The Domino Effect

I know I'm getting this post up late, but I've been cranking since 7 AM this morning. Polishing off my TNH column and then grinded out a couple final drafts and revisions between classes. Then of course I had to get in a game (or three) of NHL 2011. Bobby Butler is leading rookies in scoring in my season. No biggie. Then of course the Domino Effect kicked in. More on that in one second.

The other night I saw a live performance of Cee Lo Green's "Fuck You." It was performed on a banjo and accordion. I thought that was awesome and deserved to be mentioned.

TMZ UNH Sports Update: I saw hockey player Greg Burke in a sling in class today. I feel bad for that kid,   he just can't stay healthy.

Anyways, back to the Domino Effect. The Domino Effect is a tradition here at Nonsensical Headquarters where if one person grabs a beer someone else must join in. I know what you're thinking, and yeah I know it is a Monday, but shit happens. Someone has a rough day and you can't let them drink alone. It has already risen to four people drinking and I expect a few more to join in as they finish their work for the night. Don't judge me or us, I've put in a solid day of writing and studying today and I don't have a class until after three tomorrow afternoon. Nonsensical Headquarters is a judgement free zone. Nonsensical Headquarters is also a bullshit free zone. New Hampshirite, Out!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Photo and Caption Contest

First off, I proclaim that no matter how old you are, snow days are still the greatest thing in the world. Sorry to everyone who had to go to their morning classes, but my classes don't start until noon on Friday so I was pretty pumped at the timing of the curtailed operations. I have a feeling tonight's student section might be a little rowdier than usual due to students celebrating the day off. I expect a loud crowd tonight, I don't want any of that bullshit that went on in UConn's student paper where the editors asked students to not be so loud and rude at games. The crowd is a huge part of what makes college sports so awesome and UNH is known for having one of the best hockey crowds in the country. Let's give Northeastern a good ole' UNH welcome tonight. The Huskies have been playing well lately, so I expect a great game. UNH is neck and neck with BC and Merrimack at the top of Hockey East so these last four games are crucial. I heard there will be thunder sticks again tonight.

Photo and Caption Contest. Pick the grosser or more bizarre food combo and throw in a caption while your at it:

This is food my friend made last night:

That is banana, butter and maple syrup on white bread.

This is a food concoction one of my roommates ate last semester:

That is apple-dapples (Apple Jack ripoff) with pasta, sauce and whip cream... and coffee.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Oh yeah, there is work in college...

I've been reading and working on a paper all day today so I haven't really had time to post and I'm trying to finish so I can enjoy this Thursday night just a little bit. Anyways, I saw an ambulance at Iddles and it looked like they were evacuating the building around 5 today. Not sure what was up with that. Also, anyone notice if the Bank of America ATM downtown is still out of commission? I'm lazy, I know.

To make up for not posting music last weekend here are two music videos by The Black Lips, a band that I have taking a liking to this week. They're like psychedelic-garage-punk with a bit of pop thrown in.

Nomination Time

It is that time of the year Nonsensical Nation for you to start submitting categories and recipients for the 2nd annual UNH Blog Awards. Last year the nomination process was just Corey and I spending an afternoon before finals week thinking of people to make fun of and/or honor. However, I've decided to step it up this year and ask the readership for nominations. If I wasn't poor I might even splurge on a few prizes. That isn't foreshadowing. I'm poor and nobody is getting nothing. It may seem a bit early, but we are almost halfway through the second semester already and I want to have plenty of time to examine all the possible ideas for the categories and winners. I am even planning on posting a poll later on for a few of the categories. The final winners will be announced before the last week of regular classes in early May. That might seem like a ways off, but it will come faster than you think. (That's what she said?)

Side bar: It is weird if I "that's what she said" myself in a post? I've done it a few times and it makes me chuckle and my roommate said the last one I wrote made him laugh, so I think it's okay, but I'm not really sure.

Back on topic: So you're probably wondering, New Hampshirite, how do I make category and nomination submissions? It's simple. Leave a comment on this post, but if you don't want to ruin the surprise for other readers, send me an email (unhblog@yahoo.com), message The New Hampshirite on twitter or on facebook or on our facebook fan page (like us while you're there!)

