In the news

What's up party people? Been a little busy lately. But I'll get back at you all soon and very soon. In the meantime, here's a roundup of some of the stuff going on in the news. Read it and weep. Seriously. Most of this stuff will really cause you to cry:

Senate tramples Habeas Corpus
Last week, Republican members of the Senate successfully twarted a bipartisan bill designed to completely restore habeas corpus rights to individuals detained indefinitely by the government. The 56-43 vote against the bill, drafted by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) fell four votes shy of the 60 needed to cut off debate.

But I guess this isn't all bad. Just don't get wrongfully arrested for being a suspected terrorist and you should be fine.

Craig back at work
Senator Larry Craig -- you know, the gay-sex-in-the-public-restroom guy, has returned back to the Senate. From what I hear, any time he enters a bathroom, all the other Senators run out. But that's another story.

Black, dirty water
If you haven't been following the stories about Blackwater, you should. This is where your tax dollars are going.

I don't know about you, but I'm a little worried when I think about how much work in Iraq is being done through private military companies like this group. Between massive civillian shootouts, smuggling illegal weapons that get resold to terrorists, and possibly staging prison breaks for crooks; we are left with overwhelming evidence of what happens when we let certain private contractors loose in a hostile region without any oversight. They are not beholden to government and certainly not the military. Yet they cash the checks we write.

Halliburton, move over. You've got company.

Russian bomber spotted over North American coastal areas
Call me an alarmist, but I'm really starting to get worried about our relations with Russia. Ever since we decided to maintain our missile defense stations in Eastern Europe, the Russians have made their objections known. And now, for the first time since the start of the Cold War, we're starting to see Russian bombers in our area. Calls for a little concern if you ask me.

Judge slam dunks the Patriot Act
A federal judge in Oregon ruled last week that major sections of the USA Patriot Act were unconstitutional because they allowed federal surveillance and searches of Americans without demonstrating probable cause. This ruling came from Judge Anne L. Aiken of Federal District Court in Portland during a case where a lawyer in Portland was arrested and jailed after the FBI falsely linked him to the 2004 Madrid train bombings.

Pimp my tragedy
Apparently, pimpery is not exclusive to the pulpit. A supporter of Presidential candidate Rudy Ghoul-iani is sponsoring a 9/11 party as a part of his campaign; with a per person charge of $9.11. I guess that I shouldn't jump the gun too quickly on this one. As far as I can tell Guiliani hasn't responded to this idea. For that matter, the former mayor of New York is pretty reserved when it comes to using 9/11 to boost himself up.

Oh. Scratch that.

One less stereotype. Horray!
Fox News editorialist (I refrain from calling him a "journalist", for obvious reasons) Bill O'Reilly insists that his comments about a black restaurant weren't racist. Last week, O'Reilly joined civil rights activist Al Sharpton at Sylvia's, the famed restaurant located in the heart of Harlem. Later on a his radio talk show he commented on how suprised he was at the civility of black patronage. Who would've thunk it: black people can be civilized after all. I guess now the possibilities for black people are endless. Who knows, maybe we might graduate to actually using a knife, fork, and a napkin too. C'mon Bill. For real, dawg?

I've been to Sylvia's before and I actually met Mrs. Woods in person. Not only is her establishment wonderful, but the food is unreal and the service was spectacular. I should also note that she's incredibly humble and down to earth as a person. I feel like I had to add that in because if it were left up to Bill O's review, nobody with dark skin could ever possess any of such qualities.

Man shoots his pregnant girlfriend
Another story we can file under "Things we can't blame on racism." Apparently Andre Stewart, 32 is facing charges of homocide after he shot his girlfriend's 6-month fetus. In an paternally-related argument, Stewart drew a sawed off shotgun, pressed it against the woman's stomach and shot. The woman, whose identity has not been released, was last known to be in critical condition.

