Author Archives: brent

When the Positive Outweighs the Negative

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One of the strangest stories I have ever heard of relating not just to sports but to life in general surfaced today with the Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax. I mean a story that combines the star player of the most recognizable college football program in the nation with the dark side of social media and with several shady characters is bound to brew up quite the storm.

I find this story incredibly sad. It doesn’t matter if Manti Te’o is an innocent victim or a major player in a quest for more publicity, there is no way that this tale ends well. People who love watching these types of unfortunate train wrecks happen are probably pulling their seats up extra close and keeping their iPhones handy because this roller coaster will take several more twists and turns before it is all over.

And I know I sound like a broken record considering what I wrote about last night, but because of the up in the air status of this bizarre story we need to stop yapping and rushing to judgment on Twitter and other social media outlets and just let the situation run its course. It is very obvious that there are two strongly conflicting stories regarding Manti Te’o’s involvement in this event. Let’s just recognize all the strange directions this story has already taken and brace for several more before we even think about offering up our expertise.

This negative story does eat at me quite a bit because it gives less than stellar publicity to a program I have admired and to an athlete I have considered top-notch. It goes without saying that both Notre Dame and Manti Te’o represent intercollegiate athletics, something that I have both an undying love for and a career in. When something like this happens that encompasses the attention of the nation, it hurts.

Life is interesting sometimes though. The moment the whole Manti snafu really started to escalate and ESPN started to push all efforts into covering the story and social media went bonkers with the most one-liners I have ever seen, something happened that made my pride and appreciation for the student-athletes who make college athletics possible skyrocket. And wouldn’t you know it, this sudden jolt of euphoria got pumped into my veins not by hot shot athletes or million dollar coaches thousands of miles away in mega-conferences but rather by people inhabiting the exact same building I was in.

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At a little after 5 p.m. today our assistant sports information director Joel Carlson, yes, that same Joel Carlson who I crowned the best writer in Missoula five months ago, sent out to the media and published onto www.gogriz.com a masterpiece. Written with beauty, with emotion, and with purpose, I couldn’t help but brush away tears from my eyes about four different times while reading his article.

Now I can try to summarize his piece and put in my own words how amazing the person is who is featured in it but I would not be doing the article or the person justice.

So without going into detail let me just give you the gist (not a summary) of what you all need to go read about: Alyssa Smith is a Lady Griz basketball player who not only excels on the court but in life. She went through a horrific ordeal one morning at a day care right before she turned 2 years old. She survived and moved on, scars and all. She found a place that brought together young people who suffered the same traumatic experience she endured. When she grew too old to be a participant at this place, she took a leadership role. After many years in that leadership role, she has taken on a savior role. Alyssa is doing all she can as a Lady Griz basketball player in Missoula to save a camp 500 miles away in Washington state. Combined with the continued help of a big Griz supporter with a heart of gold plus a generous Missoula community, she is going to do it.

You want to forget about Manti Te’o? You want to feel touched and inspired? Please take ten minutes to read “Montana’s shining light for Camp Eyabsut” by Joel Carlson. I warn you, reading the first part of the story is a little tough to stomach, but in the end it is well worth it. So what if I become discouraged for a few minutes over some hoax in South Bend? I need to look no further than the floor of Dahlberg Arena to let me know who the real heroes of intercollegiate athletics are. Don’t Blink.

Jumping the Twitter Gun in Sports

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Although I have touched on this subject from a much broader scope before, I wanted to take tonight to zero in on a more specific aspect of this principle. As everyone knows, social media is a very powerful tool that enables the most average of Joes to reach hundreds or thousands of people with just a simple click or tap. Unfortunately for us all, when we click the mouse or tap the “send” button on our iPhone, we don’t get a message that pops up and asks “Hey, do you want to wait a little while before you send that out?”

Although this has gone on since social media has been around, it seems like over the past several weeks I have seen Twitter users go completely off the deep end when it comes to hasty comments regarding sporting events. This college bowl season I couldn’t believe all the people who would leave teams for the dead who happened to fall behind. Looking at my Twitter feed while many of these games were still up for grabs I saw way too many people I follow tweet out things such as “Game over”, “ball game”, “It’s all over”, or “Next year.”

I don’t know why people do this. There is absolutely no honor in saying that a team is done for when they are behind a couple touchdowns. Statistically, that is a no-brainer. When a team spots another team points, more often than not that team will lose. Sending out a tweet reiterating this fact is just stating the obvious. So why should I get all worked up about Twitter users who feel they are smart when really they are just going along with common trends?

Because in sports nothing is set in stone and to count a team out early is disrespectful .

I got a few recent examples that inspired me to write this post. Last December, Arizona played Nevada in the New Mexico Bowl. Nevada built a 45-28 lead after the third quarter and led by double digits with less than a minute to go. Everyone crowned the Wolfpack the New Mexico Bowl champs, but as Lee Corso would say “Not so fast my friend!” Arizona staged a remarkable comeback and won the game 49-48. Lots of retractions that day on Twitter.

