Lately, I’ve been getting ready for fall term by experimenting with my Flip HD and using iMovie to take all the short clips and turn them into semi-neatly edited clips. The more I loaded 30-second clips to Youtube, the more I realized that this is very inefficient for the viewer. It’s not just about taking video and uploading it to a video server; rather, it’s about taking the pieces of video that actually work and editing it down for the viewer while informing them of the situation if it doesn’t display it within the video.
After creating the video, I’ve learned how to edit, (if not poorly), add subtitles to scenes in which viewers may not have all the information, and even a little audio modification. Yes, this video isn’t spectacular by any means, but it shows how easy it is to use a Mac program and how much better quality a video can be if edited properly. My next task is to turn all of Tyler and Betsy’s wedding video footage into a proper video diary of at least some of their wedding day. Then, perhaps, taking a bunch of the camping footage and doing the same thing so that I can delete all the random small videos on my Youtube channel and keep it clean and easy to view.
Another thing to note is how I really believe Youtube, (and perhaps other video websites), will eventually switch to a pay per video format. I think this will happen because it’ll reduce the amount of storage of inadequate video while increasing quality and actually generate revenue. This is a good thing and if I have to pay a quarter per video I upload, there’s a good chance I’d do it considering the storage capacity of video footage I can upload on Youtube.
I hope this entry has been informative in some way. If you film and edit video, please, feel free to suggest anything else I can add to a simple video to make it better. The only thing I couldn’t figure out was how to add a transition between shots. Thanks for reading!
There’s a restaurant nestled in the heart of Downtown Eugene, Oregon between 8th and Broadway on Lincoln Street called “The Vintage.” This little converted house into restaurant flaunts some tasty meals, desserts, and drinks without an exceptionally expensive menu. When I first started dining at this establishment, I was greeted with service that wasn’t the best I’ve ever had but above-average because the size of the establishment doesn’t allow for a enormous group of customers to dine at once. Lately, though, the delightful experience I once had has gone down the drain.
The last three times I’ve gone to The Vintage we’ve had a service and/or an experience that was much below my expectation. I’ve waited until now to blog about it because I feel that everyone in the service industry has an off-day and one daily experience with a restaurant isn’t enough to bash their overall integrity. Three times bad service in a row does equate to something that needs to be said whether it be vocally or in print. Here’s what has happened the last three times I’ve gone to The Vintage:
1. My girlfriend, Yaicha, and I invited her parents to The Vintage for a Mother’s Day brunch. We understood that almost any restaurant we’d go to on that day would have a slight wait. This wait wasn’t too long and they sat us outside on the slightly chilly patio. We ordered our food and most of us got what we wanted… except my girlfriend’s Mother. She ordered fish & chips and upon arrival of her meal, she requested tartar sauce and malt vinegar. The waitress returned about five minutes later explaining they were completely out of tartar sauce and offered ranch instead. What restaurant sells fish & chips without tartar sauce? We didn’t get any discount for not serving a meal correctly and especially for the Mother on Mother’s Day! Overall, to get our drinks, food, and checkout, it took well over an hour. An extra bonus goes to the chef who was blasting a radio in the kitchen that we could hear through the vent next to our table.
2. The next time Yaicha and I decided to go to The Vintage was shortly after we received a gift certificate from a new friend of ours in appreciation to all the hard work Yaicha put into her newly sister-in-law’s bachelorette party. We arrived on a notoriously busy night called “Thirsty Thursday” where you can get a burger and two beers of your choice for eight bucks. It’s a great deal and we were willing to wait. After about a half hour, we were sat next to this group of hippies who were done eating but were still lingering on a night where the restaurant specifically asks customers to hurry along so that others can be seated. Then they started making what they considered to be music on their glasses. CLANG CLANG BANG!!! It took about two minutes (and many glares from customers including us) before a waitress finally asked them to stop. As soon as we ordered our food, the waitress speeds off without asking us what we’d like to drink. This seems to be pretty notorious for The Vintage in my opinion. I only get one refill at most when I’m there and it takes forever. So, we finally get our food and ask for our other beer because we’re afraid we won’t get our second beer until after we’re already done with our food. Once we’re finished dining, we received our check which brings me to my other pet peeve of The Vintage. Once someone is served their check, please, come back in two minutes to check them out. Don’t wait ten minutes to come back to the table who’s ready to leave and is done with their drinks and food.
3. This is probably the last time I’m going to eat at The Vintage until I hear that they’ve shaped their establishment up. Yaicha and our friend Lorien went to The Vintage less than a week ago. By the time I arrived, they’ve already gotten their food and drinks. I’m sitting at the table for about 10 – 15 minutes and their waitress still hasn’t come by to ask if I’d like anything to eat or drink. I finally approached the bar to ask our waitress if she’d mind stopping at our table so I could order a drink when she had a moment, to which I received a hastily rude reply that she’s busy with others and will be there when she can. Shortly after that she stopped by and I asked for a Jalapeno Margarita which arrived 15 minutes later. Should it really take 15 minutes to get a mixed drink? Where’d she go? She didn’t have to cut up any jalapenos because the mix is already made and displayed in a decanter on the bar! Shortly after we received our check, it happened again; we got the check but the waitress didn’t come back to the table to pick it up and finish ringing up the credit card. I’m not sure how long it took to get the check because I left after waiting for 10 minutes. I can tell you that I bicycled to a store to get something to drink a block away, bicycled home about eight blocks from there and still made it home before they arrived in a vehicle. Yaicha explained that it took longer than expected because they messed up the check and had to fix it which, I’m guessing, wasn’t easy.
