202 replies to this topic

[Lid]

I'm in a great mood tonight, the Golden Gopher hockey team just won the Big Ten regular season championship! This is the trophy they will get - 

 

 

Hopefully a trip to the Frozen Four is in the future.

[Heartsbattle]

So, as some might know I'm a big fan of the movie Frozen. 

 

So, upon reading fanfics on it, I kinda hate to say it, but my favorite ship is Kristoff with Elsa  I'm sorry Anna! 

Blasphemy!!! I won't hear of it!

[Lid]

Wow, it has been some time since I've updated this.

 

Work had been busy lately, though. The primary elections took place in North Dakota so I was busy covering that for the most part.

 

Other than that, lately, I've been watching the NBA Playoffs (which the Timberwolves didn't make  ) and the Stanley Cup Playoffs (which the Wild got knocked out of  ). Regardless, there have been good games in both.

 

Now the only thing left are the NBA Finals and I've been really surprised how the Heat are down to the Spurs. It's not that they are down in the series perse, but that they've been blown out in some of those games.

 

After that it will be World Cup to hold me over until the Gophers and Vikings take the gridiron! 

 

So besides sports, I've been busy with movie reviews. The best movies I've seen so far this summer include Chef, Edge of Tomorrow, How to Train Your Dragon 2 and 22 Jump Street.

 

So on top of all that, I also had some good beer recently

 

Samuel Adams Summer Ale is great! It has that citrus like flavor that other summer beers (shandys for example) have, without being too over powering. It's one of the better summer ales out there.

[Lid]

So I have a new theater experience to share with everyone, this happened Thursday night on the release date of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

 

The show started at 10 PM and there's only one theater in this town, so I went there, with the intention of seeing Dawn to review it. So I get into the theater, grab my ticket, buy an iced cold Cherry Coke, and settle in for my most anticipated movie of the summer.

 

All was going according to plan, until, a group of gossip chicks walked into the theater and decided to sit right behind me. And they would. Not. STOP! 

 

On and on about this random stuff, but I thought, whatever, they will probably stop when the previews start. Nope. They kept on going and going. Still, though, I think 'hey, I'm sure they will stop when the movie kicks off.'

 

Nope, they just keep talking. So just when I was contemplating whether to complain or just move to a different seat, I notice two things about the movie on screen.

 

1. The picture is blurry.

2. The picture doesn't fit the screen, as the bottom and top portions are cut off, so, no subtitles for the apes that talk in SIGN LANGUAGE!

 

So I go to the box office to complain and they say they are handling the problem. Finally they enter the theater and they tell us that they got the wrong film file and accidentally got the 3D version of the film, and told us we had the option of either seeing the film as is or getting a free movie pass.

 

I obviously got the latter. So after that whole ordeal, I decided to drive over to the bigger Marcus Theater in Fargo the next day with the nice leather recliner seats and I had a blast watching the movie, it was damn good.

 

Reflecting on the whole thing though, I was much more pissed off at the people talking behind me. I get that mistakes happen, so I don't hold much of a grudge towards the theater, but I just hate the people who keep talking when a movie starts.

 

During the previews, sure, no big deal, I would rather people not, but it's OK, it's not the movie and the trailers can be found online. When the movie starts, though, people need to be quiet! There are other people in the theater who just want to watch the movie! 

 

The worst part nowadays, too, is if you try to do something about it, whether asking a person or getting a manager, the person who was talking can get really defensive and I've heard about people even starting fights over it.

 

I wish places like the Alamo Drafthouse were more common.

[BakeNeko-Chan]

I can't stand people who talk during the movie, it's totally distracting and inconsiderate. Also really annoying is people who put their feet up on the seats when someone is sitting right in front of them. Come on, I don't want your feet next to my face.

[Lid]

I can't stand people who talk during the movie, it's totally distracting and inconsiderate. Also really annoying is people who put their feet up on the seats when someone is sitting right in front of them. Come on, I don't want your feet next to my face.

 

I think a lot of people don't really have a sense of theater etiquette nowadays. Whether it is talking, texting on a cell phone or whatever else. And the worst part is, most aren't even subtle about it. It's never just a person asking their friend what actor is on screen or someone checking the time, it is full blown talking or texting.

[Muffins?]

 

I think a lot of people don't really have a sense of theater etiquette nowadays. Whether it is talking, texting on a cell phone or whatever else. And the worst part is, most aren't even subtle about it. It's never just a person asking their friend what actor is on screen or someone checking the time, it is full blown talking or texting.

I've never really seen people doing this when I go to the theaters. Maybe it's because I usually go to the matinee showing a day or two after the movie's out but I have never ran into people blatantly doing these kind of things.

[Lid]

I've never really seen people doing this when I go to the theaters. Maybe it's because I usually go to the matinee showing a day or two after the movie's out but I have never ran into people blatantly doing these kind of things.

 

I wouldn't say it happens every time, but there are instances every now and then. Maybe it's the theaters I've gone too where I've been unlucky on some occasions.

[Fyuria'sLeo]

Been awhile Lid, hope you are doing great!

[Lid]

Been awhile Lid, hope you are doing great!

Hey Leo, how's it been going. Doing well over here.

[Fyuria'sLeo]

Hey Leo, how's it been going. Doing well over here.

 

Been quite well myself, glad to hear you're doing well.

[Lid]

New blog post go!

 

It's been a good couple of weeks since the last entry. I was able to visit both my family and my friend who lives in central North Dakota. Now I'm just waiting for my vacation to the Twin Cities for a week of football and fun!

