Can you do it?

 I’m dusting off the ol’ blog to post some personal insights and views to share with whomever *MIGHT* be reading.  Here’s one I wrote last summer:

Between all the recent celebrations of diversity and the great things life has delivered to us, between the Juneteenth and Negro Leagues Baseball and Pride events, I will continue to do what I can to help share their wonderful contributions to this world.

In my eyes, if you can do the job, then you are welcome on my team.  If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and learn how to be of assistance, I’ll gladly teach you.

Skin color, sexual orientation, gender and gender identity?  Details.  If you’d like me to celebrate it with you, I’ll do my best.  And please let know if I’m not doing it right.  I’m sure I still have a lot to learn.

A rising tide lifts all boats.  Let’s get on board and set out for adventure.

Even though I’ve been going through life on one of the easier difficulty settings (straight white male, but not *THE* easiest, as I’ve never been an obscenely rich white male) it hasn’t been *THAT* easy.

After I turned nine (9), people had a problem with who I was, and most of them felt the need to try to constantly tear me down for their own entertainment.

Fuck those assholes.  I hope karma comes around to bite them on the ass so hard they have to be put on a waiting list for a new buttocks transplant.

In the words of Elton John, “I’m still standin’ better than I ever did.  Looking like a true survivor.  Feelin’ like a little kid.  And I’m still standin’ after all this time.  Pickin’ up the pieces of my life without you on my mind.”

Although you are still on my mind.  I’m using it as the inspiration for a fictional story I’m writing.

If, by some incredible miracle, I make some money off it, I’ll buy a plane ticket for you TO COME KISS MY FUCKING ASS!!!

So, at the beginning of their journeys, Professor Oak gives “Red” Ash Ketchum and Gary “Blue” Oak a Pokédex each, with data about all 149 known species of Pokemon known to exist in the Kanto region. But the data on those devices is locked behind a system that somehow senses the Pokemon they each had caught AND seen, with no apparent explanation (to my knowledge) how THE DEVICE knows.

I know it's a video game (and a anime cartoon based on it), which because a new cornerstone to the Nintendo empire that's been pretty much killing it in the video game industry since the early 1980's, so you should take it with a grain of salt, but it is a valid question.

If you've watched the anime and know the explanation for such a GAPING plot hole, please let me know if a video clip exists somewhere to fill in that hole.

Anyway, if I had a similar device with cell phone like capability that automatically unlocks data about magic animals that are electronically stored in tiny little colorful balls, years before the actual technology exists...

I suppose that's something we have "Star Trek: The Next Generation" to thank for.  Thanks to that future focused show, they had characters hanging out and enjoying down time in a virtual reality where technology could do shit that we could only DREAM about...

Yes, I'm putting too much thought into this.  And yes, I'm probably not the first person to wonder about this.  I'm sure Nintendo is cool with us discussing this, as they get to reap the rewards.  "Some dude is talking about our multibillion dollar franchise on a blog?  And he's been a loyal customer for thirty-five years?  Sure, we're cool with it."

Don't expect me to start eating mushrooms or climbing down green pipes...

What is punk?

     Let me first start out by disclaiming any authority on what defines something as being "punk" or not. I am highly unqualified to draw those boundaries, so your lines won't match up with the ones I'm drawing out here.

    OK, now that we've got that established, what defines something as being "punk"? I'm obviously going to move beyond the definitions of punk music, as I believe it sets up more than just music, but we'll start there.

    I am definitely as Punk as someone like Herny Rollins, the band Black Flag, or some of their biggest fans, like, for example, Wil Wheaton. I think we could all agree on that. If they saw me walk into a room of punk fans who've gathered together to enjoy the thing they love so much, they probably would not let me in, and I'm OK with that. I might not be comfortable in tht room either.

    But then I look around at all the people I've been lucky enough to consider friends (and who consider me to be their friend), and I think I'm fairly punk (relatively speaking). They have their preferences for music, art, attitude, etc. I'm not going to be able to convince them that they abandon those things. And I doubt they'd expect me to do the same. If they did, then perhaps I need to reevaluate them as friends (again, I'm not trying to judge anyone here as being good enough, but I'd like to think I'm grown up enough to know and accept that people change as the years roll by, and I know there isn't anything I can do about it, so I'll just accept that (which, relatively speaking, may not be very punk)).

