Tips for MIPS-Final Draft

Underage drinking is a problem across our nation, underage drinking is a problem across our state, and underage drinking is problem across our county. In the broad spectrum, our state Nebraska showed from 2006-2007, 32.4 % of those between the ages of 12 and 20 had consumed alcohol in the past month. For that same group, 21.7% had admitted to binge drinking. Yes, underage drinking is a problem, and it needs to be taken care of.

Buffalo county is notorious for housing a large drinking population. UNK has been blessed with the saying “Can’t spell drunk without UNK.” One would expect this, a city with a university at its heart. College and drinking seem to go hand and hand, and responsibly this isn’t a problem. Youth consuming alcohol isn’t responsible, and the problem still stands.

Buffalo County’s response? Tough love. If one has the misfortune of being caught in the act of consuming an alcoholic beverage while being underage, kiss a weekend goodbye. Buffalo County says to lock’em up, the slammer will teach them to think twice before downing a beer. Here in our county, being caught means an almost automatic weekend jail sentence.

What does this say to our youth though? Drinking is irresponsible, and only for the mature, learns from this, and grows to be an up-and-coming fair citizen to be proud of? No, this teaches youth, don’t get caught. Youth only think a weekend in jail would be terrible, so instead outsmart the cops, and drink responsibly, hidden in basements or friends’ apartments. Is this what we want to convey to our youth?

Why not use these mistakes as a learning experience, or a chance to give back. Incorporate more community service, steep punishments of, but a way they “work” off the crime. Or add diversion programs to the punishment. Some of these juveniles don’t understand why they shouldn’t drink at a younger age or don’t know the effects they are trigger off for the rest of their life. The easy “lock’em up and throw away the key” sentence only tells them to be smarter when they drink, not to stop the drinking.

Buffalo County, listen up. Our style of rule over these youth is not something we want to teach them. Rehabilitation will mould them into those upstanding citizens we dream they can become, not incarceration. Responsibility is what we want and need, and through teaching, not jailing, we will achieve this.

MIP'in

Buffalo County, what's up with your policy on jail time for minors? Couldn't we more effectively use these opportunities, yes opportunities, to get these kids to learn from MIPs? I think so. This two day jail time has gotta go, nobody's learnin nothin'.

I'm Just Sayin'

As my roommates and I were reminiscing about previous evenings out and about, we came to a conclusion. It seems if there is a less attractive woman about, she is stereotyped as a lesbian. And if we flip it, good looking men are questions to be gay. Why the jump from the sexes? Gay men seem to be a bit more clean cut, with a balanced wardrobe and lesbians with butch haircuts and boots on. I'm not the bigot looking at them this way, but the common perception is out there, I'm just sayin. . .

The Addiction Continues. . .

I am only a man, a man with good intentions, a man who wishes to better himself, a man who knows failure but refuses to quit. (Errr. . . Quitting is the point, so a man who can quit, for good reason, but for other reasons doesn't. Quitting, right.) The addiction is in full force now, consuming my entire body of thought. I have chosen out of free will to put down this beast and drink no more. Coffee that is, (if you thought booze was being involved here, that'd be crazy. A 22 year old college student living in Nebraska of all places, booze is not an addiction or necessity, but a way of life. Back to the point,) Coffee is done, but the grip of the drug holds tight. There is no way around these never ending urges to take the grounds and use it as the childhood "Fun Dip." The demon within cries out to brew a concentrated batch and shoot up to get the instant high. The pain is incessant and dulling, I have shrunk to a feeble skeleton of a man. My hair has fallen out and my mind strains to keep on the simplest of tasks. The drug has taken hold, and the ride out is through a fiery hell to freedom.

Congratulations!

Last week man, woman, and child were witness to one of the greatest moments in football history, if not in all of sports history. A battle was fought, and one man rose above the rest to stamp his name into the history books. Congratulations to Peyton Manning, a quarterback we will forever remember now. That last pass, turning into an interception returned for six is ultimately what he can thank for this. Yes, I am saying Peyton is great because he screwed up.

For some time now, Peyton has been compared to Brett Favre, arguably the greatest player we've seen in a long time, and arguably is invincible. Favre holds what seems like hundreds of records, breaking one every time he steps onto the field (I would too if I'd played for 20 years. . .). Speculators and analysts both could agree that although he has many records, Peyton has more then fair odds to surpass him. But we could never put him into the likes of Favre, until now.

With that pick'six, Peyton did what I never thought I'd see, screw up BIG TIME. The man we see as emotionless and cool headed constantly, lost his rhythm, and lost the game. He pulled a Favre, and in Favre fashion. In the biggest game of the season with his team, his fans, and his endorsements all weighing down, he blew it. It was a very bold move by Peyton, to "throw" the game like that, just to be in the club, but I'm sure his team understood. Not just anyone can be considered a phenomenal player while still be labeled as a screw up, but now Peyton can.

