The MLB in Florida Just Needs Some Time To Grow Up

In his latest column in the Tampa Bay Times, John Romano tackles the debated question of whether baseball really belongs in the sunshine state. The Tampa Bay Rays, along with the Miami Marlins have lived on the lower spectrum of attendance records in the MLB for, well longer than they should. Baseball just may never be very popular in Florida. Romano made a good statement about how it did take Florida an especially long time to nail down an MLB team.

“There are reasons teams relocated or expanded to Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Milwaukee (twice), Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle (twice), Texas, Toronto and half of California before giving Florida its very own dugout.”

But what is the source of the problem here? Why don’t people want to go to baseball games in Florida? Everything has been done to make it comfortable. Both teams have air conditioned stadiums, so it is not like fans have to bake in the sun. The Marlins even have a brand new, state of the art stadium with a retractable roof. So when the weather is not sweltering, fans can enjoy the open air.

Yet this has not seemed to make a difference.

Are people watching it on TV at least? Yes and no, the Marlins who are not having the best season are not attracting eyes to the TV, understandable. However,the Rays are doing fantastic on TV after extending their state wide reach, that and being an interesting club to watch on a nightly basis. Robert Trigaux pointed this out in his article in the Tampa Bay Times about the Rays new Welcome Home marketing strategy.

“The Rays, whose games used to be seen sparingly in television markets outside Tampa Bay, are now viewable statewide about 150 times per season. That reach makes the Rays the most-watched pro sports team in the state.”

One argument that my friend Cody Hudson brings up time and time again and which I agree wholeheartedly with is that baseball has not been allowed to grow up in Florida. It takes a few generations for a team, of any sport, to really latch onto a community. The Marlins have been around since only 1993 and the Rays came into the spotlight in 1998. It may take another generation of fans to catch on the baseball craze in Florida.

When those clubs first started the MLB was a much more popular sport than it has been for the Millennial generation. The problems with steroids, had a huge impact on the game’s legitimacy. Yet there is still hope for baseball in Florida, but it’s going to take some family's rallying behind the sport and supporting their local teams, just like it has been all about since it’s creation.

The MLB is only about 18 years old in Florida, it’s no longer cute or new, it’s a growing adolescent. It needs some guidance and maybe a strong kick in the ass, but let’s at least give it a chance and support the sport while it’s still growing.

I just want to be "Facebook Friends"

You may not have the guts to talk to the girl you fancy at the office, the guy you met last week at a mixer or any number of acquaintance you collected. However you're connected with them through social media, is this connection valuable? The same social anxiety that kept us from calling these people in the past, keeps us from making use of new social technology now. In the world of social media we are constantly reminded of their existence and in turn, missed connection.


It seems that the discussion over facebook, its ubiquitousness and how it -- and other social networks -- have changed the social structure of a generation. Stephen Marce of the Atlantic asks the question “is facebook making us lonely?” The query goes against the primary focus of  social networks in general, which is connecting individuals . By connecting people, the dream is that we will never need to be lonesome again because a “friend / follower” is only keystrokes away. Human interaction is supposed to be the simplest thing in the world. 

We have access to a growing database of things people like, want, consume and create. It's unclear whether this information is simply creating a false hope or longing for meaningful relationships, rather than creating or maintaining them.  

Modern society has acquired a powerful form of communication. One that releases troves of information in an attempt to get to know each other more efficiently. Its use is easily misunderstood and etiquette is fragmented by definition. 

Social networks have put the power of mass communication into the hands of individuals that may not know how to wield its power. Many use language and behaviours that should be used for personal interactions rather than mass messaging such as the facebook news feed or twitter. It is as though the average social networker is behind a one way curtain shouting at an audience they can not see but who can view them ever so clearly.

This sense of disillusionment about the audience that individuals are talking too may make them feel as though their words bear little meaning. Lost in a sea of other blurbs, hyperlinks and shouts. For those who attempting to connect in meaningful ways are doings so with other users that consume more than they connect. 

