* I keep saying I'm going to blog about "The Target Theory" but the research showed that only in the Twin Cities metro area, does it seem to apply. Maybe it's just that there are a lot of good looking women in the area (fact) and well, let's face it, who really likes to shop at fucking Wal-Mart? Their decor is really off-putting to me. And Target has Starbucks, which is awesome.
* Speaking of Starbucks, I like it more than regional giant Caribou Coffee. Ok so maybe the beans arnt as fresh and its not fair trade, corporate juggernaut, Juan Valdez, I don't really fucking care. Frappuchinos are delicious and "Coolers" from the 'Bou just don't cut it.
* While we're still on the subject, you know what else I like with coffee (...besides whisky) Doughnuts. You know what's keeping this state from being pretty badass,
DUNKIN' DONUTS!!! We need some fuckin Dunkin Donuts. This is babyshit. Apparently, the area used to be Krispy Kreme country, then they folded when the carb diet craze hit, still no fucking excuse for the lack of Dunkin Donuts. I want 2 maple and 2 strawberry donuts please.
* So yesterday was the last night of St. Patrick's Day training. This past month has been the hardest drinking month of my life since June 2010. I debated quitting for good at one point, got slightly ill a couple of nights and has been fatigued since the Super Bowl. But I'll be primed and ready for March 17th! My favorite holiday!
* To end on a serious note, yesterday I witnessed the aftermath of a bad car accident involving a drunk lady slamming an SUV into 2 cars and a tree. People, I love drinking like the next person but for fuck's sake: Don't Drink And Drive. Seriously, Its fuckin dangerous.
February 28, 2012
February 27, 2012
when you wear a jersey...
I love sports, and one of the things I love about sports is the uniforms. Hockey and Baseball, by far, have the coolest jerseys in sports, with Football taking 3rd (basketball jerseys are only cool to wear if you play basketball or are under the age of 12)
Growing up in a sports fanatic household, I was dressed in everything Bears, Bulls and White Sox for the first 10 years of life.(Hawks stuff came a bit later) over time I amassed a large collection of sportswear, and to this day, still own over 100 sports jerseys of all different sports teams.
Wearing Chicago sports wear in a different city is a challenge I wouldn't advise fairweather fans to take. There's a lot of responsibility in representing a city, especially if your in a rival area like Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan.
Sometimes it can be unsafe to wear a jersey in some places (ex: Cubs jersey to a Sox game when it's not Sox vs Cubs. You are asking to get into a fight which myself and 500 other Sox faithful would gladly accept on any given night at The Cell)
Sometimes it sparks a conversation that you don't want to have (ex: wearing my jersey at the airport, "oh, you a fan of Insert Team Here? Cool, I went to see them... How do they look this season... My son once had.... ") I don't care that you saw the Hawks in the Met in the 80's or that your son had a Frank Thomas signed ball growing up. I'm fine with this chatter at a bar (sometimes) but not okay with it when I'm about to deal with the bullshit of flying)
Sometimes it can create some interesting situations (ex: I wore a rare vintage Hawks jersey out to the bars back home this past holiday, a really cute girl complimented me about it and we started talking sports. She drank the same cider as me (Magner's cider... so good) and eventually kept talking until she casually slipped in the "oh yeah, me and my husband..." Too good to be true, but I digress)
I am prepared to be a walking conversation piece when I throw a jersey on and leave the house. I am used to the compliments/insults/chatter that comes with it, but sometimes, it just gets to be too much.
*-sidenote: Ladies, there seriously isn't anything sexier than a woman wearing a jersey. You increase your chances of getting hit on by 670% by wearing a jersey. It adds +2 to your 1-10 ranking. And wearing your man's jersey to bed might result in the best sex of your life as well. Food for thought.
Growing up in a sports fanatic household, I was dressed in everything Bears, Bulls and White Sox for the first 10 years of life.(Hawks stuff came a bit later) over time I amassed a large collection of sportswear, and to this day, still own over 100 sports jerseys of all different sports teams.
Wearing Chicago sports wear in a different city is a challenge I wouldn't advise fairweather fans to take. There's a lot of responsibility in representing a city, especially if your in a rival area like Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan.