Last week during the BCS Championship, many people decided to call the game in the first quarter when Alabama got up on Notre Dame 14-0. Yes, Alabama went on to rout the Irish but how can you count a team out in the first quarter?! In yet another example of Twitter ignorance, everyone came unglued when Notre Dame seemed to have gotten robbed on a punt interference call. The Irish punted and the Alabama returner muffed the punt that Notre Dame recovered. However, the officials ruled fair catch interference. The officials and Pac-12 conference got crucified….yet after further review the officiating crew actually got the call right.

This past Sunday, in probably the most mind-blowing example, people across the nation mindlessly declared the end of the Seattle Seahawks’ season when they fell behind to the Atlanta Falcons at the half, 20-0. It seemed as if everyone forgot that just the week before, the Hawks fell behind to the Washington Redskins on the road in the first quarter, 14-0, before coming back and trouncing them. After Twitter Nation made their “bold predictions” about the demise of Seattle, the Seahawks came back to take a 28-27 lead with thirty second to go in the game.

Everyone needs to relax when it comes to watching sporting events on television. Don’t feel the need to make any declarations. I really think it helps to have played sports to really understand that a game is never over in the first quarter or at the half. Even in my bush league high school playing career I played on teams that came from behind to win games and I played on teams that got stunned after building up a sizeable lead. These teams that I participated on and these games that I played in taught me that really anything can happen.

Or maybe some of these people who like to make quick judgments about a game’s outcome just need to watch more sporting events in general. In my lifetime I have watched thousands upon thousands of games and have seen almost everything. I have seen amazing comeback after amazing comeback. I watched in person as my alma matter trailed 48-21 with just under 6 minutes to go in the third quarter to eventually win 61-48. After seeing something like this, overcoming a 14 point lead in the first quarter does not seem so far-fetched.

So do you see what I am saying? By tweeting that a game is over early on you just can’t win. If the team you declare the winner does happen to hold on, you made an assumption that even a monkey could make. But if you are wrong, you look like an absolute fool. However, no matter if you are right or wrong, by calling a game early you just ignore the rich tradition of sports, the basic principle that a game is not over until it’s over and that anything can happen. When you watch a game make sure to enjoy it, keep an open mind, and don’t call a game until it is absolutely over. Twitter will appreciate you more. Don’t Blink.

Three Trends I Could Live Without

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When I turned 25 a little over a year ago, I definitely felt some sadness about moving out of the 18-24 age demographic. It hit me kind of hard and sent the message that I needed to grow up. Although hard at first, now that I am 26 I have accepted that I am no longer in that group and I have moved on with a lifestyle that is appropriate for my age. However, because I work on a college campus and because I am very much immersed in social media, it is not hard for me to keep up with the newest trends that capture my former demographic.

Luckily for me, some of the newest trends to come out really don’t appeal to me at all…probably just more confirmation that I am getting old. In particular, over the past couple months three different fads have emerged at the forefront of the teenager to under 25 culture. For tonight’s post I want to give my brief and “sophisticated adult” take on these new trends.

Snap Chat – Snap chat is an app for iPhone users that lets you send pictures to other users. The catch is, the picture you send to another person can only be seen for a time period between 1-10 seconds. Once the time has ran out, the picture is “lost” forever. The short time period to view a picture along with the false security that the picture will self-destruct leads many to be a little looser when it comes to sending images. Of course I put quotation marks around the word lost because all it takes is someone to screenshot the image to forever capture it in their iPhone device.

I don’t particularly like Snap Chat. Yes I admit that I do “Snap” with a few people but I must say the app is pretty lame. For one thing, Snap Chat takes pictures of terrible quality. My old beat up handheld camera that I have dropped over 20 times takes better pictures than SC. For another, the ability and acceptance of taking irrelevant and uninteresting pictures reigns supreme on Snap Chat. I will open up the app and I will have 10 pictures from my brother detailing his television screen, water bottle, hat, golf clubs, and the living room carpet. I hate looking at that type of stuff. The labeling of pictures sucks too. Many people will use their fingers/thumbs to write out one word captions and it looks absolutely horrid.

Snap Chat is sloppy and cheap. In my advanced age, I would much rather have a service such as Instagram where I can add an artistic touch, take a high quality picture, and add all the hash tags I want.

Me getting ready to send a "Snap" out.

Me getting ready to send a “Snap” out.

Duck Face – Take a quick stroll down your Facebook feed or Instagram stream and you are guaranteed to see multiple instances of girls posing with the now notorious “duck face.” You can make the face by putting your lips together and pushing them as far out as possible, thus making you resemble a duck.