There is a new culture of communication that has emerged which has changed the entire business of getting to know people. This especially rings true in the most delicate social structures of our extravehicular relationships. These volatile, yet potentially valuable connections with those outside of our immediate circle of confidants have become the most difficult to manage. There is a strange etiquette that varies between every individual that is essentially undefinable and increasingly harder to read. 

One facet that has become nearly obsolete, in the world of contact information swapping, is the phone number. Now it’s the full name, or whatever their handle is on facebook. This is the most casual form of communication. Yet the Facebook connection is much more revealing yet lacks directness. 

Numerous times the facebook friend request to a newly met interest has come in less than three minutes of introduction. This hyper active form of communication does create interesting dynamics. I meet host of new people or connect with acquaintances nearly everyday. I find that I am much more likely to talk  with them in greater length the next time I see them if I have some sort social media connection with them. Especially if an online correspondence has been established. 

Because let’s face it folks, it’s hard to connect with someone you barely know on such a personal level as a phone call or a text message. It’s much easier, albeit less personal to comment on facebook, twitter, instagram or some other social network. 

Yet these new relationships we collect may be leaving us with more longing, than with a group of people we can expect to share actual time with. The problem is not necessarily with the social networks but with the fumbling in the dark of its use that is creating social problems rather than creating better relationships.

What I have learned

In a three short months my carrer as an undergraduate will be over. Its been a long time folks. I have been going to school for six years. I went to art school for a short time, went part time for a year or so, then for the last four years I have been going full time. It's been a long ride and it is really strange thinking about how it is almost over.

I also recently turned 25 years old which I feel is a major turning point. I'm no longer in my early twenties and soon I will be in my late twenties. The things I have learned, both in the classroom and out, have made me this person that I am today. Like other's in my age range the time for figuring out who we are or what we are supposed to do is over. We are the people we are and at this point there is no turning back. It's time to move forward and stop wondering what there is to do and just do it. 

We may work different jobs than we envisioned at the beginning of our college carrer. Move places we never imagined being. Meet people we previously would not have found interesting. Doing things we never thought possible. Like it or not we are who we are, and that's it, it's time to embrace the people that we have become. 

There are some few things that I have learned that have shaped the way I do things, approach certain situations and solve various problems. 

1. Always do your background research - from doing your homework, to approaching an interview and planing your next trip. Nothing is as easy as you think and not matter how prepared you are there will be barriers that need to be broken down. Knowing what theres barriers are and where they will be can make them easier to overcome. 
2. Talk to everyone - Talk to that crazy old guy, the person across from you at the restaurant, anyone you ever meet in an elevator, someone sitting alone at the bar, the girl with blue hair, the guy in the really nice suit. Not forever but give people a short period to figure out if you like them or not. You may find out they are way more interesting than you first thought. 
3. Hang around places where you'll find people that interest you - be it a bar, a coffee shop or a record store figure out where the people you want to talk to are and go there so much that everyone knows you by name. Sooner or later your going to be friends with a handfull of these people. Go back to step two. 
4. Don't worry about it so much - In the end whatever is bothering you will not matter in three weeks. If there is something you can do about it, make that happen. If not, move on. 
5. Never be afraid to go out and do things alone - Some of my greatest adventures have been solo. Even when I go on vacation with friends at some point or another I break off from the group and do my own thing. Steps two and three are essental. 
6. Take risks - Anyone who doesn't is boring as hell. Over-thinking is quite possibly the worst thing you can do to yourself. Sometimes, good or bad, you need to just let it happen. I promise it might not always be the best experience but it sure will be an interesting one. 

Albums for spring.

On to lighter things, I don't usually do album reviews because, well I don't think I am very good at them. I always end up feeling like what I wrote does not really mean anything or don't represent the music the way I would like. However I have been listening to a few new LPs that I feel deserve some limelight. So hopefully this makes some sense. 

