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Change I can believe in | 2010-08-25 | by Chris Erickson

Being back for about a month now has enabled me to do a lot of those things on my "to-do-" list.

Family: Check. Friends: Check. Jamming: Check. Camping: Check

Uncouth: semi-Check.

I was wondering what I was going to do with this Web site. First order of business is always having it around, just to have an outlet when I need it. But as we and our audience mature, it becomes imperitive to change with the times.

So the first change is a switch of web hosts. We're nearing capacity on our current host, which doesn't  bode well for potential updates and features. Plus, with last year's addition of podcasts and the possibility of video Uncouth Newscasts on the horizon, we need higher bandwidth and more space. To hijack a quote from Jaws, "We're gonna need a bigger boat."

So the switchover to our new web host, Hostmonster, should take place in the next few weeks. I hope that it is seemless, although these things tend to have unknown obstacles.

The other large change will be in content. While I'll never shy away from the weirder segments of society or the humor that comes with a site like ours, I am leaning toward more anecdotes, stories and features with merit, rather than the usual pop culture references and movie reviews. I hope to keep these available, but they will take a back seat to the more serious topics of a changing world.

And I'll still do free PR for my friends.

With these changes comes the addition of a new writer. Cory Wardner has come aboard to write on ecology, energy and politics, although he's been given free reign to write on those topics that pique the interest of a well-read majority.

Plus, more B & Es are on the way, but not until B gets back from his current adventure: heading to a Tom Petty concert in New York.

And don't forget about the video.

To end, I'll be checking on comments more and more. I might even start checking on my new Blackberry. It's the fourth phone I've had since I've been home. Long story.

So in the comments, let us know: What would you like to see on The Uncouth?

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Help Chaunty! | 2010-08-17 | by Chris Erickson

Recently, a friend was diagnosed with a type of Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Unfortunately, like many young people in their 20s, Chauntel didn't have insurance.

So far, a number of fund raising events have been held to stave off the increasing financial needs associated with her medical treatment. Many more are being planned, and I will post them as they draw closer

This weekend, a benefit pool tournament for Chauntel will be held Saturday at Chips Casino, starting at noon. Chips is located near the corner of 12th St. S. and Expressway Ave. in Bismarck, N.D. A $20 donation will get players in.

The number one place to check details on upcoming events will be the Web site http://helpchaunty.com/

Help Chaunty is a benefit Web site created to serve as a place for interested people to hear updates and donate to Chauntel's medical fund.

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Back in the Saddle | 2010-08-17 | by Chris Erickson

Honestly, I really don't know how to begin.


I'm pretty much going for the "all irons in all fires" approach. Many friends recommended that I shouldn't do that. I decided to do it anyway, even if my friends are thinking more clearly.

There's a weight a guy feels when he gets back. I don't know if it's different for every deployment down the line, but I know what I felt when I got back the first time versus how I feel now. Some of the same things, yet more intense. I think they are best represented by putting them in groups: professional, personal and social. Those are mine, anyway.

I told myself - and others - that I'd give myself two weeks and jump back into it. God help me, it almost felt like a lie when I said it. I talked about a couple weeks, then brother 3 says it took him three weeks to get back into everything. In a place deep down in my mind I figured it would be a month and a half.

I have tons of respect for each of my brothers. There are different bonding moments between us all, but talking with brothers 2 and 3 about deployments always sticks out to me. Each of my brother's has a lot that I strive for. In 3's case, the guy's got a nice lakehouse, the kind of job many strive for, and a family that will pretty much put everyone else's family to shame - strong personalities all, and headed in the right direction.

So I take his advice when he gives it, because I want someday to have those things he has. But sometimes it doesn't work for me.

One of those challenges I've often found in life is reacting appropriately to any given situation. That previous sentence is a nice way of saying that I can be a jackass about things sometimes. I don't mean to be - I like to think I'd be honest about it from the get-go. But it happens and I think about it. And I especially think about it when I've just got back from a deployment.

I want everything in my life and my family's lives and my friend's lives to go smoothly. I want to know their hobbies and have more bonding moments. I want to know the new people in the group. And I tend to screw up because I want it all at once. And then I've already made reservations and had to go back on others. I hate forgetting that I had plans made and not giving everyone the time I think they deserve. That makes for full days, but it also makes for days spent without any real memories. "So and so was here;" "this and that happened;" "didn't do much, just hung out;" yadda, yadda yadda.