I personally am yet to understand this one. I don’t know if the main objective is to look pouty, flirty, or just plain duck-like but I am not a fan. I find girls with smiles or neutral facial expressions much more attractive than a bird face. Perhaps the goal is to cover up less than stellar teeth or maybe it is to highlight above average lips or maybe it is to just follow a trend but I have a tough time seeing the redeeming value. I have also seen guys take on the less than flattering pose and let me tell you, it is not pretty. Some girls have the magical power to take something that is not hot and make it hot….us guys do not.

If you can pull it off or not, let’s just retire the duck face.

Me with the worst duck face ever!

Me with the worst duck face ever!

Kendamas – I thought every kid and young adult wanted iPhones, game systems, GoPros, and other electronics as gifts. You mean to tell me that all what many people wanted this Christmas was a wooden toy?! This holiday season, many young people received kendamas. A kendama is a Japanese toy that tests one’s patience. Made out of wood, the trinket has a main body about eight inches in length. At the bottom of the body is a handle that you hold onto and then it thins out as you go up, forming into a spike at the very top. Jammed through the spike is another wooden structure with a cup on each side. Tied around the cup structure is a string that is connected to a ball. The object is to get the ball into either of the cups or to get the ball to rest perfectly on the spike (the ball has a small hole to allow for this).

I have not seen a more boring toy in a very long time. I don’t see how anyone could be entertained for more than five minutes with a kendama. I don’t see the real reward in making the ball in the cup and I definitely don’t see the reasoning for spending hours trying to do so. But you know what is more aggravating than playing with a kendama? Watching someone play with a kendama! Oh brother, I go absolutely nuts hearing someone clank that ball off the wood over and over and over and over. Some people get really involved and stumble all over the place, thinking it will help them catch it. Well, it doesn’t help at all but it is a great way to get in other people’s space and to break things. This Christmas we had someone over at our house who had just gotten a kendama and I was at wits’ end with the annoying noise, the ongoing shuffling throughout the living room, and the never ending “Will you please play with me.” I really never want to see another one of those things again.

A kendama!

A kendama!

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Three really cool new trends….three really cool new trends that I want no part of. Don’t Blink.

Bringing Out the Throwbacks

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I am always quite fond of bragging about my job and getting overly excited about the cool things I get to do for it. This morning I once again had a smile stretching from ear to ear as I watched two of our basketball players, one male athlete and one female athlete, participate in a mini photo shoot on our arena floor. Sporting copper and gold jerseys last worn in the mid 1990’s, our university photographer snapped several shots of our two athletes in the throwback gear that themselves and the rest of their teammates will wear on January 19 when we host Griz-Cat retro style.

Don't these throwbacks looks sharp?

Don’t these throwbacks looks sharp?

I could hardly contain my own excitement looking at our two players suited up in their sharp looking old timer jerseys to bring myself to wait out the one hour window between the time that the pictures were taken to when our photographer uploaded the images to when our athletic director tweeted out the first glimpse of the retro glory to all of Griz Nation. But by the time our AD sent out his most important tweet yet on his day old account with about 40 other people following suit by retweeting it, my nervous excitement had leveled out and I could enjoy watching our fan base go nuts at the prospect of a Griz-Cat Basketball Saturday with one of the most exciting twists ever.

Behind the scenes at the throwback photo shoot.

Behind the scenes at the throwback photo shoot.

What is it about throwback jerseys? To be honest, I don’t think it is that much of a mystery. As I have written about before, people love to reminisce about the past. People like to look back at times that took place years ago and use their selective memories to blow up the positive images. One way to connect with these memories is through clothing, and specifically in sports, uniforms.

We certainly can’t accuse professional and intercollegiate officials and marketers for not recognizing this little fact about human nature. Throwback uniforms are a HUGE business. Every team seems to have at least one throwback night. People go wild in their seats when their favorite teams wear old uniforms and many go wild at the merchandise stand as well. I mean let’s be honest here, if you consider yourself a sports fan, I guarantee that you have at least a couple throwback apparel items in your closet.

Research shows that the demographic that really buys into the throwback theme is the younger generation, the people who barely remember a certain era or don’t remember it at all. I can totally attest to this! As a Mariners fan growing up I thought the old school inaugural logo of the anchor-like “M” placed in the star was the coolest thing ever. I had a hat and a couple shirts with the old mark and I felt the same excitement when the Mariners would don those old jerseys a couple times each year that I did this morning during the photo shoot. Never mind that the old sailor type logo was hideous, as I said before, we all have a grandiose outlook on the past. Things seemed better back when, even if they were actually not.

Like with any good thing, the use of throwbacks can be taken overboard. Some Major League Baseball teams will wear old school jerseys on a weekly basis while some teams have completely brought back their retro marks and reinstituted them as their primary logo. However, you won’t find any of that oversaturation at Grizzly Athletics. As fans know from football, bringing back the old colors is a very uncommon occurrence, something that happens only on special occasions. Everyone in Montana knows that when the copper and gold comes out it is big time. Because of this, there are a lot of people counting down the days until January 19. Don’t Blink.