Sometimes it can be unsafe to wear a jersey in some places (ex: Cubs jersey to a Sox game when it's not Sox vs Cubs. You are asking to get into a fight which myself and 500 other Sox faithful would gladly accept on any given night at The Cell)
Sometimes it sparks a conversation that you don't want to have (ex: wearing my jersey at the airport, "oh, you a fan of Insert Team Here? Cool, I went to see them... How do they look this season... My son once had.... ") I don't care that you saw the Hawks in the Met in the 80's or that your son had a Frank Thomas signed ball growing up. I'm fine with this chatter at a bar (sometimes) but not okay with it when I'm about to deal with the bullshit of flying)
Sometimes it can create some interesting situations (ex: I wore a rare vintage Hawks jersey out to the bars back home this past holiday, a really cute girl complimented me about it and we started talking sports. She drank the same cider as me (Magner's cider... so good) and eventually kept talking until she casually slipped in the "oh yeah, me and my husband..." Too good to be true, but I digress)
I am prepared to be a walking conversation piece when I throw a jersey on and leave the house. I am used to the compliments/insults/chatter that comes with it, but sometimes, it just gets to be too much.
*-sidenote: Ladies, there seriously isn't anything sexier than a woman wearing a jersey. You increase your chances of getting hit on by 670% by wearing a jersey. It adds +2 to your 1-10 ranking. And wearing your man's jersey to bed might result in the best sex of your life as well. Food for thought.
February 26, 2012
because everyone keeps asking me, "what's up with your (old) band?"
So a few people have asked me what went down with I, Corvinus and why did they break-up, go on hiatus, and now re-form with everyone returning but me.
I won't go into detail on the original reasons for the initial breakup other than personal issues between members. I announced my departure the day before the last show on January 14th. 2 weeks after that, we had a meeting to discuss the future of the band. Things were patched up and it was agreed that the band would be on Hiatus, not play shows and would record the remaining written songs that were not on the EP, "When No One is Listening"
With all 5 members being involved in other projects, it seemed to be a while before the recording process would start. Apparently, in recent weeks, tracking has gotten well underway on several songs, unbeknownst to my knowledge. Had it not been for reading a fellow members' facebook post, I still would not have been informed.
At the meeting, I stated that I was willing to record the tracks and wasn't certain as to whether or not to return full-time to the band. Since that meeting, the majority of the band has neglected to contact me about anything related to the recording process. I was informed about a potential replacement, in which I agreed to if I didn't wish to return back. Now, super recently, it has been billed as the return of the band from hiatus with their new bassist (I'm keeping names out of this because I'm not slamming anyone, I'm just reporting what has taken place)
As a result of this sudden change, I withdrew my offer to record or perform any more music with I, Corvinus. I am deeply disappointed with the way things ultimately ended. It was basically shown that the year and a half I spend tirelessly working and promoting with the band ment absolutely nothing and it was cemented with the outright neglect to contact me about any current moves other than finding a replacement. Nonetheless, I wish the band success in the future.
I won't go into detail on the original reasons for the initial breakup other than personal issues between members. I announced my departure the day before the last show on January 14th. 2 weeks after that, we had a meeting to discuss the future of the band. Things were patched up and it was agreed that the band would be on Hiatus, not play shows and would record the remaining written songs that were not on the EP, "When No One is Listening"
With all 5 members being involved in other projects, it seemed to be a while before the recording process would start. Apparently, in recent weeks, tracking has gotten well underway on several songs, unbeknownst to my knowledge. Had it not been for reading a fellow members' facebook post, I still would not have been informed.
At the meeting, I stated that I was willing to record the tracks and wasn't certain as to whether or not to return full-time to the band. Since that meeting, the majority of the band has neglected to contact me about anything related to the recording process. I was informed about a potential replacement, in which I agreed to if I didn't wish to return back. Now, super recently, it has been billed as the return of the band from hiatus with their new bassist (I'm keeping names out of this because I'm not slamming anyone, I'm just reporting what has taken place)
As a result of this sudden change, I withdrew my offer to record or perform any more music with I, Corvinus. I am deeply disappointed with the way things ultimately ended. It was basically shown that the year and a half I spend tirelessly working and promoting with the band ment absolutely nothing and it was cemented with the outright neglect to contact me about any current moves other than finding a replacement. Nonetheless, I wish the band success in the future.
I'm a pizza snob
Self-help groups stress that Admittance is the 1st step.
Hi, I'm Alex, and I am a pizza snob.
Growing up in Chicago, you take for granted at a young age, what good pizza tastes like. Places like Reggio's, Connie's, Giordano's, Gino's East and Ricobene's arnt in every major city, and once I moved away, it became very apparent that I grew up around some of the best pizza I'll find.
