According to this guy, you are never more than 107 miles away from the nearest set of golden arches in the continental United States. Scary, indeed. Visit the link below and take a gander at his findings.

Check the map, too.

-DeRoin (my first job was at McDee’s)

P.S.- Did you know Sioux City alone boasts seven Big Mac eateries?? (They are on M’Side Ave, Sunnybrook Drive, Lewis Blvd./H’way 75, inside the Floyd Super Walmart, off I-29 on Singing Hills, and there are two on Hamilton…plus one in North Sioux and one in SSC!!) In comparison, there are five BKs, six Subways, three Wendy’s, and four Dairy Queen’s in the Sioux.

Remember this post: Try this at home*?

Well, dudes are @ it again. Dude Perfect, that is.

Amazing, right? Well, check out more videos on the crew’s homepage.

-DeRoin.

Looking for something to do this Friday night that’s fun and for a good cause? Look no further…

Come support a night of music in the memory of Jaxon Stark! All donations go to Jaxon’s family to help pay hospital bills. The Sioux City youngster was killed last month in a tragic accident.

The concert is this Friday, September 18th beginning at 9:00 PM Red’s Pub (1919 Pierce Street; Sioux City, Iowa 51104).
It is free for the 21+ crowd, but donations will be accepted all night. 

There will be performances by Lazer Rocket Arm, Spaceman, Yung Slim, and Ridiculous. I don’t know anything about three of the four acts, but Lazer Rocket Arm has quickly gained a local following for their live show [two emcees, two turntables, and a saxophone!]. Although the quartet has been together for less than a year, the fellas are readying a debut album. Stay tuned for more news on that.

By the way, Lazer Rocket Arm’s deejay- The Sound Insurgent- was one of Jaxon’s uncles. So come show the family some love, enjoy a night with loved ones, and catch some live music! See you there.

-DeRoin.

With Labor Day behind us, the public pools are starting to be drained and the leaves are beginning to fall. Summer is unofficially over. So, there’s no better time to recap the season then right now. Here’s my list of “Stories of the Summer”. Did I miss any? What did you feel was the most important news? Drop me a line sometime.

-Jake (Aaron Rochester’s dog) escapes
-Jaxson Stark tragedy
-North High wins state baseball title
-Michael Jackson death and surrounding drama
-City Council vs. porch furniture
-Three year old Evelyn murdered in SSC
-Female ex-jailers sue Dakota County
-Longtime businessman Dwight Hauff dies
-Another successful Saturday in the Park
-Musketeers name new head coach
-Jon and Kate breakup (…just kidding)

Say…doesn’t this look like a great topic for a daily SCJ front page poll or Speak Out? Alert the nearest editor.

-DeRoin.

The Gateway Drug is proud to announce the release of its fell-length, debut album ‘times new roman.’ The 14-track disc is now available at YoYo Dyne Tattoo and Piercings (806 Pierce Street, downtown Sioux City) as well as on the band’s website. This Hip-Hop extravaganza contains a fury of spaced-out instrumentation by producer DJ Poyo and accompanying poetic, tongue-twisting lyrics by emcees The Top Civilian and MC Brew. 

Members of the Sioux City, Iowa based trio have been toiling in the local music scene for over ten years. Already a veteran record spinner of the Midwest rave scene, DJ Poyo (Noel Bockholt) met collegiate rapper The Top Civilian (Eric Osterholm) in 2001, and the two began jamming out- Poyo on beat machines and The Top Civilian with freestyle lyrics. Another upcoming rapper, MC Brew (Corey Brubaker) would later come into the fold and share the microphone with The Top Civilian. With the group’s lineup cemented, they initially didn’t have the ambitions (or the means) to record an album. The passion was in jamming out at parties, on college radio, or at live shows. The Gateway Drug has shared stages with Kanser, The ReMINDers, Soulcrate Music, and Ernie Rhodes.

But now, after numerous trials and even more errors, ‘time new roman.’ is here. Almost a decade in the making, The Gateway Drug’s music is finally available on something better than a homemade bootleg CD-R and is poised to help put Sioux City on the Hip-Hop map.

For fans of: Sage Francis, De La Soul, CunninLynguists, Atmosphere, or Hieroglyphics.

For more information or promotional requests, please contract:
Chris DeRoin
The Gateway Drug
(712) 253-1652
thegatewaydrug1@gmail.com

http://www.thegatewaydrug.com
http://www.myspace.com/thegatewaydrug1
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Gateway+Drug
http://www.unsigned.com/thegatewaydrug  
http://www.mymusicsite.com/thegatewaydrug
http://www.twitter.com/thegatewaydrug
and search for “The Gateway Drug” on Facebook

As clueless as I was? Well, read on:

Sioux City residents have been seeing bright yellow signs that say “Vote Molly Williams” for a few weeks now (especially on the Northside).
My first thoughts:

“There’s an election coming up?”
and more importantly
“What exactly is she running for? …Mayor, city council, homecoming royalty??”