 

Speaking of football, I'm pleased with what I've seen from my teams so far. The Minnesota Vikings went 4-0 in preseason and I think they may actually do somewhat well this season. I'm especially excited about rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater.

 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are also 1-0, winning their opening game 42-20. The game wasn't even as close as the score suggests. It was 42-7 for the most of the last few minutes until the other team scored some late touchdowns with some help from questionable ref calls. Anyways, on to week 2!

 

This past month also marked the end to a disappointing summer movie season both in terms of quality and at the box office. According to the NY Times, this was one of the worst box office films since 1997. Ouch.

 

There were a few reasons for this, for example, the great new Captain America movie was released in April, before summer. There was no Pixar movie this year. Plus some of the big blockbusters this year turned out to be somewhat mediocre, for example Spider-Man 2, Godzilla and Maleficent. Even the new X-Men, which was above average didn't resonate at the box office. It's also apparent that Transformers is running out of steam.

 

Audiences also didn't swarm to some of the great summer movies like Edge of Tomorrow, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and How to Train Your Dragon 2.

 

July was definitely a victim of poor quality movies, with nothing better to offer than Sex Tape, Hercules and Lucy. 

 

Fortunately, there was at least Guardians of the Galaxy to make up for both the quality and the box office, though. 

 

If I had to make a list of my summer 2014 favorites, it would be

1. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

2. Chef

3. Guardians of the Galaxy

4. What If

5. Begin Again

6. Edge of Tomorrow

7. How to Train Your Dragon 2

 

I also tried a new beer recently....

 

This is Boulevard Brewing Unfiltered Wheat Beer. It has a universal taste so it's OK with any season. The only problem is there isn't really anything too special about it. It's refreshing, but I've had better wheat beers. It's definitely one of the lighter beers out there.

[rikakim94]

HI lid! I don't mean to bring an old topic up but whats your opinion on new digimon anniversery? I heard that there doing a new series with the original cast but when there in high school and i heard that tai will be 17. 

 

For me im personally bitter about it i have a feeling that this new series will bring back the old shipping wars again so im staying far away from that. 

[Lid]

I guess this is the first time I really thought about it. I saw a new thread about the 2015 series, but haven't really paid much attention.

 

I wonder if the new series will acknowledge season 2 or just be a completely new continuation. It will bring up a new pairing war for sure, though, not that I will be involved in that after the mess with the first one.

[Lid]

So, the Simpsons marathon is finally coming to an end in a few hours. 

 

I've gotta say, this has been a great tv event, having a non stop marathon is awesome. I'm actually not looking forward to life after the marathon  .

 

I have to admit, I was a bit negative on the Simpsons over the last few years, thinking that it overstayed its welcome. I have to say, though, the last few seasons weren't that bad, they just aren't as great as what the series used to be. The seasons 2-11 were pure gold. The series just isn't at that level anymore. That being said, I have still enjoyed some of these later seasons.

 

I think my TV might need a vacation once it's done, it's been getting worked from this marathon, haha.

[Lid]

So, a blog post seems like a good way to cap off a good week. Well, I guess technically this is the beginning of a new week, but whatever. 

 

Despite being a short, four day week, there was still quite a bit to do at work. For example, one story I did was on the current rail car shortage that has become a crisis in the midwest, especially in North Dakota. So much oil is being shipped on the railways that agriculture products aren't moving. There was a hearing by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board where some senators and representatives from both North Dakota and Minnesota spoke at, so I covered that.

 

I also wrote a story on the upcoming propane season, seeing if it will be anything like last year when there was a major propane shortage. 

 

It was no doubt a lot to cover, but it ended up resulting in some good articles, so that was nice.

 

Anyways, the weekend came finally, and WOW! This is such a slow season for movies! There was really no major release this week, so nothing to review. At least I got the week off from that. I am looking forward to the end of September, though, when The Equalizer comes out with Denzel Washington.

 

In football news, both of my teams won this weekend! The Golden Gophers and Vikings are both undefeated, with the Vikings being particularly impressive in their opener. The Gophers have looked pretty good here so far at 2-0, but they get a big test next week against TCU, a Big 12 team. Hopefully they can pull out a win. The Vikings also face a tough team in the Tom Brady led Patriots.

 

I also tried two beers recently.

 

 

The first was Lake Monster Calhoun Claw, a strong, golden pilsener. A flavor-filled beer for sure, this brew had a nice bitterness and was very crisp. It's a slow sipping, smooth type of beer. Recommended.

 

 

Next one was Alaskan White Wheat Ale. This one was a really nice treat. It was perfect for a nice late summer/early fall day. The spices in the beer give off a good aroma and it has a great citrus taste. It's a very refreshing ale and one of my new favorites.

[Lid]

18 years ago, the world lost a great talent in Tupac Shakur, aka 2Pac. A rapper who had a lot to say and recorded some of the best hip hop songs in history. RIP

 

[Lid]

So, many of you may know that I'm a reporter, and I thought, why not give you a look at my work desk.

 

 

As you can see, it's totally organized!   for being neat 

 

Also, this picture was hung by the sports editor at the paper, Doge, reporter style

 

[KonaKonaFan]

I'm cuter than ur goddamn desk

[Lid]

I'm cuter than ur goddamn desk

 

 hmm, but probably not more organized 

 

Anyways, I made it to the Twin Cities just now, here until Sunday for some fun and a Gophers game. Came in right at the top of rush hour, though, and traffic was slowed down because of road construction.

Got a pretty nice view though~

 

 

I think the window washer needs to come up sometime, though   
 

Here's another view