Midwestern Skies and west coast dreams....

Let's Call This the Comeback

2006-12-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

I am back by popular demand (and when I mean popular I mean the two or three people who actually read this damn blog). First of all, let me explain my lengthy absence from the blogosphere. I took some time to find myself by climbing Mt. Everest with only a T-shirt that read "Fresno, FresYes" on it, some Mike and Ike candies (the berry flavored) and a copy of On the Road. After this adventure, I decided to spend time living in the wilderness of Montana equipped with only a hatchet. Once I learned how to fly fish, start a fire with my bare hands, and build a modern day home with only a toothpick and a some cloth, provided of course by my "Fresno, FresYes" shirt, I decided I had done all I could and that it was time to return to civilization.
Of course none of this is remotely true, but is sure sounds a lot cooler than I was just busy. As this semester comes to an abrubt end I decided it was time to return to my post as everyone's favorite resident blogger/magician/GQ Model.
Movies
Recently I saw the movie The Departed starring Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio, The Joker, and Marky Mark Walberg. Now, let me tell you up front that I love ganster movies. Goodfellas is probably my favorite movie of all time. The Departed was a good movie. That's what I will say about it. It was good. Not great, just good. Maybe I have just become desensitized to blood, guts, gore, Mark Walberg cussing and Leo shirtless, but I thought this movie could have been so much more and wasn't. It was as if Scorcesse, who I usually love, was just like "hey, I want to make this movie where nobody has any emotion and dies." In a nutshell, that was The Departed.
Music
This week my music pick is The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America Click Here For Album Review. Boys and Girls in America, whose title is taken from Kerouac's On the Road, is arguably the best written album I have heard since Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Now, when I say written I don't mean that this is my favorite album I have heard lately. That place is reserved in my heart for Sufjan Steven's The Avalanche/Illinoise album. But as far as songwriting goes it doesn't get much better than Craig Finn, who vocally sounds like a relative of Jeff Tweedy, at least a second cousin. Songs such as, The First Night, are pop/rock diamonds in the rough. The kind of stuff you know will be on a Volkswagon commercial in say 15 years.
Sports
This weeks topic will be Missouri basketball while they are currently undefeated. That's right, the Tigers have almost matched their win total from last year by playing teams such as Coppin St, Edwardsville, and Davidson (actually Davidson isn't that bad and I am surprised we beat them.) The only big win for the new look Tigers is Arkansas and therefore I am not yet sold on Mike Anderson's run and fun system. Granted, this team plays harder and are scrappier than any Mizzou team since I've been in college here but with only one player even coming close to 6'10" we are going to be screwed when we play the big guys such as KU and Texas. Enjoy the winning while it lasts.
Well, that's all I have for now. Join me next week unless I need to go find myself again. I'm thinking maybe a tropical vacation this time to somewhere like St. John's. I hear it's nice there this time of year.

Reflections into a semester that has gone with the wind

2006-12-07T14:51:00.000-05:00

In life it is always good to take a step back and be introspective of the work you have done, the life that you live, and the relationships you made and hopefully didn't destroy along the way.
During my brief time in journalism, both academically and professionally, I have come to realize two things are true; 1. The media has more power than politicians in America and 2. The public doesn't believe the media 75 percent of the time and to be honest have no reason to.
Let's face it --we live in a society where YouTube, MySpace, The Facebook, DailyKos, and other random bloggers dominate traditional media such as the NYTimes and USATODAY. Yet these sites leave the passage of information up to average citizens making us all sceptical even if we are the ones spreading the information. Thus far during the "information age", we have seen the power of the media: In 2006, one can argue the media's coverage of Iraq and the examination of how the war has gone ary swung the mid-term elections to the Democrats. We saw a UCLA student being tazzered (don't know how to spell tazzered) by campus police which proved the power of new media. And the new media's darling, YouTube, was purchased for 1.2 billion by Google making it known to all the new media's time isn't coming, it has fully arrived. But at the same time, traditional journalists have lost control.
Audiences are more suspicious of what they see and hear from traditional news outlets than ever before and are going to traditional "credible" news sources less and less.
The question then becomes for officially "trained" members of the media, how do we win back the general public with this new media?
As members of the convergence sequence we have asked and examined this question for two years consistently and although we have equipped ourselves with an abundance of tools I don't know if we have still figured it out -and maybe we never will.
At the start of our election coverage, we tried to figure out new ways to get younger audiences interested in politics, and more importantly local politics, by using new media. Although we did some great things, I believe we failed. It isn't anyone's fault, it's just the nailbitting truth of the situation.
Maybe it is narrow minded and premature, but as journalists from a generation brought up on this new media and who grew up watching and laughing at the Daily Show take jabs at traditional media organizations, how do we get our peers to once again appreciate the news and not just get information from uncredible sources such as friends, family or their My Space and Facebook pals?
Maybe what the news media needs is a news organization or a group that is fresh. As American politics is calling for a new approach from someone like Barack Obama, maybe the media needs an entity who can pull together both sides of the aile, combining traditional "credible" news reporting with new media that will get a younger generation excited about waking up in the morning and receiving their news fix.
Groups such as Current TV, Yahoo News and Newsvine are trying to provide this news in a new way, but the problem is a lack of manpower and original reporting. Until this situation is fixed they won't be able to compete with bloggers or kids with cell phones on any level.
As the first graduating class of convergence I am making a call to arms for us to think of how we can combine citizen journalism with "traditional news" and win back the public and America's youth. Do you think we can do it?

I Was A Lover Before This War

2006-09-18T10:43:00.000-04:00

Im back again bringing you a whole slew of new topics to munch on. MMMMMM... So, who is the best team in college football? Not Notre Dame that's for sure. With ND out of the national title hunt -at the momemnt- it looks like a race between Ohio St, USC, W. Virginia and Louisville. I am going to make an early prediction that USC will be playing Louisville in the title game. Call me cray but Booty vs. Brohm is a real possibility.

Best movie this year is hands down "Little Miss Sunshine." This is a great movie that will warm your heart and make you laugh your ass off. Plus it has Steve Carell playing a gay uncle. Lets put it this way, Carell is the best comedic actor out there right now.

Album of the Week: Regina Spektor's "Begin to Hope". Get the Album Here. Check out the song Fidelity. It will make you cry, laugh and sway your head to the infectious beat.

Until next time jamorama!

Feeling Frisky?

