The Republican Donkey

Question

2006-05-22T16:53:00.000-04:00

I'm looking for a new name for my site. Anyone got any ideas?

New Site!

2006-02-26T18:28:00.000-05:00

Greetings, the new site has been finished. Here's the link:

http://web.mac.com/republicandonkey

And here's another link:

http://www.freewebs.com/therepublicandonkey

Music: Upside Down, Jack Johnson

Free Cookie Monster!

2006-02-14T21:46:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Melina and I just started a new campaign: Free Cookie Monster! I just uploaded the site tonight, you all should go check it out. Click here to see it.

Music: My Girl, The Temptations

It's Official!

2005-12-03T16:35:00.000-05:00

The new site is up! Click here to see it, or on the sidebar. After endless hours trying to finish it, it's done! I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

The first 5 people to contact me at the new site will receive free Gmail accounts.

Music: Ocean Man, Ween

After a Couple Weeks...

2005-12-01T18:52:00.000-05:00

Boy, not much has happened in a while. Most of my time has been filled with Christmas shopping and homework.

I just entered a contest that woxy.com is having. You submit 15 songs, your "ultimate playlist." The winner receives some DJ software and their playlist is aired on Monday, December 5th at 3:00pm.

My playlist:

Crooked Teeth - Death Cab for Cutie
The Engine Driver - The Decemberists
Eleanor Puts Your Boots On - Franz Ferdinand
Nature Anthem - Grandaddy
You Owe Me an IOU - Hot Hot Heat
Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll - The Killers
The Bucket - Kings of Leon
Louis XIV - Louis XIV
Do It Again - Nada Surf
Twin Cinema - The New Pornographers
Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
Caring is Creepy - The Shins
I Turn My Camera On - Spoon
Walking to Do - Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
Factory - The Vines

A note on the World AIDS Day link; please click. It will cost you no money at all. Just simply 'light a candle' and Bristol Myers-Squibb will donate $1 towards HIV/AIDS research. So far, they have donated over $86,000.

Off to do some good ol' bowing tomorrow.

'til next time...

Music: Do It Again, Nada Surf

Objects in Mirror are Closer Than They Appear

2005-11-17T00:10:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! I think I'm getting sick. I've had headaches, lots of coughing and sneezing, runny nose, the whole bit.

The Monday trip to the zoo was a lot of fun. Mary and I got to take pictures off by ourselves. I was hungry and I ended up eating all of my lunch before we got there. Mary and I headed over to the 'Rhino Cafe' for lunch. We took a video camera with us, and got some awesome footage of the animals. I think we're actually going to make a movie out of what we got.

Today, I installed Linux on my iPod. This is a really cool thing for your iPod. It installs on all older models of the iPod, with the exception of the mini. It will also install on the nano. This Linux enables video playback on older models of the iPod. It also allows picture viewing and more games. I'm now hopelessly addicted to iPod Pong. I have an old 3G iPod with a 15GB hard drive, and, of course, back then they were grayscale screens. The result images on the iPod are very pixely and scratchy. Despite it not looking very good, it's still very cool. You should check it out, it's down in the suggested surfing.

Our school is currently in search of a new digital slr camera, and we've narrowed it down to the Olympus EVOLT E-500 and the Canon Digital Rebel XT. If anyone has any comments on either of the two, I would be happy to hear.

The site is almost finished. As of today, the first edition of the photo page is complete! I'm still going to be making some last touch-ups and the site will be up in mid-December. Look for it on Monday, December 12.

'til next time...

Music: God Killed the Queen, Louis XIV

Busy, Busy

2005-11-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

This week has been busy, busy! On Monday, we got our groups and nations for Model UN. My group is me, Alex Kane, and Mickey Meyers. We're representing the communist nation of Vietnam.

Also on Monday, I stayed after school with Mary and Corey. Our original plan was to film, but neither Drew nor Melina could stay, so we just ended up hanging out. I got the DVD for the Digital Media videos finished, too.