Categories can be related to anything about this blog or UNH in general from "Best Comment" or "Best Place to Party" to "Best Professor," "Best Class" or "Best UNH Sports Game" etc. (Similarly, "worst" awards will also be giving out. Those are just as fun to think of.)   Check out last year's awards for more ideas and let us hear what or who you want to be recognized (or made fun of). Nothing and nobody is off limits, so let me know what you want to see. Help me, help you.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Understanding When You've Had Too Much (Like a Pro)

Every weekend, students of this fine university partake in various activities around campus. Some of those activities include drinking alcohol, which, whether you are above the legal age or not, is pretty common in the college social scene. Not everybody does and probably not everyone should, but it is no secret that college students drink. If you are responsible and have at least the tiniest bit of maturity you can get away with drinking more often, but sometimes it can be hard to tell when you've had too many in a night.

Every year Health Services releases information on safer drinking, but because everyone is different in size and can handle different amounts of alcohol, sometimes your actions can be a better clue when you need to turn it down a level or even call it a night. Since there are so many variables that factor into how alcohol can affect you in a given night, I have tried to create a set of guidelines to help you realize when you have had too many drinks.

You know you are too drunk when you leave a room and try to use your key to get out. There is not even a card swipe or a keyhole available, so clearly your basic skills of logic are out the window. Speaking of windows, if you ever find yourself playing King's Cup and your category is "types of window," you should probably put that water bottle of vodka down. However, if someone answers that category with "window pane" then they are more intoxicated than you, so at least you are not the drunkest person in the room.

If you ever find yourself drinking cheap red wine out of a mason jar, you should at least recognize that it is only acceptable to do so in college. I highly discourage you from using mason jars for alcohol in more "professional" gatherings. If you drink whiskey and the guy next to you instantly turns into a jerk than you have clearly have had too many drinks. However, if you are drinking that whiskey out of a mason jar, that guy next to you is clearly jealous and really is a jerk. Mason jars are the double-edged-swords of drinking.

If you continuously burn yourself while trying to light a shot of vodka on fire, you should stop what you are doing immediately and never be allowed to use a lighter again. The alcohol needs to be 100 proof to ignite, silly. Pay better attention in chemistry.

If you start talking with an accent that isn't natural to you or from a place you have never lived, then you should probably curb your consumption. It is one thing if your southern drawl comes out or your Bostonian emphasis thickens, but if it is an accent that is completely exotic to you, then you should think about calling it a night.

When you smack your face on the beirut table because the chair that you were leaning on somehow moved, then it is time to stop drinking. And you should probably seek medical attention.
If you try to sleep in a kitchen cabinet because it looks like a warm and cozy place to pass out, then at least you are already calling it quits. Try to make it to bed though, you will be much more comfortable in the morning.

If you try to jump over anything, including but not limited to - chairs, tables, kitchen counters, sinks, camp fires, out of a window, off a roof, or any elevated surface for that matter, then you should be prepared to have a few bruises in the morning. You are not Blake Griffin, so save yourself the embarrassment.

If whiskey becomes a suitable replacement for hot sauce, then you might be an alcoholic. If a seven-shot mixed drink seems like a good idea, especially if you think it tastes good, then you will probably not remember finishing it. If you think your beer can is a jerk for being empty, then you are actually right. Stupid empty beer can.

Just about anyone who has ever drank has had a night where they have had a few too many. We have all been there, but it is important to keep an eye out for yourself and your friends. Every weekend I see ambulances rush up and down Main Street. Luckily, I've never had to witness a friend need medical attention, but the threat is there. Have fun, but be smart about it.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Hiking through College Woods

Is it just me, or is it harder than usual to get into this semester? Maybe it's just because the classes I'm taking have really inconsistent work flow (last week I had two exams and three papers, this week I have nothing but reading). I mean I've done really well on everything, but it just seems like we're still in the first week of classes. But with spring break just a few weeks away midterms are already rapidly approaching. Anyways, the other day a few friends and I ventured out into College Woods. We probably hiked around four or five miles and it was awesome. I always forget how cool it is in there. I don't think enough students appreciate the trails that seem to go on forever and a lot of us take them for granted. I've lived in New Hampshire my entire life and have always been lucky to have a lot of old growth forest around me, but I still get a lot of pleasure for a nice leisurely hike through the woods with some friends. It can be very peaceful and also fun. Next time you feel a little stressed or something get a group of friends together and go for a little hike through the woods. You won't regret it.

You may not be able to take full advantage of the river, but you will have fun.

As for the rest of my weekend, well it was pretty interesting to say the least, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Our room's quote of the weekend was probably this little exchange: "Do you have any hot sauce?".... "No... but we do have whiskey."  

