Thumb Judgement

WooHoo Oscars.

the board — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 01:08:29 +0000

Full list here. Go Little Miss Sunshine!

Overdue

the board — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 04:56:23 +0000

A few days late, however: cancer, Butte, death, and casinos. See it here.

Study Tips

the board — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 04:51:50 +0000

For those of you learning the U.S. Presidents in the next three days, check this out.

Update: Any world cultures people out there? Doing nations of the world? Fun for you too.

Update: Earth science anyone?

Thumbs up to Who?

dreadtoad — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 23:26:36 +0000

Well, Abbot and Costello are pretty funny. And now the joke has been extended to Dubya. Enjoy!

Official Friday Judgment

the board — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 21:01:11 +0000

The Postal Service (no, not the band), Montana Senator Max Baucus (in more ways than one), county land planning, rest area paper towels (there’s some disagreement on this one), and Bruce Messinger. See it here.

Thumbs up to Mysteries

dreadtoad — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:17:58 +0000

‘Twas the night before New Year
And all through my mind,
I pondered an object,
Which I could not find.

Though search as I did,
Through the thin and the thick,
I still am left wondering,
“What is a ‘Peanut Stick?’”

Yes, even Google in its infinite knowledge has failed me this time. I cannot for the life of me find a picture of a peanut stick. All I know about it is that it is some type of doughnut. I was absolutely shocked to find out that Google did not have a picture of one. So now I see no other option than to make this into a contest.

The first person that posts a picture of a peanut stick on this blog will receive a prize of three doughnuts from me! So, get searching everyone!!!

This week…

the board — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 23:35:40 +0000

Money management, fads, education, and gambling. See it here.

Now on this so-called fad. Described by the IR as, “…dancing to a hip-hop beat beside and on top of a slowly moving car.” More commonly known as “ghost riding the whip,” named after a song by E-40, I don’t really see the point in it. (Videos all over YouTube if you want a visual.) As far as I know, there haven’t been any incidents here. If it’s really that bad, why give people ideas?

On a side note: what’s a “waggling thumb?” Is that sarcasm I sense? From the official Thumbs Up Thumbs Down?

Typos

the board — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:30:42 +0000

While it’s nice to keep things local, I couldn’t resist this. Thumbs Down to typos. Of course typos are typos, everyone makes them, and usually they are accidents. However, a larger newspaper like the Salt Lake Tribune, with editors and everything? Come on. Apparently this was even on the front page of the section…

Reminiscing…

dreadtoad — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 09:40:34 +0000

The thumb judgement on the past year…

Thumbs up to: Hostel, Jepordy as a study tool for semesters, Latin and Mr. Dyrdahl, Chemistry, the No Sweat Cafe, DDR, the band “Subject to Change”, Scavenger Hunts, Asian Pride, Jazz and Just Desserts, Evolution, Risk, Cranium, Saving Bob’s Hair, Joanna’s laugh, Anti-Winter Formal, Drums, Outdoor Club and Potlucks, Night to Shine, “-owned” (coned, moaned, loaned, etc.), Track, I, Claudius, frog and fetal pig dissections, Tobi, Bonfires, Bocce, Chubby Bunny, Gary at Foodshare, wakeboarding, tubing, Swimming in Spring Meadow, Hypnotism (and bellydancing), Slacklining, Ultimate Frisbee, “Lucky Stiff”, “Relay for Life”, “Fiddler on the Roof”, Morning Light, Hill Park, Math Projects, Christmas Trees, MODEL UNITED NATIONS, Taboo, Play Auditions, Footlocker in California, Christmas Presents, Freeze Tag, “My Hands are Bananas”, Triathalons, Pen & Ink, Apples to Apples, Best Friend Bracelets, Shoe, “Conservative Propaganda” (where did it all go?), Civ and Euro, Canada.

Thumbs down to: Strip Poker, Minimum Wage Jobs, Health class, Lame Substitutes (especially in Western Civ), Band directed by a pear, Pink Hair, Flaming Tennis, Home Improvement (the job, not the show), The Oxbow Incident, Apathy, Super Short Christmas Breaks, the popo.

As the list above shows, the Thumbs Ups greatly outnumber the Thumbs Downs. So, you know what that means…THUMBS UP TO YOU, 2006!

Stereotypes? Ugh.

the board — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 03:03:20 +0000

Thumbs Down to the IR’s journalism in general, but especially this article on snow sports. (It’s too bad they didn’t put the stunning artwork online. Really, hand drawn by Peter Bovingdon and everything.) Honestly, if your story has to come with a disclaimer, that’s an automatic red flag. “I realize these characterizations may offend some people, and in one or two cases, they may not actually be true. For that I ask your indulgence.” I’m a skier turned snowboarder, switched over about 8th grade or so. And yesterday, I spent a worthwhile day of my winter break up on the slopes at Great Divide.

We’ll ignore the two sections on skiing for the moment. As for the snowboarders:

You are a Snowboarder if … You arrived at the hill: by being dropped off by your juvenile probation officer. For lunch you had: Twizzlers, Red Bull, cigarettes. Your theme song is by: My Chemical Romance. You believe: The lift line is a great place to sit down and do your bindings. After boarding, you will be: At Anchor Park. You are annoyed by: Your home arrest ankle bracelet fitting badly under your boots. When you aren’t boarding you: “pwn” everyone at Gears of War on the Xbox 360. Your Motto is: “Whoa, sorry dude!”

As a matter of fact, I went up with my dad. To be specific, I drove up and he drove down because I’m too scared to drive down the icy hill. For lunch I had a sandwich I brought from home, some famous Great Divide fries, and a Snapple. I’m sure people eat Twizzlers and Red Bull for lunch, but in the ten or twelve years I’ve been going up there, I’ve maybe seen four or five people smoking. Total. And none of them were high school delinquent snowboarders. I hate My Chemical Romance. Obviously personal preference, but I wouldn’t say that genre is music to board to. (Haven’t heard them before? Check out the free download available this week at last.fm.) But anyway, back to my rant. For those boarders (i.e. me) who haven’t quite mastered the skill of getting on and off the lift with both feet strapped on to a snowboard, yes, it takes a few seconds in the lift line to undo one foot. But it most certainly doesn’t require sitting down. Not only is the Anchor Park comment a generalization toward snowboarders, but toward Anchor Park itself. I’ve spent many a quality afternoon at Anchor Park. And just within the past few years the City of Helena presented a number of possible remedies at a city-wide meeting. I’m not even going to comment on the ankle bracelet statement. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t converse in “1337 5p34k” on a regular basis, I don’t own an Xbox, and I’ve never had to apologize to anyone while boarding.

So here’s to you Peter Bovingdon. And next time, if you have to write a story with a disclaimer, just don’t write it.