Here's a super depressing thought: somewhere there are people who actually enjoy watching The Simple Life. You know, that show with the stupid Hiltons and they're doing stupid things because they're stupid? Yeah. Well, that thought was enough to send me into a downward spiral of despair and melancholy that I have not yet been able to free myself of. Ok, that's an exaggeration, but still. It's true and that makes me worry about the world we're living in.

Speaking of worrying about the world we're living in, you should. There's just so much shit going on. Although my main sources of news are The Daily Show and Real Time with Bill Maher, I've got to be more informed than those nitwits who believe Fox News is a news channel. The things I've been hearing about recently, they scare me. Check out this bit Bill Maher did on his show a couple of weeks ago:

MAHER: And finally, New Rule: Leave the children behind! At least, that is, until they learn something. A new survey finds that only half of America's high schoolers think newspapers should be allowed to publish without government approval. And almost one in five said Americans should be prohibited from expressing unpopular opinions. Hey, let me tell you little darlings something: this is my livelihood you're screwing with now! So either learn the Bill of Rights, or you don't deserve Social Security. Now, to those of you who think I am over-reacting, yes, I understand that being in high school is still very young, and no one really cares what kids say anyway. It's not like priests are dating them for their brains. But the younger generation is supposed to rage against the machine, not for it. They're supposed to question authority, not question those who question authority. And what is so frightening here is that we are seeing the beginnings of the first post-9/11 generation, kids who first became aware of the news under an "Americans need to watch what they say" administration, kids who've been told that dissent is un-American, and therefore justifiably punished by fine, imprisonment or loss of your show on ABC.

I've used colons a lot in this entry: that's a fact.

It's been a while since I've written something in here. Not like anyone's complaining. But that's due to me not having a lot of time to write in here and me not having a lot of stuff in my life that's interesting enough to waste your time with.

I've also ended a lot of sentences in this entry prepositions with (5).

Before Spring Break, there was a really good show at the Court Square Theater. It was the first WXJM sponsored show of the semester, and three bands played: some guy (I missed his act because I was chained behind the cage [the ticket booth]), Invert (really good), and the Rachels (really, really good) (with or without an apostrophe, I'm not sure). Invert is a 4-piece with two cellos, a violin, and a viola. I know you're thinking, "That's a kick-ass combo," and it sure is. The Rachels/Rachel's is an instrumental band that played some silly trying-way-too-hard-to-be-artsy videos during their set, but the music was good, and that's the important thing.

For Spring Break I went to New York for a few days with Yannos and his swell buddies Terry and Mike. A fun time was had by all. Here are the highlights in 30 seconds: Central Park on a brisk, overcast winter afternoon. The 24 hour market across the street with everything you could ever want to eat - and more. "Death alley," which is easily accessible by opening the large window in your 12th floor hotel bathroom that has zero bars/locks/other preventative measures whatsoever. The Comedy Love Call (more on this later). Riding the subway. Finding handicapped accessible subway stops. Not finding handicapped accessible subway stops. Not relying on cars for transportation. Being able to find really good pizza at 1 in the morning on a Monday night/Tuesday morning. Plasma screen TVs and really bad cable programming. The promenade that overlooks Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge on a breezy, cool night. All the dining experiences (some Polish, some Chinese, some Italian - all very good). Feeling discriminated in Chinatown. Yannos swindling himself out of 3 bucks and a copy of "The Onion." Times Square at night. That feeling that you're never alone, that there's always something going on, that what's around you is beautiful and you're a part of it.

Parenthases have also been an integral part of this entry (but when have they not?).

So, the Comedy Love Call. What was it? It was a comedy show benefiting autism research and some amazing people stopped by to do stand-up routines/skits. People like: Jon Stewart, Lewis Black, Stephen Colbert and Stone Philips (Stone was quite the surprise), Al Franken (another surprise), David Spade (yet another surprise), Conan O'Brien and Max Weinberg (Max was, you guessed it, another surprise), Adam Sandler, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Horatio Sanz, and Triumph. And music by Fountains of Wayne and other people I didn't recognize. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, it was incredible. Yes, I got an overpriced t-shirt. But why not? It was a once in a lifetime deal, so I splurged.

The rest of my break will be less exciting, but much more relaxing. I will finally catch up on some much needed sleep and some much needed fun reading (currently: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers and McSweeney's Mammoth Collection of Thrilling Tales). In music land, you should listen to Lagwagon's Live in a Dive, Explosions in the Sky's The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, and pre-order Fingers Cut Megamachine's self-titled CD - it'll be sure to impress. Until next time, keep your mind out of your pants your hand hands out of the gutter.