To Disclose or Not to Disclose Resolutions

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The new year has arrived and with it the multitudes of people who boast about their resolutions. Social media has made it way too hard for most to have a “personal new year’s resolution” where one simply executes their annual improvement plan without any fanfare or Facebook statuses.

However, I am not here to hate on those people at all. In fact, I pretty much take my hat off to those brave enough to broadcast their resolutions electronically to everyone from their family to their best buds to their intramural teammates to their co-workers to their old high school/college classmates etc. etc. I don’t know what better motivation there is to succeed at a New Year’s resolution than telling your 1,297 people on your Facebook friend list what you plan to do. Let’s face it, if you have the guts to tell everyone you know that you plan to lose 30 pounds, you better do it.

That is why I almost went along with the trend and dedicated tonight’s blog post to detailing my 2013 New Year’s resolutions. However, after much scrutinizing I decided to keep them personal. Believe me, I am not going public because I am fearful that I won’t accomplish my goals because I WILL. Instead, I just much rather have people notice the changes in me when I reach my goals rather than telling them about it before I even begin. I don’t need the praise of my peers but if I do get it I am going to make sure it is after I actually accomplish something rather than getting the empty round of applause that accompanies the act of simply declaring my intentions.

With that said, I hope that everyone has at least a couple of resolutions for 2013. Yesterday I was going through my Twitter feed and I saw someone tweet something along the lines of this: “We shouldn’t need to make New Year’s resolutions because we should already be doing the right thing on a daily basis.” Even if there was a person in this world who lived out perfect days on a daily basis, he/she could still find something to improve upon. If he/she already ran 12 miles each morning, he/she could run 14 miles each morning. If he/she had 4 doctorate degrees, he/she could get 5 doctorate degrees. If he/she read 300 books a year, he/she could read 310 books a year. You get the point? There is absolute no ceiling for self-improvement. We can always challenge ourselves, we can always push our limits, we can always get better. Every single one of us has room to grow and the start of a new year is a perfect time to better ourselves.

As I mentioned last night, take it one day at a time. Don’t overwhelm yourself by looking too far ahead. Also, don’t be afraid. Sometimes making a big change and sometimes the channels you need to go through to make that change can be intimidating. Just tell yourself that the end result will be worth it. I always observe the new people who come into the gym for the first time once January 1 hits. Some of them look so scared and out of place…DON’T BE! You made a huge step by actually showing up! Now just go all-in for the next hour and a half and don’t think about anything or anyone else. Do you. This applies not only to working out but it also applies to rekindling a strained relationship, eating better, becoming a better person, spending less money, or watching less television. Simply jump right into it, immerse yourself in the goal, take it one day at a time, and don’t look back.

What a remarkable gift we all have right in front of us with 2013! A fresh new year with limitless possibilities. Let’s all get better and make it the best year ever. Don’t Blink

Glad for 2012, Optimistic for 2013

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At midnight we ushered in 2013 and now we have 365 fresh days to make our mark on this year. Last night I had a great time celebrating the arrival of the New Year with Paige and another couple. After a fabulous dinner at the Depot, we joined hundreds of other Missoulians in downtown to welcome yet another resetting of the calendar. For a variety of reasons I have a great feeling about what this year will bring. I have had this feeling since Christmas ended and it was just reinforced this morning at mass as I just had positive and calming vibes running through my veins. I am excited for 2013!

I do want to touch on 2012 just a bit though. I will count this past year as a success mainly because I ended the year better than where I started it. At the onset of 2012 I had just wrecked my car and was feeling pretty low. However, as the first few weeks passed I started to regain a little bit of my swagger and my personal outlook of myself slowly started to improve. By the end of the month I had purchased a new car and I had pretty much moved on. From there, 2012 was not that bad at all.

Highlights from 2012 include attending the NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque with the Griz, developing this blog to its current state, watching www.gogriz.com grow substantially, guiding the Griz social media program to the top spot among all other schools in the FCS, seeing some amazing concerts including the American Country Awards, traveling to various different places across the country, and meeting my wonderful girlfriend.

In the broader picture, 2012 was circled for me simply because it was the year of the Summer Olympics and of the Presidential Election. Both of these events provided me with great entertainment and a heavy sense of patriotism. Unfortunately, 2012 will always be tarnished because of the sickening tragedy in Connecticut. No matter all the positivity and prowess our country exhibited from winning the most medals at the highest valued world athletic competition on the planet or from pulling off another flawless example of democracy, we were faced with the cruel reality that we still have much to work on.

In talking about New Year’s resolutions today, my priest reminded us all to take each day one at a time. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself and look days, weeks, and months down the line. We need to focus our attention on 24 hour intervals. It is easy to get overwhelmed and discouraged when we see that we have a long road in front of us but if we chop that road up into little blocks, it makes things much more manageable. I do have my resolutions ready to go and I might (not 100% sure) share those with you guys tomorrow.

