202 replies to this topic

[Lid]

The grand finale is about to begin!

 

[Lid]

Mission Accomplished

 

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That's it! Game 100% completed without getting a game over once! 

 

[Muffins?]

nice dude one of my favorites, gz!

[Lid]

Thanks man!

 

So tonight I'm in Fargo for the big MayPac fight and got a sweet hotel room

 

 

7th Floor, awesome view.

 

If anyone wants to follow along with my reaction to the fight, they can check out my twitter

 

https://twitter.com/MatthewATMR

[Lid]

One chapter is ending, another is beginning.

 

As I'm typing this, I sit in my apartment. My entertainment stand has been cleared of all video games. Posters and sports banners that used to be hanging on the walls are in boxes. It's all because I'm going to be moving out.

 

Tomorrow will be my last day at my current job and will also be my last day in North Dakota. For the past six years, I've been living on the border of Minnesota and North Dakota, a region of the country called the Red River Valley.

 

I moved to the area in a dorm in 2009 at Minnesota State University in Moorhead and later to an apartment just across a bridge in Fargo, North Dakota a year later as I continued my education. Then in 2012, I came to the Wahpeton North Dakota, Breckenridge Minnesota cities, also in the Red River Valley for my first job as a journalist.

 

That will all be coming to an end tomorrow, as I say good bye to this place. I will be moving up north to Bemidji, back home in Minnesota. While I look forward to moving back to the state I'm from and the state I love, this region that I'm moving from will always be part of my memory.

 

This was where I learned the ins and outs of journalism, it's where I cut my teeth as a rookie reporter. 

 

With that said, I am looking forward to moving to a bigger market and expanding my career as a reporter and as a film critic. 

 

The future is bright. So long North Dakota!

[Muffins?]

Nice dude, good luck with your move! Do you have a job lined up over in Minnesota or are you on the hunt?...also Bemidji, isn't that the town in Fargo lol.

[Lid]

Nice dude, good luck with your move! Do you have a job lined up over in Minnesota or are you on the hunt?...also Bemidji, isn't that the town in Fargo lol.

 

Thanks. I already have a job lined up here in Minnesota. I'm going to be working city, county and some state government reporting. 

 

And yeah, Bemidji is the city featured in the show Fargo. It's actually a pretty good size city and has a university so it's a college area too

 

Here's a shot of some of the city and the campus.

 

 

Funny enough, I've actually lived in Fargo before, too. This is what it actually looks like

 

[Lid]

New job, new city, Same Notorious L.I.D.

 

So I've made it just over a month at my new job and it's going really good! I'm covering a lot more serious, government news here which is a welcome change of pace and everything is going steady. Even the commute is nice, every day to and from work, I get to cross a bridge over the mighty Mississippi river and have a beautiful view of the local lake. At any new job, there are of course some growing pains, but I think I'm adjusting well here. 

 

Don't worry, I've also had plenty of time to work on my website After The Movie Reviews, too. Comic-Con just passed and there sure were some neat things there, Abrams showing off behind-the-scenes of The Force Awakens, Bat vs Supes trailer, Suicide Squad, Mockingjay pt. 2 info, Deadpool. So much stuff!

 

So this weekend I'm gearing up for three new movies, Pixels, Southpaw and Paper Towns. I'm most excited for Southpaw, being a boxing fan. 

 

That's about it for now, but before this ends, how about a round of applause for Smiter for getting H&E back online recently after some technical stuff (not a computer wix so don't know the terms ^_^;). Through thick and thin, even after what happened in November, the guy has shown incredible dedication and determination. Proud to be part of a site with such fantastic leadership.

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Today, a terrible tragedy occurred that sent shock waves through newsrooms and homes across the United States. Two journalists, covering a feature story for the morning broadcast, were horrifically gunned down, live on the air. The murderer, a former employee, even video recorded the killing. 

 

In the past few years, I've watched many news reports of mass shootings, each have been hard to stomach. Today's hit me like no other, though. Having spent many days and late nights studying journalism during my college days and being a reporter for the past three years, the lives of these reporters who died today felt so relatable, and it hurt so much to see what happened. Having worked in two newsrooms now, I know how tight-nit they are. It's a team, it's a family. I can't imagine the pain that the news crew at WDBJ is feeling tonight and no doubt into this week. 

 

The only thing I can do is support WDBJ and my craft. I stand with WDBJ

[Lid]

Hey everybody! Been a while since I had a legitimate update so here it goes.

 

So far, my new job has been pretty solid. I've enjoyed covering politics and government and I still get to write film reviews. So it's all good!

 

I really like the new location I'm at, it's so nice being close to a lake. One day I went for lunch and here's some shots of the view

 

 

 

Most recently I saw the movies No Escape and The Visit. Neither of them were necessarily classics, but they were both entertaining and I would recommend them for a matinee viewing.

 

I've also tried some new beers recently, so here this goes.

 

First one was Bell's Neptune Ale

 

This one definitely brought a lot of flavor. One who drinks it certainly better be ready for a lot of different spices and tastes. It's a dark beer and has a lot going on with the ingredients. It's one to try if you want to be a bit adventurous.

 

Next was Lake Superior Kayak Kolsch

 

This one was pretty refreshing, but not the most flavor-filled beer I've had. It's worth a try, but not too memorable.