Tuesday we all went down to Cincinnati for a trip to the Holocaust Museum at the Hebrew Union College. It was, of course, election day but we decided it would be cool to go. We met uptown at around 11, and headed to Cincy around 12. After arriving there, we started our tour. We saw some really interesting interviews with survivors of the holocaust. It was very cool.

Nothing much happened on Wednesday, but our movies were showcased at the parents' meeting, and I heard that they were enjoyed by the few who showed up.

Thursday was fun. We went to Philip's gym and had another boring PhysEd class. Melina won the Adobe photo contest and she's getting a new camera. The school also gets three new cameras. Cloud Club was also on Thursday. We went to the The Full Monty. That has to be one of the best plays I've seen. Very funny.

Yesterday was a little boring. We stayed after school, again hoping to film, but Melina only stayed until 4 so we couldn't get much done.

On Monday Mary and I are off to the zoo, with the third and fourth graders, to do some photography for school. We're also teaching a P.E. class which should be fun.

I'm still aiming for mid-December to be the time when I put the site back up. Cross your fingers!

Music: 16 Military Wives, The Decemberists

More Site Info

2005-11-10T02:49:00.000-05:00

Production on the photo page is underway. I've been working on it for a few days now, and it's coming along quite nicely. There are still a few problems that I've got to fix. Expect the site to be back up in mid-December. I'm working on an RSS feed and a few other cool features.

The holiday season is almost upon us! Feel like being generous? Check out my wish list!. Thanks to anyone who considers!
Music: Molly's Chambers, Kings of Leon

Apple News

2005-11-08T03:11:00.000-05:00

Apple was sent a cease and desist from Lugz regarding their new iPod + iTunes ad. The ad, I admit, almost looks exactly the same as the Lugz ad that was released back in 2002. Both ads were in silhouette-style and featured an orange background. Why don't decide for yourself if Apple is guilty of misuse! Click here to view the Lugz ad. To get to the video click 'Archive' and then 'Lugz'. Click here for the Apple ad.

The iPod nano case is going downhill for Apple, too. Now people in a number of different nations are suing Apple here in the US. For those of you who don't know, people are getting mad because the screens on the nanos scratch too easily. One man said that he rubbed a paper towel over the nano, and it had excessive scratching. One man from Columbus, Ohio who filed the first class action lawsuit against Apple said that people who purchased the nanos should be refunded and have a share in the profit. I myself think that is ridiculous. I can understand refunding, but making them share profit? I don't think so.

I've finally gotten around to posting another 'Your mom' joke. I've been a little busy for a while, and that's the one part that I've decided not to work on. I also just posted a bunch of reviews, so make sure to check those out. Again, if anyone would like to advertise on this site, contact me and let me know. If you would be interested in advertising the Republican Donkey on your website, contact me. On the sidebar, click to either e-mail me or instant message. Thanks!

Music: The Sound of Settling, Death Cab for Cutie

What the Hell is Happening?

2005-11-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

A Louisana congressman exposed some of Mike Brown's e-mails from the time that Hurricane Katrina hit. One of his e-mails to his colleague read: "Can I quit? Can I come now?" This guy is a real dumbass. Another one of his e-mails asked his press secretary what he should wear. "Tie or no tie? Button-down blue shirt?". Somebody told him that he looked nice and he was quoted as saying: "I got it at Nordstroms. Are you proud of me?" While he is supposed to be worrying about helping prepare for Katrina, he's worried about what he's wearing. He deserves to be in jail. He disgusts me. This is, of course, only ten days after President Bush told him: "You're doing a great job, Brownie."

Ex-Cheney aide, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, has plead not guilty to having been involved in the CIA probe leak. He was charged with five felony counts related to the leak.

'Til more Republicans piss me off...

Music: You Owe Me an IOU, Hot Hot Heat

Updated Site Info

2005-11-04T20:50:00.000-05:00

No new site, yet. Too many layout problems. I've got most of them fixed now, so expect it to be back up at the end of the month. In the mean time, I'll still be posting to this site! Woohoo!