Let me give a BIG THANK YOU to all of my supporters who took time to read this blog in 2012. This past year was a big one for Don’t Blink. I quadrupled my average reading audience per post and underwent a major site makeover. You guys are a big part of my motivation and I will continue to try to get better and provide more interesting content in 2013. Happy New Year! Don’t Blink.

Brent’s Top 5 Best Songs of 2012

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Believe me, I try to limit posts with a negative overtone. However, sometimes I have to write them. When I do though, I try to “right the ship” so to speak by later following up with a positive post. Last week I listed my Top 5 WORST Songs of 2012. Now that I got that out of my system I would like to recognize the artists who actually made good music this year and present my Top 5 Best Songs of 2012.
Enjoy:

5. “Titanium” – David Guetta and Sia

I really enjoy about 75% of Guetta’s beats and “Titanium” definitely fits into that percentile. I dig how the song starts really slow and then picks up speed but never goes off the track and gets real fast. Even though it doesn’t get too crazy beat wise, you can still dance to it.

But I don’t even think Guetta’s role in the song is the best part. How about the vocals of Sia? She has such a strong and sexy voice. Although I really don’t know much about Titanium besides it on the periodic table, after listening to the song I definitely want to be it too! The song carries a message about being resilient and tough and I can relate.

4. “Let Me Love You” – Ne-Yo

I am lucky enough to receive “Promo Only Mainstream” CDs each month. These CDs contain the tracks of singles that will be released in the next month. When I heard “Let Me Love You” for the first time I knew it would be a hit.

As with “Titanium” the song starts a little slow and then picks up speed and really gets going. The lyrics, although overused by millions of girls on social media, are meaningful and heartfelt. This is probably the one song on the list that I am now sick of hearing but during its prime I really enjoyed it. GIRL LET ME LOVE YOU!!!!

3. “Drunk On You” – Luke Bryan

This was definitely my anthem of the summer and listening to this song will always take me back to it. Luke Bryan had an incredible year and this is an incredible song. If you absolutely despise country you might not go for it but if you are open at all you will like it.

The lyrics of “Girl you make my speakers go boom boom” work so well and provide a special kind of imagery. The melody is a masterpiece and Bryan’s voice is gold. Nothing says summer more than “Drunk On You” and almost everyone can relate.

2. “Wide Awake” – Katy Perry

Okay, I will admit that I feel like less of a man by admitting that I like a Katy Perry song, let alone saying it was my second favorite of the year, but I can’t lie. “Wide Awake” is by far the best thing that Perry has ever made. A song that will also remind me of Summer 2012, I still have no problem listening to this song on the radio.

Katy Perry’s voice in this song is just so clear and crisp. You get a great feel for her vocals and she in general just does a superb job of performing the song. The part where she shouts out “Til I woke up on the concrete” still registers as a favorite line of mine and you just gotta love all of her “I’M WIDE AWAKE” declarations at the end of the song. Of course, part of the reason why I love it centers on the song title itself…anything that follows the same type of message as “Don’t Blink” will get on my good side! I can definitely say that I relate to being WIDE AWAKE most of the time.

1. “God Gave Me You” – Blake Shelton

Not even close.

“God Gave Me You” is by far and away my top song of 2012. I can’t express how amazing of a song this is or put into words how much it means to me. Blake Shelton puts so much emotion, effort, and feeling into four minutes of absolute musical bliss that it hits me every single time.

For “Drunk On You” I said if you despise country you might not like the song BUT when it comes to “God Gave Me You” I don’t care how much you hate the genre, you will appreciate Blake’s masterpiece. When this song came out, I didn’t even have someone who I could count as a person who ‘God gave me” but it didn’t matter…the song was just so powerful that I fell in love with it and wanted to make sure I met that person who Blake sings about.

It is a song about self-critique, appreciation, togetherness, and love. It is the ultimate ode to someone you can’t live without. I have several favorite lines but let me just share a few: 1. “I’ve been a walking heartache, I’ve made a mess of me….the person I’ve been lately, ain’t who I want to be.” 2. “There’s more here than what we’re seeing…a divine conspiracy.” 3.. ‘We are stitched together, and what love has tethered I pray we never undo.”

I had the opportunity to watch Blake Shelton perform this song from the front row in Spokane this past March and I will never forget it. “God Gave Me You” will always be with me.

Seeing Blake Shelton in concert from the front row sing "God Gave Me You" was amazing.

Seeing Blake Shelton in concert from the front row sing “God Gave Me You” was amazing.

Cafe Rio Review

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After not authoring a restaurant review post for quite some time, the opportunity to get back into the much too easy food critiquing business presented itself to me this afternoon when Paige and I decided to eat lunch at the trendy new Mexican chain place to come to Missoula. So after skipping breakfast and working up an appetite, the two of us ventured out to North Reserve Street to eat at Café Rio.