SEES THE LIGHT - Le Sera


This is Katy Goodman from the Vivan Girls sophomore album and it is one of the best thing I have heard all year. It has a little bit of everything. It starts out with "Love that's gone" a wearily dreamy song that is one of the best openings of an album I have heard in a while. It's Really nice to wake up too. 

The next four tracks have much more of a driving beat and fuzzy guitars, perfect for staring into the sun. "Break My Hear" starts a trio of much more upbeat songs that I feel represent the better half of the album. Goodman's vocal talents are well illustrated in the chorus plus the song has great pace.

From there the album goes back to the whimsical nature of slowed down LA garage pop with "It's over now" and does not really falter from it for the rest of the album. If your into any the vivian girls, best coast, or are just looking for something new to put on your way to the beach this is your best this spring.

A SLEEP AND A FORGETTING - Islands


The fourth album by the remaing members of The unicorns sounds a lot more grown up than they did in their last 3 albums. This is understandable seeing how Nick Thorburn has just gone through a divorce. The album is not all drowning and self pity but does embody the kind of melancholy that is remarkably uplifting and critical of its own dispar. 


All the songs on the album are masterfully composed and full of depth. If you're into piano pop this album will be a good choice for you. The melodies that Thorburn pulls out of the white and black keys mix perfectly with all the other aspects of the band and produce a sound that is unmistakable yet familiar. 

HAPPY TO SEE YOU- Miike Snow


In their sophomore album the Swedish electro pop trio comprised of Chris Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, and Andrew Wyatt known as Miike Snow does not bring as many punches as their self titled debut album but still stands on its own feet well.


This is another one that embodies spring yet in a totally different way than the blaring guitars of the surf rock/pop that have become synonymous with the season. It is fun and endearing but does not blast you with a water gun. It's simply not that hot yet. 


The song that stands out the most is "paddling out". It's by no means a bannger or anything but has enough power to get you moving around. I have the deluxe edition which is defiantly worth getting because of the four remixes that come with it that make up for any lack of blasting beats. 


 The best thing about this album is the videos. Check them out. 

Questionable self defense tactics against unarmed individuals.

Before I sat down to write this post, I walked to the convenient store down the street to buy myself some milk, a bag of chips and a pack of cigarettes. Much like another young man did a few weeks earlier. The difference being he went to buy some Skittles and an iced tea and I made it safely back to my home, the other young man did not.

On February 26th Trayvon Martin, 17, walked back home from a nearby convenient store wearing his, what is now iconic hoodie, and was shot dead by a local neighborhood watch caption George Zimmerman, 28. According to the Sanford Florida police report Zimmerman was armed with a handgun and police found him standing over Martin with a bloody nose and a wound in the back of his head. Martin was found with a Skittles and an bottle of iced tea, he was unarmed.

 Zimmerman claimed self defense. Protected by the state of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" he was questioned and then released. Witnesses have came forward claiming that Zimmerman was attacked by Martin which matched his story.

Later investigation uncovered questionable police conduct which caused Sanford Police Chief Billy Lee to temporarily resign.

The story has rocked the nation. Protests have been made all over the country by hoodied citizens asking for justice for Martin. Rev. Al Sharpton has become one of the causes biggest advocates calling the case a tragedy and doing whatever is in his power to find justice for Martin.

This is a very problematic goal to say the least. The sheer lack of evidence in Martin's favor is a tough brick-wall to knock down. There are very few things he might have going for him. One, the 9-11 dispatcher told Zimmerman to stay in his car and wait for police. Two, a phone call that Martin made to a friend saying that he was being followed and was scared. Aside from that, there is little evidance to dispute Zimmerman's claims.

This is not the first time that the "Stand Your Ground" law has been used to protect "Justifiable Homicide". Research done by the Tampa Bay Times and other Florida newspapers found that the law has recently been used at an increasing rate. It is important to relise that this law has been a problem for quite some time now.