Music: Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day

A Week of Nothingness

2005-11-01T19:03:00.000-05:00

It's been a while! Nothing interesting has happened to me over the past week.

I've had loads of homework, all of which has been booooooooring. We've finally started research for Model UN. I spent an hour today researching information and writing.

I've started working on a new layout for the site (for anyone who cares). I'm gonna purchase a domain, and hopefully I'll have the site running by early 2006(?).

I need more readers! Tell people to at least check it out! Please! Contact me if you would be interested in advertising on this site, or vice versa. Thanks!

Music: We Both Go Down Together, The Decemberists

Gorbachev

2005-10-24T22:23:00.000-04:00

Today has been a long, but otherwise productive day.

To start off, I woke up too late and got a late start to my day. I went into school early and I almost fell alsleep. Two of my teachers were gone today. Kelly was out in Santa Fe, New Mexico and the other was gone for colon-related issues (nothing bad). Last class of the day was pretty crappy. We watched some movie on "Lies, Myths, and Downright Stupidity". Fun stuff.

Mikhail Gorbachev came to Oxford, Ohio today for a lecture at Miami University. I went with Kendall and Corey and it was pretty fun. Gorbachev is awesome, but I couldn't see the infamous birth mark from where I was sitting. He had some interesting points on world leadership today, or lack there of. He is a very interesing guy and I'm glad I went. After the lecture was over, we headed out to the lobby and shook a vending machine until a Gatorade came out. We then headed over to Bob Evan's and had some good ice cream.

Music: California, Phantom Planet

Woohoo!

2005-10-24T01:26:00.000-04:00

I'm happy! Yay!

Music: Island in the Sun, Weezer

A Long Awaited Weekend

2005-10-22T21:39:00.000-04:00

After a long week of school and endless amounts of homework, it's finally the weekend. I spent all day running around taking pictures because I really had nothing else to do. I woke up at around 12:00(?) and I got a shower, then headed outside to start the picture-taking. I got a few nice ones, nothing too amazing.

Two more additions to the site. There's now a 'Suggested Downloads' section in the sidebar. It currently only consists of iTunes, but I'll be adding more later. Another thing, now next to where I put 'Music:' at the bottom of each post, there will be iTunes link where you can find what I'm listening to. Kind of a cool thing.

'Til next time...

Music: Ride, The Vines

Let's Make Out

2005-10-20T00:48:00.000-04:00

Well, today was interesting. Okay, not really. My team went down 34 places in the Stock Market game after losing $2,000. We gained at least $2,500 today, and hopefully we're back in the race tomorrow.

Apple had it's Special Event today, as they unveiled 2 upgrades and a new application. First, was the upgrade to the Powerbook G4. They gave them higher resolutions and faster processors. Second, is the upgrade to the PowerMac G5. They now have two dual-core processors at 2.5GHz. The two dual-core make it possible for amazing graphics and speed. You can now cram up to 16GB of RAM in to the Mac. While only being at 2.5GHz instead of the 2.7, they're a lot faster because of the four processors. For example, rendering in Final Cut Pro is now 60% faster than the dual 2.7GHz predecessor. This is an amazing machine. The best G5 possible (16GB RAM, 2.5GHz quad processors, modem, etc.) prices at around $20,000. So, while being very expensive, this is something that no human should be without. Third, and definitely not least, is Aperture.

Introducing the first all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. Built from the ground up for professionals, Aperture offers an advanced RAW workflow, powerful compare and select tools, nondestructive image processing and versatile printing and publishing. - Apple Store U.S.