2006-09-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

All is right in the world again. Roger Federer won the U.S. Open -again- and football has started. Mizzou, led by the diminutive Chase Daniel, is 2-0, and I partied last weekend like it was 2005.
On Saturday night, Jenn, Traci, Rachel and I went to Mojo's to watch a concert and the opening band, Ellie Come Home, rocked. Here is a link to their website. Ellie Come Home Website. They are a chamber indie music group that reminds me of a mix between Tilly and the Wall and The New Pornographers but with a chello.
On Sunday, I watched football, watched tennis, and ate chesse fries, fudgems and chicken wings. I don't think this marathon thing is going to happen.
R-Fed dominated ARod like we all expected. RFed makes tennis look like a piece of art. He literally paints his shots hitting line after line for winners. Will this guy have any competition for the next 10 years? Nadal is fiery but he lacks the consistency of RFed except on clay and ARod is just not nearly as talented. I expect when it is all said and done RFed will have 15+ majors. No joke, he is that dominant.

Album of the week: Due to the rain we have been getting in CMO, I am going with Iron and Wine's The Creek Drank the Cradle. The Creek Drank the Cradle Album. Put on this album on a rainy day and you won't want to do anything but lay in bed and dream about lost love's and love's that could have been.

Story of the week: Lonely Girl15 is not real! NO, say it isn't so Bree. I am going to miss our time together when I thought you were real and we would talk for hours. Actually, you just talked and I listened... really listened... to an actress. Lonely Girl Story.

This is Shawn signing off...

Marky Mark Admits Mistake

2006-09-09T11:48:00.000-04:00

Haha, poor Marky Mark and the funky bunch over at the facebook are now admitting they really screwed up the news feed idea.Mark Zuckerburg's Blog Which is true... they did. As a person studying the new media field, I am filing this one as a lesson learned for the new media industry. What is the lesson you ask? Don't assume that people of my generation wan't full access into their friend's life. Sure we all want to socially network, but I don't want to know what Tom, Dick or Harry are doing 24/7. Maybe the overconsumption of instantaneous "news" has finally reached its limit. Naaaa.

Dude is a worse babydaddy than KFed

2006-09-09T11:29:00.000-04:00

BabyDaddy

Google's Top Searched NewsYES SIR, THAT'S MY BABY GRAMPSSONGS TO WALK THE PLANK BYA PIRATE'S DAY FOR ME

Sunburned and Bruised

2006-09-05T23:34:00.000-04:00

This Labor Day weekend I went to the Lake of the Ozarks with my roomate Josh, his girlfriend Libby, Jeff (Josh's high school friend who sadly goes to KU), and Josh's brother Michael. As I write this post, I am sunburned, my elbows are skinned up and I think I still have lake water stuck in my lungs. In honor of the weekend, I have listed the top 10 things that are unnacceptable in normal society but perfecly normal at the Lake.

10. Not wearing underwear.
9. Drinking for breakfast. I reccomend a malt beverage to get the day going such as a Spark.
8. Not wearing a shirt into a restaurant. No Shirt, No Problem is the motto at the Lake.
7. Looking at girls with binoculars. Ummm....
6. Peeing in public. Don't say you have never urinated in a lake before because if you do you are a liar.
5. Listening to Country Music. I will admit that Kenny Chesney is good lake music but this is the only time you will ever catch me saying this so copy and paste.
4. Tying yourself to a moving vehicle while going 50 mph. So much fun...
3. Wearing sunglasses at night. Despite that one song, you can only look cool wearing sunglasses at night if you are at the Lake.
2. Drinking Lite Beer. One of the only times I can stand drinking Bud Lite, Coors Lite, or --dare I say-- Miller Lite.
1. Male Suntanning. Despite the metrosexual movement of the early OO's, I say male suntanning should be restricted to a lake or beach.

Album of the Week: Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism. Transatlanticism

Story of the Week: Sophomore Chase Daniel winning Big 12 Player of the Week props for his five-touchdown performance in Mizzou's win against Murray State. Question is, can he do this against a real college team. Although, there aren't many of those in the Big 12 North.

Until next time, peace out and keep on keeping on.

My Return to the Mundane Midwest

2006-08-24T22:52:00.000-04:00

The title of this post is not an intentional dig at the midwest, its just that since I have been back in Columbia, MO I have been in a funk. For some reason, I miss the pace of working a 9-5 job, dealing with traffic, and grabbing a beer after work with the guys (and gals). There is something about the vibe from the coasts that you just don't or can't experience in Missouri, or any other midwest state probably. The West has that laid back chill sensation while the East has the ambitious attitude and class. Im not getting either of this at Good 'Old Mizzou.
OK, I am not saying I don't enjoy -or haven't enjoyed- my college experience. After all, I've done it all; fraternity boy, boyfriend, scholar, causual "guy friend" (you get my drift), writer, leader of campus organizations, roommate, and friend. And maybe this is the problem...there is nothing left to be done. Maybe my lifespan in college has hit its expiration date. Not only do I feel ready for the next step, but I feel like I am 21 going on 30. I am thinking about a career, a wife and a family when I should be thinking about what bar I am going to hit up tonight or how its fun to go to class in slippers. I need to figure out if this is it or not. I hope this isn't how senior year is going to be.
Sorry to start this post on a sour note. In other news, I have a new job --I am now a Barista at the Artisan Cafe, a localy owned coffee house here in Columbia. The Artisan.So far, this seems to be the best college job I've had yet. I get to listen to good music, make good coffee and meet a lot of indie girls (which I've always had a soft spot for).

I will also be a multimedia producer for a special 2006 Missouri election guide produced by KOMU, KBIA and The Missourian. Should be interesting, so check in for updates.

Here is an update on some music to check out:
Copeland -- more alternative rock mixed with punk. They got some good songs and In Motion is their best album. Click the link to listen to more --
In Motion

Sufjan Stevens, arguably my favorite singer songwriter at the moment, released an album consisting of cuts that didn't make is Illinois album called The Avalanche. There are about 5 songs on this album that may be the best songs of his young career. Check it out: The Avalanche

Until next time, I wish you all well and remember to keep it real.

Shawn Lost in America: A Tribute to Where's Waldo

2006-08-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

My life has consisted of many crazy journey’s, but none will ever compare to my trip this week coming back to Columbia from my internship in D.C.. When I woke at 8 a.m. I had no idea what this day, which was a Saturday by the way, would involve. Let alone, the crazy characters I would meet. I am going to attempt to summarize the events as they occurred and will ignore any unnecessary details. Remember, all of this is true and nothing is embellished, which is something I have been known to do.

The drive from Washington D.C. to my apartment in Columbia, MO is approx: 990 miles which also appox: takes 16 to 17 hours based on speed, bathroom breaks, food breaks and how many times I decide to stop and observe to beautiful American landscape.

A week before I left D.C. I had my car checked because it had been overheating on drives to Baltimore, so the shop had a look at it and made a few changes. I know, nothing too exciting so far.

