Max's Blog

Random Photo

2009-06-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

Mark Willhoit works on his bicycle at the bike cooperative in corvallis.

This is a photo I took for The Commuter earlier this term. It's one that I thought turned out well. Here is the article it went with.

Last Project

2009-06-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

Photo Essay

2009-06-03T13:00:00.001-07:00

Sports photos!

2009-05-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

Jason Hogan, left, and Austin Strickler slamming into each other for the ball at hurling practice.

Jeremy O'Sullivan, left, and Dustin Herron working on their passing technique.

If you wish to check out the full article about hurling by Ryan Henson go to The Commuter website.

2009-05-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is just a photo I took during intermission at The Beatles at OSU concert last night. The event was sold out, and it was really good. I am writing up a story about the event for the paper this week. Sadly this may have been the last Beatles at OSU concert they do, because an amount of the core group is moving. Well I hope they continue it.

Peanut

2009-05-03T16:43:00.000-07:00

I found this photo on the Flickr blog. The title is Peanut and it was taken by the user mosippy. I think photo is just too cute. I think the cropping on this is good, even though it has a large section of open space I think it makes the picture work.

Newsmaker Portrait

2009-04-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Kent Buys, owner of The Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop, playing banjo and his son Ryan watches on.

Bicycle!

2009-04-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

I was looking at Flickr's Blog thing and saw this photo. It immediately grabbed my attention.

So I love to ride my bike, so this made me think of that. I like the focus just on the bike and the way the background looks. I dunno why the caption is there, but whatever. Ugh now I wanna get out and ride but I still have to write a story for the Commuter.

This photo was taken by Dustin Diaz and posted to flickr.

A random photo

2009-04-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is a photo I took over the summer while I was visiting Coney Island in New York. I really like this photo, although it has no people in it.

I only take issue with one part of it, the lower right corner. Really it does not bother me much but I do notice it when evaluating the picture. Maybe I could crop it, dunno I do kind of like the sky in the top right but whatever :P

What I do like is the angle and the content. Coney Island was a ton of fun for me. The Cyclone is one of the oldest wooden roller coasters, and it is a ton of fun!

Photo Critique 1

2009-04-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

I found this photo browsing through Flickr. It was taken by ENIGMA_IMAGES, and the title is "_MG_0982." This photo was taken at the G20 demonstrations in London. Although it has no real caption and the title is probably just the random number the camera spat out I think this is an amazing photo.

The main subject is a bald man with a few trickles of blood are running down his face while pointing boldly as if making a point. First I thought the main subject was just stunning, the photographer really captured the emotion this man was putting out. I like this a lot in black and white I think it really works for the photo. The two men in hoodies behind him have a truly amazed and stunned look, which I think adds to the over all feel.

News / Feature Photo Fun!

2009-04-10T09:18:00.000-07:00

Students watch films about the Holocaust at the DAC on April 6.The list of movies playing at the DAC this month.

First Photojournalism Post

2009-04-03T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is Eric Badeau, a fish and wildlife major at LBCC. He was studying in the library when I asked if I could take his photo for class.

This is a photo of Taylor Seidlitz, a business admin major at LBCC. He was buying books for his classes when I came up and bothered him :P

4.0

2009-03-23T00:32:00.000-07:00

So my Art History teacher finally put my grades up. I got all A's this term! Yay!

I went to OMSI this weekend and saw the Da Vinci exhibit. It was pretty neat. The exhibit focused on more of his inventions / notebook sketches, which makes sense at OMSI. I liked it :)

After that, same day, I went to the Portland Art Museum. The featured exhibit was "La volupté du goût: French Painting in the Age of Madame de Pompadour." That was really amazing. We got the little devices which tell you history about the paintings. They were so worth it, also they were free there. I learned a lot and I suggest everyone see this if you can.

(Picture taken by robsv)

Next Term

2009-03-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

So this term is coming to an end, and I am doing quite well. Now I am looking forward to next term. I will only be taking three classes, but I will still have 15 credits. I am taking two classes that deal with journalism and a math class, then some other credits for working at The Commuter.
Here are the classes I am taking:
Media and Society
Intro Photojournalism
College Algebra

I cannot wait! I am going to have a lot more time to focus on journalism and it will be a blast. Well I have to get back to studying for bio... Wee!

Jon Stewart vs Jim Cramer

2009-03-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

I am watching the interview of Jim Cramer by Jon Stewart. This is a really interesting interview. I highly encourage you to watch these. Half the reason I am up at this hour is because of homework, but the other half is because I wanted to see this.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 1

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things w/ Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 2

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Jim Cramer Interview Outtake Pt. 3

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Jim Cramer

Beer Pong - Not giving herpes in a basement near you!

