Today, my courageous and inspiring brother, writer of this blog, lost his battle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, despite his strong will and great determination to keep fighting. We will keep the blogosphere posted regarding funeral arrangements. Josh's family and friends greatly appreciate your support at this difficult time.

Annual NPS archeological prospection workshop

The National Park Service’s 2010 workshop on archaeological prospection techniques entitled Current Archaeological Prospection Advances for Non-Destructive Investigations in the 21st Century will be held May 24-28, 2010, at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site near Stanton, North Dakota.
Photo: Rob Sternberg, Knife River Indian Villages

The field exercises will take place at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site.  Lodging will be in the in the communities of Beulah, Hazen, and Riverdale, North Dakota. 

The park preserves the historic and archeological remnants of the culture and agricultural lifestyle of the Northern Plains Indians during the 18th and 19th centuries.  Co-sponsors for the workshop include the National Park Service and the State Historical Society of North Dakota.  This will be the twentieth year of the workshop dedicated to the use of geophysical, aerial photography, and other remote sensing methods as they apply to the identification, evaluation, conservation, and protection of archaeological resources across this Nation.  The workshop will present lectures on the theory of operation, methodology, processing, and interpretation with on-hands use of the equipment in the field.  There is a registration charge of $475.00.  Application forms are available on the Midwest Archeological Center’s web page. 

For further information, please contact Steven L. DeVore, Archeologist, National Park Service, Midwest Archeological Center, Federal Building, Room 474, 100 Centennial Mall North, Lincoln, Nebraska 68508-3873: tel: (402) 437-5392, ext. 141; fax: (402) 437-5098; email: steve_de_vore@nps.gov.

How-To Avoid Entering The Dreaded Friend Zone!

Notice this post isn’t titled "How-To Escape The Dreaded Friend Zone!" Why? Because few, if any, ever escape it once they enter it! That is the cold hard truth. So what do you do? Well you avoid entering the dreaded Friend Zone at all costs to begin with - duh! Of course that’s always easier said than done. So I’m here to help you with some tips and tricks to get you to becoming less of a support buddy and more of a fuck buddy...or rather a romantic interest.

Women can get sex anywhere, any time and any way they want it. The problem for us guys is that women don’t want sex anywhere, any time and any way WE want it. That is why men find themselves slipping into the dreaded Friend Zone more often than women do. Still, I know a couple of girls who are continually being thrown into the Friend Zone. They are at their wits end trying to figure out what they are doing wrong and how to reclassify themselves as a potential suitor, rather than a girl-bro or dudette. The unrequited feelings are happening with nearly every guy they meet! So that is why they turned to me for some help. I scratched my head over this for a couple of weeks in an attempt pinpoint what exactly they were, or weren’t, doing to cause them to be painfully trapped in the Friend Zone. After much observation and analysis, I think I’ve come to a conclusion. So here are my top 5 tips and tricks on how to avoid entering the dreaded Friend Zone...

5. Know Your Role
Do you have a penis? If the answer is no, then you aren’t one of the guys. So stop saying and thinking you are. And if you refuse to obey that rule and insist on wanting to be seen as one of the guys, then don’t cry when no guy wants to date you. Because think about it. You’re acting like a dude. We don’t want to date a dude. If we did, we would be gay. And being gay means we like penis, something you don’t have to offer us. Therefore, you acting like one of the guys is a lose-lose situation for you.

4. You Don’t Have To Be A Girly-Girl, But Be (Semi) Lady-Like
Guys like girls because they're different than us, thus making them interesting to us. You look different, talk different, walk different, think different, act different (or at least should, see #5) and smell different (waaay better than guys). You even pee different! Not only that, you have different body parts than us. THAT is the attraction. You bring something different to the table and have things to offer us that our buddies don't. Learn to embrace that. Use it to your advantage. Sure it's fine and often a bonus if a girl shares similar interests with the boys, for example likes football. However, there still needs to be a separation, a divide. Something that sets you apart from my friend Scum...which by the way is a real friend of mine. And trust me, if you're a girl, you DO NOT want me comparing you to Scum in my mind. Do whatever you have to do, but don't allow yourself to be seen the same way Scum is seen. Capiche?

So easy on the swears. Try to refrain from constantly scratching your balls. And never, NEVER spit! Because a lady never spits. She swallows. (Read that however you like.)