Tomorrow is Tuesday. Which means tomorrow is Tuesday night. Which means none of you have anything better to do then going to the last men's home basketball game of the season. It is the White out Lundy against Maine and also Senior Day. I think it would be awesome to send the seniors off with a big, loud crowd and have a lot of support there to hate on Maine one last time this season, unless we meet in the Hockey East playoffs. 

To any of you Tweetheads out there, one of my roommates, the one notorious for passing out in the kitchen cabinet, is now on Twitter. Follow him if you want to read a lot of ridiculous comments about how much I suck. Should be fun.

Yeah, I wasn't lying about that whole cabinet thing...
sometimes he gets all the way in there... 

(that's what she said).

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Friday Finds

It's Friday! I'm tired and haven't had my afternoon coffee yet and I'm loving this weather so this is is gonna be quick. Check out the new image link on the right to vote for Paul Thompson everyday. He's had a great season and really deserves the Hobey Baker.

This is me owning the Union Leader:

This is a map I found to be entertaining:

And this is a video that my friend's roommate and his snowboarding team made. Never really liked this song too much, but as a skier/skateboarder and film enthusiast I love the filming style they use.

The other day someone found this blog by Google searching "Can you use purell on swamp ass?" I can't make that up... and it makes me question our content.

Party on! And stay classy, not UMassy.

Granite State of Mind Part II

We got cameos galore from Fritz Wetherbee to Matt Bonner, Sarah Silverman, Governor Lynch, Mike O'Malley, and Ken Burns among others.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Got Urine?

So you're drunk and waiting in line for Wiz Khalifa concert tickets, what is a better way to pass the time then drinking pee and getting arrested?

I know Barstool U beat me to this, but I had actually seen a video of this the day it happened, but the kid couldn't upload it to a Youtube or anything. Thanks to the three people who sent this (and the other angle) to me yesterday/last night.

This is probably a post I shouldn't end with my usual sign off...

White Out the Whitt Video

This video has been making the rounds over the last day. It's a pretty interesting behind the scenes look at the White Out the Whitt games, but I wish they had footage from both nights. The second game seemed like a better crowd in my opinion.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

An Open Letter to Incoming Freshman

Late Sunday night I received the following e-mail titled, "Incoming Freshman." I figured the best way to reply would be in my column for all to see (spelling unchanged, by the way).

Hi,
I'm thinking about attending unh fall 11. I have some questions, im really into partying and drinking. Whats the party scene like? I'm not into the whole frat thing, would this affect the party scene? and is it easy to get alcohol from the stores? I got a pretty good fake. Also what is life at unh like in general?
Thanks


(Name removed)
Sent from my iPad

Dear Incoming Freshman,

You are about to take a weird journey with thousands of other teenagers and young adults all concentrated in a very small area. For the sake of all incoming freshmen (and hopefully the entertainment of the current student body), reading the blog will be helpful, but I'll try to answer in a few hundred words.

First off, you sent this message from an iPad. Really, dude? What high school student owns an iPad? Scratch that, who in general owns an iPad?

Anyways, all incoming freshmen should know that there are two types of students who are more likely to go off the deep end in college; there are the students who were straight-edge in high school and people who partied hard in high school. While these two generalized personas were complete opposites in high school, they stumble in college for the same reason: freedom. The straight-edge students who go off the deep end in college taste that little bit of freedom or rebellion in their first Keystone Light, and they want more and more, and before you know it, their GPA is lower than their BAC. The high school partier gets to college already knowing his or her levels, but then decide to push the envelope a little bit further because, hey, it's college. Obviously, this doesn't happen to everyone. That being said, if you know your limits and keep your priorities straight, there is no reason you can't party a few nights a week while maintaining a strong GPA.

Here at UNH, we take pride in our party scene. And although our administration has worked hard to quell the party atmosphere, we have done a pretty decent job maintaining our reputation. We may not be a ranked party school anymore, but we seem to manage. I'm going to be honest though, it can be tough for freshmen to get into parties, unless you know upperclassmen or make a lot of friends quickly, there could a be quite a few weekends of dorm room parties for you.