2009-03-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

So I was watching The Colbert Report and Colbert had a bit about beer pong spreading herpes. Earlier this term I wrote a story on beer pong. I guess Fox and Friends did a segment on this. Which is funny... because it was a hoax.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted a response to this. "Recent news stories about an alleged CDC study showing a possible link between the drinking game, Beer Pong, and herpes simplex 1, the virus that causes cold sores, are false."

Favorite quote from Fox and Friends:
"Don't drink that!"
"Why?"
"Because the whole segment says we should not drink that, because I have bacteria on my ball!"

Also go to NASA's site and vote for name of the Node 3. Vote Colbert!

(Photo of table by Elliot P. Condom photo by Victoriapeckham)

Stephen King

2009-03-10T17:07:00.000-07:00

In my feature writing class we were required to read Stephen King's "On Writing." This was a pleasure in my opinion. I consider King to be a good writer and one of my favorite series was written by him, The Dark Tower series. So what did I learn from the book?

Keep Writing - One thing that King pounds into your head is that you have to keep writing. He feels it's important to write as much as you can, because that is the only way you will become better. I agree with this, but I have never really practiced writing everyday. The book inspired me to keep my blog up better, as it gets me writing, and to start writing just for myself everyday.

Keep Reading - King says there is no miracle class that will teach you to become a great writer, and the best way to become better is to keep reading and keep writing. He says the best way to improve your vocabulary and writing skills is to read, read, and read some more. You will learn from what over people do, which you will learn from reading.

Open Door / Closed Door - King says he writes his stories with his door "closed." After the first draft he opens up the door and gets opinions from other people. I like this idea a lot. In the past I have sought out a person's opinion before I was done with a piece, which is not bad per say but I would like to give it a shot without.

Favorite Quotes -
"I'm convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing."
"If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot."

Picture taken by Tojosan

Zelda Car

2009-03-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

My brother pointed this out to me. The local Zelda car is for sale. Kotaku has a short story about this, and here is the article on Gamesniped. This car is usually about two blocks from where I live. I will miss seeing it if someone from out of town buys it. And here is the Craigslist posting about it.

Picture by wpwend42

Race to the finish

2009-03-07T22:03:00.000-08:00

The end of winter term is drawing close. How am I doing? Potentially great! As long as I don't slack on my finals.

Speaking of slacking, I saw Watchmen the other night. I read the graphic novel while on vacation this summer and loved it. So I was skeptical when I heard about the movie, because usually they butcher one thing or another when making these things into movies.

The movie was great though. They held true to the original story. Also the movie was amazingly beautiful. Even if you hate the story and the characters, as one of my friends did, you will most likely find the art of it outstanding.

If you are thinking about seeing this you should know, it's not like other comic book movies. It is a darker grittier tale, but the story is a amazing one. So yea my point is... do not think this is a happy go lucky movie, and also be ready for some gory stuff and a lot of blue wang.

Well back to writing research paper.

Picture by EndoftheLine.

Twitter

2009-03-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

That's right, I joined Twitter! After hearing so much about it over the last weekend I thought I should try it out. So far it is easy to use. If you want to follow me or anything you can check out the widget I added or go to my twitter site.

I miss San Diego... The weather was awesome. Once spring gets here it will be better. I cannot wait to start biking again and getting out around town more.

Well I better get back to updating stories and other homework. I will make a post about some of the better sessions I attended... when I get time.

The Voice

2009-02-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

A number of speakers at the convention are reporters from the San Diego area. Including a few from Voice of San Diego. The keynote speech yesterday was given by Andrew Donohue, a reporter for the Voice of San Diego.

One thing he made a point of was cover letters. I liked this because I believe in the strength of a cover letter. Rob, my teacher, started to open my eyes to the importance of cover letters, and this convention has reinforced it.

Will Carless was the last speaker I saw yesterday. That was one of the best sessions I have attended by far, and that is saying a lot at this convention. This focused a lot on making good connections, and doing good journalism.

Well I have back to the convention. :)

Sunlight!

2009-02-28T07:45:00.000-08:00

It's day three at San Diego Media +. This convention is amazing! Plus the weather down here is incredible.

The trip down to San Diego was interesting. The seats in the van are akin to rock slabs. Leg room? HA! In the back the heating system is messed up, if you turn the heat on at all in back it blows near burning hot air at you legs. No good. But the people are fun people to travel with.

The hotel charges $13 a day for internet, so I am at a coffee house right now. The one thing the hotel has that is absolutely amazing is the pool. Around it you will find all the normal sunbathing chairs plus a number of large round bed-like seat, and hammocks. I almost fell asleep in one the other night.

I am looking forward to another day at the convention. When I get home I may make a post about the best sessions I went to and give a rundown on them.

Final Countdown... err Story.

2009-02-20T11:23:00.000-08:00

So I will either use my State of the Willamette River story, or write a new story on health and fitness.

The health and fitness is a story idea I have been interested in covering for awhile now. A lot of information about dieting and weight loss is not given clearly and I think that is a huge problem. I would like to present some facts about weight loss which some diets don't ignore.

