Down at Southern Illinois University every year the school throws a big event called Polar Bear and it takes place the weekend of January. The event all started as one of the bars Callahan's Irish Pub tried selling the most Coronas in one day. All the other bars caught on to the idea and the town's bar scene opened up at ten morning and sold very cheap drinks until two in the morning. Polar Bear 2012 took place this last weekend and let me tell you, it was a blur.
The weekend started as soon as my buddy picked me and up drove down there. We got there around 9 at night on Friday and the drinking began. As soon as I got there, there were already 20 - 30 people there and was handed some good old Jack Daniels whiskey. As the night progressed, more and more beer and liquor was consumed. Between my buddy and I, we killed a 24 rack and had a couple of cups of Jack Daniels. Once three in the morning rolled around it was time for bed because Saturday would be a long day.
The ten o'clock woke me up, grabbed some Burger King, the breakfast of champions, and prepared myself for the long day ahead. My buddy tapped the keg around eleven and the beer was constantly flowing for the rest of the night. After about four hours or so, we walked about a 20 minutes to Callahan's Irish Pub for dollar Coronas. Once outside in the beer garden, round after round was consumed and the place was completely packed. After about six rounds, we hiked over to Penny Pitch and drank more. From there on, we hit up apartment and house parties for a couple hours. At about ten, hiked to Stix and drank a shit load of dollar pitchers and Jager bombs. From there on, I was done and started forgetting parts of the night. Some how made back to my buddies house and woke up half naked on the floor.
Next morning on the drive home, ended up throwing up outside the window, luckily no cops were around. Three hours later made it back to Eastern and up to this minute I still do not feel normal from a long Saturday of drinking. Classic.
Monday, January 30, 2012
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Friday's At WEIU
After a disappointing first night of anchoring, I hope my second time around would be better. The night before I saw EIU and U of I both had basketball games which meant that I would have to do two play-by-plays, which fucking sucks.
When I got to work I began my sports producing which consisted of a lot of men's and women's basketball, track and field, and swimming. After stacking the show, I decided to do the U of I play-by-play first and then go straight into the EIU men's game from there. This meant I would have to call out six plays in a row, which is uncommon for a sports anchor at WEIU and let alone it was only my second night on air.
Producing went smoothly and 5:30 came, GAME TIME. When I went on I killed the first story with a lot of energy and no stumbles. Next up the U of I play-by-play. Did well through the first two plays, but stumbled a little on third. Now for the hard part, going into Eastern's game.
First two plays went smoothly, but all hell broke loose on the third. When I saw the third play roll on, I realized it was not the right play and botched the last fucking play completely. I was caught off guard and some how got it together and finished the rest of the story. I guess when I was editing the video, I inserted the B-Roll before the third play, which fucked everything up. But the rest of the show went smoothy with little stumbles.
Went a lot better then round one, but still have shit load to work on.
When I got to work I began my sports producing which consisted of a lot of men's and women's basketball, track and field, and swimming. After stacking the show, I decided to do the U of I play-by-play first and then go straight into the EIU men's game from there. This meant I would have to call out six plays in a row, which is uncommon for a sports anchor at WEIU and let alone it was only my second night on air.
Producing went smoothly and 5:30 came, GAME TIME. When I went on I killed the first story with a lot of energy and no stumbles. Next up the U of I play-by-play. Did well through the first two plays, but stumbled a little on third. Now for the hard part, going into Eastern's game.
First two plays went smoothly, but all hell broke loose on the third. When I saw the third play roll on, I realized it was not the right play and botched the last fucking play completely. I was caught off guard and some how got it together and finished the rest of the story. I guess when I was editing the video, I inserted the B-Roll before the third play, which fucked everything up. But the rest of the show went smoothy with little stumbles.
Went a lot better then round one, but still have shit load to work on.
Peace of Mind Review
On January 10, 2012, one of my favorite bandsRebelution, released their third album called Peace Of Mind. Hear is a song by song review of the tweleve tracks that the band produced.