The overwhelming question is not whether Zimmerman killed Martin in self defense or simply gunned him down. The question is if Martin did attack Zimmerman, unarmed, did he deserve to be shot in the chest because of it?

This case is hard to grasp onto, both sides have compelling arguments however neither have real hard evidence to back their stories up with. The fact is the two men met, one walked away, one went to the morgue in a body bag.

Should Zimmerman face a manslaughter charger? probably. Will he? likely not. The case is unraveling on both sides. More witnesses are coming out to support Zimmerman and more activists are compelled to stand up for the rights of Martin everyday. It's unclear if Zimmerman was attacked by Martin, why he shot him and if he would still be alive if he did not.

The more compelling question is would both be alive right now, maybe with some scrapes and bruises, had Zimmerman not got out of his car and discharge his weapon that night.

KONY 2012, Cool Dads, pissed Ugandans, nervous breakdowns and want to be revolutionaries

If you have not seen, or at least heard of, KONY 2012 yet there is a very good chance that you have no accesses to the internet whatsoever. Kinda like a lot of people in Uganda ... 

After a screening of the, now wildly famous, KONY 2012 video a group of Ugandans, some victims of the Lords Republic Army  apparently got pretty damn angry. Many seemed to misunderstand the message or feel that this was the white man thinking he can come to Africa and solve their problems. Not really to surprising. That is what KONY 2012 was all about. 

Let's face it the video was not targeted to the people that it is trying to help. It's targeted to young, impressionable high school and collage students who want to make a difference somehow but have no clue how to do that, or really what that means. Young impressionable youths who really want to make a difference in the world already are on the road to doing so. In my time I have met a few of them. In fact one of my good friends went to Uganda in 2004. 

In much of my circle of friends, and colleges many of which are journalists, media critics, skeptics of society, nervy college kids and yes some impressionable youths that want to make a difference but don't know how feel the video has created a lot of stir. One thing that I have noticed is that a lot of people I know have not even watch the whole  film yet. 

I happend across it one night when I felt like drinking a beer, smoking some cigarettes and watching something on the internet. I took in the whole thing, it was pretty enchanting. This slick looking dude talking about revolution, his kid, his Ugandan friend as a teenager crying over the death of his brother and his call to action was really quite skillful. I really have no interest in starting a revolution but I thought it was a well made video even tough it left a lot of questions and really seemed over dramatic and did not explain much. 

I was especially not to fond of this cool dad, Jason Russel  talking like some want to be revolutionary. I understood what he was trying to do and what his cause was about but I still was not really sure what I was getting my self into when I hit the Like button on YouTube (for me it triggers a tweet and a Facebook status update saying that I liked that video). I knew that the film was going to blow up and fast. The fact that it asked viewers to pester taskmasters to repost it was quit simply a genus plan.

Turns out he had a nervous breakdown and was caught masturbating in the streets of San Diego. I at first thought this was a bunch of BS until I looked it up myself. He apparently is an evangelical christen which I can't say that I am happy about but makes a lot of sense and may or may not be  relavent. 

There has been quite a backlash against Russel and his NGO Invisible Children. Some fair, some not. Either way I feel this criticism is good. This film and the campaign behind it can be a good model for activist groups and seems to be attempting to do the right thing. 

As a media critic my self I can completely understand much of the backlash. The video was extremely vague in its explanation of what is going on in Uganda right now. Where the front lines are, what is being done on the ground and such. One major criticism is that Kony is not even in Uganda anymore. I can understand that because, after watching the video I figured he was still running rampant thought the streets. 

They also made it out to seem that little has been done to catch Kony, that was the message of the film. "Lets get together so that everyone knows that Kony is still out there and bring him down." Is the general mantra of the production. Oh yeah buy this T-Shirt and wrist band so your friends will ask questions about your cool new T-shirt and wristband. Oh and since you think your some sort of radical we are all going out on April 1st to "bomb the streets" with our posters like revolutionary street artists. The whole idea of this kinda just pisses me off, it's way too cool for it's own good. 

