Seinfeld + Gates= '08 Abbot & Costello?

OK, so maybe the title is a little too much, but who would have thought that a great comedy pair would involve Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates? Believe it.




I LOVE this commercial. Since this one there have been kind of "sequels" that are similarly funny. Maybe Jerry Seinfeld was worth those big bucks that Microsoft paid him. But maybe not. What are these commercials actually advertising? At first I thought it was an advertisement for The Conquistador. This is just advertising Microsoft? It is funny, but will this really help them catch up to everything Apple is doing to kick their asses in sales of both laptops and gadgets like the iPhone and iPod? I'm not so sure. Keep coming with the commercials anyways. Please?

CGI

The Clinton Global Initiative is an organization created by President Bill Clinton in 2005 that basically brings leaders from around the world together to solve challenges facing the world today. Every year he has an annual meeting in which major leaders from all over meet together to talk about several issues; CGI has raised nearly 30 million dollars in regards to the following:

Avoid or reduce more than 40 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions
Supply more than 4 million people with access to clean-energy services in the developing world
Fund more than 270 microfinance institutions, permitting access to finance for close to 3 million microentrepreneurs
Provide more than 8 million children with access to schooling
Increase access to health services or improve quality of care for over 11 million people
Target 34 million people for the treatment of neglected tropical diseases
Provide interventions addressing malnutrition or under-nutrition for over 42 million children

(clintonglobalinitiative.org)

Each year, Clinton proposes a plan of action for the year in regards to solving a number of issues, and every member of the CGI makes a "commitment" for the year. You can learn more about CGI and their accomplishments and future hopes for change at www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.

The reason I am blogging about this is because I was only brought to attention about this organization through my dad. My dad is the manager of the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in Manhattan where Clinton holds his annual meeting. My dad has been able to sit through a few of the conferences and passed on the information to me. The CGI meeting is being held 9/23-9/26 this year and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!

Reprobates Denied at Border, Tour Cancelled

Toronto's Reprobates were denied entrance to the U.S. and have had to cancel all of their tour dates. They hope to schedule new dates sometime in the future, but there are no plans yet.

Reprobates was able to play a U.S. show in June, when their new record came out. The reason they were turned away has not been released.

VMAs: A Venue for New Music?

I didn't see the VMAs but I saw the re-run (in which they showed clips of famous people talking about what they saw. Because of it I hate Taylor Swift. Watch it and you will share my sentiment). This year they tried something new. For the past 24 years (as this was their 25th anniversary) they have had the top artists of the year perform their hit singles but this time around we heard what was to come. We heard Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" remix. We heard T.I. and Rhianna play with the song that was made famous by the popular Nume Numa video with their song "Live Your Life." Finishing off the night, and who else could you expect to have the finale, was Kanye West with what will likely be his first single, "Love Lockdown" off his fourth album, slated for in early December. As brand new songs just released but not on album or itunes, the songs are getting play all over the internet (numerous supposed "studio quality" versions of Kanye's song have been shut down but more pop up on youtube) with one video having 165,000 hits in just five days on the web.


There are arguably few venues in which these songs would reach a larger audience so there is little gamble there but the first version of a song that fans hear is often the one they like most. Live recordings of songs are virtually never as popular as the version perfected in a studio. Will fans who watched the VMAs still respond positively to these songs, who would usually top the charts, or will they be surpassed by songs who were released conventionally? In an era in which musicians are constantly looking for new ways to top the competition, maybe this is merely the latest experiment. The question is, will it fail?

Girls Volleyball Wins The Red Dragon Classic

On August 30th the New Paltz Hawks girls Volleyball team won the Red Dragon Classic by defeating SUNY Cortland. The Hawks have previously competed in the tournament, which is held annually at Cortland, 21 times and the victory marked their first time ever finishing number 1. First year assistant coach and Cortland volleyball alumni Alice Kahrs said, “Having just graduated from Cortland it was a huge win because they beat all my former teammates. The team executed very well and I am proud of them and excited for the rest of the season.”
Melinda DiGiovanna a freshman from West Hempstead, NY, was selected All-Tournament representative for the Hawks. She said, “It was a really great feeling to win the tournament and being named all-tournament representative was very unexpected and I really appreciated it.” The Hawks got to face off against some very talented teams during the course of the tournament, which made the victory, feel like that much more of an accomplishment. Senior libero Nicole Mercadante recognized, “That winning the tournament was a great start, but we can’t make it the highlight of their season and we need to continue to get better each match.” Mercadante went on to explain that the main difference between this year’s team and those of the past is mental strength. She said, “In the championship game we were down 24-19 and we were able to come back and win. A lot of times when we are down we are able to stay in the match and rally back.” The Hawk’s team goal for the 2008 season is to make it to the NCAA tournament by winning SUNYACS and receiving an automatic bid. They are currently undefeated and if they continue to play on the same level they are now, it seems as if no one will be able to stop them. The Hawks next home game will be played on Wednesday September 24th against the Brewers of Vassar College at 7pm.