3. Don't Be Overly Awesome
Look, I hear you on the "I am woman. Hear me roar!" theme you got going on. The fact that you are a go-getter, power hungry, money making machine is sexy. (Or at least to me it is, other guys could be intimidated.) So I'm not asking you to be less awesome than me or even to tone your awesomeness down some. I'm just asking that you don't rub your awesomeness in my face or compare your awesomeness to mine, especially if you're more awesome than me! If you're overly awesome, you'll make me feel insecure. And making me feel insecure and poorly about myself is no way for me to build up the confidence needed to ask you out. That is why you will be placed in the Friend Zone. Basically, try to keep your level of awesome in check.

2. Let Me Know I'm Needed, Wanted and Appreciated
Contrary to our hard outer He-Man-like shell, men have fragile egos. This is why we enjoy having our ego (not to mention our naughty bits) stroked so much. It feels good to be loved. But it feels even better to be needed, wanted and appreciated. We like to know that we matter, especially to you. I need to serve a purpose in your life - something a little more significant and meaningful than lifting heavy furniture, hanging picture frames and squashing spiders. Understand that I don’t need you to just need me in your life. I want you to want me in your life as well. Show me that you want me and I’ll show you that I want you. Then appreciate everything I do for you, who I am and who I strive to be as I appreciate you in return. Can you feel the love? Let it come full circle to squeeze you and put that warm pink hue in your cheeks. Cozy, isn't it?

1. FLIRT!
This should be a no brainer, but nevertheless, it's my #1 tip and trick to help you avoid entering the dreaded Friend Zone! Guys are dumb. Yeah, I said it. The girls we think like us, don't. And the girls that do like us, we are clueless about. (Or maybe I should only speak for myself?) That is how a girl can often be tossed in the Friend Zone because we either completely miss the signs or misread the signs...or you fail to give us any signs to read at all! So FLIRT! Giggle, touch, smile, bat your lashes, say adorable things, flip your hair, straighten your skirt, ect. Whatever it is that you do, DO IT! Even the most oblivious guy is sure to pick up on that! Or so we hope.

Nobody ever said finding love was simple. And nobody ever said life was fair or easy. Sometimes you can do everything right and drop all the clues in the world to someone, but yet they still don’t get it! Other times they simply don’t want to see the clues because they are not interested in seeing you as more than a friend. That’s hard on the heart, but we’ve all been there and you will make it out alive. Which takes me back to the same question I always tell my friends to ask themselves..."Why do I want someone that doesn't want me?"

Cheap Trick once wrote a song and the lyrics go like this...

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm begging you to beg me.

Worst case scenario, stop playing games and tell the person how you feel. If you want more, ask for more. If they utter the awful line "I think we’re better off as friends," just accept it. There’s nothing you can do. Do not beg. Do not plead. Rest your case.

More Cool Tech Gadgets - FREE Giveaway!

So a little good news/bad news today regarding my blog and you the reader...

Bad News: My blog didn’t generate enough buzz during the HP dm3 contest. So I don’t get a second laptop to give away to another lucky reader.

Good News: HP was impressed with the amount of hype my blog did create. So I'll be doing future promotions, more tech gadget giveaways!

I can’t tell you what they will be because I don’t even know yet myself. However, when I do get word, I’ll pass it on to you immediately via my blog and my Twitter. That way you can take advantage of the free goodie goodness that is a shiny, new tech gadget!

As you're probably already aware, there are two things I love in life - writing and tech gadgets! So when I can combine the two, my heart nearly bursts with love. Although now that my first giveaway is over, I’ve discovered that I lost some followers and subscribers. I'm a little sad about that, but it's ok. It just means they’ll miss out on my future awesomeness...and of course more tech gadgets I’ll be giving away for free!

I would just like to reassure those who may be thinking that my blog is going to turn into some ad-laden, promotional pushy, constant contest/giveaway extravaganza that nothing could be further from the truth. My blog has been and always will be a place where I write. It’s my creative outlet and I’m not interested in changing my mission statement. So the same content that you’ve enjoyed over the course of my 5 years in blogging, and has given me nearly 2,000 subscribers, it’s staying. I will keep writing. I hope you’ll keep reading. And in the process I’ll toss a new laptop or some other cool gadget your way to say thanks for being loyal.

xoxo,
David

EffableArts Playwright Project - Stage Prep

Last month I posted a little blurb on my blog about writing my first manuscript. In it, I wrote...