As with most big name restaurant chains that come to Missoula, business is crazy busy for the initial honeymoon stage. This has been no exception at all for Café Rio. Since opening on November 7, the place has enjoyed loooong lines and a never ending sea of customers. To this late date in December, Café Rio continues to be swamped. When Paige and I walked in today, we got behind about fifteen people waiting to order. The seating area was about 75% full and by the time we got out food and sat down, it was nearing capacity.

A look inside the Cafe Rio dining area.

A look inside the Cafe Rio dining area.

Okay, let’s talk about the ordering format at Café Rio. As I alluded to above, you stand in line and order up front. You go through a cafeteria type line where you talk to about four different employees to get your desired order. Although you only talk to four employees, they have a small army of workers occupying the “cafeteria” type line on the other side of the glass. They are spinning tortillas, warming up meals, and providing support to the workers dealing directly with the customers. While in line you tell the first person who greets you what you want and he/she will make your main entrée item and get it baked. Next, you will talk to another employee who will put sauce (s) on your entrée. Next, another employee will dish out your rice/beans, veggies, or other special items that come with your meal. Finally, you get to the cashier and he/she will get you your drinks, chips, desserts, and ring you up.

Once you get through the hectic, busy ordering process, it is finally time to enjoy your food! I ordered the single sweet pork enchilada meal ($5.60). The double enchilada meal is just a little over a $1 more but I am so happy that I did not get that option because my single was more than enough food. With the enchilada plates they give you a generous portion of cilantro rice and then your choice of pinto or black beans. I went with the pinto beans. Paige got (are you ready for this)….MEXICAN PASTA! I had never heard of such a thing. It was fideo pasta with your choice of either steak or chicken topped with veggies and sprinkled with lime juice. It was the special of the day and came with a drink and was only $6.85. And, because we couldn’t resist and because I knew I would write this review, we also got the chips with salsa and queso. For a little under $5 they give you a large portion of chips, two different salsas, and a big bowl of queso dip.

A shot of the food we ordered! Tons of chips.

A shot of the food we ordered! Tons of chips.

When it comes to the quality of the food, it was pretty good. The chips tasted great. Of course they were tortilla chips but they had kind of a buttery taste to them. I thought both salsas were average, maybe lacking in flavor. The queso dip was great and they gave us so much that we could put it on our entrees as well! My beans and rice were both good. I enjoyed taking a chip and dipping it in the queso and then re-dipping it in my rice and beans. My sweet pork enchilada was decent, but it did not match the goodness of the sweet pork enchilada I had at Costa Vida (Costa Vida is a place very similar to Café Rio….exact same concept and similar menu). The enchilada sauce was about average as well. I took a bite of Paige’s Mexican pasta and found it very tasty with a unique flavor and texture! She personally gave it a rave review. Café Rio gets extra points for such a creative menu item.

Paige with her Mexican pasta!

Paige with her Mexican pasta!

So obviously Café Rio impressed me with some of their food items while just meeting expectations with others. But, there is something that makes Café Rio stand out and allows it to get by with some subpar tasting food, namely, it has that “it” factor. What exactly am I talking about? It is just a fun place to eat at with lots of options!

Me with my Cafe Rio food.

Me with my Cafe Rio food.

Let’s just start with the dining area. The restaurant is filled with brightly colored round and square tables. Hot blue, hot yellow, and hot green table tops with a contrasting color splashed on it cover the floor. Chairs painted in the same hot colors splashed with the same contrasting colors are paired with the tables. Interesting light fixtures illuminate the place and there are plenty of chili pepper decorations to let you know that you are eating food from south of the border. It is a fun atmosphere and enjoyable to eat a meal in, even if it is filled with people.

Remember how I said some of the food lacked a little bit of flavor? Well, don’t worry, you can make up for it by adding one or many of their special sauces they have available. At your disposal, you can try a myriad of different hot sauces. They also carry a whole line of sauces from a brand called Iguana. I tried the Iguana bold gold habanero sauce and the Iguana rockin’ red pepper sauce. I thoroughly enjoyed dumping out these sauces onto my plate and dipping the chips into them. Many of these you have probably never seen before, let alone tasted, so it makes for a very unique experience.

One of the Iguana sauces.

One of the Iguana sauces.

Finally, Café Rio offers an awesome drink selection. Shame on me for just ordering water but luckily a drink came with Paige’s meal and she got to test out the selection. First off, they have the crushed ice pellets, a great way to make any drink taste better. After you get your ice, it is time to make the tough decision on what you actually want to drink. If you want to go basic, you can choose from the expanded Coca-Cola products they offer. If you want to add a little bit of a kick, you can add any amount of flavor shots that you want! Yes, exactly as if you were going to make an Italian soda, Café Rio has all the syrups available for you to add to your pop. But if soda and flavor shots are not your thing, you can go for something a little more exotic and try one of their limeades. Paige tried the mint limeade. While Paige loved it, I can’t say I was much of a fan. But hey, they also offer regular limeade, strawberry lemonade, and a really weird milk type drink called Horchata! The amount of combination possibilities you can whip up is pretty impressive.