Since you are not into the fraternity thing, you're going to need to know people living in the Gables or the Woodsides to get into parties. One of the biggest freshmen mistakes is thinking that you and your buddies can walk up and down the street and enter any random apartment that is raging. There is no open-door policy at UNH (or any college for that matter). This is not the movies or television; walking into a giant party full of strangers is probably not going to end with you being the life of the party and leaving with the captain of the dance team. The most important thing for partying in college is knowing people and having different places to go. Even most fraternities have lists for their parties. If you're not on it, you're probably not getting in.

On the topic of fake IDs, they are probably not going to work, especially on campus. All of the campus stores card; some even require two forms of ID, and those that don't will probably end up scanning your license anyway. The storeowners are not stupid, and using a fake is almost a guaranteed arrest if you get caught. The best solution to the alcohol problem is making friends with a 21-year-old and always tipping them a few bucks. As for life at UNH in general, it probably isn't too different from any other college. It will be the best four years of your life, if you allow it to be. You will experience new freedom and opportunities you never thought possible. With that freedom comes responsibility, but remember, the social aspects of the college experience will probably impact you more than what you learn in the classroom.

Stay classy, not UMassy.
(PS: Once again- I love getting any emails, especially ones like this. Keep them coming!)

Redneck Roommate + Rifle + Beer Can = ?

This is what happens when my redneck roommate goes home to hunt for a weekend and only finds a beer can in the woods and there aren't any animals to shoot. Sadly, as beautiful as those pictures are, a mangled beer can won't feed us like snowshoe hare. It appears as though our stock of venison in the fridge is running low so it looks like we'll be eating at HoCo this week. 

Stay classy, not UMassy.

To Peek or not to Peek?..... definitely peek.

Just got done with another glorious day at the beach here in, once again, sunny Australia. When I say glorious I of course imply that there was not a cloud in the sky, the water was roughly 86 degrees (not even kidding 30 celsius!), and the sand was pristine. Those things are super, but not quite glorious. The thing, or things, that made this day one to remember was the quite attractive woman sunbathing next to me topless. Do you get the joke when I said "or things"? Eeehhh? ha. She was actually the fourth topless beauty that I have come across so apparently that flies here!! And no I didn't sit there just because she was there, I got there first! Being American I began to wonder what the etiquette of sitting adjacent to a topless sunbather is. Upon further review, I came up with a few rules/general guidelines to follow to enjoy the view whilst remaining off sex offender lists.

1. Look. Just do it. If she took her top off in a public place, then she's obviously okay with people seeing her ta-tas. And if you're one of those people that is going to say you wouldn't look just to be respectful of her privacy, shut up you asshole.

2. Don't pretend like you're NOT going to look when you know for damn sure that you will. I promise you that you look more awkward than any person that is openly gawking. Looking the other way as if the other half of the world doesn't exist; dumb.

3. Don't openly gawk. Snatch a glance every now and then, then look one more time, then look one more time. Repeat. This will allow you to get your fill with the added bonus of keeping your neck unbroken from the strain of resisting looking at the boobs.

4. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TAKE A PICTURE!!!!!! That is creepy and completely unacceptable. You can find billions off tits on the internet without having to include that poor unsuspecting woman into the mix. Taking voyeur pictures of boobies is bad, m'kay?

5. Don't touch. I feel like that goes without saying but I know there are people that will do something like that just because no one told them not to. These people need to be bashed in the head with a rock.

6. Freaking LOOK! I feel the need to reiterate this just to eliminate any doubts. They're there, its okay to observe the wonder! Your nude sunbather story is really going to suck dick if you can't even describe what the breasts were like.

7. Lastly, one for the girls. If you don't want people looking don't whip them out! Plain and simple.

So those are STAN's general rules for your behavior around nude babes dude! I encourage one and all to put in their two cents if you have any ideas or arguments. For now, I have a pub to visit!

Stay Classy, AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

BAM!

At roughly 9:53 PM....

Drum roll please....

100 Fucking K! Thanks ladies and gentlemen. Nonsensical Nation is the best. PS: Sunset Limited is insane.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Saturday Music Pick

Today's music pick is "When Universes Collide" by Gogol Bordello. This is one of my favorite, and possibly the most powerful song I have heard in a while. I've seen Gogol Bordello live seven times and each time they blew me away. Amazing stage presence, energy and crowd interaction. Different, I know, but give them a chance and they will probably grow on you.

STAN in the Land Down Under

Good Morning Nonsensical Nation!