Overall, I must say that I’ve had better service at Chile’s connected to the Valley River Center mall. What makes going to independent restaurants so nice over the chains is not just the food but also the cozy atmosphere where the customer is important. I’ve never felt important nor cozy and I won’t be choosing to eat at this establishment until their waiters and waitresses have been educated on basic serving essentials.
...And It's Been A While, Since I've Wrote a Blog!
Oh my goodness! It feels like it has been forever since I’ve gotten to blog about anything at all! I’ve had many ideas I’ve wanted to write down but I’ve been so bogged down with a Spanish 103 class during the last eight weeks that I’ve had no time to write anything but Spanish homework. After earning my well-deserved “B” in that class, I finally have time to relax with an ice-cold Long Hammer IPA in hand and write about what’s been going on.
I’ve had a few experiences that have occurred within the past month that I’m going to reiterate in some other blogs but I feel that I must share why I haven’t gotten on here sooner to write. I understand that in keeping a blog, one is supposed to update it often with content that is actually useful to the person reading it. Keeping that in mind, although I may write about experiences in my life, I will try to share something that I learned in hope that you can take that for yourself.
First thing’s first: Spanish 103 at Lane Community College can consume your life. I realize that learning a new language is a bit daunting. It’s like a puzzle; you start basic and build from there into something that becomes complex with its own set of rules and rule-breakers. The homework was broken up into many different tasks that all seem to work upon each other, although it’s not strictly that way. Your main grade was built upon homework called “Tareas” where you have to write in Spanish, draw pictures and then color them based on what you write. This is typically done in a two-way conversation format and it takes a lot of time to do. (It usually took around two hours for me to write, draw, and color six pages.) You also have to listen to a poorly recorded CD that was a major struggle and required alot of patience. These were called “Charlas” and they were the tasks I most loathed. We also read a book in Spanish called “Encuentros Culturales” and had to answer true or false questions from our homework about each chapter. The last task we had was to write six journal entries answering questions about the class format or about how our learning the Spanish language is going. Overall, so much homework consumed my life that I had absolutely no motivation nor the time to write on the blog. If there’s one life-lesson I’ve learned from this class it’s this: If you ever take a language, be prepared for a struggle and definitely use as many outside resources as you can. I made good use of a translator and a conjugator. Just remember to use the tools wisely and don’t depend on them. The tools must help you learn but not be an answer sheet.
On another note, I’ve been living without my television for about two weeks. I own a 40″ Samsung television that I bought from Best Buy about a year-and-a-half ago with some inheritance money. It was the biggest investment I’ve ever made to date. Two months after the one-year warranty expired, the picture disappeared while the audio remained on. The next day, the picture came back on and stayed that way until two weeks ago. Long story short, I went through about seven phone calls and one fax of my original bill-of-sale to Samsung. I micro-blogged about it on Twitter and coincidentally got a reply from a nice gentleman working for Samsung who tried to help me with my problem. After being told from one of the many different Executive Customer Service people that there was nothing they could do for me, I decided to utilize some websites I found that had detailed accounts of others who’ve had the same problems with their Samsung televisions. I put my P.R. skills to work and let everyone I knew on my social media platforms what happened to me and other owners of Samsung televisions. I posted links to these websites, stating exactly what happened on Twitter, Facebook, and I was in the process of writing my review of the television I own on Amazon when the nice gentleman from Samsung’s Twitter called me on my cell stating that he resubmitted my claim and it was approved. A huge burst of relief came gushing out of me and I thanked him on the phone and again on Twitter before letting everyone know on those same social media formats that Samsung is now helping me. This has taught me one thing:
Be polite and be patient but if you know you’re in the right and someone tries to screw you, be ready to fire back. Don’t go down without a fight!
I have to call Jim’s Electronics tomorrow to see about getting my television repaired. I just hope after it’s repaired, it stays that way.
As I sit here on my comfy sectional, I’m beginning to think of all the items on the to-do list for the summer. My thought process is aided with some caffeine and Serge Gainsbourg’s “Melody” featuring a wide range of emotions expressed instrumentally through classic rock and orchestral strings. His deep, mellow voice speaks to me even though I don’t understand any of the French that so eloquently floats off his lips. Spring term is officially over for me tomorrow and I’m still waiting to hear if I’ve been accepted for the internship I’ve applied for.
It all started with a retweet (Twitter talk for reposting) from my PR instructor stating that GarageGames was looking for a Marketing / PR intern. I asked my instructor if she though I had enough experience and she told me it couldn’t hurt to apply. So, I did just that! I applied about a month ago and made it through the various hurtles including emailing a resume, cover letter, and a sample of my writing in the form of three product descriptions and a press release. I’ve played video games for over 20 years so figuring out how to describe a game was relatively simple. The press release was different. This term is my first in pre-journalism at the University of Oregon and I haven’t been shown how to create a press release, but throughout the term various people demonstrated some writing tips for press releases. So, with their help and an Internet model, I created my own press release for GarageGames. Apparently it was good enough because the next step was the interview.
I dressed as professionally as possible without over-doing it but now, when I look back on it, I feel like there could’ve been some better topics to touch upon that I missed. I think almost everyone feels that way after an interview so I’m trying not to put myself down over it. I had a brain-fart or two but hoped that my enthusiasm and openness in communication made up for it. I left the interview feeling pretty good but haven’t heard anything and it’s going on a week-and-a-half since the interview. Just because I haven’t heard anything doesn’t mean I haven’t stopped researching that company and other start-ups similar to it.
