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I wasn't really sure if it warranted my bitching, but each year the MTV Video Music Awards renew my contempt for 'my generation.' I watched this year not only because I now can (the dorm lounge has cable), but because The Man was up for six awards. Johnny Cash's Hurt video, which recently replaced Thriller at the top of my list (And even Jacob -- I'm not going to put words in his mouth -- might agree with me here), is the greatest music video ever created. More than that, though: MTV had a chance to show that they have even the slightest bit of musical competency by awarding The Living Legend. Even Justin Timberlake acknowledged this when he, instead, was given the 'Best Male Video' prize. Sickened, I left the room, knowing full well that Cash would be accepting the 'Video of the Year' award as soon as I walked back in to it from avoiding two now trademark 20-minute commercial breaks and the 'viewers' choice award' between them. Instead, I was greeted with the face of the talentless Missy 'Misdemeanor' Elliot.

Sickened, I left the room.

Peace.
-Todd

From Newsweek:
The Hot Schools of 2004
by Mary Carmichael And Karen Springen
...
BEST ALL-AROUND: Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa

Yes, it’s in a tiny corn-farming hamlet. But Grinnell is as cosmopolitan as any school, with 1,500 students from all 50 states and 55 countries. Average SAT scores hover around 1350, and famous alumni include Intel cofounder Robert Noyce and jazz great Herbie Hancock. Grinnell has brawn, too—its basketball team won the Midwest Conference championship in 2001 and 2003. And Grinnell encourages a broad range of undergraduate research. Senior Holly Maness, a 2003 Goldwater scholar, has already been published in prestigious journals for her astrophysics research on nebulae.

But it’s not all lab life; Grinnell hosts plays, concerts and on-campus movies—all free. And the new dorms are great. It isn’t cheap: total tab for 2003-04 will run $31,060. Grinnell is among the fewer than 40 colleges—all of them top schools—that still offer need-blind admissions, and most students receive some form of financial aid. No wonder applications are up 10 percent.
...

Carleton got "most fun-loving." Pfft. "We love fun! We have a lot of frisbees! Hahahahaha! I'm going to town in my 4Runner to drink smoothies and shop at J. Crew (Just kidding John. Enjoy it, bra.)!"

No one here likes Carleton. I think they're bitter because they didn't get accepted there. I, however, find myself in the unique position of not having applied there in the first place, but only because I knew I had no chance of getting accepted; even if I had, there is no way I could have afforded it. I'll still pretend, though, that I have some sort of unholy grudge against them, because that's how it's done at Grinnell.

Oh... click here.

Go 'neers!
-Todd

Dammit!

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

The power went out in my dorm right before I finished a really good blog. It was really, really good. Almost great. I wrote a fact about Iowa, then made fun of it, juxtaposing the state's motto (something about liberties and rights) with the number of gun deaths in the state last year. Then I was in the middle of another blog explaining about the power going out in the middle of my really, really good blog, and it was actually just as good as the first one, I think, and then the power went out again. Add to that temperatures in the 100s and I'm not exactly Mickey fucking Mouse about the entire situation.

On a brighter note, though, I got my internet working. It's really fast. And now that I've updated OSX, I can share music over the network, which is pretty effing rad.

Tomorrow I register for classes. There are only a few seats left in one of the classes into which I'm hoping to get, so I'll need to get there pretty early and wait in line several hours before registration actually begins. Anybody have a Gameboy?

Peace.
-Todd

I made it to Grinnell with no fuss.

Actually, that's not true: The Wendy's in Clear Lake (and the last one which I will have patronized for quite some time) didn't have quarter-pound double-stacks. I'm not sure if it's the one franchise or if they've decided to phase out the delicious sandwich altogether, but be forewarned. If -- God forbid -- the double-stack has seen its last days, I would gladly start (or maybe just sign) a petition to bring it back. With that, I had a spicy chicken combo meal. It was quite satisfactory.

