Chill Out: Best Places in the City to Unwind

The Local Café:
This is my personal favorite out of all the ones I am going to mention. This location offers awesome music, most of the times jazz, and a great atmosphere. Especially in the city you will find this is a great way to meet people as well. I know many college students come here to wake up, as well as get some homework done.


The Park:
What's a better place to enjoy the environment, people watch, and catch some rays? That's right, the park. Using the green grass as a cushion and the people around you as entertainment, the park is a perfect place to chill on a nice day. Parks are scattered all over the place in cities, and if they're not, they're probably coming. Thanks to urban planners, like college kid: Steve, they realize that having a park close to home provides comfort as well as puts more oxygen into atmosphere.

The Bar:
Now, when I say the bar, I'm not talking about the ones that have girls dancing in cages here. The bar you want to look for is the quiet one on the corner, where locals like to hang out and get a beer after work. This can be tough to find if you live around touristy places like me (Fenway Park). The best time to go is probably around 6-8PM because after that time people get all ancy in their pancy and start having a little too much to drink. If you are lucky, you can find a gem like I did, a Café in the morning and a chill bar at night.

Take a Walk:
Okay, I know, it's not actually a "place" per say, but this can be just what you need some days. The city offers you a very unique environment with plenty of things to look at and observe. All you have to do is put your headphones on, walk out your door, and take a left (or right) depending on your mood, and just go. See where you end up, you might find some cool places that you never knew existed. Also, if your so inclined, you can bring a camera with you, and bring out the photography side in you.

Digsby: The New AIM

Let me start off and say, I hate AIM, I always have. Over the years I have tried countless instant messenger clients just to stay away from the terrifying AIM. Up until about a month ago I was using Pidgin, which was formally named Gaim. Digsby, which has been on everyone's radar the past month is an amazing new program that combines everything into your IM client.

The one thing that sets this program apart (minus the wicked cool features) is the fact that there are no ads, absolutely none. Have you ever been talking to someone late at night, forget your speakers are really loud, and hover over those damn talking ads? Well, I have, and it would give me a mini heart attack.

Digsby allows you to add your e-mail accounts and even Facebook if you wanted. It is fully customizable from the colors to sounds (just like AIM), but you can also get add-ons which are pretty frickin' cool too.

Give Digsby a try, I'm sure you won't be disappointed.


Digsby

Video Game Review: Skate

Skateboarding games for the years previous has been dominated by the phenom that was the original Tony Hawk's Pro Skater. After years of new titles under the same license, the Tony Hawk games began to lose there appeal due in fact to the "realism" factor that was swept away during the early decade. The mega franchise began milking the gamers of a true skateboarding experience, in turn focusing on a more arcady feel. With that transition, most early fans of the game were turned away by the massive trick sequences that encompassed telephone wires, building jumps, and the quarter pipes that dominate the landscape. Now, after years of crafting the ultimate skateboarding experience, EA has delivered that same exhilarating fun that you had with your friends while playing the original Tony Hawk. Skate in pure genius.

San Velona is the setting for the game, stretching across miles of landscape that include suburbs, city scapes, and old-brick architecture that are sure to keep one skating long into the future. Not only will one find copious amounts of rails, jumps, and ledges, you'll find yourself going back to those same locations to up the ante with a BS Boardslide instead of Frontside. Want up your score a little more? Try Nollie, and each trick is progressively harder. With so many tricks and styles for your skater, the fun never gets old. I continuously find myself at locations making adjustments just to "perfect" the trick on that rail. No more auto-rail bullshit. Timing is everything. The difference in where you ollie can determine the type of grind or boardslide if one does not judge distance.

The story starts off with that of a young local skater that progresses through the tiers of skating fame. With a few jams sessions under your belt, recognition comes in the form of dialed down tricks on huge sets and demanding events such as S.K.A.T.E., and Death Races. Death Races, which could be a favorite among groups online, pit one another against each other on courses that range from open streets, narrow tunnels, and tight Bostonesque one-ways. As you engage in different types of tasks, your reputation grows with added media coverage as well. Soon, your flipping tricks with the likes of new friends in the form of professional skaters, some which you may have seen on MTV's hit series Rob and Big. Soon, your a skating legend, making magazine photo shoots each day you progress. The "Ultimate" photo shoot in the end pits you, man against concrete, in a battle for the front cover of Thrasher Magazine. If that wasn't enough, after making headlines, you continue your career in huge air sessions from the X-games, to a mansion in the hills where jumps compare more to the size of motocross than skateboarding. Still, each event has its realistic feel to it, never jumping into the arcade realm which killed the former series from Activision.

