Brian's Tavern

I actually intended to go right to Goldy's and have a Cherry Coke, which would make things much easier for me to observe the environment around me. It was pretty empty when I went down there, which was kind of a surprise to me, because Goldy's can usually get pretty crowded. The atmosphere had a real laid-back feel to it, a place where you can go to unwind. There was also a faint aura of excitement in the air because there's all this stuff you could do such as video games, bowling, and billiards. I had a feeling the place would jumpin' later on.

There weren't many other people in Goldy's Gameroom at the time I went there, except for two people working the counter and 2 other people sitting at a table using their Laptops. As time went on, a few more people had come in and there was even some conversation as well.

Overall, you could come to Goldy's Gameroom to relax with a pop and a snack after a hard day's work or you could come down with some friends and have a blast. The place has a laid-back feel to it, but I bet it can get pretty exciting at certain times.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Reading this article really made me think of the use of Native Americans (teams, symbols, etc) in sports. I am NOT for it at all. For instance, we have the University of North Dakota, which calls their teams the Fighting Sioux. Its been a lightning rod of controversy ever since I first heard about it. You have your more well-known examples like baseball's Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves and Football's Washington Redskins (which is the worst one in my opinion); I mean the Washington football team's name is blatantly racist and needs to be amended.

This stuff all needs to be fixed up.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 8:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm sure the people that did this article do very good work, but personally, I am so sick and tired of people picking apart and dissecting our favorite movies. This would be like me sitting down and saying that "Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl" encourages occultism (because the pirates have to cut themselves and get their blood on the medallions to break the curse)

Overall, i am just getting tired of seeing these kinds of articles. Why can't people just leave movies alone? They are not subjects to be dissected and analyzed like a Biology class project, they're meant to be watched and enjoyed by you.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 7:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In reference to someone crossing this "invisible line" as far as race goes, you could think about Carlton from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", the successful sitcom from the 90's about a wealthy black family in Bel-Air whose lives are turned upside down when Will Smith arrives from Philadelphia and brings his views and lifestyle to the upper-class society.

Some could say that Carlton acts "white" because he doesn't listen to rap music or talk in slang. I personally think that the show is poking fun at the whole "invisible line" thing with Carlton while at the same time making fun of stereotypes as a whole.

I also believe that there's no such thing as an invisible line because the whole concept is ridiculous. people should be allowed to act however they want to without having to worry about looking like a fool.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In regards to what we saw on the video, I'll say this: When I was in High School, I didn't really notice any of this "class" stuff or these "cliques" and I didn't buy into it either; it just wasn't a big deal to me. I went to a city school (Highland Park HS in Saint Paul), so there were people from different backgrounds and upbringings, so there wasn't really an "in" crowd or any of these other cliques.

I didn't belong to one, but I wore a lot of sports clothes, so I maybe could've been mistaken for a Jock (I even had a Letter Jacket), but I wasn't. I mostly just went with the same people throughout my years and all was well for me.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

*SPOILER ALERT*

I feel that the movie "Rocky", which came out in 1976, goes against Parenti's article. Rocky may appear to be dimwitted, but he fought off the odds and stood toe-to-toe with the Heavyweight Champion of the World, Apollo Creed.

Its the classic underdog story (little guy rises up and faces off against the big guy). Rocky doesn't win the fight against Creed, but he didn't get knocked out. It goes to show you that not every movie/show buys into these so-called "stereotypes" of class (that the lower class /poor person is nothing and the high-class guy is awesome and cool)

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 5:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You know, I hope this article helps me write a much better Media Analysis. Things became a lot clearer to me after reading this article; there are just so many aspects of the show/movie you can write about.

I'm just going to have to utilize the info in the article (not literally) and apply it to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and who knows, maybe I'll have a dynamite paper!

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 10:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I'm going to try this using a video game point of view:

When people like Charlton heston tried to silence Ice-T's supporters, its kind of like anti-video game people like attorney Jack Thompson trying to say "My view is the best one. You cannot see it any other way because because I am right and you are WRONG!"

What I mean by this is that it reminds me of the assault on 'M' rated video games. A company like Midway comes out with a bloody fighting called "Mortal Kombat" and all of a sudden some parents think its the end of the world. About 14 years have passed since MK came out and many more violent games have surfaced such as "Grand Theft Auto" and "Resident Evil".

What I'm saying is that like it or not, this is a part of history. We cannot just cast stories like these into the realm of obscurity; they happened and in most cases, it made an impact.

Final note: Please don't mis-interpret this article. I am in no way saying that the L.A. Riots were a good thing.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

This article was a tough one for me not just because of the length, but the subject matter. I personally felt lost in this article (its probably because of the disability) because it kept shifting from one topic to the next without anything in between.

But if there's one thing I did get, it was the stuff about reprints of a painting. I don't mind reprints, personally, but nothing beats seeing the original piece of art with your own eyes. Its like me right now; I have a baseball that belonged to my Grandma signed by the 1987 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins, but I recently found out those weren't the real autographs. I'm a little disappointed, but I don't mind; though I would like to see a real autographed baseball someday...

I'll be doing much better next time. I won't be as lost and I'll focus harder on picking out details of the piece.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 11:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out.

Posted by Brian Mahoney at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)