For sources I could talk to a fitness instructor at school, and probably a personal trainer at 24 hour fitness or something like that.

Technology, Entertainment, Design

2009-02-19T23:44:00.000-08:00

Giving an audience of intellectuals malaria was one great idea presented at TED this year.

Recently TED held its annual conference, and new speeches are being made available. Issues like education, disease and sustainability around the world have always been a large concern for society and concepts or ideas can be a big step in solving these issues.

TED.com is a site devoted to bringing the worlds greatest minds together to give “the talks of their lives, ” which usually focus on important issues that the world is facing. These speeches are then made available online for free to the whole world.

TED stands for technology, entertainment, design. Over the years they have expanded the content. While some speeches may not interest some I am sure almost anyone can find something of interest.

Talks cover issues such as education, global warming, the economy and more. All these issues and all the other ideas the talks cover are so important.

One speech given by Bill Gates this year discussed malaria and education. During the speech he released mosquitoes into the crowd saying “there's no reason only poor people should have the experience.” He also discussed how to better improve our education by improving our teachers.

"I wasn't prepared for this conference to be so profound. The combined IQ of the attendees is incredible." Gates said about TED.

Both these issues are extremely important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention malaria takes over one million lives each year. And why would we not want to improve our education system?

David Merrill demonstrated something called “Siftables.” These are interactive computers similar to the letter blocks we played with as kids. He shows one program for these that lets you make music.

What an amazing idea! TED is filled with amazing creations like this and speeches that will really get you thinking. I was first alerted to TED around a year ago by a friend. The insight and inspiration that TED fills me with is incredible.

I cannot even try to cover all topics discussed during TED. I suggest everyone take a few minutes out of their day and at least browse the TED talks list. You will find something that interests you.

Ideas Worth Spreading

2009-02-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

So last week I was dead half of it. The sickness I came down with was pretty intense, but really just an strong cold. My midterm in History of Western Art went great though. I ended up getting a 94% on it!

So all weekend I have been watching TED. I love this site and the conference. I suggest you all check it out and watch a few videos.

Kent Buys: Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop

2009-02-17T22:26:00.000-08:00

If you have ever had a desire to play a musical instrument, Kent Buys will do everything in his power to help you learn.

Buys owns the Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop in downtown Corvallis. Buys is passionate about his store and the community. With economic times as tough as they are it's hard to find deals like the ones Buys offers.

Buys works on instrument repair and reconstruction. This is not the same as rebuilding. In reconstruction you attempt to preserve the original parts of the instrument. Buys says this preserves the sound and feel of the instrument.

The work they do is very unique. Buys says even after all these years they keep getting new problems. Buys says that because every instrument is different you need different devices to repair them. For this reason the majority of their repair equipment is self made by the Troubadour staff.

It was one phrase that made Buys decide to get into instrument reconstruction and repair. His mentor said this to him when Buys was wondering if he wanted to play music professionally or go into reconstruction.

“Do you want to be a musician, or do you want to make it possible for thousands of people to be musicians?”

Buys cares about the community. He does not see the other music shops as competition but cherishes them. They help to promote the music community in Corvallis according to Buys.

“We have the most musicians per capita than any other town,” Buys says.

He says this is thanks to the number of great music shops in Corvallis.

You can see Buys' impact on the community in many places. Not only in magnitude of musicians Corvallis has, but in some of the local eateries. He was the one who built and designed the Old World Deli.

Buys encourages people young and old to play music. If you are a new customer you will receive a free kazoo. Buys says then at least you can get out and start making some music.

“Music heals and brings us happiness,” Buys says.

Buys is a teacher at Linn-Benton Community College, and he also has had nine apprentices at his repair shop. Buys feels apprenticeship is as important if not more important than traditional schooling. He apprenticed under Charles Chase in the late 1960s for three years in California.

Aarron Wootton is Buys current apprentice. Wootton feels his apprenticeship is a real blessing.

“Kent believes in me and what I can do,” Wootton said.

Wootton says Buys is generous and helps the community.

Buys is not in the business for the money. He likes to work with people and get them playing music. Elaine Difalco, an employee of Buys, says that he gives an exceptionally good deal on all of his services.

“He is there for the love of music and those who want to learn,” said Difalco.

Ryan Buys is Kent's son and one of his apprentices. He used to think Kent charged far too little and thought Kent was too concerned with community.

“I was in the wrong. What you get out of it is not just money,” Ryan says.

Troubadour Music Center and Instrument Repair Shop is located at 125 S.W. Washington Ave. in Corvallis.

The Troubadour

2009-02-08T17:17:00.000-08:00

I had a few more interviews to complete this weekend, and they went well. I watched as customers packed the tiny shop and I just took notes. I got to talk to a few random customers about their experience at The Troubadour Music Center and got to talk to more of Kent's apprentices. So now I am filtering all this information into an awesome profile story. This will be a good one.