    Perhaps we're look at too big of a picture at this moment, so let's narrow it down a bit, for the purposes of this exercise. There are number of bands who I think most everyone would consider to be "punk". One of the most obvious would be Green Day. And we'll lump some bands in with them, for argument's sake. For now, we'll throw Sum 41, Beastie Boys (although they embraced rap in the '90s and made a successful pivot to it from punk, they definitely embody the attitiude required to qualify as punk), blink-182, Bowling for Soup, The Dollyrots, The Donnas (sure, they were embracing '80s heavy metal towards the end of their careers as a band, but again, they had the attitude expected of a punk operation), Foo Fighters (definitely not all that punk, but again, Dave Grohl carries the swagger of a punk musical artist), Good Charlotte (definitely anti-authoritarian, at least), No Doubt (before Gwen Stefani went out on her own as a solo artist), The Offspring, and Reel Big Fish (ska is, in my opinion, an extension of the punk sound and attitude) into the category of "Punk".

    All of these groups, in my opinion, are quality musicians. If you told me that any of them were playing a show, and you wanted my input to be the deciding factor on whether we would go or not, I'd be like "yeah, let's go" (though, if you're punk, you don't need my blessing to go to the show, which is the beauty of the situation here). Now, are they all punk? Well, they check enough of the boxes on my list to qualify. They passed the "Fritz" test of being punk. Sure, not everyone would agree that they are all punk, and that's OK. What might be right for you, may not be for others. We've all got standards, and I don't expect you to conform to mine, nor should you expect me to conform to yours.

    Now, as compared to my other friends? I think I'm punk. Some of my friends prefer '80s hair metal. They have the attitude of "fuck you, I'm going to have a good time", and while that's commendable, they aren't as punk as I am. Others, like modern hard rock, which have a good sharp edge to them, but since they set the standard for rock and roll, that's not exactly punk. They don't go against the grain. I am alone. I am a I-I-I-island. They could try to keep up with me, but I think if I put together a playlist of the bands I thought were punk and played it on an infinite loop, I would not tire of it.

    If you want to help me broaden my mind and expose me to groups that are more punk than what I listed, I'll give it a shot. I might like it. But if I don't, and you insist on me listening to it, I may reject your standards and form my own. Because what's more punk than than?

    And if you have a problem with that? Then maybe you're punk as well. Welcome aboard.

My Pokémon Go Links

34 Essential Tips For Pokemon Go That Many People Don't Know Yet

3 Key Things That Many Pokemon Go Players Still Don’t Know

7 Reasons Why You Need To Focus On Hatching Eggs

PoGoToolkit.com - Evolution CP Calculator for Pokémon Go

The Bulba Handbook - Pokémon GO Edition

Pokemon GO Tools | The Silph Road

http://www.pokemongodb.net/2016/05/pokemon-go-pokedex.html

Gen 2 Movesets

Egg distances
Attack chart

Do the right thing.

Vikings fans,

If you want Minnesota to get rid of Chris Kluwe because he is a sub-standard football player, fine.  I think he's a good punter and he did a great job as a holder for rookie kicker Blair Walsh this season.  The Vikes went 10-6 and made the playoffs because every single guy on that team did his job well.

If you want Minnesota to get rid of Chris Kluwe because he is overpaid, fine.  He only made $1.3 million last year, while the minimum NFL salary is $405K for a rookie and $840K for someone with Kluwe's 9 years of experience, and the Vikes have more than five million in cap space for 2013.  I think they can afford him for one more season.

If you want Minnesota to get rid of Chris Kluwe because he has the balls to speak his mind and fight for the LGBTQ to have all the same rights as he does, especially the right to marry, go to hell.  The guy is not some sort of basket case, like Randy Moss was, and the Vikings brought HIM back.  Kluwe's only crime here is that the guy is a decent human being.

And if you're one of those bigots crying foul over NBA center Jason Collins, who just came out of the closet, making him the first openly gay man in the four major North American professional sports, I really hope your god shows you the same love and mercy that you should be showing for all people on this earth.

Zygi Wilf, Rick Spielman, Leslie Frazer, whatever you do, it better be for the right reasons.  Because if you do not do the right thing, you'll lose me as a potential fan.

--Paul

Just keep it to yourself

OK, yeah, the #2 seeded University of Minnesota Golden Gophers Men's Hockey team got beat by #15 Yale today in the NCAA playoffs.  But for you North Dakota fans, here are a few things to keep in mind while you're celebrating...

First of all, being my friend is not a right.  IT'S A PRIVILEGE.  If you want to brag about Minnesota's shortcomings, keep it on your Facebook wall and off mine.  I would not do the same if the situation was reversed.  Sure, I'd brag on my page, but it's MY page.  I can do that.  If you can't respect this, then you can't be my friend anymore.

