Bill O'Reilly IZ DUM

I believe that I have covered this in past blog posts, but I may be one of the greater procrastinators on the planet. During one of my late night procrastipades whilst putting off some chemistry or pre calc assignment, I found myself on YouTube, as I so often do. Somehow, the related video gods on YouTube brought me to a series of clips from the O'Reilly Factor. Now, I've seen enough of Bill O'Reilly in the media and on the Colbert Report and Daily Show on Comedy Central to know that he's a super-conservative and sometimes says some arguable things, however I never really knew the extent of how ludicrous his right-wing views really were until I watched a good half dozen or so of his videos.

After I felt that I had a good understanding of Bill O'Reilly's tactic to argument, I went ahead and posted a tweet that reads as follows: Bill O'Reilly's guide to argument - 1) Fabricate information 2) Cut off opposition mid sentence 3) Get flustered, possibly kick off guest

Perhaps I should elaborate, not only to satisfy the word count but also because I really do have a growing rancor for Bill O'Reilly that needs to be satisfied. First off, how about we discuss the first point of my tweet: fabricated information. It has been noted on numerous occasions that the O'Reilly Factor, really FOX News in general, has fabricated, manipulated, and tweaked information to support their claims, however ambitious. I will leave a few links to back up my claims, as O'Reilly really should do, because I don't want to spend five hundred words illustrating every false accusation that he has made.

Another infamous trait that O'Reilly has that he comes back to time and time again when he hears something that he doesn't like out of his guest's mouth is that he cut them off. Literally in mid-sentence, you will see guests of the O'Reilly Factor get more and more frustrated as Bill repeatedly doesn't allow them to finish their argument. I suppose in theory you have a stronger argument if the other side has an incomplete thesis but when you cut them off yourself it is just plain unprofessional. So, after he cuts them off, Bill likes to morph his position into something that better suits a stance against his opposition. The best I have seen anybody react to this was when John Stewart was debating the criticism that Obama was getting by Fox News for having Common in the White House. When O'Reilly began to speak over him, Stewart simply backed off and made sure that O'Reilly left out his entire debate on the floor. After he did that Stewart was able to trample all over it. By letting Bill think that he has won and getting all he has to say out, Stewart was able to come in, uninterrupted, and deface his argument.

The last thing the O'Reilly does shows more cowardice than either of the first two examples. There have been times where O'Reilly is so defeated that he will either cancel the interview and by making the excuse that he was too upset, which really gets the conservatives all riled up, or he just won't invite a guest on again. Christopher Hitchens was on the O'Reilly Factor and after making Bill look like the little bitch that he is, wasn't invited back. So yeah, I don't like Bill O'Reilly.

Life is Good

Just the other weekend, I drove up to my aunt Kim's house. My grandma was in from Denver and my cousin Brianna was back from UNI. The family went up around 4:00 and left me to drive up on my own after I was done with all the grad parties I had to go to. I get directions to aunt Kim and uncle Gary's house and head up on the highway. The sun is shining and the air is warm so I decide to put on my "old man winter" playlist (the oldies playlist on my iPod). Then I remember two of my favorite summertime songs and set them up in a playlist of their own. If you read the title to this blog you'll know that "Ventura Highway" by America and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" by Crosby, Stills & Nash are those two songs. I've linked them as the song titles in that last sentence and I suggest you check them out if you don't already know them so that you will be able to fully appreciate what I am about to discuss.

Back to the story: It's roughly 5:06 on a Saturday evening and I'm headed up I380 towards Center Point to see my family. By now, I have plugged in my iPod and selected the "old man winter" playlist. I then scroll through the song list and see "Ventura Highway." I go back, create a new playlist and add both "Ventura Highway" and "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" to it. The next twenty or so minutes were absolute bliss. I had never really had a defining point in my life where I had really recognized how great it was to be an American until that day. There are a lot of things wrong with these United States, but freedom is something that has been kept in tact, in some cases improved upon, and something that I can appreciate. In that short drive to Center Point, Iowa, I was more serene than I had ever been. I was content with everything. The music paired with the open road and rolling hills of Iowa was the most beautiful thing I had ever experienced. I saw life for what it was that day, and nothing more. We all are lucky to exist and everyone needs a moment like the one I had to fully appreciate that fact. I know it's silly that a couple of old songs and a drive could invoke such introspective thought but I think that's the point. It's the little things in life that we need to learn to appreciate, as much of a cliche as that already is, it's true.

Hopefully, I can have more of those moments this summer with all of the road trips I aspire to take with all of my friends. Now, it' time for me to go live life. I suggest you do the same.

Sufflemania 1!!!