I recently just connected with an old associate that I communicated with occasionally when I first started as a Loud Rock Format Director at KWVA. His name is Eric Peltier and he’s been really helpful in giving me tips on career finding. He’s pretty much my idol when it comes to professionalism and I mean that! So, I’ve been researching what tools PR professionals use and then proceed to get some experience with that tool way ahead of when I graduate. I’ve also found some great books on PR and video games that I’m planning on reading over the summer. That’s what real learning is to me. Finding it for myself, just like the press release.
In short, keep your passions in your everyday life and never stop learning. Just because something doesn’t go your way, it doesn’t mean you have to be down about it. If anyone remarks on how you aren’t good enough for something, keep your head high and work harder at it. If it’s something you’re passionate about, the outlook is good that you’re only going to improve!
I now understand what it would be like to be on a desert island. It would be BORING! For my assignment in Mass Media & Society, I couldn’t consume any media for two days. I decided to choose a Friday and Saturday to suffer it out because Friday was a complete day off from work and school while Saturday was just a full day of work. I realized all too soon that this was going to be a long, two days.
DAY 1: THE BOREDOM BEGINS
It’s a warm, sunny morning of my media fast and I already had to avoid watching television because my girlfriend, whom I live with, was watching it. Once she found out that I was on my fast, she complied with my situation and kept the television shut off. I don’t really watch much television so it didn’t matter to me. What did matter was avoiding Internet. I love surfing the Internet because of all the different information on it. Social media is one of my favorite things to interact with and since it’s a key tool for a Public Relations major, it’s a part of my student life. I also had to avoid my RSS feed, recreational web sites, and more. The only exception was school material, (which I found was similar to a smoker quitting by chewing on a straw.)
It didn’t take long before I was bored as hell. I just sat in my living room with nothing on. So, I had a bright idea… I’ll clean the garage! Yeah, that would totally be an awesome way to take my mind off media. Four hours later, the garage was reorganized, I found a ton of stuff I forgot I had – and I could walk in it. So, my lack of media consumption had already started to be a positive experience but dinner was still to come.
I imagine that many of the people across the United States all watch television while they eat dinner. If they don’t watch television, perhaps there’s some music or background noise that provides mood to the atmosphere. Now imagine having nothing but silence while you eat. Just. Silence. It is so awkward! My girlfriend and I just sat on the couch while eating dinner, trying to make conversation with the silence deadening most of our thoughts. After dinner, I decided to read my textbook and ended up going to bed early mostly because of how bored I really was.
DAY 2: A MUCH DIFFERENT WORK DAY
The next morning was pretty much the same as the day before. I checked my school email because it was the only media I was allowed to take in. Then, I was off to work! I’m employed at an independent music, movie, and video game store in downtown Eugene. Luckily, I didn’t have to package any Amazon items that day or else I would’ve been forced to use a computer and that would’ve been like putting a glass of pure grain alcohol in front of an ex-alcoholic fresh out of rehab. There were only two things I couldn’t do: Pick music and use the Internet. I was still exposed to some media because there’s always music playing on the sound-system but I made sure not to request anything so that it’d basically be like seeing a billboard on the street. By the end of the work, I was so drained that I shuffled home and passed out for the night.
Over the previous two days, I realized how much media I actually use and if I didn’t have it around… I’d probably go crazy. It makes me wonder if that’s the reason why our Government offered coupons for discount digital converter boxes? How many people do you think would go crazy if they didn’t have their television?
On Wednesday May, 27th I attended the full session of the event “Your Digital Life” supported by the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and sponsored by Conkling, Fiskum, and McCormick. I learned much about certain aspects of a life you can lead digitally and ways to protect yourself from potential threats. In this short blog, I’ll give you some insight to the helpful information the speakers gave.
PANEL 1:Risks, Privacy, Copyright and Security
Three speakers informed us about these topics that I thought were very helpful. André Chinn spoke about “Safe Social Media”, bringing some very helpful tips about how to protect your digital self. André explained that one of the main things a person should do with their online identities is not use the same password everywhere. He also recommended using a strong password; mix letters, numbers, case, and punctuation. Phishing is a hot topic in his profession and one that should be taken seriously. Some ways that phishing is successful is when someone clicks on a link in a place such as their email, then are asked to enter in their protected information like passwords and more. Overall, André said to do three simple things:
Pay close attention
Be skeptical
Use common sense
Joanna Goode was the second speaker who shed some light on “Teachers as Cyborgs” and about how our digital footprints are expanding enormously the more we people use technology. Her insight on Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) has five points:
Interface Stability
Growth of Technological-Dependency
Growth of Hyperconnectivity
Increased Amount of Information on People’s Lives and Actions
More Creativity
She said that a lot of these can be perceived as threats to our personal growth but that more creativity could very well be a good thing to come from technology in the form of blog writing, art programs, and more. One last point she touched on was about cyberbullying and other forms of dangerous behavior.
The last speaker on the first panel was Ryan Vacca, speaking about “Applications to Social Networking & Online Media.” It seemed to me that translating Internet law to people outside the industry has to be a difficult thing to do. While there was some jargon used, Ryan brought some good points to the audience explaining how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) helps the public from getting sued over copywritten posts on forums you may, in part, own or oversee. After the speakers were done, I asked Ryan if the DMCA has anything to do with how people can use music file sharing on forums such as blogspot and he said those people are actually the ones taking advantage of it.