As of right now I feel terrible because I finally got whatever sickness my brother has. This is great, really... I have a midterm tomorrow that is worth a third of my grade, and it is in Art History. So much information in that class, but it is all quite incredible. One place I am finding amazing is the Hagia Sophia. I suggest you check it out.

Well I hope to have the story up tonight, if not it will be up tomorrow. Back to drinking tea and studying with me.

The Beanery

2009-02-04T11:20:00.000-08:00

The smell of fresh brewed coffee. The sounds of espresso machines steaming milk. The murmur of conversations overlapping each other. A friendly barista greeting you and asking "what can I get you today?" College students working with piles of books and binders laid out in front of them. Individuals reading novels or newspapers. A cool breeze as another patron enters the coffee house.

You are greeted with these things as you enter The Beanery, downtown Corvallis.

State of the Willamette River

2009-02-02T01:21:00.000-08:00

Image taken by me.

Ever wonder if the Willamette River is healthy, and what you can do to help it?

A panel was held on Jan. 29 to cover the state of the Willamette River. Five panelists spoke about their various fields of work and the Willamette River, which they said was better off then it has been in the past. The event was held at 7 p.m. at the Benton County Public Library. Over 70 people turned out for the event.

Panelists included: Travis Williams, Willamette Riverkeepers; Mark Taratoot, City of Corvallis Public Works; Mindy Simmons, US Army Corps of Engineers; Jared Rubin, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality; Karen Hans, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The panel was held in conjunction with the release of a new full color water quality map. It is the first update to the water quality map in 11 years, according to a press release by OSU.

Each panelist spoke for approximately 15 minutes, and each focused on slightly different subjects.

Jared Rubin discussed the quality of the water in the Willamette River. Rubin said that the river does have some water quality issues, but it is much better then it was in the past. Rubin felt that Corvallis has done a outstanding job when helping improve water quality, and was surprised by the large turnout for the event.

Mark Taratoot spoke about water treatment plants and which part of the river Corvallis is in charge of protecting. Taratoot also covered what you can do to help the river.

-Do not put pollutants down storm drains. They are only for water.

-Fix up your property, as run off or erosion are major pollutants to the river.

-Use less pharmaceuticals, things like Ibuprofen. A large portion of the drugs you take do not stay in your system and can be missed by water treatment plants.

-Use non-toxic cleaners around the house.

-Dispose of waste properly.

A number of the panelists agreed that a lot of pollution comes from “non-point sources,” or the general population.

Mindy Simmons focused on the dams built by the United States Army Corps. The dams were built to help with flood control in the Willamette Valley, but they have been the cause of much habitat destruction. Simmons outlined what the Army Corps is doing now to help reverse the damage that have been done. The army takes on at least two major habitat restoration acts per year.

Travis Williams had slides showing much of the Willamette River and focused on the recreational use of the river. He takes part in a annual event called “Paddle Oregon.” A group of people take a canoe or kayak adventure on the Willamette River, and learn more about the river.

Karen Hans spoke about lesser known fishes of the Willamette River. Hans spoke about what these fish do and how they are effect by the habitat destruction caused by dams or pollution.

The panelists felt that some of the river was over polluted, such as the Portland Harbor Superfund site. Overall though they agreed municipal water is healthy and you do not have to worry when drinking it. Also the quality of water outside of Portland harbor is much better.

For more information see the Institute For Water And Watersheds at http://water.oregonstate.edu/ or the Corvallis Environmental Center at http://corvallisenvironmentalcenter.org/

Interview touchdown!!!

2009-02-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I go for my interview with my profile subject. I will be covering Kent Buys from Troubadour Music Center. This actually sounds like it is going to be very fascinating, because I am not doing a simple sit down interview. Instead I will be hanging around the store for a few hours and talking to him while he works on instruments and talks with customers. This should be a neat interview.

Now I am not into football too much... but I heard about the 100 yard interception touchdown and thought that was pretty funny.

A Review

2009-01-30T01:43:00.000-08:00

Holocaust movies have their own sub genre in Hollywood. "Defiance" does things a little different than the majority of them. It shows a group of Jews who fought back.

"Defiance" is a movie about the Bielski brothers and their refuge for Jews in the forests of Belarus during World War II. It is based on actual events, which ended up saving over 1200 Jews during the war.

After Nazi forces kill the majority of their family the Bielski brothers flee to the nearby woods and attempt to live. Soon they find more Jews hiding in the forest and start to build a community, while trying to stay hidden from the Nazis.

As the film progresses you see the difference of thought from the two main brothers. On one side you have Tuvia (Daniel Craig) wanting less bloodshed and to help as many people as he can. On the other you have Zus (Liev Schreiber) attempting to achieve his revenge and feels that they should not worry about anything but.