During my brief stint as a college student up here, I found comfort in the local Domino's, to the point where the entire store knew my name and had my order memorized(Large "Deep Pan"- it's defintely not deep dish. Cheese only with extra sauce, which is something I started adding at the suggestion of a friend who described the pizza here as "very dry")
After 3 months of this chain-brand garbage (which only became appetizing after copious amounts of UV Blue and Monster) I decided to search for decent pizza. I asked the locals, and was told about a set of places called Pizza Luce. Upon glancing at their menu, they had a lot of oddities that Minnesotans may find charming for pizza toppings (... Hey, have you ever tried the baked potato pizza?) but to a trained eye seemed like trouble. Despite this, I order the simple classic*
* - sidenote: I only get one thing, and one thing only on a pizza. It's Cheese (and maybe extra sauce). If it's good pizza, that's all you need. About 20 pizza places in this country actually use good quality pepperoni and sausage and that's why I haven't had a topping on a slice since Clinton's 1st term.
60 minutes later (delivery + consumption) I drew to 2 conclusions:
1. Pizza Luce is the worst pizza I've ever had that wasn't frozen (that's a whole 'nother issue by the way)
2. Majority of the people in Minnesota wouldn't know a good slice of pizza if one was shot from Michigan Ave and landed on someone's skinny jeans in Uptown.
After eating this utter hell on thin crust, I kept on seeking and scouring the metro area for good pizza. I found a lot of mid-range spots. (Best delivery pizza in St. Paul - Hot City Pizza down 7th street, google it) and then I was told about a place called Savoy Pizza. A truly tasty pizza, with the right amount of spice and kick in their sauce, and enough cheese to keep any Wisconsssinnn people from bitching. But there was still this void deep in my stomach. I was missing what made pizza one of, if not the greatest foods in history. I needed a slice of Deep Dish.
Now, I mentioned earlier how Domino's has "Deep Pan" and not Deep Dish? Just because it's made in a deep pan does NOT Make it a fucking deep dish pizza.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza) Wikipedia explains masterfully how Deep Dish is made
Months later, a friend took me to a place connected to a mall called Green Mill. While going over the menu and seeing "deep dish" expecting another pan pizza, I see someone else's order arrive at a table across from us, and I nearly burst into happy tears. A real deep dish pan was being served. This place proved legit. As I ordered and devoured my pizza (and contemplated stealing one of the well seasoned cast iron pans - hard to find since few up here can make deep dish) I realised how fortunate I was to grow up with the World's Greatest Pizza in my backyard, and I hope to pass on to people in this state just how real pizza is done.
I'm a pizza snob. And I'm proud of it.
Hi, I'm Alex, and I am a pizza snob.
Growing up in Chicago, you take for granted at a young age, what good pizza tastes like. Places like Reggio's, Connie's, Giordano's, Gino's East and Ricobene's arnt in every major city, and once I moved away, it became very apparent that I grew up around some of the best pizza I'll find.
During my brief stint as a college student up here, I found comfort in the local Domino's, to the point where the entire store knew my name and had my order memorized(Large "Deep Pan"- it's defintely not deep dish. Cheese only with extra sauce, which is something I started adding at the suggestion of a friend who described the pizza here as "very dry")
After 3 months of this chain-brand garbage (which only became appetizing after copious amounts of UV Blue and Monster) I decided to search for decent pizza. I asked the locals, and was told about a set of places called Pizza Luce. Upon glancing at their menu, they had a lot of oddities that Minnesotans may find charming for pizza toppings (... Hey, have you ever tried the baked potato pizza?) but to a trained eye seemed like trouble. Despite this, I order the simple classic*
* - sidenote: I only get one thing, and one thing only on a pizza. It's Cheese (and maybe extra sauce). If it's good pizza, that's all you need. About 20 pizza places in this country actually use good quality pepperoni and sausage and that's why I haven't had a topping on a slice since Clinton's 1st term.
60 minutes later (delivery + consumption) I drew to 2 conclusions:
1. Pizza Luce is the worst pizza I've ever had that wasn't frozen (that's a whole 'nother issue by the way)
2. Majority of the people in Minnesota wouldn't know a good slice of pizza if one was shot from Michigan Ave and landed on someone's skinny jeans in Uptown.