While I am skeptical of some restaurants that open up in Missoula, I think Café Rio will enjoy great success here. Like I echoed throughout this whole post, the place is just fun. Maybe more importantly, it is reasonably priced. Add in the facts that the food portions are big and that the city currently does not have a place like it, and I see Café Rio operating in Missoula for a long time. I recommend that everyone gives it a try. Don’t Blink.

Brent’s Top 5 Worst Songs of 2012

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Well 2012 is coming to a close and that means an influx of countdown lists will soon become readily available. Because I always like to get a head start on things, I felt like tonight would be a great time to roll out my first such subject.

This evening the topic is music….not good music though. Below I present to you my “Top 5 WORST Songs of 2012.” These songs made me cringe every time I heard one of them on the radio, at a party, or at a sporting event and always possessed the power to spiral me into a bad mood. Some music just has no business assaulting our ears and our intelligence. Let’s get right to the list!

5. “Want U Back” – Cher Lloyd

Out of the five songs on this list, I have the most vivid “first time I heard this song” memory with “Want You Back.” I was driving from Missoula to Spokane in late June for Hoopfest and right when I prepared to exit the freeway this song came on and I immediately thought it was a joke. And I just don’t mean figuratively either…I literally thought that the radio station had put some trashy song together to give its audience a quick laugh. Not even close.

The whiny tone that “Want U Back” takes on is completely appalling. The lead up to the chorus is absolutely brutal (“Remember all the things that you and I did first? And now your doing them with her? Remember all the things that you and I did first? And now you’re doing them with her?). I think just the complete lack of maturity in the song also turns me off so much. Oh yeah, the repeating of certain words also makes the song terrible (away-way-way…clowns-clowns-clowns….jeaNS-jeanS-jeans). Don’t even get me started on that grunt. General rule of thumb: Always be skeptical of songs that use shorthand in the title (“you” vs. “u”)

4. “Work Hard Play Hard” – Wiz Khalifa

I do like some of Wiz’s songs but he made this one impossible. I got on Cher Lloyd for repetition but this song takes it to a whole new level. Want to be annoyed? Just listen to this track and hear the robotic female voice say “Word Hard Play Hard, Work Hard Play Hard, Work Hard Play Hard” over and over and over again. Just listening to the first verse will already have you peeved.

Besides the “work hard, play hard” repetition, the lyrics are just revolting to me. As you can imagine, the song is about working hard for your money and then living the high life with it but Wiz expresses the message in a less than tactful way. His own chorus is completely annoying as well with a beat that will drive you nuts. Also, when an artist says a certain couple of words an unnecessary amount of times in a song, you will never get me back.

3. “Rumour Has It” – Adele

I am not an Adele fan. Yes, I did like “Fire to the Wind” but my appreciation ends there. “Rumour Has It” has to be her worst song ever produced. I can’t stand the melody, can’t stand the vocals, can’t stand the message. Adele is not meant to make upbeat songs and this is the disaster that ensues when she does. What bothers me the most about this song? EVERYTHING! Well besides everything? That part towards the end where the music gets way slower and she does her “OOOOOOHHHOOHHHHOHHHHHH” little change up. Makes me ill.

If there is one song on this list that I have trouble explaining why I hate it is so much, this would be the one. I think just the fact that it is an Adele song and it is about her being irresistible just really rubs me the wrong way. Right now I am even angrier because the song has managed to get into my head! BUSH LEAGUE.

2. “Call Me Maybe” – Carly Rae Jepsen

This song never caught on with me; not the first time I heard it nor the 50,000th time I heard it. In my humble opinion, “Call Me Maybe” is just straight up garbage. I never laughed once, let alone even cracked a smile, when I saw sports teams and other groups make a complete fool out of themselves when they tried to make a video or a parody of this song. I banned “Call Me Maybe” from play at any Griz venue, the song just doesn’t have a purpose at a sporting event.

I detested all of the memes, jokes, and puns that people would unoriginally make up. The fact that the title and many of the lyrics of the song make no sense whatsoever has been well-documented. I don’t think I have hated a song as much as this one in a long time. But it is more than just hating the song….I hated how it made people act. I sincerely hope I never have to hear this song again.

1. “Gangnam Style” – Psy

When it comes to this atrocity, I was actually late to the party (thankfully). So, when I heard this song knowing that it had already become a world-wide hit I was dumbfounded. Two words came to my mind when I heard it: William Hung.