Well, at least it's morning for me here in gorgeous, sunny, 82 degree Townsville, Australia! Yes I realize that Townsville is the most generic snap decision couldn't-think-of-anything-else-and-my-homework-was-due kinda of name for a place but there are kangaroos here so I can let it slide. So the time difference will put all my favorite UNH residents at about 7:10pm on Friday night, Saturday morning here. While I hope readers enjoy my first contribution I especially hope you're all getting silly after waiting in line for hours in the cold for your ticket to Wiz, as you damn well deserve. I have been doing my fair share of drinking here and already have some interesting, cross-bow guy free thank god, stories to tell about the night scene in Aussie land. HOWEVER, those stories are for later becaue the ridiculous crap Australia does started before I even got there.


Yes I'm talking about Qantas airlines. I was sitting in my seat next to a 17ish looking Australian guy who was wearing a Cincinnati Reds baseball had and a Kobe Bryant jersey... what? I thought it was an odd combination of teams to pretend to like but hey, to each their own. After fully contemplating what in the hell that kid was wearing I tried to reach for my book at the same moment the chick in front of me decided she needed to recline her seat as far as it could go. Bad airplane etiquette since she didn't ask first. Always ask first! It's just a dick move if you don't and makes the person whose lap you're in pissed. Anyhoo, couldn't reach the book so i reached for the only thing I could read. The flight safety card. Most amazing safety card ever! Apparently nostalgia is a big problem in Australia because this gem was staring at me from the front cover.Right?!? All I could think of while I was laughing to myself was "This is your captain speaking uuuhhhhh we're are now headed to the runway uuuuhhhh please turn off your FU%@ING FURBY!" I didn't even have time to think of a witty blog worthy retort before I turned the page and found this!
Alright now what the hell?? This was in the "in case of a crash" section. Note the proper bracing postures of the adult drawings. Now notice the complete disregard for the wellbeing of the baby!!! Granted drawing baby is still smiling like all of us would be in a freefalling airplane headed for doom, but come on! Nobody is gonna turn around and think "Oh, maybe I should help that infant that can't even hold it's own head up but apparently has a higher chance of survival here than me. Where are his/her parents?" Fortunately the plane didn't crash and nobody had to use an indestructo-baby as a flotation device. Qantas never crashes, good call Rainman. Okay, I know Australians actually DO care about their babies' safety in any situation, but this was one awful first impression. Hilarious though it was.
I have more stories to tell, but for now I need some food to get rid of this hangover...
I hope you enjoyed my first post, just trying to make Mr. New Hampshirite proud!
As always,
Stay Classy, AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE!

Did Media Relations rip off my Thompson for Hobey video?

UNH Athletic Media Relations finally set up a Thompson for Hobey Facebook fan page and even a website. Thompson leads the nation in goals and is putting the rest of Hockey East to shame in the major offensive categories. Keep voting everyday, but do to voters hacking the system it will probably take until the next round for fan voting to even factor in. (Although fan voting is such a small percent anyways.)

The UNH Athletic Media Relations even designed a Thompson for Hobey video, which is eerily similar to the one I made, but is also had much better production value. They had access to actual video footage and obviously some better software and, I mean, they even spelt his name right! See for yourself:

Mine (released January 14th)

Theirs (released today):

Okay, the Media Relations video is obviously a lot better, I have very limited editing ability/knowledge/technology, but they may have blatantly ripped me off. What do you think: simple coincidence or did they Carlos Mencia me? Either way, I'm pumped UNH is pushing strong for this and hopefully Thompson will bring the Hobey back to Durham. More importantly, hopefully the team will keep winning. They have a tough task with red hot #11 Merrimack this weekend.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

The Final Countdown

Ladies and gentlemen of Nonsensical Nation,

We are approximately 1,000 visitors away from hitting 100,000 visitors since this blog started in late March of 2009. This is a huge milestone for us and I thank each and every one of you who has come back to read it again and again. We've shared laughs, been through good times and bad (and good posts and bad) and it has been a wild ride. Some of you may have noticed a new writer "STAN" joined last night. Yes, it is the same "Stan" as my story about my roommate from last semester. He is currently abroad in Australia and will be sharing stories and thoughts from down-under for this semester.

With that I also have one final announcement.

