy coffee shop restroom walls.

This was at Mapps Coffee, 1808 Riverside in Minneapolis.

My Fall TV Picks

Wow does time fly or what?  The fall TV season is already here!  I've gone through the schedule of new shows and picked the ones I'm looking forward to.  By no means is this any kind of prediction for which ones are going to last or a review blog.  It's just the series premieres that I'm looking forward to.  


Free Agents


Premieres September 14th at 10:30/9:30 p.m. CT and will air Wednesday nights at 8:30/7:30 CT on NBC starting September 21st. 

Based on the British comedy series of the same name, it follows the lives of two public relations executives, a recently divorced guy and a woman trying to move on after the death of her fiancee, who discover that they seem to have an attraction for each other, even after having slept together during a drunk-filled one night stand, while at the same time trying to stay professional at work, where their friends will do anything to get them to re-enter the dating scene.


New Girl


Premieres September 20th and will air Tuesday nights on Fox at 9/8 central.

The show will star Zooey Deschanel as Jessica "Jess" Day, a well-liked, bubbly, and adorable woman in her late 20s who is trying to get over her surprise breakup with her model boyfriend. She eventually finds a new place to stay when she moves in with three single guys, who try to help her learn about love, life and herself, while at the same time learn a lot about themselves.


Person Of Interest


Premieres September 22nd and will air Thursday nights on CBS at 9/8 central.

Based on a screenplay by J.J. Abrams and Jonathan Nolan the show, which stars Michael Emerson, Jim Caviezel and Taraji P. Henson follows a mysterious billionaire who has developed a computer program that predicts the identity of a person connected to a violent crime that will take place some time in the future. However, the program has its limitations: for example, it cannot predict whether the person will be a victim, perpetrator, or witness, nor can it predict when or where the crime will take place. 


Pan Am


Premieres September 25th and will air Sunday nights on ABC at 10/9 central.

Is centered around the iconic airline Pan American World Airways during the 1960s. The period drama, from writer Jack Orman (ER) and director Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing), will focus on the pilots and flight attendants working for the world-famous airline in 1963.


Terra Nova


Premieres September 26th and will air Monday nights on Fox at 8/7 central.

The show begins in the year 2149, a time when all life on planet Earth is threatened with extinction. In an effort to save the human race, scientists develop a time machine allowing people to travel 85 million years back in time to prehistoric Earth. The Shannon family join the tenth pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first human colony on the other side of the temporal doorway. However, they are unaware that it's in the middle of a group of carnivorous dinosaurs.


Grimm


Premieres October 21st and will air Friday nights on NBC at 9/8 central.

Set in present-day Portland, Oregon, the series puts a new twist on the stories of the Brothers Grimm in which a homicide detective learns that he is a descendent of a group of hunters known as "Grimms", who fight to keep humanity safe from the supernatural creatures of the world. Upon learning of his destiny and that he is the last of his kind, he has to protect every living soul from the sinister storybook characters that have infiltrated the real world.


Once Upon A Time


Premieres October 23rd and will air Sunday nights on ABC at 8/7 central.

The series is loosely inspired by the classic fairy tale stories except set in the present day. The stories hold a key to the mystery that will draw a bail bonds collector and the son that she gave up for adoption 10 years earlier to a New England town called Storybrooke, Maine. This town is actually a parallel world in which fairy tale characters look like normal people and don't remember their true identities or anything about their true lives.

My 80's New Wave Mix Tape

I grew up in the 80's and lived through the New Wave era.  Recently I've gotten nostalgic for that time and as a result is the list below.

It's an 80's mix tape that I'm going to work on putting together.  Obviously it's not actually going to be on tape but I plan on putting these together in an iTunes playlist.  If you can think of anymore that I should add, feel free to leave your suggestion in the comment area.

So, in no particular order...