Everything was going great on my drive so far until I approached a town about 90 miles from D.C. called Cumberland. That is where my car began to overheat and this journey of epic proportions began. First off, let me explain something about Cumberland, MD. Cumberland is sort of like Pleasantville in the movie with the same name except its in color and the women don’t look nearly as hot as Reese Weatherspoon. In Cumberland I had my car looked at a local gas station while I ate at Wendy’s (their new Wendy’s melt is delicious, I recommend it). By the way, there probably wasn’t a Wendy’s in Pleasantville but there should’ve been. Thinking my troubles were over, I continued on and got 20 miles when my car started to smoke like a NYC waitress on her lunch break (insert laugh track here).

I pulled to the side of the road and noticed green radiator fluid was splashed all over my car. The engine had burnt out, and the worst part was I had no idea where I was. In fact, I didn’t even know what state I was in.

Luckily, before I had left for college my Mom had given me her AAA card and said, “Shawn, you will need this one day.” Mom’s are always right. I gave the company a call and found out I was located in Maryland and that a tow-truck would pick me up in 30 minutes. So there I sat on the side of interstate 68, which among other things consisted of large beetle-like butterflies, rattle snakeskin’s, rude passerby’s and afternoon heat. The only thing keeping me from running into the highway and getting struck by a vehicle to prematurely end my life was listening to the audiobook version of Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs on my ipod.

After three and a half hours (yes that was 3 and half hours, no typo) of waiting for the tow truck to pick me and my dilapidated car up, they finally came. I don’t want to talk too much about what those three and half hours consisted of because I would just assume forget about and never bring it up again.

The tow-truck guy was named Eric. He had the largest Adam’s apple I had ever seen.
Words don’t do this thing justice. It was as if a bee was stuck in his throat and consistently stinging him to inflate this thing. Anyway, Eric was so skinny he looked malnourished, smoked Marlboro reds, was wearing a T-shirt that had an American Flag and bald eagle on it, talked with a back-woods southern accent, and wore a trucker hat (since he was an actual trucker this means he wasn’t going for the KFed-Britney Spears look.)

Eric told me I had two options. Option 1 was to backtrack to Cumberland, MD and wait for them to look at my car while option 2 was to head 30 miles to Morgantown,VA. Going to Morgantown was the logical choice since it was in the direction I was going in. So, Eric loaded up my car lit up a cigarette and we were off. On the way, Eric told me about his band, which he said, “sounds like Metallica, but in the early years man.”

Eventually we reached Morganstown, home of the University of West Virginia, basketball legend Jerry West, and a lot of students who like to burn couches (see new Cingular commercial to see what I mean.) We went to the Honda dealership, but since it took so long for the towing service to find me it was now 6 p.m. and the service mechanics were all gone. The only person at the dealership, in fact, was J.B.. J.B. is a salesman, maybe in his 40’s or 50’s, uses a strong scented hand-lotion and listens to modern pop music such as Taylor Hicks and every other musician that makes my ears bleed.

J.B. offered to give me a ride to find a hotel in his burnt orange Honda Element. Don’t you think if you were a salesman at a Honda dealership and could have your choice of vehicle you would chose something better than an Element? On the way to finding a hotel, he told me about how he used to be in law enforcement until some amateur photographer took a picture of a buddy of his throwing cash and drugs into his patrol car one evening. To say the least, I thought this was a weird thing to say to a stranger, but then again it was West Virginia and J.B. was the type of guy who loved to tell stories, and he told me loads of them. In a span of 20 minutes, J.B. told me his life. How he went to WVU during the “crazy hippie years”, how one of his roommates had a girlfriend who was a hooker and the money she made paid for their parties, how he became the first man to teach woman’s studies at WVU, how he has two adopted kids and one is “flamboyant” and gets weird looks outside of Morganstown, and how his team of salesman each made over 75K last year and spend their Sunday’s out on the lake drinking beer. He asked if I wanted to go. I firmly declined.

Finally, after getting severely tired of J.B.’s stories and his music, I checked in at a room at the Econo Lodge for two nights since the dealership was closed on Sunday. By the way, I should mention that the receptionist at the EL had a mustache thicker than mine, and that they still used keys, not card keys. This means anyone could make a copy of the key and come into my room and steal all of my shit or kill me. This probably was not the best place to stay, but like I said it was this or J.B. and I chose the EL.

I am hoping my car will be fixed by tomorrow and I can continue my trip back to CMO. But something tells me this epic journey has just begun and that this won’t be the last blog entry of Shawn lost in America. Until next time, keep fighting the good fight.

Margaritas, Ambassador's, and Marketing Oh My!

2006-07-25T11:30:00.000-04:00

Have you ever been in the position to meet one of the most influential people in the world and made a complete ass out of yourself (sort of like when Forrest Gump pulled down his pants in front of Nixon to show he had been shot in the butt.) Because I have. Here is the set-up:

Last night I got home to my humble basement at around 9 p.m.. After I got off work I had decided to go to the gym and workout. Following my chase for that never possible six pack, I had a craving for some pita bread and hummus (my new food of choice.) So, as I walk into my house my focus is on the pita bread and hummus and nothing else. To my surprise, the family I live with was not alseep, but instead the husband, Homer, was dressed in a tux and his wife Zeyneb was in a party dress. There was another couple sitting on the couch enjoying some fine wine and were probably shocked to see a 21-year-old kid who had his tie half-way undone and smelled like he hadn't taken a shower in two weeks (hey, I have!) walk into their friend's home acting like he owned the place.
Obviously surprised at what I saw, and still focused on that pita and hummus (oh and now an ice cold frosty beer), I turned to Homer and said, "Oh I didn't get the invite to the party." (I thought it was funny and charming but the look on everyone else's faces indicated otherwise).
Homer then preceded to turn to me and tell me the man sitting on the couch was the ambassador of Turkey and the woman his wife.
"Ah," I said. I then shook hands with the ambassador and his wife and feeling like an ass went down to the basement and had a Corona Lite with my pita bread and hummus and watched two episodes of The Office.

By the way, if you haven't seen the follwing PSA announcements from The Office click the link. The Office Clips

Currently, I am spending some time in the marketing dept. at USATODAY.com and would tell you what I've been doing except I haven't done anything yet.

Going out for margarita's tonight for a farewell party for one my fellow interns. If you ever wanted to know who invented the margarita click the link. My Margarita

Before I leave here are some more words of wisdom from yours truly.
"In order to go forward you have to comeback to where you started."
Read that, taste it, chew it, enjoy it.

What the????

2006-07-19T10:12:00.000-04:00

OK, I admit I have been lazy when it comes to updating my blog but not only have I been really busy at USATODAY, but this week my parents have been in D.C. which is a challenge in the balance of time. Anyway here we go on the update of my life/internship/ and happenings and going on's. Keep up if you can.