After eating this utter hell on thin crust, I kept on seeking and scouring the metro area for good pizza. I found a lot of mid-range spots. (Best delivery pizza in St. Paul - Hot City Pizza down 7th street, google it) and then I was told about a place called Savoy Pizza. A truly tasty pizza, with the right amount of spice and kick in their sauce, and enough cheese to keep any Wisconsssinnn people from bitching. But there was still this void deep in my stomach. I was missing what made pizza one of, if not the greatest foods in history. I needed a slice of Deep Dish.
Now, I mentioned earlier how Domino's has "Deep Pan" and not Deep Dish? Just because it's made in a deep pan does NOT Make it a fucking deep dish pizza.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago-style_pizza) Wikipedia explains masterfully how Deep Dish is made
Months later, a friend took me to a place connected to a mall called Green Mill. While going over the menu and seeing "deep dish" expecting another pan pizza, I see someone else's order arrive at a table across from us, and I nearly burst into happy tears. A real deep dish pan was being served. This place proved legit. As I ordered and devoured my pizza (and contemplated stealing one of the well seasoned cast iron pans - hard to find since few up here can make deep dish) I realised how fortunate I was to grow up with the World's Greatest Pizza in my backyard, and I hope to pass on to people in this state just how real pizza is done.
I'm a pizza snob. And I'm proud of it.
February 24, 2012
Grab Bag #2
* So, as many of you who follow my Facebook (www.facebook.com/axsmith) know, I am a huge hockey fan, and a collector of Hockey Fight DVD's. I just purchased 68 DVD's online! So excited, they should be here next weekend.
* Next week, I am doing a full report on "The Target Theory" and why does it seem like all the hot women shop and/or work at Target (at least here in Minnesota, the home hub of the store)
* Try 2 Gingers Whiskey. It's tastey and better than Jameson!
www.2gingers.com (they didn't pay me to say that, but I wish they would give me a free case for saying it ;)
* Roadhouse.
* Looks like Ryan Braun may have replaced Derek Jeter as the new "Herpetic Hammer" in Baseball.
http://www.thebaseballpage.com/community/articles/real-crime-leak-braun's-test-results
For those that don't know, allegedly Derek Jeter has herpes thanks to Jessica Alba.
Have a good weekend and keep your genitals safe, chicks and dudes.
* Next week, I am doing a full report on "The Target Theory" and why does it seem like all the hot women shop and/or work at Target (at least here in Minnesota, the home hub of the store)
* Try 2 Gingers Whiskey. It's tastey and better than Jameson!
www.2gingers.com (they didn't pay me to say that, but I wish they would give me a free case for saying it ;)
* Roadhouse.
* Looks like Ryan Braun may have replaced Derek Jeter as the new "Herpetic Hammer" in Baseball.
http://www.thebaseballpage.com/community/articles/real-crime-leak-braun's-test-results
For those that don't know, allegedly Derek Jeter has herpes thanks to Jessica Alba.
Have a good weekend and keep your genitals safe, chicks and dudes.
February 21, 2012
Great day-after-drinking song
Band: Cursive
Song: The Recluse
"I wake, alone, in a woman's room I hardly know..."
Song: The Recluse
"I wake, alone, in a woman's room I hardly know..."
February 20, 2012
great rain delay theatre video
Well it's 2012, it's baseball season (see last post)
That also means Rain Delay Theatre is back
Florida International gets down with the cha-cha slide
That also means Rain Delay Theatre is back
Florida International gets down with the cha-cha slide
it's Baseball season!!!
Ok, so I am awake right now on 4 hours of sleep. At about 10pm last night, it hit me randomly, like it does every year. The switch in my brain went off and the lights turned on.
It's mid-February. It's fucking Baseball season!
At that moment, this feeling of joy and happiness came out. I turned to MLB Network and started listening to the news stories from the offseason (granted, I do follow all the moves made in the winter, but it just feels more grand to listen to it all at once)
One friend joked on Facebook, "Great, football's finally over, and now I have to read 400 baseball posts everyday." I simply replied, "Sorry, but it's baseball.". It's that optimism and feel of a new beginning that doesn't come with any other sport or job or hobby around. It's like dating the girl of your dreams, only to take some time apart for 3-4 months, only to come back with a passion strong enough to bond forever.
I love baseball. I was raised on it as a small child. It helped me through my darkest days in high school. I missed junior and senior prom for a 6:05 match-up of my White Sox versus the KC Royals. It bonded me and my mom even closer, going to countless games in our season ticket seats out in right field. The ritual of entering the ballpark the same way depending on who I was their with. The countless, 2 Hot Dogs, Grilled Onions and Ketchup and a Pop.