Why to think twice when eating out

AOL News recently posted a list of the top twenty unhealthy meals served at popular chain restaurants. The most shocking thing about these meals is that many calorie drenched dishes hide behind a healthy disguise. For instance, Ruby Tuesday's menu boasts a mouthwatering turkey burger that might seem like a healthy alternartive to loaded cheese fries. So how does it stack up?
1,145 calories
71 g fat
56 g carbs

Another surprising dish is Macaroni's Grill Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce:
2,430 calories
128 g fat
207 g carbs
5,290 mg sodium
(that's right, more than your daily dietary value in calories, fat, carbs, and sodium in one plate of pasta)

So what diet nightmare tops the list?
Outback Steakhouse 's Aussie Cheese Fries with Ranch Dressing with a whopping 2,900 calories and 182 g fat (that's triple the recommended daily value of fat!)

There is hope. AOL has also posted a list of healthy fast-food (oxi-moron?) options for restaurants such as McDonald's, Arby's, and Taco Bell.

New Paltz men's soccer poised for breakout season

Seen here in its home opener against SUNY Cobleskill, the New Paltz men's soccer team has shown drastic improvement from last season.  Photo by Doron Tyler Antrim.

There is dramatic and exciting change occurring within the New Paltz men's soccer program.  The Hawks have won three of the six games they've played thus far this season, matching their win total from 2007.  The team has already scored 15 goals; one more than they scored all of last season.

Second-year head coach, Eric Watson, found depth to be a critical problem with last year's team.  "We had a handful of players that were very good, we just didn't have the depth we needed to be successful in the long run," he said, reflecting on his squad that finished eight in the SUNYAC conference with a 3-6-2 record.  "We needed some attacking players," he added.

Watson has proven an able recruiter, bringing in fourteen new players, four of which have earned starting roles this season.  "My job was to try and get a player that could come in and impact right away in almost every position," said Watson.  

Sophomore forward, Joe Rose, praised his coach's recruiting efforts.  "He did a good job recruiting all these freshmen," said Rose.  "The freshmen are definitely helping the team a lot," he added.  "They bring a lot of talent."  

One first-year player who's receiving worthy attention is James Altadonna.  Known by his coaches and teammates as Jimmy, the forward has been an unstoppable offensive force for the Hawks, scoring eight of the team's fifteen goals thus far this season.  In the Hawks' first game this fall at the Adidas Kick-Off Classic, hosted by Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Altadonna netted all four New Paltz goals in its victory over Western New England College.  No one on the 2007 team found the back of the net until the seventh contest.  

"I knew coming in that he could be very good," stated Watson, referring to Altadonna.  "I didn't know he'd get off to this kind of start.  But he is a very good goal scorer."  Watson remarked that Jimmy has spread the defenses of opponents, opening up the field for his teammates.  "Jimmy does draw a lot of attention and it's opened up some space for some other players."  He added, "We've been able to get goals from lots of other players which is good."  The six goals that haven't been scored by Altadonna have been spread amongst five other players.

Coach Watson points out that Altadonna and the other freshmen are not the only reason the team has found success early this season.  The sophomores and upperclassmen have improved themselves in the off-season.  "They've gotten stronger, they've gotten better on the ball, they've gotten more fit," said Watson.  "Everyone's raised their level."  

New Paltz hopes to carry their early success to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, September 16, as they travel to face undefeated King's College.  The Hawks' first game of SUNYAC Conference competition is on Saturday, September 20, when they play host to Cortland.  The game begins at 1:00 p.m. at Alumni Field.

Hunting in New Paltz?

About 90 miles north of New York is the Mohonk Preserve which is located in the Shawangunk Mountains of New Paltz. "Established in 1963, this Preserve was the first land trust established to protect the Shawangunk Ridge. It is also one of the oldest land conservation organizations in the Hudson Valley region."