USHER FUCKING ROCKS. I really don't know why it is that I like Usher so much because he's really not all that different from all the other awful mainstream poppy shit but there is something about that man that just gets me. DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love, minus the Pitbull part, is yet another example of how Usher has kept his relevance and talent over the years. I feel like as long as Usher keeps on making music, I will continue to secretly listen to it in hopes that nobody will find out that I like such an awful artist. Honestly, there is nothing that should make me like Usher, but I am drawn to everything about him. His voice, great dancing, fantastic fashion sense; Usher has swag. Talk about a change of pace, Surfin' Safari by The Beach Boys just came on. I remember listening to The Beach Boys on the big vinyls my aunt still owns after all these years. When I was a kid I would jam out to The Beach Boys all the time but for a period I thought that they were just kiddie and stupid. Now, I appreciate the fun summertime tunes that they have created. Earl Sweatshirt just came on. His music is too angry. I really regret doing this but I think I'll have to skip it. I apologize, I do like Wolf Gang but just not right now, you know how you have to be in a certain mood to listen to some music? Yeah. NEXT. Some more music that Alosha gave me! The Next Time Around by Little Joy, whose drummer is actually Fabrizio from The Strokes, is a good tune. I really haven't had a chance to listen to the lyrics closely but it certainly has a nice melody that makes me happy. And what do you know, The Strokes come on. Probably my favorite band of all time although I don't feel as though I can confidently say that because I'd be alienating a lot of other great bands but still, definitely in my top 3. The song is Last Night and it is a classic from their album Is This Is. I can remember jamming to this with my pals in middle school. Don't you just love when a song brings back a memory? I freaking love nostalgia like that, it just makes me so happy. It's funny how we never fully appreciate how good things are until we hear a song that reminds us how good it was. Last Night is one of those songs for me and I'm glad that it came on TOnight. Yeah, Run DMC came on and I'm not feeling that either. This shuffle session I wasn't really feeling rap. I apologize to those I offended by skipping over the hip hop but it just wasn't me today. Well that's a rap, but before I go, I have hand chosen a song to recommend to all of you. Listen to it cause it's damn good. "All My Friends" - LCD Soundsystem

Discing, Bro

With spring and the air and the snow off the ground, I have started a new outdoor hobby. My friend David had been disc golfing since the past summer with a few of his friends and had really enjoyed it. I had heard of disc golfing previous to my exposure to it this year, in fact, I had even played it at an elementary school birthday party for a friend. I just always thought that it was for creepy shirtless people and stoners. Although I was pretty on point for the most part, I did find that I really enjoyed the "sport" as well and have purchased several discs since.

Disc golfing is a nice kind change of pace activity. It's perfect for lazy days when you still want to be outside and enjoy the sunlight. The wind can be a bitch sometimes, but aside from that it's a pretty stress free game... until you loose a disc. Still, disc golfing is perfect for around 2-5 party members that want to relax and have fun in the company of friends. Discing by yourself has never really appealed to me as being all that fun because it seems like a loner thing to do, but solo discers don't bother me. It's when an entire family reunion takes to the course that I get a little irritated. When there are ten, eleven, up to twenty members in your discing group and many of them have never play the sport the holes are painstakingly slow to play through. I have been held up several times by a large party that can't keep pace and usually I end up skipping holes to speed up the pace.

There are several main courses that I go to here in Cedar Rapids. Clark Park and Shaffer Park are the two that I frequent the most and they both have their differences. Clark Park is an easier course with less foliage and trees. It lays over some hilly terrain but is fairly simple because there are very few obstacles to maneuver. What is lacks in trees, it more than makes up for in wind. Because there is nothing to break the wind, it becomes the most problematic factor in any game that you play at Clark. Still, Clark is a good beginners course that is nice to play around on because you'll seldom get frustrated or loose a disc. Shaffer, on the other hand, is much more terraneous and has tons of trees. It is fairly easy to loose a disc in this course and much more challenging to play. Shaffer also attracts a lot of dirty/drunk people that don't feel the need to wear sufficient clothing, no matter how disgusting their I know that there's a Nascar race.

Ultimate Frisbee

The first time I played ultimate frisbee, or just ultimate for short, was back in freshman year. My good friend Tanner invited me to play with a couple of buddies and because we had nothing better to do, we went to check it out. It's a very competitive and demanding game and if you want to win you'll need to actually apply yourself. We played a lot that summer after freshman year and, being a freshman, I was always one of the youngest there. Regardless, I always found that I would get drafted higher and higher as I proved my value to the team so I was showing signs of improvement. I had a lot of fun that summer but after a lot of the older guys left for college we really didn't play all that much. That is, until this year. This past spring we have started playing again and although my throwing is not yet back up to par, I'm still having tons of fun.

