A question on Guns and Ammo

September 30, 2005


What would compel someone to purchase a subscription to Guns and Ammo magazine? Are pictures of guns that cool to look at?

I had a friend once who, out of the blue, started buying Guns and Ammo. He would proudly display them face up in the back of his Ford station wagon. I’m not sure if this was supposed to impress people, or if it was an incredibly passive way of showing how tough he was.

Either way, he looked like a moron. Consequently, he’s no longer my friend.

That’s just my question and thought for the day.

Tags: Random |

4 Comments

Cutting the cable

September 28, 2005


I’ve lived a decent life: I’ve never been without shelter, I survived college intact, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel and eat gourmet foods, and I’ve got a plethora of great friends. Through all of this, there’s been one constant – one thing that I’ve always had as part of my life and really took advantage of throughout that time.

Cable television.

And, starting with our next billing period, we will no longer have it. I am going to be officially out of the loop as far as cable television goes.

I’m kind of scared.

Here’s the deal – I don’t watch TV anymore. In fact, I would have gotten rid of cable months ago except I was under the assumption that I needed it in order to keep our cable internet connection. I’ve started reading books when I get home at night, and I don’t use our TV for anything but movies and NBA Live 2006 during the day. Kerrie has told me that she would like to get rid of cable because all she watches is the Food Network and whatever random reality show she happens to get caught up in while flipping channels.

Still, it’s always been there. It’s always been right there, hooked behind the television, ready to pipe that sweet cable goodness onto our screen.

There will be times I’ll miss it – I’ll miss the NBA on TNT. I’ll miss watching eighteen Law and Order reruns in a row on Sunday nights. I’ll miss ESPN, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, and the History Channel.

But you know what? I never get to watch any of this, and even if I did I can still get every single NBA game on Sirius radio, as well as any ESPN news. Aqua Teen Hunger Force is on DVD, as is Law and Order, and the History Channel is just 95% World War II anyway.

I won’t miss the countless reality shows. I won’t miss feeling obliged to turn the TV on during some quiet moment in our house. I won’t be drawn into watching some lame show during the afternoon because I’m too lazy to do anything else.

Right now we’re paying $35 per month for something we use only a few hours a week. That’s enough to make me feel a lot better about my decision.

But I can’t help but to be a little scared. I’m sending myself back to the dark ages, as far as information goes. I’ll be completely shut off from sweeps month, and from 24-hour hurricane coverage, and from Iron Chef. I’ll no longer be able to catch an episode of Golden Girls, or a rare appearance of The Family Ties. In fact, I’ll be closed off from all of the mind-numbingly horrible shows that pass as “situation comedies” these days.

Hmm. I guess maybe this was healthier than I had thought.

Tags: Vilhauer |

7 Comments

The truth behind the vacation

September 27, 2005


The Bushes make the most of a disaster.
I knew Bush was doing something fishy on his vacation.

Tags: Politics |

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House party (x2)

September 26, 2005


The Renaissance Festival was a lot of fun. There’s something about the feel of being on the field and having literally hundreds of things to do or look at from a medieval perspective that makes me want to travel to England even more than I usually do.

Still, I’m always taken aback by an almost prolific rate of growth in the “complete dork per-capita” rate on the grounds. Everywhere I turned I saw people who haven’t left their parents basement for anything but Burger King since they graduated high school.

I’d be critical of them, but I’m not far removed from being one of them.

What was more interesting this weekend, however, was that I went to not one, but two house parties.

If you haven’t been to a college house party (or if you’ve somehow forgotten what they’re like) I’ll sum it up in a few words: sometimes pretentious, sometimes pleasant, and always spattered with strangers.

What I mean is, no matter what house party you attend you’ll find three things: a group of kids who are completely full of themselves – the ones that are trying to up their cool rating by hanging out at a party; a group of kids who you’d never talk to outside of the current situation but end up having a great conversation with (usually aided and ignited by the lowered inhibitions of alcohol); a group of people that no one, save one, knows at all.

In both cases, we were the group of people that no one knew.

This was a first for me. I’m not the kind of person who enjoys going to someone’s house and wandering around with a beer while I desperately look for someone I know. I’m not comfortable starting a conversation with a person who I’ve never talked to before in my life – especially someone who is obviously more comfortable with the situation than I am. I am easily intimidated by a 22-year-old who can spark a debate and who looks like a J Crew model.

The first house we went to, (a “going away to New Zealand” party for a friend of one of our friends) had a DJ with a pair of turntables, a couple of kegs of Grain Belt, and about 35-40 of the most beautiful college men and women that I’ve ever seen in one room together. I’m not just talking about straight-forward physical beauty, here – this was Minnesota, there were no underwear models or future hunks at all. I’m talking about those kids who always seem to gravitate towards each other – the ones who are attractive and smart, the ones who are all headed to Harvard to get their graduate degree and will someday drive an Audi.

In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they already had an Audi.

These are the people that I’ve felt intimidated by all my life. Really, they don’t have anything more than I do except for a confidence in everything they do. Sure, they can be wrong, untalented, and plain. But they assume that they aren’t, and for that reason they seem right, talented and beautiful.