I never got to fully play the game due to injuries, but I took my free time and studied the game harder than any school subject I had. It was peaceful and fun, and even as I reach age 23, there's nothing I enjoy more than 2 dogs in the outfield seats, with the fresh-cut grass, the slap of a glove catching a 95-mph Fastball, and the crack of a bat, scorching a ball 400 feet into the blue skies.
So, let's Play Ball!
...And Go Sox! :)
It's mid-February. It's fucking Baseball season!
At that moment, this feeling of joy and happiness came out. I turned to MLB Network and started listening to the news stories from the offseason (granted, I do follow all the moves made in the winter, but it just feels more grand to listen to it all at once)
One friend joked on Facebook, "Great, football's finally over, and now I have to read 400 baseball posts everyday." I simply replied, "Sorry, but it's baseball.". It's that optimism and feel of a new beginning that doesn't come with any other sport or job or hobby around. It's like dating the girl of your dreams, only to take some time apart for 3-4 months, only to come back with a passion strong enough to bond forever.
I love baseball. I was raised on it as a small child. It helped me through my darkest days in high school. I missed junior and senior prom for a 6:05 match-up of my White Sox versus the KC Royals. It bonded me and my mom even closer, going to countless games in our season ticket seats out in right field. The ritual of entering the ballpark the same way depending on who I was their with. The countless, 2 Hot Dogs, Grilled Onions and Ketchup and a Pop.
I never got to fully play the game due to injuries, but I took my free time and studied the game harder than any school subject I had. It was peaceful and fun, and even as I reach age 23, there's nothing I enjoy more than 2 dogs in the outfield seats, with the fresh-cut grass, the slap of a glove catching a 95-mph Fastball, and the crack of a bat, scorching a ball 400 feet into the blue skies.
So, let's Play Ball!
...And Go Sox! :)
February 18, 2012
Twin Cities: The Worst Dating Scene in America??
The other day, I read a facebook link to an article from Men's Health about the best places to meet single women. To my amazement, Saint Paul, Minnesota (my current residence) was not only on this list, but ranked 10th in their series of criteria.
Without leaving my bed, I fucking flipped shit upon reading this.
I'm a young black male, moderately educated (well read, as some like to say) with a well paying job (tech advisor) , a showcased talent (musician), and have been told that I have a decent taste for fashion. I have lived here for 4 years, and I have been on a combined total of 8 dates in that span. Keep in mind, numbers can be super deceiving (4 of those dates took place in 2010, the last 2 were between november '11 and early this January. Both horrible dates by the way)
In a "College Town" like the Twin Cities, one would expect a great blend of awesome nightlife fun, wild late night debauchery and a quite active dating scene. This couldn't be further from the truth of these 2 areas.
I feel that Minnesota is one of these states that have been socially crippled by the Internet Age. With the large amount of families raised in suburban/rural/country/hick/wooded/hill/whateverthefuckyoucallit areas, the constant stigma of "City Fear" is instilled in the youth of yesterday and today and is now translated into where everything has to be in a sheltered, bullet-proof, mother approved bubble.
Let's backtrack a bit. I grew up in Chicago, the infamous South Side, in a nice area surrounded by the hood. I was sheltered slightly in my younger years for safety sake, but was always taught how to deal with the situations of life that will come up down the road. Case in point, childhood wasn't riding horses in the country or playing in the park. It was helping mom get the groceries before nightfall and being reminded to always stay aware of your surroundings. Looking back, I loved that I was brought up that way and it has paid countless dividends in the past decade of my life.
So, the point is that certain lifestyles groom certain patterns. And one of those affected patterns is social interaction.
I frequent many bars and nightclubs within the metro area on a constant basis, and it's the same picture and 1,000 words every time. 50 girls and 100 guys, half the girls dancing with each other, half the guys standing by the bar, another quarter of guys looking to dance with the second half of girls, only to be shutout for the various reasons (not cute, I'm not here to dance, or my personal favorite "he's creepy")
I love the "creepy" line for several reasons. I don't think most women realize all men are "creepy" by their standards. I have many friend girls (my term for "I've got a lot of pretty, pretty girls, than I call friends")
Who have told me that they like hanging out with me because I'm not Creepy. I then ask them what is the criteria for being creepy and the general consensus is when a guy hits on them. I usually reply back with "what an assholes of him! To think that he found you attractive enough and got the courage to talk to you" (I minored in sarcasm)
It goes back to the shelter bubble. In the days of incurable sex diseases and rookies, women (and men, too) must use common sense and wit to keep safe, but it has now parlayed to a fear of nearly all personal contact outside of a platonic level.
