Leaving for San Diego Tomorrow

I'm so excited, this is going to be a great trip. About the story I'll be doing I've heard two people say "I would like to see where online journalism is going and how money will be made through online journalism in the future." Due to popular demand I will try focus my story on the future of online journalism, though we'll see where things really go when we get down there.

San Diego Journalism Convention

A few days short of a week from now I'll be heading out with the LBCC Commuter/journalism crew to attend the San Diego Journalism Convention and I couldn't be more excited, probably just because I need to get out of Oregon for a few days. And I've never been to San Diego. So I figure being at a journalism convention I might as well do some sort of a story about it. I think the main question here is going to be "What's new in journalism??" As for now I'm not quite sure who I'm going to interview and what my plan is going to be but I'll be updating my blog as soon as I have the game plan. I will be going to a meeting and talking to Rob and the crew to gather more information on what we are doing and what my possible story options are.

I'm playing a free show at Old World Deli tonight!!

Both my bands "Hermit" and "Missed the Exit" are playingat the Old World Deli(2nd @ adams), we'll start at about 7:30.. unfortunatly it's 21+, so leave the kids at home. Hope to see you there.. ROCK ON!!,
-Blair

I hate Hippies!!

Oh this story is going to be Great!! I've got people to talk to and opinions to state. There's also sure to be a certain level of Humour involved as well as a little piece of American history. In this story I plan on defining the precise differences between hippies and Punks witch are sadly often mistaken as hippies. A few people I plan on interviewing for this story: The guy from Bad Habits smoke shop in Corvallis, remember everything they sell is intended for Tobacco smoking purposes...So don't get any Ideas!!!, I also intend on interviewing one of my many "punk rocker" friends. I'm going to have to research them a little bit to find out who's hatred for hippies reigns deepest. Last I'm going to try to interview this guy that hangs out at the Peacock every night, I forget his name but I can remember several occasions when he's threatened to fight me because I was talking shit about hippies in front of him, his famous line, "Theirs a common misconception about hippies, and that's that we don't fight...." WOW.....now that's not nice..whatever happened to "Peace and Love," True Hippies are Dead, they need to except that the worlds changing and do what there parents did..."Get a Job!!!"

Battletoads: the challenge that will never die

Sometimes there is a game that defines a generation. For us, that game is Battletoads! Released by RARE in 1991, Battletoads introduces a new style of game play that can only be found on the Nintendo Entertainment System. With 13 levels of amazing 2- and sometimes 3-D graphics, Battletoads is the perfect addition to any Nintendo Collection.

The problem with Battletoads is if you're lucky enough to make it to level three you're likely to already be ripping your hair out, and the game only gets harder from there.

Battletoads consists of two different types of game play: There’s the traditional beat-em-up style made popular by games like "Double Dragon" and "The Adventures of Bayou Billy," and occasionally you'll find yourself on a surf board, or in a high speed racer dodging obstacles. In level 12 you get chased down by a gigantic ball of light. I've broken more controllers in half on this level then in every other game I’ve played put together.

In the story of Battletoads, Rash and Zit have to save the princess Angelica and their buddy Pimple from the Evil Dark Queen, but this is original Nintendo, so the story doesn't really matter.

My favorite part of the game is level three when you're in the "Wind Tunnel" and you jump on the high speed racer - immediately the three dimensional background starts flying past and you must dodge the dangerous rock slabs in the way. Another great level is the "Snake Pit" where you're jumping from snake to snake avoiding fatal spikes. If you're lucky enough to catch the warp you'll find yourself in the sewers beating up the rubber ducks and sharks.

While there are a lot of NES games out there that get old fast, Battletoads is not one of those. Battletoads will keep you occupied for hours, and with every attempt you'll be sure to make it a little farther while never getting bored along the way, so sign on to eBay or head down to your local gamming dealer to pick up this classic that is destined to be in any great collection.

Column and Review..

Since I've already wrote a column "How the Playstation 3 Changed my Life," I'm going to focus on the review this week. I will however revise my column after getting a few interviews so that I have some valid sources for the story. On the review I think I will write about the game Battletoads. Battletoads was a classic NES game. Even thought this game is almost 20 years old I want to review it to remind everyone just how fun the Original Nintendo games really were.

Profile's almost done!!

I just want to go to one more open mic night(witch is tomorrow) to get some pictures of Ocean in action and get one more interview about the video project that's being put together at Fireworks. Aside from that I have great introduction and conclusion to the article and the middle's coming together really well, I just need to get the facts down. The Full story will be posted on Tuesday and hopefully make this weeks Commuter as well, we'll see what happens!!

A place I know well

A place that I know well is the Rogue River valley below Galice, OR. This area of the river is known as the "wild and scenic" section because there is no roads along or anywhere near the river. This is one of the most beautiful places in the world. There's giant trees everywhere and rock walls surround the river. In the summer all you can hear is birds singing and insects buzzing while the smell of pine mixed with an endless amount different beautiful scents fills the air. If you try to walk along the river in a mile in either direction you'll be sure to find a number of loud roaring creeks, water as clear and cold as a stream could be. Wildlife roams the Area like nothing else. Dear, bear, blue herons, otters, beavers, ducks, and many other animals clearly own the land as they are to be found on every stretch of every corner. The Rogue valley is by far one of my favorite places in the world. I like it so much I'd be willing to drop everything and live there as a Hermit for the rest of my life.

Profile update!

So I've put the review on hold to focus on the profile story. I went to Fireworks for open mic night and watched Ocean at work. Ocean was hosting the open mic with a strong pressence that could definetly be felt. I've also interveiwed Santino Cadiz and John Ulrich who are local musicians heavily involved in the Fireworks scene. The profile is sure to turn out great and will be full of information on not only Ocean and Fireworks but a musical project being filmed at Fireworks.