Now that I’m older, I see through this. I can tell who’s being pretentious and who’s actually a good person with great talent. I talked to one guy outside who is majoring in social work and realized that he was a good person, that he was going to succeed in life because he was confident and intelligent. I then talked to another person a little bit later who was going to school to be in the medical field. He was more concerned with catching a “piece of tail” than anything else. He would succeed in life because he was confident, but he would ultimately fail because he was overconfident – he thought he was better than many people, the “piece of tail” he was chasing included, and he would find it catching up with him.

We eventually left – we had another party to make an appearance at – but before I left I was asked where I was from. I said Sioux Falls. My questioner then asked “Where do you go to school?”

*sigh* I explained that I didn’t go to school. I had already graduated. I was 27. I was probably the oldest person there, aside from the random old guy who had walked in about 10 minutes before we left. I felt old. I felt out of place, like I had snuck into the party to desperately seek out companionship.

Leaving was the only option at that point, and we ended up at the second “house party” – a group of what our friend Branum called “faux-punks.”

It was more of a “faux-indie rock” party, though I’ll admit I was glad to hear The Arcade Fire playing in the corner. Everyone there was very cool and no one (as far as I could tell) was pretentious at all; I talked with quite a few people and, even though we were again the strangers at the party (which was winding down when we showed up), we were welcomed as if we were long lost friends.

That, ultimately, was the difference. At the first house everyone watched us out of the corner of their eye, trying to gauge whether or not we were worthy of attending. Eventually we broke in with them, but only when it was deduced that we were staying regardless. The second house was different – like a community of friends that was willing to let anyone enter as long as they had fun.

I’d be willing to guess that we could have transplanted 80% of the people from either party in the opposite house and everything would have been the same. Both groups were young, hip, incredibly smart (or at least they gave the air of being incredibly smart) and progressive. They both liked good music, they both drank Grain Belt from kegs, and they all gave us a cup as we walked in without charge.

It’s amazing to think that two similar groups could have such a different feel to them while at the same time they could be so homogenous, as if they were designed to be interconnected.

Actually, it’s pretty amazing that I actually went to two house parties and enjoyed them. That’s weird enough in itself.

Tags: Friends, Travel |

6 Comments

Morast hits the nail etc…

September 23, 2005


Okay. I’m going to hell for this, or at least my social circle might consider me on my way, but I feel sorry for Robert Morast.

Wait. That’s not right. I don’t feel sorry for him in a “boy, what a loser – he’s really being pummeled and I don’t know how he can handle it” way. Instead, it’s a “boy, it’s too bad that the local scene needs to put some local critic in an early grave every generation” way.

Morast, who’s column appears in the Argus’ Link every Thursday, is concerned about the local music scene, just like others before were concerned about the local scene. He doesn’t kiss the ass of every local band that comes out, and he doesn’t hype bands that aren’t worth hyping.

This has made him public enemy number one in the “scene.”

Here’s what the scenesters need to remember: the only people who care about the local music scene are those who are involved in the local music scene. I know this – I was, at one time, a very small part of it. Everyone in a local band, or those who book the shows, or those who are friends with the local bands or those who book the shows, are concerned about the lack of a venue. The rest of the population? They don’t’ care. For the most part, they wouldn’t notice if these bands were around or not.

In fact, I hardly notice if these bands are around or not.

The Sioux Falls scene has always had a certain air of self-importance – the notion that they are a crucial part of how this city works and what ultimately makes all of punk music click. This is important, to a certain extent, but the level that has been shown in Sioux Falls is ridiculous. If you want the music scene to succeed, stop being a martyr. Do something about it.

This doesn’t apply to everyone – Terry Taylor, to name one, has always been supportive of our local scene and has done things about keeping it alive instead of complaining about it. There were times that I saw a true tiredness in his eyes, a weariness with the overall scene. But he stuck with it because he wanted things to change. So he did something about it.

Robert Morast has been the subject of my own ire many times before. But his most recent column had a true humanist side to it, showing that he’s just a columnist who wants something to succeed. The difference is that he’s being critical about it. He’s pointing out what changes need to be made, instead of feeling sorry for the death of the Sioux Falls scene.

——

*Update* — I had to get rid of the link because it was to the wrong article. The article in question is not on the website, but when it is I will make sure you know.

Tags: Journalism, Music, Sioux Falls |

2 Comments

RenFest tongue eater!

September 23, 2005


Well, I’ll be out of town for the weekend — I’m going to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

I know it sounds dorky, but it’s actually a pretty cool place. And there’s nothing dorky about being tipsy on Pabst at noon on a Saturday.

Until Monday, I’ll leave you with this monstrosity – a tongue eating parasite. It might be the grossest thing I’ve seen today.

Thanks to Chris for finding that. Or, if you happened to be eating or something when you saw that, curse him as well.

Tags: Random |

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Wee Cumbria

September 22, 2005


Wee Cumbria

Will someone lend me £3,000,000 so I can buy this island in the Firth of Clyde Scotland? It’s the bump in the middle.

I noticed this on Google Sightseeing, and had to make a pitch to make it mine.

From now on, I’m starting a fund to purchase this island, known as Little Cumbrae. According to Google Sightseeing, it has “a jetty, two cottages, three vacant houses, a lighthouse complex and a twelve bedroom baronial mansion.”

It’s perfect.

Please help today by donating to the Put Corey Vilhauer on Wee Cumbria Fund. Anyone who donates over $1,000 gets a free one week stay in any of the mansion’s twelve rooms. For more information, please see the Wikipedia description.

Don’t just do it for me. Do it for yourself.

Thank you for your time.

Tags: Travel |

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