The weekend after the July 4th holiday I met up with a friend from Cherubs a.k.a. Journalism Camp who I haven't seen since high school. Together with some other people who go to the University of Pennsylvania, which is where he attends, we went to a bar called the Big Hunt. After a few pitchers someone suggested we go to this party in Dupont Circle. Immediatley I was concerned, since there are several gay/lesbian bars in that area. But since I am not a homophobe I decided why the heck not. After all, this guy promised an open bar. So, we went to this bar which as I predicted was a gay karoke bar. Now, the party was for a girl and indeed had an open bar, so we figured we would stay awhile and have a few Jack and Cokes. This is where the problem takes place. The bar was split into two areas... the gay karoke bar and then this section where the party was. But to get to the bathroom you had to go through the gay karoke bar. If you know me well enough you are aware that I have a bladder the size of a pea and after two Jack and Cokes I had to use the little boy's room. Bad decision. On my way to the bathroom I got hit on by some 50-year-old guy who wanted to go "talk" in a "corner". Then when I escaped this guy and made it to the bathroom a guy grabbed my ass while singing a Queen song. That is when I decided we needed to leave this place ASAP. I now know how girls feel when they enter a room full of drunk guys, not pleasant. So, that is my gay karoke bar story. Check out the flickr badge to see pics of the evening.

Meanwhile, at USATODAY.com the huge story, not surprsingly, is the Israel-Hezbollah conflict. To see what we have been working on in my department click this link and then go to interactive map Israel v. Hezbollah

I am also watching pleny of T.V. these days since one of my jobs is to get clips from emmy nominated television shows. Life is good.

Currently reading the book Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides. I highly reccomend it.Middlesex. Currenly listening to Jack's Mannequin, Andrew McMahhon of Something Corporate's side project..Everyting In Transit.

As far as movies I have seen this summer there are only two. Superman Returns and Pirates of the Carribean. First one gets a thumbs up while the latter gets a huge thumbs down.

Well, clearly I need to blog more often because this post is way too long. Peace my compadres and enjoy the dog days of summer.

Swimming in D.C.

2006-06-28T08:26:00.000-04:00

For four straight days there has been rain of biblical porportions here in the Washington area, and yours truly has been caught in the eye of the storm. On Sunday, when the rains started, I was in Baltimore visiting a friend watching the Orioles game at Camden Yards when darkeness struck and rain began to fall. By the time I got back to my basement in D.C. there was 2-3 inches of water covering the ground.
Luckily, none of my stuff got ruined but to say the least everything was a mess and outside it was continuing to rain. So, I ditched the D.C. metro area for Mclean, VA, or as I like to call it the classic Leave It to Beaver suburbs. This is where I have been living the past four days while my basement is being dryed out, and I have attempted to adapt to surburban life as best as possible. In honor of USATODAY and making easy to read lists, here are some things I have noticed about surburban life.

- The mall is where the action is. Like any true suburbanite I ate at the mall the first night I was living in Beaver land. The mall is where everyone hangs out, buys trendy clothing that costs more than my life and apparently eats at. I mean where else can you choose between Chinesse, Pizza, Mexican, American (i.e. Hot Dog on a Stick)and get Cinnabon's at all times of the day and night besides the American Mall Food Court. Plus watching stupid high school kids act, like well high school kids, is entertaining. It's great!
- People take themselves seriously in the burbs. It is very stuffy in the suburbs I must say. People are very concerned about maintaining an existence that is quite and calm. So any outsider is not welcome, especially when they are driving a beat up Honda Civic with a Missouri license plate and blastng Nelly. Country Gramma baby!
- Finally, everyone has pets in the suburbs. And the best part is these dogs and cats are treated better than 80 percent of humans across the globe. I mean there are people in India who eat sticks and the dogs here are eating a four course meal from Morton's Steakhouse. Blows my mind.

Well, I am getting my scuba diving outfit on to prepare to swim to the office. I hope everyone is enjoying their sunny summer, I know I would be if I could remember what the sun looked like. Peace out Seacrest!

Washington Post Article Examining the State of Journalism

2006-06-19T21:06:00.000-04:00

Full Article

Patricia Sullivan of the Washington Post has summed up the impact of the internet on news media and where the future of journalism is headed in her article "As the Internet Grows Up the News Industry Changes Forever". This is the most concise, exciting (for convergence people), petrifying (for print people) article on the force of new media I have seen. Coincidently, a group of interns and I had lunch today with Kinsey Wilson, who is Deputy Editor of the new converged newsroom at USATODAY. For your reading benefit, I have sliced up this article -since it is long- and taken the best parts while adding commentary from Wilson and myself. Hopefully, this will serve as an open forum for everyone to comment on this issue facing our industry. Sorry for the length of this blog but it is pouring rain here in D.C. and I am sort of bored.

"News consumption has fractured and fragmented in the United States over the past 30 years, but the demand for news is strong. Network morning, evening and news magazine shows, cable news and public broadcasting audiences, combined with the explosion of growth in the digital media, are bathing consumers in more news and information than ever before."
-- True, but the question is what medium will lead the future of the industry or will it be a combination of all these forms. In my opinion it is a combination but Wilson was insistent that each medium will serve its own purpose and it is up to online folks to give the audience something unique. See Sullivan's opinions later on.

"Newspapers, the biggest and oldest segment of the mainstream media, are built on the work of creative, contentious and quick-witted people, but also of curmudgeons who resist change."
-- Couldn't have said it better myself. When Wilson was speaking with us this afternoon he had to whisper when certain "print" folks were around. He said he has to watch what he says because there are still traditionalists who like a good sea-faring captain plan on going down with their ship. Except in this case the ship may be an entire industry as we know it.

"Newsrooms shrunk by layoffs and battered by bloggers, are seeing their traditional audiences shrink. Daily newspapers lost 1.2 million readers in the six months that ended in March, down to 45.5 million. Online newspaper readership grew to 56 million."
-- No surprise here. At a USATODAY meeting headed by President and Publisher Craig Moon, the question was asked by a print person to Moon about how they could increase circulation on the print side. Moon shrugged off the question saying that the company's focus was not on increasing circulation for print but to increase viewer ship online. The revolution is in full swing, and the people at the top know it.

"So, barring a genius who creates a new revenue stream, the online news business is left to rely on advertising."
-- Maybe the geniuses are the students in the media convergence sequence. We are already way ahead of the game. Cocky, no, just confident.

"While print advertising revenue is nearly flat, advertising spending for newspapers' online editions in the same time frame shot up 35 percent. The actual revenue, at $613 million, is just a fraction of what the print version collects, but that fraction has been increasing steadily over time."
-- According to the rumor mill in my department at USATODAY.com, the USATODAY print edition will be abandoned in two to five years. That's correct, the largest circulated print newspaper in the country may no longer be in existence in two to five years. These figures are the reason why.

"Thirty percent of Americans say they are spending less time with newspapers and magazines because of the time they're spending online; 13 percent watch less TV and 19 percent listen to less radio."
-- Interesting numbers, but I think more research needs to be done. For example, how many people are watching video/TV online, through phone or on their ipod?