This story is screwed up on so many levels. One, I can't say enough about dumbasses like this Stewart character. But I'm also continuously fascinated at how appealing these thuggish, bad boy types are to women. I'm certainly not casting blame on the woman who was victimized, but I can't help but wonder why the hell they choose knuckleheads like this.

GOP candidates ignore black voters
Four of the major players in the GOP presidential race decided to skip out of a debate at Morgan State University, an HBCU. Apparently, they had better things to do. Rudy Ghoul-iani, Fred Thompson, John McCain, and Mitt "John Kerry, Jr." Romney were all no-shows at the debate, each citing "scheduling conflicts." The Republican candidates who actually did show up were quick to drill those who didn't attend. Frankly, their criticism is well earned.

This reminds me of why most black folks will never vote Republican. Here these losers have a great opportunity to share their views and reach out to a potential force during next year's elections, and they don't even give them the time of day.

No childs left behind
While your president was in New York campaigning for his controversial No Child Left Behind Act, he showed us the true value of education when he emphatically reminded us that "Childrens do learn." Between that, his infamous "Is our children learning?" line, and countless other Bushisms, I'm not so sure that we should leave it up to ole Dubya to be a spokesperson for education. Where's Laura the Librarian when you need her?

Sore loser
Normally, I don't follow women's sports. I certainly won't waste time blogging about them. Generally speaking, women's sports bore me. But I thought this story was pretty interesting. The US women's soccer team was just pounced by Brazil in the World Cup semifinals 4-0. To add fuel to fire, goalkeeper Hope Solo went public in bashing her coach's decision to bench her for veteran goalie Brianna Scurry. Scurry, a former Olympic winner was previously undefeated against Brazil while Solo was impressively on a 41 game non-losing streak herself.

While I agree that benching Solo for an aged Scurry was questionable and I think everything she said was on point, her decision to openly blast her 'team' and her coach shows how classless she is. Rather than voicing her opposition in a closed door session and allowing the media to go after him, she did it on her own. Frankly, I'd kick her off the team for that.

Well, I guess that's it. Back to work. Catch you again soon. Have a great weekend folks.

**Update**

It appears that a shutdown of the Michigan government is pretty imminent. I can't say I'm suprised to see this coming. Disappointed, but definitely not suprised. The Michigan legislature had almost eight freakin' months to get this done and -- even in the face of a complete shutdown of governmental services -- haven't gotten off their asses. This is a clear example of what happens when politics gets in the way of the day-to-day operation the clowns we put in office are supposed to be doing.

Being a person who still needs his plates renewed (this was actually my fault. I just forgot to get it done), I can personally attest to how much having the state shut down will suck. But above my own personal angst, I'm concerned that all state-sponsored aid programs and committee oversights will cease; affecting millions of people. With foreclosures skyrocketing, and social programs having on by the thinnest of threads, the last thing we need right now is for these jokers to wage silly schoolyard fights with each other. I suppose that my ultimate fear is trying to legitimize our state's functionality for outside investors. I mean, who in their right mind would want to invest in a state that can't create sound policy and put away their partisan bitching for the sake of their state? I know I wouldn't.

OK. Now I'm really out. Peace!

- ACL

God for sale

I always seem to get stuck in arguments about ministers who use their religious influence for personal gain. My debating mates are always quick to point out passages that support “honoring” those who preach the Word of God. But when I go through the Bible, I can’t seem to find any circumstances where Jesus or His apostles lived luxurious and comfortable lives as they spread the Gospel. You can make the argument that Paul was pretty well off. Of course, that period came and went once he was converted. What endowments they did receive for themselves were actually used to advance the Gospel moreso than their own individual needs.

So whenever I hear somebody on TV claim that they received “a Word from the Lord”, I immediately start to cringe. Chances are, it won’t be much longer after that when they’ll inform the viewer that this word can be theirs for a “love offering” of no less than $29.95 + S&H. Oddly, not many people ask these pimps one of the most burning questions I can think of: If this is a “Word from the Lord”, why sell it? With the emergence of all those internets out there, I’m sure that there are just as many web pages where you can openly and freely share the Word as those where you can sell it.