PANEL 2:Opportunities and Practical Applications of Social Media
Four speakers shed some light on many practical and interesting ways on how to use social media to your advantage personally and professionally. Crystal Lyon and John Weiss both spoke about how the company they work at, Waggener Edstrom, uses social media and some applications they’re creating to help with research and more. John said that one of the key things an individual should do is create their own personal brand. He also said that one should match their experiences with others easily and center their brand on engaging discussion. I believe this should be done to ensure maximum impact and transference from one to another.
The second speaker was a very informative assistant professor of public relations at the U of O, Tiffany Derville Gallicano. Her panel was about “Tweeting Your Way to an Entry Level Position” and gave some great tips on how to do just that. Her focus was mainly on Public Relations but also gave tips that could be attributed to any sector that’s connected digitally. The first tip was to find your career interest and then find individuals in the industries Twitter handle. This can be found through such places like P.R. Open Mic as well as using hash tags for key search words like #prjobs and #pradvice. She also said to turn your Twitter profile into a professional place with a nice background that stands out among the rest and putting pertinent contact info and links on your page so that someone can thoroughly check you out.
The third speaker was a very animated young lady who writes for the Register-Guard Ticket section, Serena Markstrom. She brought an old-school approach to a new emergence in digital technology by showing how she used to communicate with people and how the tools we use today can still be directly applied to older ones we once used more. Serena writes reviews for shows she’s seen and still uses places like Myspace to contact artists and find where shows are going to be. She also tries to not only develop relationships with people but to maintain them on a personal level.
The last speaker, Hannah Smith, is an Associate at Conkling Fiskum & McCormick and spoke about her process of creating a burgeoning online community for Tillamook Cheese. Her process included connecting with their community offline to see if they were online to begin with then, once they heard that people were online, they began “listening” to the online conversation about Tillamook Cheese. After that, they created a Facebook page, Twitter profile, YouTube page, and a dedicated Tillamook Cheese Fan Club Website. Critics of this type of media usually argue that once you have these types of social media websites, there will be individuals that will go out of their way to bash the company. Her argument back was about how the conversation will happen regardless if you’re in it or not, so you might as well have your own voice in the conversation to speak some sense about a situation.
When the speakers were asking questions, I stated another place of where to go to find jobs via Twitter with which Tiffany also said that Twibes is another good place to find a job then asked John and Crystal how much their agency is devoted to research and what types of tools they use and/or are developing. They said a very large part of the company is devoted to research alone and are creating more tools rather than using existing ones devoted to research.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
The final speaker was the Executive Director of Stanford Law School’s Center for Internet and Society (CIS), Lauren Gelman. Her main focus was about why people are posting so much online and to how our privacy is affected. Lauren went through some of the history of the World Wide Web and how Web 2.0 has been created by the convergence of message board forums with static web pages; blogs are a perfect example. She then went to talk about how privacy has been affected by social media and how we should have some restraint about what we put online that can be connected to us that could potentially threaten us some way later. She then started taking questions that took up the rest of the time and, I speculate, the other part of her written speech. I asked her about how certain companies are asking their employees to sign “No Blogging” contracts and if she thought this was going to increase in the future in a time where companies should be encouraged to become “part of the conversation.” She didn’t think very many companies would embrace that.
Overall, the presentation was full of helpful advice about living a digital life and how to properly maintain a professional profile safely.
In the past few years, I’ve had a close relationship with food. I’ve tasted some unique flavors attributed to foods that, I think, the normal everyday American wouldn’t bother to eat compared to the convenience of some other foods. Smoked cheese, Brie, organic farm-raised steak, and snack foods outside of the norm are some examples. These great foods probably wouldn’t ever have been introduced to me if it wasn’t one of my favorite unique flavors; the flavor of Craft Beer.
I used to be the typical college level domestic beer drinker. “Mmm… Pabst Blue Ribbon! They don’t give losers the blue ribbon,” I’d say with a smile on my face. After a while though, my tolerance grew and my stomach couldn’t take all the beer I had to drink in order to get a buzz. That’s when I tried one of my first India Pale Ales. Ninkasi IPA coated my tongue with its super hoppy flavor and light carbonation and I was surprised at how I didn’t have to tolerate a bad flavor for a change while gladly drinking it down. After that, domestic beer just never tasted the same. After convincing most of my close friends that paying the extra couple dollars at a bar for higher quality beer can go a long way, I started to take a bigger interest into the types of craft beer that is out there and how many other individuals are passionate about the same subject. What I found was astounding. I believe, craft beer is not only better for an individual compared to domestic beer but that it’s a drink worthy of any culture worldwide and has some cultural significance within our own culture here in the Pacific Northwest.
If you need any confirmation that craft beer has its fans, look no further than KLCC’s Brewfest in Eugene, Oregon. In February this year, I went to the Lane County Fairgrounds with a couple friends to sample some of the 48 different breweries’ beers and wade through the expected 3,700 people (Bandolas) to get to the good stuff before it ran out. I had a great time but was surprised when I talked about my experience in class later and only got replies from younger people bragging about how they drank over twenty cans of Natty Ice while playing beer-pong that weekend. While I believe we both got intoxicated that weekend, he was hung over while I was feeling fine. I’m sure there are many reasons why but I like to think it’s because I had to drink less beer to become intoxicated and the ingredients were better inside it. Before I explain some of the reasons why I believe craft beer is good for someone, I think someone should gain some knowledge in some key points in the history of beer and what makes Craft Beer what it is.