So now you have to ask yourself 2 questions. 1: What do you want from the opposite sex?
2: How do you go about acquiring it?
It's well known that people never want to hear the truth (truth hurts, you can't handle the truth, act...,). People don't come forward and outright ask what they want when it comes to intimate social interaction. Men do it way less than in previous generations because it gives off this "creepy" factor, even though, as I said earlier, all men are creepy in this sense.
Side Note: for homework, I want every girl who reads this to write a list of your top 10 guy friends and mark off 2 boxes, one for if you think they would sleep with you and the other if they would date you.
If you have more than 2 boxes empty on the sleep side, you're probably wrong already. It's an unstated fact that every guy who meets a girl takes between 10 seconds and 10 minutes of that first interaction and assesses both questions to himself. Mostly all guys would sleep with a girl they talk to within 20 minutes of conversation during first meeting. Count that out next time you meet a guy in a group setting, if he keeps talking to you and 20 minutes adds up over time, there's a bet table chance that he would consider taking you home.
Now as far as meeting someone with the intention of dating, this is a lot more difficult because the conventional style of dating (aka how 99% of the world meet between 1900-1997) is about as dead as Whit... (Too soon, eh?) And who exactly killed the dating style? The group of girls who became greedy. The "Independent" women. And when I say that I don't mean women who go out, do well in school, get jobs and make their own money. That's what guys like, no one would complain about a successful woman. I'm talking about the (for lack of better term) fucking bitches who flaunt the fact that a man didn't help them get their success and in return, require an intensive list of attributes in order to talk to a guy. These bitches often end up alone, and rightfully so. But in their quest of inevitable solitude, they managed to infest their ideals to a younger group who blended these thoughts with the "City Fear/Suburban Bubble" culture and smashed the odds of "boy meets girl, girl likes boy, vice versa, boy + girl = couple"
Don't believe me about these independent bitches? The numbers for the Men's Health chart on St. Paul suggested that there are 108 single women to 100 single men in the area from ages 21-30, however the numbers increase and after age 55+ ,the ratio skyrockets from 276 single women to 100 single men in the area.
That tells me 3 things. 1: Marriage is still a fucking joke. 2: these smart, educated, career-oriented women are meeting guys and following down the family pattern and by the time of late life, when the kids have moved away, the relationships falter, ergo, these men are dying/leaving/running away from these women after a certain point for some unsolved reason. 3: the late inflation throws askew the entire chart and without the 55+ category St. Paul would fall way out of it's top 10 ranking.
Now, with all this said, the Twin Cities is a bad dating area. And if dug deep enough, these results could be discovered in other areas of the country. So what can we do to change it? It's a process, but I will leave you with a quote from a friend of mine: "Honesty isn't what we all want, but it's what we all NEED to avoid further issues down the road."
Without leaving my bed, I fucking flipped shit upon reading this.
I'm a young black male, moderately educated (well read, as some like to say) with a well paying job (tech advisor) , a showcased talent (musician), and have been told that I have a decent taste for fashion. I have lived here for 4 years, and I have been on a combined total of 8 dates in that span. Keep in mind, numbers can be super deceiving (4 of those dates took place in 2010, the last 2 were between november '11 and early this January. Both horrible dates by the way)
In a "College Town" like the Twin Cities, one would expect a great blend of awesome nightlife fun, wild late night debauchery and a quite active dating scene. This couldn't be further from the truth of these 2 areas.
I feel that Minnesota is one of these states that have been socially crippled by the Internet Age. With the large amount of families raised in suburban/rural/country/hick/wooded/hill/whateverthefuckyoucallit areas, the constant stigma of "City Fear" is instilled in the youth of yesterday and today and is now translated into where everything has to be in a sheltered, bullet-proof, mother approved bubble.
Let's backtrack a bit. I grew up in Chicago, the infamous South Side, in a nice area surrounded by the hood. I was sheltered slightly in my younger years for safety sake, but was always taught how to deal with the situations of life that will come up down the road. Case in point, childhood wasn't riding horses in the country or playing in the park. It was helping mom get the groceries before nightfall and being reminded to always stay aware of your surroundings. Looking back, I loved that I was brought up that way and it has paid countless dividends in the past decade of my life.