What did they do right? they brought this guy out ...

Invisible Children CEO Ben Keesy seems to be the adult in the room. Answering the questions that everyone is asking and attempting as he says"To be as transparent as possible." This is deferentially the best thing that he can do for his organization right now. IC has created a lot of buzz in a very short period of time. It may have gone a little rye with Russel's break down but they may be able to pull themselves back up if they play the game correctly. They seem to be responding to the criticism the best way they can. They have (what seems like) a real adult talking to other adults about some very interesting issues. 

I want to say that I am all for KONY being banished from the face of the earth. I'm not  real fan of people getting their arms chopped off or anything. I am happy that this video has made people so aware of the issue. I like that people are asking complex questions and trying to figure out what all this means. 

When something like this blows up like this it is important to understand what is really going on behind it. It's easy to take it at face value. If you really want to #StopKKONY  help others in need, I suggest you do your research, find a way to get involved, find the right NGO to get behind (weather it's IC or not is up to you) and do it. 

I also encourage you to be like me and pick it apart and stare at it, talk about it, and figure out the mechanics behind it. 

Or if you don't give a damn about it that's cool too. I don't know why you read all this tough, you should be watching Family Guy or something. 

The pains and pleasures of not having a TV

Since I have moved into my new residence in August I have been with out TV. By this I mean there is no television set in my house, no bunny ears, no video games. Luckily my computer screen is 27' and serves as a decent substitute for TV. I watch a lot of stuff off Hulu, have an HBOgo account, and I can even watch CNN live thanks to my Mother's cable subscription. If there is some show that I really want to watch I can get my hands on it one way or the other.

My computer provides many forms of entertainment through the internet that a TV can not stand up against. Yet, the fact that I have no TV leaves me lingering sometimes. The number one thing that I miss about TV is live sports. I'm a big basketball fan and there is really no way for me to watch it on the internet without shelling out $150+. Simply clicking through the channels trying to find something to watch is something I long for.

The main issue is that TV is a very passive activity you kind of just watch .... something. Watching stuff on my computer is much more complicated system. Sometimes I spend more time just finding something I want to watch than I do just watching something. At least when I am flipping through the channels I am still watching something, it may not be anything that interesting but it's something.

I love the choice that the internet gives me when it comes to my entertainment. I have quite a few shows that are online for free or that I have acquired accuses to in some way. I don't have to be a slave to schedules or even remembering to DVR a show. I really like that I can do this. I don't have to pay $30 extra a month to pay for cable either.

I am about ready to start though. I really do miss just zoning out infront of the TV quite a bit. It really is one of those experiences that can't be replaced by internet TV. I miss watching the local nightly news, late night TV and sporting events. I miss switching between two channels to avoid commercials. I miss just being able to blow three hours of my time infront of a light box.

The free time that TV has left me with is nice. I read more, do my homework more and go out into the world and experience life more. I have no excuse not to spend my time doing something worth wild. I am still jealous of most people with their TV sets hooked up to even basic cable just relaxing with a beer in their hands watching some mindless show or live sporting event. I can't help but feel like I am missing out on something.

Bill Maher's donation to "Obama super PAC" encourages democrats to live to fight another day against Citizens United

Comedian Bill Maher donated $1 million to the super PAC Priority USA Action, which supports President Obama, last week at the end of his most recent comedy special. Super PACs have no limit on how much individuales can donate and some don't require any sort of transparency on who donates. These PACs that are legally baned from cooperating with political campaigns have come under major scrutiny from both the left and the right.

Recently President Obama started to support Priority USA Action after previously speaking against the Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowing super PACs to accept large donations from both individuals and corporations.

Maher made the donation in an attempt to encourage other wealthy liberals to put their money where their mouth is. With republican supper PACs raising astronomical amounts of money PACs will be at war with each-other throughout the General Election. Both Obama and Maher's decision to support supper PACs even if they do not support their roles in the political sphere. They do so in order to live to fight another day.