People are good, although those I've spoken to have mostly hailed from around my parts. I think it may be a coincidence, but who knows? Maybe Midwesterners have some sort of sixth sense about these things.

To those I told I'd call: My cell-phone doesn't work, and I am therefore unable to connect long-distance calls for amounts of money that aren't astronomically high. However, I have been given a calling card, and when regular business hours commence tomorrow (later today, I guess), I will be making it my priority. I truly do miss you all (Goodbyes -- I have found, in saying them for what is pretty much the first time -- are kind of a difficulty for me).

I would bore you with the specifics of my first two days on campus as a "first-year," but that would be, in a word, boring, so I won't.

Okay, maybe I will. But only the good stuff. The important stuff. My parents and I had breakfast at the only breakfast place in or around town. We got our food around lunchtime. I went to a meeting for my Tutorial (That's thematic freshman composition and research for the rest of you. Mine is a study on narrative in fiction, entitled "The Teller and The Tale."). I took a placement test in French. I probably bombed it. I ate in the dining hall. I watched people get hypnotized. I went to find my test results, but the building was locked. I probably bombed it. I watched SportsCenter on a big screen while waiting for someone to find a DVD copy of Fight Club to show, illegally (most likely), in the Harris Cinema).

I came back to our dorm to find 21 comments under my most recent post from a week ago. See what happens when we disperse?

I wonder what I got on that French test. I probably bombed it.

Peace.
-Todd

You:	Hey Todd! What's up?
Me:	Not shit.
You:	Don't you leave for school in like five days?
Me:	Oh. Dear Christ.
You:	Are you excited?
Me:	Yeah.
You:	Nervous?
Me:	Yeah.
You:	Freaked?
Me:	A little.
You:	So, are you prepared?
Me:	Shit no!

Oh God oh God oh God oh God oh God.

Peace.
-Todd

I can't really remember much of what happened between the then and the now. All I know is that the Twins have picked up a couple games on the Royals, and are now tailing both they and the White Sox, now in first, for the Central Division. It's a close one.

Speaking of baseball, my little league team finished their season unvictorious in three tournaments. Today's game ended 2-1, and was probably the best game we played all summer. It's too bad, too, because they're really a great bunch of guys, and pretty good ballplayers to boot.

Last night... No, two nights ago -- Wait... What did I do last night? -- we went out with the video camera for the first time in about as long as I can recall and made a (relatively long) short. Both Joe and I are editing together our own version of events; It's actually really funny. I mean, I doubt anyone else would think so, but it contains a fair amount of rock n' roll and baseball conversation that's... that's just great. Mayhaps I'll make a trailer for it and put it on here, or maybe put the entire thing up on iFilm. I'll uh... I'll keep you posted.

Last Thursday night, we went to the Twins game. We won. Somehow. But not after I was escorted by security for trying to sneak into better seats. He made me upgrade my ticket, and by the time I got back, we were losing, I think. But we won. Somehow (Fordyce drops the third -- and final -- strike of the game. Restovich, not knowing where the ball ended up, which was all the way back to the wall, doesn't run until he hears his team, and 20,002 others, egging him on to first base. Fordyce, knowing full well that if he doesn't get the ball to first before Restovich, heaves it down the line to Jeff Conine, who fails to come up with the now dust-covered ball. Safe at first, Restovich turns to see Mientkiewicz cross the plate and tie the game at nine in the bottom of what should have been the last inning. Jones would, one inning later, chop one over Conine's head for a bases-loaded, one-out single to give the Twins the win, and the rubber game.). It was really something else.

I also saw Used Cars, Recess: School's Out, Small Time Crooks, Summer Of Sam, The Virgin Suicides, Max ("C'mon Hitler, I'll buy you a glass of lemonade."), Chelsea Walls, Bend It Like Beckham, Gangs Of New York, Swingers, and something else I hadn't seen before.

Peace.
-Todd