"When offered to turn my writing into a NYC play, naturally I was flattered. But I initially turned it down because plays, musicals, and slam poetry just isn't me. I'm snowboards, sportbikes, and Bulldogs. Then after talking with a friend, I started to wonder if I turned down the NYC theater writing gig too early. It's good to do things out of your comfort zone, right? So I decided to do it, like a big cannonball into the water!"

Since then I completed my first draft and promised to keep everyone updated on how the playwright project is coming along. So today I'm happy to not only announce the next step, but to invite YOU along for the ride as well!

THE BLOGGER PLAYS: The Adventure Begins

Effabe Arts has gone out and searched the web to find NINE new and exciting writers to give us NINE new short plays! THE BLOGGER PLAYS will be having it's first (very informal) reading on Wednesday, December 9th. It will be at the official bar of Effable Arts - Bar One And One at 7pm (directions). We will be asking actors and potential directors to come, read, comment, and help our writers in the next steps to getting these bad-ass scripts ready for the stage. Please RSVP and let us know what you're interested in doing. We hope to see you all there!

WHAT: The Blogger Play - First Reading
WHERE: One And One - Nexus Lounge (Basement)
WHEN: Wednesday, December 9th, 7PM

Website: http://www.effiblearts.com/
Twitter: @EffableArts
Facebook: Effable Arts Fan Page

While their manuscripts will be a surprise, their identity is not. I encourage you to follow them on Twitter and check out their blogs. Now let me introduce you to the 9 writers...

David Stehle
Twitter: @davidstehle
Blog: The Rest Is Still Unwritten

Jen Kucsak
Twitter: @jenkucsak
Blog: The Dating Jungle

Stephane Magloire
Twitter: N/A
Blog: Rabbit Hole: Enter Here!

Zachary Wilson
Twitter: @newzac
Blog: And How

Una LaMarche
Twitter: @sassycurmudgeon
Blog: The Sassy Curmudgeon

"K"
Twitter: info removed by request
Blog: info removed by request

Meghan Blalock
Twitter: @megbeebee
Blog: Blackberries to Apples

Polly Syllabick
Twitter: @pollysyllabick
Blog: The Hitch List

Jessie Rosen
Twitter: @20nothings
Blog: 20-Nothings



So if you're in the NYC area around Dec 9th, would love to have you join us!

Archaeometric crisis in American archaeology?

Every several years, we see a cogent argument for the need for more archaeomety in archaeology.  A recent plea was made in the SAA Bulletin by David Killick, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Arizona, and Paul Goldberg, Professor in the Department of Archaeology at Boston University.  The article, entitled

A Quiet Crisis in American Archaeology

can be downloaded with the January 2009 issue of the SAS Bulletin.   You'll find this essay on page 6.  It focuses on issues of innovation, funding, eduction, and training. The poor showing of American archaeometry compared to the situation in Europe is lamented.

Photo: (a youthful?) David Killick
source: University of Arizona

HP dm3 Laptop Winner Announced!

***NOTE***
The follow-up post to 11/23/09 - Oprah Gives Cars, I Give Laptops - Get Yours!

Today is the big day! After 1 week, we had nearly 4,000 comments/entries and 300 Tweets! There were countless mentions around the web from various websites, blogs, Facebook, Digg, Craigslist, etc. Now it's time to announce the winner of the new HP dm3 laptop! After a rather time consuming process, I managed to collect all entries (yes, all multiple entries were counted) and randomly drew one name from the pile. So without further ado...

drumroll please

The winner is...James!

Congratulations to James for winning my first ever giveaway prize, a brand new HP dm3 laptop with Windows 7! I will be in touch with James today to get his mailing address and with HP to make sure it is shipped directly to him ASAP.

I want to thank all of you for your participation in this giveaway contest. I was very pleased with everyone's enthusiasm and I hope the buzz everyone created was enough for HP to want to give me a second laptop to give away too! If you didn't win, don't be too sad. There will be more opportunities to win cool tech gadgets in the near future. So be sure to subscribe to my blog and follow me on Twitter that way you'll be the first to know when it happens!

Also, a special thanks to Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft for selecting my blog to give away such a great prize to one lucky reader.

Happy Holidays from "The Rest Is Still Unwritten" :)