So, uninformed voters, I’m here to shed some light on her campaign team’s gaff. I just learned she is running for Sioux City School Board. If you don’t know, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

PeAcE,
DeRoin.

Pee in the shower.

Need I say more?

-DeRoin.

I had so much fun offering up recommendations on how to save money at college; I’ve got some more advice for you freshmen and other college newbs out there. This time, check out my list of the nine types of people to avoid during the trials and tribs of dorm living.

-The smelly kid that never does laundry
Distinguishing characteristics: He (odds on favorite: it’s almost always a he) wears the same hoodie for a week straight; unlucky roommate finds any excuse to leave the stink pit.

-That mean girl whose always “trying to study”
Distinguishing characteristic: Always threatening to ‘tell on you’ to her RA when you’re playing hallway soccer outside her door at 9pm on a weekday.

-The new kid that wants to be in every club
Distinguishing characteristic: Is elsewhere all the time! It’s the white Protestant guy that you see during the first meeting of the African-American Students union AND the Catholic Daughters club.

-The overly astute Continuing Ed. student
Distinguishing characteristic: Asks dozens of unnecessary questions every class no matter what the assignment is– “What size font should our papers be typed in?”

-The senior guy patrolling for freshmen girls
Distinguishing characteristics: This cooler-than-thou species hits on every eighteen year old blonde he sees. Beware, he might have a cool party (and a popped collar), but he probably gets around more than Tupac and Digital Underground.

-The grandiose athlete
Distinguishing characteristic: This All-Conference second teamer thinks he can take Lebron James off the dribble or hit a Johan Santana changeup with ease and tells you all about it at dinner everyday.

-The student that always brings a laptop to class
Distinguishing characteristic: Actually playing Spider Solitaire, watching YouTube videos, or browsing eBay while the professor thinks he/she is diligently taking high-tech notes.

-Psychology majors
Distinguishing characteristics: They all convince themselves that they have the condition that they studied last week and are always stressed out!!!!!!11

-The hardcore party animal majoring in Athletic Training or Int’l Studies
Distinguishing characteristics: A one-time hot shot jock in the small pond he/she came from, this type talks up a huge game and tries to drink an even bigger one; don’t expect to see them on the Dean’s List or making it to 8 AM Monday/Friday classes.

If you steer clear or these annoying and/or hazardous people, your days will be a lot brighter. Just hope that you never become one of them!!!

PeAcE,
C. DeRoin.

I have good news and bad news, high school class of 2009 heading off to universities and colleges (and to anyone else enrolling or re-enrolling in higher education this fall). First, the good news- college is fun (but you should already know that)! Now, the bad news- it costs way too much (I hope you knew that). But you get what you put in it…and I found a few ways to put in a lot fewer dollar bills.

At the end of last school year, I gave a couple of presentations at my old high school (South Sioux City High represent) in the Economics classes about how to finance college and then make it through as debt-free (read between the lines: cheap) as possible. I offered tips and wacky stories from my experience as a collegiate and threw around numbers of what makes up actual college tuition costs, shared ways on how to cut corners economically, and preached how to hustle up and pay off student loans in no time.

Now it’s your turn- general public- to learn a few of my frugal secrets for succeeding in college. Some quick samples are below. But I have a whole three-part DVD seminar available for two easy payments of $29.99 on the subject if you really want more insight. I’ll even throw in a free ShamWow if you order now. (Maybe I’m just kidding for now, but you can money anyway…and I WILL produce those sessions and an infomercial!)

Without further ado—a bunch of actual and important tips:

-Buy Used Books. A) They are cheaper. B) They may already have the important stuff highlighted with notes in the margins…less reading for you!

-Always have cash or a debit card on you at all times. Never get a credit card no matter how many freebies the bank’s reps have at their booth during welcome week. Snatch the free cookies, pens, and balloons then skedaddle. I’m convinced credit cards are incarnated evil. Plus you can still build up your credit score by paying your bills (cell phone, cable, electricity) online by linking them to your debit card or bank account’s routing number.

-You won’t have cable, water, or power bills to pay when you live on-campus. So, do that! Sure room and board might cost more than renting an apartment and paying your own utilities, but the experience is priceless. You meet way more people and can partake in all the campus clubs and activities without even leaving. Plus, during the winter—no need to warm up your car while scraping the windshields.