Aperture is the program that Apple has built "from the ground up" for professional photographers. Being a photo-junky myself, I find this program very cool. It's priced at a mere $499. The only disappoinment I have about this program, is that you need one hell of a machine to run it. This is a list of minimum and recommended machines from the Apple Store:

Minimum system requirements
- Power Mac G5 with 1.8GHz or faster PowerPC G5; 17- or 20-inch iMac G5 with 1.8GHz or faster PowerPC G5; or 15- or 17-inch PowerBook G4 with 1.25GHz or faster PowerPC G4 processor
- 1GB of RAM
- One of the following graphics cards: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition; ATI Radeon X850 XT; ATI Radeon 9800 XT or 9800 Pro; ATI Radeon 9700 Pro; ATI Radeon 9600 XT, 9600 Pro, or 9650; ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 or 9600; NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL or 6800 GT DDL; NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT; NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
- 5GB of disk space for application, templates and tutorial
- DVD drive for installation
Recommended system
- Dual 2GHz Power Mac G5 or faster
- 2GB of RAM
- One of the following graphics cards: ATI Radeon X800 XT Mac Edition; ATI Radeon 9800 XT or 9800 Pro; NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL or 6800 GT DDL; NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GT; NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500
- 5GB of disk space for application, templates, and tutorial
- DVD drive for installation

Music: Outsiders, Franz Ferdinand

I'm Ron Burgundy?

2005-10-18T23:54:00.000-04:00

Today was wonderful! We started up filming today, and everything bad that could've possibly happened, happened. First, the shades kept falling. They didn't fall when we were going over lines, they just fell right before we were about to shoot. Second, Drew couldn't find his costume, and he later realized he left it at home. As for third, well... Corey kept laughing during shots, which held us back even moreso than before.

I've got a Current Events Quiz tomorrow. A Latin quiz on Thursday, and a WWII test on Friday. This will be a fun-filled week! Next week is the science test! Woohoo!

Model UN hasn't started yet, my teacher can't get a hold of the guys running it. Therefore, we have absolutely no idea what countries are available, making it impossible to start even researching. Hopefully that will all get straightened out before week's end.

Apple's special event tomorrow is at 12 EST. As I said before, updates to the PowerMac and Powebook. I read on some Apple Insider website that Apple is going to be releasing something major that is photography related. The message in the invitation is something about joining them as they unveil the new revolution in their professional line. Maybe an update to Final Cut Studio? I'm hoping it will be their own camera. That would be cool.

More updates to the site, there's now a stat counter at the bottom of the sidebar (the numbers in orange). Click on the numbers to go to the site. Another addition is the cost of the War in Iraq. I thought it would be politically correct to put that on here. Also, I updated the weather section, so now it's real-time and it has a little icon of what (hopefully) it looks like outside.

Again, please no spam comments. I will decapitate the next person who posts a spam comment.

Music: Bubble Toes, Jack Johnson

It's a Bit Nutty

2005-10-18T00:55:00.000-04:00

Another long boring Monday. I could use some 3-day weekends more often.

Model UN this week! Hopefully I will get a European nation, as I would hate to be stuck with an African nation. Poverty is never a fun subject to research.

Apple has scheduled yet another special event for this Wednesday. Many sources believe that Apple will update their PowerMac G5s and Powerbook G4s. There has to be something other than that, though. They wouldn't assemble yet another special event just to make minor upgrades to already existing product lines. Hopefully they'll announce some new product.

Until later...

Music: You're My Best Friend, Queen

Sunday, Monday

2005-10-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

Today was wonderfully unproductive again. I did get some science home work done, though.

The Bengals won today! 5-1, and the best team in the NFL! I really hope they actually go to the playoffs this year...

I'm assuming no one has noticed, but I added a few things to the site today. First, is the 'Contact Me' section. This gives you two ways to drop me line. Instant message or email. Second, is the Google search bar. This is just a very cool thing to have. Third, is the 'last updated' footer at the bottom of the sidebar. And finallly, the fourth item, the copyright at the very bottom of the page.

Side note: If you are just leaving comments to promote your website, please refrain from doing so. It's rather bothersome. Thanks!

Music: Hate to Say I Told You So, The Hives

Live from New York...

2005-10-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

It's Saturday night! Speaking of which, tonight on SNL is the Best of David Spade. Very cool stuff.