Even in the beginnings of ancient history, ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia worshipped Ninkasi, the Goddess of Beer (Garrett Oliver 22). In fact many people within many cultures drank beer over water because of risk of infection. Much, much, much, later in the United States of America, beer and hard alcohol were being brewed. Certain people thought that some current social problems stemmed from alcohol consumption making people become morally corrupt, thus the Prohibition Act was enacted in January 17, 1920 (Oliver 34). Some recognizable breweries sustained within this dry period through other means, some of which are quite humorous (Oliver 34). One key highlight is the fact that these companies created malt extracts for people to buy so that they could homebrew. Finally on April 17, 1933, after 13 years have passed, the Prohibition Act was dropped. The New York Times’ headline read, “Beer Flows in 19 States at Midnight.” All isn’t fine and dandy though because a nation of soda drinkers had emerged onto the scene for the last 13 years and weren’t used to the intense flavors of beer nor were they too picky. New laws were also placed to which the alcohol percentage had to be below 3.2% and there were pressure to keep beer at a cheap price since the Depression was in full swing (Oliver 36). Some of these laws have created the soda-like domestic beers we have today in America which contain much less of the ingredients that make craft beers of today so great.
Most people have some knowledge that beer is made with hops, barley, and yeast. That’s just the basic part of the whole process though. You can have many different varieties of hops, barley, and yeast that all do different things in the process of brewing beer. The temperature of what you boil the brew at, the temperature and length of time you roast your barley and the amount of hops you put in all adds its own flavors to a beer. Did I mention the type of water used makes a difference as well? The process is complicated but I believe it makes for a drink that everyone can enjoy with any type of food. I mean, there has to be a reason why beer is the number one beverage in the world, right?
Within the Pacific Northwest, I can say that people really do appreciate craft beer. I’ve traveled to various cities in the U.S. such as Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Chicago, New York, and many other cities and I can tell anyone that the Pacific Northwest has many more craft beer lovers than in other regions of the United States. Why does craft beer hold such an affinity to people in the Pacific Northwest though? Chip & Christina, owners of The Bier Stein Bottle Shop and Pub, think that it’s because craft beer has integrated itself within our culture. The demand for it has reached far into the grocery stores that also carry mass-produced domestic brands and imports. They think because people have seen it so long, the name Deschutes is just as familiar of a brand name as Budweiser. On top of that, they think that people within Oregon are more educated to the way they consume their products, especially since we’re in a town with a University, which accounts for whether or not a person would want to drink domestic or craft beer. When they made their business plan, they had to take into account two major aspects in their target consumer market; Money and Education. Would people be willing to pay the extra three dollars for a six-pack? I think that in the Eugene area, where people are willing to bike than drive, mass transit by bus is available, and buying local is so popular, people are much more willing and have the extra money to spend on a higher quality alcoholic drink. Chip & Christina as well as Nikos Ridge, a Business / Marketing employee at Ninkasi Brewery think that a person who’s well educated usually will want to drink a higher quality craft beer, whether it’s locally brewed or an import, rather than a mass-produced domestic beer. Why would people really want to drink these time and time again and shell out a higher dollar?
Three years ago, I went to visit some friends in Illinois whom I’ve known for almost a decade. My friend, Brianna, had a keg of an import beer called Hacker-Pschorr which imbued a smoky wood flavor that was quite unique compared to many beers I’ve consumed before that. When I returned back to Eugene, I tried to relate the beer to friends around here and really couldn’t describe it especially when comparing it to other beers. Then one day, I found a similar beer at the Bier Stein that tasted almost exactly like it but with higher alcohol content. I knew I had to tell Brianna that I found a beer she would like if not more than Hacker-Pschorr. Chip & Christina tell me that this is one of the many reasons why people would go out of their way and pay more for a higher quality of beer. Generally, people who travel inside and outside of the country have an education and money to spare. So, whether it’s a student going abroad, a business person traveling outside the country, or just the casual traveler seeing the sights of the world, coming back home and drinking a beer that you had in the country you visited can recreate the memories of places visited thus, I believe, food and drink can trigger memories that can last a lifetime. What happens, though, when the tastes you come to associate with memories disappear?
At this moment in 2008, beer brewers and consumers alike are starting to see a trend in the raising of prices of craft beer. The shortage of ingredients that contribute to the making of beer is one of the main reasons why this is happening. Various storms in key areas that grow hops and barley ruined much of what would’ve helped the impending shortage (Brooks). That along with fires, pest problems and an abundant oversupply has created the shortage (Southern Arizona…). People also believe that with the introduction of alternative fuels, farmers are giving up their hop and barley crops for corn crops though this isn’t entirely true because hops and barley don’t grow in the same places and conditions as corn. Rather, barley is being used to feed livestock since corn can be used as an alternative fuel source (Brooks). The movement of where barley goes to make a consumer good is just one of the reasons why the cost of craft beer is rising. If you need any evidence, just go to Safeway on 18th and Pearl. A year ago, a six-pack of Rogue Dead Guy Ale was almost a dollar less than the now $10+ sticker price before deposit. Chip & Christina say that they doubt we’ll ever see the $20 six-pack but we will see a price increase that they speculate eventually will level off. Nikos agrees that is what will likely happen as time passes and crops grow healthy again. In the meantime though, there are beers that are disappearing from our shelves and pubs in the Pacific Northwest purely because of the type of ingredients used in the recipe of certain beers. Ninkasi’s Spank Dog is one of those beers (Nikos). Originally, it was made in tribute to the Wild Duck in Eugene, Oregon because they knew the former owners and brewers but because of the increase in price of hops and the lack of production of it, it has been discontinued. Imagine if a memory you had associated to a certain taste could never be appropriately reclaimed because of the discontinuation of the food or drink you love. I’d imagine that a piece of you had been snatched away. Now, all this information about craft beer has mainly been about the positive aspects of it but what about its negative effects attributed to the average human individual?