So, the point is that certain lifestyles groom certain patterns. And one of those affected patterns is social interaction.
I frequent many bars and nightclubs within the metro area on a constant basis, and it's the same picture and 1,000 words every time. 50 girls and 100 guys, half the girls dancing with each other, half the guys standing by the bar, another quarter of guys looking to dance with the second half of girls, only to be shutout for the various reasons (not cute, I'm not here to dance, or my personal favorite "he's creepy")
I love the "creepy" line for several reasons. I don't think most women realize all men are "creepy" by their standards. I have many friend girls (my term for "I've got a lot of pretty, pretty girls, than I call friends")
Who have told me that they like hanging out with me because I'm not Creepy. I then ask them what is the criteria for being creepy and the general consensus is when a guy hits on them. I usually reply back with "what an assholes of him! To think that he found you attractive enough and got the courage to talk to you" (I minored in sarcasm)
It goes back to the shelter bubble. In the days of incurable sex diseases and rookies, women (and men, too) must use common sense and wit to keep safe, but it has now parlayed to a fear of nearly all personal contact outside of a platonic level.
So now you have to ask yourself 2 questions. 1: What do you want from the opposite sex?
2: How do you go about acquiring it?
It's well known that people never want to hear the truth (truth hurts, you can't handle the truth, act...,). People don't come forward and outright ask what they want when it comes to intimate social interaction. Men do it way less than in previous generations because it gives off this "creepy" factor, even though, as I said earlier, all men are creepy in this sense.
Side Note: for homework, I want every girl who reads this to write a list of your top 10 guy friends and mark off 2 boxes, one for if you think they would sleep with you and the other if they would date you.
If you have more than 2 boxes empty on the sleep side, you're probably wrong already. It's an unstated fact that every guy who meets a girl takes between 10 seconds and 10 minutes of that first interaction and assesses both questions to himself. Mostly all guys would sleep with a girl they talk to within 20 minutes of conversation during first meeting. Count that out next time you meet a guy in a group setting, if he keeps talking to you and 20 minutes adds up over time, there's a bet table chance that he would consider taking you home.
Now as far as meeting someone with the intention of dating, this is a lot more difficult because the conventional style of dating (aka how 99% of the world meet between 1900-1997) is about as dead as Whit... (Too soon, eh?) And who exactly killed the dating style? The group of girls who became greedy. The "Independent" women. And when I say that I don't mean women who go out, do well in school, get jobs and make their own money. That's what guys like, no one would complain about a successful woman. I'm talking about the (for lack of better term) fucking bitches who flaunt the fact that a man didn't help them get their success and in return, require an intensive list of attributes in order to talk to a guy. These bitches often end up alone, and rightfully so. But in their quest of inevitable solitude, they managed to infest their ideals to a younger group who blended these thoughts with the "City Fear/Suburban Bubble" culture and smashed the odds of "boy meets girl, girl likes boy, vice versa, boy + girl = couple"
Don't believe me about these independent bitches? The numbers for the Men's Health chart on St. Paul suggested that there are 108 single women to 100 single men in the area from ages 21-30, however the numbers increase and after age 55+ ,the ratio skyrockets from 276 single women to 100 single men in the area.
That tells me 3 things. 1: Marriage is still a fucking joke. 2: these smart, educated, career-oriented women are meeting guys and following down the family pattern and by the time of late life, when the kids have moved away, the relationships falter, ergo, these men are dying/leaving/running away from these women after a certain point for some unsolved reason. 3: the late inflation throws askew the entire chart and without the 55+ category St. Paul would fall way out of it's top 10 ranking.
Now, with all this said, the Twin Cities is a bad dating area. And if dug deep enough, these results could be discovered in other areas of the country. So what can we do to change it? It's a process, but I will leave you with a quote from a friend of mine: "Honesty isn't what we all want, but it's what we all NEED to avoid further issues down the road."
February 17, 2012
R.I.P Gary Carter 1954-2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Carter
R.I.P to "The Kid" Gary Carter, who lost his battle with brain cancer. At the age of 57.
R.I.P to "The Kid" Gary Carter, who lost his battle with brain cancer. At the age of 57.
Grab Bag for the 1st half of February
So Grab Bag is a random pile of shit that will be posted at various times, for future reference.