Everybody Have Fun Tonight - Wang Chung

West End Girls - Pet Shop Boys

Saved By Zero - The Fixx

Head Over Heels ~ Tears For Fears

Come On Eileen ~~ Dexy's Midnight Runners

Safety Dance ~~ Men Without Hats

Pop Musik ~~ M

99 Red Balloons ~~ Nena

Tainted Love ~~ Soft Cell

Don't You Want Me ~~ The Human League

Always Something There To Remind Me ~~ Naked Eyes

In a Big Country - Big Country

Perfect Way ~~ Scritti Politti

Love Plus One ~~ Haircut 100

Alive & Kicking ~~ Simple Minds

The Look Of Love ~~ ABC

Desire (Come And Get It) ~~ Gene Loves Jezebel

Just Like Heaven ~~ The Cure

I Melt With You ~~ Modern English

Tenderness ~~ General Public

I Ran (So Far Away) ~~ A Flock of Seagulls

Dance Hall Days ~~ Wang Chung

Enjoy The Silence ~~ Depeche Mode

Obsession ~~ Animotion

Poison Arrow ~~ ABC

Friday I'm in Love ~~ The Cure

True ~ Spandau Ballet

Let’s Go ~ Wang Chung

Don’t You (Forget About Me) ~ Simple Minds

What Have I Done To Deserve This ~ Pet Shot Boys

Our House ~ Madness

C’mon Eileen ~ Dexys Midnight Runners

Der Kommissar ~ After The Fire

Sunglasses At Night ~ Corey Hart

Rock Me Amadeus ~ Falco

One Thing Leads To Another ~ The Fixx

What About Me ~ Moving Pictures

If You Leave ~ OMD

Dancing in Heaven (Orbital Be-Bop) ~ Q-Feel

Shout ~ Tears For Fears

To Live And Die In L.A. ~ Wang Chung

The Great M&M Debate

I recently had a discussion with my sister about which variety of M&M was better.  Each of us agreed dark chocolate was best, but after that is where we parted ways.  Patty is more in the peanut camp where I lean plain in my liking.

This got me thinking: how many more iterations of the Mars candy treat were there and how would I rate them.  Here's my list.

• Almond - Last resort.
• Peanut Butter - Gotta be in the right mood.
• Pretzel - Too new to tell.  Have only had them once.
• Coconut - Never!!
• Crispy - Discontinued.

There's also been wild cherry and mint crisp but those were limited edition so they kind of don't count.

By the way, an 11.08 oz bag of Wild Cherry M&M's will run you about $15.00 American on Amazon right now.

I then thought, what other types of M&M's could be made.

How about fudge or caramel? Maybe Macadamia nuts or cashews?  Although, with the later of those last two the candy wouldn't retain it's traditional shape.

So, what about you?  Which flavors or ingredients would you like to see put into an M&M? 

This Week's Re-Mixes

Something got into me this week because I did two different Internet remixes.

First, I'm a big fan of the Twit.tv network and in particular their love of wearing fezes so I put together a video, combining footage from their various netcasts with the song "Doin' The Twit" and a sound bite from Doctor Who.  Check it out below!

Next, I found this picture of a little kid with his fist in the air and it reminded me of another photo so I combined the two.

Please tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

A Geek Or Not A Geek?

A geek, or not a geek; that is the question!  Well, maybe for most people it's not but it's something I've been wondering lately.  What makes a geek?

Well, here's a test.  You might be a geek if anything in the song below struck a chord.

Oh, that didn't help?  Okay, let's continue the anatomy of a geek then.

I asked on Google Plus the other day "When did you realize you were a geek and why?"  Frank Garufi Jr answered with; When most of my short term goals revolved around something tech. And pretty much every piece of tech was going to help me accomplish my long term goals!  (Something I would've said.)


Meanwhile Stephanie Winans responded with  I just realized I'm a geek at dinner tonight... I made a new recipe I found online. My first thought after that initial delicious bite was "man, this is great... I'm gonna like it on Facebook".