Next year will be my senior year here at UNH and I've been giving it a lot of thought. I have decided that the blog will return to how it started: just me as the one and only writer. I have been contemplating this idea for a while  (actually since last summer) and I decided I want everything to go and wrap up exactly how I want. I was bouncing back and forth between "hiring" more people, but I decided it really is more work and time consuming having more contributors. The others will still be listed as contributors until the end of this semester and have access to write, but after that it's back to just me. So there it is. One more year and back to the way it started, giving UNH hell, holding nothing back all on my own. I don't see it being that much of a difference since the others only posted on rare occasions, but I still wanted to make the announcement. 

Stay classy, not UMassy.

My two cents: Think for Yourself

I'm gonna start this post off with two quotes, which happen to come from one of my professors:

"If you watch Fox News... you shouldn't..."

and he soon followed that up with:

"I wish I could protect you from people like O'Reilly and Hannity."

If you haven't figured out by now I (like the majority of UNH students and professors) tend to be more on the liberal side of politics, so needless to say I laughed out loud at both of those quotes. That sad thing  is that my professor actually has a valid point with these statements. Sure, those quotes may be bias, much like Fox News, but at least he is being honest, much unlike Fox News.

I have nothing against people with conservative viewpoints, as long as they know what they are talking about and are being truly honest when they talk.  Honesty is key. That is what disturbs me so much about Fox News. Fox calls themselves a "fair and balanced" network. Really, Fox? Really?

Many people, including college students, tend to believe a lot what we see, hear and learn on TV or in news in general or even in the classroom. This is why "news" organizations like Fox can be so destructive. I am not saying that conservative politics is terrible, wrong or immoral, but what I am saying is to learn to think for yourself. I would never enter a voting booth without carefully examining all the candidates' policies and beliefs. I would never vote for or against someone strictly on their party. In a way I guess I'm actually pretty moderate when it comes to politics.  Think about what the news anchors, journalists, teachers and politicians of all sides and parties are saying. There is a lot most people don't know about America and politics, and a lot of what we learned in elementary through high school isn't exactly the entire truth. For example:

How many of you learned that in 1492 Columbus sailed into the Caribbean, thinking it was Asia, in the search of spices and that he made peace and traded with the local natives? That is what I learned, and I'm guessing it is what the large majority of you learned too.

However, did you know that when Columbus landed in the Caribbean, in search of gold, they raped, murdered and pillaged the local natives. They took whatever they wanted by force and enslaved and fought the natives.  On his second trip he returned with 17 ships in search of gold and slaves. They took women for sex and children for slave labor. In 1495 they caught 1,500 Indians and took the strongest 500 back to Spain for slaves. 200 died on the ship. In two years over 100,000 Indians native to Haiti had been killed from expeditions led or started by Columbus. And to think we celebrate Columbus Day every year...

But conservative school boards vote to keep that part of the story out of the state funded textbooks and classroom criteria.

Choose what you want to believe, but give it some thought. Think about it on personal levels, through other peoples eyes and for what is best for the entire campus or state or nation. Not one answer is always right, but the real right answer is to consider all the options and carefully choose a solution.

I used info from 3 classes I'm currently in to write this post. Yay for application of knowledge!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

PS: check back soon for a couple announcements in a new post...

I Brokered Peace (Like a Pro)

This past weekend I did something that many people may have thought was impossible. I brokered peace between UNH and Maine hockey fans, for an entire weekend, nonetheless. Not since the Camp David Accords in 1978 have two hated opposing sides with years of tension between them been joined so wonderfully. Jimmy Carter would be proud. It was not nearly as hard of a task as I thought it might be. All it took was a couple handles of Canadian Hunter whiskey, a couple 30 racks of PBR and some good music and the Mainers seemed to fit right in at UNH. Now, before you call me a traitor or weak for not only allowing up to five Mainers in my apartment, but also actually inviting them, let me explain myself.

One of my best friends from high school is a student up at UMaine. Many of you may know him as the commenter, "The Maine Guy." He and a couple of his friends bought tickets for the two hockey games and I offered my couches for them to crash on, which they happily accepted. I feel that while there is so much history of hate between the two teams and our fan bases, there is also a feeling of mutual respect for each other. UNH and Maine fans aren't made, we're born. No one is born a Duke basketball fan and that is why I have absolutely no respect at all for those rich, spoiled elitists. It might be hard as a fan or student of one of the schools to realize it, but Wildcat and Black Bear fans are not so different after all.

