Random Ramblings

Good Night Kent, We Love You

2009-09-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

I was having a discussion with my girlfriend about our old apartment and how we do/don't miss certain things. It made me realize all the things I miss about being in Kent. I can't say I really miss classes, homework or burning my arms cooking omelets at Eastway all the time. But I miss the people and the life there. And I almost wish I could get a second chance there.

When I was in Kent, I had an apartment with my girlfriend, Ashley, and for the most part, total control over my life and the ability to move around and do what I wanted. Now, I live back home with my parents. And it could be worse, I could have nowhere to go. But home life here isn't quite what I had before. I typically stay in my room because it's the only area I have control over what I watch or do.

I miss my friends in Kent. I miss a bunch of my Eastway peeps, who made it alright to work there even when the actual work sucked. It was nice knowing I had a bunch of people to talk to in class and at work. The possibility of going out was always there, even if I didn't take it as often as maybe I should have. And to be honest, I probably didn't make myself as social as I could have while I was in Kent, and that is a disappointment. Especially because while I talked to plenty of people at work or in class, I didn't become very close to anyone outside of those environments. And now that I'm at home, I don't have more than a couple people to really talk to about anything and everything. I got comfortable basing conversations on class and work that I never really learned a lot about the people I considered important. It's probably one of my main regrets.

But in the end, I still enjoyed my life at Kent and wish I could still be there. If only I knew then what I know now.

VMAs

2009-09-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Even though everyone else and their cousin has given their thoughts on the MTV Video Music Awards, but I can't help but give my two cents' worth.

First, the big elephant in the room is, of course, Kanye West. His actions during Taylor Swift's speech cannot be defended, yet I've heard some people try. I've heard some people go so far as to say that Kanye showed courage defying social standards and standing up for what he obviously believed so strongly in. How can someone honestly call his actions courageous? His actions were simply immature and inappropriate. Thank God Beyonce showed so much class and gave Taylor her moment back. I was never a Beyonce fan before, and musically I'm still not. But I do have a new found respect for her.

ABC News reporter Terry Moran reported on his Twitter that President Obama even commented on the Kanye West incident, calling Kanye a "jackass." Moran has since deleted his tweet, stating that his conversation with Obama was off-the-record. An image of the tweet can be found at Media Cynic: http://www.mediacynic.com/blog/914091

I felt Taylor did a great job recovering from an incredibly awkward situation and performing her winning single. She didn't appear shaken at all and didn't react to what had just recently happened. Good job having poise under pressure.

Lady Gaga needs to learn there's a line between eccentric and just plain crazy. Britney may have gotten made fun of when she decided to marry K-Fed, but she didn't become a huge joke until she started to do things like shave her head and forget to wear clothes in public. Lady Gaga has passed that line and become a full-out joke. And maybe that's her goal, but if she wants her voice as a celebrity to ever mean anything, she needs to seriously reconsider her public image.

Pink's performance was crazy in a good way. If her concerts were like that, I'd consider going. Strange, but a show where you get your money's worth.

Why was Jay-Z shown several times coming in with a motorcade like he was the President? Way too much buildup for a simple performance. It felt like I was waiting for a performer in a main event wrestling match to show up. Just show him in the crowd and let him perform like everyone else.

Bad Weekend For Ohio Sports

2009-09-14T12:27:00.000-07:00

This was a terrible weekend to be an Ohio sports fan.

The weekend started with a major showdown between Ohio State and SoCal that ended with OSU proving some sort of inability to finish games. The Buckeyes closed out last season blowing a late lead to Texas in the Fiesta Bowl with less than a minute remaining. Since then, fans have been hoping for a rebound by the '09 team. Instead, the Bucks started the season nearly blowing a lead to Navy. Intercepting the 2-point conversion probably saved the Bucks in that game. That match alone was most likely a blow to the confidence of the fans at least. But Saturday's game only cemented the problem finishing games in the minds of many. OSU once again lost a game in the final minutes after seemingly dominating for 98% of the game.

Already, fans are starting to sour on Jim Tressel and his conservative "Tressel-ball" strategies. These are fans that have been loyal to JT since his victory in the '02 national championship. So now the question lies: how long with OSU put up with losing big games and not putting away opponents? Even small games aren't won by large margins anymore. Schools like Oklahoma, USC, Florida all win games by crazy margins several times a year. OSU doesn't even put away Indiana or Northwestern by such scores. Could the dagger be dangling above Tressel's head, or will OSU remain more loyal to him than their fanbase is at the moment?