The conflict played out between these brothers is intense and attention grabbing. At times you cannot help but feel like Tuvia is the “good” guy. Craig and Schreiber do very well in these positions. It is nice to see Craig playing the position of the “caring guy” after his recent Bond movies, although they are very good movies.

This film is not perfect, but the film will keep your interest. A big aspect of this film was the building of the community. Many of the members of the community have “forest marriages,” which help build the characters. They have a rabbi and many intellectuals that solidify that community feeling.

There is a good serving of action in this movie without ramming it down your throat. The action does a great job of keeping you wide awake but does not overshadowing the story or characters. Most of the time though the gripping scenes are the ones with the members of the community at odds with each other.

"Defiance" is worth seeing. It plays well on your emotions and it tells the story of a group that fought against all odds during World War II. It may not be as good as other movies about the holocaust such as "The Pianist" or "Schindler's List," it's still a good movie.

After the war the war Tuvia and Zus moved to Palestine and fought in the war that established the Israeli state. After that they immigrated to the United States. Aseal joined the Soviet army, but died in battle in 1945. Only one brother remains alive. That is Aron and he is living in the US.

Released: January 19 2009 in theaters.
Runtime: 137 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Genre: Drama

To be written

2009-01-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

Well I went out and saw "Defiance." I thought it was pretty interesting. It was very intense and really pulled me in. So I have been doing some background research on it, as this movie was based on a real group of people. I doubt I will have any issue writing up this story, but right now I have a presentation and a test tomorrow that I need to finish working on.

(Image taken from Flickr.com by sociate)

Did you know Grenada produces 20% of the world's nutmeg? (my presentation is on Grenada)

P to the rofile!

2009-01-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

Five questions for my profile subject.
1. Where are you from?
2. What motivates you in life?
3. Who raised you?
4. What is your greatest achivement?
5. Why do you do what it is you do? (what influenced you)

I don't know yet who I will profile. In my experience the profile story is the most challenging for me. It was my lowest graded story last term, I plan to do a much better job this time. It was defenitly an issue of going outside my comfort zone. Another issue for me was locking down someone to profile.

Defiance

2009-01-22T20:59:00.000-08:00

I have been kicking around some ideas for my review story. I would like to review a book, but it is not recent. I still think I will review the book at some point, but just on the side. Honestly I would like to see some book reviews in the Commuter. Anyway...

What I am thinking I will review instead is "Defiance." This looks like an interesting movie, and Daniel Craig is just awesome. So maybe on Friday night I might call up some friends and head on out.
(Image taken from Flickr.com by claire_h)

Beer Pong – Now playing in a basement near you!

2009-01-14T11:16:00.000-08:00

Not many drinking games can earn you $50,000, but at least one can. Beer Pong.

Beer pong is a drinking game played mostly at college parties and tailgaters. It has become increasingly popular over the last few years. It's a fairly simple game with fun rules.

The game requires two teams of two. Each team has 10 cups at the end of a decent-sized table filled with some beer. The object of the game is to sink a ping-pong ball into one of the opponent's cups.

Each team takes turns shooting. Both players shoot in one turn and attempt to score. When a ball lands in a cup the other team must drink the beer in that cup. When no more cups remain on one side the game is won by the team with any remaining cups.

Every house has their own set of rules. Nick McCallum, an avid beer pong player and college student, says the rules are usually decided on by the owner of the house, or the person who set up the location. Some examples of the house rules are:

-If both players of one team score into the same cup the opposing team must drink two cups of beer instead of one. After the two beers are consumed the team who had shot gets to go again. McCallum has seen some pretty amazing shutout games because of this rule.

-If a player chooses to bounce the ball before landing it in a cup the opposing team must drink a cup for every bounce before the score. So if the ball bounced three times then landed in a cup the team would consume three cups. If a team chooses to play the bounce the opposing team may defend their cups by swiping and knocking the ball away.

-Redemption rules: If one team has only one cup and the shot is made on their cup they have the chance to shoot to save themselves. If they make the shot the game continues and they do not have to consume the last beer.

For a more complete list of rules check out Bpong.com.

Beer pong has become wildly successful over the last few years. McCallum thinks this is for a few reasons.

"First and foremost, people just like to get inebriated," McCallum says.

He feels it gives people a fun way to drink. It's kind of like sports but less serious. "By the end of the night everyone is inebriated and happy, so no one loses."

McCallum also attributes some of its success to the ease of getting a game together. All you need is a rectangular table, 12 cups, two ping pong balls, and some beer.

The game has become so popular that Bpong.com has hosted four World Series of Beer Pong tournaments. The last of which took place in Las Vegas between Jan. 1-5, and the grand prize was $50,000. Four hundred fourteen teams competed from across the U.S. and Canada. The winning team, from New York, was named "Smashing Time."

Bpong.com offers official rules, a beer pong store, beer pong forums and blogs, online games, and a frequently asked questions section.