“For now, newsrooms are trying to find the ideal balance between providing the instant and interactive news that readers clearly crave and the serious, in-depth journalism that makes a difference in society. Business managers are trying to increase online advertising revenue without cannibalizing the ad income for the original publication. Executives are trying to foresee the shape of the industry and calculate how to beat everyone else there. And consumers, for the moment, have the best of all worlds.”
-- That sums it up.

Please feel free to respond to this. I am hoping this results in a free forum or ideas and thoughts. Peace.

Another Fun Weekend in D.C.

2006-06-19T06:32:00.000-04:00

Although this weekend was more mellow than the last, I still had a great deal of fun with some fellow interns and random people I met through my adventures. Fellow USATODAY interns Nick (Arizona St.) and Jessica (U of Penn) and myself went to the National Portrait Gallery on Saturday to examine and interpret modern art. Here is the thing with me and modern art; some of it I think is really cool and facinating but other pieces I just see lines or dots. My rule of thumb is that if I could paint it, it's not art because I am no artist. After going to the National Portrait Gallery and another art museum (I forget the name but they did have a really cool art piece of the 7-Up logo that reminded my of those great Orlando Jones commercials. Whatever happened to that guy by the way?) we made the trex in 90 degree heat and 80% humidity to a restaurant where we ate some food, had a few beers and even more laughs. I am already aware that I will miss this place and these people when it is time to leave. I don't look forward to going back to Mizzou.

Anyway, after dinner we went to see Tilly and the Wall, an indie rock/pop group signed to Connor Obersts' label, at a club called the Blackcat. While in line we met a girl named Katy who had just graduated from college and was in search of a job in, what else, journalism. Katy, Jessica, Nick and I all hung out together for the over 3 hour show and I must say I really enjoyed Tilly and the Wall. The idea of having a tapdancer as your drummer is pure genius. If you have never heard of Tilly and the Wall I highly reccomend you listen to them. Despite being on Obersts' label, Tilly and the Wall's music is filled with more sunshine and warmth than most of Bright Eyes' stuff. They remind me a lot of Belle and Sebastian, except for the tapdancer and women wearing prom dresses.

In other thoughts, my mind has been swirling with what I plan on doing post undergrad education. The more I think about it, the more I would like to go back to California. I never thought I would be saying that, but after listening to Jack's Mannequin lately -Andrew Mcmahon of Something Coorperate's side project- I realize going home isn't necessarily a bad thing if you take it in stride. Basically, I don't know where I will be in a year from now and that is OK with me. I realize know there are good people with the beliefs and ideals I hold everywhere you just have to be willing to look for them.

Officer Chatter

2006-06-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

In honor of my nearly three week anniversary of starting my internship at USATODAY.com, I have decided to compile a list of Top 5 things all future office workers should know before their new wing tip shoes step in their cubicle. If you would like to add to this list feel free.

5.) Always look like you are doing something important. The key to an office job is to look like you are always working even if you are at ebaumsworld.com or flipping through day-time soap's on your cube T.V.. Always have a document open on your computer that you can go back to just in case your supervisor happens to walk by. And remember the key words... "Yeah this project is tough... it's taking me forever," or have a stupid question ready, "Should I decompress this file into a gif or jpg." This last question doesn't work for text documents, but if you use it anyway your boss will just look at you like your crazy and walk away.

4.) You get ahead –and live- by who you know not what you know. Talk to EVERYONE. And when I mean EVERYONE, I mean EVERYONE, even if it is that co-worker who you know goes home at night and plays with his "figurines" while watching the History channels special on the AK-47 and wears his pants up to his belly button. Because as my good friend Dane Cook says, when this guy decides to go on a killing rampage at the office because everyone made fun of his toupee and lack of hygiene, he will remember you. And when he passes you by, you will thank your lucky stars you chatted with him.

3.) Watch out for the free food! Usually when people bring in baked goods from home there is a reason why their significant other or children didn't eat it. So, don't be the idiot who tries the cookies sitting out on the floor pantry because you might spend the next 24 hours being best friends with the porcelain god. Trust me; paying the 50 cents for a bag of Doritos is worth it if it's a matter of life and death.

2.) Dress Appropriately. This isn't college and a shirt that says, "Daddy's Little Girl" or "I Got Drunk on (insert frat or sorority her) Hayride 06'" isn't going to cut it. But remember, you don't have to wear a suit either. Unless of course you work at a company with three names in it (ex. Cohen, Cohen and Cohen). Also, be aware of the basics in fashion and wear the same colored belt as shoes and darker socks than your pants. Oh, and when you leave the bathroom make sure you don't have toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe. It's really embarrassing.

1.) Don't get caught blogging.

2006-06-01T22:05:00.000-04:00

Haditha Timeline

This is my first big project for USATODAY.com. I had to build a flash timeline on the Haditha scandal. Check it out.

Kick It Up A Notch!

2006-06-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

6.6.06 Article

Good day ladies and gents, I hope everyone is having a great start to the hurricane season. I am enjoying my first week here at USATODAY.com and am already starting to see what a converging newsroom looks like.
Here at USATODAY -which by the way is pretty much the coolest building ever, I need to take pics and show everyone- the print and .com sides joined forces about a month ago and are now both located on the second floor of the USATODAY building. That brings me to the link above.
Yesterday, my second day here, I was approached by Laura Petrecca, a reporter for the Money section on the print side. She needed help with a story she was working on about marketing ploys being used by Hollywood and others for 6.6.06. So, I made a few calls -one to the Church of Satan which was probably the creepiest phone call I have ever made as a journalist- and did some research into the topic and wrote up a report and sent it to her. If you look at both of today's print and online editions you will see Laura's article -with a contribution line from yours truly. I also helped build an infographic about a Toyota recall that occurred yesterday that can be seen in the Money secion on USATODAY.com.
In other convergence related news, I edited audio from U.S. World Cup players we will use for a .com Flash project due out next week.
Now to the fun stuff. On Saturday, I played tourist and walked around to all of the D.C. Memorials which was fun except for all of the bikers who were there for Memorial Day. I then ate at this place called Ciora (need to check the spelling on that) which was like the East Coast version of Panera. The interesting part of this visit to Ciora though was as I was sitting at my table enjoying my Turkey Bacon Pannini I noticed a family of four sitting at a table across the aisle. Remember the scene in “Old School” where Luke Wilson is in the airport riding down the escalator and sees the dad scolding his kid and hitting him upside the head? Well, this Dad was recreating that scene. He was scolding his son for some unknown reason and then knocked him on the head. The Mom then got mad at the Dad and they started having one of those great we’ve been married too long and I’m sick of you you’re sick of me why are we even on a family vacation kind of fights. It was great! It made all those great fond family vacation memories come rushing back.
On Monday (i.e. Memorial Day), I had a BBQ with the family I am living with and some of their friends which included Jodie Allen, a former reporter for the Washington Post and US News and World Report. Allen now works for the Pew Polling Research Center, which was neat because she told me all about this political research the center has done on college-aged persons and their attitudes to news and politics -which not surprisingly is apathetic.
Overall, Washington D.C. is great except for the traffic. To get to work I have a 15 mile drive, which correlates into an hour of being in the car. But, I get to pass Langley – home of the CIA- every day which gives me dreams of one day becoming a CIA agent and saving the world from terrorists who want to steal deadly nerve gas and release it on U.S. soil.
OK, enough of watching "24". Hope everyone is enjoying their summers and I look forward to speaking with all of you. Good day and stay righteous.