For the most part we are from small rural towns from blue collar families, are smart about our teams and the game, but most importantly we love hockey. I grew up waiting for the day that I could stand in the UNH student section, and I know for a fact many Maine fans were the same. It is a passion that is inside of us, in our blood, and through good times and bad, our love for our respected teams never fades. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying I like Maine or its fans as a whole, but I do respect them. I respect their traditions and their crowd and atmosphere. I love that they play in that old barn- style arena, which does actually have replay board. The fans have character, and whether you like them or not, you have to respect their passion.

After several whiskey and Cokes we were able to come to the conclusion that BU and BC fans are so much worse, and best of all – and this came directly from a Maine fan born in that state – that UMass is the worst when it comes to its fan base. I don't care if we couldn't agree on one thing, but that right there was enough for me to think they weren't so bad after all.

Of course there were a few U-N-H chants throughout both nights, and the rivalry carried over to the Beirut table, with yours truly defending UNH's glory. We also made sure to bring some thunder sticks back to the apartment, and we broke them out around midnight for one final jab. By Sunday morning not one comment had gone too fan or was there anything close to a physical altercation. Well, unless you count me trying to hurdle the kitchen sink and counter and completely eating it, but that was on my own. Not my proudest moment.

Of course, I probably wouldn't be writing this if UNH didn't sweep the series. The Black Bears didn't give their fans too much to cheer about. I have never seen anything like the first period of the first game, or the third period of the second game. Those are two of the best hockey games I have ever been to. Last year's 5-5 tie against Miami where the teams combined for nine second-period goals was pretty crazy, but that doesn't compare to this weekend's series. I mean, probably one of the best pro prospects in the country, Maine's Gustav Nyquist, missed an empty-netter, and UNH came back with Paul Thompson banking in a backhand shot from behind the net. And when I say Paul Thompson, I mean future Hobey Baker winner Paul Thompson. It's time for the nation to show him some respect. Paul Thompson for the Hobey Baker. Let's do this.

Stay classy, not UMassy

This is why we can't have nice things

Why yes, that is a pot full of pasta, an unopened PBR and a coffee pot (with a Coke can in it) all inside of our apartment's dishwasher. Luckily, we also didn't decided to try and run it. The funny thing is, the roommate who proclaimed "how much of a drunken idiot do you have to be to do this" turned out to be the very one who did the deed.

In short, I had quite the crazy weekend. I hosted an old high school friend (Commenter "Maine Guy") and a few of his friends who go to UMaine for the weekend, so that made UNH's two wins even sweeter. I'll have more on how all that went tomorrow. After Friday night's demolition of Maine the guys returned to Saturday night's game with a fake UNH Championship plaque without any years listed below it, a knock on UNH never winning a National Title. After the second win, and season sweep, we allowed them to hang it on the wall, but I made sure to make one final adjustment:

The way this year's team has played, I'm confident I'll be adding "2011" in a few months, which is the real reason I'm keeping their little gift.

I was in quite the celebratory mode Saturday night following the game and decided to try a Lambeau Leap over the kitchen counter. Can't say that I made it. Not my proudest moment. I wasn't going to say that, but if it were one of my roommates I'd never let them live it down. I try to be fair.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Sunday Music

The White Stripes broke up earlier this week so it wouldn't be right not to include them on a weekend music post. One of my personal bucket list items is to see Jack White in concert. The man knows how to play and perform.

Saturday Jam

I'm usually not a fan of remixes, or dubstep really, but this version of the Beastie Boy's "Intergalactic" has been playing nonstop on my laptop since my friend showed it to me. Intergalactic has always been on my of favorite songs and I love this faster and tripped out version. (Note: It's even better after a night of partaking in various activities).

White Out Weekend

The day has come. The Maine game. I have been looking forward to today since the men's hockey schedule was released. I'm literally too excited to really write... and I have to take care of some business before the game so this is gonna be quick.

1) Fuck any student who tried to sell their tickets to this weekend's game. It is one thing if you're going to one game, but give the other ticket to a friend. We're poor college students who love our hockey team. We already have to pay an athletic fee so we can go to games for free. You are scum. Give your ticket to a friend.

2) I guess the Maine Guy is coming down for the games. He's one of my best friends from high school. That being said, I hope he isn't physically harmed tonight... just emotionally.

3) I want the UNH student section to start doing this:

Stay safe out there and party on!

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Don't even think about touching that cord.

I haven't gone on a pointless, over harsh and highly overreacting rant for a while, so with out any further ado...