One problem that is associated with beer pong is binge drinking. This is an issue that affects many college campuses. The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) say that 44% of students attending a four year college drink at a binge level or greater. According to CSPI one of the major factors of binge drinking is low price and easy access.

For more information on binge drinking visit http://www.cspinet.org/booze/collfact1.htm

A slow start (EDIT 01-12-09)

2009-01-11T22:31:00.000-08:00

We are heading into the second week of the term. The first week was actually pretty uneventful, but I am looking forward to most of my classes. I have started work on my first story of the term, which I mentioned in the last post. This is going... ok. Still need to interview people but I have done some research (not hands on).

EDIT For class: I plan to interview college students who know of beer pong. Right now I have done some research and found some information from the presenters of the World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP). I would also like to interview maybe a teacher or some adult and get their reaction to the popularity of Beer Pong.

I finished the assigned reading for "On Writing" by Stephen King. I enjoy some of his work a lot, such as "The Dark Tower" series. This book is turning out to be interesting and funny. I would probably be much further into the book except I have a ton of reading for Art History and some for History of Latin America. Speaking of which... I am off to read some more then to bed!

EDIT: Also I should have most everyone from the class on my bloglist.
(Picture taken from Flickr.com by TarikB)

Story Idea Ichi-ban!

2009-01-09T11:19:00.000-08:00

Picture: "The Best Pong Table Ever" taken by mattdell on Flickr.com

For my first story of the term I plan to explore beer pong. Probably focusing on either the many different variations on rules, or the perils of playing beer pong. I am in no way advocating binge drinking. I thought this would be an interesting subject to explore because of its popularity across college campuses.

New Terms

2009-01-05T06:13:00.000-08:00

My dog, Jake, and I at Ghetto Beach in Buffalo, NY.
Picture taken by my father this last summer.

Well today is the start of a new term. I know I am excited! Last term I got three A's and a B. I plan to do at least that well this term :P

The times I have to be at school are basically the same as last term. I am taking:
History of Latin America
History of Western Art
Feature Writing
General Biology
All of the classes sound very interesting. Managed to keep two teachers that I had last term, so I think that will be nice.

Over the Winter break I accomplished much awesome gaming and hanging out with friends. I am still jobless, but what are you going to do? haha. The break was good, but I cannot wait to get back to school.

Well time to fix some breakfast.

Stuffed!

2008-11-30T05:13:00.000-08:00

Well I meant to make this post on Thanksgiving night... but was really busy and kept being busy with stuff. Thanksgiving was fun. We went to the church that my mom works at, ate dinner with like 100 other people... it was a blast to say the least. It would have been fun to do a story on the event. Maybe I will next year.

So finals are coming up... I do not have a ton of final tests but I have a few project things to turn in... And I have been putting them off. I see a lot of work this week, but that is ok with me. I have been doing well in most of my classes and I know the stuff so I think I will do well.

Off to bed now.

Coney Island

2008-11-21T02:07:00.000-08:00

I finished my Coney Island report for my writing class today. It really is a truly amazing place and I cannot express the joy I feel because I had a chance to go. Even though Astroland is no long operating and no amusement parks are running in the Coney Island area I think something will come to it. Another amusement park in the spirit of Coney Island and all the parks that came before it I hope. We will see what happens. You should all check out some history of Coney Island, it really is an amazing place. I found this video which I found to be sad but very well done.

Well it is way past my bedtime ...

Where the hell did I go?!

2008-11-18T22:47:00.001-08:00

I have not posted for over a week now, oops.

What is new? I am trying to work on my profile story, but it is not working out well. I have a new idea for it which I will be working hard on tomorrow and Thursday, because it is due next Wednesday and I want extra time to make sure it is good. I had a big exam in History which pretty much made me focus on that for last Friday. I think I did well though.

One of my mom's cats died on Saturday night, it was "my" cat back when I lived there. Very sad but he was getting old.

Well I have to get writing for my ... writing class haha.

Decent Layout

2008-11-11T02:32:00.000-08:00

Once again I am up far too late, so I bring to you a new layout!

I honestly like this. Well right now I like it, but we will see how long that lasts. The picture is from my trip to New York City. I took it while we were headed to a Italian festival in Brooklyn.

It took me a while to come up with a title for the blog. One other then "Max's Blog." I don't know how strong I am on sticking with this one, but time will tell if it grows on me.

A friend of mine just left last night to move back to New York. It is sad to see people go, but I just hope that my friend sees it as a opportunity to live a different exciting life.

Well I need to go to sleep. I have lots of homework tomorrow that I need to do... Bleh. Tell me if you like the blog layout. Not that I did much coding on it or anything, but it took some fiddling with the system. :P

America the proud

2008-11-07T10:16:00.000-08:00

People around the country were flooding the streets and singing the national anthem on Tuesday night.

Barack Obama won the election and people in America were celebrating. I have seen quite a few videos of people singing in the streets soon after it was announced that Obama had won.