But I'm back, and at the beginning, that's all that matters. Two weeks, tops. But a guy goes between two things while deployed: how his people are doing, and what's next.

Then I get back and I'm asked honest questions that I don't yet have the answer to. "Where are you going to work?" "Didja find a place of your own yet?" "When are you going to come hang out?" "What direction is The Uncouth headed?" and more. All the questions are fair of someone to ask, but trying to figure them out and give a concrete answer to all is impossible, as of now. So I do something like go to Glacier National Park with two friends to clear my mind.

M and K on a cliff near Hidden Lake. Booya.

So I've been doing a damned good part at dealing with having another month's worth of paychecks coming from vacation money. And everyone is telling me to take my time and not do too much at once. But the pressure is still there, and I'm both foolish/insane enough to like that pressure. After being told by all ranks up to the General that we outworked and outperformed everyone, ever, in that position on a deployment, I couldn't overlook that there would be bad times and good times. There were times I hated that work tempo and at times I loved it. But when it worked, I was on.

There's a rhythm I get in, where everything clicks for me and those around me. At times I get in partying mode, and at times I'm dead set in a professional mode. And with another three weeks of end-of-the-summer parties and dozens of professional opportunities coming up, I'm going to exhaust myself with both modes. And in exhausting myself I will find those parts of the routine that I don't just love doing, but I can deal with doing and have time to honestly wind down.

I want to find that groove everywhere. I know it's a pipe-dream at best and wasting time at worst.

Sometimes they blend. I've been meaning to write something for the last 20 days, but I just got to it now. The definite choice was there between responsibilties.

Don't get me wrong, it's not life-or-death decisions, but it's enough to give me pause. At a time that I consider to be the largest transitional time in my life - moving back to Bismarck, being done with the National Guard, having finally finished off my bachelor's degree and trying to play catch-up on a year's worth of memories and bonding I wasn't there to experience directly - it's at the same time invigorating and frustrating.

If Busey agrees, it must be true.

I don't want to get into a situation where I encounter that fact that I have too many irons in the fire/a hand in every cookie jar/too many g@#damn things to do. I've still gotta find a groove, though. So I'm going to do everything possible to find it. That, in the end, will enable me to finally find my place somewhere. I'm hoping it's in Bismarck. I value freedom over security any day, but a little permanence after all this time is looking good. My only hope is that no one gets ignored during the next couple months as I fall into or build a routine for myself.

I don't recall ever using lyrics before to help give my perspective, but I think this might be the first time.

"So why waste another day
Turning our backs and walk away?
I wanna feel everything,
I wanna grow in every way.

Because I can't stand feeling nothing,
I can't stand feeling old,
I can't stand standing for nothing when standing up is all I know."

I know, nobody likes to read lyrics as synonymous with life, but it happens sometimes, at least with me.

As of right now, I'm in the stage where I'm feeling the fruitions of my initial plans. Most of it's going well. Some of it isn't happening as planned. And that adjustment is what's going to help me transition between these big events. I'll take those adjustments, and promise to maybe learn something from them...

In unrelated news, I've closed the Fargo loop, and have only to change my address when I get up and about tomorrow. And I gotta call a guy about a depth finder. And find a job. And check into a potential gallery exhibit. And look into trailers. And turn my gear into the Nat'l Guard. And buy groceries. And deliver some souvenirs. And jam some Misfits/The Box/Fat Kid Moves/Beerbelly Campfire Drunks. And just reconnect. Yadda, yadda yadda

Talk with you next Monday. Render advice below.

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Haters gonna hate | 2010-02-26 | by Chris Erickson

I've been busy lately. Camp Bondsteel, Camp Nothing Hill, photos, writing, etc. I did take the time today to get back to posting, although the article I posted isn't par for the course. Usually there is a lot of crass humor in my submissions, but today I got serious about how some news outlets back home have been out of line. I claim it as epic, although I would because I'm awesome. Head to the Current Events tab to find out more. The image below may or may not have something to do with it.

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Star Wars Snow Legos | 2009-12-19 | by Chris Erickson

The other day I was lurking on Facebook and saw a link shared between two of my friends, photographers both.

http://gizmodo.com/5427529/beautiful-lego-in-hoth-photos-have-me-in-total-awe

Here's one of the photos:

The first cool part was seeing LEGO Star Wars figures photographed like this. These scenes are absolutely kickass. The second cool part was reading about how the photographer set this up. I'm going to have to try and replicate this stunt in the future.

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