This is a prime example of a hipster:

Notice her sunglasses. She’s wearing them underground. Why? She’s wearing them because no one wears sunglasses underground, or at least, no one should wear them underground. They’re also huge. Huge glasses are a a staple of hipster fashion, most of the time colorful. Also take note of plaid top. Why plaid? Is she an Al Borland fan? No. She wears it because no one wears plaid. She also wears a skirt despite already wearing pants, and then finishes her outfit with ugly boots. Note none of her clothes match.

Here are some more examples of hipsters:

Notice the glasses again, which contain the classic oversized look. His hair is utterly ridiculous, mustache horrendous, and his sweater is vomit-inducing.

This hipster clearly has no mirror in his house, as his hair is a joke. Hipsters embrace unkept hair, as they see it as another way to do what they think is breaking social barriers.

Take notice of the hat, which is completely and utterly stupid. His shirt is hot pink, a color chosen because he thinks that the social standards of gender roles are meant to be broken (typical hipster thought), and he wears tight black pants, a male hipster fashion staple.

You can see the trend here now: hipsters wear clothes that no one wears. In this case, it’s a giant blanket of a scarf. He finalizes the hipster look with oversized headphones over his neck (which are most likely connected to a CD player).

I don’t even…

I’m too outraged to even explain.

Notice the scarf, the old gray blazer, the tight pants, the ugly gold colored shoes, and the bicycle helmet despite not being on a bicycle. This hipster went out of his way to make sure his hipster style illuminated from every part of his body.

Finally, a bit of advice: When a hipster is confronted about his or her hipsterhood, they will always deny it. If someone denies being a hipster, you can be sure that he or she is a hipster. You can see this in action below.

I hope this post helps you understand what to look for when dealing with possible hipsters. Now that you know what they are, you can know how to deal with them: with violence.

Be alert, citizens. The hipsters are a growing threat and they will not be extinguished so easily. Their kind grows with each passing day and we must we wary of their evil, treacherous ways.

The hipster threat is real.

[Image credit]

-(CE)Ian

During a city council meeting on March 31, Oakland residents expressed their grief toward the death of Lovelle Mixon, who killed Sgts. Mark Dunakin, Ervin Romans and Daniel Sakai, and Officer John Hege. They did so after the board unanimously voted to formally honor the slain police officers.

Citizens were adamant in pointing out that the deaths of these four officers and Mixon were part of a much larger issue.

Paulette Hogan, a Democratic candidate for mayor, said that she was angry about what she noted as the problem of black youth dying in Oakland. She called for more city programs to keep kids off the street, and said that the system had failed.

Other citizens were convinced that if some sort of change didn’t come to Oakland, more deaths would follow.

Kevin Thomas, however, stated that people need to stop blaming the system for their problems and be accountable for their actions. He condemned what he called the “excusatory rhetoric” he said has been used in the past to discuss these issues.

Some commentators were concerned over the issue of race in this matter, and were worried that this will escalate Oakland’s racial tensions, since Mixon was black and all of the officers killed were non-black. They said they had to come up with a solution to bring the community together.

These remarks follow a protest held on MacArthur Boulevard the previous Wednesday, where about 60 demonstrators marched against the police, asking for sympathy for Mixon.

The council presented members of the Oakland Police Department with eight condolence books that were filled by members of the community throughout the week, as well as letters to the families of the fallen officers.

Council members also spoke in memorial of the officers, and recognized the work of the current Oakland Police Department.

“I would take a bullet for any of you guys,” said Councilmember Laurence Reid. “No matter what.”

The Oakland police noted that this was a time for healing. They said that they must work together with the residents to come up with ideas to benefit the city as a whole. They called for a “shared vision of public safety.”

The four officers were killed on March 21 after what started out to be a routine traffic stop on MacArthur Boulevard. Mixon, 26, shot Dunakin and Hege, and then was seen fleeing the scene. Two hours later in a shoot out on 74th Avenue, he was reported to have killed Romans and Sakai before being felled himself by police.

A public funeral was held for the officers on March 27 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, in which nearly 20,000 people attended to mourn their deaths. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, and Attorney General Jerry Brown all spoke during the funeral. -30-

Well, they were pretty close.