Even though Obama does may not support the Citizens United Decision it is necessary for him and other demarcates to donate to these pacs if they stand a chance against republicans in the general election. If the demarcates drooped support of supper PACs they would essentially be handing over the election to the GOP. The attack ads that the PACs run have shown to be extremely detrimental to their opponents in the primaries and continue to do so. In oder to win the election democrats will have to match the fund raising of the GOP by playing their game. 


>If republicans win the Citizens United decision will most likely stand, if Obama wins he can once again drop his support of the decision and attempt to repeal it. Republicans have been giving the President flack about his flip flopping but I think it is one of the most wisest political decisions he has made on the campaign trail.

Apparently so does Maher "This is the wisest investment I think I could make." he said in a press release.   While Marer's donation was a bit theatrical it has potential to open up the flood gates to both small and large democratic donations.

Political pundits and have been criticizing Maher for claiming that it hurt him to give the $1 Million dollars and that he did so to encourage wealthier liberals who it won't hurt to donate more. His over dramatized presentation of his donation is differentially over the top as is Maher and his statements after the fact are pompous at best since Maher differentially makes a pretty penny from his HBO series, books, live appearances and comedy specials. I doubt that the money really hurt him as much as he would like to claim.



 Never the less his extremely public and talked about gesture has started a larger conversation about how the democratic party and their backers should spend their money No matter what is said about how he did it, what he said about it or his stance on Citizen United, he lit the green light for other liberals to throw their cash at democratic supper pacs without feeling dirty or embarrassed about it.

New faces of local news: community news and the hyper-local news business model.

Over the last few years many local newspapers have been dismantled due to lack of advertising, dwindling print subscribers and the fact that many now go to the web for news. In St. Petersburg we are lucky enough to have the rock that is The Tampa Bay Times. Many Communities are not as lucky and are finding them selves with very little local coverage.

 One way the industry is trying to fight back is by adopting the hyper-local or community news model. Sites like AOLs Patch and EveryBlock Set up shop and report on what's going on in a very small area of operation. 


Although there is no EveryBlock for St. petersburg there is a Patch for Old-Northeast / Downtown St. Petersburg that reports on local happenings in that area. Patch and the hyper-local model are not the only show in town though. 


Community news sites like I Love the Burg and New Roots News have created an alternative to the "big box hyper-local news" with a more community driven ideals. 

The New Roots News, Contribute event series has opened the door for many aspiring writers in the area, including myself. The last one held on saturday continued the tradition of embedding local news sources inside the community by becoming a major force within them. 


I think community news is a fantastic idea, embracing the local community by embedded contributors within them is a exciting way to create a real connection with readers and to strengthen community relationships. These sites are popping up all over the place from small to large cities. 


Still i must ask the question Is it journalism? Can community news have as much impact as the local paper? 


 I'm not really sure. 


Although I very much support community news and am a contributor my self I feel that "big box" sites like Patch still have a place in local news. Being an outside entity from the community and even the fact that most hyper-local sites like Patch are essentially looking to make a buck, lets them step outside the community and report on the happenings of the area. This means things that are not driven by the community, like crime and cityhall reporting. It's not easy to find someone to sit in on city council meetings or read though police reports for no pay. 


Since sites like patch are profit driven they are giving young journalist a way to make a few bucks and gain professional experience. Before the internet took over, journalist would get their start on the police beat, reporting on the board of education or covering cityhall. For profit hyper-local sites are once again creating these opportunities. I hope to see more of them pop up, because quite frankly the time were I am going to be attempting to make a living off my writing will be coming up sooner than I would like. 


Community news is a fantastic place for feature stories, restaurant reviews, event listings and fantastic resources to figure out what to do this weekend. They don't do a very good job of reporting about the robbery in my neighborhood or about the city council meetings. Not to say that all for profit hyper-local sites are doing a good job at this either but at least they have the capital to pay people to do it. 


