Just say no to the stadium

It's a day that ends in "Y" during a state legislative session in Minnesota so that must mean that it's time once again for the Minnesota Vikings to piss and moan about their hard luck and their financial disadvantages compared to other NFL teams with big, shiny, new billion dollar stadiums. Yep, yet another plan for a new Vikings stadium. And this one has a price tag of only $791 million dollars.

The irony here is that the Vikings franchise is willing to pony up a whopping $200 and some odd million dollars - not quite a third of the cost. Really? Not even a third of the price for a playground they'll use for ten days each autumn? But the rest will come from "user fees". In Governor Tim Pawlenty-speak those are really taxes but because the legislature will need his support they use his terminology and because he's a good Republican he doesn't raise taxes, he just supports new "user fees". Some of those new user fees will come from a tax on sports jerseys. So Twins, Wild and Vikings fans would each potentially pay for a part of the new Vikings stadium. So would people renting cars and hotel rooms because those people are obviously Vikings fans and nobody comes to Minneapolis or anywhere in Hennepin County or the Twin Cities except to see a Vikings game.

But the good news is that some lawmakers with common sense are calling the possibility of financing a new Vikings stadium a "non-starter". Though even bad news like that isn't souring the hopes of rabid (and hateful) Vikings fans. @molliepriesmeyer can attest to that. I watched both Friday and today as Tweets from the Minneapolis-based journalist chronicled the shit-storm which erupted after she voiced her disapproval of a publicly financed stadium. And, yes, I also feel that a stadium financed even with the bullshitology that is "user fees" is publicly financed. I just wish that people could have a civil debate - even those on opposite sides of the debate - and realize that name-calling doesn't solve anything and those slinging the names are only hurting the very cause they champion (yes, feel free to call me a hypocrite).

Nobody, regardless of what they said (especially in a civil tone) deserves to be called a cunt but Priesmeyer had that hurled at her Friday after launching an online petition against a publicly funded stadium. Hey, if this is the face that grassroots stadium supporters want to hitch their wagon to, then may the Vikings fare well in the greater Los Angeles area but I truly hope that the Vikings can find a way to secure a stadium here in Minnesota without sticking fans who will never be able to afford to see a game with the bill.

If you read all the way through that rambling screed then you deserve a break - head to MinnPics and scope out the awesome photos from around Minnesota.

My newest gripe: gas stations

First off, they haven't been simple "gas stations" since the 1970s but that's another story for another day. Today it hit me as I stood alongside my car filling it with rather costly gasoline: gas stations are really annoying. It really hit me while at this particular Kwik Trip as I was barraged with obnoxious music fit best for a slow ride on an elevator bound for hell.

I don't quite know when it became the norm for mega convenience stores to assault our auditory senses in this fashion. I know that in the past couple years that too many Twin Cities-area Holiday stations have added those annoying as hell televisions at their pumps so we can be punched in the face with messages from KSTP-TV and KARE-TV about their breaking news and endless loops consisting of promos for their respective network's shows which I care nothing about.

But in the end the music coming over the speakers sealed the deal for me. I might actually seek out backwoods-type gas stations totally lacking in technology, ambiance and general safety to avoid this full-on assault on my senses just to avoid hearing ultra-shitty and non-offensive soft rock hits, the store's latest specials and a clerk announcing which pump is clear for takeoff - please pay inside when done!

Cut all the crap. I'm here to fill my car with gas. I don't give a damn about being surrounded with music so knock it off. I don't want a damn "experience". I want my fucking gas so I can get back on the freeway and find something else to think about writing here because it seems like more and more of life's conveniences aren't exactly pleasing. Maybe I should start scouting out land in the middle of Montana and get the hell away from civilization before a crosswalk/stoplight with a timer sends me completely off the edge.

One of the few things keeping me sane is MinnPics. The photographers populating Minnesota create some amazing photos and I'm lucky enough to be a part of the further sharing of them so go - now - check them out!

I hate Bob Costas

This post has been years in the making. I've witnessed Bob Costas as a play by play guy in the booth for NBC way back when they used to broadcast Major League Baseball games. He, in my opinion, was one of the best men in the booth in modern times. I'd like to see him take Joe Buck outside Insert Corporate Name Here Stadium and kick the living shit out the talentless hack that is Joe Buck. Bob Costas is genuine and unbiased and he's a genius when it comes to baseball.

But that's where it stops.

NBC, being a one-trick pony, has always seemed hell-bent on exploiting Bob Costas' talent and natural on-air likeability factor. NBC ruined Bob Costas for all of America.