On a local note, my alma mater, the Kent State Golden Flashes, lost their top offensive threat today. Running back Eugene Jarvis is out for the season with a lacerated kidney. In my opinion, Jarvis was cut from the same mold as San Diego Chargers RB Darren Sproles. Neither are the biggest dog in the fight, but they are both flat out amazing football players and can hold their own in any battle. It's a major blow to the Flashes. All the best to Jarvis as he recovers and I hope he can get a tryout in the NFL and maybe follow in Sproles' footsteps. The Flashes have been very successful lately in sending players to the NFL, and I hope he can be the next in line.

On Sunday, both the Browns and Bengals made the Monday morning highlight reels. Unfortunately, it was by giving up major plays. "All Day" Adrian Peterson broke off a huge second half run that torched the entire Browns defense in spectacular fashion. On top of that, the Bengals may have taken OSU's act and gone Pro with it. Leading in the final moments, Bengals fans had their hopes up that an opening day win was imminent. Kyle Orton's pass was nearly intercepted by Jonathon Joseph, but he landed out of bounds by inches. Orton's next pass hit Leon Hall's hands, bounced in the air and landed...in the hands of nearby Brandon Stokely. Stokely then took the pass 80+ yards to paydirt, winning the game with 10 seconds remaining.

After a lowly summer where the Reds once again sunk in the NL Central and the Indians drastically underperformed yet again, fans were asking "When does football start again?" After the Bengals and Browns' performances, we may be back to looking forward to baseball season sooner than we imagined.

How To Save A Perfect Game

2009-07-24T04:43:00.001-07:00

Like a perfect game itself isn't enough, White Sox centerfielder Dewayne Wise decided to make it a little more exciting by adding what could be one of the most clutch catches of the year, or maybe even MLB history. This is absolutely crazy:

Absolutely crazy! As much as I hate the White Sox, I gotta give this catch props, what a major play.

ANOTHER EDIT: Two videos were posted of Wise' amazing catch, and both were taken down by Major League Baseball. My question is: why?! Why is it wrong to want to see a replay of a highlight? Is it any worse than watching it on SportsCenter?

The Compliment Guys

2009-07-23T04:04:00.001-07:00

These guys are awesome. I just saw this story and thought it was worth sharing.

In an era of negativity and uncaring towards others, I gotta say, these guys are pretty cool. It's one of those "breaths of fresh air" you hear about.

United Breaks Guitars

2009-07-09T03:35:00.001-07:00

Musician Dave Carroll decides to fight United Airlines with song after their baggage handlers broke his $1,200 guitar and refused to repay him! This song may end up on my MP3 player. Catchy and hilarious.

This Just In: Michael Jackson STILL Dead!

2009-07-08T03:37:00.001-07:00

Ok, people. It's been two weeks. Michael Jackson's condition is not changing. It's not curable, it's permanent. He's dead. Guess who else is dead? Steve McNair, Billy Mays, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Karl Malden and Robert McNamara. And those are within about a week of MJ. Not that you'd be able to tell, there's little to no coverage about it. Oh, and the number of these other celebrities even accused of child molestation: 0. And yet MJ is the big tragedy. Maybe it's just me, but I'm tired of hearing breaking news every time a member of the Jackson family so much as sneezes.

I get it, he was a great musician and he died young. But really, if any other drug addicted "alleged" child molester died, would anyone want to give him any press? Heck, the little bit of press I hear over Steve McNair questions "How will we remember McNair? A Hall-of-Fame caliber QB, charitable man in his community, or just some gunned down, cheating SOB?" Really? Just because he was killed by his mistress, he's instantly a potential scumbag and everything he did for Nashville and Baltimore is tossed aside? Yet we praise Jackson, who was in the news multiple times for raping kids, had crazy behavior like hanging his kids over balconies, and is said to be addicted to multiple meds. But he's beloved by all.

It's not that I dislike MJ, but I think the amount of press we give him compared to all the other public figures that have died recently is ridiculous. A televised public funeral set in a major arena with celebrity performances and security detail so tight it cost the city of Los Angeles 4 MILLION DOLLARS?! Sorry folks, he's dead, and forever will be. It's time to move on.

Honestly, I'm half surprised Michael Jackson didn't sit up in the casket halfway through, jump out and start doing the Thriller dance with all his celebrity friends that showed up to this funeral. Part of me thought maybe it was just a huge ploy to promote his upcoming comeback concert tour, because no one REALLY deserves to have their death be such a public spectacle. Forget memorial, that was a circus.