In a world where the local newspapers are getting closer to their expiration date than many in the journalism community would like, any new form of local news, is good news. Both community news and large news organisations, profit and not-for-profit both have a place in the future of local news. Finding a balance between the two can create a rich local media market for areas that are lacking in coverage and become job creators within the profession of journalism. 

My chicken parmesan recipe

Tonight I did something way out of the ordinary for myself. I cooked something. I am notorious  for not cooking. I'm not talking about a frozen pizza. I made a meal for my self.  I more often than not screw whatever I am cooking up and end up throwing it away.

I can boil stuff and poor sauce over it and I know how to make a mean frozen pizza but really that is where my skills end. Tonight I made some form of chicken parmesan that ended up being really good.

If you, like me, hate cooking you should try this recipe out.

What you need:

• Some chicken breast - I just bought a bag of frozen chicken breast from Publix
• Cheese - I used a slice of provolone and grated parmesan.
• Tomato sauce
• Spagetti 
• herbs and spices

Cooking this bad boy up:

Ok so first off you need to preheat your oven. This is my least favorite thing about cooking, waiting. I especially hate preheating because it takes forever and your not even cooking anything. Whoever tells you that you don't have to preheat is wrong. I have messed up so many things by not preheating the oven, it throws the timing off. 

While your waiting on this preheating oven, grab your self a pan and throw it on the counter. Poor some olive oil on the pan, just enough for a thin layer. Take however many chicken breasts you are about to cook and put it on the pan and poor some olive oil over top the chicken also.

Now this is where you can be really creative. Take your favorite herbs and spices and sprinkle them on top of both sides of the chicken. You can really use whatever you want it's up to you. I used bay leaves, rosemary, "Italian seasoning" mix, black pepper and a bit of red pepper flakes. 

Take your cheese and cut it into small pieces then put them on top of the chicken. Like I said I just used a piece of provolone I had in the fridge but you can use mozzarella or whatever you have laying around. I do highly recommend using some grated parmesan, however I'm sure it would taste fine with Ramano. Even a few pacs of the cheese you get from Dominos would work. 

After you have your cheese on there pour a bit of tomato sauce over top of it. 

When your done it should look something like this....

By the time you get done with all the prep your oven should be preheated, if it is go ahead and place the pan on the middle rack. I cooked mine for 50 mins. The package said to cook for 35 - 55 mins. if frozen so I pretty much did what that said. If you have thawed chicken you only need to cook it for about 25 - 35 minuets. I would definitely check the packaging just to be safe. 

About 15 minuets before it's done make some pasta and boil some tomato sauce. You can eat the chicken by itself but I like to drop a bit of pasta over it. 

When everything is cooked throw it on a plate and eat it. 

Some tips on finding new music.

Many people ask me how I find out about bands or know about new albums by established bands so quickly. The short answer is that I spend a lot of time hunting around the depths of the internet for new music. I listen to four times as much garbage as I do gold, I just download the gold and leave the garbage were it lies.

There are some things you can do to make music discovery a more fluent process. Over the years I have found a bunch of plug-ins and services that make finding the diamonds in the coal mine easier.

Ex.FM

The first thing your going to want to do is install the Ex.FM plugin. Whenever there is a download link for an .MP3 (or other audio formats) it puts a small play button next to it that will allow you to listen to the song without downloading it or leaving the page. It also automatically creates a playlist of any songs on a webpage.

It does a lot of other things but this is the most useful future in my opinion. Which leads me to my next suggestions.

Read music blogs and magazines. 


Seriously this is how I find out about a lot of music. I read a bunch of music blogs. I'm not talking like two or three I subscribe to well over 50+ music RSS feeds. This is were the latest music can be found and were you should look for hidden treasures.

Don't just limit yourself to Pitchforkmedia.com and rollingstone.com/ there are a lot of small blogs out there that do a excellent job.