In 1977, the Apple II home computer launched and it rang alarms declaring the future had arrived. The New York Times picked this up as an opportunity to explore the realm of home computers. In their coverage, they sought to find a reason to own a home computer. The Apple II cost $1,300 when it first came out, and was a lot of money for a regular consumer to invest. There simply had to be a purpose behind buying this computer. They interviewed other computer makers who all boasted the fact that their computers were going to make people’s lives easier, especially businesses. The New York Times saw that there was no real reason why the average household should have this computer, but the possibility still lingered.

The Los Angeles Times took a different approach. They seemed excited about the future of technology. One story titled “Your Own Computer May Soon Combat Bill Gremlins” started out by outlining an outlandish detail of a computerized lifestyle where the computer did everything you could possibly think of. It recognized that computers to many people were something that only belonged to the scientific elite, pointing out some people’s fear of using computers, but referred to a future where everyone had one. They noted that children would most likely be the ones who fully grasp technology, which intrigued me because often adults will say that today; that their kids know how to use computers better than they do, despite it not being an integral part of their lives.

These stories are easily compared to contemporary stories. Technology moves so fast that coverage is very much accelerated as well, always looking ahead. The stories often involve new technologies and how they are supposed to change people’s lives, or how they can be applied with other technologies to better their use. For instance, the advent of web applications has brought a new dialogue into the tech community: is cloud-computing, that is, applications running on servers online and only accessing the data through a web browser (ex. Google Docs), relevant? Many positively speculate its future and its possible uses, while others disagree and say its useless, much like the newspapers did back in the 1970s when discussing home computers.

It is interesting to see how confused and shocked people were of home computers nearly 30 years ago when we think about how we use them today, and how important they are in our daily lives. Back then, people didn’t know what to do with them, and now we don’t know what to do without them.

-(CE)Ian

Citizens were seen nodding off and even completely asleep during the Oakland city council meeting Tuesday night. They blame the dullness of the speakers and the boring atmosphere of the room for their drowsiness.

One attendee, hoping to voice his opinions about the recent shootings in his neighborhood, fell asleep 20 minutes before he could speak. When he was called upon to talk, a loud snore erupted from the silence of the room. The board decided to move on without him.

“Yeah, it’s pretty late and these guys are boring. I guess I fell asleep,” says Julio Rodriguez, the slumbering man. “There’s just something about the room, and this board. Makes you doze off easily.”

The board, when asked, was oblivious to the notion that their meetings could be boring. They said that they went over very interesting and fascinating issues afflicting the city of Oakland.

“How can anyone find tree relocation negotiations boring?” asked Councilwoman Michelle Smith.

The rest of the board were quick to deny all accusations of being boring or dull, and instead insisted that the people attending the meetings were probably just tired after a hard day of work.

“We’re not boring. We’re cool, hip, fresh cats,” said Councilman Adam Michaels.

The meeting went over various issues that the council said needed to be dealt with, including tree relocation negotiations, pavement transfer services, and increased aid to cats that live with elderly persons alone. -30-

Schulz told the students that these skills would make getting the information one needs for a story much easier. He also said these skills would allow them to find stories that others might overlook. He stressed that much of the information one needs for a story is readily available to the public. Schulz said one must be knowledgeable of the world they live in

He noted that one of the strongest tools of a journalist is knowing the area you live in well. This knowledge will lead to great sources. Schulz said he got to know the city of San Francisco by driving newspaper circulation trucks for the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

He also imparted the students with some general tips any journalist. He gave them techniques for interviewing. He taught them about the ways people try to shield themselves from the press. He explained the importance of having general knowledge of the world. He did this by urging students to read as much as they could.

Schulz graduated from the University of Kansas. He went on to work for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. There he learned much of the ins and outs of the newspaper business. He also met A.C. Thompson, who taught him many of the lessons he passed on during his lecture.

Schulz left the Bay Area, returning to Kansas, and worked for the Urban Tulsa Weekly. A new market meant a new perspective for Schulz. He said the change in market taught him a valuable lesson. He had to work harder to meet the new standards. He also learned about the alternative journalism scene through various niche magazines containing articles that the mainstream media never covered. This broadened his sense of what one can do with journalism.