You wanna know what really grinds my gears? People who pull the stop request cord on the Gables buses for section 4 of A-Lot. Non-Gables residents probably won't get what I'm talking about, but if you live in the Gables and have been in that situation, you know exactly what I mean. Every time I've seen someone request a stop for section 4 the entire bus, including the driver, gives them a massive death glare. And I want to stab them in the face. I mean section 2, which is a required stop, is like 100 yards away. You really can't walk 100 extra yards to your car you lazy, selfish human being? If you can even call yourself a human being for putting all the other riders through that excruciating wait. Okay, that might be a little harsh, but still you're inconveniencing a bus full of college students (for about 27 entire seconds I might add) who just want to get back to their apartment so they can drink themselves stupid on a Thursday night. College is only four years long and it goes by quick, I need to take advantage of every second I have here to have some fun. Get off the bus at section 2 and take advantage of the short walk to get some exercise. Because obesity really is a problem in America. That's all I'm trying to get at here...

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Walk like a penguin, but don't go insane.

That wasn't quite the storm I was expecting, but hey, classes were cancelled so I really don't care. I made a trek across campus to Stillings around noon today and I don't think I've ever seen Main Street so empty while students are on campus. A-Lot was a massive winter wasteland, it felt like Antarctica or something. Quick tip, walking like a penguin makes walking on non-plowed sidewalks way easier. I do plan on constructing an igloo eventually, but I don't see that happening today.

Looking down Main Street this morning.

The following is a text saved in my drafts from last night:

 "bus sliding down hill, octopus and fucking lobster... drunk texting is a myth."

Now before you completely judge me, allow me to explain. (First off you should note I started the night going 8-0 in beirut and finished around 12-2 or something like that, so yes, alcohol was involved.) I saved that in my drafts to remember things I wanted to write about. First, on the way to my class yesterday afternoon I was on a bus at the hill past the upper and lower quads. As the bus got towards the top of the hill the driver had to stop, but then the bus couldn't make it up the hill and it spun out. The driver had to back down the hill and then floor it to make it back up. But don't worry, operations were curtailed at 10 PM. I was pretty impressed that UNH did cancel classes so far in advanced, however I don't think I needed 5 text messages and three emails to tell me. One would have sufficed. Now, to the next part of that text draft. "Octopus and fucking lobster." A friend of ours came over and made hotdogs and pasta for dinner last night. The hotdogs were split like little kids like so they resemble an octopus. When she tried to explain the meal a few hours later (in a drunken state of course) she described it as octopus fucking lobster. You know, because pasta comes from lobster... a derh... and finally I have a theory that drunk texting is a myth, so I wanted to remember that to write about. Let me explain:

In my drunkest, "least-functionable"  state I can still send a text that doesn't look like this "heydg wnaa met at dhOp at 11?" or "iM so wassteted, had likke 7 shits of wisky an 8 beeeerzs." I do however text very strange thoughts, but at least they are in proper grammar, for the most part. Seriously, my drunk texts have better grammar then this blog on most occasions. A lot of these texts are also sent to my twitter, so if you don't follow me yet you probably should. So, I don't mean that drunk texting as a whole is a myth, but rather the bad spelling of a drunk text is completely fabricated by the texter to try and convince the textee how drunk they are. 

Anyways, enjoy your snow day and don't go insane out there.

Stay classy, not UMassy.

Tispey Tuesday? Why not.

With classes already cancelled for Wednesday, who else is ready for a Tipsy Tuesday? Ok, it doesn't have the same ring to it as Thirsty Thursday, but it still sounds like plenty of fun to me. Wednesdays are the worst day of the week for me so I couldn't be happier about having the day off.

I also got to give some credit to SCOPE. I'm not a huge Wiz Khalifa fan, I mean I do like some of his stuff and I am looking forward to the show, but SCOPE answered the haters by brining one of the best up and coming rappers. They had been taking a lot of heat for staying away from the rap scene for a while, but this shows that they really do listen to what students ask for while trying to cover different genres. After reading the article in TNH I saw that they tried to get Kid Cudi, which would have been a dream come true to me, but in the end he was too expensive. Kid Cudi was the number one requested act by the student body, with Khalifa being second, so I am ignoring all and any hate thrown SCOPE's way because in the end they got what the students requested. They also said there will be a second concert in the spring, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a band, preferable one of the rocking type. I doubt they can afford another big name, but then again last spring they had MGMT and Girl Talk who are both pretty well known.

Alright, I'm out.

Stay classy, not Umassy.