Besides, last I checked, whenever the apostles had a Word from God, they recorded it and sent it all throughout the world freely. We call those little recordings “Epistles”. Essentially, these epistles became the "open source" way of ministering.

In a related note, I recently received an email that pokes fun at how many of the profits prophets hustle folks from the pulpit. At first, it gave me a pretty good chuckle. But when I think about how all freakishly deceptive most of these cats are and how easily they've infilitrated the pulpit, the joke really isn't all that funny. Anyway, here's the parody song from the email; sung to the tune of "Amazing Grace". Enjoy:

A big disgrace in Surround Sound
And Mega-sized big screens,
The lavish church is worth the cost
‘Long as we pay the lien.

T’was T.D. Jakes who learned to steer
And rip off mindless sheep
How quickly did that cash appear
When they were all deceived

Get comfy in your cushioned pew
Sit back, put up your feet
The ushers will just swipe your card
And print you a receipt

This Sunday features C’refalo
And then it’s Joel Osteen
And if the love seeds lack too much
Trust Benny Hinn to sing.

These pimps will live ten thousand years
When all of us are done
They’ll no less rob our bank accounts
Than when they first begun.

Those pimped disgraces do not share
The Word, as must be taught
The Word they claim God gave to them
Can only be store bought.

I really wish this was only humor.

- ACL

More than ribbons

Quote of the day:

I'm all for supporting the troops. Last week, I wrote President Bush a 50-page "Support the Troops" proposal where all U.S. combat troops in Iraq or their families would receive perpetual royalty checks from Iraqi oil revenues.

-Huey Freeman, The Boondocks

-ACL

The pointlessness of fear

"For God has not given us the spirit of fear..."

-2 Timothy 1:7

For a while, my response to this passage would've easily been "Yeah, right. Whatever!"

You see, I'm what you would call a "wuss." Like many other people, I occasionally find myself victimized by the aforementioned spirit of fear. That fear often dictates the moves I make or -- in many cases -- don't make. I know. I know. Pretty pathetic.

For me, the fear of failure has always been most the predominent (although, as I mentioned before I also suffer from the fear of pain). Truth be told; the idea of falling flat on my face despite of my best efforts often leaves me afraid of trying new things. The conservative in me tends to like things being safe; even if it means the possibility of missing out on a great opportunity.

But fortunately, I snapped out of that at just the right time.

Last night, I had a conversation with a terrific young lady whom I just met. Interestingly, I met her online of all places (though she's only about a half hour drive away which, when you think about it, isn't far at all). We started our exchange over the 'Net, graduated to email, and eventually exchanged numbers. After playing the infamous game of phone tag, we finally connected last night. By the time it was all over, we had what I would consider a pretty good conversation. Our convo confirmed everything I initially thought about her. I mean, this girl really is on point! She's the real deal. She's accomplished, personable, God-fearing, and...well...just dope (see definition #2.1). Lest I be labeled as shallow, she's also incredibly beautiful. I dunno: another perfect 10, perhaps? Initially I was scared to death to make a move.

If it hadn't been for my sister and my homegirl Joslyn damn near cussing me out about being a wuss, I'm not sure if I wouldn't mustered up enough courage to stop pacing back and forth in my living room and finally hit the "call" button on my phone. In fact, as I think about it: this perfectly ties into a conversation Jos and I had shortly before I called. In our discussion, she recalled the message she heard from a pastor earlier that day. In his sermon he mentioned how God sometimes requires us to release something before we can gain something else. Though I didn't make the connection at the time, the same can be said of my exchange with this young lady. Before I could open up a dialogue and possibly cultivate a friendship, I had to first release the fear, anxiety, and trepidation that I clung to beforehand. And trust me when I say, it was well worth it in the end.