 

Last was Samuel Adams Octoberfest

 

I'm a big fan of Sam Adams beers, and this one is no exception. It's pretty good if you're looking for a standard Octoberfest.

 

So today of course was college football game day (week 2) and both my teams (The Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Minnesota State University Dragons) won their games! Both of the games were really close, too, so I was sweating bullets there for a while. 

 

A win is a win, though, right?! So to celebrate I made some wings!

 

So tomorrow the NFL really starts, I'm looking forward to it!

[Lid]

In Minneapolis to see the Gophers play live this weekend! Just made it to the hotel a few minutes ago and, like usual, have a pretty cool view. Check it out-

 

If you look in the middle of the picture you can see the new Vikings stadium under construction.

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Couple days away from seeing the Golden Gophers live in action, so my dad and I went to watch Everest on IMax at the local AMC theater.

 

 

It's a really nice theater, and I love going there!   Although, Everest wasn't the best movie out there.

[Lid]

It's one day before the Golden Gophers game! I'm hyped up. So today I visited the mall in Rosedale and had a pretty good time.

 

Walked by a Spencer's which was of course right next to a Hot Top... Hey wait a minute!

 

This might be the first time not seeing the two stores next to each other   

 

Anyways, after doing some shopping, we stopped by Ruby Tuesday's for a beer, and I got a tall because it's my vacation! 

 

Now I'm back at the hotel, here's the stuff I bought!

A couple boxes of Pockey, a Masterball keychain, and a couple SNES games. The original Starfox and a little obscure space shooter game called Phalanx.

[Lid]

So the game today went pretty good. It was a close win so I was a bit worried there. Also got a bit sunburnt because of how few clouds there were. Anyways, still went good, had a fun time. Here's a shot from the stadium

 

[Lid]

Sup everyone!

So pretty good weekend here these past couple days. Got a hair cut because my hair was getting waaay too long. My hair curls, too, so it was seriously annoying. Some other good news is that both the Gophers and the Vikings won their games! Vikings looked really good but the Gophers definitely have some things to work on. Still great to see some wins, though.

 

Some new movies I watched include The Intern and Hotel Transylvania 2. Both were OK, but nothing mind blowing. The Intern had some good acting but lacked a bit of story substance. HT2 had some good humor, but the story was stretched a little thin in this one.

 

I also tried some beers.

 

First up is KCCO Gold Lager

True to its name, this was a bright gold beer and was really tasty. It's creamy and has a good sweetness. Very smooth beer to enjoy.

 

The other one was Goose Island Autumn Ale

 

This one is really flavorful. Beer with hops, has a bit of a pine taste. It's a strong beer with some solid bitterness.

 

Both brews were pretty damn good.

[Lid]

So this morning I got on to my lap top and checked Twitter first thing like I always do, and guess what I see. A shooting at ANOTHER school, this time at Northern Arizona University. 

 

You know what the saddest part of it all is? It's not even a surprise anymore. It happens and the reaction is: yeah, it's another day in America.

[Lid]

So, it's OCD Awareness Week and I wrote this up at my page on RoosterTeeth.com, and wanted to share it here, too. Here it is-

 

​Hey everybody. This might seem a bit PSA-ish, but it's something important to me so I wanted to share it.

 

This week is International OCD Awareness Week and as someone who has OCD, I feel it's important to share what the disorder really is and what it's not.

 

Sometimes there are misconceptions about OCD. There are still some who think that a person who likes things to be neat, or needs things to be completely in order, or color coded have OCD.

 

While some who suffer from OCD may have these tendencies, the problem with this outlook is it reduces the disorder to a personality quirk in some people's mind.

 

Often times, the keeping things neat is the compulsive part of OCD. Those who suffer from the disorder often have an obsession, usually terrible intrusive thoughts that give someone anxiety. The compulsion is what a person does to cope with that, such as keeping things neat or washing hands for example. This is where the disorder comes in, the compulsion to cope with the obsession can be debilitating sometimes, both in work and school.

 

I personally know this because my OCD spiked last summer and it was really difficult to get through. Here's the good part, though. I was able to get through it, it was difficult, it was hard, it was a dark time, but I was able to get help and I was able to come through. 

 

My point is, OCD can be overcome. If you're suffering from OCD, or any other mental illness, please reach out, get help. There are roads to recovery and brighter days ahead

[Lid]

Hola peoples, hope everybody's doing well.

 

Another weekend passes by, man these things go by quick! Hopefully this new week goes by fast, too, because I'm excited for Halloween! I love it, the props, the decorations, the horror movies and the candy! Woo! 

In other news, it's been an up and down start to the sports year for us fans up in Minnesota. Gopher football is struggling, and Gopher hockey is too young to really compete this year. The Wild have been good, though, and the Vikings have had some fun wins. I'm looking forward to basketball season now, too.

 

I've also been keeping up with movies. Here are some of my reviews from the past weekend:

Steve Jobs, 4/5

 

Rock the Kasbah, 1/5

 

Jem and the Holograms, 2/5

 

Last Witch Hunter, 2/5

 

Besides the new blockbusters, for my website's annual Halloween Horror Fest, I've been taking a look at some of the worst horror movies that I've ever seen. Here are some of the reviews:

 

The Item

Alone in the Dark

 

Halloween Resurrection 

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So for Halloween, I wrote up my top 10 favorite horror movie songs. Check it out:

http://www.afterthem...10-horror-songs