I really want to know, what do people love about “Gangnam Style” so much? Is it simply the dance that accompanies it? Because I honestly don’t know how any sane person could sit down and listen to it. I find the song to be the epitome of annoying. I find it cheesy too, especially the “Heyyyyyyyyy…….sexy lady” part. What always really gets me is when the lyrics and beat goes dead and you think for one second that the song is over and then you hear those awful four words “Oppa is Gangnam Style”. It just makes me want to bang my head against a wall. I don’t go to clubs, but if I did, I would walk off the floor whenever this song was played. “Gangnam Style” is definitely the most terrible song of 2012.
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I love music, but I also hate it too. Thanks for letting me vent my frustrations about the songs that made me less than happy this year. Have a great weekend everyone! Don’t Blink.

Overreaction to Instagram Privacy Policy

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From what I observed out of people throughout the day, I could have sworn that December 18 marked the end of the world as opposed to December 21. In my time following and working with social media, I had never such an unjustified joint freaking out as I saw on Tuesday. Facebook feeds and Twitter streams filled up with needless paranoia and anger as people reacted to Instagram’s revised privacy policy.

At the heart of the privacy change, the part that is getting so many people outraged, is Instragram’s position that the company has the right to use images uploaded to the service for its own purposes such as selling them to other companies so that they can do with them as they see fit. In fact, the exact language on the policy goes like this: “To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos, and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.”

First off, kudos to Instagram for pretty much getting right to the point and telling its user community the liberties they are taking. That sentence is pretty much cut and dry, yes, Instagram is reserving the right to sell any image they want to third parties. The company didn’t hide behind legal jargon and ambiguity, something that I appreciate.

Apparently though, most everyone else didn’t appreciate the frankness. Instead, they took the statement as saying that “ALL THE PHOTOS YOU POST TO INSTAGRAM WILL NOW BE SOLD TO SHADY, RACIST, CAREER ENDING COMPANIES AND POSTED ON LARGE BILLBOARDS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.”

What an overreaction.

Over 5 million pictures are uploaded to Instagram each day. That means roughly 35 million pictures are posted per week. Even though Instagram probably wouldn’t sell photos this way, for hypothetical purposes, let’s say that Instagram has a draft each week where companies can purchase images to use in their marketing campaigns. Let’s say on the draft day that a lot of companies participate and a staggering 35,000 images are sold. Although it is ridiculous to think that on a weekly basis 35,000 unprofessional iPhone snap shots would be bought for use in a well planned out, high profile advertising campaign, let’s just go along with it. This would mean that out of all the photos taken on Instagram that week, .1% of them would get purchased.

If you are like me and don’t classify as a celebrity, don’t have over a million followers, or don’t have super model looks, you don’t ever have to worry about the revisions to the Instagram policy impacting you. No company is going to purchase the photo of your macaroni and cheese dinner, nor your shot you took of yourself after you got ready for the day, nor your InstaFrame of your vacation, nor your Throwback Thursday of you and your date your sophomore year at Homecoming. You know how you always hear of those “You have a better chance of so and so happening than you do of winning the lottery” scenarios? You can substitute in having one of your Instagram pictures bought by an advertiser. It is just not going to happen.

But maybe you are one of those people who just feel the principle of abiding to such a policy is degrading and an inherent invasion of privacy. Okay, I can see where you are coming from but let’s get real here, we share information on a daily basis over the internet and other social media services that is much more intrusive and invading than what Instagram is proposing to do. What we do on Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat, e-mail, and text messaging is much more vulnerable for exploitation, manipulation, and profiting than an Instagram image is. If you are so concerned and terrified by what Instagram can potentially do with the new privacy policy in place, I assume you don’t touch any other social services.

Talking hypothetically again, let’s say you do beat all odds and get struck by lightning four different times in your life and manage to have one of your Instagram images sold to an advertiser. What is possibly the worst that can happen? Instead of negative ramifications, you will probably enjoy notoriety and maybe even a little profit yourself. Please listen to me, Instagram will not deal with shady companies looking to buy their images. Rather, they will be dealing with top of the line, prestigious organizations willing to pay top dollar for these photos. My guess would be that your image would be paired with a company that is well-known and well-respected. Almost instantaneously, you could garner fame and recognition (if the photo had your personal image in it) or just the ego-booster that a national company deemed your shot (if it is of a landscape, object, etc) as advertising worthy.

Again, I caution you not to overact. BUT, if you do overact, please don’t totally jump off the deep end and make the bone headed mistake of deleting your Instagram account. As I have written about before, I find nothing more silly or damaging than when someone decides to get rid of their social media accounts. And to get rid of your Instagram account over the latest policy change is perhaps one of the dumbest reasons I have ever heard of for doing so.

Look, Instagram is really feeling the heat for this policy revision, even though I don’t think they should be. Most likely they will be revising it again and taking out some of the strong language that has turned off so many users. But whether they do or not, realize that the chance that this new policy impacts any of us is slim to none. Let’s not get carried away on a silly issue like this when there are so many more worthy causes in this world right now that we can devote our time to. Don’t Blink.