This recreation area is well - known for outdoor activities such as hunting, climbing, hiking, mountain biking,horseback riding and cross country skiing. With a membership cost ranging from $5.00 to $50.00 you are able to explore over 6,500 acres of beautiful streams, cliffs and forests. For non-members it costs $9.00 for hikers and bikers, $15.00 for climbers and children 12 years old or younger are free with adult.

In November and December deer hunting is allowed in the Preserve lands. Every fall with a simple application and guidelines you can have the opportunity to participate in this intriguing sport. This natural preserve has become the "largest member and visitor-supported preserve in the New York State." Even if you do not consider yourself as an outdoor person you should still check the website and visit.

HOLE IN THE WALL

So two weeks ago I'm watching the first week of the NFL season on FOX, and I keep seeing commercials for this new game show, "Hole in the Wall" after all the games are over. The ads were something like this:



I found myself wondering, "It can't really be that simple can it? That wouldn't be on TV." But it IS that simple. Basically, there are two teams of three and usually the team members share a body type and/or job that is opposite in some way from their opponents. For example, the bodybuilders versus the beer bellies, the horse jockeys versus the sumo wrestlers, or the overweight Italian women versus the overweight black women. There are then different rounds of different combinations of the team members trying to, well, get through the hole in the wall. Whichever team gets through the most holes successfully wins, and get to go through a wall basically blind for a chance to get more money, which altogether can equal up to $130,000.
Really, Fox? Really? This is the best you can come up with? You've had success recently with shows like "House", "Bones", "Family Guy", "The Simpsons, "Prison Break" and of course "24." This is the best thing you can come up with now? I can't believe that this show, with it's overly simplistic premise, god-awful "hosts" (one of whose jobs is just to say "Time to face the Hole!" before every turn, the EXACT SAME WAY) and annoying contestents, can make it on primetime on a major network. It's like a trainwreck.
And, for some reason, I keep tuning in every time it's on.

Worth the cost?

I was having a discussion with my roommate because he was telling me that organic chicken is not proving cost-effective and that's why many places aren't switching to it. So I did a little research and came across this article.

Thoughts?

What? Magazine coming to the Hudson Valley

I came across a posting on Facebook from a high school friend of mine, Jim Marcotte. Apparently is involved in the start up of a new magazine here in the Hudson Valley. What? magazine is a "health and wellness publication with 11 sections with information on improving your physical, emotional, mental, and financial well-being". Well, Jim is looking for college students to publish articles for this publication. You can check out the listing here. You have to apply for a position, but it is salaried!



photo courtesy of mywhatmagazine.com

R.I.P. David Foster Wallace (1962-2008)

I was deeply saddened to hear the news about David Foster Wallace, a truly great American writer. To quote a colleague of mine posting on his apparent suicide: "I thought being able to laugh at the absurdity of life, and yourself, protected you from this level of misery."

Wallace was an extraordinary journalistic writer as well as a fiction writer. I highly recommend his book of non-fiction pieces, A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (please excuse the unfortunate double meaning the title now conveys). And here's a link to a pdf of a piece he wrote for Gourmet magazine a few years back about lobsters. It shows how a remarkable mind can find the deepest human themes just about anywhere.

On Sunday, after a short trip to the Taste of New Paltz Festival, I took a ride over to the Mohonk Preserve. This 6,500 acre preserve has hiking, biking, horseback riding, climbing, and beautiful views of the Shawangunk Mountain range. Being a very amateur hiker, I decided to just take gentle stroll through the woods and let the samples from the festival lock me down to a slow pace. Checking out their website, I found out that on September 28th, they will be having the "Pfalz Point Trail Challenge Fundraising Run." You need to register early and their's only enough room for 300 participants. This was really good hike, and if your into things like this I would also reccomend Breakneck Ridge in Beacon, a difficult but quick climb which has an awesome view of the Hudson and a cool breeze on top. Also, one of my favorite places to camp out for a few days is North-South Lake in the Catskill Mountain Preserve. I've gone here for thr last 3 summers and it never fails to dissapoint with many hiking trails, boating, fishing, and pitch black skies at night. When I went, along with Buddhist Monks performing ceremonies and enjoying the scenery, there was this cool guy practicing martial arts in full Gi. Anyhow, all these places are only going to get more serene as the leaves begin to change, so try to get up their before snow hits the ground.

Amy Winehouse: A Minstrel Show?

Amy Winehouse (Brian Kersey/AP Images)

Check out this provocative article in The Nation about the British soul-pop singer Amy Winehouse. It's written by the always-insightful critic Daphne Brooks, who I'm hoping will also weigh in on the forthcoming CD by white British MC Mike Skinner, aka The Streets.