Second, do you know how bad this makes you?  Trolling for hate by poking at the bear like that?  Contrary to popular belief, Facebook IS NOT a public forum, especially the little tiny corner of it that is mine.  But if you think it should be, then you better follow Wheaton's law:  DON'T BE A DICK.  Well said, Mr. Crusher.

Now, I know at this point, some of you might be saying, "Geez, Paul, lighten up.  It's only a game/sport."  Hypocrite.  If it was only a game, why are YOU getting so excited about it.  Sports, along with pretty much every other media outlet, be it television, movies, music, books...  They exist in part to allow us to escape from the real world, even if it's only temporarily.  I'm sure every person on this earth who is fortunate enough to live in a society like ours has bitched at least ONCE about some plot twist, some re-imaging, some THING that disrupts their idyllic fantasy world in a way that is most unpleasent.  You know you have, and denying it just makes you look even more guilty of it.

But hey, if you want to pat yourselves on the back, even though UND hasn't WON anything (yet), by all means, go ahead and stroke it.  Just don't be coming all over me, you sick perverts.

What in the World (of Warcraft)...?

Yes, the rumors were true, I had been playing World of Warcraft again.

HAD.

I pulled the trigger on a 10-day free trial, and you know what I found out? Blizzard put the game on easy mode.

It was not tough to do quests, because they show you where to go on the map and who to kill to complete them. Dungeons required no effort, because they show where each boss is, and you can constantly pull enemies into combat. It cut the time of a crawl down from 120 minutes to 20 minutes. Leveing up is cake too, because now you get experience from picking herbs and mining for ore.

It's disgusting. When I first played WoW, it required a lot of effort to get tuned up to go to the Molten Core. Now? I bet my four-year-old nephew could get up to level 90 in a matter of hours.

I think, with no proof once so ever, Blizz caved into the whiners (Lerrilin) who wanted to access ALL the game content that came with their $15 monthly subscription. Goddamn millenials and their sense of entitlement...

Sorry, Clint, Chris, and Cynthia, but I'm not coming back on a permanent basis. I just don't think it's worth it. Besides, I've got more important stuff to do. My girlfriend is moving in with me, I'm applying to the MBA program at the University of Minnesota, and I've got some team to cheer for.

I love you guys, and I want to come back to play with you again, because I feel I've got some unfinished business to take care of in Azeroth. But right now? I've got some real-life quests to complete...

That was ALLLLLLLLLLLL me...

President Obama, I am better off than I was four years ago, but not because of you.

I earned my promotion at John Deere two years ago.  I put in the time and effort to get noticed by the bigwigs, and they rewarded me for my hard work.

And if you think I'm earning more because of your policies, your laws, your presidency, prove it to me.  Show me what you did that help me out here.  The burden of proof is on you here buddy.

I am better of than I was four years ago.  But corelation does not mean causation.

If you build it, they will come

Why haven't CBS and Viacom created a Star Trek television channel?  I mean, if the WWE can create their own channel with all their original programming...  Each major sports leage now has their own network... FUCK, even MTV is still on the air, and that DETRACTS from American society.

It wouldn't be that hard to fill up a schedule using just the five TV series and 11 feature films.  Take a look:

• 11 feature films (3 hours per movie, 33 hours of programming)
• 79 episodes of the original series
• 178 of Next Generation
• 176 of Deep Space Nine
• 172 of Voyager
• 98 of Enterprise (if you must include that horse manure)

That's 736 hours of Star Trek (including commericals), enough to last you more than 30 days of 24-hour coverage.  Throw in some specials, like Beyond the Final Frontier.

And you don't have to air everything in chronological or production order.  Think of how many marathons you can do, tying episodes together.  Q episodes, Worf episodes, Borg episodes, time travel episodes.  30-40 major cast members amongst the five series, air a block of epsiodes featuring each character they play on their birthdays.

Hey, the jocks have their TV networks.  So do musicians, history buffs, kids.  You name it, there's at least one channel targetted towards a very specific demographic.  And nobody is currently airing DS9 or Voyager, and I barely see TNG on cable these days (a couple episodes on SyFy and BBC America per week).  If you build it, they will come.  From every quadrant of the Milky Way galaxy, we'll tune in, and we will enjoy it.

Is it over yet?

Good lord, how many more of these Twilight movies are they going to make?  I'd be way more interested in them if Ashley Greene was the star, and she was running around dressed like this:


Source: Sports Illustrated 2010 Swimsuit issue

But seriously, there was one good Twilight movie.  You can never go wrong with a Reese Witherspoon topless scene.