I understand that craft beer is not for everyone and some people are more susceptible to negative health side effects such as weight gain or alcoholism. Overall though, I think that a moderate amount of craft beer can be healthier for you because of the better quality ingredients inside it. Chip & Christina say that there are more vitamins in craft beer but there are also more alcohol and calories than your average American domestic. If you look at it on a level of having just one beer, the difference can be grand but if you’re drinking to get intoxicated, I believe that craft beer is better for you in the long run because you don’t have to drink as much to get drunk thus less overall calories entering into the body. Nikos explains that people who drink craft beer usually drink it because it has more nutrients and fewer additives. It’s like comparing real food to fast food. He also explains that the alcohol doesn’t normally create the alcoholic but rather it enables them. We both agree that people who normally drink craft beer drink it for different reasons than the person who normally drinks well liquor or domestic beer.
Overall, the future holds much in store for craft beer and the people who make it as well as the people who consume it. There are still many more things we will see in the Pacific Northwest and I think that Eugene has some great possibilities in store for it when it comes to craft beer and food. Every year, KLCC has its Craft Brewfest and there’s that Sasquatch Brewfest that occurs in Eugene yearly where they pair craft beer with craft foods, which is something I believe, should never be missed. Pairing beer with food is a trend that is catching on quickly within the Pacific Northwest and the owners of the Bier Stein are highly interested in starting food pairings at their restaurant though they have no time due to demand of their establishment currently. In 2006, the Portland metro area had 38 breweries in its confines, which is more than any other metro area in the world. In effect, that would almost make Portland beer capital of the world compared to its population. I think we should be proud of that fact because in turn it means we are an educated people and spend our money smartly by buying local.
Annotated Bibliography
Brooks, Jay R. “No Hops, No Barley, No Beer!” Beer Northwest. Spring 2008.
This article explains the possible reason why craft beer is being endangered with the shift in climate change as well as change in demand of agriculture for commercial use. Brooks also explains the fear of farmers growing corn over craft beer ingredients.
Gatza, Paul, Julia Herz, Cindy Jones. “2007 Craft Beer Industry Statistics.” Beertown.org 17 Apr. 2008. 29 Apr. 2008 http://www.beertown.com/craftbrewing/statistics.html
This webpage offers some interesting statistics of get increase of craft beer microbreweries and brewpubs that occur within the U.S. The comparison of 2007 to 2006 gives us a relation in the increase in almost all areas of craft beer making. The use of a pie chart and bar graph also help the reader comprehend the statistics.
Hardy, Chip & Christina Hardy. Pesonal Interview. 22 May 2008.
The interview conducted mainly focused on how their establishment has flourished in respects with the popularity of craft food and beer, how the ingredient shortage has effected their establishment, and any health effects they know of pertaining to craft beer.
Oliver, Garrett. The Brewmaster’s Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer With Real Food. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2003.
Oliver celebrates craft beer in this book on a large scale while explaining how it’s made, the history of it, brewing traditions, and other bits of knowledge. The history of beer within the U.S. and how Prohibition has shaped some of the mass market beers of today was of interest especially when there are so many independent brewpubs and microbreweries within the Pacific Northwest.
Ridge, Nikos. Email Interview. 20 May 2008.
I mainly focused on how a brewery located within the local confines of Eugene, Oregon has grown to its current size, how the shortage of hops has effected their recipes for their beers, and the health pros and cons of craft beer.
Upon viewing the aftermath of what people have told me about the new Wolverine movie, I’ve come to the assumption that the less directors and producers make movies for the average idiot, whom only watches summer blockbusters, the more money they’ll make in the long run. While most people dug “The Dark Knight,” there was a fair amount that seem to have been disappointed with “Watchmen.” Why do I think? I think people are expecting just a regular action movie with superheroes. A movie company needs tell people if they’re getting an action-movie blockbuster of they’re getting an artsy comic book movie in disguise. Funny thing is is that there really isn’t that much action in comparison to plot in “The Dark Knight.” People knew that there would be some great acting from the star actors and actresses so they were able to cope, in my opinion, with the lack of action in many parts of the movie. I also think that the addition of the extra drama within the film also helped. This is where I think more movie companies should make a whole new genre of film.
Comic book horror movies. (I mean, overall, Horror at its basic is just a drama that shows the violence. Right?)
How many comics can you think of that just seem too violent for your average blockbuster? I can think of a Carnage adaptation that I’d love to see.
Imagine Carnage and Venom in prison and the massacre that ensues.
Why not a Marvel Zombies?
This would have to be Rated R and, oh man, would it be awesome!
Venom Origins?
Please, make up for Spider-Man 3! PLEASE!!!
Deadpool?
Always the ladies man, this could be more violent than horror / thriller.
Spawn!?!
Seriously Todd, where's the Rated R version of this already?