* When drinking with Canadien hockey fans, it's pretty simple to get drunk for cheap. Just name all the players they love and tell them what they all know (Gary Bettman is a fuckin asshole and the Norris Division should be together forever)
* I had a buddy set up a date with a chick who's a friend of a friend of mine. They get the date all set up, then she stops contacting him and now she cancels on him a week before the date. What makes it shitty is that it was a ticket event that he paid for. And what makes it Absolute Fucking Garbage is that she told friend of a friend that she felt "Pressure and Backed into going on a date".
WOMAN UP! If you didn't wanna go on a date with him, shoulda fuckin said something from the start. Even just do the lie and buy some time by saying "I dunno, lemme get back to ya.". But couldn't even have the decency to do that. Some girls deserve shitty guys in their lives and chicks who can't fuckin make up their mind to go out with someone that they had a (seemingly nice) series of conversations should have to deal with the same fuckin garbage that they throw out. It's bitch shit and NO guys want that.
* I love Love LOOOOOVEE Coca-Cola. And I will drink it forever. But did they really not try to find a group of bottle workers that went missing in Columbia? (Probably died trying to sell the formula.) And if they are still making Coca-Cola in "Coke" Country, WHERE THE FUCK Is THROWBACK Coca-Cola AT?!?! I'd try it once. My grandma apparently used to drink it back in the day. She's nice. Love ya Granny! Lol.
Song to check out this week is
Remember, "Mistakes are imminent, but Failure is Avoidable."
* When drinking with Canadien hockey fans, it's pretty simple to get drunk for cheap. Just name all the players they love and tell them what they all know (Gary Bettman is a fuckin asshole and the Norris Division should be together forever)
* I had a buddy set up a date with a chick who's a friend of a friend of mine. They get the date all set up, then she stops contacting him and now she cancels on him a week before the date. What makes it shitty is that it was a ticket event that he paid for. And what makes it Absolute Fucking Garbage is that she told friend of a friend that she felt "Pressure and Backed into going on a date".
WOMAN UP! If you didn't wanna go on a date with him, shoulda fuckin said something from the start. Even just do the lie and buy some time by saying "I dunno, lemme get back to ya.". But couldn't even have the decency to do that. Some girls deserve shitty guys in their lives and chicks who can't fuckin make up their mind to go out with someone that they had a (seemingly nice) series of conversations should have to deal with the same fuckin garbage that they throw out. It's bitch shit and NO guys want that.
* I love Love LOOOOOVEE Coca-Cola. And I will drink it forever. But did they really not try to find a group of bottle workers that went missing in Columbia? (Probably died trying to sell the formula.) And if they are still making Coca-Cola in "Coke" Country, WHERE THE FUCK Is THROWBACK Coca-Cola AT?!?! I'd try it once. My grandma apparently used to drink it back in the day. She's nice. Love ya Granny! Lol.
Song to check out this week is
Remember, "Mistakes are imminent, but Failure is Avoidable."
February 16, 2012
my liver really does hurt
Ok so it's early thursday morning as I write this, I've spent the last several days drinking with one of my good friends to celebrate her birthday. Why she chose me to be her bar crawl planner makes total sense and is also pure lunacy at the same time. Yes, I do know all the great bars here in Minneapolis & St.Paul, but in my 4 years of living here, I have hit these said bars really fucking hard, and so my "pickled organs" (a term recently coined by another friend of mine) are defintely feeling the effects of a week long bar crawl.
Night 1 ended with 10 random drinks (whiskey drink, vodka drink, lager drink, cider drink) and puking after a bumpy cab van ride home. Tonight was a lot better (my old pal whiskey stayed in the bottle) and I stuck with my 2010 standby Cider. Some have asked, Alex, how the fuck can you drink so much? Between the baseball body, blended heritages of Black, Scottish and Native American (meaning 2 nights I'll hold it well and night 3 I'll go woo-woo) and being involuntarly single (and celibate... Grr) sets up the perfect play for a drunk-in-training. But do not cry for my health, as this is not an addiction, but merely a play in the game of my life.
Night 1 ended with 10 random drinks (whiskey drink, vodka drink, lager drink, cider drink) and puking after a bumpy cab van ride home. Tonight was a lot better (my old pal whiskey stayed in the bottle) and I stuck with my 2010 standby Cider. Some have asked, Alex, how the fuck can you drink so much? Between the baseball body, blended heritages of Black, Scottish and Native American (meaning 2 nights I'll hold it well and night 3 I'll go woo-woo) and being involuntarly single (and celibate... Grr) sets up the perfect play for a drunk-in-training. But do not cry for my health, as this is not an addiction, but merely a play in the game of my life.
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