2006-05-28T17:30:00.000-04:00

New Pics from California Trip Are Up. Just Click the Flickr Badge to View.

Welcome to D.C. Jerk!

2006-05-25T18:07:00.000-04:00

Sometimes an idea just strikes you like a bolt of lightning but in my case epiphany's come when a woman who looks like she could be on the "Golden Years" throws my grocery cart halfway across the aisle in a fit of rage. Since weird things always seem to happen to me -most of you can attest to this- I have decided that for the summer I will write a column every three or four days and post it on this blog and my home blog midwestsky.blogspot.com. You assuredly will laugh, cry and maybe want to punch me in the face by the dog days of summer but frankly my dears I don't give a damn.

I arrived in our nation's capitol yesterday after a 15-hour trek that included an evening’s stop in Springfield, OH which is located just outside Columbus (by the way Columbus is just like Columbia except with more drug problems... from what I hear.) As some of you know I am staying in the basement of the home of a Turkish family in Georgetown, which is great! The area is awesome, the family is great but to be honest I feel a little awkward when I drive around. Apparently there are more rich kids here than from an episode of the "O.C." and EVERYONE drives a BMW, Audi or a Benz and my Honda Civic with red paint all over it courtesy of those renting bastards REMI just doesn't cut it. People look at me when I drive around like I should be headed to the Ghetto instead of G-Town. So, I decided to play the part and am now sporting a gold chain necklace that says "Thug Life" on it and wear a Washington Nationals hat with the sticker still on it while bumping Nelly's "Ride Wit Me". Represent Straight up Gangsta Style.

After getting a good night's sleep, I decided to play tourist for the day. My first stop was Wisconsin Ave. to do a little shopping. You know how they say small town kids can never make it in the big city. Well, let me tell you they are correctamundo. Or, maybe I'm just an idiot because I got played harder than the new senior at bingo night dealing with parking officials in GTown. It cost me $13 for 2 hrs. of parking when down the street near the harbor it was $5. To say the least, I was pissed off. So, in my fit of rage I bought a Yoga tape at Barnes and Noble and plan on meditating tonight about the entire situation.

Following shopping, I headed to see the President and Tony Blair at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.. Blair was in town for the day to talk to Bush about how they fucked up so bad with the Iraq War and how they can avoid ending up like their Enron buddies.(P.S. Ken Lay nice one... way to make your University proud). I drove around for a while and then started to notice something, as I got further down this one street called G. buildings became uglier and I started to see Jamaican flags everywhere. But, instead of friendly Rastafarian people everywhere there were just angry guys looking to sell/score drugs. I knew I had to get out of this hood, so I took a turn where it said Howard University, bad idea. Apparently, Howard University is in the ghetto of D.C. because I was the only white person in a 10 block radius, and since I was dressed all "gangsta" I didn't want to be mistaken for that turd Jamie Kennedy from "Malibu's Most Wanted" so I got the hell out of there.

That leads me to the crazy old woman at the grocery store. While shopping for the essentials at this place called Safeway I decided to pick up some grapes -a delicious snack that is also filled with nutritious vitamins that will help you grow into a strapping young lad. This woman, who was around 65 and sporting one of those old gray-haired afros, turned to me and told me I cut her off. Well, obviously I was confused since I didn't realize our carts were "vehicles". I turned to the woman and said in a smug tone "Sorry I'm new here." It was the only thing I could think of to say. And then in a fit of grocery rage, granny grabbed my cart -which was filled with delicious yet healthy food items- and flung it out of her way down the aisle. Luckily, the cart didn't hit anyone, heaven forbid a small innocent child who just got finished with Lacrosse practice or a chess club meeting and just wanted to stop at the store for an AbbaZabba or a Rice Krispie Snack. Frazzled, I got my cart and didn't say a word to the woman and just decided to pay for my stuff and leave this place.

Well, now it's time for Yoga with my boy Rodney Yee. It has been a long day and this kid needs some herbal tea and a clear mind. Have a Righteous Day.

Coast to Coast

2006-05-22T21:22:00.000-04:00

After just getting back from spending a week in California, I will be heading to the opposite coast -Washington D.C.- tomorrow. As for those of you who I missed seeing in Cali last week I apologize but I lost my phone at the Firestone Bar and Grill in San Louis Obispo after what turned out to be a wild day of wine drinking for Tom and myself. I have a new phone now but no numbers. So please call me or e-mail me your phone number.

Having the summer sun cascade on my face in California for a week was great, and for the first time I truly didn't want to leave home. I realize now what a great place Visalia was to grow up at. Yet, it is amazing how much home changes when you are away and Visalia has grown in leaps and bounds. But to me it will always be the little conservative town I grew up in. I only wish I would have taken advantage of living only an hour from a National Park and two hours from the beautiful central coast line when I was a kid.

To be honest, the more I think about it the more I would like to go back to California for law school. But enough of looking that far ahead. I have to think about my current situation working in the media department at USATODAY.com. My hope is that they aren't expecting miracles from me and that I can come in and learn a lot.

In other news, the current album of the week is Belle and Sebastian's The Life Pursuit. The Life Pursuit is BNS's latest album and combines precious melodic sounds with witty lyrics. Check out White Collar Boy or The Blues are Still Blue if you would like to wet your palette.

This week’s book is Chuck Palahniuk's Diary. So far I am torn on the book and that's probably because I have no idea where it is headed. Palahniuk -author of Fight Club- reminds me of Kerouac in that there is no rhythm to his writing. There are just chapters filled with information that doesn’t exactly flow. I am hoping though like Kerouac Palahniuk can tie this book together in a neat little package.

As always everyone have a great week and I will soon be posting pics of my trip to Cali so look for that. Peace and Godspeed.

Pictures

2006-04-26T14:19:00.000-04:00

Check out the new pics I put up on my flickr badge.