Here is a list of a few of my favorite blogs.

http://prettymuchamazing.com/
http://www.tinymixtapes.com/
http://this.bigstereo.net/
http://www.quickbeforeitmelts.com/

These are just ones that I like, however different blogs cater to different tastes in music. Finding a few that you can rely on is a bit hard but not impossible.

Hype Machine

Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator. What it does is pulls all the music from thousands of blogs and puts them in one place. Here you can follow music blogs, friends, bands and even custom searches. It's a fantastic way to see what is trending in the bloggerspher.

Typing in bands you like and finding out what music blogs are posting them can help you find some that you might want to pay more attention too.

HypeM is also a great way to find remixes of songs that may have gone a little stale ... if your into that.

Last.FM 

This is by far one of my favorite things on the internet and has been for a while now. After you install a program last.fm tracks everything you listen to and creates radio stations based on that. It's almost like pandora but way better in my opinion. It has been keeping track of what I listen to and as a result has made some pretty awesome recommendations for me.

The secret here is actually going to your recommendation page and checking out what it has waiting for you every now and again.

The thing about last.fm is that you need to let it collect data before it is really useful. So if you want to get into it download the program, set it up to launch at startup and just forget about it. If you don't want people to know what your listening to you can also make your profile private.

While you at it check mine out here

There are of course many other things I do to help me find new stuff like trading music with a group of friends that have similar tastes as I do and other secrets that I am not willing to unveil ... yet.

Political production breakdowns.

Recently GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry got-got at an editorial meeting flubbing up how many court justices there are and mispronouncing Sonia Sotomayor's name. The clips have been spread throughout the media like the rest of Perry's mental glitches that have been crippling his campaign this year. 

This is not the first time we have seen a GOP Candidate loose their minds in a recorded editorial interview. As recently as last month the Herman Cain Libya flub raised the same questions about the legitimacy of his now suspended campaign. 

What exactly is happening at these meetings that make politicians loose their marbles? Might it be that these are exhausted human being rather than characters on TV that both the media and political campaigns make politicians out to be? Or do these people simply have no idea what the hell they are talking about?

Perry has reportedly dropped the ball in almost every form possible. He forgot what government  agency's he wanted to cut in a debate, looked crazy drunk at a speech and now the editorial meeting are just a hand full of examples. It's hard to make the case that this man is prepared to run for president let alone run the country.

Herman never made much of a case for himself either. It seemed that his answer to every problem was his, now infamous, 999 plan. No one could get a straight answer out of him about nearly anything else especially foreign policy. Wether he had a plan or not we may never know because his campaign never seemed to be ready to talk about it. 

In today's non-stop coverage of these political campaigns it is hard to get an idea of who these candidates really are. Many American's are experiencing the race via TV or through video clips online. The entire GOP presidential race and politics in general, have become a heavily scripted and highly calculated production. When these productions go down hill it becomes major news. 

This political production feeds not only the news media but nearly every facit of entertainment in general. It's almost like politics have become the newest reality show creating mellow dramas within mellow dramas. Instead of talking about the issues and the platforms politician's stand on major news organisations and the American public are obsessed with sound bites, mistakes, outrageous out of context quotations and embarrassing moments. 

Not to say that this is anything new, ever since the existence of radio polotics have become a show of sorts, with it's writers, producers and publicist. However in this rich media landscape it seems that the show never stops and no one get's any slack. 

Not to say that this production is not interesting. It makes people that would have never thought about politics before stare at it through lime tinted glasses. For many political news comes from satire and comedy. 

The real question is can we really except our politicians to answer questions on foreign policy, the supreme court or economics when the voting public not only think that these subjects are boring but have little interest in hearing or talking about them. As much as high minded political junkies would like more people to watch long form speeches, read transcripts of interviews and watch CSPAN more than CNN that is not going to happen. 

Being informed is a hell of a lot more work than being entertained, some simply don't have the time and other's simply don't have the drive.