Now, I'm not expecting the world here. Truthfully I would love to date her. But even if we wind up just being friends, I would still consider it a major victory. It's one more friend to add to the roster (especially important to me since my friends' list has been growing pretty thin lately). Plus, evidenced by how much fun I had with her last night, it's clear to me that she's one of the types who could add a great deal of value to my life. And even if that doesn't pan out, at least I can say that I tried and failed -- but did so with no regrets. Sometimes being left with the lingering "what if" question is even more haunting than bombing.

Imagine how much I would've missed out on had I just stayed hidden under the covers.

Since I now crown myself a foremost authority on overcoming fear (I'm scheduling motivational talks over the next few months. Any takers?), my advice is simple: push the fear aside. While some fear is not necessarily bad (or even unreasonable), most of the time it serves as an obstacle that impedes our progress. Since fear is not of God in the first place, extracting it from our lives is bound to give us a more perfect peace.

Holla!

-ACL

Fighting perceptions

The picture above is a "before" shot of my office at work. For the longest time, I prided myself in having -- what I considered -- one of the coolest offices on campus. Though my spot has always been junky, it was pretty comfortable nonetheless. From my personal artwork, to sports memorabilia, to souvenirs, the stuff in my office created an environment that reflected my personality. And I was content with that.

Until that dreaded article was published.

Researchers at the University of Michigan recently published an article that suggests that too many personal items in an office space may negatively impact professional image. They contend that an office that has anything above a 1:5 ratio of personal to work-related items is too excessive. Between pens, figurines, posters, and miscellaneous knick knacks, I counted 49 items in my office that fit the description of being unprofessional non work-related. Hence the redecorating I'm doing (or should I say de-decorating?).

Now, when I first read this article I naturally thought "Who the hell defines professionalism?" When you've got CEOs who play golf in their office, or other professionals who have showcases of swords, spears, guns, cigars, and animal heads, this begs the question of how we can and should assign professionalism based on appearance alone. If we leave it up to them to set the bar, I'm afraid there isn't much to go by. Professionalism -- ideally -- should have more to do with how well a job is done than how well the person looks doing the job. Yet that's often not the case.

Being a black professional under 30 often puts me in a position where I feel like my merit alone doesn't sufficiently aid me in acheiving any real validation. So I often find that comprising some of my identity is a necessary thing to do at work or in any other social circles. It's a shitty reality, but it is reality nonetheless. Facing that reality, I try to make it my point to strategically choose which battles I need to fight and which ones from which I should abstain. If the aforementioned study holds any merit, I'd rather boost my professional image than have my Spongebob Squarepants artwork and Mardi Gras beads in my office. Frankly, I'd rather for people to know beforehand that I'm about business rather than being forced to put in the extra work to defy stereotypes and negative perceptions.

All that being said, my question to you is simple: would you do the same? Would you stick to your guns and continue to "do you"; even if it meant providing folks the very impetus they need to shape their perceptions about you? Or do you give in and separate yourself from your "identity"; thereby increasing your chances of avoiding incessant and difficult stereotypes? **I should note that, the Hippie Conservative just wrote a piece that discussed -- though not entirely -- stereotypes and their impact. Just thought I'd toss that out there for a little more context.**

Getting back to the matter at hand: I'm curious to know what you think.

Aaaand, go.

- ACL

Holy corny humor!

I guess you can file this post under "U" for useless. It won't have any social relevance, provide any spiritual insight, or make you reexamine your life or the world you live in. It's just funny as hell.

I was watching the 1966 Batman movie on TV a few nights ago. Though I've seen it a hundred times, it doesn't get any less hilarious. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this superhero flick came out before computer graphics allowed us to see the X-men's cool powers, Spiderman's ability to swing from New York high rises, or Johnny Storm and the Silver Surfer to duking it out in mid air. Or perhaps it had something to do with the producers growing up in the age of Howdy Doody. I don't know for sure. But whatever the case; this movie is so ridiculously cheesy, I can't help but to laugh uncontrollably each time I watch it.