I had lost hope, that all the gunslingers, risk takers, and gamblers had faded away, and Favre was the last of his kind. This re-energized me as a football fan, that I can still turn some football on, and see a royal mistake happen. So congratulations Peyton, you passed through the ranks, and now sit atop the mountain of successful failures. Oh, and I guess the Saints did alright, Brees had a heck of a game, but he's no Peyton.

Sense for Incentives-Final Draft

Creating jobs, encouraging young talent, boosting the state revenue. No this is not the outline for Obama's next speech or some dream plan to pull people from the depths of a recession. This is logical thinking for what will happen if Nebraska can pass the Bill 1073, the "Building Nebraska's Creative Economy Act."

The bill will expand the present, but insignificant, entertainment market. As of now, filmmakers have no reason to bring their business to the Beef State, because there is little enticement here. Nebraska’s idea of attracting business is to aid with lodging if the company stays for over 30 days. Not enough. The simple fact is money talks. The stereotype that Nebraska is boring is not a sound enough reason to ward off business. Nevada, for example, seems to be in the same boat as far as physical attraction to the state, outside of Las Vegas and Reno. In 2008 Nevada brought in $110 million through film production revenue. Nebraska can’t expect to pull numbers as that, but a piece of the pie would be nice.

Case in point is the recently released George Clooney block buster “Up in the Air.” Clooney’s character is from Omaha, but only a day and a half of filming was set in Omaha, the other six weeks were spent in Michigan and Missouri. In Missouri if an entertainment company spends $100,000, the state will pay out 30 to 35 percent of that sum. Michigan will pay out 40 percent on only $50,000. One doesn’t have to be savvy with accounts to see why less than two day were devoted to actual plot setting.

We also can’t point the finger at the talent base here. There are fine opportunities for minds to bloom into great filmmakers here, and with incentive we could keep that talent around. Omaha native Alexander Payne directed “About Schmidt” starring Jack Nicholson as well as “Sideways” starring Paul Giamatti. The later piled on the awards including a Golden Globe for Best Picture. Payne is working on making another film, entitled “Nebraska,” but admitted that without the lure competing states have, “Nebraska” could be “South Dakota.” This proves talent can be grown and harvested in the bread basket of America, but can it feed itself?

The entertainment business is an ever growing market across America, and for Nebraska to sit idly by while other states reap the rewards of that business is ridiculous. Nebraska needs this bill, for money, for talent, and for opportunities. The planned bill could bring $1.08 or upwards of $1.25 on every $1.00 spent, money that would significantly aid after last year’s recession. This is not a dream or an opportunity that can afford to be squandered. Nebraska, we’re on, Lights, Camera, Action.

Cereal Killers

In the early mornings of stock and load, men's minds wonder. Running on few hours of sleep and fueled by high doses of caffeine, one's mind will stray into the very depths of the unknown and unthinkable. Fluorescent lighting seems to beat down upon the backs of the drones while monotonous duties fill the hours. The only way to stay sane in this sunless world is to keep the mind active, as such, topics of rare discussion begin to grow.

If we could escape this world of never-ending shelves to the realm of the unimaginable, we may be able to answer; "Who is the toughest breakfast cereal icon?"
A question we've all passed over, but what is the answer? To begin, we must exclude all "off brand" mascots, for they are but pictures, the name brand characters have personalities, spirit, and unique traits that generations have come to idolize.

Over mornings upon mornings of seeing these characters, the answer has become clear. Count Chocula. Your arguments are welcomed, but let us first rationalize this decision.
The most obvious match up to the Count, is of course, Cap'n Crunch. He is a Cap'n, and challenging foe. He has a big hat, is armed with a sword, and above all he's on a ship. And possibly his greatest attribute is his greatest weakness, because logically thinking proves, why would Count Chocula be out at sea? And Cap'n Crunch wouldn't be caught dead on land, being left defenseless. In the caves, the Count wins. On the ship, the Cap'n has a chance, but the upper hand goes to Count with the fangs. A battle on a neutral site, hands down goes to the Count.

The next most competent challenger is none other than Tony the Tiger. This guy is an animal, literally and figuratively. Tony stands on his hind legs unlike most tigers, which gives him an edge. If I'd have to guess, he'd stand about 9.5 feet, and weigh in at about 400 pounds. Besides the pure strength, size, and agility, though, he's powerless. Count Chocula, we'd have to speculate, has all the powers of the average vampire, which makes this a close fight, but again the Count would be victorious.