I must say it makes me so happy to see people responding with such glee. Here is a video like that from Portland's Pioneer Square:

I was at an election night party, drinking and cheering as it was announced that Obama had won the election. We even got to see the holograms on CNN. We all thought this was pretty funny. It just shows advances in technology I guess.

The world reacted the too. Rooms full of people in other countries cheering and holding up cut-outs of Obama. I feel like we can travel without having to wear shirts that say "I'm Canadian"

Now we look toward the future. Come January 20 I will be going to more parties to celebrate inauguration day, I wonder if I will be in one of those crowds singing the national anthem.

Layout changes

2008-11-06T18:13:00.001-08:00

I am messing with the layout of this blog... So far I am displeased. I still have a lot of fiddling to do though, so we will see what I can get it to.

The last few days have been weird. I just am still in disbelief that Obama actually won. Very happy about it, but still in shock. I am actually collecting some newspaper stuff from the day after and I am getting copies of Newsweek and Time. I feel weird about it, but I think it will be worth it.

Well I am off to do a chapter summary for writing and to read about cod for history. Oh and btw I got 106% on my history midterm, thank you students who did badly so he used a curve! :P

GOBAMA

2008-11-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

Picture taken from Flickr

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I am proud to be an American. That is all.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

2008-11-04T01:43:00.000-08:00

Ok I had to post this because I loved Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Don't Vote Part 2

2008-11-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

They made another one. I thought it was important to post it and get it out there. I know I have covered this before... but we live in Oregon. They send you the ballot! Vote by the 4th K THX BAI!

Dead Space Review

2008-10-31T00:15:00.000-07:00

In Dead Space No One Can Hear You Scream

Space, the final frontier, is a dark and scary place. Especially when you are trapped on a ship full of flesh eating monsters.

Dead Space is the recent survival horror game released by Electronic Arts (EA). You take on the role of Isaac Clarke, a engineer sent to fix what is thought to be minor issues with a deep space mining vessel. But of course it all goes to hell within seconds of reaching your destination.

You quickly end up trapped millions of light-years from home on a ship full of hungry creatures. Your only option is to fight your way through the hordes and find some sort of escape.

One of the biggest selling points of this game for me is the environment. EA has done an amazing job of crafting a realistic and horribly frightening environment. The ship really draws you in and feels like it could be a real and terrifying place. All the small corridors with lots of access for hungry beasts will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole game, you'll end up approaching everything with suspicion and fear.

Dead Space offers a few twists on your standard shooter game. With most zombie games you know to aim for the head, not in dead space. The object of most battles is to amputate your enemies to slow and destroy their weapons. This forces much more consideration when blowing away the advancing monsters. Add onto that the lack of ammo and you really have to make your shots count.

This game comes with all the sounds we have become accustomed to with horror games. Clanging of random metal objects, whispering voices, blood curdling screams, ect... But it gets really good when you travel into the vacuum of space. The sound fades and all you can hear is Isaac's labored breathing as his oxygen tanks run dry. Of course while inside the ship and you can hear someone softly, and creepily, singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” is almost equally freaky.

Another twist is the lack of a heads up display. Instead of having a normal health and ammo bar in the corners of your screen your health bar is along Isaac's spine and your ammo appears on the weapons when aiming. This is a take on the heads up display that I quite enjoyed. It is unobtrusive and fancy looking.

Because Isaac is an engineer he can use workbenches spread throughout the game to upgrade his weapons and armor. The system offered here is fun and interesting and lets the game be more specialized toward your style. You use power cores, found throughout the levels, to upgrade your equipment with a grid system unique to each individual item.

Dead Space offers a wild and interesting story. You will always be guessing at what kind of twist the game will take next and almost always you will be pleasantly surprised. A single play through on standard difficulty took around 12 to 13 hours, plus the game offers decent replay value thanks to the new game plus system.

The downsides to Dead Space are fairly limited. Boss fights almost always feel simple compared to most of the fights involving random monsters throughout the level. Usually it is a short fight where you have to hit a small section of the boss, then soon after it dies. But the game does still hold up its creepy design, the bosses have extra points in the hideous factor that all monsters in this game share.

If you play other shooter games you will probably be annoyed at the look sensitivity of this game. At first I was quite annoyed with it, but then I noticed the real appeal of it. It kept you feeling boxed in and was another mechanic to keep you terrified of monsters coming from any direction. While adding to the claustrophobic feeling of the game it can get a little irritating.

In conclusion this game is a gripping science fiction horror that will have you on the edge of your seat until completion. The release date so close to Halloween was no mistake.

Dead Space was released on Oct. 14 for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, Oct. 20 for PC. Retails for $59.99 on console, and $49.99 on PC.

Busy Busy Busy

2008-10-30T14:42:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy these last two weeks, and it does not look like it is going to slow down. Last weekend I went to the Building a Better Journalist event in Eugene. It was a blast in my opinion.