Today has been rather unproductive, as all I've done is sit around and watch movies. The first movie I watched was Hide and Seek. Another movie I watched was White Noise. I'll be posting reviews on them later (tomorrow, maybe?).

I entered a photo contest this week, and I spent a good amount of time last night writing descriptions and making titles for the pictures I submitted. The contest is held by Adobe and Olympus. You are allowed to submit a maximum of three photos, and you must provide titles and descriptions. The prize for 1st place is Adobe After Effects, an Olympus digital camera, and your pictures are published inside of some well-known photography magazine. Second and third place prizes really aren't worth mentioning, I want first.

I've been thinking of some ideas to make this site maybe more appealing and cooler. Got any suggestions? Leave a comment or email me at chrisdoan1@gmail.com

'Til next time...

Music: Twin Cinema, The New Pornographers

Miss Me?

2005-10-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Yes, I'm back. But, not in black. Cloud Club was tonight! We saw theTen Tenors. I was expecting something terrible, but it actually turned out to be pretty awesome. It was a bit opera-y, but not too much. The ride going there and back was... interesting. David and I were spitting on cars while singing Somebody Told Me and Love Shack, along with a few other traditional Cloud Club songs.

I'm in a good mood. Apple recently released an iPod with video! Not only can it hold music and photos, it can hold up to 150 hours of video. This is really amazing. They made the click-wheel smaller and made the screen larger, making it 2.5 inches. Rememer when Apple released iTunes 5 almost yesterday it seemed? Well, they couldn't have released 6 already could they? They have! And this time, so many more fantastic features. Video is now downloadable without having to buy a whole CD. In addition to music videos, you can download TV shows from abc such as Lost or Desperate Housewives. My favorite downloadable content is the Pixar shorts. Remember the chess game before A Bug's Life? You can download that! The new iPods come in 30GB and 60GB capacities. The 30GB is only $299, and the 60GB is only $399. They also come in white or black.

Yet another thing Apple released on Wednesday, was their new iMac G5. Newly redesigned with a remote. The remote makes it all worth while. The thought that I can sit on my ass and control my computer is just... awesome. Who needs Microsoft?

Music: The Fallen, Franz Ferdinand

It's Raining, It's Pouring

2005-10-10T20:31:00.000-04:00

What an ugly and depressing day out there. I'm almost positive that absolutely nothing happened today. Maybe tomorrow will be more interesting.

Apple's special event is scheduled for this Wednesday. I've heard rumors now that they're going to be making a major enhancement to the music store. It is believed that they will release this with their new iPod video. It's been a month since they updated the music videos in the music store, leading people to believe that there's going to be a major improvement. Along with the release of the iPod and new enhancements, there is supposed to be a small wireless device that is similar to the Airport Express. This new device could have video output on it, enabling video-viewing on external devices.

Music: Crosstown Traffic, Jimi Hendrix

4-1

2005-10-10T01:22:00.000-04:00

The Bengals lost tonight, 23-20. They played a relatively good game, but of course it's still a loss.

Well, tomorrow marks another long week of school. Lots of homework, of course. More filming and editing. Next week we're starting Model UN! That's always fun.

Music: Swallowed in the Sea, Coldplay

A Day Filled with KFC

2005-10-08T23:02:00.000-04:00

The Kramer Fall Carnival was tonight. To sum it up, I got called dorky by a fortune teller, and I got cut by a kid on the inflatable slide. It was actually pretty fun. I spit on an inflatable Shrek and jumped off a hayride.

New SNL tonight! Jon Heder's hosting and Ashlee Simpson is the musical guest. It will be very entertaining to see how bad Ashlee Simpson is tonight. You've gotta figure that the producers on SNL only booked her to get a good laugh when she messes up again.

I've recently gotten in to another show on NBC called My Name is Earl. Jason Lee is hilarious, and if you haven't seen this show I would definitely suggest watching it.

"She kept rubbing her ball when she was talking to me."

Music: Help!, The Beatles

Finally Friday

2005-10-07T20:55:00.000-04:00

Friday! Friday! Friday! Phew, another long week over with.