Why not make them into horror movies and have them be a portion of your company that keeps making money more consistently over the long run? Make some artsy ones or ones that use some organic SFX instead of the regular CGI. This could also be a chance to make some low budget movies, which are great when made in the horror genre, that incorporate some lesser-known characters in starring roles.
So please, I beg you companies such as Dimension Extreme or Lions Gate to try as hard as possible to get into making some sort of Extreme Genre for comic book movies. While you’re at it, make a movie for Sleepwalker. It’s my favorite comic book character and I’d love to see some sort of artsy-extreme movie incorporating that storyline. Not every movie needs a PG-13 rating when attributed to a comic book genre and most of the adults who read comics will thank you for the R rating. Horror fans will thank you even more if it’s a hard R.
Ugh! Grammar. I know how you feel. Right now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Do I really want to read this? Where’s the fun, humor and self-satisfaction within Grammar?” Well, I can tell you that I’m going to make this as much fun as possible and help at the same time. So…
Let me help!
You see, even in a sentence as simple as the one above there’s a verb “let”, a pronoun “me”, and another verb “help.”
One thing that you can’t get mixed up with in relation to verbs are these tricky things called “verbals.” They typically look like a verb but take the form of a noun within a sentence. Check this sentence out!
“She really enjoys running and biking.”
Oh snap, right away you think of how fit she must be. Or maybe that’s just me and you’re already getting fed up with my writing style. We’re talking about grammar here! Anyway, check out “running” and “biking.” They look like verbs but in all actuality they’re actually a type of verbal called a gerund. Gerunds always have an -ing ending and have the feel of action but serve only as the object or subject within a sentence. So even though they look like verbs, they’re always nouns. But wait, there’s two more types of verbals! Oh no!
Participles are the verbals that either have an -ing or -ed ending and are always adjectives. They typically will give extra meaning to a noun or a pronoun. Take for example this action from Friday the 13th:
“Raising the axe above his head, the slasher walked menacingly toward the door.”
Take this Non-User of Grammar!
Raising is part of the phrase that adds information about slasher, the subject of the sentence. Hence, the role of raising is to modify the noun. The last verbal we should discuss, I mean enjoy, is the awesomeness that is the Infinitive.
Infinitives are verbals that are formed by to plus the present tense of a verb, (at least in most cases.) They’re one of my favorites because of how easy they are to identify. Take this example from my favorite genre of films; horror:
“The slasher needs to kill.”
Look out Arsenio! Jason is using Grammar!
In this sentence to kill is a noun, the object of the verb needs. That’s mostly all about gerund but there’s still more to come and I promise I’ll stop talking about horror movies.
One of the rules in grammar I’ve always had a misconception about was the use of an apostrophe when making a noun possessive. I don’t know about you but I’ve known many people who’re possessive over the years so if you were to write about them, this would be a great tool to know.
If a singular noun doesn’t end in s, add ’s. This example is for my Jewish girlfriend:
the owner’s dreidel
Yaicha’s beautiful hair
See, the apostrophe has the s after it. Of course, in English, there’s always exceptions! Argh, always with the exceptions!
If a singular common noun ends in s, add ’s unless the next word begins with s. (This includes words with s and sh sounds.) Oh, tricky! I never learned that before!
that is Yaicha’s menora
but
see the bass’ scales
See where the apostrophe went? Crazy, huh? What to talk about next… I suppose we could talk about us. Or I could talk about you. Or he could talk about she. Yeah, you guessed it, let’s talk about the sexiest type of pronouns out there; Personal Pronouns.
The most common pronoun type, the personal pronoun, usually comes in three distinct cases: Subjective, Objective, and Possessive. Yeah, you thought we could get away from possessiveness but apparently humans are selfish so we need this in grammar. Check this out:
The word “I” is subjective while “me” is objective and “my/mine” is possessive.
These are words you hear children use a lot when they have something they don’t want to share. Those are also that same reasons why I don’t want to have children, aside from the pooping, peeing, and sleepless nights attributed to one.
Indefinite pronouns are less humorous but needed just as much as personal pronouns. Words like some, none, all, and most are some examples. Take this example unofficially overheard from a sleazeball in South Beach:
“Both of those hookers are overpriced.”
Guess what it can't clean? The mess that is my career!
That phrase just goes to show that there’s no such thing as moral or immoral writing, just good or bad writing.
Relative and interrogative pronouns are ones that are usually easy to recognize but are tough to use properly. Take these for example:
Who or whom, did the police arrest? Answer: Whom. (Hopefully it was the sleazeball.)
or
The police officers that stopped his car were shocked by his drunken rant.
“That” should actually be “who” since we’re talking about the police. The poor police who had to arrest a drunken sleazeball that bought a cheap hooker.
One of the last pronouns is called a Demonstrative. These pronouns are what others call “pointers.” They include that, this, those, and these. For example:
This is an episode of TMZ you do not want to miss.
This refers to a specific TV show. A show in which you eventually see a drunken sleazeball in a beaten up state.
Cue the Price is Right FAIL music...
Speaking of getting assaulted…
Have you ever been tased? I haven’t and I hope you haven’t either but let’s consider this sentence as an example for our next subject to talk about; Adjectives!
The student didn’t cooperate and was tased by the police.
Kind of boring right? Let’s add some adjectives to spice things up a little!
The drunkencollege student didn’t cooperate and was tased by the vigilant police.