Here for instance, our intrepid hero is fighting off a shark rigged with explosives. Thank God for shark repellant Batspray:



Who could ever forget how Batman and his "devishly clever" sidekick Robin were able to brilliantly solve riddles:



It's always good to know that if you need to get rid of an Acme-styled bomb without hurting unsuspecting citizens, you can always rely on good ole Batman:



And of course, what episode would be complete without the fight scenes? Splat! Wham! Biff! Zock!



You know, maybe I was wrong about one thing: the 1960's version of Batman definitely caused me to reexamine my life. LOL!

- ACL

Get those seeds planted...NOW!!!

OK.

I've often tried to defend our religious habits. I've tried to understand how the leaders in our faith think and operate; the self-proclaimed "messengers" from God they say they are. I've tried to keep them in my prayers. I've tried to make Biblical sense out of ministers who justify their prosperity (at the congregation's expense, of course) as being a way to market the goodness of God to the world.

But even I have no defense for this nonsense.

In this video, Pastor Juanita Bynum is asking her sheeple (Yeah, that's right. I said it.) for 'seeds' to finance what she calls a "threshing floor"; a prayer room where she apparently offers up prayers for you and me. Her original threshing floor was a few miles from her home. But I guess that out of concern for her safety (after her husband beat her), she wants to build one right next to her lakefront home. Pull out your checkbooks people. She needs an emergency $200,000 right away.

Sigh. I don't know why we keep coming to bat for these people pimps.

-ACL

"Open wide": A line of health practitioners or rapists?

I’ve been sitting on this post for a while. After some consideration, I’m finally deciding to post it.

Not too long ago, I saw Michael Moore’s latest documentary Sicko (courtesy of my dear friend the Hippie Conservative; who also wrote an incredible piece on it himself a few months ago). Just in case you haven’t been keeping score, Sicko provides an assessment (albeit a biased assessment) on the state of the American health care system; while seemingly being a proponent of a more universal system. Initially, the movie invoked some pretty stirred feelings for me; as to be expected from me when I see something for the first time. But after watching it again, I feel like I’m in a better position to provide more accurate commentary on how I really feel about it.

Let me just go on the record by saying that I’m not a huge Michael Moore fan, to be sure. Though I’ve admittedly seen and actually enjoyed his other documentaries (included in that group are Roger & Me, Bowling for Columbine, and Fahrenheit 9/11), I tend to think that Moore often takes facts only to then twist, edit, and manipulate them to satisfy his points. Don’t get me wrong: he’s no Sean Hannity, but when it comes to contriving material, they don’t get as prolific as Mr. Moore.

I should also note…or perhaps remind you…that when I was in high school, I wanted to register as a Republican. Like so many of my good, God-fearing, conservative, hardcore Christian peers, I was groomed to deprecate anything that was too liberal, tolerant or universally accepting; especially stuff that bore any resemblance to those evil Socialists that our brave and intrepid President Ronald Reagan valiantly defeated. So when then First Lady Hillary Clinton started talking about some kooky nationalized health care plan, I immediately thought “Why should we have to pay for other people? Why can’t they pick themselves up by the bootstraps?!” *Interesting how I kept putting myself in the “we” category; as if my young, dumb, non-taxing paying ass had anything meaningful to contribute to society. I kinda reminded myself of today’s silly Chickenhawk College Republicans who tout the war but won’t join themselves. You know; these cats:



But I digress. Seriously, I do...

Getting back to my main point: Sicko. Truth be told, it wasn’t my intention to like this movie. I intended on getting a little informed but ultimately weeding through the facts to find the hidden agenda. I did that; to an extent. But I ultimately left the film on Mike’s side. True, he was up to his usual parlor tricks in the film. Every time he mentioned something about a free prescription in France somewhere, I found myself half looking for a disclaimer in fine print at the bottom of the screen somewhere.