Since returning to the Bay Area, he has gone on to work for the Center of Investigative Reporting in Berkeley. Some of his work there includes finding the impact on civil liberties after Sept. 11, 2001, as well as researching how officials are spending Homeland Security grants. -30-

The 404

When you combine Justin Yu, Jeff Bakalar, and Wilson Tang, the result is pure, unadulterated mayhem, but in a good way. The 404 is recorded every weekday morning in the CNET studios in New York, and covers the daily tech news and other news that might surface online. Not in the boring, somewhat bland way you might think news would be covered, but in a way that excites and humors you. The three have a certain energy that brings hilarity to what would seem a humorless tech world. This show has me constantly laughing, loving every minute of the show. But it also has me thinking. Though they do talk a lot about subjects that don’t denote serious discussion, they do come up, and they will always be on top of things when they arise.

However, the best shows are when the three are just talking about anything that comes to mind. They do what many podcasts try to avoid: get off subject. Sometimes they’ll go through a myriad of subjects, offering thoughts, criticisms, and humor, only to realize how far away they are from the original news story. Many shows would find some kind of way back, whereas these three will just roll with it. The show is like having a real discussion with real people. They aren’t tied to a must-follow script, like real discussions aren’t. The show, in a sense, feels real.

Though I must warn you, they can get a bit grotesque. It’s certainly not for the faint of heart.

This Week in Fun (TWiF)

TWiF is hosted by Sarah Lane and Martin Sargent. Each Friday afternoon at 3PM Pacific, they go live and discuss a bunch of fun news stories. With the power of Leo Laporte’s amazing underground basement studio, they are able to conduct a fun, interesting, involving show. Sarah can show us many of the stories and images they are discussing on the live feed, as well as interact with those watching live in the chat room. These things make the show unique, as well as pull me back every Friday afternoon.

The topics they cover are what people are discussing online. It isn’t bogged down by specific categories of news or events. If people are talking about it, they’re talking about it. You almost know what to expect when you go in, but are excited to hear about the things you might have missed. It’s also great to hear the discussions that arise from Sarah and Marty, apart from the stories. They are two great people, and together they are very funny. Their teamwork keeps the show exciting, alive, and, of course, fun.

-(CE)Ian

Okay, so this is a video I made just for fun. It’s supposed to be an introduction to a short mockumentary about Bearonica. Amazingly, I used Final Cut Pro to make this. I know, right? Why?

Because I could, that’s why. Though it doesn’t really show, does it? Huh…

I never got around to finishing it, mostly because I lost interest. But hey, the beast herself likes it…

-(CE)Ian

-(CE)Ian

But something was missing… something that would make it unique… Something that would set it apart from the countless other platformers made throughout the decades. All out of tea, he put a $15 price stamp on it and called it a day.

And this is the biggest flaw of the game. $15 is a fortune compared to the sultry $10 most games cost on XBLA, and I consider it an insult to gamers. Instead of thinking about what’s best for the consumer, he thought what was best for his wallet. By filling a game with pretentiousness and horrible artwork, he thought enough people would be fooled into thinking, “Well, there has to be SOMETHING here, or else it wouldn’t cost $15. Right?” Well Mr. Blow, your clever tactic worked. Critics are starting to put forth a nonexistent metaphor about how the gameplay element of time relates to the story. The only metaphor here is that time is money, and that money is being reversed right out of your bank account. Another thing they bring up is the use of the paintings, and how it conveys the story in an emotional way. The only story here is the story you’ll be telling your friends about the time you were conned out of $15.

Perhaps this is the direction the industry is going. Perhaps one day, we’ll sign on to our console’s online store for games, and instead of the sweet $9.99 or 800 points, we’ll see $14.99 and 1200 points in their place. Of course, we’ll have no choice but to concede, and weep as we look over our bank or credit statements at the end of the month. Independent game makers are taking advantage of the connotation that the word “independent” brings, and are using it to con us out of our money, and I for one will not stand for this. People seem to think that just because a company calls themselves independent, their products are automatically good, then rush to buy anything they put out. Braid is a prime example of this illogical reasoning.

Braid is a horrible game and should never be talked about in the positive light. The game is nothing but a clever marketing ploy to con us gamers into taking our hard earned $15 and flushing it down the toilet.

This gamer will be spending his money more wisely on the much better $10 games.

Braid isn’t even worth a numbered grade/10.

-(CE)Ian