After these two, the competition really falls off. As much as it pains me to say it, Lucky the Leprechaun wouldn't stand a chance. He may be able to escape danger, but in a WWE style fight, there's nowhere to run. Others may say Snap!, Crackle!, and Pop! could triple team the Count, and overpower him. This wouldn't happen, they are but children, no match for an age old vampire. And the rest of the breakfast crowd seems to hold nothing for a match either.

Mind you all, arguments are very much so encouraged, but through extensive research, I doubt a strong enough argument can knock Count Chocula off the top. This was restricted to only cold breakfast cereal characters, though. If we, say, open the competition to all of the consumable product mascots, undoubtedly the Jolly Green Giant would be king, but that's another discussion entirely. . .


All credit to this hot topic goes to Frank and Stephen, both of Target.

Sense of Incentives

Creating jobs, encouraging young talent, boosting the state revenue. No this is not the outline for Obama's next speech or a plan to people from the depths of a recession. This is logical thinking for what will happen if Nebraska can pass the Bill 1073, the "Building Nebraska's Creative Economy Act." The bill will give incentive for filmmakers to shoot their films here, as opposed to basing a story here, and shooting out of state. Crazy? But true, the film Up in the Air starring George Clooney (big name actor I've heard) was just that. Based in Omaha, shot in Missouri and Michigan for the most part. They did shoot in Omaha, for a day and half. Whoo Hoo Nebraska! Way to tackle that money making opportunity! This is just one recent example that could have been capitalized on if we had some kind of an incentive bill to attract filmmakers. Let me correct myself, we do have some pluses for companies to film here, if they stay for over 30 days we'll help with their lodging. Hold the doors people, we'll be seeing them comin fast with that news! These companies spend millions+ on films, boosting the local economy while they're shooting, and attracting tourism for just their presence. And we say we'll cover the room (well some of it anyway. . .). Nebraska isn't "pretty" some would argue, who wants to film here? Valid point, but would these people call Nevada "pretty"? I'd say its a draw, except that Nevada brought in $110 million in 2008 due to film production. Hmmm. . . I guess that could help out the economy, a measly $110 million only though. . . Maybe Nevada and other states are just boiling over with home grown talent that feeds their economy and Nebraska can't keep up. Hear of "Sideways" or "About Schmidt"? Good flicks, but above Nebraska talent? Nope, Omaha native Alexander Payne directed those, and won an Oscar for "Sideways." He actually wants to make a movie titled "Nebraska," and base it. . . yes here in Nebraska. With little incentives here though, others push him to shoot elsewhere. Makes sense, with nothing pulling him in, simple math would show why he wouldn't. Let's get the reel turning Nebraska, keep our award winning talent here, attract more and with it bring is some serious dough. Nebraska, we're on, Lights, Camera, Action.

Take Note

America, enough with the stupid dancing and singing crap on T.V., let's start showing entertaining and educational shows such as this:

I loath thee. . .

I have a confession, I hate someone. For the sake of privacy, we can call them Jerry.
I hate Jerry with the up-most passion that a person can possible imagine. With every thought of Jerry, my teeth grind, my veins throb, and my vision begins to quake. I hate Jerry. Jerry is the do-gooder, the go-getter, the "go-the-extra-mile'er." Images and thoughts that I didn't think I possessed stream through my brain when but one hushed word drools from Jerry's mouth. I hate Jerry. Jerry is the pounding headache after a night of drinking. Jerry is the chair leg upon which you stub a bare toe. Jerry is the bird shit on your recently cleaned windshield. Upon seeing Jerry, my day will be ruined. Upon hearing Jerry, all focus is shifted to controlling predator-like urges of stopping the sound. I hate Jerry. If given the choice between a five minute conversation with Jerry and a hot wax removal of all bodily hair, I choose hairlessness. Jerry is not a concentration of evil, but rather a product of all that annoys. I hate Jerry.

An Addiction. . .

I have a an addiction. My day, my world, my LIFE revolves around consuming more and more, finding myself with no other answer to the craving. I'm juiced to accomplish the most minuscule of tasks. Not a day goes by that I can resist the urges to use. Sleep is the only downtime, and even then its not long. Rising early to suck down more and driving until late to avoid falling off. To imagine a day free of the drug is to imagine non-existence. I'm hooked. . .on coffee. Folgers, Starbucks, Caribou, it doesn't matter, I use it all. Starting with just a cup a day seemed fine, hurting no one. Now 8, 10, 12 before the sun breaks and pots upon pots before it sets. Hazelnut, Colombian, French, I can't stop myself. Coffee is the fuel to which my body runs, and if the tank runs dry I shut down. More and More! The brew is getting too weak as of late, and I've been resorting to eating the beans like a child eating candies. Always hyped, never down. This isn't a cry for help, but a scream for an answer to the buzz!