In a nutshell, ultimate frisbee is a passing only football game... only with a frisbee. To explain this better let's use a hypothetical. Image you're playing and you have the frisbee. You have to throw it to one of the other members of your team before the person guarding you, assuming someone is, counts, or stalls, you to ten. If you either throw an incompletion, an interception, or don't throw it in time possession changes and you are on defense. Defense is pretty self explanatory but there are some more advanced techniques that help you become a better defender. On offense though, you're biggest objective is to get open. By faking out or loosing your man you can attempt to find some open space on the field so that your team can move down the field and hopefully score. We typically play games to seven with five people on each team but depending on personel and how everybody is feeling we can adjust the length of the game.

Now that it's junior year and we've started up playing again I can tell that I've gotten better or just more athletic. My defensive skills are pretty up to par but I think that's just because I'm one of the only people who try to defend. I'm exited to keep playing through the summer because a lot of my friends play and if we can get consistant turn outs it should be a fun way to get some exercise.

Jack Johnosn

Let us talk about Jack Johnson. What a guy. He's just sooooo good. All of his music I like. All of it. I know that people say that it's all the same and that is some kind of stereotype for douche bag, college-age "bros" to like Jack Johnson but I guess I have something in common with the bros because I freaking love Jack Johnson. It's just that all of his music is so, and now I'm sounding more like a bro so please excuse me, chill. Yea, some of it's up beat but a high tempo song for Jack Johnson is like a lullaby comparatively to any other artist. I feel like he and I would get along really well. He seems like the kind of guy that would have a very laid back and peaceful approach to life. I think his philosophy might be something that a lot of people could benefit from listening to and living by. Now I'm just speculating about random things, but still I would like to meet this man. What else can we discuss about Jack Johnson. I suppose there is still some potential left in talking about his music so let's go back to that. I'll talk about a few songs and we can see where that takes us. Mediocre Bad Guys is a really great example of a more up tempo Jack Johnson song. It has really nice guitar and percussion that carry it and the lyricism is fantastic. It's another one of those songs where Jack's female companion isn't treating him right and things aren't working out. This is actually something I'd like more to talk about. It's always really weird for me to think about musicians having a love life that they're singing about. I guess it really shouldn't be that foreign of a concept but it's still kind of abstract for me to imagine. Like, who are the girls that Jack Johnson would date? Damn. I just realized that he's not necessarily young and is probably married. When I looked it up on Wikipedia it turned out that he was and has been since 2000. Apparently he married his college sweetheart, Kim. But that's a nicer thought that him dating around, I guess. Oooh, and as I'm now listening to his music shuffle on iTunes the song Little Girl came on. It's such a cute, romantic little tune. Awww. Now I feel lonely. Wow, I've gone through a lot in this one blog. I need to take a little time off, maybe reflect and listen to some JJ. I hope thats an acronym for Jack Johnson that's commonly used or else I look like a moron. But really this is turning into a piece of shit and it's late. Sorry, Ayers, for the shitty post. It won't happen again.

Gibbs Dibbs

Everybody has their own little things they do that make them who they are. Idiosyncrasies, if you will. For instance, if you watch the show Everybody Loves Raymond you'll notice that Raymond's brother, Robert, touches the food on his fork to his chin before each bite. While most people have a few of these strange little habits, I know someone that is quite different in this respect. He IS an idiosyncrasy. This man, ladies and gentleman, is Lucas Ray Gibbs.

Luke Gibbs, or just Gibbs as we so affectionately call him, is by far one of the most interesting people that I have ever met. Born in Independence, Iowa on January 2nd, 1995, Gibbs grew up in the rolling hills and cornfields of small town Iowa. Although familiar with farm life and seemingly fond of the countryside, Gibbs has grander plans for his life journey. A brilliant, although occasionally chaotic and cluttered, mind, he has his sights set on high calibur schools like Stanford and big city dreams. In fact, he has made the generous offer of extending me an invitation to fly out to "The Farm" over the summer for a college visit. A peculiar and somewhat random invitation, perhaps, but this, folks, is why Gibbs is Gibbs.

Enough of this family history bullshit, let's really talk about Gibbs. Aside from having the same name as the black guy in the new TBS show Men at Work, Gibbs is very much an individual. There are a lot of things about him that, at the same time, impress and scare me. He has such an alternative view on things that is at times difficult to understand yet admirable. But it is not how Gibbs thinks that entertains me the most, but it is the things that he does.

