Every other year or so, we get real antsy on a Saturday night in the month of October.  What’re we to do?

Yesterday we spent the night running around my parent’s house with NERF guns and glowsticks, making up new games and having a hell of a time getting all the stickleburrs out of clothes.  In the long empty afternoon of Saturday, we’d played Rock Band, Boomblox to a breaking point for the day, and Wizard Staves made half of us almost toss cookies.  What’s left? Scary movies? We’ve seen them!  We’ve even seen the spanish films they’re based on!

OH YOU KNOW IT IS THE TIME TO BE GOING TO THE HAUNTED HOUSE.

Cedar Rapids’ premier haunted house, the “Haunted Mansion” is put up by the police every year.  In the old police station.  Real spooky and such.

So I wanted to let you guys know what to do if you decide to go to a haunted house this close to the Eve of Hallows. (more…)

It’s quite possibly simple coincidence, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that nerd culture is again shifting.  While this based on little other than anecdotal evidence, I think it’s worth discussing the possibility of a new sub-culture (although I’m sure such mutations occur by the minute).  That which is the post-sexual nerd.

Spiderman and "friends"

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So.  Hey.

Life’s been busy in IC.  As previous posts from yours truly, summer was filled with Floods, Moving and Fudge Factory Cookies.  They’re great.  The cookies that is.

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So you’re a mover, huh? Well HOT SHOT, this is a helpful guide to those who want to move in Iowa City. (more…)

Having recently returned from helping our own Patrick “Pretty-boy-o’-Physics” Crumley and his manager and gal-pal “Darlin” Dee-Dee Spradlin down to their new digs in Austin, TX. I returned home with some stories and a brave new goal.

I want to be a national champion of the sport “Hoover-Ball”.

And god help me, my chance (and yours) has finally arrived.

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It’s pretty weird what’s going on in Eastern Iowa right now.

By weird, I mean totally effed.

This is what downtown Cedar Rapids looks like.

 If you haven’t heard yet, both hospitals have lost power and were evacuated yesterday.  More than 100 city blocks are flooded, and over 8,000 people have been forced to move to safer areas. 

Many of us in Iowa City have spent that last few days simply evacuating University of Iowa buildings.  Its expected that the Iowa river won’t crest until the middle of next week.  Most aren’t expecting to return to their buildings until mid-August.

A lot of us grew up in Cedar Rapids.  I was born there.

Weird days.

OK, be on Live at 8pm.  I’ll set up and invite everyone to a channel for us to chat out what we wanna do.

That was a lot of fun!  For those who didn’t join in, we played Rock Band, and just a pinch of the new Mario Kart.  Chance can wail.  I mean it.  My ears rang a little, and that’s just what came through somebody else’s mic.  Crazy.  It sounds like this is something we’d like to do regularly on Thursdays, which is awesome!

If you’re not friends with my account (APT505) or the fellas (B/B/J/C), then be sure to friend me or them quick, so we know to invite you (for next time)! (more…)

Oh, you better believe it!  Now, I’m well aware many of the fine people on Shambot are now graduates of fine academic institutions. Degrees in hand, it’s time to look to the future!  To JOBS.  TO HOUSES.  TO 401K and IRAs.  Oh yes.  These are the party days!  THESE ARE THE PARTY DAYS!

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So, I’ve developed a new hobby.  It’s pretty dumb, and Katie had a helping hand in developing it.

I don’t have any pets, but lots of people I know do.  So, I like to sit around when I’m bored and think about if I had pets, what would I name them?  I’ve thought long and hard about it, and I decided I didn’t want any tool names like “Fluffy”, “WoofWoof” or “Spot” (even though it is a keen ST:TNG reference).  No no no.  I want my pet to be on the cutting edge of cool.  Or at least, what I define as cool.  I want to name my pets after famous communists.

If I got a cat?  “Chairman Meow” gives orders, and won’t take any back talk.

A puppy? “Karl Barx” is totally ready for fetch the proletariat.

When my sister was lil’ she always wanted a pony.  I’d name him “Trot-sky”, and he’d be a stomper of bourgeois thought.

If I was on a farm, and had me a cow?  “Moo Jintao” would be president of the dairy club!

Don’t forget the boss of barnyard, “Deng Xiaopig”.  He’s open to new ideas.

Sometimes people have really exotic pets.  Like bears.  They don’t show mercy.  That’s why my bear would be named “Josef Maulin”.

And don’t forget that nasty nazi of the cage, “Goebbels the Gerbil”.  He’s known to dress up real pretty sometimes.

I’m still working on Lenin.  I’ve got ideas, but none are really thrilling me.  Also, here’s the thing, if any of you artistically inclined Shambot!-keteers are bored this summer and would be into designing any of these guys, I think that’d be keen.  We could even write a short story about them!  A good idea? Not really, but these are the things I think about in class when I’m bored.  Oh yeah.  I’m super cool.

Happy graduation to everyone doing so!

Hey all, what’s haps?

Most of us are graduating (or those who haven’t already)?

Terrifying.

Future plans? What future plans? Those are gross.

Tell you what, this new Shambot! writing/editing thing is FANCY. Too fancy if you ask me.

So I’m gonna tell you a tale. A Steven and Tim car crash tale.

You know, those are the sexiest of all the tales I can tell. (more…)