Despite staying after school for 2 hours, we really didn't get that much done. Most of the time, we were laughing and eating. But we did get a few scenes done.

I've recently decided that the latest iTunes, iTunes 5.0.1, really sucks. It skips songs constantly, will just stop playing the song, or just completely quit the application. I still use it though, obviously, it's very pretty.

Flash 8 was released recently, and I'm just about to finish my 30-day trial, which means that sometime soon I'm going to have to purchase it (wink). This version is really the same as 7. The only significant improvement is the text filters, and they're not all that great.

Music: The End Has No End, The Strokes

Who Made-Up Thursday?

2005-10-06T21:45:00.000-04:00

Filming today went pretty well. We only got to about the second page of the script in an hour and a half. This is definitely going to take longer than I previously thought... Directing someone who laughs at everything is rather annoying.

We've got a guy from the Air Force coming in tomorrow to talk to us and give us a presentation on World War II. This should be really interesting. Talks from military personnel are always informative and sometimes fun.

Music: Factory, The Vines

Your Audition Starts Today

2005-10-05T17:26:00.000-04:00

Well, today was pretty boring. Tomorrow should fun, we're filming!

I found out how to podcast. It's pretty simple, really. It only requires .Mac and a microphone with audio recording software, such as GarageBand or Soundtrack Pro. I just need something to talk about now... Here's the link.

In the news, people are suspecting that Apple is going to release an iPod video at their Special Event next week. This is just an all around cool idea. Being able to view both pictures and movies on one device, in addition to the music of course, is just pure brilliance.

I haven't really had a chance to check out the Motorola ROKR E1 with iTunes yet. It doesn't look all that great, it's a picture phone that can hold a lousy 100 songs. In my oppinion, it would be easier to just get an iPod shuffle and a phone if you only want 100 songs. I'll admit, it's awesomely cool to have something like that. But, it's almost annoying. One thing that's hurting Apple with this phone, is that the iPod nano is completely overshadowing it. They definitely should've released the two at different times, if they wanted the ROKR to be a bigger success. Nobody talks about the ROKR. Everyone wants to talk about the elegance of the iPod nano. Which I do too...

The iPod nano is beautiful. Ugh, I want one. They're so cool, replacing the ugly iPod minis. The only down side of them, in fact, is the limited capacity. A 4GB maximum, which is 1,000 songs or 25,000 photos, is really too small. Although it is actually pretty impressive they can fit all of that in to something the size of a pencil. They're using CF (compact flash) memory with them, too. Compact flash, while slower, prevents skipping and other annoyances that can occur with hard drive-based MP3 players. I'll be looking forward to seeing this rumored iPod video.

Music: London Calling, The Clash

It's Tuesday!

2005-10-04T19:40:00.000-04:00

Today was pretty frickin' sweet. I got a decent grade on the Beowulf test, but I also bombed the math test.

We've devised a plan for our movie. We're starting filming on Thursday, and hopefully finishing it after school on Friday. We've dropped the whole set idea, we're just using a teacher's room and "homey-ing" it up. I'm in a hurry to get this thing over with... I wanna start West Side Story.

West Side Story is going to be a project that will take at least 'til March or April, but it will also be flippin' sweet.

Music: Me and Mia, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists

It's Been a Long Day...

2005-10-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

I went to school early today hoping to get some stuff done for the play, but I just ended up finishing andy dance 2000. For those of you who don't know, andy dance is the series of films I've been directing for about a year. We've just finished the sequel, andy dance 2000.

My other ongoing project at the moment is a play, "A Marriage Proposal". We hope to start filming sometime next month. We've still got to get costumes and a set. After finishing "A Marriage Proposal", we're going to start working on "West Side Story" (YES!).

Music: Down with Disease, Phish

Helloooooooo Everybody

2005-10-02T20:05:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Republican Donkey! I'm going to be updating this site everday, so make sure to keep coming back.

Music: Nature Anthem, Grandaddy