-Embrace store brands. You’ll instantly get to know and love HyVee’s Midwest Country Fair and WalMart’s Great Value brands.

-Don’t think refund checks are “free money”. Schools offer checks once a semester if their financial aid gurus over estimated the amount you needed to take out in a loan. So, they billed you for this amount, and then gave it back to you. I advise you re-invest it in next year’s loans…don’t blow it on a party that Friday night.

-Take advantage of work-study and get an on-campus job and take benefit from the perks. You work at the bookstore: get first dibs on ‘damaged’ goods like clothes at cheap to free prices. You got a job at the cafeteria or coffee house: free food…I mean someone has to do quality control, right? You work in the mailroom: free subscription to whatever magazine anyone on campus orders…read then deliver. How about the library: get paid to do your homework.

-Don’t lend any of your movie collection to friends other than your roommate. You’ll never see those DVDs (or cassettes!) ever again. The same goes for dishes, CDs, etc. I have the ‘roommate exception’ because you know where they sleep!

-Carpool. As corny as it is, wait ‘til your shopping list grows or your roommate or friends down the hall needs to run errands, too. Plus, late night adventures running up and down WalMart aisles are always way more fun with a gang of people.

-And finally, as you soon as see the light at the end of the college tunnel and score your first job after graduation, don’t blow your first real paychecks on a fancy new car…pay off your student loans!!! That $50,000 investment will follow you around forever if you don’t tackle it right away. Invest seemingly compounds continuously on some of those things as soon as you step on that stage and grab your diploma.

In addition, check out this link: 118 Ways to Save Money in College. This site was my inspiration to compile my own list, plus I co-sign on quite a few of their suggestions, too.

You have any unique tips? Shoot me a line in the comments or at chrisderoin@gmail.com.

PeAcE,
C. DeRoin.

Fu-Schnickens vs. Lords of the Underground vs. Das EFX
 
Hey how’s about a “The ‘90’s On My Mind” special presentation?!?
Ready…good…cuz we’re gonna duke it out. We as Americans love to vote on things (presidential election, American Idol, the new flavor of M&Ms), so let’s do it again in the first of a series of matches I seemingly put together at random involving all aspects of pop culture from the best decade ever. I’ll touch on music videos, TV sitcoms, junk food, movie quotes, top athletes, memorable moments, etc. But today, let’s talk Hip-Hop.

Which East Coast group would win this 1990’s Hip-Hop battle? So, bust out the Timberland boots, Starter coats, notty dreadlocks, and help me decide: who had the freshest lyrics? Tightest image? Flyest crew? Coolest songs?

Let’s weigh in on the contestants first. Here’s the tale of the tape:

Das EFX
Meaning: Dray And Skoob Effects
Members: Krazy Drayzy, Skoob
Origin: Virginia by way of NYC
Allies: EPMD, RedMan
Hits: “They Want EFX” (1992), “Mic Cheka” (1992), appearance on “Check Yo Self remix” by Ice Cube (1993), “Real Hip-Hop” (1995)
Style: Pop culture references, cartoonish content, “iggedy” word prefix, double-time rhyming, Sewer slang

Fu-Schnickens
Meaning: For Unity coalition
Members: Chip Fu, Poc Fu, Moc Fu
Origin: Brooklyn
Allies: Shaquille O’Neal, A Tribe Called Quest
Hits: “Ring the Alarm” (1991), “True Fuschnick” (1992), “La Schmoove” ft. Phife Dawg (1993), “What’s Up Doc? (Can We Rock)” ft. Shaq (1993)
Style: Jamaican-influenced flow, pop culture references, tongue-twisters, Kung Fu references

Lords of the Underground
Members: DoItAll, Mr. Funkee, DJ Lord Jazz
Origin: Newark, NJ
Allies: K-Def, Marley Marl, Pete Rock
Hits: “Funky Child” (1993), “Tic Toc” (1993), “Chief Rocka” (1993), “Flow On” (1994)
Style: Eccentric wordplay, loud boastful raps, constant pop culture references, Run-DMC back-n-forth rhyme passing

All three groups had the same downfall: poorly received follow up albums after highly successful debuts filled with hits. Plus, Hip-Hop’s mainstream landscape had passed by such nonsensical, non-gangsta, cartoony acts…subsequently these groups all became lost in the shuffle. Das EFX hung around a lot longer and released more music than the other two, but they couldn’t shake the ‘iggedy’ label and eventually faded into obscurity. The Lords just couldn’t match their initial success and were seen by some as trying to jump on the EFX bandwagon. Fu-Schnickens just plain ran out of steam and seemingly no one wanted to hear what they had to offer; the group only made two albums. So which fleeting faction was your favorite?

–DeRoin.