On a More Serious Note

2009-06-18T16:34:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post something that has grown to mean something to me:

Today was the first of two days working with Wishes Can Happen, Inc. on the Wall of Wishes event with Mix 94.1. At first, I thought it was just another remote broadcast, but the more I learned about what we were doing and the company, the more I've really enjoyed being just a part of trying to help.

For those who have never heard of Wishes Can Happen, it's somewhat like a local Make-a-Wish Foundation. They raise money to give children with life-threatening illnesses a big wish. Some have wanted a big TV to play their games on, some have taken a trip, or even met a celebrity. It's a really amazing thing to see at this Wall of Wishes event. We've constructed a whole wall covered with some of the wishes that these children have been given.

It especially hit me when I listened to a mother talk on the air about her experience with the organization. Her child had been diagnosed with cancer and wasn't given long. The child was given a wish and said he wanted to go somewhere warm and fun. Wishes Can Happen gave the child that wish, and sent his family to Disneyworld in sunny, warm, fun Florida. Then we found out that the parents had actually divorced, and WCH actually made it possible for them to have two separate suites so both the mother and the father could be there with the child. Watching the mother and the show host being moved to tears just telling or listening to the story could affect just about anyone.

If anyone has ever considered donating to a charity, even if it's as little as a couple bucks, I'd say please consider giving to Wishes Can Happen. Not only does it help children, but it specifically helps children right here in Ohio. It doesn't go to an administrator, it doesn't go somewhere where you'd never see the result, it stays right here in Ohio and goes directly to the kids.

Find out more on how to contribute to WHBC and Mix 94.1's Wall of Wishes here: http://www.mix941.com/pages/4426778.php

Or find out how to be part of Wishes Can Happen at any time here: http://www.wishescanhappen.org/

Thank You, Al Roker

2009-06-16T19:53:00.001-07:00

Al Roker of the Today Show spent some time with Spencer and Heidi Pratt, and let them have it about their ridiculous behavior on and off "I'm A Celebrity..."

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

I edited through this clip at the station today, and personally, I loved this. Anytime some sort of real journalist (And I'm not talking the people at US Weekly or People) talks to these two, they look like morons. And funniest part is they're actually offended that someone asked them such questions. But now that they're done on I'm A Celebrity...they have a new show that I'm sure they'll do much better at:

Now if only that was real.

Poor puppy...

2009-06-16T04:03:00.001-07:00

Just saw this story about a kid who wanted to give his puppy a bath and ended up flushing the poor little guy down the toilet!

What a summer already...

2009-06-11T04:34:00.001-07:00

You know, I meant to update this more often. Lord knows since I've been listening to the news and working on it at a radio station over this summer I've had PLENTY of random thoughts over the course of working. But I've been so busy that I haven't really had time to do little things like blog or, you know, SLEEP. It seems like I've never had more than a few hours a night since this summer has started.

One of the things I've been thinking about is the latest triple murder here in Canton. While I'm never happy to hear these kind of things happen, what this guy did really ticks me off. It's things like this that kind of makes me lose faith in humanity. This guy wanted to hurt his ex-wife, so he decided to take everything important to her away. He slashed the throats of his two children (5 and 3 years old, if I remember right) and then shot the ex-wife's mother. His mugshot is absolutely heinous on top of that. The guy is smirking like he's so proud of what he's done. In fact, I just read an article about it, where it said:

"An accused murderer wanted his bond reduced, but a Canton judge said no as the suspect occasionally smiled during court. Police say Mammone confessed to the crimes and committed them because he wanted to cause his ex-wife, who divorced him in April, severe emotional pain."

KILL HIM!

There really should be a special place in hell for people like this. I just cannot fathom being this evil. If there was ever a reason for the death penalty, it's this guy. Forget the humane injection, forget whatever that Geneva Convention said, let's torture him, Jack Bauer style (see right). This guy should suffer. The word humane wasn't in his dictionary, let's not let it be in ours.

In lighter news:

"I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!": Fine, get out of here. Your show is Survivor meets the Surreal Life and should be canceled. Let MTV ruin their network with a show centered around Heidi and Spencer, but NBC is supposed to be a real network. Get this garbage off my screen. You almost canceled Chuck and probably some other great shows, yet this crap is on an hour every day? Someone should be ashamed.

This week, Cowboy Bill Martin is visiting the studio as I type and I can't wait to see him on Comedy Central. Absolutely hilarious.

I'll try to update more often to get my random thoughts. It is a fun way to pass the time.