I have to admit that Mike categorically aroused the conspiracy theorist part of me when he illustrated how corporate and state sponsored greed drives the HUGE business of health care. It’s becoming increasing clear that the Governmental and Corporate tag teams are bent on propagating our hatred toward the French (anybody remember “Freedom Fries”?), vilifying Canada’s health care system, convincing us that every little thing wrong with us can only be cured with the drugs they push on us, motivating our dependency on insurance companies, and then providing absolutely no oversight as these companies rape people who dutifully and faithfully keep up on their premium payments. You’ve all heard the stories.

If Moore’s intentions were to arouse fear over what could happen to me in the future, he failed. But if his intention was to shock, anger, and unnerve me he accomplished that feat. As I watched this movie, I constantly reminded myself of the truth that this ‘freedom’ of which our nation is ostensibly committed is often translated into a certain type of burden; nothing more oppressive than the health care system. We’re stuck paying insurance companies insane amounts of money simply because we’re forced to. All the while, they’re allowed to pick and choose what types of coverage they feel like offering that day. In the end, those who are left to suffer are the average citizens. I won’t even get on the uninsured. Their stories are often too harrowing to even comprehend.

As I said before, I’m sure that Mike’s got some ulterior motives with the way he presents his facts. That’s just how the dude gets down. But when you see a $10-15,000 operation in the U.S. that can be done in the U.K. for free or a $200 drug prescription in the U.S. that can be filled in Cuba for less than a dime, there are questions that have to be asked. Questions much greater than what type of manipulation Moore had to do.

Ultimately, I think that what’s most disturbing about the film is when you take Moore’s sentiments (which actually appear to be pretty genuine in this flick) and juxtapose them to the overwhelming sentiments of most of the folks in the GOP and even some Democrats. You know: the whole “Universal health coverage will cause the overall system to decline” people. Well, my question to them is simple: How can a person wear the “sanctity of life” badge on their shoulder while being against a plan that ensures that every person is taken care of? Then again, most pro-lifers are also pro-war and pro-death penalty too. So I guess that answers my question. I really shouldn’t be surprised by the rampant hypocrisy nowadays.

I'm not trying to toss out any Michael Moore plugs. But if you haven't seen this movie, you really should. You may not be a fan of his, but he does at least raise questions and concerns that most of the folks begging for out vote haven’t addressed yet.

After all, your life may depend on it.

- ACL

God to the rescue

For anyone who's ever been in a backslidden state: God is still there to fight your battles.

- ACL

Irreconcilible differences, part II

I couldn't make this crap up on my best day.

- ACL

Loss of a legend

World renowned opera singer Luciano Pavarotti died this week from pancreatic cancer. He was 71.




I can still remember a few years ago when I saw Mr. Pavarotti perform at a concert in New York. He gave one of the most memorable and resonating performances I've ever heard from anybody. His rich tenor voice struck a major chord with me (no pun intended); even when I couldn't understand what he was saying. I also remember that there wasn't a dry eye in the building. His voice dug deep; all the way down to the pit of the soul.

There aren't too many people with that kind of gift.

- ACL

Mytake on Myspace

If you pay any attention to the links that I include on my blog, you'll see that I recently created a Myspace profile. I admit, it’s been sort of adventurous. But – in the interest of being my usual critical self – I’ve identified some major issues I have with the site. Here’s what bothers me about Myspace.com so far:

1. Nine times out of ten, I wind up on a page that takes an hour to load. This is coming from somebody who uses a high speed internet connection. I feel bad for the cats who still use dialup (incidentally, they’re probably the same folks who ride chariots to school). I guess some people haven’t figured out that the more crap you add to your page, the longer it takes to load.

2. Brothas always feel the need to put up images of their oily, muscular bodies. I mean, damn dawg. For real?! Dude, there are kids on here. Put those away. Then again, maybe I’m just jealous because trying to be intelligent and nice seems to take a backseat to being physically good looking. It doesn’t help that whatever 6-pack I’ve ever had is now a cooler.