A New Faith

2006-04-26T13:31:00.000-04:00

After I got home from my Bible study this morning I felt compelled to write and post a blog about what I consider the new-aged college Christian is. First off, I should explain the circular nature of my own faith. I have always been a Christian since birth. I did not decide this, but instead it was my parent’s choice. I was raised in a strict Christian church during my youth, but at home I was always taught to be an independent thinker and by no means did I come from a "holy roller" family. Sure, I went to youth group and Cadets (Boy Scouts with a Christian influence), but I never truly felt the faith. When I got to high school I hated going to church. I despised it. I felt like I was walking into a room filled with hypocrisy where everyone spoke of being good Christians and "spreading the word" but then went out to get high, have teenage sex, and act like absolutely everyone else. Faith, religion, God, ha.

Although my friends and I were all Christians we had been so from birth and never really talked about what it was to be a Christian. Trust me, I was far from perfect in high school, and for most of my college career. But this is exactly what the new Christian is and something I want to address.

The new college-aged Christian is one who was brought up in the church but never really understood what faith was. We went to church because it's what our parents did, we went to youth group because there were girls/boys there, and we went to Bible Study because our parents made us... and we went out to In -n- Out every so often for free burgers. We then got to college joined in on the alcohol/drug use because it was "cool" and what we were supposed to do. "Enjoy your college years, go crazy," that was the idea, right. Some of us even got into relationships or took relationships to that "next step" physically and emotionally. After all, this is what our culture was telling us, our high school friends were telling us to experience, and what we believed we were supposed to be doing in our post-adolescent years. Some of us, like myself, lost track of what was important. We lost the faith.

Circumstances in my own life brought me back to God recently. I was lost, sick of turning to alcohol as a means of coping with pain, and turned to my faith. It has been a struggle, but just in the last month or two I discovered something important. My entire life I have felt alone in my faith. I am an independent thinker, scholarly, and question the world around me. I am a journalist, I question and think about things too much for my own good. I would be the first to admit that I am not the foremost expert on the Bible or on religion in general, but after feeling so alone in my thoughts I have discovered there is a new breed of Christian out there.

The "new" youthful Christian is one who listens to Sufjan Stevens and Wilco, reads Kerouac alongside C.S. Lewis, loves the environment, enjoys drinking and hanging out with friends who aren't necessarily Christians but don't have a problem talking to them about faith. We don't agree with the actions of homosexuals, but we think that they can make good partners and parents. We don't blindly follow our Christian fundamentalist leaders such as President Bush, and we like television shows like The Family Guy, The Simpson’s, and Laguna Beach. Maybe unlike our predecessors we are in touch, and are often the leaders of our generation. We make mistakes, but feel bad about them and believe in change and growth. We also think of religion and church with a critical eye and can look at things objectively. So, what binds us together? -faith, hope, passion, and a desire to bring the truth forward.

You might be wondering why I am writing this and the answer is simple. For so long I felt alone, like I was the only one out there and then I expanded my horizons and found others with the same attitudes and beliefs I have. In the fall there will be a new organization coming to Mizzou called Veritas, which will bring this new breed of people forward. I am looking forward to it and plan on helping make it a success. So, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Good luck and Goodnight.

Hey Kids

2006-04-24T19:40:00.000-04:00

Pandora

So, since I haven't posted a blog in awhile I decided to hop on and share with my audience of two a couple of cool things. One is Pandora.com. Click the link above and you will be taken to one of the best websites for findng new music you will enjoy. Type in a band or a song and Pandora will come up with a streaming playlist of songs for you based on the musical stylings of that group and/or song. Tell Pandora which songs you like and don't like and it will create playlists for you. Pretty cool, huh?

In other news, I will be visiting California with Tom from May 13- 20. If you are going to be in Cali give me a call. We plan on hitting up Sequoia and Yosemite National Forrests as well as the wineries in SLO and the beach to work on our tans.... oh yeah watch out ladies. When I get back it's off to the nation's capitol to hang out with lobbyists, Senator's and other twisted people. Im starting to get excited about it now that I have a place to live in Georgetown. There should be a lot of cool people in the area to hang out with and go to clubs/bars with. If you are in the D.C. area this summer give me a shout out.

I am looking forward to learning about flash and multimedia products. Currently I am teaching myself how to create Flash movies. Anyway, if you are going to Billy and Matt's party on Friday night I will see ya there. Peace.

Mock Trial Pics Are Up

2006-03-24T11:02:00.000-05:00

The Mock Trial Picks from Nationals are now up. To take a look just click the flickr tag on the right. Hope you enjoy. I know I enjoyed my time with the team. I am looking forward to next year.

2006-03-22T11:58:00.000-05:00

Here is a copy of a post I placed on our Media Convergence Blog. It is a reflection of what is to come in the media industry from four foremost experts. Also, some info on Mock Trial. Pics from my Mock Trial trip will be coming soon. Once I have time and a break from mid-terms. Countdown to London begins. Only four more days.

OK, so in the haste of getting ready to go to Minnesota last week I completley forgot to blog. Side note: MU Mock Trial got 8th at Nationals. Yah! Also, if anyone is interested in joining the Mock Trial team next year let me know.
Enough of that, hopefully this discussion will make up for my lack of blog last week. This evening I sat in on a discussion between four graduates of the 1973 class from the School of Journalism. Some of these grads are at the top of their games in newsrooms, education, and promotions. They said a lot of great stuff especially about converging newsrooms. Here are some points from the conversation.

- Peggy Engle who is the head of the Museum of News in Washington D.C. and worked for the Washington Post for a number of years said that video cameras were issued to every reporter at the Post in order to capture video for the website. Interesting, an actual newsroom converging.

- Kim Garrison who is the head of emerging media for Best Buy said he see the technology being available within the next 10 years for voice recognized video-on demand.

- John Rawlings, editor for the Sporting News, said the Sporting News website, much like ESPN has already, is bringing together video with text for each story. Also, they are incorporating viewer participation via message boards on each story. As Rawlings said two viewers will have differing opinions about the same story and should be able to express that.

- Robert ???, who teaches Journalism at Cypress Community College is teaching convergence journalism to his students and they are setting up trying to share news via facebook and myspace. Hmmmm using popular channels to share news content. This could be something good to incorporate for our convergence capstone next semester.

So, we should discuss some of these points sometime. Sorry this post wasn't as funny or clever as past posts, but this week Shawn is in crisis mode, but he shall return in the near future. Adios.

Get your feet on the ground and stop floating around...

2006-03-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

So, today was an interesting day in the life of Shawn so I figured I may as well blog it. "Go Blog It". That is my campaing slogan when I run for President. It's weird how in just the past two to three years this phenomenon called blogging has grown. Before blogs, people wrote down their thoughts in a journal or diary that they kept hidden by hiding it under the beds. Now it seems everyone has their own blog and nobody has a problem sharing their thoughts with anyone who has internet access. Are we a generation who have lost the ability to keep our selves private. After all, everything is in your face and exposed these days. Celebirty's lives are played out on the pages of People and US Weekley, so why wouldn't us normal folks want to share our daily lives with the general public on the web? We have become a culture where being reserved, quiet and humble has been thrown out the window replaced by brash, indulgent "show me the money" attitudes.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent. Today I met some new people at a "progressive dinner" for college Bible groups at The Crossing. I had a good time and am discovering that people who attend these small groups are just like me. They enjoy having a good time but also know where not to cross the line morally. Nobody is stuck up or acts better than anyone else and I that is such a change from the culture was saturated in previously.

