Doesn't this look enticing?

Having never played this Facebook game they call FarmVille, I cannot  understand what the hype is about.

Apparently you can dupe your friends into some online gardening contraption and  soon en

joy the fruits of your labor: experience points? Conversely, you can annoy the hell out of your friends with all the status updates and blurbs it creates. Not all find this application as silly as I do

FarmVille fans, please meet Steve Shapiro.

Mr. Shapiro, from the team that brought you digsby, is now launching the ultimate combination: ChatVille. In it, users may either video chat with friends via Facebook or meet a random stranger. To add a little twist you can now essentially level-up, or receive positive feedback from other users to attain higher rankings so that other users will desire your company.

The bottom line: this is chatroulette meets FarmVille.

Read more…

Justis, blazin the mic. Thanks to Purman Photography

I remember the first hip-hop show I went to at Seattle University. The Blue Scholars came to the Campion Ballroom in the fall of 2007, and tickets went like wild. Already having seen the Seattle duo a couple times, I was giddy to say the least.

Let me just say that the night of the show ended in disappointment. I was thoroughly embarrassed to find out that Seattle U students know nothing about hip-hop. Sabzi, the charismatic riddim’ selecta, was quizzing folks before the set, asking them fairly tier-1 hip-hop trivia. After about seven questions someone finally got it right, but jeez.

So about a year ago when I first met Jimmy Weinman Jr., or Justis, I had extremely low expectations. I mean hell, if students at this school didn’t know that Butterly of the Digable Planets is a proud Garfield graduate, shoot, what are the chances good hip-hop would spawn from here?

Something about Justis struck me funny though. I see the dude all over campus. Whenever I would stop and say hello, he was super humble. He never had any of the big-headed egoism you could imagine would come along with the profession of rocking mics. Especially when you consider that his DJ, Marcus D, has started getting tons of attention. Marcus has even done a track or two with Geologic of the aforementioned Blue Scholars, cuts with Royce da 5’9, and the like. Justis, not so much.

Read more…

No catfood for me please!

Soccer and science fiction rarely cross paths. The two go together like Pink Floyd and Simon and Garfunkel….. or like Snoop Dogg and Raffi. You get the picture. Then again if you regularly browse The Guardian, the stellar British newspaper, you may have been intrigued by this article by David Smith. It appears District 9 may have been more realistic than one might think. Football (Soccer for you nonbelievers) fans across the globe might have to search deep into their souls to support the fabled World Cup this summer. It is probably best if you skip my ranting and just read Smith’s article. However, for a bit more context, check out the content after the break.

Read more…

So Tuesday night as I am covering the Men’s basketball game versus Portland State I had the privilege of sitting next to the Fox Sports Northwest TV guy who monitors the broadcast and sets up the media timeouts. I agree, there are plenty of more exciting jobs out there. Alas, as I glanced over at his monitor during a timeout I could not help but feel glee. Of four Northwest sports rivalries provided, the majority of the fans in attendance voted the Seattle Sounders versus the Portland Timbers as the top rivalry. Wow! Were you watching the game at home and amazed as me? As a soccer enthusiast I was blown away. I mean, of course, the only sport that Seattle and Portland both compete in is soccer, but still, Sonics versus Blazers? Regardless, the vote reminded me how close the MLS season is to kicking off. Even more important, I remembered that Seattle is hosting a friendly against Portland this Thursday. If you are unaware of this, you must click read more. If you have heard of it, keep going it will only hype you up!

Read more…

Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Photo by crabchick via Flickr

So in light of Frontline doing this and The Stranger’s Slog doing dropping some knowledge as well, I suppose it is embarrassing to admit how much fun ChatRoulette is.

That said, it does not come without danger. Just try it out and within a few minutes you will likely understand dilemma. There are plenty of naked and aroused users that will get you to click next pretty quickly, as well as teenage punks who spew racist and homophobic jokes.

The problems do not stop there though. Read more…

With the Seattle University Dance Marathon taking place tomorrow night, it struck me that a couple of my favorite bands are coming to Seattle soon. Then it stuck me that they could be considered dance marathons as well. In the hopes that you were already planning on busting a move this weekend, let me suggest two bands that seriously bust a groove. Here are a couple YouTube clips from both. You will probably add them to your favorites!

Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9)

Read more…