3. Oppositely, a lot of sistas like to put up photos where they’re bent over with skin tight clothes showing just about everything they’ve got and tops that are hanging on for deal life. Then, they say (get this): “I’m lookin’ 4 a real man who can handle a real woman.” Well if your appearance is any indication, I hear that A Pimp Named Slickback is hiring.

4. Everybody insists on “showin’ you luv”. Is that the only line people can come up with?!

5. Having fun toys like pictures/slide shows, video clips, and music is pretty cool. Having too much of them isn’t. But, I have to admit: Facebook is the King of being superfluous and over-the-top with all of those silly applications.

6. People, please. If you’re over 35, you ain’t got NO BUSINESS posting photos at the club behind a spray painted background. I’m just sayin’…

7. Also, for the aforementioned group, please stop calling yourself “SeXy MoMmA”, BoOtYLicIious”, or anything equivalent.

8. I’ve never been on a site where phishing and spam were so rampant. Well, maybe on Blackplanet. But you get the point.

9. I imagine that most Myspacers aren’t too HTML or Java proficient. You kinda get that feeling when you’re looking at their impossible-to-read pages.

10. Even some of the more HTML savvy people must’ve at least missed the lecture on good to semi-good grammar. Trust me when I say that punctuation helps. Spelling words correctly helps. No, it doesn’t have to be at the dissertation level, but c’mon people. Get a clue.

11. It bothers me to imagine how much $$$ that Tom guy has.

12. I didn’t know that there were so many 100 year olds in cyberspace. Then again, I guess that’s a pretty good balance to the hoards of underaged teenagers on the site.

13. With the proliferation of teenagers on the site, the privacy settings are pretty good to have, I guess. But in some cases it’s just getting too out of hand. I mean, for some folks you have to get their approval just to say hello. Sheesh!

14. It’s pretty cool to reunite with folks. But in many instances, my conversations with them remind me about why I stayed away in the first place.

15. Am I the only one who hates chain letters, graphic designs, and symbols (asterisks in the shape of a heart, middle fingers, crosses, etc)?

16. On a related note, what’s up with the insanely large and blindly-colorful images people put in your comment section just so they can say “Hi”?!

17. I’ve noticed a lot of the same pictures circulating on various profiles. This leads me to believe that a bunch of folks feel the need to submit fake or stolen pictures. People...look: if you’re that self-conscious about yourself maybe you shouldn’t be putting up a profile in the first place.

18. Believe it or not, people will actually get offended if you don’t add them to your top friends list.

19. Speaking of which (sorta): I always think it’s funny how Friends Lists create the illusion that you have more friends than you actually have. Maybe if the term was changed to “Subscribers” it wouldn’t be so deceptive.

20. Finally, anybody over 21 would be better served just starting a blog.

All the same, Myspace isn’t all that bad either. With close to 200 million profiles created up to this point, it must be doing something right. For me, it's been a pretty cool outlet to catch up with people I haven't seen or spoke to in a second while also meeting other interesting folks. I guess my whole thing is: if you can realize that at the end of the day this is all just fun and entertainment you should be OK.

But in the event that you ever get bored with Myspace, start blog! It's pretty rewarding.

- ACL

The $12 million bitch

Literally.

Once again, I'm left speechless.

- ACL

Irreconcible differences

University of Michigan - 32

Appalachian State - 34

Yep. You read that correctly. The University of Michigan Wolverines; ranked #5 in the Associated Press poll were just beaten by Division I AA (or AAA; I dunno. Who cares...) Appalachian State; at home of all places.

I'm sorry U of M, but I don't think that my marriage with your football team is working out. Lord knows I tried to support them after continously losing to Ohio State and then the subsequent bowl games. But I can only take so much abuse. I think I'm officially done with this.

Aldo, is it too late to jump on Florida's bandwagon?

- ACL