The adjectives painted a fuller picture about the student and the police. What are some words that can paint a better description on getting tased? (You’re thinking of how someone getting tased looks like now aren’t you? Just youtube taser videos, there’s a ton of them out there.)
Limiting adjectives sets boundaries and limits meaning within a sentence. For example:
The courtroom had to wait 3 days before the jury arrived at a verdict.
The number 3 tells us specifically how many days they had to wait to find out the verdict on the college student.
One of the most tricky adjectives for me is the Predicate Adjective. This is an adjective that follows a linking verb. It modifies the subject, which can be either a noun or a pronoun.
He is happy about the jury’s decision.
The predicate adjective, happy, describes the condition of the subject. I’d be happy too, were I in his shoes and after getting tased. Ouch! Next, we’re going to touch upon a delightful subject called Adverbs.
Adverbs can do many things within a sentence and many of them end in -ly. Be warned, don’t always rely on that knowledge alone. Adverbs can modify a verb, modify an adjective, modify another adverb, introduce a sentence, and connect two clauses. Since most of the easy ones end in -ly, I’m going to give you an example of introducing a sentence:
Why do rednecks fall in love?
Love is a battlefield. Battlefield on the senses!!!
Why is the adverb that modifies the verb fall.
So, why do rednecks fall in love? Check back in a later blog to see some reasons I’ve found. On another note, let’s talk about Conjunctions!
I feel like I should just embed a Youtube video of the Schoolhouse Rock song, “Conjunction Junction,” but I’ll hold back in high hopes that I can get something more from this blog for myself as well as in teaching you. There’s a quote out there somewhere that states something like, “You never fully learn the subject until you teach it.” I probably butchered that but yeah… Conjunctions!
Conjunctions basically keep the rhythm of a sentence and also creates needed transitions of thought. There’s three types of conjunctions; Coordinating, Subordinating, and Correlative.
Coordinating conjunctions can link two independent clauses, which could stand alone in separate sentences but can also link simple words and phrases. My fabulous grammar instructor once told be an anagram called “FANBOYS.” For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so are the most common coordinating conjunctions. Let me tell you a secret though, my book says the word “so” is a subordinating conjunction. I’m so confused now! Oh well, I’m sure 90% of the world’s population wouldn’t get it anyway.
Subordinating conjunctions are used to join clauses of unequal weight. Some words include, after, since, through, before, and as if. Be careful with “as if” though; you can’t use it like Valley Girls in Clueless do. Or can you? I shouldn’t have admitted to having seen that movie. Check out this example:
It looks as if it will be sunny today.
It looks like sun today.
Correlative conjunctions operate in pairs because they pair words, phrases and clauses to provide balance.
He not only had his cake but also ate it too.
Not only & but also are just a small amount of correlative conjunctions out there. If you still don’t get it, check out the video from Schoolhouse Rock! Oh yeah! I had to put it in here!
I know by now you’re probably thinking, “Man, this guy is still talking about Grammar? He thinks he’s funny too. If he only knew…” Well, I know I’m not George Carlin or John Stewart but still, stay with me.
Prepositions work with nouns and pronouns to create phrases and to link the phrases to the rest of the sentence. Here’s an example:
This blog means a lot to you and me.
“To you and me” is the prepositional phrase in that sentence. I know, it probably means more to me than you because I’m getting the grade but at least you’re getting an entertaining way to read grammar so it isn’t all bad, right?
One of the big no-nos that has been instilled in most of us since a young age is using the phrase you and me. Typically, if it’s between us, it’s always “you and me” not “you and I.” So, the correct way to shape this would be:
Between you and me, this beer is kind of strong.
It's "Who's Thirsty?" not "Whose Thirsty?"
Mmm… Beer. Oh, sorry, I’m back. Okay, now it’s on the the creative stuff! Let’s talk about the difference in passive voice and active voice.
Passive voice robs the sentence of it’s life. Essentially, it’s like a depressed sentence before Prozac came along. It just stumbles listlessly while hitting the points but not making a spark. Basically, it has no friends. I’m sorry, that’s mean. I apologize but still, look at this sentence:
The arguing of the drunken college neighbors could be heard over the oncoming police sirens.
Now check out the sentence in active voice.
The oncoming police sirens stood no chance in comparison to the roaring arguments the drunken college neighbors produced.
Boy, I don’t know what’s more awesome, that active sentence construction or the fact that it’s happening outside my house right now. College: I guess it’s all about learning. I often wonder if my neighbors smell like Summer’s Eve.
The last thing I want to discuss with you is the difference between a Good and Bad sentence. After reading this blog, I hope you’ve gained some wisdom in the rules of English grammar and that your sentence construction will be better afterward. Here’s a sentence that I was presented in a quiz for my Grammar class that is written poorly:
A photo was taken by the reporter of the man that stole her purse with an old polaroid camera.
Right away, you can tell it needs some better wording and punctuation but look at how it is without. Doesn’t it seem that the purse contains a polaroid camera? I mean, they are portable and can fit in purses. Plus, wouldn’t that specify what purse was stolen better? In all actuality, the reporter just used a crappy camera to take a picture. A polaroid camera. Pssshh, that’s what a bad sentence can do. Literally cause a train wreck on paper. Check out this revision:
The amateur reporter took a photo with a crappy, old Polaroid camera of the man who stole her purse.
Well, that’s about it. Thank you very much for reading my blog and I look forward to hearing any comments you have on it. I will leave you with this quote:
“If ignorance is bliss, then knock the smile off my face.” -Zach de la Rocha