1. Sky is the Limit - The song is very upbeat in terms of the beat and the lyrics and could be considered the bands party track off Peace Of Mind. Rebelution encompassed a trumpet to lift the song to new heights and added a simple guitar solo. 8.5/10
2. Comfort Zone - The song has an overall up lifting feel which comes through the reggae sounding guitar. Throughout the song, it is very catchy and can be easily sang along too. 8.5/10
3. Good Vibes - With the help of Lutan Fyah, Rebelution added a very islander vibe to the song. The song has a positive message through the lyrics in which everyone can relate too. 9/10
4. Route Around - Overall, very different from the rest of the album and what Rebelution has produced before. The song gives off a laid back feeling. This is all done through the acoustic guitar and a soft beat from the keyboard player. 9/10
5. Meant to Be - Another guest appearance this time from Jacob Hemphill of SOJA, which adds a new element every time he is on a track. Hemphill adds essential background lyrics in the chorus and his verse is a nice change of pace. 9/10
6. Life on the Line - Starts off with a western type guitar intro and burst into the song with a dub beat. This song proves that Eric Rachmany can give off different sounding guitars. The western feel added with the dub beat makes this one of my favorites. 9.5/10
7. Closer I Get - One the slower songs off the album but still devlivers a memorable sound. The drums and keyboard add a very chill beat. Rachmany uses a soft sounding voice throughout and the harmonica soloadds a different element. 9.5/10
8. Lady in White - By far the heaviest song off the album done by a sick guitar rift and hard pounding drums. The guitar solo seems to be very synthesized and the keyboards add a new element to the solo. By far my favorite off the album. 10/10
9. So High - This song has been released before but Rebelution completely changed the beat and feel to it on this album. The song is the ulitmate chill song for relaxing and doing nothing. But I do like the old verision better than this one. 8/10
10 -12. Day by Day, Calling Me Out, and Honeypot - These three were not as memorable as the others. Day by Day is a typical sounds Rebelution song. Calling Me Out is dubbed out and uses a lot of trumpet. Honeypot is just alright because of the slowness of the song and the keyboard rift throughout. 7.5/10
1. Sky is the Limit - The song is very upbeat in terms of the beat and the lyrics and could be considered the bands party track off Peace Of Mind. Rebelution encompassed a trumpet to lift the song to new heights and added a simple guitar solo. 8.5/10
2. Comfort Zone - The song has an overall up lifting feel which comes through the reggae sounding guitar. Throughout the song, it is very catchy and can be easily sang along too. 8.5/10
3. Good Vibes - With the help of Lutan Fyah, Rebelution added a very islander vibe to the song. The song has a positive message through the lyrics in which everyone can relate too. 9/10
4. Route Around - Overall, very different from the rest of the album and what Rebelution has produced before. The song gives off a laid back feeling. This is all done through the acoustic guitar and a soft beat from the keyboard player. 9/10
5. Meant to Be - Another guest appearance this time from Jacob Hemphill of SOJA, which adds a new element every time he is on a track. Hemphill adds essential background lyrics in the chorus and his verse is a nice change of pace. 9/10
6. Life on the Line - Starts off with a western type guitar intro and burst into the song with a dub beat. This song proves that Eric Rachmany can give off different sounding guitars. The western feel added with the dub beat makes this one of my favorites. 9.5/10
7. Closer I Get - One the slower songs off the album but still devlivers a memorable sound. The drums and keyboard add a very chill beat. Rachmany uses a soft sounding voice throughout and the harmonica soloadds a different element. 9.5/10
8. Lady in White - By far the heaviest song off the album done by a sick guitar rift and hard pounding drums. The guitar solo seems to be very synthesized and the keyboards add a new element to the solo. By far my favorite off the album. 10/10
9. So High - This song has been released before but Rebelution completely changed the beat and feel to it on this album. The song is the ulitmate chill song for relaxing and doing nothing. But I do like the old verision better than this one. 8/10
10 -12. Day by Day, Calling Me Out, and Honeypot - These three were not as memorable as the others. Day by Day is a typical sounds Rebelution song. Calling Me Out is dubbed out and uses a lot of trumpet. Honeypot is just alright because of the slowness of the song and the keyboard rift throughout. 7.5/10
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday the Thirteenth
Well this past Friday, January 13, 2012, it was my sports anchoring debut. Not to add more pressure to myselft, I noticed the date of that morning, Friday the thirteenth. As if I was not nervous enough, the urban legend of the day of bad luck had to strike too.
Before going on live television at 5:30 P.M. I had to sports produce the entire day which consists of writing and editing the stories I would be reading that night. During those hours, my day was going smoothly but the jitters and nervous built up by the hour.
An hour before the show I finsihed producing and got ready for my debut. But as I was getting ready I was told that I had to wear make-up. After getting a tutorial from a friend, I began putting my own make-up on when, the small bottle clogged up and squirted down my shirt. The bad luck had begun.
Luckly, my suit coat covered the stains and I did not have to go get a new shirt. In the studio showtime rolled around and I waited until about 5:45 till I went on. Sweating like a pig at this point, I was qued to begin after the commercial. The first story went well but once the play-by-play of Eastern Illinois basketball was rolled, Friday the thirteenth struck again. As I turned to watch the plays and read my scripts, I dropped the first two plays. This threw me off guard as I had to improv the plays. I paused for what seemed like an eternity, stumbled my words, and botched the first two plays. Nervous as hell, I manned up and regrouped for the last play which I am pretty sure botched, but whatever. The rest of the block went smoothly with minimal errors.
What this past Friday proved to me was that Friday the Thirteenth does exist and I need a lot more practice. Hopefully this Friday goes well.
Before going on live television at 5:30 P.M. I had to sports produce the entire day which consists of writing and editing the stories I would be reading that night. During those hours, my day was going smoothly but the jitters and nervous built up by the hour.
An hour before the show I finsihed producing and got ready for my debut. But as I was getting ready I was told that I had to wear make-up. After getting a tutorial from a friend, I began putting my own make-up on when, the small bottle clogged up and squirted down my shirt. The bad luck had begun.
Luckly, my suit coat covered the stains and I did not have to go get a new shirt. In the studio showtime rolled around and I waited until about 5:45 till I went on. Sweating like a pig at this point, I was qued to begin after the commercial. The first story went well but once the play-by-play of Eastern Illinois basketball was rolled, Friday the thirteenth struck again. As I turned to watch the plays and read my scripts, I dropped the first two plays. This threw me off guard as I had to improv the plays. I paused for what seemed like an eternity, stumbled my words, and botched the first two plays. Nervous as hell, I manned up and regrouped for the last play which I am pretty sure botched, but whatever. The rest of the block went smoothly with minimal errors.
What this past Friday proved to me was that Friday the Thirteenth does exist and I need a lot more practice. Hopefully this Friday goes well.
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