Though some would find Skate troublesome to master, the majority of gamers will find pleasure in linking even the smallest of tricks. From a simple Kickflip to 5-0, to a 360 flip to FS Crooked, each trick must be mastered through a set of controls that mimics that of the feet and body. No game has come close to using the sticks of a console controller better than Skate has done. although some would contest titles like Fight Night and Ace Combat reign supreme, the coordination required to master such tricks is by far more thrilling. The A Button + Left is no longer a viable way to flip your board, but rather a token of progression for which EA has elevated the level of gaming experience.

All in all, the game does a wonderful job in creating the "real" skateboard feel, but like most games there are some minor glitches. The camera is fairly solid, although some may need to get used to it because it is not fixed. Objects can interfere with the position of the camera, especially when one upgrades to the flips and spins. The other gripe comes in the form of broken bones...or lack there of. The system is fairly good at determining the depth of body destruction when hitting a car, or failing to hit the rail in the right location, but in some instances where one plummets from heights destined to cause death, no bruises, scrapes, or broken bones are tallied. No game is perfect, but by no means will these glitches take away from the fun that is Skate.

After playing the game consistently for more than a month i can still proudly say I pick up this title with the same enjoyment I had when sticking my first Kickflip to grind. If this game hasn't set the bar for fun and realism, then strap me in because were in for one hell of a ride. For those of you still not convinced I would find it hard you read this far into the article. Go play Skate, its one of the best games to date.

Cheers!

College Kid: Hostnik

Awkward Relationships Created in College

After going to college for quite some time, I have noticed that there are many different levels of relationships you make with the people around you. Here are the top ones that I have noticed (and caused) on my own college campus.

The Girl/Boy you met at a party last night.
You casually said "Hi" to this individual at a party on the previous night and made some small talk. You were somewhat interested in this person, but the conversation didn't really go anywhere. Over the next week you see him/her walking to class, in the cafeteria, etc. and you don't know whether or not to wave or say "hi". This situation (if they remember you) is a bit awkward and usually a smile is traded amongst the two of you if anything.

The Drunk Hook-Up
You wake up, it's 6:35AM, and the sun is just rising. You see your clothes scattered all over the floor, and you say under your breathe, "Well, that was a poor decision.." You try to sneak out, but of course they wake up and this could go one of two ways (maybe three, but not likely). The person you hooked up with might like you and want to hang out more, or perhaps you having second thoughts about whether or not it was a bad decision. Finally, the feeling could be mutual and you both like (or don't like) each other. This situation is usually followed by pretending one anther doesn't even exist, and looking at the ground when you pass each other.

The "X"
Let me just say that this is the worst out of all of them, especially on a small campus. You just broke up with your "significant other" and now you have to deal with seeing them with other people or just making it through the day without making eye contact. I don't have to go much more into it than that.

The Old Friend
It was Freshman year, and you had the best of friends. As time goes though people change (perhaps yourself) and you no longer talk to that friend. Now, whenever you see them you ask yourself if you should say "What's up?" or not. It can be kind of hard to think that one time you two were best friends, but life goes on I guess.

The "How Do I Know That Person" Relationship
This one person in the library (scratch that, who goes to the library?)... in the cafeteria, just looks so familiar and you can't pinpoint where you know them from. Maybe, it was a party or perhaps they're from your town. This mystery is usually never solved because who would go up and ask? right? That is just way too awkward.


Got anymore awkward relationships that I didn't cover? Share them in the comments.

So What If He Was?

By now many of you may have heard the "allegations" that presidential candidate Barack Obama is or was a Muslim. This is of course false, and was never even a merited or remotely truthful statement. The claim was on the basis that the senator lived in Indonesia as a child and attended a "madrassa," or radical Muslim school. This was disproved when CNN went to the school only to learn that it was a typical public school that taught reading and math and had a diverse population, including some Muslim students.

I'm not here to argue whether these claims were brought about from Hillary Clinton's campaign or from the Republicans, or anywhere else. Instead, I thought I would explain the insanity of this whole media frenzy. The news discusses this story as if they would discuss a political affair, or a dirty business deal, but in reality the allegations are not even remotely bad. So I could not help but wonder, what if he was?

What if any of the candidates were?

It is a true testament to how far our country has come when we see candidates for president who are African-American and Female. But it is also a testament to how far this country has moved back when a candidate actually gets attacked for the ridiculous possibility that they are Muslim. In the last year America has finally opened up to the thought of a non white/male president, but if there was a Muslim or Arabic candidate could they ever win?

Most likely no.

I don't say that with any satisfaction or enjoyment. The truth is America could not handle a Muslim candidate because many Americans are ignorant to the Arabic and Muslim culture. We live in a society that champions equality and fights to destroy stereotypes yet we act as if every Arab is a terrorist. We live in a country where you can flip though the channels and watch a special on Black History Month then watch bigots talk about how all Muslims should wear ID tags.