Skydiving Around New Paltz

As brought to attention in class, there is a fantastic place to go skydiving locally.  The Blue Sky Ranch is located in Gardiner, just outside of New Paltz.  For an affordable rate, any person over the age of 18 can jump out of an airplane with confidence.  Including rented gear, the first tandem jump (jumping with an instructor on your back) will set you back only $195.  If you come with a group of five or more on a weekday, it will only be $175 per person.

If you choose to skydive The Ranch, your first trip out of the plane will be with an instructor on your back.  You will jump out of the plane from 13,500 ft and freefall for 6,000 ft.  The Ranch also offers, for a $95 fee, still photography or video of the jump.

Still not sure if you're ready to take the plunge?  Check out some photos and videos on their website of real people jumping and you can see if its right for you.

"Uprooting" the Truth about Marijuana

As we all must know, marijuana is probably the most used drug in and around our area and is abused on a daily basis because of its particular effects on the brain. Recently, there have been many drug busts for marijuana plants being grown in private homes. Statewide through the past month according to the New York Times, state police detained 7,097 marijuana plants, up from 5,206 for the same period in 2007. Ever since this outrage last year in the state of New York, the state police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team have been making it a point to uproot as many marijuana plants as possible in order to become more successful than they have been in the past.

“State police Sgt. Joseph Malorgio of Brewster said last year's recovery of 205 plants off Route 22 in Patterson near the Southeast town line was one of the largest cultivation seizures in recent years in the Lower Hudson Valley. Troopers estimated the plants' yield at 100 to 150 pounds”

Police in Westchester have confiscated millions of dollars in pot plants since last year. Although the police enforcers have not seen an increase in people growing marijuana plants in Westchester particularly, the Narcotics Unit officers are still going to make it a point to attempt to try and decrease this activity regardless of the statistics. In New York State as a whole, state police did say though that the amount confiscated this year is still likely to rise next year as plants are chopped down and harvested later this year. We can only hope that the success they had this summer will only get better as the years progress.

On Saturday the New Paltz Women's Rugby team kicked off the fall season in a scrimmage against Vassar College. This has been the third year in a row that the season has started with a scrimmage against Vassar, but this year was a little different. Since Vassar is a division 1 team, they usually mix both A and B side players in the game because New Paltz is a division 2 team, but this year they wanted to play a full A side game. It was an honor for New Paltz because Vassar is a nationally ranked team. Vassar won the game 55-5, but New Paltz definitely held their own. Everyone was nervous since most of the team has not played rugby since last season in the Spring, but that went away once we stepped out onto the field. It was a great way to start off the season against such a good team. Next Sunday starts the official season against Marist College.

Country Music... Come on, Try it Just Once.

As everyone already knows in my arts criticism class, I am a country music junkie, fan, critic, and performer.  I know it's not the cool thing for college kids to listen to but lately it seems like more and more musicians are coming to the dark side and joining the country music world.  Darius Rucker  (of "Hootie and the Blowfish" fame) and Jessica Simpson are just the latest in pop musicians to "cross-over" to country.  I'm not sure how I feel about all these pop artists enjoying the country lime light but I do have to say that it is bringing more light onto the talent that country music holds.  If a person talks about country music, the first person one would most likely recognize would be Garth Brooks, but I'm here to introduce people to more artists that start off behind the scenes and then take stage as artists in their own right.  

If you visit the magazine  Country Weekly  you'll learn about artists like Jamey Johnson; a man who started off writing hits for other artists but has now successfully "crossed-over" to the main stage.  This is the kind of cross over that I love to see.  The behind the scenes talent that now has a chance to take center stage.  Artists like Jamey Johnson prove that in country music you don't have to be the best looking person in the room to be successful; you just have to be incredibly talented.  Country musicians have heart and soul that is hard to find in the pop music that's on the radio today. 

So check out some country music and find out a little bit more about the music that most college students will not admit to listening to. 

Photo of Jamey Johnson Courtesy of Country Weekly 

Battle of the Bands at YOUR quad!

Saturday afternoon in the quad outside of Old Main ... yep that large area of grass, there was a battle of the bands. It seemed to be hosted by Jeff Fonda, Mikey Ouimet, and Will Darling.
The bands that played all had different styles, yet it was great to see them perform.

The bands were All I Can Say, Nuclear Holocausts, Tripmonk, Vision Through Sound, and Adir Cohen.