Here's a nice textbook Gibbs story for you all, one that's fresh in my mind because lord knows there is no way in hell that anybody could remember every story that boy has told. The more I think about it now, this is less of a story and more of an occurrence in Gibbs' life. Of course, you could argue what is any story but an occurrence but what I mean is that it really isn't that atypical of his experiences, but that is aside the point. Basically all that happened was that one night, while up late in his apartment, Gibbs decided that he had nothing better to do but go to Perkins at 1 AM. While at Perkins Gibbs' discovers that an entire pot of coffee costs not a penny more than $2.29. So, like any rational mind would do, Gibbs decides to purchase said pot of coffee, along with some breakfast, and sits at Perkins for a number of hours playing a Harvest Moon-esque 90's computer game until he has to go to school.

Some think he's crazy, and I'm still on the fence about whether or not I am in that group, but what is certain is that Gibbs is unique. He certainly makes life more interesting by the things that he does, and does with frequency, and I thank him for that.

#FirstWorldProblems

America's biggest problem is that we don't have any. Okay maybe we have a few, but the citizens aren't complaining about the struggling economy or our foreign policy nearly as much as they complain about just plain stupid shit. For instance, there is a girl in a couple of my classes that does nothing but gossip. She is the epitome of an attention whore and can't seem to shut up for more than thirty seconds about all the shit that Jenny was talking and how boys don't treat her like a fucking princess. I just get so sick and tired of hearing all this bullshit day in and day out that I've decided to make my very own post about it. American's are the worlds worst complainers and now we have nothing better to whine about so we have made up our own first world problems.

Let's define some key terms. First off, first world problems are not things that anyone should be talking about ever. They hold no precedence or relevance in any conversation and yet become the topic of many among our fine citizens today. A first world problem is far lower in severity to a third world problem and many of them are either A) not problems or B) small inconveniences that could be easily dealt with. For example, people always like to complain about driving. "Oh my god you would not believe the traffic! I must have hit every red light on the way over!!!" Really. That's it? You were maybe five minutes delayed from what your ideal arrival time would have been and now this is the topic of conversation? What I like to do to combat morons that insist on burdening me with their first world problems is put things in perspective. It's a really good way to shut them up. Had to stay up all night finishing your homework? At least you don't have AIDS. You see, AIDS is a real and pressing third world problem that needs serious attention. When you bring that shit up, you'd be surprised how quickly our first world friends shut up. 

I like to give credit where credit is due and so for this blog post I was inspired by comedian Louis C.K. He is a very funny man and I suggest you check out some of his work. You can find video of his act posted on YouTube. The clip that I am linking to, however, is an interview done on the Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien (or just plain Conan, I forget which). Anywho, it's pretty entertaining, enjoy!

Sorry, I had to add in that some girl in front of me just said, "God, I haven't had Twitter or Instagram for a day... Isn't that so annoying??" What a maroon.

Facebook is for FOOOOLS

I haven't had a Facebook for about six months now. And it's great. I know that Andrew and Henna would like to take credit for me deleting my account but I can truly only give them partial credit. What happened was that Andrew was finding his Facebook to be too distracting and his grades weren't great so he deleted it. Henna then jumped right on that bandwagon and deleted hers too. I had been drifting apart from Facebook for some time because I felt that it was becoming too complicated. There were too many damn changes and things kept on becoming more and more unnecessarily... complicated. So when I saw Andrew delete his Facebook, it gave me the strength to delete mine, and for that I thank him. Basically Henna had no part in me deleting my Facebook account. Yeah, fuck you Henna. You heard.

Anyway, let's talk about the implications of a Facebook free lifestyle. Deleting Facebook today is like moving out to Walden pond. You're disconnected from the world and, you know what, it's kind of nice. I'm not always checking Facebook every ten minutes while I do my homework. Honestly the only thing that I might miss about Facebook is chatting with friends but why talk with people online when you can talk to them in person?? You see, I'm a huge fan of the whole transcendentalist thought movement. You probably noticed my Walden reference (look at me! I know famous literary works!) but I actually do have a huge respect for his dedication to transcendentalism. I wish that I had the balls to completely remove myself from society but a lot of teenagers tried that in the 60's and it really led to nowhere so I'll pass. As for my Facebook experiment, I'm enjoying it quite a lot. I'm starting to actually cut back in other sorts of electronic means like texting and video game playing as well. I don't know whether it's good or bad that I'm falling out with all of these technologies but I still know how to use them just the same so up to this point it hasn't made that much of a difference to me. It feels so free not having to check all of that bullshit all of the time. I plan on carrying this behavior over into the summer becuase my goals for this summer are to mainly spend a lot of time outside and with my friends. If I'm having face-to-face conversations and interactions all the time, why the hell would I need an Asspamphlet (see what I did there? Eh?).

So that's pretty much how I feel about the matter. Less digital interactions means more time spent doing things in real life so I'm not sure why anybody would rather spend their time inside on the computer rather than out doin' some real life shit!