Which of those two do you think is the geek?  Frank is because he's obsessed with technology, something that still isn't that mainstream.  Sure, everybody pretty much uses tech in some form but it sounds like he lives and breathes it, which the average human usually doesn't do.  

See, in my opinion the definition of a geek is someone who is obsessed with something that usually isn't socially acceptable, or "normal."  When someone says "Oh, I'm such a scrap-booking geek" or "Man, I really geek out over baseball," they aren't really being geeks.


For me it's science fiction and knew I was a geek the first time sitting down to watch Star Trek re-runs on a Sunday afternoon back in the 70's.  On one arm I have a tattoo of the symbol for the Klingon Empire and on the other the emblem for the Battlestar Galactica.     

Lately geeks have started to become more "chic" but don't let that fool you, we'll always be socially awkward, another geek trait.  


Now, about those nerds!

Story 2/Chapter 3 – Back In "The Cave"

Whew, made it back to “The Cave!” That’s the little nickname my friend Lyn came up with for the apartment I live in; because it’s where I’m the most comfortable and feel safest. If you were to study me, like an animal, my behavior might remind you of a bear in hibernation. As long as the kitchen and refrigerator were well stocked, I could go days without venturing into the outside world. It’s a very calm place to be! My cat Destiny also lives here with me.

Anyway, while still lost in thought and confusion about this supposed double of mine and just the freakiness of the whole thing, a beeping noise brought me back to reality. It was an iPhone notification saying I had an un-read email message waiting.

The message was from my friend Markus: a reminder about his daughter’s high school graduation and the fact that he wanted me to shoot video at the ceremony, to then edit it down to something he can post on You Tube. For the love of Pete, can’t people do these things for themselves? I mean, it’s not that hard! Between you and me I’m thinking about making up some excuse that I can’t be there. You see, there’s a science fiction convention happening the same night and would much rather check that out!

I still can’t believe my friend from high school has a kid graduating from the same place we came out of! So, what the hell happened to me? Divorce, that’s what: and wasting the best years of my life on…nothing!! It’s moments like these that I always go back to what could’ve been, and Son Hui, my first love, and the woman I almost married. That’s when I did it again; put her name into Google to see what would come up. This was a regular exercise with me; that seemed to be happening more and more these days.

As yet one more fruitless search continued, another email notification popped on the screen. Oh man, he doesn’t give up does he; thinking it was Markus messaging me again. It wasn’t, but instead something from an address that wasn’t in my contacts or didn’t look familiar in the least.

Here's the screen capture.

My Employment Package

As my day job, when I have one, I'm a radio announcer.

Below are some audio samples of my work.  I've been unemployed since March 2011 so if you're in a position to hire or know of somebody who can, I'd also be able to provide you with a resume.

Story 2/Chapter 2 – Like Looking In A Mirror

I almost lost control of my car! The swerving to my right was convenient anyway since I’d decided to circle the block to get a second look. My Hyundai had never been driven this much like a race car in its life, at least in the five years I’ve had her. We blew through 2 stop signs and a yellow light in order to catch up to him again.

Oh my God, I wasn’t seeing things; the man walking down the sidewalk was my exact twin! Well, not a precise duplicate because this other me was wearing a suit and fedora. To tell you the truth, it looked as though he had stepped right out from the late 50’s or early 1960’s.

The tires gripped the curb again, startling me back as my neck twisted around to face the road in front of me.

Alright, I’ve got to get one more look, just to be sure. Around the corner I went for a second time but instead of backtracking I’d drive ahead so the car would face him going the other way; and, no need to be Mario Andretti either.

As the vehicle slowly approached “me,” I got more and more nervous. My hands were physically shaking! As his face came into focus we locked eyes. Holy crap, he saw me! As I sped away my mind kept going back to that saying about everybody having one twin in the world, but you never hear of it actually coming true. This guy could be mine!