The crowd was small, yet the people that were there seemed to be having fun. You had your typical "groupies", the people in the front "dancing", the couple on the blanket, and the people who wore t-shirts of old and famous bands, such as The Clash.

It was fun, but next time there should be better publicity for this event. My friends performed in it and I found out like two days before it. Either way, it was a good time!

Burn After Reading

This past weekend the new Coen Brothers film "Burn After Reading" hit theaters. The film is said to chronicle the trials and tribulations behind one duo of gym co-workers (Brad Pitt (as can be seen in the photograph to the left recently featured in the NY Post) and Frances McDormand) as they attempt to leak valuable CIA-related information that they obtained from a former CIA Agent (John Malkovich). An article written in The Village Voice comments that the film is full of entertaining banter such as this from the opening scene: ""You have a drinking problem," one nerdy suit informs the irate Cox. "Fuck you, Peck—you're a Mormon,"". In the article, J Hoberman remarks that the Coen Brothers have returned to their roots of parody in this film. Hoberman also goes on to discuss the film comparatively in contrast with the brothers previous filming escapades. As a sucker for comedies, I personally can not wait to get out to the theater and see this one. You can click here for Hoberman's complete review of the film, or check out one of the films trailers here that I found floating around on YouTube.

Something Local, Something New...

There's lots to do in the Hudson Valley on a beautiful Sunday afternoon in early autumn. You could go to the Taste of New Paltz, for instance. Yet, sometimes inclement weather or even indecisive weather can marr even the best laid plans. This past Sunday, heavy and very full-looking clouds threatened our plans of enjoying all the fabulous food that New Paltz has to offer. Even when the clouds decided to blow out of ton, the too-warm-for-fall weather mixed with wet grass and an abundance of knats, made the idea of the Taste of New Paltz not so appealing.

Alternative? Oh yes. The Wine Trail. Woo-hoo. Starting out any winery in the area, you can travel along a single road and winery-hop. Its fantabulous! Each winery charges anywhere form 2 dollars to 10 dollars and offers upwards of six wine samples. One place even offered 18 wine samples. All of the wineries are willing to give direction to the next closest winery so that the revelry...um I mean study of fine wines may continue. It was truly a great time and I highly recommend it to all, even the non drinkers. I served as DD for day and still had a great time. Remember be responsible and if you drink, don't drive.

Funkadellic

I picked up a copy of the Woodstock Times today and was reading an article in the Almanac section about the Hudson River Valley Arts Festival. This coming Saturday, September 20 at Waryas Park in Poughkeepsie, the up and coming funk band Dumpstaphunk will be playing, among many other artists. The band's name alone makes me want to attend the festival (which is free to the public with a suggested $3 donation) and check out the music and festivities. To read more about the festival and Dumpstaphunk go here http://www.ulsterpublishing.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=article&articleID=463078

Scholarly Details for Features

Hey guys--Here is the publication I was talking about in class the other day. It's called Gleanings and it's a publication from Glynwood Center written by the Director of Programs there, Jayne Daly. The people at Glynwood center have done analytical studies about the agricultural movement in the Hudson Valley area, just what we're doing our features on. It discusses the struggle for the survival of small-scale farms amidst a world of corporate farming. Hopefully you can find some details that will help with whatever track your taking for your stories.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now?

Read this blog.

Now read this one.

Interesting. I would never believe that our troops are over there twiddling their thumbs all day (at least, not all of them), so I'm pretty certain Anwar is an embittered citizen who resents foreigners "ruling" his or her country. It's an understandable mentality. On the same token, "the people" often complain that groups working for change do no change at all. When change demands inconvenience and time, those working for change are criticized. (For an example of this, see the article I wrote in The Oracle on university members' responses to changed class times. I had to put this plug in because we are supposed to write about local news.) 

Still, I share one of Anwar's sentiments: I'd like our troops home, too...especially since they are, according to Anwar, not welcome.

At least General Petraeus sent them a thank you.

Indigo Girls perfoming in Kingston.

An american folk-rock duo called the Indigo Girls will be performing on Sept 24th at the UPAC theater in Kingston. Emily Ray and Emily Saliers got signed to epic records in 1988 and are still singing and songwriting as independents. I have never personally heard of them or their music but as i read on about them i learned that they are very popular for their music and have always been open about being lesbians which attracts a large gay and lesbian fan base. They were politically involved in supporting gay rights, native american rights, they joined a coalition against the death penalty and they were actively involved in supporting a better environment.

Heres a link to an article about it!