The first session I went to was the Avoiding interview pitfalls with Les Zaitz. I took about four pages of notes during his speech, I honestly think that will improve my interviewing skills significantly.

Then I went to Diving in deep waters with ProPublica's Steve Engelberg. It was interesting and fairly informative. The main point of the speech was that there are no stupid questions, and as journalist we really have to believe that so we can get all the info needed.

Then we had the Lunch panel, where they talked about the future of news. That was pretty interesting because they talked about all the decline in newspaper jobs and what will be happening with traditional newspapers and all that.

Next I went to Podcasting. Which was actually more of how to use recording devices and how to edit sound files. It was pretty cool, I am thinking about getting some kind of recorder so it was good info.

The last session I went to was the So you want to be a blogger? Not that I really intend to be a professional blogger or anything, I just thought this one would be interesting. And it was! I added some blogs from the people presenting that session to my bloglist here. I like the Biking one a lot.

Then after the conference was over I went to a bar near by with a bunch of the people. I talked to one guy who works in Salem and covers mostly political stuff, and talked to another Journalism student from Eugene.

The night before the conference I went to a friend's independent film showing, so I was up pretty late. And then Saturaday after the conference I went to a Corn Maze, then was up late again because i was hanging with the same friend... THEN my bus home left at like 7am so I was up super early... Yea...

I'm Only Sleeping

2008-10-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well I missed two classes on Wed. I just kept hitting the snooze on my alarm clock... But I did not miss any quizzes or other homework so it should be fine. If I sleep in tomorrow I miss two quizzes... yea I will be making sure I wake up on time tomorrow.

Getting close to election day, don't forget to vote. We live in Oregon people... they send you the ballot you send it back, not hard.

Hmmm... well time to finish up some homework and study for quizzes. WEEEEE!

OMG WHAT IS THAT?!

2008-10-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

Dead Space box art. Picture taken from Wikipedia.

I bought Dead Space... And my TV is in perfect working order... That game is terrifying. Many times I have to pause and just calm down. Often I will yell a string of obscenities as I get mauled by some mutated monstrosity... I highly recommend everyone give it a shot. The game is really amazingly crafted, but enough about that.

I will be going down to Building a Better Journalist this weekend. I am really excited. On Friday I am going down to hang with a old high school buddy and watch a showing of a few of his short movies. Then Saturday is the Journalism thing. Should be a fun but busy weekend.

Well I should get to bed. I am afraid of catching what has been going around so I will be popping vitamin C this week, haha.

Get educated about ballot measures

2008-10-16T23:05:00.000-07:00

I just got done writing my story on the speech I attended. I strongly suggest everyone look into all the ballot measures we will be voting on this year. You can find lots of helpful nonpartisan info at the League of Women Voters' site

Hm I guess this blog is reflecting how into politics I have been recently. Oh well... that is ok, I think people should pay more attention to this stuff. Although I do understand that most people do not have the time. Sad.

I should do that sleep thing... but my HDTV is calling me to go play GTA4 :P

Cleaning up

2008-10-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well I should have been working on homework and my next story but I ended up cleaning my kitchen. Man that stove had gotten pretty nasty, now it looks like new!

So I hope everyone watched the debate last night. Joe the plumber was mentioned more then Iraq in the debate last night, I heard about 20 times just from McCain. Also this picture they got of McCain at the start of the debate... is just funny.

This picture was taken from The Huffington Post

Well I need to write about ballot measures. FUN! (the weird thing is that it actually is for me...)

VOTE!

2008-10-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is important stuff. It amazes me that people don't vote, but whatever. I encourage you to vote though. The deadline to register is the 14th of October, and it takes only a few minuets (if that).

Well I just got my bike back from the shop today. Got new handlebar tape which is so comfy. Got a new helmet. And uh... all the repairs from the last accident. I also replaced the brakes, which have not been replaced from the date of purchase.

Time to go do more homework.

Hmmm

2008-10-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of a pin I bought in support of Barack Obama.

This weekend I received a e-mail from a former co-worker about the election. It had a link to a graph showing estimated electoral votes for the upcoming election. On this map you could check out former elections. So I went to the older ones, 1972 to be exact. That really blew my mind looking at the 520/17 split. I started to poke around more and saw that it had happened a few times. I have only paid attention to the more recent elections, so I am used to a pretty close split. Honestly I hope that happens this year but in the Democrats favor, but I doubt it will happen to such a extreme. GOBAMA!

Edit: Do not forget to vote.

Blast off

2008-10-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

This Picture was taken while I was in NYC, this is the John Lennon memorial section of Central Park.

Well here I am, finally starting school again. So far it is going well, I have actually been keeping up with my homework. *GASP* Although I just purchased a new HDTV... so that might end, haha j/k. Most of my classes seem fun, and all the homework is very reasonable. So right now I am pretty confident about school. Well here is to another step forward in life. *cheers*