It started when NBC began using Bob Costas from time to time when they used to broadcast NBA games. Now I'm sure that Costas knows his way around the basketball court but seeing him talking and analyzing professional hoops was like Jesus Christ admitting that the marks on his wrists (or hands) weren't from being crucified but instead from a knife fight with his best buddy Jebediah back when they were freshmen in high school. It just wasn't right. Bob Costas talks baseball and dammit that's where he belongs.

Now NBC must have signed Bob Costas to some sort of lifetime contract for far too much cash because it seems that they now own the soul of one Bob Costas. They are now free to exploit him in any way possible. They can dress him up in douchey sweaters (or polo shirts depending on the season) to broadcast puff pieces passed off as personality pieces on Olympic athletes during the Olympic games every two damn years. And the viewers suck this shit up. They, for whatever reason, believe that Bob Costas - former baseball broadcasting God - has some sort of vast, encyclopaedic knowledge of the Winter Olympics and has a buddy-buddy relationship with the entire Finland bobsled team. Shit, I am fairly certain that the Finnish bobsled team doesn't even speak English which makes this whole charade even more ridiculous. And as a 30 year old living in Minnesota, why the hell do I even care about the heartwarming bullshit NBC is making Bob Costas peddle about the underdogs of the Finnish bobsled team. I know the general location of Finland but I couldn't pinpoint it out of those three northern European countries to save my life.

But I don't place the blame solely on NBC for this debacle they are broadcasting. The Olympics are pointless. These are people who found a way to be famous by doing something most of us would regard as a form of recreation. These Olympic "sports" exist only for the Olympics. Is there a league of professional bobsledders or lougers trekking across the country selling out bobsled tracks with thousands of adoring fans seeking autographs? Is there a Wilt Chamberlain of the bobsled world racking up women faster than the national debt? I doubt it. And I doubt that Bob Costas gives a gosh darm golly god damn about the Finnish bobsled team. He's cashing a paycheck. And by doing just that he's also destroying his credibility he had racked up during his time as an actual pro sports broadcaster - mainly a baseball broadcaster. That's what makes Bob Costas suck. There, I said it, Bob Costas SUCKS. Bob Costas sucks. BOB COSTAS SUCKS!

Hopefully the sellout that is Bob Costas won't be interfering with the coverage of Olympic curling because, as much as I hate all things Olympic, I love to watch curling. Even Bob Costas wouldn't touch curling - unless there's some wishy-washy story about how one of the member of the Cuban curling team overcame the loss of both arms to be a world-class curler. Then all bets are off because I will find you, Bob Costas and I will smite you and I'll choke you with those ridiculous sweaters that Dick Ebersol (ass) dresses you in.

Angry now? Cool your jets with the soothing but still awesome photos of Minnesota at MinnPics!

This post, while simple in theory, deserves some credit - it goes to a local blogger who tweeted about her very own Bob Costas blog traffic earlier today. I haven't read her post, probably should have because I'm sure it was totally awesome but it's often instances like that - simply seeing a person's name mentioned - which inspire my writing here - for better or worse.

The state of the internet

The state of the internet


(via) (h/t)

To break down the infographic in a few words, it's not surprising that the biggets internet users are twenty-something with a college education and money in their pockets.

The disturbing part comes in at the average broadband speed area. Japan's broadband is a whopping 12 times faster than that of our country's broadband. If there were one technological advance I'd love to see, it's the goverment downright forcing American cable companies to speed things up while simultaneously lowering prices. $50+ per month to stay connected to a constant flow of information sounds like a damn good bargain on the outside but when you consider the annual costs of a big-market daily newspaper - usually consisting of at least 50 pages - is next to nothing compared to the $600 yearly outlay for internet access.

Sure, online access gives us streaming video, streaming music, photo hosting, social networking and access to not just one newspaper but hundreds of thousands of them from around the world plus millions of blogs - 100 or so of which are actually worth reading (this is one worth reading if you were curious). But for basic usage of those items, users don't pay a dime for access these websites. Unless you factor in the internet access charges - but those funds go to the people who own the wires, not the website owners.

So the real winner is the cable companies. The websites are right there, all we need is a way to view them and that involves access to the internet. Maybe internet access would best be treated as another essential utility like electricity or municipal water. Should we be stifled with relatively slow high speed access and expect to be on the same technological footing as advanced countries (such as Japan)? It's much like expecting a fair race between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and an Amish man from Harmony, MN. The advantage obviously goes to Earnhardt and in this convoluted comparison Earnhardt is Japan and the Amish man is the USA.

We, as a country, can never be competitive against the rest of the world with this disadvantage pillaging our wallets each month.

On the flip side, though, internet access does give you cool blogs to view such as MinnPics. It's a critical favorite which means it's lacking viewers so check out the photos of Minnesota right now!