Lets be honest, if even a tenth of all the Muslims in the world were terrorist America would be FUCKED! That is because there are 1.4 Billion Muslims in the world, which would result in there being 140 Million terrorist willing to kill themselves to see Americans suffer. That is almost half of the United States 300 Million citizens. Oh and by the way, less than a quarter of all Muslims are Arabic. In fact there are more African-American Muslims in this country than there are Arabic Muslims, just not Obama.

Feel free to leave your feedback.

Cheers!

College Kid: Brack

References:
[CNN]
[Wikipedia - Islam in the US]
[Wikipedia - Arab World]

Friends and Money: Coping with Social Spending Situations

1. Explain your goals. Let your family and friends know that you’re trying to get out of debt or are saving to buy your first house. By making your goals explicit, you should decrease the amount of pressure they give you. (And the amount of pressure you give yourself.) Conversations about money don’t have to be uncomfortable. By honestly sharing your struggles and goals, you encourage those around you to examine their own spending as well. Ask your friends to help you be good, rather than pressure you to do something you’ll regret later.
2. Suggest low- or no-cost alternatives. Bike or run together. Go hiking. Kick a soccer ball around. Organize a picnic or a mother-daughter tea party. Play hearts or bridge or Settlers of Catan. A one-time investment in a board game or a deck of cards can be a cost-effective source of entertainment. If your friends want to go to a movie, suggest a matinee. If they want to dine out, name a restaurant you know you can afford. (Better yet, suggest a potluck.)
3. Budget for social spending. If your circle of friends makes a regular habit of a specific activity, consider building the expense into your budget so it won’t catch you by surprise. If your girlfriends go out for happy hour on the first Thursday of every month, for example, set aside $20 for the occasion. This may, of course, require sacrifices to other parts of your budget.
4. Leave your wallet (or purse) at home. If you’re worried that you’ll give into peer pressure, create a self-imposed limit. Take $5 or $10 or $20 with you, but leave your credit cards behind. If you don’t have the money with you, you can’t spend it.
5. Limit yourself. Do things with your friends, but spend less. Portland has a great bookstore, and several times a year I shop there with out-of-town visitors. They have a tendency to buy a basket full of books. I used to do this, too, before I learned to limit myself. Now I buy one or two items from my want list.
6. Opt out. If your friends regularly participate in expensive activities together, politely bow out from time-to-time. By playing poker only once a month instead of once a week, for example, you may reduce your costs by 75%. If your friends like to go shopping, join them for the companionship. If the temptation to spend will be too much, don’t go at all.
7. Don’t keep score. Don’t obsess about what others have or don’t have. Don’t focus on the stuff — focus on the relationships. This can be difficult, I know, but it does no good to ask yourself why you don’t live in a fancy 4,000-square foot home on five acres. Life is not a competition. Your goal is not to keep up with the Joneses. Your goal is to do what’s best for you.

via [GetRichSlowly]

The Four Types of Facebookers

Lets be honest, Facebook is THE college website. Yeah there is Digg, Myspace, College Humor, and of course Ask a College Kid, but none draw out peoples obsession on such a level as Facebook. The large majority of college students make Facebook their first online destination of the day (and usually their last). There are different types of people who use Facebook. Some are more social and others are more annoying. In my observations I have realized that there are four types of Facebookers.

The Casual User

I would like to say I fit into this category most of the time. This type of Facebooker typically doesn't write on others walls and usually doesn't have too many Facebook Applications. These individuals only write on peoples walls when they actually have something to say, not just because they are bored or looking for attention.

The Chronic Wall Poster

These are the people that love to post on everyones wall. They don't need a reason as to why, they just do. I can only imagine they do it because they want more people to write on their wall or perhaps they are just bored. I don't mind these people too much because, well it is usually nice to get a message on your wall, usually.

The Application Freak

My sister would undoubtedly fall into this category based on all the crap she has on her profile. Funny animation of a cat? Sure! Random bumper stickers? Why not. These people love to add things to their profile, and more annoyingly, send them to other people. I have so many request for groups and applications every day, it drives me mad.

The Random Friend Requester

Do you remember the girl who sat next to you in 4th grade math? Why is it that she friended you when you haven't seen her in 10 years! It happens to all of us. Every once and a while some random person from your early days will friend request you. I always wonder how it is they find us. My last name is listed as an initial and I still get these random friend request. How they find me, I will never know. I wont lie though, it can be funny seeing how much of a drunk (or a fatty... did I say that?) your 6th grade lab partner has become.

Cheers!

College Kid: Brack