I grabbed a doughnut and quickly devoured it.

Story 2/Chapter 1 – First Trip

I hate waking up hungry, because it usually means there’s absolutely no food in my kitchen and I’m going to have to go to the store right away, which I did on this particular morning. First thing; clothes. Damn; got to remind myself to get to the Laundromat, soon!

Stepping out of the door the light seemed more intense, and kind of fuzzy, like it used to look on hangover mornings back in my drinking days. I got in the car and let my instincts take over. It’s kind of like turning on the auto pilot now, with how many times I’ve been that same Kwik Trip 15 blocks away. My 2005 Hyundai Accent just takes me there and before I knew it we were pulling into the parking lot and struggling to find an empty space, like is always the case.

Knowing exactly what I wanted my body walked right to the cake droughts and chocolate milk. I scanned the shelves anyway, just in case there was something else there that peaked my interest. There wasn’t so I proceeded directly to the checkout line. Thank God there was no one else waiting so the food was paid for in record time and was quickly out the door and on my way home again.

I cracked open the 4 for a dollar pastries and sipped on the milk which made me a little more aware of my surroundings during the return trip. It was a Sunday morning so there weren’t a lot of people out on the streets or sidewalks which made it easy for me to spot him.

The G in Google Stands For Getting To Know Your Neighbors

By now I'm sure you've heard about Google Plus; in fact you have have signed up and are enjoying the world's newest social network, but did you know it's also a great way to get to know your neighbor too?  No, really!

Above is a screen grab of the Safari version of G+ from my iPhone.  As of when this is being written the iOs app is still awaiting Apple's approval but the mobile web version is pretty damned good and as you can see I circled the word "Nearby." When you click on that it takes you to status updates and things people have shared publicly from YOUR AREA.  (If you want to be part of that though make sure to grant Google permission to use your location data.)

To bring this discussion back around again to my original point; say you're new to a city and don't know any of your neighbors.  You go to the "nearby" stream on Google + read a post from someone that's perhaps in your neighborhood, you add them to one of your circles, the two of you become friends and voilà, the social network becomes even more social!

I don't know if the Google folks were thinking of that use case when they thought up the "nearby" feature but if sure seems like a great way to get to know some people you may have never had the chance to meet.

You can find me on Google + at THIS link or on Twitter HERE

Google Plus Twitter Divided By Facebook Equals Better

So, who's using Google Plus by now?  If you answered me, then you're among the 10 Million people who have signed up since the service launched just a mere two weeks ago.  At the rate it's going, and if those numbers stay consistent G+ could be a "Facebook Killer" after all.

But hold on, why should the world's newest social network kill anything?  In the mortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get along?"  And there's no reason why Twitter, Google Plus and Facebook can't.  I know it would be convenient to have one social network to rule them all but there isn't a one that's perfect.

I've found different use cases for each.  Facebook is where my family and friends are.  Twitter is more of a news feed and G+ is really good for conversation.  Social Media and Tech star Robert Scoble did an experiment tonight and found the maximum number of comments per-post on Google Plus is 500.  

Talk about dialog! 

We also can't forget competition breeds innovation.  With the launch of Google + came the introduction of the "hang out," where up to you and 9 friends can video conference all at the same time.  What did Facebook roll out a week later?  Their own video chat service, which is the result of a partnership with Skype.  Granted it's something FB had already been working on but it's a good guess that Mark Zuckerberg and company put the project on the fast track and got it out earlier than they wanted to once they found out what Google was doing.  

Just watch and you'll be able to see the cat and mouse game heat up in the months and years to come.

I'm hoping none of the 3 social networks get killed because with each comes more choice and more innovation.  

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment.

Wausau City Summer Scenes

Here's some pictures I took over the July 4th Weekend in Wausau, WI.

Bench and Fountain at City Hall

Fountain at City Hall

Below are photos of the 400 Block City Square