In sports news, did you see the US lose to Canada in baseball? That was embarrasing. Canadians play hockey not baseball. My only question is who is going to beat us next? Tanzania? Maybe the problem is that the Canadian players haven't been juicing up for the past 10 years. Without roids are any of the American players that good? Apparentley not.

Looking forward to the National Mock Trial Comp next Thursday. Should be fun. Otherwise peace out and watch out for big trucks.

mtvU.com Info

2006-03-08T15:46:00.000-05:00

Watch The Subways at mtvU.com Here

Wine and Cheeseeee...

2006-03-06T21:14:00.000-05:00

Check out the photos from the convergence wine and cheese party. A good night.

Music, Mistakes and Musings

2006-03-05T13:50:00.003-05:00

To all my fans:

So, with a little help from my roomie Tom I have started learning how to play guitar. I learned chords A and D today. I am actually going to take this seriously and am trying to practice an hour or two a day. Hopefully I will be able to apply my dramatic prose and intellectualy/emotional insights of the world with passionate guitar strummin in about 6 months to a year. That's the plan anyway.

In other news I am working on Mock Trial stuff to prepare for Nationals. Should be an exciting time especially since I will be going during St. Patrick's Day. Bring on the Luck of the Irish!

I am also listening to some good music today. The Nationals, Nick Drake, James Blunt and the Shout Out Louds have my ear drums buzzing in excitement. Here is a link to Tom's reviews of some of these bands albums. Enjoy. Tommy's Blog.

Seriously Though...

2006-03-02T20:24:00.000-05:00

OK, so a quick update on my life before I get into some philosophical discussions. Apparently I may be going to Minnesoata for the national Mock Trial competition. Which may bring you to a question. Why would Shawn, who hasn't done mock trial in three years and is in no way affiliated with the Mizzou Mock Trial team, go to the national competition as a participant? Well, as Bon Jovi once said "It's My Life" and to be honest it makes no sense. I am still attempting to makes sense of it all. Anyway, I guess some girl quit before Nationals and Billy who heads the Mock Trial team asked if I wanted to participate. I need to discuss things with my Profs but it looks like there is an 85% chance I will go. Hello Twin Cities.

Tomorrow night is the Convergence Wine and Chesse Party at the J-Slums. Shawn+Wine+Friends=Good Time! So, expect an update on Saturday because who knows what is going to happen.

Alright, question of the week is this.. Who would you rather have as a neighbor, Kevin Federline or Vanilla Ice? OK, go ahead and discuss while I listen to "I am the Walrus." Have a goodnight.

2006-03-01T08:05:00.000-05:00

All Music Guide

Alright here is Week 2's Songs You Should Be Listening Too:

1) "The Trapeze Swinger" Iron and Wine; Good Company Soundtrack
2) "Vindicated" Dashboard Confessional; Spider Man 2 Soundtrack
3) "Farmer Chords" Ben Gibbard; Home
4) "One of these things First" Nick Drake; Unknown
5) "Of All the Gin Joints In All the World" Fall Out Boy; From Under the Cork Tree

A New Hope

2006-02-26T23:30:00.000-05:00

"With everyday comes a new hope." Someone smarter than me once said this and I believe there is some truth to it. Maybe not everyday brings a new hope because after all not everyday is good, but there are some days that make you believe in life again. After a difficult week I have a had a very prosperous, productive and promising Sunday.
Today I went to church and the message hit home for me. Once again I must believe God is in the driver seat of my life and only he can steer where I will be going.
Anyway on a much less deeper level, there are some things I am looking forward to this week. One of which is applying at Starbucks and to see how that goes. Hopefully something will work out so I no longer have to work at Chili's, which would be lovely. I am also getting prepared for my London trip. Only three weeks away, horray!.
Well, if anyone has any cool topics to discuss please list them and we will discuss. Otherwise goodnight and have a goodweek.

2006-02-19T20:06:00.000-05:00

All Music

Every week I will post five songs you should be listening too. For more info on the band, songs, or albums click the link and go to the All Music Guide. Enjoy.

Song-Artist-Album
1.) Every Moment: Rogue Wave "Out of the Shadow"
2.) Igloo Glass: Holopaw "Holopaw"
3.) Sunshine: Mos Def "The New Danger"
4.) Boston: Augustana "All the Stars and Boulevards"
5.) Crooked Teeth: Death Cab for Cutie "Plans"

Me... A Mentor?

2006-02-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

my saturday afternoon began like any other as i worked a long shift at Chili's. It was really busy and made me once again question why I am still working there. There must be a way to get out of that place... I need a new start, a new beginning simply put I need a new job. Anyone know of anything?
after work Tom and i went out with Kyle... our little brother in Big Bros Big Sisters... for some bowling. i still don't know why I even attempt to bowl since I am terrible at it. I need to stay away from all bowling alleys... its embarrasing.
kyle was a pretty cool kid. he is addicted to video games though which is something i know little about. as Tom and I discussed later in the evening, it seems today's youth are saturated in video games something my generation completley missed... which is probably a good thing. i hope kids like Kyle ...who also plays soccer and b-ball... keep active as they get older.
the funny thing about Kyle is he kept asking me about girls as if I was some expert. clearly the kid is wrong. i am absolutley the wrong person to discuss girl troubles with. apparentley Kyle has a crush on a girl he calls an "Angel". It's cute. So i gave him some ideas of how to impress her, which i hope works better for him than it has for me.
anyway after hanging with the K-man Tom, Josh and i went to Briner face's for a p-a-r-t-y. i have never seen so many dudes at a party. that's all i am going to say about that except that once again i ate food i shouldn't have and am paying for it this morning. peace my minions.

Welcome

2006-02-18T11:41:00.001-05:00

Welcome to my new redesigned blog Midwestern Skies and West Coast Dreams. First of all, let me explain the name of my blog. I am from the west coast (i.e. Central Cali) but currently reside in Columbia, MO where I attend the University of Columbia, MO. For more info about me check out my profile.
Anyway this blog is not only a blog about my daily life but will also be a place where people can come and post or comment about sports, technology and daily pop culture. Feel free to contact me for more information.
Currently, check out the photo gallery on the right. It is small right now but will be expanding in the future. To get your own photo gallery go to Flickr.
Coming soon will be podcasts and links to my favorite songs/artists at the moment.